Second Chances Rpg

Who: Pepper and Gert
When:Earlier this week
What:Establish that Gert is actually using her degree and make friends.
Warnings: They are ladies. No warnings at all. None. You're welcome..



Pepper was sitting in her office. The suit next to her, close at hand, but she was in a black suit and heels, looking about ready to strangle a pair of Asgardians. They were a handful but she liked having them around.

She tapped on her keyboard, moving money around to cover the new expenses, and the logistics to manage new living arrangements for them. Pepper was good at making problems go away but there were so many right now she didn't even know where to start with the city wide damages.

She had a fund started to cover housing, lost wages and therapy, but she wondered if she need therapy at this point. She looked up at a knock at the door. "Come on in. Oh hello, Gert!" She smiled warmly.

Gert entered the office, clipboard in hand, and returned Pepper's smile, she looked around the office, "Am I interrupting anything?" She stood a little nervously.

She waved a hand towards the chair opposite her. "Nothing that can't be. Your upstairs neighbors are fine, and they're moving, by the way." Pepper smiled at her. "What can I do for you today?"

"Oh, that's such a relief. I was so worried, I mean I didn't want to pry, but you know I took a class on domestic violence and honestly, I was totally worried that maybe you know there was a problem and I was acting like one of those people who sees something bad going on and…," Gert realized that she was babbling.

"Mrs. Stark, Can I talk to you about something?"

"You were fine. It was good of you to check, though." Pepper had needed a drink after that conversation with Valkyrie. Oof. But she could handle their quirks, they were good to have around.

"Pepper. Just call me Pepper." Gently, then, "of course. You can talk to me about anything."

Gert heaved a giant sigh of relief and then remembered that she had wanted to act like a professional for this discussion and briefly considered running from the room, "Okay, um… Pepper." She brought out her clipboard and looked at it carefully and took a piece of paper off the top, passing it across the desk to Mrs. Stark."

"I wanted to show you my resume, I double majored in Women's Studies and Government, with a special concentration in Community Engagement." She smiled, proud of what she'd achieved at Smith.

"I don't want to be presumptuous, but I really need more to do and well, I was wondering if you might have some actual work for me. I'm also really good with admin stuff, I was a TA for my last year of school, and well…. If I don't have enough to do then my anxiety gets really terrible, so I was wondering if you have anything, or maybe you know someone who could use someone like me?"

Gert had decided that she would see how this conversation went before she asked Mrs. Stark about the other thing that had been keeping her up at night.

Pepper took the paper, listening to her as she looked over it. Then she looked at the stack of papers next to her. And the stack she had to send to Val. Pepper liked her job. She loved her husband and his friends. But the amount of paperwork it all generated.

Then she smiled over to Gert. "That's rather impressive." She noted with a nod. "I could certainly use the help. And after this mess, I'm sure we'll need to get back into the good graces of the community too."

"If you want, I would be happy to have you help me here, officially. We can get pretty fast paced, so if you need a good challenge, this should be good for you."

Relief washed over Gert's face, "Thank you so much! I am happy to help with re-engaging with the wider community in order to facilitate the creation of an inter agency portal planning committee that would reflect the community in terms of gender, race and sexual orientation. Also, I'm really good at filing."

"That sounds perfect." It would be good to have someone eager to help around, too. "Well get you set up in a bit, and figure out what you'll need. And the filing is going to be handy. I have a lot of papers. And if you're still bored, I'm sure Valkyrie wouldn't mind help."

She liked the young woman. "It will be good to put your skills to use."

"T'm super excited!" Gert bit her lip at the mention of Valkyrie's name. One Asgardian made her think of another. , "I haven't met her, but um…I bet she's nice." She wrung her hands in her lap and took several deep breaths and counted off her five grounding items. She could smell perfume and the faint scent of cleaning supplies, the chair beneath her was solid, she saw a warm smile, she remembered the taste of the peppermint tea she'd had that morning and could hear the hum of the electronics in the office.

Feeling more grounded, she spoke, "So um… how well do you know Mr. Odinson?"

"Decently well. He's a good friend of Tony's. Why?" She tilted her head, waiting patiently, she'd leaned back in her seat to watch her. Pepper was warm, friendly, unless you were a competitor or someone she was facing off.

"Well, I was signing up for the home team and he told me he was going to move me onto a different team." Gert sighed, "I think he made a big mistake. He wants me to go and train with Valkyrie and Gamora." Her expression was part terrified and part nauseated.

"My sister is a total badass, and I know what it's like to have the bad guys trying to beat your door down," she thought of the times that the hostel had been attacked. "I know that when that happens you need everyone you can get, but what if I just get in the way?"

Pepper's smile turned warmer, "He is a good judge of abilities, Gert. He knows what he's doing. If it helps he thinks I should go train with them top." She rubbed the back of her neck, looking sideways at the armor.

"There is a risk with anyone though. Trust me if I could stay home, hide behind my desk, and let everyone else deal with it? I would but I also trust him.He knows what he's doing."

"Are you sure about that, Pepper? I mean he kind of looks like he went to a ZZ Top concert and got lost on the way home." Gert wanted to believe that she could be heroic. Maybe her friends and Molly wouldn't have had to take so many risks if she had been less useless.

She laughed softly, "That is an apt description, but he is the God of Thunder, he knows what he's doing and he's a valuable member of the team." She smiled,"I trust his judgment, and I promise he isnt wrong about his picks. You'll be fine, I promise. If not, come yell at me and I'll yell at him."

Gert's smile was immediate. She could envision Pepper yelling at Mr. Odinson, "That sounds great."