Author's Note: This is unusual for me, as I usually stay in the realm of video games, but I've become obsessed with Iron Man recently. It's probably due to the Avengers film... Anyway, here's my first crack at an Iron Man story and since I don't read the comics religiously, please don't rake me across the coals if I make mistakes. I may also make reference to other Marvel characters and please disregard any anomalies between this story and the films (especially the Stark/Potts relationship as of the first chapter). I'm just having fun with getting them together in my way. Enjoy!

The Crucial Riddle

Chapter 1: Your Survival is Beyond My Comprehension

Virginia 'Pepper' Potts learned fairly early on in her job to never wear white shoes if she was planning on visiting Stark Tower, especially the top ten or fifteen floors. As the elevator took her to the top floors of the gleaming skyscraper, she sighed deeply. Delicately, she picked her way across the hardwood floor, trying to avoid large patches of motor oil, gasoline, antifreeze, and some sort of mystery fluid that was cloudy in color. On top of that, she also had to sidestep giant coils of copper wires, thousands of tools and parts, and several gizmos of whose functions she did not know. Another day in Stark Industries.

Several of her friends suggested that she should find a new position. Pepper was capable enough, with all the proper credentials and a university education; she was not bad looking either: slender and leggy, with strawberry blonde hair that curled at the tips, high freckled cheeks, and hazel eyes. No doubt she would get any post she applied for, even a CEO position was not out of her reach.

But she liked working for Mr. Stark, even as a secretary.

"Good afternoon Miss Potts. Welcome back. Mr. Stark will be most pleased." Jarvis' crisp British accent echoed across the spacious entrance.

"Good afternoon, Jarvis." Pepper had gotten over her inhibitions of talking to a computer, especially since Jarvis was one of the more polite men she had encountered working in Stark Industries. "Where is Tony?"

Jarvis sounded sheepish. "Last I checked, he had passed out in the lab with a bottle of scotch after having an epiphany. Apparently, whatever he was working on this past week, he's finished."

Pepper fought the urge to roll her eyes. "That explains the mess, I suppose." She avoided a large patch of oil from getting on her dark pumps. "I was only away for five days."

Even after hearing that her boss was unconscious, Pepper took her time going down to the lab. First, she cleared a pile of blueprints and broken metal bits from the table to make room for her briefcase and the files for Tony. After turning off a burning welding torch, only then did she pick her way down to the basement in search of her wayward boss. Unfortunately, the closer she got to the lab, the messier it became, and soon she had to resort to kicking things out of the way.

Tony Stark was slumped over his worktable, a nearly empty bottle of scotch in one hand and his phone in the other. His face was pressed firmly into the blank computer screen and his dark hair stuck up in all directions. It wouldn't have surprised Pepper if this was his first time sleeping since she'd been gone.

"Mr. Stark." She called, trying her best not to trip. "Mr. Stark! AHH!" Despite her best efforts, Pepper tripped over something and squealed as she plummeted toward the ground. She reached out her hands to stop her fall.

An arm that was covered entirely with some sort of metal alloy shot out and snatched Pepper around the waist, hoisting her up so she was face to face with the groggy Tony Stark. He managed a smile for her, despite his exhaustion. In her heels, Pepper was about a half an inch taller than he was, and she knew it bothered him.

"Good morning, Miss Potts." He set her on her feet, the bottle of scotch still in his hand.

Pepper stepped out of Tony's arms as businesslike as she could possibly be. Being unflappable was a virtue she needed as his personal secretary. "It's afternoon, Mr. Stark."

He looked surprised. "Afternoon? Aren't you back kind of early?" He looked at his wrist and realized that his watch was absent, replaced by layer of metal plating. He began to strip off the armor and look for his watch at the same time.

"I've actually come back late. Mr. Stark, can you really not keep track of time without me? Is this the first time you've been asleep since I've been gone?" Both were rhetorical questions. Tony wouldn't remember to breathe without her and the dark circles under his brown eyes were proof enough that he hadn't slept.

"I'm not tired." He insisted, his eyes gleaming madly. "Let me show you what I've come up with. Jarvis!"

Pepper stopped him before he could launch into his technological babble.

Tony's strong jaw was covered in sable scruff and his white shirt was stained with all sorts of dark fluids. If sleep was second to work, then hygiene was somewhere further down the list. He smiled rakishly, as if he knew what she was thinking. Pepper stood up straight and smoothed her navy dress.

"First, shower and shave. Then, by all means…"

Tony drank the rest of his scotch in one gulp. "Miss Potts, what would I ever do without you? Keeping me on the right track…" He gave her a smile that would have caused a lesser woman's underwear to drop. But Pepper was extraordinary.

"Flattery won't do you any good, Mr. Stark." She tried very hard to remain professional. "Work comes before pleasure."

"If you say so." He yawned insolently. His priorities were a little a skewed all of the time. "I'll come back presentable." With a tiny bow and a wink, Tony Stark disappeared up the steps, also kicking things out of the way as he walked.

When he was out of sight, Pepper sat down hard in the chair he had vacated. Tony Stark was swarthy, darkly handsome, with sable hair and wickedly sparkling brown eyes; but despite his good looks, he was a handful. Selfish, vain, attention-seeking, and devil-may-care with no hand for business, relationships, or self-preservation…Pepper had her work cut out for her.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes Miss Potts?"

"Did Tony drink all of the scotch?"

"I'm afraid so. Shall I order some for you? I'm sure Captain Rogers would be willing to pick it up."

Pepper shook her head. "No. I'm just making sure that Tony won't be able to drink any more. Thank you Jarvis."

"My pleasure."

….

Tony Stark stepped out of his shower about an hour and a half later.

It was the kind of shower that sprayed jets of hot water in time with music. He often spent at least an hour in his bathroom every day, as it offered a convenient excuse not to see people he didn't like. The list was long. As one of the few people he could stand, it was wonderful to have Pepper back. He didn't like when anything took her away from him, even if it was for work.

Time had seemed to slow down the moment she left, and to ease his boredom Tony had tossed himself headfirst into his work. It seemed to him that she had only been gone for a day or two, when really five days had passed. Still, she was back now, and Tony's world was right again.

"Jarvis?" He barked. Another feature of his luxurious bathroom that made him particularly proud was that he had installed Jarvis there as well, giving him access to the Internet even as he bathed.

"Yes, sir?" Jarvis' dry monotone voice cut through the muggy air of the bathroom.

Tony scratched his wet hair. "Ummm…where did Pepper go this past week, and why?" It was not his job to remember these kinds of things; those tasks fell to Jarvis and Pepper.

Jarvis sounded slightly amused at Tony's inability to function. "At Colonel Fury's request," Tony made a face, "she went, in your stead, to Arizona to pick up case work and files of S.H.I.E.L.D. and reported to him on the progress of Stark Tower."

Tony searched for a pair of pants. Ever since he had made the spur-of-the-moment decision to convert a good deal of Stark Tower into quarters for the S.H.I.E.L.D.-operated task force, The Avengers, he had agents up his ass on a near-regular basis. He liked to do what he wanted to, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was severely fucking up his ability to do so. And at their head was cantankerous, iron-balled, one-eyed Colonel Nick Fury, who seemed intent on dragging Tony out of his tower and being pro-active in society. Thank god for Pepper then.

"There are still the files then…" Tony groaned, "I wonder what they're all about…I suppose I'll find out soon enough then."

After tapping on the glowing blue arc reactor that was melded to his chest, Tony threw his dirty, oil-stained clothes into his hamper (he had no idea where the hamper had come from; probably a well-meant gift from Pepper or Cap, who was continuously horrified by Tony's messiness). Upon finding the first clean shirt that did not require him to fasten buttons, Tony slid it on and made his way back to the living area.

The magnificent view from his wall of windows, showcased that he had been even more off on the time than he originally thought, as the sun was already setting over the city of Manhattan.

Tony knocked his things aside carelessly, sending metal parts and canisters of fluids cascading to the floor in a cacophony of metal clashes. He would clean it up later.

"Pepper?" He asked loudly, as the entrance hall seemed empty on whole.

Jarvis was whispering, unusual for him. "Sir, I might suggest that you keep your voice down. It appears that you aren't the only who has experienced lack of sleep as of late." Tony, curious, made a more conscious effort to be quiet. "She's on the couch, sir."

Tony crept up softly to the back of one of his black leather couches and peered over the edge. Sure enough, Pepper was out cold, her strawberry hair fanned out across the dark leather, a tiny bit of drool escaping the corner of her mouth. He refused to look down from her face at the risk of realizing her dark dress did not constitute as proper sleepwear. With two fingers, he lightly traced the near-invisible freckles on her forehead, just underneath her bangs.

"Jarvis," He hissed. "Where's the closest blanket?"

"Stained or non-stained?"

"Is that a question?"

"Closest clean blanket is underneath the bar. You put it there in case you passed out due to increased blood alcohol levels."

Tony shrugged as he moved toward his neatly stocked bar. "Sounds like a good plan, knowing me." Leaping over the wooden counter, he accidentally upended a pyramid of empty paint cans, wincing as they rained to the floor with a hollow crash. "Jarvis?"

"Vital stats show that Miss Potts is still asleep. Might I suggest avoiding the paint cans next time?"

"Duly noted." Tony said, rummaging around underneath the bar. "Ah, there's my spare Geiger counter. I thought Banner stole it. I'll have to formally apologize…and buy him a new watch. There's the blanket." With a flourish that almost upended a bottle of vodka, Tony produced a blanket and proceeded to work his way slowly back to sleeping Pepper, avoiding all paint cans. "Why is there paint out here?"

"At some point in your drunken stupor you mentioned something about painting the interior of your guest room." Jarvis said in dry amusement.

"I have a guest room?" Tony replied in confusion. He rarely had guests, and much less let them stay over. "I'll have to fix that as soon as possible."

Coming back to Pepper, he smiled fondly. Pepper was the exception to the guest rule. Gently as he was able, Tony draped the cloth over her, from feet to shoulders, tucking the sides in around her. It was a very parental action that Pepper had often bestowed on Tony when he was very drunk or very sick; he liked the feeling, as his parents never tucked him in when he was a child.

Usually Pepper looked very harried and intense, but in sleep, she was at peace and even sweet-looking. Tony smiled and patted one of her cheeks.

Without warning, her eyes fluttered open and Tony yanked his hand back. Looking around, she noticed her position as her boss smiled down at her. She sat up quickly, blushing a most unbecoming shade of pink.

"Mr. Stark! I'm so sorry. I was waiting for you down here and you were taking forever, and I haven't slept for a while, so I just…I swear, I was only asleep for a minute. I'm sorry." She swung her legs over the couch as though she was prepared to get up.

Softly, Tony grabbed her by the shoulders, secretly marveling in how tiny her bones were. "Pepper." He said intensely, looking her right in the eye. "It's ok. You have every right to take a break. I don't mind in the least." He smiled so that she would know he meant it.

Pepper took in all that he was saying and once she realized that he wasn't angry, her eyes got heavy again. With the slightest effort, Tony pushed her back down onto the couch and she complied, curling up into a ball. He patted her shoulder.

"You don't mind…if I wait to see…what you made?"

"Not at all." Tony replied cheerfully. "I'll just sit and read these…files you brought back for me." He said 'files' like it was a swearword. "Maybe I'll have some more scotch too."

Pepper smiled to herself. "Whatever you say, Mr. Stark."

"Good night, Miss Potts." He replied, adjusting the blanket again so it covered every bare inch of her, save her face. For a split second, looking at her serene face, Tony felt the very strong urge to kiss her; not anything as passionate as the lips, but perhaps the forehead or the cheeks. A thank-you kiss, in other words.

For Tony, most women came with urge for a passionate kiss on the lips or something even further beyond that. But with Pepper it was more like he wanted her to know how much he appreciated her efforts, even as she slept while she was supposed to be working. Still, he fought back the urge as he got the feeling she wouldn't take kindly to the gesture. He stepped away from his sleeping secretary.

"Jarvis, dim the lights." Tony ordered.

"But, sir, how will you read the documents from S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Irrelevant." Tony replied, waving his hand in the air. "Dim the lights. I'm getting scotch."

"Whatever you say, sir."

Despite all of his other shortcomings, Tony liked to be a man of his word (most of the time…for Pepper, at least), and before going back down to his lab, he glanced at the S.H.I.E.L.D files and grimaced, but took them down with him as Pepper slept.