Of Baking and Death
The smell of something utterly delicious invaded Tony Starks sleeping mind. His eyes opened and the smell attacked him full force, awaking his stomach. Frowning, Tony walked out of his room, that was still dark, and with his keen nose (like a hound's) he followed the trail of goodness. He could make the sweet thickness of chocolate, the spice of cinnamon, the fresh mint, there was vanilla, coconut and if he dared sniff hard enough, almonds. Hazelnuts actually.
The entire house was dark, except the kitchen.
Someone was baking. An in large quantities for what he could smell.
His hand pushed the door open and he froze, frowning. He could have stepped into a bakery for all he knew; over the table were trays with mountains of cookies, and muffins. Over the large island three large cakes, what looked like a cheesecake stood gallantly dressed and adorned, on the stove what looked like a flan cooked patiently expecting the same treatment as the utterly yummy looking friends around it. Around the rest of the counter were brownies, dark rum pots, chocolate and vanilla creams in large cups that he used to serve brandy, a tray of strawberries dipped in chocolate (black and white) and by the very end and over a steaming pot Pepper was dipping cherries on the melted chocolate.
"What...in...hell?" He asked softly, not wishing to scare her. Pepper froze and slowly turned to him. Her eyes were bloodshot red and her face pale, her hair messy, her clothing covered in chocolate, flour and sugar. Under any other circumstance his brain would actually switch and ask itself how sweet she must taste. But this was not normal. "Why are you baking such amounts of sugary confections at three forty five in the morning?"
His question hit both of them; she was suddenly nervously looking around for some meaning of escape, he was frowning wondering when he'd taken a look at a clock. She sniffled, quite loudly, and retunred to her cherries, pulling out what remained of them from the chocolate and set them to cool off. "What's that?" He asked curious, yet not daring to get closer.
"Chocolate Marzipan." She placed the tray away, and then the oven beeped alive. "And that's the Irish cream brownies, that I've got to cover with the frosting I made half an hour ago." She put on her protective glove and hurried to the oven, pulling out the tray. Tony watched in amazement as she pulled out said brownie tray.
"What's wrong?"
The tray clattered loudly over the counter, and Pepper stood straight, Only now Tony realized she wasn't wearing he high heels, and with her back to him. "Nothing's wrong." She answered quickly, breathless too.
"Oh, right I forgot about us feeding Hansel and Gretel for the witch, are they on their way because I'll get the vacuum cleaner..."
"Try a cookie and go back to bed, Tony."
"Pepper..."
"Go, nothing's wrong." She sobbed out, grabbing the end of the counter with white knuckles. She sniffled, still not turning to him, and straightened. Her legs were weak beneath her, and she was trembling. Tony could honestly say he'd never seen her like this.
"Pep?"
It took a minute for her to speak. "My mother died, at 10:35 last night. She had cancer, and I didn't visit her when she was at the hospital. I was too busy." Tony kicked his ass mentally, she was probably too busy because of him. Nearing her, understanding what it was to suddenly find yourself without mom, Tony hugged her from behind, one arm wrapping around her shoulders, the other around her waist. "I didn't know what else to do, I just...found the baking powder and...I'm sorry." She continued to cry, and turned, hiding between his shoulder and collarbone, apparently ashamed of having turn his kitchen into a coliseum of sweet treats.
She kept crying, loud and painfully hard, as her body shook with sobs. He wasn't really sure how long he held her, or how they ended up kneeling on the ground; hell he didn't even notice untill she hiccuped and he found it beautiful. Her red hair, her pale skin, her blue/red eyes...Even hiccuping she was beautiful.
"I have to go," She suddenly whispered, getting up. Tony followed her with his brown gaze, frowning slightly.
"Where to?" He asked, suddenly worried of her current state of mind.
"Home, I have to go home!" She picked her laptop, that was under some deliciously soft looking, still hot and dripping layered meringue (was that suppose to be even hot?), her handbag and that small new blackberry thing she used to beat anyone with (on the phone or otherwise). She sobbed as she hurried around, picking everything he'd messed around, she'd messed around and what couldn't be helped about. Tony followed, worried still, but not really stopping her. "I have to help father prepare...for the funeral, and the wake, and call my sister have her fly here with her children and that creep of her husband..." She stopped and sobbed against a wall, finally picking her shoes and holding them tight. "I hate that guy."
Tony didn't answer, but could relate, he hated the guy too.
The next time something like this happened, years later, Tony had been too drunk to notice or care. It had been late morning, or early noon, and he had been dragging his drunken stupor through the entire night. When she arrived and had to escort two lovely naked ladies out of the house, she returned to probably give him the lecture of a lifetime. But instead she answered her phone, and paled. Tony had been singing loudly, and out of key, when she suddenly stopped moving and listened to whoever was speaking to her. Noticing she was completely ignoring him, Tony got up and continued singing, mixing the lines up, and nearing her.
He was going to have this dance, propriety be damned. She was unmoving, the phone gone dead from the other side, as his hands landed on her hips and started to move her, in a seductive dance of drunkenness. Her phone hit the ground, and her shoulders fell, her face half turned to him.
"Somewhere, beyond the sea..." He said softly, as she swayed outomatically with him, just following his lead. "Somewhere for you and me..." He hummed whatever he remembered of the song and decided it wasn't appropriate, so he shifted and turning her around, took her hand and wrapped his arms around Pepper's waist and started again. "Here's a little song I wrote and You might want to sing it note for note, Don't worry, be happy." He moved her softly, holding her hand close, quite close to his chest, and happy. Actually feeling very, very happy; Pepper was letting him dance her around the room. And he was on his underwear and smashed. "The landlord said your rent is late ... Don't worry Potts, I'll pay your rent, I'll buy you the whole building. Just call me I'll make you happy."
As he danced, and continued to sing Pepper just moved with him, cling to his back, and cried. Loud sobs that wrecked her entire constitution, and the only thing keeping her together was his silly dance. He turned to her hand and kissed it, as he would with any other nightly conquest and then turned to scratch her temple with his goatee. "Don't worry, be happy. Am I such a bad singer, Potts, that I have you crying?"
She sobbed agian, unable to respond properly to his stupid comments or to push him away, or to do anything at all. They just danced around his room, as he continued his horrible rendition of a classic. "Cause when you worry your face will frown, and that will bring everybody down, don't worry be happy."
She continued to cry, and Tony to sing. "Don't worry be happy, don't worry, it will soon pass whatever it is. Don't worry, be happy. I'm not worried..." And continued to hum the tune, amazed that he even knew the lyrics. When they stopped moving, and Pepper had stopped sobbing, for now, and she pulled away.
"Are you hungry, Mr Stark?"
He felt his own body, actually questioned it. Are you hungry body?
"Actually yes, I am."
"Then come down stairs I"ll be baking something delicious for you." And she walked out of the room. He followed, had the best crepes in the history of humanity, and passed out just feet from his bed. That night he woke up with a headache, turning to expect Pepper walking any moment into the room, and found a couple of pills, a tall glass of water and a note. He took the pills, thanking whatever angel with red hair had left them there, downed the glass of water and took the note. Basically it stated that her father had passed away, that she would be out of town for a couple of days and that he didn't knew how to sing.
A thank you was written underneath it all.
He never remembered why she could have written a thank you for. He hadn't help one bit.
Groaning, Tony realized that this time he had been a jerk. When he arrived at his kitchen he realized why she had said thank you; the fridge had been raided for every single baking supply, his entire kitchen was covered in every single imaginable baked good and he had two free days ahead.
He gained five pounds, learned to hand over sugary confections, and had Rhodey over when he mentioned 'free trouffles'.
As he sits in the darkness of a cave in Afghanistan, he knows not for how long, and Yinsen babbling about something as he shaves, Tony wonders how many dozens of cookies, cheesecakes, and other sweet treats, Pepper must have prepared by now. The glorified magnet on his chest hummed, a sound he would have to get used to for the rest of his life, and Tony closed his eyes. Rhodey must be searching for him, no one could declare him death yet (although Yinsen has said otherwise), practically he was suppose to be death anyway...
He could almost picture her; barefoot, covered in flour and sugar, crying and melting chocolate for the fresh strawberries she'd gotten out of the fridge. He'd never seen her bake before, not counting that brief glimpse as he entered the kitchen, and he actually missed it. What could she be doing right now to cramp up his already messy kitchen? He had made sure to create a small bakery corner in his pantry just for this sort of scenarios and his imagination wondered; Above the island in the center of the kitchen would be layered chocolate cakes, flans, raspberry sauce over cheesecakes, or something yummy dripping of something solidly soft. The table at the other corner, he would see covered with a wedding cake, covered with pearls and ribbons specifically made for it, small bouquet of sugar flowers adorning it's surfaces, small dots of frosting here and there...
Where had she learned to build such confeccions? Such delicious treats for the loves ones that had passed away would have been an annoyance for those who remained behind... Had her parents scolded her for such obsessive baking? Did she had any remaining family to get though this?
"Stark?" Asked Yinsen, having finish shaving with that oxidized razor he kept around (the very same he used a scalpel on Tony's chest) making Tony turn. "You seem to be thinking of something very important, you are quiet."
"Just tired." He pulled the brown dirty coat tighter around himself, and Yinsen sat before him; the other scientist didn't believe him. Tony smirked, or tried to, and turned away. "Just stuff."
"Someone important in your life."
"You could say that."
"A girl?"
"I've had many girls, Yinsen. Pepper's a woman, a queen actually."
"Oh?"
"She's been keeping me together for years now."
"A queen alright. How long have you known her?"
Meringues! Does Pepper make meringues? Probably Pavlova with raspberry sauce over berry salad; he'd tried it once, he love it. Could Pepper make that? Wasn't her's he tried?
"I don't remember." I've been drunk most of the time. It was such sad realization; specially for this new Tony Stark; who wanted to live and make a difference. If he got out alive, he promised himself, he would make sure to learn as much as possible from and of Pepper Potts. "Not a good sign, is it?" He said looking up at Yinsen's surprised reaction.
Maybe on the last of the counter she was just setting a thick brownie with gooey white chocolate chips melting within its warm center.
"No." That's why he liked Yinsen, the man was honest and straightforward. If they got out of here alive he would take him to the States, find his family and bright him to work for him. They would be geniuses at work; hell they created technology that wasn't suppose to exist.
Pie! Probably a pumpkin or sweet potato pie. His fridge was probably full to burst with cookies, he hoped that they didn't expire or something like that,and if Rhodey ate any of his truffles he was going to kill the man!
"I'm going to see her again, Yinsen. I"m sure of it." What about a torte, she was good at those. But what was Pepper Potts not good at? Yinsen smiled at him, and nodded. "And I'll have her meet you, and you'll see why I love her so much."
A second of realization, and Tony Stark was silent.
"No wonder she's your queen."
So keep baking Potts, I'll be home very soon to prove you can bake for the living.
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I got the idea for this after a fanfic I wrote in this very section! Ten bucks if you can find it, and no if you are the author you don't get the bucks (although I am broke right now...) Anyway remember to leave through the review button and have a good day!