Pepper was awake first, as usual. She pulled on her suit and did her hair, tying it up in a bun on her head; neat and professional looking in her attire. She slipped on her black, slightly heeled shoes and made her way out of her room and down the hallways of Stark Tower. It was such a huge place that she still got lost, even though she worked with Tony for about two years now. They were very close friends—they even went out at one time, but it didn't last very long. They just didn't seem right for each other, and their busy schedule got in the way and what if the public knew about their relationship? Rumors would be spread everywhere.
Tony always slept in late—it bothered her. He always needed to get up so early to go places—his schedule tightly packed. They couldn't miss a single second of the day. She typed the pass code to his lab, gaining instant access. He had fallen asleep in his lab again. It happened more frequently now; Tony refusing to sleep to work on a new suit he was building. Even though he said this, Pepper saw no new suit laying around, no new pieces of metal, nothing. This made her suspicious and she had to figure out what was up.
Tony was laying down on the bed that had been placed in the lab since he fell asleep there so much, shirtless and caught up in the blankets like he was wrapped in a cocoon. Clothes were strewn around the bed, making Pepper raise an eyebrow. 'Weird,' She thought to herself, making her way over to the bed. She heard the shower running in the bathroom nearby, and her suspicion only became stronger when she realized that Tony was still sleeping—it was someone else. There was someone else in the tower.
"Tony," She tried to wake him up. No answer. "Tony!" She yelled, and his eyes opened slowly. He let out a yawn as he turned over to face her.
"Yes?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and focusing his gaze on her, still half asleep. His hair was messy, way past bed head, and there was marks on his neck that looked like bruises. Pepper knew what they were right away and gasped slightly. It took a moment for Tony to react as he instantly covered himself with the covers.
"Pepper!" He pulled the covers up to his chest, trying to hide the hickeys as his cheeks turned a red color. He was found out. He tried to think of a way to explain himself, but it was no use. He couldn't form words.
"Who's taking a shower?" Pepper asked, raising and eyebrow as she glared down at Tony. He said he wasn't doing anything with anyone just yesterday. He was obviously lying.
"Um," Tony scratched the back of his head, still trying to find out a way to explain. Still none, though he tried his best. "Steve," He answered after a few moments, Pepper looking a little bit shocked when she heard the name. She knew exactly who he was—he was working with them for the past year or so. She thought he just helped Tony with fighting and around the lab, but it was much more now that she knew.
"Steve? Captain?" She wanted to make sure she was hearing him right, and wasn't just hearing things.
"Steve. Captain America," Tony explained, his cheeks still burning. He felt like he was on fire, embarrassed to be figured out like this. He tapped his fingers on the bed out of nervousness. They had been together for a while, though they only started having sex often a few weeks back. They just couldn't take the tension anymore and let themselves go right in the middle of the lab; ending up knocking over a few things and breaking them, though they were replaced.
"Can I…Can I get dressed now?" Tony chuckled, scratching the back of his head. He was completely naked under the blanket, and he didn't want to just get up and reveal himself to his co-worker like that. Pepper took a moment, but nodded and swiftly made her way out of the lab and upstairs, sitting on one of the couches in the lobby, thinking things over.
She was pretty sure Steve was getting dressed down there too—he was taking a shower after all. How long have they been together? How many times have they had sex? Did that have sweet little nicknames for each other? Was there actually a new suit being made? How did Steve get into the tower? All these questions buzzed through her head, her cheeks heating up and blushing slightly as she imagined Steve on Tony's lap, kissing him feverishly. She pushed that thought away before it went any further.
At least ten minutes passed until Tony and Steve made their way up the stairs and out of the lab; Tony smoothing back his hair with his hand as he lead the way up to Pepper. He still looked a bit shaken from before, letting out a sigh. He was wearing a jacket with a collar- she knew he would have done that.
"Can I talk to you in private, Tony?" Pepper raised an eyebrow, looking over at Tony. The man looked over at the other, Steve looking a bit nervous. He thought no one would figure them out, but here they were, being confronted by Pepper Pots. "Don't worry, Steve, I'm not doing anything with him," She reassured him, smiling slightly.
Tony nodded at Steve and Pepper and him made their way into a separate room, closing the door. Right as the door closed the smile dropped from her face.
"Do you know how big this is, Tony?" She raised an eyebrow at him. He gave no response, so she kept on rambling. "You two are so widely known—I don't know of one person that DOESN'T know who you are, Tony. If one person out of Stark Industries—even a co-worker here—found out about this relationship, there would be rumors everywhere and paparazzis would be hunting you two down," She explained, pacing back and forth; anxious. She wasn't jealous—not at all. She was just worried about what would happen if this got out to the public.
"If we keep it under wraps and keep our mouth shut, nobody will know. You're the only one who knows, Pepper. And I know you're not going to go blabbing off to anyone else, that's for sure," Tony nodded, knowing she wouldn't do that by the way she reacted.
"How long have you two been together?" She asked, curious. She knew how long Steve has been working with them, though she had no idea how long they were boyfriends.
"About a year," Tony answered, mumbling. She understood though. Though she was anxious and ranting—she had a feeling this would happen. She just felt the aura change around them when Tony and Steve were together. She didn't know how to explain it though.
"Keep it under wraps, don't say anything about it. Don't be too affectionate in public," Pepper explained, making rules. Tony agreed to them, though he didn't know how Steve would feel. He nodded as she droned on, and after she was finished she turned her head and eyed him. "Got it?" She asked, her eyebrow raising again.
"Got it," He gave her a thumbs up, and cleared his throat. "Where can I be…affectionate…with him?" He asked, chuckling slightly. He needed to have his usual alone time with Steve, or he probably would be very stressed and not functioning very well. Spending time with Steve was his relaxation from all the events and such he had to go to. It seemed like he never got any sleep.
"In the lab, somewhere in Stark Tower that is closed off—tell me if you would like the cameras to be turned off. I will tell them to do so to give you some alone time," She cracked a small smile, clearing her throat also. It was an embarrassing subject to bring up, and she honestly didn't want to think of Tony getting a face full of sheets as Steve doing his thing behind him or vice versa.
"Thank you," Tony gave her a thumbs up before looking around. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that," He apologized, letting out a small laugh.
"It's fine, it's fine," She shook her hands in an "it's not a problem" motion. "But now we have to go to the opening of a new car dealer—it's really big and they want you to cut the rope. News is going to be there also, channel 506," She explained, going on like their previous conversation never happened. "Steve can come too," She smiled.
"Gotcha," Tony clicked his tongue," Now let's go. We don't want to be late."