Undercover Issues

"Oh my god, Tony!" Pepper Potts walked in and found a naked Tony Stark sprawled across his side of the bed. This definitely wasn't what she expected to find after coming back from brushing her teeth.

Startled, he sat up immediately. "What?!"

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Swear to God. You can see both of my hands. I was just laying here."

"But, you are..." She gestured with her hand. "You're..."

"Naked?" he supplied.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm in bed?" Tony tried.

"Well, you...you shouldn't be." Pepper was still recovering from the initial shock and her face was flushed red. She walked to the bed and snatched the pillow from behind Tony, laying it in his lap. "Don't move it," she said, her tone letting him know it was not a suggestion.

"I don't see what the big deal is."

"The 'big deal' is you are not wearing any clothes, sprawled out for the entire world to see."

"You didn't seem to mind earlier when we..."

"I know what we did earlier," Pepper replied, trying to gather her dignity. "Why are you naked now?"

"I don't know. Sometimes, it's just something I do. You know me. You've been with me at home and in hotel rooms and...all kinds of places."

"Yes, but, that is your house and your hotel rooms, not my apartment." Pepper sat on the side of the bed with a frustrated sigh.

Tony squinted and cocked his head to the side, staring at his girlfriend's back. "This really is a big deal to you, isn't it?" Pepper nodded. "Why?"

"What if someone saw you?"

"It's not like we're 16 and afraid your mom's gonna catch us defiling your canopy bed."

"I know that but..."

"But what? Who's gonna see me?"

"I don't know. The cleaning woman."

"Your cleaning woman often come after midnight? Must be some awfully reproductive dust bunnies you got here."

"What about the paparazzi?"

"What about them?"

"What if they get pictures?"

"Of..."

"Us. You."

"Then it's a good thing I'm very photogenic."

"Just forget it. You...you wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Tony propped his back against the headboard. "Talk to me, Pep," he said, laying his hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, he patted the bed beside him.

Pepper gave him a half-smile and scooted to sit beside him. "Pictures of you here like that get out and, for you, it will be, 'Oh wow. Tony Stark's a stud for landing her.' For me, it's, 'Ha. Guess we know how she got her job.'"

"So, this is all about you being afraid people will think you slept your way to the top?"

"When you say it like that, it makes me sound shallow."

"No, it doesn't. It makes perfect sense and, actually, it's my fault. If I hadn't tried to bed everything with 2 X-chromosomes, that idea wouldn't even be out there."

"That idea has been out there as long as there have been women in the workplace, Tony. It's not just you. It's just that...well, since it is you, everything will be magnified."

"If it's any consolation, people have thought we were doing it for years."

"Not helping."

"Do you want me to stop coming here?"

"No. I know it's the first time, but I like the idea that we can be together at my apartment as well as your place."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own home."

One look in his eyes and Pepper knew he was completely sincere. "I know," she said, brushing a hand through his hair. "It's not you, I promise."

"A more insecure guy might think you were ashamed to have him for a boyfriend."

"Never! God, no. That's definitely not it. I guess...I guess I'm just too worried what other people think."

Tony took her hand and kissed it. "You want my honest opinion? People are gonna think what they want to, no matter how hard we try. So, I say we do what we are comfortable with and ignore the rest. Like wise man once said, 'those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.'"

"You're quoting Dr. Seuss now?"

"He said some pretty deep stuff," he defended. "It's not all Grinches and Whos, you know."

"Okay, but, we have to lay a few ground rules."

"Fine by me. I mean, it's your apartment and I respect that. Just as long as it's nothing outrageous, like, 'Keep your hands to yourself at all times' because, I'm telling you right now, that's not happening."

Pepper laughed in spite of herself. "No."

"Good. How's this? I shall refrain from unexpected bursts of nudity and reserve baring this fine physique for the proper places. Shower...bed...the occasional sofa romp like a couple hours ago."

"I'm sorry for freaking out about this," Pepper apologized.

"Hey, it's completely understandable. This is a lot of man to take in at one time," Tony replied with a smirk. "Although another solution to make it less awkward is for you to be naked, too."

"Nice try, Stark, but, we have an early breakfast meeting in the morning."

"Yeah, I bet you try and cover up every naked guy that was unexpectedly discovered on your bed." He noticed a slight blush to her cheeks. "No way! That actually happened?! "

"What?" Pepper said, feigning ignorance.

"The thing I said before with the canopy bed."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her cheeks reached a deeper shade of pink.

"Oh my god. It did!" By this time her entire face was red. "Teenage Pepper the cheerleader got caught making out with Biff the star quarterback." Tony was grinning like he had discovered the world's biggest secret. "Who caught you? Your mom?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"It was your mom. This is great! Even I never got caught by my mom with someone in my room. You don't still have that cheerleader outfit do you, because that would be…" Pepper grabbed the pillow from his lap and swatted him in the face, stopping Tony mid-sentence. "You totally did that just so you can see Antonio."

"You're delusional," Pepper replied.

"Should I be jealous?"

"I'm going to sleep." She turned off the bedside lamp and slid under the covers.

"Aww…don't be mad. I was just joking."

"Good night, Tony." Pepper said curtly, rolling onto her side away from her boyfriend.

"Okay."

She could feel as he lay down and settled in beside her. Pepper let him lay there for a few minutes, letting him believe she was ignoring him in anger. She sat up and said, "His name was Kevin, not Biff. No one in real life is named Biff. And, no, you should not be jealous. I never said 'I love you' to Kevin like I do you and he never got to do what you did on the couch...twice. Now, roll over and go to sleep." Before Tony could respond, she dropped a kiss on his lips, lay down, and wrapped her arm across his middle. "Good night," she whispered, much sweeter than previously. "By the way, I think my mom did keep my cheerleading uniform."

Author's note: This began as an E-mail to my best friend in one of those "Maybe there needs to be a story where..." conversations. A full day of exchanging E-mails and tossing in some Pepperony dialog resulted in the story you just read. Thanks to my best friend for being a great muse and to starkind & jules1789 for encouraging me to "hurry up and post this." The support means so much. Let me know how you like it. Reviews are wanted and welcome! Happy reading and PEPPERONY FOREVER!