Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man…oh my gosh, I now realize how much life sucks! Crap!
A/N: Hello people! I know that some of you might be readers who have me on your author alert list and others might be new to my style of writing. I just wanted to say that I hope you like my Iron Man stories and that these are going to be so out of order from the actual Pepperony 100 list that it's not even sorry. Sorry, but I write where my muse inspires! Hope you enjoy! Please review and flames are welcome!
Revelations
62. Identity
"Come on Pepper, you know you love me," Tony Stark said from his place on the sofa next to his red headed personal assistant, Virginia "Pepper" Potts.
"Which you are you referring to Mr. Stark?" she asked, not looking up from her laptop, not wavering in her typing.
Tony paused and looked at Pepper, eyebrows raised. "What do you mean by that Ms. Potts?"
Pepper stopped typing and closed the laptop, taking a deep breath. "Well, the way I see it, there are three Tony Starks."
"The first Tony Stark is the billionaire playboy who brings home a different woman almost every night. He gets as drunk as he can in the smallest amount of time he can and doesn't care about any of the consequences that will come of it. He's able to sell weapons for his company without breaking a sweat and while he did disappear for the most part when you were captive in Afghanistan, he does still make an occasional appearance if you need a bogus mask to get the media off your back.
"Tony Stark number two is your other mask, Iron Man. He's the unstoppable force that was created to drive fear into the hearts of the wicked and bring justice to those who can't get if for themselves. He's cold and emotionless because emotions will only get in the way. Iron Man can't have anything for himself since he's afraid it will be destroyed. He's reckless and runs into a fight without thinking things through which usually gets him into trouble. But he is what he is meant to be, a hero.
"And then there's the third you. The one that comes out when there aren't any cameras and there aren't any emergencies or villains. That Tony Stark is funny, caring, determined, protective. He can look me in the eye and tell me the truth without a hint of sarcasm. He's willing to ask for help if he needs it and he's more than willing to help when he sees a need. And while he doesn't wear a suit of armor, he's still ready to defend and he's still a hero…" She trailed off, like she wants to add something but instead she opts for a deep breath. Tony can see tears in her eyes, but he's speechless. "So Mr. Stark," she continued after a minute to regain her composure, "if you're going to ask if I love you, you might want to specify which you you are talking about."
With that, Pepper wet the laptop on the coffee table, stood up and headed for her alcove.
Tony sat and thought about what Pepper had just said. He hadn't realized it, but there were three sides to the great Tony Stark…maybe he had a multiple personality disorder…nah!
The way Pepper had sounded, she clearly did not love the billionaire playboy, but he had known that. That side of him thrived on chaos and Pepper was the definition of order. What about Iron Man though? It sounded like she was fond of the idea, but not the way he carried it out. Iron man was reckless and he was cold, but Tony couldn't think of a way to fix that. Metal was cold and he himself was reckless, no matter what side of him it was. It was his nature.
And then there was his third side. Her voice had been full of affection when she spoke of it. She had called him a hero; the average joe side of him was the hero. But the way she said the word, and how she had stopped herself…had Pepper been about to say that he was her hero?
Tony stood and strolled down the hall to her alcove. She was standing at the window, staring out at the ocean. The sunlight illuminated the tear streaks on her face and the silence was broken only by her quiet sobs. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Pepper jumped at the sudden contact.
"Shh, it's just me," Tony said, whispering in her ear. "I'm the funny protective one without the armor," he added with a grin. Pepper laughed and found herself being turned around to face her boss. "Now Pepper Potts," he said as his brown eyes met her blue ones, "do you love me? This is me, forget the other me's for a minute, forget the masks. This is who I am, do you love me?"
Se stared at him for a minute, tears still in her eyes. Then she nodded and smiled. "Yes Tony, I love you."
He grinned and kissed her briefly. Then her head was against his chest and his face was buried in her hair. He held her and they swayed back and forth in front of that window. And Tony realized something else. Iron Man was the superhero, Tony Stark billionaire playboy was his secret identity, but only Pepper knew his secret secret identity and that's exactly how he wanted to keep it.
Okay folks, well, that's my first try at the Pepperony 100 and the next one will be up real soon! Please review! You know you want to!