I wouldn't be offering you a job if I didn't have faith in your abilities. [Because that is what Pepper is putting on the table, and she wants Bruce to be undeniably clear on that point. Whether he wants to simply be a consultant or fully brought into the Stark Industries fold, Pepper doesn't care. She needs him to keep Tony's legacy alive, and now it's becoming clear that Bruce needs to be part of it too. So when his voice fades into silence, when he covers his eyes, she closes that distance between them. She knows what he's trying to hold back, because she's needed to keep her own tears unshed a thousand times too.

So she doesn't hug him; if Bruce wants to keep that dam up, Pepper won't risk shattering it. But she also won't let him close in on himself completely, and she reaches for the hand still at his side, slips her fingers easily around his just as a reminder that she is there.

The one over his eyes should stay; it's a shield for them both, because Bruce isn't the only one having to fight back that lump of emotion.]

I think you've done enough with the counters. You promised me you would rest, so go do that. By the time you're up again, your lab will be ready--and I'll have work for you to do.