Title: Aftermath
Author: ZionAngel
Length: 745 words
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Why the hell does that man love to make huge, life-changing announcements out of the blue like that?
Author's Notes: Based on lots and lots of speculation about what will happen in Iron Man 2. Anti-spoilery people, turn back now. Unedited at the moment. And a special thanks to my dear friend Rampant-chaos8 for posting this for me while my internet is screwy.
Almost nine hours after the fact and she still can't stop fuming.
She's been sitting at the bar of the hotel, just outside Washington DC, venting her rage at a willing Rhodey and Happy. But neither this, nor the martini she's almost finished with, are helping. She still keeps running through the moment in her head, over and over and over and thinking of all the things she should have done instead of just stand there dumbly and act as if she was okay with it, as if it wasn't a complete and total shock. She's almost forgotten the context of it by now, why the hell it all happened, and all she can hear are those words, echoing through her head: "I am nominating Virginia Potts to take my place as CEO of Stark International...."
Why the hell does that man love to make huge, life-changing announcements out of the blue like that?
The bartender brings her a second martini without being asked, leaves it on the counter and backing away slowly, as if he's scared of her. She doesn't blame him.
"- and it would have been bad enough if he had done it just with the Board of Directors -" She knows she's babbling at this point, and Rhodey and Happy are probably just nodding their heads without even trying to follow what she's saying, but she really doesn't give a shit. "- but he went and did it in front of the entire fucking senate of the United States of America! Who does that?!"
Happy has to physically shake her to get her to stop, like he's been trying to get her attention for the last several seconds. He clears his throat quietly and nods over her shoulder. Pepper glances in the mirror behind the bar, and barely makes out the image of Tony coming up behind her.
She freezes, and her hand tightens convulsively around the martini glass. A brief and furious battle rages in her mind between the merits of leaving and avoiding a scene and the pleasure of giving him a very expletive-laden piece of her mind right here and now. But neither side has a chance to claim victory before Tony stops beside her, and asks that the other men give them a moment to talk privately.
He stands in front of her once they leave, and all she can do is glare at him with a subtle, simmering fury.
"Look, Pepper I'm really sorry for springing this whole thing on you like that." He seems to falter when that doesn't get any response, as if he was expecting her to just accept his little apology. Arrogant bastard. "I, um -" He clears his throat nervously. "I just needed to do something and get us out of that mess, and I didn't have any choice - I mean, not that I wouldn't have chosen you anyway, or you know, that I think you're a bad choice - I don't, I think you're a great choice for CEO. 'Cause, you know, you're really smart and good with people, and I mean we both know that you've pretty much been doing my job for the last five years, and especially since the whole Iron Man thing - and you've been doing a really good job and I'm sorry that I never thanked you, but you really did a fantastic job, and I think you'll do an even better one now that you can just sign all that stuff and go to meetings yourself instead of haranguing me forever to do it, and you know, now you'll be getting paid for all that work. And I know you're mad right now, and I'm really sorry that I didn't talk to you about it first, but I really think it will work out in the end, and I think you'll like it."
She takes a sick and thrilling pleasure in the way his confidence is dying right before her eyes.
He clears his throat again. "So what do you say? Can we go someplace a little more private and talk?"
Pepper blinks once, and doesn't think twice.
Tony gets a face-full of martini, the toothpick and olives bouncing off of his cheek and down to the floor.
Smart man that he is, he doesn't say a word or try to follow her when she turns on her heel, and she leaves him with the humiliating sound of the other patrons snickering.