A/N: 2/23/16: Hey guys! So, I've decided to redo this story because 1) It needed some serious grammatical TLC. 2) This story is too precious to me to let it die in such a state. Who knows, I may even continue with a new chapter…Like I planned all along…yeah. *Raises eyebrow evilly* Anyway, I enjoy this updated first chapter, and look for the others to be refreshed and revived soon!

ANYWAY! This, I hope confuses you. While I'm still madly in love with Tony, I've come to fall under the tortured, angsty spell of IMAA's Gene incarnation. This story involves him, but you'll have to read and find out how! Ain't I a stinker? Hehe.

I don't own IMAA but I do use its characters...often.

"Dreaming of her"

Some believe Dreams are the gateway to the subconscious. For what lies inside your dreams, lies inside your heart.

There he was, right on time. 7:00 o'clock on the dot. The dark haired young man stood at her apartment door, waiting anxiously for the young girl to answer. After what seemed like an eternity had passed waiting in the cool evening air, the door finally opened, revealing a familiar red-head in her everyday attire, only with the subtlest hints of make-up adorning her face. She smiled at the boy fondly, her rosy cheeks beaming, and the two left her apartment on their first date.

Pepper and the young man silently wandered down the sidewalk for a few blocks before they were met by a warmly lit outside café. The boy, fighting through his nervousness, pulled out a chair for his date in a gentleman-like fashion, hoping to himself the sweat from his palms didn't get on the chair. The two made idle conversation for a while before a waiter approached them about drinks and dinner, they ordered, but after the server left, the kids fell silent. Pepper, usually talkative and able to chat about anything, was awkward. Silent. Her date wasn't much help either. He sat quietly with his head perched on his fist.

The boy was beginning to wonder if maybe this wasn't a good idea. They sat through a few more painfully silent minutes, and soon enough, their meals arrived.

Finally, the boy thought, now we have an excuse not to talk. Pepper immediately began stuffing her face with as much of her burger as possible, leaving behind a shark bite in her sandwich. The boy marveled at how much food her mouth held, and thought about asking her if she was part chipmunk. Neither tried making conversation in between bites, so they decided to just enjoy their meal. Once the last fry had been eaten and the last drop of cola was slurped up, the boy paid for their meal.

"Thanks." Pepper expressed her gratitude by keeping eye contact for more than a few seconds. Anything longer than that would have just been weird.

"Sure," he nodded.

The two strolled own down the street away from the café, and then the uneasy conversation began again. Pepper dreaded small talk, but she really didn't know what to say to him, after all, they hadn't really talked that much to begin with, so she wasn't sure how much they actually had in common. Conversing at this point was a chore, so they both saw no point in prolonging this train wreck's end. Then an idea struck the red-head. The beach! Sure it was late, but the beach always brought back happy memories from her childhood, and they were only a couple of blocks away.

"Hey," she started, nudging her date walkiing beside her. "You wanna take a detour?"

The dark haired boy eyed her skeptically, but agreed. It's not like he had any better ideas. "Why not?"

So Pepper lead him towards the public piers in hopes of turning the night around. And surprisingly, it did. As soon as they could smell the salt air, the awkward tension in the boy's shoulders left him. He told her that the sounds of the water reminded him of a vast lake he lived near as a child. He loved to play there and swim for hours at a time. Finally, they began talking. Real, easy conversation, not that small talk from earlier. The more they talked, the more found out about one another. Turns out, they had more in common than either previously thought.

By the time they reached the end of the pier, all preconceptions were out the window and Pepper found she was enjoying herself. Relaxed at last, Pepper looked to the boy who had accompanied her that evening, and she couldn't help but smile. He glanced her way and returned a relaxed grin. It may have started out rocky, but this date was much better than a train wreck.

Sadly, though, it had to come to an end soon. It was close to curfew for Pep and they both had school the next morning. Ever so reluctantly, they walked back down the pier and started for her apartment. It took a little while to get her back home, so the two took full advantage of the six block trek, making sure not to rush too much.

Soon, Pepper's brick apartment came into view. The red-head sighed in disappointment as they climbed the concrete steps that lead to her front door.

"I guess this is goodnight," the boy stated, gazing into her bright, green eyes with a serious expression riddling his features.

"Yeah." Pepper stared at the boy, hoping he would say something else, something that didn't sound so final. I wish I knew what he was thinking, she thought. "Maybe we could do this-" she started. The red-head was rudely interrupted by the young man shoving his lips against hers'. However shocked she may have been subsided quickly, and she methodically wrapped her arms around his neck. He moved with her by sliding his arms around her back. She pulled herself closer to him in what was becoming the longest kiss she'd ever had. Actually, it was the only kiss she'd ever had. The two refused to let the other go until all the breath in their lungs had escaped. Breathlessly breaking, they took a moment, then tried for another.

But when their lips touched the second time, Gene woke up.

Gasping for air, Gene Khan shot up in his bed, looking frantically around his room, desperate to find reality again. He attempted to slow his breathing pace, but the pure insanity of his dream caused his heart to continue pounding. Was that his dream? Usually when Gene dreamed, if he wasn't plagued by nightmares, it was of finally having all the Makulan rings in his possession, and the world being under his dominion. But this...this was foreign, even for him.

Out of all the questions swirling through his mind, one stood out of the hurricane. Why would he dream of her? And especially in a setting like that? He'd never dreamed of her before, so where did this come from? He had no explanation for it.

Gene couldn't believe he would dream of Pepper in such a way. Pepper Potts? Spastic, annoying red-head with an obsession with superheroes? Couldn't have been the same girl. But when he thought about it, he didn't know any other red-headed Peppers. Gene hesitantly laid back down in his bed. He pondered what to do about such an event, and wondered if this was supposed to change things. Oddly enough, the more he replayed it in his head, the more he realized he wasn't as distraught and confused about its origins as he thought.

He remembered something from his psychology class, a saying about dreams. Dreams are the gateway to the subconscious, he recalled. So, if this were true, and this extremely implicating dream was a projection of his inner self, then what was he to do? He could dismiss it, deny he ever dreamed it, but something so stirring can't be easily forgotten. What did this mean for him?

Well, to put it simply, maybe it meant he doesn't know himself as well as he thought. And maybe he cares more for Pepper than he allows himself to think. You never know what a dream can mean.

So, what do yall think. And you know what comes next...

Hey I just posted this...and this is crazy...but since you've read it...review it maybe?t.