Oh, it's one o'clock in the morning here; I should really be either working, practicing or in bed; I'm super hungry, tired, and stressed about Civil War - and here is the result!
. . . in other words, how it would "really" be if Pepper took it upon herself to stop the tide of the coming Civil War.
Just so you know, the two videos Pepper gets in her email are the two US trailers (the latter of which revealed the delicious surprise that was our glimpse of Spider-Man!). Yes, this fic is in line with There Must Be Another Way.
Of course all rights belong to Marvel Studios.
Pepper gets the package in the mail the same day she receives the email.
The email is from an address which even FRIDAY can't trace (which is worrisome). The subject line reads "Open this if you value the Avengers' lives!"
Much against her better judgment, she actually opens the email. Inside are nothing but two brief videos no more than two and a half minutes each - but by the time she's watched them through she's trembling head to foot, her stomach roiling, her face buried in her hands as she gasps and heaves. It's a good thing no one's visiting the office today, so no one catches the CEO of Stark industries fighting off a panic attack at her desk.
And that's not even the worst of it. The package, which she opens after she's finished with her emails, contains a large white paperback book with visually pleasing blue lettering that once again jolts Pepper's stomach.
For it is an exact replica, from the front, of the book she's just glimpsed in the videos (or rather the first video, the over-analytical part of her brain says automatically). The familiar United Nations logo sits proudly in the middle of the cover, and the title stares up (mockingly, she thinks) in blue ink that's somehow all the more revolting for being so easy on the eyes.
The Sokovia Accords.
Pepper picks up the book and grips it with trembling hands, and inhales deeply. She's Tony Stark's CEO - how in the world is she supposed to talk the United Nations out of regulating the Avengers?
(How is this even her life? Did she honestly just think the words "talk the United Nations out of" anything?)
But she has to try. If she loves Tony, if she cares about the Avengers, she has no choice.
She breathes a deep sigh to still her hands, and opens the book. When, many hours later, she finally shuts it and rubs her sore eyes, she thinks that maybe - just possibly - she can start by at least find the Avengers a loophole or two.
She does have to start somewhere.
Yes, I broke my promise. I am now the girl who literally spews crap and throws the sanest stuff up on FFN. Please tell me what you think anyway.