Notes: Huge thanks to ardvari for the beta work. :)
Title: Make Believe (It Isn't Just for Kids)
Theme #98: Pretend
Summary: Pepper Potts has a secret.
Pepper Potts has a secret.
She's in love with her boss.
--
It started out innocently. Or really, as innocently as anything can start with Tony Stark. This was back when working for the infamous playboy billionaire was new and whispers of how he spent his nights were just rumors.
Despite coming off as uninterested and hardened to any advances he made that first day on the job, Pepper could feel her insides twist at his words and her heart flutter at his smile.
A whiff of perfume, his collar stained with a pink pair of lips, and she wondered what it would be like to know she put them there. Wondered what it would be like to know the sly grin on his face was because of her. Because they'd done something wildly inappropriate in the men's bathroom.
But Pepper's not that girl.
Instead, she offers him a fresh shirt and mildly scolds him for spending his lunch hour so unwisely.
--
Tony Stark has an amazing physique. And he knows it. He flaunts it when he can and instead of ignoring his blatant display of ego, Pepper sometimes gives in to her most basic desire and allows herself to look.
The muscles on his back flex as he moves over the car's engine and suddenly her fingers itch to touch the smooth expanse of flesh. She imagines what it would feel like to feel those muscles under her fingertips and the hard weight of his body over hers.
Twisting insides and heart flutters had long been traded in for shivers of desire. Now, they shoot down her spine and flare between her legs, causing Pepper to squirm and clench her thighs together.
But in that same instant—that instant of wishing she were naked and pliant beneath him—she's back to Professional Pepper and reminding him he has a meeting in an hour he absolutely, positively can't be late to.
Tony looks back at her, a grin plastered on his face. "Were you staring, Pepper?"
She doesn't even blush or stammer. "Of course not, sir. I'm impervious to your charm."
His grin only gets bigger and it takes all of Pepper's resolve not to moan out loud.
--
Pepper knows a lot of things about Tony.
She knows Tony likes his coffee black.
His favorite cereal is Captain Crunch and he always has at least three boxes in the house at any given time.
He always has to wear socks, no matter what the weather is like.
On four hours of sleep, Tony does some of his best work. He programmed Jarvis on only two.
She knows Tony brought home a "guest" last night and it's now her job to make sure she finds her way home.
Pepper walks into his bedroom and sighs. Clothes are strewn all over the floor and quietly, she picks them up, sending them to be dry-cleaned. She stares sadly at the still sleeping blonde and wonders if she knows Tony's already forgotten her name.
Ordering Jarvis to raise the blinds, the woman stirs, blinking a sleepy eye at Pepper. She sits up, holding the sheets up against her naked form. "He's gone, isn't he?"
Pepper only nods.
The blonde sighs. "I should have figured."
Half an hour later, Pepper smiles politely and escorts the blonde to Happy's car, dry cleaning in hand, and can't fight off the small stab of jealously. For one night, Tony loved her, in whatever capacity, and Pepper knows it's the one thing she doubts she'll never experience.
--
Tony disappears and Pepper's world crashes down around her.
She's spent years of silently hating his inane requests, his lavish parties, the copious amounts of alcohol and endless stream of insipid girls who wanted nothing more than to stake claim to the fact that they had slept with Tony Stark. But the moment that Jim Rhodes called and informed her her wayward boss was missing, Pepper would have given anything to hear Tony's voice float through the receiver with a ridiculous want.
Her heart literally aches within her chest and her eyes—they feel so damn heavy—are red and puffy from crying and Pepper realizes that somewhere, somehow, what she feels for Tony had turned into something more than a girly crush laden with lust.
And if he doesn't come home, a little part of her heart will have disappeared with him.
--
He comes home a changed person. Brilliance, determination and his playful banter are all there, but Pepper notices when the women stop entering his bed, when the scotch bottles remain untouched and when he starts living his life with a clearer sense of purpose.
She smiles as she walks into his workshop, finding him arms deep within the chest piece of his suit. As usual, he's covered in grease, wearing yesterday's clothes and has yet to touch the food she left for him early this morning. Pulling up a chair, Pepper watches him work, admiring the way he concentrates, so focused and consumed by the task before him.
Finally, he turns towards her and smiles. "Hey, Pep. Checking up on me?"
"Always," she smiles. "You haven't eaten yet."
Wiping his hands on a rag, Tony looks behind him and is surprised at the hours old ham and cheese on wheat sandwich before him. "Huh, didn't even hear you come down." His stomach growls and with a sheepish grin, grabs the sandwich and takes a bite.
Tony polishes off the sandwich in record time and goes back to his shiny new toy. Pepper watches for a moment as he absorbs himself into perfecting the suit and then turns to leave. Pausing at the stairs, she turns and says, "I'm proud of you, you know."
Tony looks up at her, a slight smile on his face, "Yeah?"
"Very, very proud."
Pepper turns to leave, but is stopped by Tony's grip on her wrist. He leans forward to catch her lips, his tongue running along her teeth and she almost loses her balance. Pepper laughs into his mouth and as she pulls away, Tony gently strokes her cheek with his thumb. "We still on for dinner? I make a mean mac 'n cheese," he grins.
"Yes, Tony, we're still on for dinner. If you remember to come up," she teases.
"I never forget you, Pepper."
Pepper smiles as he goes to finish his work and she heads upstairs. Her life is no fairytale and he's no Prince Charming, but Pepper no longer has to pretend to hold his heart.
--
Pepper Potts has a secret.
She's in love with her boss.