Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Meet Virginia

Well she wants to be the queen and
Then she thinks about her scene
Well she wants to live her life
Then she thinks about her life
Pulls her hair back as she screams
I don't really wanna be the queen
"Meet Virginia" -- Train

**

Click.

Click.

Click.

The steady tap-tap-tapping of Pepper Potts' Louboutins on the tile flooring shouldn't have sounded as foreboding as they did—but Steve had long ago learned to trust his instincts, and the echoing steps reminded the soldier so much of the inevitable approach of an executioner headed towards the gallows: relentless, unstoppable, unwilling to listen to pleas or pardons. The concern that pooled low in Steve's belly spiked and leadened even further at the fact that Pepper had requested this meeting with the team—a team that somehow only included the members that had followed him into exile in Wakanda.

The absence of certain members was exceptionally pointed, and it immediately put the blue-eyed man on the defense as the Stark Industries CEO slipped gracefully into the conference room, clad smartly in ivory and gold, though the red lining the underside of her heels paired so neatly with the imagery of splashes of blood upon the floor, there and gone again with every step the redhead took.

Pepper glanced upwards, meeting the Rogue Avengers' various gazes, and offered a bland, congenial smile as she made her way towards the head of the table. "I apologize for my tardiness. Court ran over its anticipated timeframe," the CEO apologized as a hand smoothed over the backs of her thighs, straightening the crisp fabric before Pepper eased down to perch upon her chair as a queen ruled from her throne.

Her comment drew a derisive snort from Clint, however, and the archer's mouth turned ugly in a rough smirk. "Court? So who's suing Stark now? Not like it matters, anyway, 'cause the media will never hear about it after he buys the person's silence."

The vitriol earned a quirked eyebrow from the CEO, and Pepper settled back in the chair, shifting just enough to cross one leg over the other. Angled just enough to see the small changes in posture and position, Steve once again found his eyes drawn down to that vivid, bright red, so at contrast with the clean, fresh image that the rest of Pepper's outfit presented.

Perhaps it was the artist part of his brain, the portion that spoke in colors and images, in metaphors and scenes brought to life through charcoal and oils, but the sharp contrast between the two color choices unsettled the blond, made him uneasy and leery of the conference to come. There was a warning there, and danger, too: but Steve didn't know what to be on the lookout for while there was blood in the water.

"In this particular case, Mr. Barton, you should be relieved to know that no settlement was reached outside of court—the rulings were announced during the hearing, and the court's decision will soon enough be made public record once the courtroom clerks finish recording the findings and add them to the county website. I'm sure that the news articles will begin soon after the posting is up for viewing." Pepper offered another smile at the reassurance, though Steven couldn't help but notice how her gaze was almost... predatory... at the promise.

The redhead shifted in her chair once finished, retrieving the briefcase that the CEO had settled at her feet. It was only a moment before Pepper began withdrawing stacks of folders, sliding each one down to stop before the person whose name was laminated on its cover. Its manila coloring was boring, neutral and unassuming—but, as Steve stared down at the folder before him, he very much didn't want to open it to see what awaited him inside.