Just a little plot idea that wouldn't leave me alone - Enjoy!
It was an executive meeting.
The whole board was there, including the head of SI in Tokyo. It was an annual get together and probably the most important meeting of the year. Stark Industries had a lot of new weapons coming out this year and there was a lot to discuss.
Tony however, much to the growing annoyance of Pepper, appeared to be paying very little, if any attention to what was being said.
He was slouched back in his seat, top button undone, tie loose and black shades on. He'd been out last night. It hadn't been one of his usual benders, he hadn't, thankfully, ended up in the tabloids again. He'd clearly had far too much fun though, judging by the state he was in. Pepper had to wonder how she'd managed to get him here in the first place. It hadn't been an easy feat.
"Antony Edward Stark, if you don't get up this instant I will tell Jarvis to turn the music up in your room!" Pepper yelled up the stairs of the mansion. She'd been telling him for weeks now that this meeting was important. She'd gone to extreme measures to ensure that he was fully aware of it. She'd left post-it notes all over his workshop. She'd even put one under the hood of the Hot Rod, knowing that there was no way he could miss it. That hadn't stopped him from going out though, or drinking.
And now, with an hour to go he was still in bed, almost definitely hung-over and asking Pepper to reschedule it.
Pepper tapped her heel in irritation and glanced at her watch. He had five minutes to get out of bed or she was going to resort to drastic measures. She could hear no movement up-stairs and decided to head up. How simple would her life be if she didn't have to bother with irritating billionaires? Probably quite boring, a small voice in her head responded.
She stepped into Tony's darkened room and sighed as she spied the billionaire, sprawled across his bed, still dressed in the clothes he'd gone out in last night. She sighed. "Jarvis, music and lights," she said. Music blared out into the now light room. Tony groaned and grabbed a pillow, placing it over his head.
"I've told you countless times that this meeting is important," she told him over ACDC.
Tony muttered something incoherent, Pepper however, understood.
"No, I already told you, we can't reschedule, the meeting has been in your diary for months now. You had plenty of warning."
He groaned again, "Jarvis, please stop!" he exclaimed. But the music continued.
He threw the pillow to the floor and glared at Pepper, his eyes were bloodshot, his hair suitably messed and there were bags under his eyes. He looked a wreck, Pepper thought, if not a little adorable. "What did you do to Jarvis?" He asked, his voice hoarse.
"Shower, now." was Pepper's response.
Tony continued to stare at her, but Pepper held his gaze. After a short while he broke off. "Alright, I'll go in the shower," he said. "Just please stop the music, I think my head's going to implode."
"Jarvis mute." Pepper said and the AI complied. Tony looked completely flabbergasted. She'd keep him guessing at what threat she used towards Jarvis to get him to only obey her.
"You need to be ready in half an hour," Pepper said. "Happy will be here soon." Tony waved a hand in dismissal and she left the room.
It had been a struggle all the way to SI. Tony had been acting like a petulant child and it was more than grating on Pepper's nerves. All she needed him to do was turn up to the meeting and pay attention, or at least look like he was paying attention.
Also, whomever thought giving him a swivel chair was a good idea needed their head examined. He was swinging from side to side in his seat, causing it to squeak slightly. She should have sat next to him so she could control him better, rather than across the table. The whole board would notice if she leaned over the table and stopped the chair.
Instead she shot him a glare. She wasn't sure he'd noticed her at first because his eyes were masked by his sunglasses, but then he smirked slightly, sat up in his chair and pulled a pad of paper towards himself. He made a show of pulling a pen out of his inside pocket and clicked it a few times. Pepper refrained from rolling her eyes.
The head of customer relations Gary Whitaker, who was currently giving a speech on how well the public had reacted to their last campaign shot Tony a glare. Tony however, was either oblivious or just couldn't care less. He was now jotting down something on the page, and although Pepper hoped he was taking notes on the meeting, she was almost certain that it was a new idea or equation that he suddenly felt compelled to work through or jot down.
At least it now looked like he could potentially be taking notes. Pepper tuned back into Gary Whitaker's speech and continued to take notes on the meeting. If Tony wasn't going to pay attention, then she sure as hell was.
The meeting continued for another hour, and thankfully Tony seemed completely engrossed in the piece of paper in front of him. Pepper had glanced up a couple of times because she was sure he was watching her, but every time she'd looked up his gaze was on the paper.
Once the meeting had finished the various board members slowly left the room, taking their notes and briefcases with them. Soon everyone had vacated the room, other than Pepper and Tony.
Tony noticed the sudden quite that had descended and sat up, looking around. "Is it over?" he asked. "That dragged on a bit."
Pepper didn't respond, instead she collected up her notes, shuffling the papers together.
Tony stretched in his chair, cracking his knuckles above his head and then stood up. "I'm starved," he said. "Lets go to Burger King! I could murder a cheeseburger right now. I'll see you in the car." With that he left the room with his usual swagger, hands in pockets.
Pepper brought her hand up to her head; she could feel a slight headache coming on. She loved her job, and she wouldn't want to change it for the world, but sometimes she just wished Tony wouldn't be Tony so much.
She walked around the table and caught sight of the various pages of scribbled notes that Tony had left on the table. There were several sheets, all covered in equations and doodles of various car parts, or what Pepper assumed were car parts. She started to gather them up, knowing that even if Tony didn't want them that it wasn't best to leave anything he'd potentially invented in the meeting just lying around. It wouldn't do well in the wrong hands.
That was when one of the sheets slipped out from the others and floated down to the floor. Pepper sighed and bent down to pick it up, turning it over. She paused as she saw what was on the other side.
Pepper knew Tony could draw. She'd seen him draw up perfect schematics for weapons in a heartbeat. His drawings were always so precise and structured and she figured it came with being an engineer. If any calculation was wrong or incorrect then it would fall apart, and when she thought about it, that was all drawing was. A series of lines or shapes that all had to fit together in a certain way or pattern to create a picture. It was only logical that Tony could draw.
That still didn't stop her from feeling startled as she looked down at the drawing across the A4 piece of paper. It had been done in biro, and there were no faults, every line and curve was in the right place. There had been no readjustments or anything that had been crossed out. It was perfect.
It was a drawing of her, with hair was tucked behind one ear and her head bent over her notes as she concentrated on the meeting. There were a few scribbles around the drawing, an odd equation or word written down, but in the far corner Pepper spotted her name, scrawled out in Tony's handwriting with the date next to it. There was nothing really unique or special about it really, it was just a drawing after all, and Tony was always doodling. Normally it's cars or weapons though, she thought, it's never you.
Pepper took one last look at the drawing and then tucked it away with the others. Then she straightened up and left the room.
"About time Potts," Tony called out the window of the car as she walked towards the vehicle. "I was thinking about sending out a search and rescue party." Pepper got into the car after giving a brief hello to Happy.
"To Burger King!" Tony announced.
"You left your notes in the meeting," Pepper said, handing the sheets she'd collected over to Tony.
He flicked through them quickly, picking out a couple of sheets and handed the rest back to Pepper, including the drawing. "You can throw the rest," he said, folding the selected sheets away into his jacket.
Pepper put the rest with her current notes; secretly glad she could keep the drawing.
Tony yawned and stretched in the backseat, "I'm sorry I forgot about the meeting Pepper," he then said, his tone for once serious. "I promise I'll remember next year."
Pepper gave a small smile. Sometimes Tony being Tony wasn't so bad. "Don't make promises you can't keep," she said. "You don't know where you'll be next year." She said.
"Well, as long as you're around I'm sure I'll get there on time."
A year later.
Pepper was sat in her kitchen. She felt numb to her bones and the silence around her seemed deafening.
Rhodey had just called her from Afghanistan, Tony's convoy had been attacked and he was missing. They had no idea where he was.
He was supposed to be on a plane coming home right now, but there was a possibility that he would never come home now. Pepper's hand shot to her mouth as she bit back a sob.
He would be fine, she was sure, she had to keep telling herself that. Rhodey said he was going to do absolutely everything he could to find him.
It was also the annual executive board meeting tomorrow. Pepper remembered the conversation that preceded last years and nearly laughed at the irony of it all. Nobody could have predicted that this would happen.
She stood up. She had to do something. She couldn't just sit around moping and feeling numb. She walked up into her room, not sure where she was headed or what she was intending to do. She found herself automatically heading towards her desk. She pulled open the draw and rifled through the various documents and bits of paper until she came across it. The drawing Tony had done of her, she'd never had the heart to throw it out.
She sat down on the floor, taking in the lines of the image and then broke down, tears rolling down her cheeks and landing onto the page. "Just come home," she muttered to herself. "Please just come home."
I know it has a bit of a sad ending - but we all know it turns out alright in the end! This idea wouldn't seem to leave me alone so I'm glad I got it down. If you leave a review i'll see if I can get Tony Stark to come and do a drawing of you :P