#//...not fun

[pepper-potts-in-charge]

Pepper had known the moment Tony walked in. It wasn’t the loud entrance, or the way the room seemed to shift when he stepped through the door. It was that feeling, deep in her chest—the pull that never quite went away.

She'd been doing this for weeks now—pushing away the ache that came with seeing him again, trying to fill the spaces between them with work and distractions and anything but the truth. But tonight, standing in this ballroom, it felt like that truth was impossible to ignore.

Tony hadn’t spoken to her yet, but she knew he was watching. She always did.

It had been a few weeks since the engagement ended, and it still felt like they were tiptoeing around each other. Pretending. They both were. They still loved each other. She could feel it, just as she knew he could feel it too.

But the words had been said. The engagement was off. The ring, once a symbol of promises they both wanted to keep, had been tucked away, and there was no easy way to bring it up again. Not here. Not like this.

She forced herself to smile and engage with the people around her, but it wasn’t easy. Her gaze wandered, just a little, to the side of the room where Tony stood. His eyes were already on her, sharp, calculating. She could tell by the way his posture shifted, the way he moved through the crowd like he was on a mission, yet still, the pull between them was undeniable.

For a second, she almost thought she could pretend it wasn’t there. Pretend it didn’t hurt. But she knew better. She’d never been able to pretend with Tony for long.

He hadn’t turned into someone she didn’t recognize. He was still the man she knew—the one with the jokes, the bravado, the impossible confidence. But there was something else, something different about him tonight. Maybe it was the way he held the champagne flute between his fingers like he was trying to ground himself, or the way his eyes lingered on her without saying anything. She wasn’t sure.

It would have been so easy to go to him. So easy to break the distance between them, even for a moment, just to hear his voice and feel that magnetic pull they’d always shared. But she couldn’t. Not yet. She wasn’t ready to let all the old emotions resurface, not when they hadn’t even had the chance to fully process what had happened between them.

Instead, she focused on the conversation in front of her, though it felt like she was just going through the motions. Every word, every gesture, every smile—it all felt distant compared to what was happening in her chest.

She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. They weren’t together anymore. That was the choice they had made, together and apart, because they couldn’t get it right. The timing had never been right, not for them. And yet... here they were. Both pretending. Both doing everything they could to avoid facing the fact that the engagement may be over, but everything they shared still lingered.

Pepper could feel her heart rate quicken as she caught his gaze across the room. There it was again—the unmistakable weight of Tony Stark’s attention. It wasn’t just that he was looking at her. It was the way his eyes held hers, as if there were a hundred unspoken words passing between them. Words neither of them was willing to say out loud.

For a moment, she wanted to reach out to him. To break the distance. To say something, anything that would make this easier.

But she didn’t.

She could feel the room around her moving, the people shifting in and out of focus, but all she could think about was how much she wanted to turn around, to go to him, to collapse the space between them. But she wouldn’t.

Because no matter how much she still loved him, no matter how hard it was to breathe when he looked at her like that, she had to protect herself. She had to protect both of them. They’d been down that road too many times, and she wouldn’t go back to it.

Instead, she turned her attention back to the crowd, but not before she saw the flicker of something on Tony’s face. Maybe it was hope. Maybe it was regret. Maybe it was nothing at all.

But whatever it was, it left her breathless.

And for a moment, Pepper wasn’t sure if it was worth pretending anymore. But she held on. She smiled, kept talking, kept pretending. Because this was their new reality.

It was complicated. It always had been. And maybe that’s why she had to keep walking this tightrope. Even when she wanted to fall.

SATURDAY OPEN RP! GOLDEN GALA CHARITY EVENT HOSTED BY EMERSON ENTERPRISES CEO!

The atmosphere within the main ballroom is spectacular with all the golden accents on top of black table clothes. The room is decorated to the nines with everything that could ever be done. James has his staff to thank for that.

The guests start to trickle in slowly but surely. The splendor of it all actually makes some of them gape in awe.

James knows he's going to have to go around the room talking to each one throughout the night, and maybe they will talk to each other. Tonight is about making connections and possible friendships with the people of the city. They have to band together to fight what could possibly come. This is his strategy.

This is just one step of many to take down HYDRA.

But they aren't on his mind tonight.

He greets everyone with a smile when he walks up to them. And they greet him in return when they want to speak with him.

The auction will be towards the middle of the event followed by dancing. He's pretty sure the ones with children won't stay for that.

Mingle and have fun.

Even though there are Anti-Mutant protestors threatening to show up at any moment.

At least Rumlow isn't going to be here.

//OOC Instructions: Mingle, have fun, and make some chaos happen.//

@luna-draven-barnes @wilsonfisk-thekingpin @under0-0s @the1-and-only-peggycarter @thund3randrain @thebestmerc-1 @the-daily-bugle-official-blog @nearthewaters @theoldcapsicleicle

If I missed your tag, I'm sorry, I can't remember everyone that I talked too for some reason (probably fibro brain fog) and anyone is welcome to join!!!

[bizarrebazaar13]

what if your doppelgänger wasn’t evil it was just a person. what if your doppelgänger wasn’t trying to replace you it was just trying to learn to be a person and you were the best model it had. what if your doppelgänger looked at you with your eyes and said with your voice that it just wanted to be loved. what then.

[great-and-small]

Trends on other social media sites:

Try this new dance challenge! Post your glow-up! Get Ready With Me!

Trends on Tumblr:

[nekopuff]

You can only eat 2 foods for the next 2 years (with no health repercussions)

Spin this wheel twice to figure out what they are!

[climbingthefloors]

the us banning tiktok over fears of chinese influence prompting americans to flee to xiaohongshu (which translates to little red book - the same name as the famous red book of mao zedong quotations) and form instant connections with the chinese… you can't make this kind of irony up

[mysillycomics]

[tawnysoup]

Found my fav Slay the Princess route recently. Dragon my beloved. Your horrifying beak mouth was an impossible-to-refuse lip syncing challenge 💖

Shoutouts to @blacktabbygames for making such a cool game!

[oldmanpusspuss]

I still think its the funniest shit ever that when I used to volunteer at planned parenthood every week even though I walked past mostly the same protesters every single time they were begging me not to get an abortion theres other options yadda yadda. Like meemaw you see me here every week. They call me abortions georg because I get another one every Monday at 8am

[fawnmisty]

Me, you, and our giant robot son

[kenapiece-main]

Can you believe I'm having to make this meme even after successfully finishing up taxes and applying to job

[rioblitzle]

working retail

[tricktster]

[apollohour]

spin the wheel for a genre!

[w1lmuttart]

The lake town

[atomiccryptid]

Ok, so you've been isekai'd to the dnd world and may or may not die due to the class you've been assigned. Better question. Are you human? (spinner wheel of all dnd5e species)