"Tony," Pepper hissed across the table in an undertone that told Tony that she did not approve of something, "you shouldn't have let Anya go out alone!"
Classic Pepper, always worrying about things.
"She's a teenager and we are in upstate New York. Farm-country. It would be different if we were at the Tower or at the mansion. There are only two roads out of this place. And she has that huge dog," Tony added.
Pepper gave him a look of great disapproval. "She is in a new place, Tony."
Bruce Banner spoke up, his mouth stuffed full of sausage and eggs, "I agree with Pepper on this one, Tony. She's just a kid."
Tony pointed to Bruce's full mouth. "One: That is disgusting. Two: Shut up, Bruce. The kid will be fine."
"Sorry," Bruce swallowed the mouthful, "I've been working in the lab all night and I'm starving."
"Still disgusting."
Clint, Natasha, and Wanda were having their own conversation at the other end of the table.
"Hey," Tony addressed them, making his voice loud enough for them to hear over Clint's chattering, "where's the fossil?"
Clint, who was still lounging around in his pajamas despite it being noon, shrugged and took a sip from his orange juice. "Haven't seen him since last night."
"He's home," Natasha casually informed Tony.
Tony nodded. Of course Steve had disappeared to that crappy old apartment. Tony pushed his chair out and rose from the table, wiping his mouth off and tossing the crumpled napkin onto his empty plate.
"Where are you going?" Pepper inquired, still not happy with him.
"I need to talk to Stars n' Stripes about something," Tony told her. He took note of how Natasha stiffened when he said that.
"Why don't you get JARVIS to contact him? It would only take him a few minutes to get here," Natasha proposed, her body language guarded.
Tony shook his head and gazed curiously at her. "It's a personal matter," he stated. "And I might as well look for the kid while I'm at it, since she's apparently not able to follow directions," Tony scoffed, throwing a mocking look in Pepper's direction.
Pepper's face turned sour. "You know what I meant, Tony."
Tony grinned and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'm just being me, sweetheart."
Pepper gave him a slight smile back, not giving him the satisfaction of a full smile, "You are unbelievable."
"You have no idea how many times women have told me that," Tony mused, making his way to the door.
"Anna Lavrov probably told him that," Clint whispered underneath his breath. Wanda and Bruce both snorted and tried to cover it up while Tony and Pepper gave Clint a glare. Pepper turned back to Tony.
"Make sure you check both paths!" Pepper called out to his retreating figure.
"Hence why I am wearing my walking shoes," Tony sassed. His shoes were not necessarily meant for trudging over uneven dirt roads but he did not care.
"Or, you could drive," Bruce suggested. "Walking will take about twenty minutes."
"She has a dog," Tony scolded Bruce, stressing the word "dog" and wrinkling his nose. Bruce rolled his eyes, deciphering Tony's clandestine meaning.
So what? Tony was preppy. It was the way he had been raised. Animals were filthy and Tony would not have saliva sloshed all over the leather seats of his brand new 2016 Audi R8 (which he had gotten his hands on before it had been released on the market to the rest of the public).
As the others went back to their breakfast feast, Tony stole another glance at Natasha once more before exiting the room and it was obvious that she knew something that he did not. He tilted his head, squinting his eyes to study her. She was definitely keeping something from him. However, she let slip no indication of what that thing was, her eyes defensive. What could she possibly know?