Salt and Pepper

Gene returns after his betrayal nearly a decade ago, but he isn't intent on earning his friends' forgiveness and Pepper is none too keen on giving it.

Pepper opened her eyes and blinked several times before realizing she was awake. Her body felt strangely numb and disconnected from her. "Wh…Where…?" She attempted to sit up, but her muscles simply wouldn't respond to her brain signals.

A hand touched her cheek and she looked up, focusing in on the face above her. There was a man kneeling down and leaning into her face. She scrutinized his face as her vision cleared and was able to make out black, coal-like eyes.

Pepper exhaled slowly and reached up to touch the man's face. "Is that you, Tony?" She murmured more to herself than to him, and he brought his other hand up over hers. "Hey, Pepper." He voiced softly, stroking her cheek.

She opened her mouth to speak but paused suddenly, and furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't… I can't remember what…or where…" She stuttered, and Tony nodded in understanding. "I know, which is why you need to wake up." He explained, and she only stared at him, at a loss for words.

"Pepper, wake up." He repeated, but the words didn't seem to be coming out of his mouth. She stared at him questioningly but he only stared back at her urgently. "You have to—"

"Wake up!" A voice shouted, shocking her back into reality. Her eyelids flew open and she let out a loud, strangled gasp. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and all see could see ahead of her was people screaming and running in frenzy.

Someone leaned over her and smoothed out her hair. She blinked until the light faded in her eyes and she was able to see properly. "Tony?" She mumbled incoherently to herself, but she saw Rhodey leaning into her face, his eyes were frantic with apprehension.

A spot of blood dripped onto her cheek and she grimaced, touching a hand to her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Pepp—" He spoke in a hushed tone, smearing the blood away from her face with his thumb. It was then that she noticed the long, deep cut on his forehead.

"What's going on?" She heard herself ask him, her words heavy and slurred. "You're going to be OK." Suddenly Rhodey's voice was barely audible above the chaos as she took in her surroundings. Pepper heaved herself onto her elbows and her head began to swim. She ached all over; why did her body feel so goddamn heavy?

A loud crash sounded from across the room and people immediately began to scurry towards the exit like wild ants. Rhodey tried to lay her back down but she fought him off.

"Where's Tony?" She mumbled feebly, pushing herself up and attempting to stand. Her limbs felt like lead and her arms were very nearly useless against her sides. She growled and kicked her heels off as her ankles began to feel weak. "Nnn—"She cringed as she felt a growing headache pound against her skull.

What the hell happened? She rubbed her temples, trying to piece the memories back together. Her eyes followed the destruction in the hall—overturned chairs and tables, broken bits of plates and glasses—to the hordes of screaming guests. Wait—guests. Guests?

"Watch it!" Tony's voice startled her, and she whirled around in hopeful relief. Before she could utter a single word, however, she was thrown back by a massive blast. The entire hall shook, threatening to collapse, and her back hit the wall with a resounding thud. "Pepper!" Rhodey shouted to her from a distance. She slid to the ground, arching her back with pain, and let out an exhausted moan.

"Stark!" A familiar voice yelled, and her chest tightened in alarm. That voice…Why can't I place it? She clutched her head suddenly and inhaled sharply as memories of the incident came flooding back to her. They were at a dinner—no, they were hosting a charity dinner when there was an explosion, and…he appeared. She followed the direction of the voice with her eyes slowly as a shudder crept down her spine.

There was a man clad in a black tuxedo facing opposite Tony, who looked frazzled and beat up. The man's hair was jet black, much like Tony's, except it was slicked back smoothly to the side. What unnerved her, however, were his piercing jade eyes. They didn't quite see her yet, but she knew fully well how much power they held over her.

His face was longer, leaner, and she could the hint of a five o' clock shadow along his jawline. Her eye caught the color of his tie, a bright, beautiful shade of scarlet much similar to her own hair, and she felt her face burn. He looked taller, much more built, and naturally older.

"Gene," Her throat constricted and she suddenly found that her breathing had become much more labored. She forced herself to swallow her panic and steady her breathing. Seeing him now hurt her more than ever, but a part of her knew that one day it would come to this. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up. It didn't matter now; nothing had changed.

Gene laughed crudely and opened his arms to Tony, taunting him. "Come on, give me a real challenge." Pepper strode towards them, her footsteps light and quiet amidst all of the shouts and screams. She eyed a centerpiece on a nearby table and slipped behind a pole to conceal herself. "All right, let's figure out exactly what the hell's going on…" She murmured, wrapping her fingers around a vase and positioning herself so that she could observe the fight while staying hidden.

Tony wiped a streak of blood from his mouth with his free arm and lifted his other one at Gene. Pepper's eyebrows rose in surprise as she noted the technology attached to his arm. The Iron Man armor was fixed onto his left arm from the elbow down, with the laser on his arm pointed at Gene's face.

"That's enough." Tony warned him through clenched teeth. "How much damage are you going to cause before you know when to stop?" Gene's grinned devilishly, clearly taking up the offer. "Let's put that to the test, shall we?" He lifted his hand and his rings came into clear view. Pepper's heart shot to her throat as he summoned magic through his rings, preparing to strike.

Tony stepped back hurriedly, his arm up to deflect the attack, just as Pepper dove into view. She quickly and silently stepped forward, raising the vase high above her head to strike Gene. Tony's face betrayed him as he faltered, lowering his arm so as not to deflect the attack onto Pepper. She held her breath and brought the vase down as hard as she possibly could over Gene.

He sensed this as she held her breath, however, and he spun around to snatch the vase up in one hand and catch her arm in the other. He instinctively pulled her to him, his eyes flashing, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Gene froze when he saw her face and, at their close proximity, she could have sworn she saw his pupils dilate.

"Pepper," He murmured, his eyes scouring every inch of her face as if he hadn't seen her in years. Well, they hadn't seen each other in nearly a decade. And they didn't exactly separate on good terms. She couldn't—and wouldn't—do much to hide the scowl on her face, and he tilted his head at her, amused.

"You look upset." He stated questioningly, and she flashed him a seething glare, her eyes blazing. Her lips were pursed into a tight line, her jaw clenched; she didn't trust herself to speak.

"Get away from her." Tony growled and Pepper tried to wrestle herself out of his grip, but he held her tightly in place. She could feel Gene's eyes lingering on her and she did her best to avoid his gaze. He briefly looked over to roll his eyes at Tony and turned back to Pepper, who looked highly uncomfortable from where he stood.

"What, you don't remember me?" Gene teased her, his eyes sparking playfully. She raised her eyebrows slowly and stared at him with dead seriousness. This time her anger overpowered her fear. She opened her mouth, ready to let out a string of curses at him, but Tony cut her off before she was given the chance.

"Hands off, Gene. Last warning." Tony informed him shortly, lifting his arm up towards Gene again. Gene tugged Pepper closer to him none too gently, and she stumbled forward unwillingly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she felt a familiar sense of insecurity. She quickly brought her hands up to his chest before he closed the space between them.

"Let me help you remember." He murmured, a wicked smile on his face. He leaned into her face and all sense in her vanished as panic overtook her. Get away! Her mind screamed at her, but her hands lay idly on his chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling completely immobilized, and wished she could simply will everything away.

Suddenly Gene froze and whipped his arm up to catch something in the palm of his hand. He growled, his face still inches from hers, and she could feel his breath on her face. He took her by the shoulder and pushed her back, separating them. She took this opportunity without any complaints and stepped away from him quickly.

He tossed the object high up into the air and it exploded, causing Pepper to jump at the unexpected blast. "Rhodes," Gene growled, rounding on them. She took another hasty step back and felt something steely touch her shoulder and whirl her around. A pair of arms embraced her, winding tight around her head and her waist, and she instinctively tensed up.

"It's OK," A familiar voice assured her gently and relief washed over her. "Tony!" She wrapped her arms around him and let out a shaky sigh. "Rhodey, that was too close." She heard Tony hiss. "Tell me about it." Gene snarled from across the room. "You could have hurt her," Tony continued, and she broke away from him to defend Rhodey's actions.

"No, he wouldn't have let me." Rhodey reasoned, referring to Gene. There was a short moment of terse silence where Tony and Gene locked eyes and exchanged hateful glances. Pepper didn't dare move; she felt far too uncomfortable with this entire situation—especially when it revolved around her.

"That's it—we're ending this. Now." Tony stretched his arm out and the armor that configured around his arm continued to expand up his bicep and shoulder. "Much obliged." Gene muttered sarcastically, and he pulled out the remainder of his rings to slip them on each of his fingers.

Rhodey took Pepper by the arm and led her away from them gently but firmly. "No," She protested, shooting him a warning look. He hesitated, but didn't release her from his grip. "He's right, Pepper. You can't stay for this fight." Tony informed her through gritted teeth, his steely eyes still glaring Gene down.

Rhodey stepped closer to Pepper, touching her shoulder softly, and murmured quietly into her ear, "At least not until we suit up." Her eyes brightened up a little as the prospect settled in her mind and she nodded her head to herself.

The movement didn't go unnoticed by Gene, whose lips slightly curled upward s in response. He tilted his head, his eyes fixated on Pepper. "I'll be waiting, precious." He mouthed slowly to her, and her eyes hardened at him. She spun on her heels, making towards to the exit with Rhodey, and muttered sarcastically, "Don't wait too long."