It's hardly outside the norm for people to ask after Steve and try to dig details out of him. He tries not to wear any of his feelings on his sleeve, because it generally only leads to uncomfortable conversations. So it doesn't seem that out of the ordinary that Pepper is asking after him now, that she's decided to assume something is wrong rather than accept that he doesn't want her company right now.

Steve grumbles to himself as he pushes up with one hand, propping his upper body up enough that he can lean back against the headboard. He fixes Pepper with an unimpressed look and then shakes his head. "Nothing happened," he says, because he has no reason to believe that the mansion's food would suddenly have gained strange side effects, not when it's never been a problem before.

"Just because I'm not in the best mood doesn't mean that there's an event going on," he points out dryly. The timeline for that isn't even right.