Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man
The Gold Heart of Tony Stark
Viginia "Pepper" Potts was many things. Smart, caring, hardworking, and above all else a problem solver. She had to be all those things and more to keep up with her boss, the playboy billionare turned superhero, Tony Stark. But as of late she was stumped about something.
Usually Tony was predictable, she could tell what he was going to do before he did it. Having to build his schedule for the week she knew all his moves before he made them. But something kept being over looked and she couldn't put her finger on it.
Every month on the 2nd and 4th Saturday, Tony would disappear for 8 to 10 hours and come home a little winded but with a wide smile on his face. No cocky attitude, his whole persona did a complete 180 on these days. She had also noticed that every six months there would be a large sum of money put into an unamed account. And every time Pepper asked him he simply said that he had a good day. And whenever Pepper tried to assign a meeting or some event on those two days, he would immediatly tell her to re-schedule whatever it was to a different day.
She went even as far as to ask Happy, Tony's driver, bodyguard and friend. But he told her that Tony always gave him those days off. Not even Jarvis knew, and he was the coumpter in Tony's house for christ sake. She asked Rhodey next, but he was just as stumped as she was. Tony could be unpredictable at times, but this was strange even for him. So the duo came up with a plan together, they would tail Tony when he headed out again to find out what he was up to.
The second Saturday of the month came. Pepper and Rhodey sat in Rhodey's civilian car outside Tony's house and waited. And sure enough, Tony pulled out of his driveway in his Spyder and headed toward town. The two followed him, keeping a safe distance as to not be noticed.
They tailed him for over two hours as he drove up and down various roads. At first they thought he was just going for a drive since they were pretty far away from everything. Thats when they saw a building in the difference. It looked like an old building that had been just recetly renovated. The sign infront of the building read 'Saint Anne's Orphanage'. "What would he be doing here?" Rhodey wondered outloud.
Tony pulled up infront of the front door step and got out just as a nun stepped out the front door to greet him. Tony shook the old woman's hand gently as she lead him inside. Pepper and Rhodey got out of the car and trodded up to the side of the large building toward the back. There they saw a playground that had a lot of new equipment, where all the children were busy playing and having fun.
Just then the old nun and Tony walked out the back door, "Children, our guest has arrived!" The children stopped what they were doing and looked with wide smiles, "Uncle Tony!" They all shouted and ran for him, enveloping the billionare in a massive group hug. "Hay kids. Have you all been good?" Several nods were his response. Tony smiled, "Then I got a surprise for you." He produced a familiar suitcase and set it on the ground. The case broke apart and reformed over Tony, soon his Mark IV armor was on and ready.
The kids all cheered, "Who wants to go flying?" Tony asked as several kids ran up to touch the suit.
Pepper and Rhodey came out from behind the building and approached the nun, "Um, excuse me ma'am?" asked Pepper. The nun turned to them, "Oh, how are you today?" she asked kindly. "We're doing okay. Actually we were going to ask about our friend. Tony Stark." The woman smiled warmly, "He is a kindred spirit. The children here love him so much." They watched as Tony lifted each child and hovered a few feet in the air. "Is this what he does?" asked Rhodey. "He does so much more, the orphanage was going to close a few months ago when Mr. Stark came. He bought all new playground equipment, new beds, toys, games, books and educational supplies for the children. He even payed several workers to fix the building as good as new."
They watched as Tony removed his helmet and put it on a young girl's head, "He plays with the children everytime hes here. They are huge fans of Iron Man and can't wait for his visits. Thats why they call him Uncle Tony."
Pepper was shellshocked, this was nothing like the Tony she had known for years. She looked at Rhodey and he looked just as shocked as she did, "Who knew Tony had a soft spot for kids." he said with a shrug. "Guess he has secrets that we don't know about." Pepper replied.
"Hay guys." They looked up and saw Tony walk up to them holding the helmeted girl in his arms. "What are you doing here?" "We were wondering what you've been up to on days like this. Now we see that you came to visit fans." Pepper said with a smile. Tony grinned, "We'll while your here, mind giving me a hand with all these munchkins?" Having nothing better to do, Pepper and Rhodey spent the day with the children with Tony.
When they got back to Tony's place later that night, Pepper made sure to write down on every 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month for the next year; labeling them a 'Special Assignment'. She looked at Tony who was watching a baseball game with Rhodey. One thing was for sure, Tony Stark really had a gold heart under that arc reactor.
End