A/N: This takes place a year after Iron Man 2.
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or the characters in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.
Who would have thought that one click of a button would lead Tony Stark's life spiraling into abyss. Suddenly nothing made sense. How could this have happened? He was so sure of everything. He thought he knew all one had to know about her, including her dirty little secrets. Turned out he didn't and he had to find out from someone named SexyLegs25 on Twitter.
He had read SexyLegs25's tweet to him that said, "You must be so proud." It contained a link to a People magazine article that was entitled, 'Successful People You Didn't Know Modeled'
He had smirked and clicked on it, curious about what kind of throwback photo People used. But it wasn't his photo he saw. Number one on the list was Pepper Potts, CEO of the largest tech conglomerate in the world and his girlfriend. And she was half naked.
He glanced at her, trying to reconcile the photo with the image he saw now; she was seated beside him, a picture of perfect innocence as she read the latest business report of Stark Industries from her tablet, her strawberry blond hair glowing against the sunlight filtering in his living room.
He turned back to his laptop and ran a search on Virginia Potts in every current and closed publication. There were images from the various spreads that was done on her in relation to her job as CEO but there were others displaying her in skimpy clothing, sometimes none, and some with other scantily clad models.
He sent one photo up on the wall of the room.
"Honey?"
"Hmm."
"What is this?"
Pepper looked up from her tablet and he motioned to the glass wall across from them. She saw that it showed a photo of a redheaded woman in red lingerie lounging seductively on a queen sized bed. The woman was her.
"Did you have Jarvis take a photo of me in the bedroom? Tony," she put down the gadget, frowning "I told you I don't want you—"
"—that's not the work of Jarvis. He's usually more discreet than that. This is the work of some budding photographer, taking advantage of you in your youth."
She took a look at the image again and then aaahd. "I remember. That was when I first got my modeling gig. I was so nervous about where to put my hands." She giggled at the memory. "Where did you get that?"
Tony stared at her. Did she just giggle? She was weirdly not bothered by this photo.
"You modeled?"
"You didn't know? I thought you knew." She shrugged her shoulders, "They needed a redhead and I needed to pay for college and all my student loans. It's not a big deal."
Tony gawked. "But it is! I didn't know you were a model and now I—now this—my entire life has been a total lie. My girlfriend has been lying to me about who she is."
Pepper rolled her eyes and went back to reading the report while he continued, "I've always admired you as the woman who is a saint, a woman with morals and ethics and convictions who hates it when girls have to lower themselves in order to get further up the mountain that is this masculine world. I'm the messed up one in this relationship with the questionable past. What happens now that it's the both of us?"
He switched to the next image, crying "And this guy in his boxers is unzipping your pants with his teeth! How is this modeling jeans!? You have got to be kidding me. And here, you're modeling a coat and they put you in your underwear? This is ridiculous. Who wears only a bra and a pair of panties underneath a coat? Is this even legal in," he zoomed in on the copyright date, "1995?! I'm pretty sure this was considered indecent and immoral. Were you arrested for this? The director of this shoot should be."
He finally tore his eyes away from the photos and saw that Pepper had not been paying attention to him at all.
"Listen, boss, I'm gonna need a cash advance on my salary."
That got her attention.
"Why?"
"Because I'm gonna buy those photos of my girlfriend before she becomes eye candy and winds up on porn websites."
"Tony, those photos have been all over the internet since you appointed me CEO. The promotion was big news; journalists got into my history, photographers sold some old photos to get money, and now here we are. You're about a year late."
"Well, in my defense, I was busy coming to terms with my mortality." Then his eyes lit up, "How about we call—"
She wagged a finger at him, "Ah ah ah. Even if you call Phil—"
"—his first name is 'Agent.'"
"—what are you going to do about the print copies?"
Tony pouted.
"You know, I remember you googling Natalie Rushman and not being bothered in the least that she was dressed to the skins."
"That was Natalie. She's not my girlfriend. And those were just fabricated for her cover story, by the way. Her real is name is Natasha Romanoff."
Pepper rolled her eyes again as he went back to the images.
"You're not even clothed in this one! What are you modeling? Skin?" He wasn't exaggerating; she really was nude this time.
"That was part of a project going against photo doctoring and body expectations. It paid for my senior year plus my rent. Not to mention I received a call from a movie director."
"I am at a loss for words." He got to his feet and looked down on her seated form, his hands akimbo. "You showed your body to the entire world! And your name is Virginia, for crying out loud! Think of your father! Think of me!"
Her jaw dropped. "You're one to talk, Mr. I went 12 for 12 with Maxim's Cover Models."
He sat back down.
"Aren't you the least bit mad?" he asked quietly.
Her eyes softened. "About my photos leaking out? No. They were all taken with my knowledge and consent that they would be released in publications. Yes, I hate it when women have to be objectified in order to get places, that half of those photos are photoshopped, but I had to do what I can in order to help my parents pay for my education. Anyway, I managed to get where I am today without having to sleep my way to the top." She gathered his hands in hers. "Finding out about this part of me, I had expected you to be proud."
"Proud? I am incensed. I am infuriated. I am—"
"—wasn't settling down with a model on your bucket list?" she cut in, her mouth curling to form a teasing grin.
He couldn't deny that he had always seen himself getting married to a famous actress or model. That was placed under 'Get Rhodey drunk and naked in weapons demonstration.'
"I…"
"And now, not only are you in a stable relationship with the Most Powerful Woman according to Time but that said woman also used to be a model? Talk about beauty and brains. Win-win."
Tony considered that. "You've got a point. We can capitalize on this." He pulled his hands away and took out his phone from his pocket.
"What?"
"I'm calling Bambi to set up a photoshoot for a special issue entitled the Woman behind Stark Industries with a guest appearance from Tony Stark himself." He dialed her secretary, "Now, theme. We gotta think big. How about Garden of Eden? Shows that we're creating paradise not just for ourselves but for humanity. Plus, we get to be naked together! Isn't that exciting?
"Anthony Edward Stark, you hang up the phone right now!"
A/N: It was written in the Iron Man 1 novelization that Pepper used to model before she went to work in Accounting in Stark Industries. And this was the result of that tidbit. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I cackled while writing it. Tell me what you think with a review!