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Tony stroked his goatee and watched the monitors thoughtfully, fanning himself with a piece of paper. They were hooked to cameras in the den area of Rogers' cell-suite. Of course, there were cameras in the other areas as well, but Rogers had been a prisoner for well over a month, and had wrangled a concession that those would monitor only suspicious activity. The AI would alert Tony to anything unusual, and the good Captain would maintain his illusion of privacy. In turn, Tony would have won a little more of Rogers' trust.
Currently, Rogers was stretched out on the cool metal floor, wearing only a very small towel and a lot of sweat. It was unusual, as he'd never shown that sort of disregard for modesty before. But there was no sign of an escape attempt, and lying still on the floor was hardly threatening unless this was somehow a distraction.
If so, it was a very good distraction.
The door to his office hissed open, admitting Pepper. "Stop doing that. You look like a cartoon," she chided, barely glancing up from her stack of papers. Bare feet padded soundlessly over the floor as she maneuvered around the desk to perch in front of him, settling a foot on either side of him. The neat black dress suit she preferred to wear had been replaced with a sheer top and tiny shorts that bared as much skin to the breeze as possible. "Peter found the problem with the vents," she reported. Sweat had plastered her hair to her forehead, making her look tired. "He and Rhodey are working on it. It should be fixed soon."
"Wonderful." Tony glanced back at the monitors and frowned. When the temperature went down, Rogers would go back to wearing his provided bodysuit. "Perfect."
Pepper's foot knocked into his ribs. "You could have helped, you know. I'd almost think you don't want the cooling system to function again."
Silently, Tony held up a finger and pointed at the monitor.
With a grumble, Pepper turned. "I don't see what you... oh. My."
"Now do you see?" he asked.
"Mmhm." Pepper nodded. She worried at her lip with her teeth. A droplet of sweat ran down the side of her neck. "Is that section separate from the main cooling?"
Tony mentally ran through the schematics on the ventilation system. It only took him a few moments to finish and reply with a shake of his head. "It's on the same lines as our rooms. Natasha will toss all of us in cells if this goes on another day."
"Damn."
"My thoughts exactly."
