Hi all! I've been lurking on here for ages and finally decided to join - you guys have some awesome stories on here. This is my first fanfic, so I hope ya'll enjoy it! I will try to update once a week. Also, I have combined IM1 & 2 timelines so we can have all the fun of post-Afghanistan along with Mr. Hammer drama, sound good? Read on. :)

Rated M for later chapters. I own nothing. :,(

"Tony, I cannot believe you-"

Metallica is blaring through the garage and I wince. Apparently he had also installed sound proof glass since I hadn't heard anything until I opened the door.

"JARVIS, MUSIC OFF! NOW!"

I hear a sneeze as a gust of air freshener goes out of Dummy's tube and see Tony pointing from Dummy to a toaster, clearly threatening to turn him into one if he didn't get his act together. I roll my eyes just as Tony turns around as my heels click against the pavement below.

"Pep, I left the earplugs outside the door, can you go get them for me?"

"Ha ha, I think I need a hearing aid after coming down here for 5 seconds. Now-"

"You'll look just as gorgeous when you're 80 as you do now, Pepper, even with a hearing aid."

He'd gotten up from his chair and wiped grease off on an extra towel. Before I can respond, he's snapped his fingers and I hear slow, soft music begin to play as the lights dim. Dummy reels out a cake with a frosted blackberry design decorating the top. The paper I'd been holding so urgently moments before instantly drops to my side; he remembered. He remembered my birthday.

"Tony, I, I, how did you remember?" I gush, looking around the room as balloons shoot out of the ceiling.

Ms. Potts, I believe I can take credit for that. You see, Mr. Stark-

"Enough Jarvis! Pep, this is for you." I watch as he pulls a huge gift with a bow from behind him and hands it to me.
"I mean, it's not much, I know, but I thought, maybe, you know, if you were still interested then we could..could...uh, just, open it, Pep."

He looks down and pretends he's checking out his arc reactor, but I know better. I begin to unwrap the package, careful not to tear the wrapping paper. Inside, there's a plain, white box, and as I peek behind the lid, I begin to smile.

Here was Tony, the man who wanted to throw away his first arc reactor, the man who claimed to not be nostalgic, and yet he remembered I was. There, in the box, was a gorgeous blue dress, a set of heels, and a corsage. Wait. A corsage?

"Tony?" I say, looking from the box to him and back again.

"You...you don't have to wear it or anything, I mean..."

"No, no, the corsage?"

"Oh, that," he holds up his index finger, turns around, and pulls out another box, opens the lid, and lays a suit out on the table.

He was really going all out this time; he wanted to re-create the night we danced. I look into his eyes for a few moments before coming back to reality.

"I'll be right back, Tony," I say as I head out the door with my box.

"I've moved the trash can out of the mansion, Pep, so if you want to throw it away then you'll have to-"

"Who said I was going to use the trash can?" I say, looking playfully at the incinerator behind him. Tony grins, and I head out the door and toward the bathroom.

I smooth down the dress with a smile. It was perfect. He was perfect. Tonight would be perfect.

Bzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzzzzt. I look down at my Blackberry:

Justin Hammer

Not again.

My fists clinch as my brow drops.

"Hello?" I say.

"Ms. Potts, your voice sounds lovely today, how would you like to go out to dinner me with me tonight?"

"I'm sorry?"

"No need to be sorry for not accepting sooner, I'll have a limo prepared by 7:30. Consider it a duo meeting; we must discuss business and pleasure."

"Mr. Hammer, I'm afraid I will not be able to attend, but thank you for invit-"

"Ms. Potts, I must insist. If you do not come, the consequences for Tony will be quite unpleasant."

"What does Tony have to do with this?!" I ask, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"I know you are at his mansion, I know you are wearing a dress which I had created for you with a tracking device, and I know that you would really, really not like it if something were to happen to Tony's arc reactor due to something being activated remotely that might cause him an itsy bitsy bit of pain, or maybe even toss him into a life-threatening situation; I'm not quite sure which, you see, as Tony is our first test subject."

"Wh-what do you want?" My entire mouth had gone dry and my hands were shaking. This call had just gone from annoying to chilling in under ten seconds.

"Dinner. 7:30. Do not tell Tony anything that would indicate where you are going or with whom. Go home, keep the dress on. A limo will arrive to pick you up. See you soon, Ms. Potts." Click.

I sink to the bathroom floor and grab the toilet as the fear courses through me in waves. Oh my god. What am I going to do?

Justin (or 'Justwin' as he had begun calling himself in an attempt to win over the press) was always trying to one-up Tony. This had nothing to do with me personally; I was just a chess piece in a bigger game. I knew the risks of staying as Tony's personal assistant after his 'I am Iron Man' declaration, and yet, somehow, I never thought it could lead to this.

How can I protect him? I'm not an engineer, I don't know how all this technology operates, I don't know if there's anything on my dress besides a tracking device that would alert Justin if I tried to tell Tony what was going on. But, beyond all of that, I don't want Tony to die. I mean, really, that's all. That's it, really. Really. I just don't want Tony to...

I look at the ground and note that it's wet; I'm sobbing.

I use the last of my strength to deliver a message to Jarvis:

"Jarvis, I know you heard all that. Tell Tony nothing. Please. He must have programmed you to keep himself alive, so you better listen to me."

Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark has programmed me to tell him when you are in danger, which, according to the algorithm, takes precedence over his own safety. As such-.

And then I knew what to do, and the pain tore me to pieces even further.

"I'm in love with Justin Hammer. Tony means nothing to me. He's an impulsive, egotistical, chatterbox that has zero respect for women, himself, or his country. We will never have a serious relationship for so long as I shall live."

Silence. I hold my breath. Beep.

There, it's gone through. Exhale. Inhale. Move.

I gather my belongings in the bathroom, dab my eyes with a tissue, thank Jarvis, and hurry out of the mansion without saying goodbye. Tony will know something is wrong and may try to stop me, but it's already 7:04 PM and I have to be back at my apartment on time. Tony, I won't let him hurt you.

So? How was it?! Great? Cliché? Worst story you have ever read in your life? Let me know!