blurgh. so this was supposed to be a set of...something insightful on part of pepper's mind. but i have nothing else to add. oh the wells.
GRAVITAS
As much as Tony teases that Pepper thinks about him at night -
the truth is, she does.
She does think about Tony.
As much as Tony teases that Pepper thinks about him at night - the truth is, she does. She does think about Tony.
It scares her, some nights (it could be most nights, but Pepper knows how to shut off her brain when it comes to her job; otherwise she'd go downright insane), when she looks at what Tony has done, what and who Tony is now, what Tony will do.
He was the Merchant of Death, and while he's not directly involved in weapons anymore... The reality - the frightening reality - is that he remains directly responsible for the deaths of many.
Pepper's not naive, saintly, or any paragon of morals. She knew what she was getting involved in, when she applied and became employed by SI. So, she understands the motivations of his actions. She gets it. She gets him. She gets that from the other side: the deaths of those that "deserve" Iron Man's wrath amount to a "greater good," in the end game of protecting more innocent lives. And... Pepper can't exactly despair when she sees the benefits.
However. She still feels uncomfortable (intensely so) when leaving him fresh coffee, a meal, fruit, or snacks, on one of his worktables, because it's fuel, supplying him energy in such efforts for world peace. When she helps to recharge one of the bots, because they are fuel too, helping Tony do...whatever it is that Tony does.
(She has a part in it all, too. In fact - she's always had her part in it all. And she's just that much more scared.)