A/N: I have had writer's block. And I'm not sure it hasn't gone either. PLus my dog got sick; and people at work started thinking I'm actually a capable employee, so I've been bogged down with work. :P Edit:
Feedback is love, children.
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The lily was small, petite; with a deep orange blush at its throat. From here sprang five delicate cream coloured petals, which tapered forward like pale fingers into five narrow tips. To complete the whole effect, the entire corolla was dusted with a fine smattering of cinnamon coloured freckles.
The Asiatic lily. So beautiful and so rare.
And so perfectly Pepper Potts.
He closed his eyes and breathed in its delicate fragrance. Vanilla with perhaps a hint of something akin to lavender. God, it even smelled like her, he thought as he stepped back to survey his handiwork. The entire workshop was filled with Asiatic lilies. From the floor to the ceiling, heavy white flower heads the size of his hand peeked out in every conceivable direction; lending the area a pure sort of beauty that Tony was sure it had never seen before. He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction as he began putting away the junk that was lying around. He decided to tuck in a few daylilies among the white flowers. They were Pepper's favourite and wove a touch of gold into the white. After all, the place had to look presentable.
"Whaddaya think, Jarvis? Think she'll like it?" he asked, as he wiped away an errant spot of grease onto his already filthy t-shirt. "I believe Miss Potts' favourite flower is actually the pink thistle, sir." replied the AI. Tony rolled his eyes as he stooped to pick up a fallen lily flower. "The thistle is a weed, Jarvis. And her favourite flower is the daylily." "I believe you are only partially right, sir. Her public favourite lower is indeed, the daylily." The AI paused before continuing quietly. "However, it is my opinion that the pink thistle would be more suited for this... particular occasion."
Tony turned in the direction of the speakers, listening to the disembodied voice that was Jarvis. He twirled the stem of the showy white blossom between his fingers and smiled to himself.
Trust Potts to like pink thistles.
Scrappy little flower too, he mused. Thorny on the outside and pink and soft on the inside. He looked at the fragile flowers of the white and yellow lilies around him and his smile widened. "You know what, Jarvis? I believe you're right. Call Stabler and have him find me some pink thistles."
Tony placed the lily on the table top and began walking up the stairs. As he got into the shower he began to wonder when he had realised that Pepper Potts meant the whole world to him. Maybe it was when she'd looked at him with those red rimmed eyes of hers as he'd stepped off the plane. Maybe it was when she'd been willing to stick around with him after the whole 'I am Iron Man' fiasco. (He was still hearing about that one and it had already been 3 weeks). Maybe it was because they just blended together so well.
Maybe it was the day he'd seen the blonde haired Aaron Eckhart look-alike hanging around her desk.
Tony scowled as he slid into the Audi R8. What did Pepper see in that guy anyway? He pushed the gear into fifth as the car raced down the road. Not that it mattered really; because he'd given Pepper an obscene amount of work that had kept her monumentally busy while he'd planned all of this. And he'd gotten her Asiatic lilies and pink thistles. Take that fake Aaron Eckhart bastard! And anyway, bad looks aside, the guy even behaved like such a… dumbass. Tony rolled his eyes in disgust as he parked the car. His plan was simple.
Step one, Find Potts.
Step two, take Potts to the workshop (preferably blindfolded, but he hadn't worked out how yet).
Step three; overwhelm Potts with thoughtful gift of flowers.
Step four, kiss Potts senseless.
And step five, well… He grinned to himself as he stepped into his office.
A half an hour later he was hiding behind the door; sneaking peeks at the desk where his assistant usually sat. She hasn't come in yet apparently.
Stabler had come through though; and as soon as he'd entered his office he'd found six pink thistles duly wrapped in cellophane on his desk. He'd bunched them together, and tied a white silk ribbon around to hold them in place. (And so maybe it wasn't the perfect bouquet – actually he thought it was rather ugly and plain looking – but it was the thought that counted right?) Now all he had to do was nervously rock back and forth on his heels; only pausing intermittently to suck on his finger (he'd scratched it tying the damn flowers together) as he waited for her to come.
Where the hell was she?
His traitorous mind had already begun conjuring scenarios that involved Pepper blowing off work to be out on a date with fake Aaron Eckhart. (And none of them ended with her slapping him away, quite far from it in fact). As it was, he was so caught up in his fantasies (newer ones though, where he beat the shit out of fake Aaron Eckhart) that he almost jumped out of his skin when he heard footsteps. Pausing only to smother his hair into place, he stepped out with a charming smile on his face.
And almost walked into fake Aaron Eckhart.
Tony casually slid the bouquet behind his back as he sized up his competition. Not for the first time, he wondered what Pepper saw in this blonde ass that looked like a poster child for Surfer Magazine. As he observed the sheer blondeness of the man, it took all of his willpower to not deck him right there. But he knew he'd have hell to pay with Pepper if he did. And besides, why pass up a chance to intimidate the guy?
Tony stuck out his hand and smiled wolfishly, showing all of his teeth. "Hi. I'm Tony. How may I help you?" Fake Aaron Eckhart smiled lopsidedly in return as he shook Tony's hand with a firm grip. "Wow! The great Tony Stark himself. Hi, I'm Malcolm. And please, call me Mal. I'm here to meet Ginny." Tony looked at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Ginny? Who is - oh, you mean Pepper. She should be around soon. Why not have a seat while we wait?"
As they sat down, Tony looked at Mal-the-Blonde-One surreptitiously. He'd called Pepper Ginny. Which was a nickname. (Sure it wasn't imaginative or cute like Pepper, but it was a nickname. And only he was allowed to give Potts nicknames goddamnit! ) The thorns of the thistle pricked his hand again, and he unthinkingly set down the bouquet on the table. Mal-the-dipshit looked at the flowers. "Thistles? An... unusual choice of flower, I must say. Who're they for?"
Tony cursed himself and the thorns as he wiped his bleeding hand on his trousers. "They're mine. My… um, niece gave them to me. She, uh, she likes them." he said quickly, fingering the pink flowers on the table. Mal-the-dumbass laughed. "Yeah... Kids'll be kids. Now Ginny, she likes yellow daylilies."
Tony smiled with barely suppressed glee.
The bastard didn't even know her favourite flower. Score one for Team Stark!
"I wouldn't know. Pepper can be very… unpredictable at times. So how do you know her? Old college buddy? Neighbor? Brother?" he asked innocently.
Pshh. What a dickweed. Pepper'd have him out on his ass in no time.
Mal-the-ignorant laughed uproariously and began to speak. Tony smiled to himself as he only half listened to what the idiot was saying. And with a laugh like that, well, Tony couldn't believe he'd been worried about competition from this guy. Suddenly he caught the tail end of what Mal-the-dickweed was saying and froze.
"What did you just say?" asked Tony, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Mal-the-fuckhead looked at him smugly as he settled back into his chair.
"I said, I've known Ginny for the past four years, and that I'm her fiancé."
TBC
A/N: Yes, I DO think Aaron Eckhart is freakishly weird looking and inordinately blonde. Review please!