Pepper gets through the rest of the week smoothly and confidently. In other words, she avoids Tony whenever possible because, it was true, she couldn't think straight when he was around. It was because of the affliction called 'Tony' which led to a self-medicated ritual of after work wine. It was disconcerting how much he had an effect on her. Slightly hung over from a particularly vigorous treatment the previous evening, she finds herself staring at him distractedly, chewing on her fountain pen absently as she contemplates his and her evening's plans.
He would pick her up at 7 in one of the many ridiculous beasts he kept cooling in his workshop, then roar off to whatever hot new restaurant. That was a fact. Unfortunately, that was all she knew for sure. She didn't want to admit it, but he made her nervous. Not just because of the chemistry that ran like live wires between them, but because she could never predict where his impulsiveness would lead them to next. It was because of this she decided to give herself a little medicine before the dinner. After all, if he was the disease and she would be in contact with him all evening, it was best to be precautious.
At 5 o'clock on Friday Pepper scampers quietly out of her office and not twenty minutes later is home. Home for Pepper is a quiet little neighborhood in the hills, in which cute villas reside in harmony with nature. Wild, enormous trees existing with petite rose bushes and the like are taken care of lovingly by the well-off residents that live there.
It is a delicious plum twilight and Pepper indulges in it from her shaded perch. She sighs deeply and stretches her arms high above her head, careful not to spill the half glass of a deep burgundy wine she has cupped between her delicate fingers. She gives a half-smile as she settles back down leisurely on the tree branch, propping her back and head on the spiny backrest of the trunk. She is taking a generous sip of the earthy alcohol when she hears the telltale roar of a well-oiled, powerful engine. She drops her arm, and it hangs over the branch, hidden within the leaves. She waits with a confident smirk.
It wasn't her intention to start the evening's events in such an…inebriated fashion. However, Pepper feels that in order to quell her nerves and loosen up, a glass of wine was in order. Or two. It was only after she felt the familiar buzz that she decided to get dressed and politely wait for Tony outside on the white veranda swing. However, after stepping outside, she spontaneously decided to climb the old Maple tree halfway between the street and the house and wait for him there. It seemed to be a way to gain power and control over her date, who tricked her into the date in the first place. It was a way to get him back. The logic didn't quite click right in her head but, hell, who gave a fuck? She climbed the old rope ladder left over by the previous owners, who had mischievous twins, with practiced ease. It was only by her inborn grace that she was able to manage to keep her wineglass from spilling and her black Armani pumps from slipping. Reaching her destination on a fairly horizontal branch, she sits down, her legs hanging over the branch and reaches over to pull up the ladder. She then is able to relax, and does so by twisting her body around the branch and leaning back on the trunk of the tree. She takes a gulp of her wine and waits calmly.
The engine cuts abruptly. There is a longish pause before she hears the click of the car door open and slam shut in the calm late summer air. Then: footsteps, even and confident. Pepper tilts her head and peers between the dark leaves and branches. She is immediately rewarded to see a well-toned backside receding towards her villa on the stone walkway. She leers conspicuously, emboldened while hidden within the greenery. She sits up and leans forward, straddling the branch. She doesn't bother to adjust her form-fitting cherry cocktail dress riding around her hips, or the killer black high heels hanging precariously off her slender feet. Instead, she sips the drink mechanically while glimpsing the head of dark unruly hair bobbing around on her front porch. As if she were watching a monkey at the zoo, Pepper looks on with mild interest at the movements of Tony Stark.
She watches interestedly as his full bodied form comes into focus when he sits down on her stoop. She is surprised when he carefully places a velvety red rose on the porch by his left hip. She wants to jump down, but she feels she is too invested in her position to move. So, she continues to watch as he runs a hand through his hair and checks his chrome watch, which internal workings boasted the most accurate time that technology could provide. She expects him to storm off, but instead he leans back, sighs, and watches as the stars come out. They are bright and magnificent when seen away from the light and pollution of the city. Pepper sighs and looks up too, smiling as she glimpses the red star Venus and the bright blue star Mars through the silhouetted matrix of Maple leaves. She leans back indulgently and feels her heart drop as her black shoe does the same: it lands with a soft thump on the grass ten feet below. Pepper freezes, her heart pounding as she desperately cranes her neck through the leaves to see if Tony notices.
"Shit," she hisses quietly to herself as Tony starts at the unexpected noise. He walks over towards the offending shoe and squats to pick it up. Assessing the bizarreness of the situation he straightens, holding the shoe loosely in his hand. Pepper gasps silently when he looks up.
"Pepper?"
"…". Damn it, she didn't think this far into her plan. She didn't expect him to actually find her. She groans internally. This it what spontaneity does to and unpracticed rookie in the craft, albeit a slightly wasted one. What gave her the audacity to wear her shoes, her shoes, up the tree? She glances blearily at the empty glass clutched in her left hand. Oh.
He squints his eyes and wrinkles his brow, peering into the gloom. "Pepper?" he again repeats.
From her position in the trees, she watches Tony as he tilts his head up. It is a bizarre effect. His face looks distorted and strangely contrast-y by the bright blue light filtering up through his navy blue dress shirt. She continues to say nothing until she feels her left heel slide tauntingly down her foot. Panicking, she jerks her foot up to stop it but it's too late.
Tony's head jerks his head up further when he hears a small voice exclaim, very distinctly, 'fuck'. He doesn't see the dark shoe coming in the duskish light. Not a second later he is thwacked in the forehead by the Armani's mate, as though it were screaming with revenge for the horror Tony put the other through by holding it. He stumbles back in surprise and trips over an especially thick tree root. He lands ungracefully on his ass, Pepper notes with mortification, and in the process flings the shoe in his hand halfway across the lawn in order to catch himself.
"Ouch…Pepper". He draws out her name somewhat hysterically and Pepper has to hold herself back from abandoning ship and hightailing it back inside the house.
Tony looks at her indistinct form through the leaves, scowling. "Why, and by what means, are you in that tree?"
Mutely, Pepper pushes the rope ladder down. He stares at it, eyebrows raised. He scrambles to his feet and hesitantly starts the ascent. The ladder swings alarmingly, but he manages to haul his bulky frame up and sit next to Pepper, who discreetly scoots over. They sit in awkward silence for about a minute bathed in the soft light from his arc reactor. Pepper decides to break the silence the same time Tony does.
"Sorry", she mumbles the same time he says, "Pepper, you naughty girl."
Pepper stares at him with an ashamed look on her face. Tony looks back, amused.
"What, did you think I'd reprimand you, or something?"
"Mr. Stark. We are in a tree. In my yard. You just got hit in the face with one of my fairly expensive Armani shoes…" Pepper drawls, attempting to define the absurdity of the situation. "You…" She doesn't get to finish.
"Do I smell alcohol on your breath?" Tony asks astonishingly.
"There is no reason for me to be drinking this early, Mr. Stark. I am fully able to restrain myself when it comes to…" she slurs slightly.
"Is that…is that…a wineglass?"
Pepper looks at it in horror as though seeing it for the first time and attempts to dispose of the evidence by throwing it into the adjoining house's bush. Before she is able to, Tony is able to lean over and grasp her wrist. He plucks the glass from her hand and sniffs the contents disapprovingly.
"Explain."
"I…" Pepper starts, but Tony doesn't allow her to finish.
"Forget it, Potts. Let's get you out of this tree."
He helps her to scoot over close to the rope ladder. He holds her hand firmly as she lowers herself onto the rungs above him. He stays one rung below her feet so he is able to hold her waist and prevent her from falling. Slowly and carefully, they are able to make it on the lawn safely. Pepper collects her shoes while Tony looks on, hands in his pockets, leaning against the tree with an unreadable expression on his face. Her shoes in hand, Pepper beckons to Tony as she mounts the veranda steps and opens the front door. Tony follows apprehensively, noting the slight tremble in Pepper's stride. He closes the door behind him and joins Pepper in the kitchen, where she is pouring herself and Tony healthy rations of scotch.
"What about dinner?" he asks.
"Right. Dinner. Let's do away with the prelude, Stark. We both know what you're here for," she says with an uncharacteristic coldness.
"Pepper…what are you talking about?" He can hear the confused desperation in his voice.
Mutely, she hands him his glass and, taking hers, shuffles to the couch. She glowers at him.
Tony looks at her blankly. With nothing to say, he takes a sip of the whiskey, eyeing her warily over the rim.
She sighs, and puts her glass down. "Tony…you can't help who you are. I just…want this to go well. I don't want to get hurt. I don't want you to leave me after we have sex. I just can't figure you out," she concludes sadly.
With a little alcohol into her, her thoughts fly unchecked out of her mouth, and her emotions are worn for all to see. He can clearly see now that underneath that cool and calm surface, she is insecure. He too, sighs and joins her on the couch.
"Pepper, I won't leave you," he says with certainty.
Pepper eyes him and takes a drink. "But how do you know?"
"Because I….I just know, okay?" he says frustratingly.
"Tony, I…" Pepper starts, lifting her free hand and stroking his cheek tenderly. Tony smiles softly and covers her hand with his own, leaning into the touch. He stills himself, closing his eyes. He can't see the constellation of emotions scattering across Pepper's face. Fear, anxiety, tenderness, confusion…hastily she breaks the connection and leaps from the couch.
"Why can't you just trust me, Pepper?" he yells.
"I really want to Tony, but I just…can't."
Tony is startled to see tears brimming in her green eyes.
"I want you more than I've ever wanted anything. It's just…we can't."
"We can't?" he whispers, stunned.
"I can't," she clarifies.
He sets his drink down on the counter abruptly. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Miss Potts," he says monotonously. Then he crosses the sitting room and, without looking at her, opens the front door. He pauses, staring blankly outside.
"Pepper, I didn't come here to just bed you. I just thought, you know, we could spend some time, get comfortable with each other when we're not in a professional setting. Because I want this, I want a relationship with you, the girl of my dreams. I never felt this way with anyone before and I really wanted this to work out. I'm sorry."
He glances at her forlorn expression over his shoulder before leaving and closing the door behind him. He hadn't expected to be so forthright with his emotions so soon. But, it was better this way. He feels his eyes tear up slightly as his heart breaks a little underneath the arc reactor. She just wasn't ready to get this serious, this soon. But it was just dinner, he thinks puzzlingly. Why did it have to end like this?
"Tony!" Pepper shouts.
Tony turns around dejectedly, and to his astonishment, sees Pepper running across the lawn towards him. Reaching him, she bends over a little, gasping.
"Tony…don't leave me," she says, looking up at him, grabbing his shoulders earnestly.
"No, Pepper, I won't leave you."
She threads her fingers behind his head and gently pulls his head down. Her lips meet his and they kiss softly for a full minute under the unnaturally bright stars before reluctantly breaking away. Catching his breath slightly, Tony rests his forehead on hers.
"Is that all, Miss Potts?" he asks gently, hands on her shoulders.
"Yes, Mr. Stark, that is all," she says tearfully with a smile, and takes his hand and pulls him back inside.
