And here we are, somewhere in the fifth year of the job.

Clearly, given the situations involved, it couldn't all have been terribly cheerful… yet I hope you enjoy it.


oOo

JUST A JOB: Will That Be All

oOo


Anthony Stark opened the front door, laughing, and called out in a slightly drunken voice. "Jarvis, I'm ho-ome."

"Good evening, sir. I see you have a guest?"

"Sure do."

His escort giggled loudly, and he looked at her. Back at the bar, that giggle had been cute – although, come to think of it, it had been muted by the band that was playing. Now, it was starting to become annoying, which could only mean one thing. He was sobering up. He thought he'd had enough in the limo, but then, she had been keeping him busy.

"So…" he tried in vain to remember her name, and gave up. "How about a drink?"

"Perfect. Make mine an appletini." The tall, leggy blond practically gushed as she walked past him into the living room, not noticing the almost pained look on his face. "Oh. My. God. This place is gorgeous!"

Tony walked behind the bar and spoke quietly. "Jarvis… what the hell is in an appletini." A screen inserted in the flat top of the counter lit up, and he read off the recipe. "Great." He quickly made a somewhat abbreviated version of her drink, poured his scotch, and downed half a glass in one go.

She turned back to look at him standing there, and again, the giggle. Shutting his eyes tightly for a moment, he took a deep breath, then refilled his glass. The woman was certainly attractive, and her body was… well, frankly amazing. She snatched her drink and snuggled up to him, whispering in a breathy voice.

"So, hot stuff. Where's the bedroom?"

He sipped again, and motioned with his glass. "That way." She danced on ahead of him, oohing and ahhing as she went. Tony stood for a moment looking after her, then shook his head and began to follow.

"A moment, Sir?"

He stopped, blinked. "Now, Jarvis?"

"Just a reminder, sir. The technicians will be in the workroom tomorrow early, to install the glass wall screens."

"Ah. Right. Thanks. Don't forget to update the codes once its system is attached to the mainframe. Got it?"

"I wouldn't dream of forgetting, sir." There was a discreet pause, and Tony was sure he only imagined the disdain in the tone of voice. Pretty sure. "Will you have the new windows installed in your bedroom as well? All the panels for the job are currently on site."

Stark looked toward his bedroom, tilted his head to the side, and shrugged. "Sure, yeah, why not. Make it after noon."

"Indeed, sir. Have a pleasant sleep."

Tony snorted a laugh that had a tinge of sigh. "I'll do my best…"


oOo


It was just before eight in the morning when Tony walked out of his private wing and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sir."

"Morning, Jarvis." He walked over to the counter and saw a pot of coffee waiting. "Thanks. Is the crew here yet?"

"Come and gone, sir."

"What?" He spun to look toward the workroom stairs. "What do you mean, come and gone? Didn't they –"

"The crew arrived at five thirty this morning, sir. They've finished the workroom wall, and will be coming back at one to install the bedroom screens."

Tony deflated a bit. "Oh…well. How does it look?"

"Since it is not yet attached to my mainframe, it looks very much like a wall. Made of glass." There was a pause that somehow managed to sound sarcastic. "Sir."

The young inventor rolled his eyes, taking a gulp of coffee. "Killjoy."

He left his mug on the counter and sprinted down the workroom stairs. Halfway down he could hear music. They were playing with my sound system? And Jarvis left it on? Anger surged, but was overrun by confusion as he went a few more steps and it dawned on him just what he was hearing. A light soprano was singing over – of all things – what sounded like a Disney love song. He shook his head as he turned the corner and saw, to his surprise, Pepper Potts; standing on a stepladder and polishing the upper portion of the wall screen.

He blinked, noticing too that instead of her usual professional garb, she was wearing jeans and a snug, scoop necked t-shirt in a flattering shade of teal. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her bangs were fluffed and askew from being brushed back too many times.

She sang loudly as she worked, certain she was alone, and completely uninhibited.

"…barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly

Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared- "

"Miss Potts?" She turned, startled, and nearly lost her footing. He moved forward to steady the ladder, but she caught herself against the wall. Then she looked where she had braced with her hand and made an annoyed noise, spraying a solution on and wiping off the handprint.

"Mr. Stark! You nearly scared me to death." She blushed, caught, but he thought her embarrassed little smile was adorable as she quickly added, "Jarvis? Turn off the music, please!"

It stopped instantly, and Tony frowned as he grinned up at her. "You don't have to stop." Adorable? Since when do I find things adorable?

"Oh, trust me, I think I do…"

"No, really. It sounded… nice." While his face seemed to be a study in not reacting, there was something about his eyes that suggested he was thinking quite hard.

She tried to interpret his expression, and failed. It was a look she was seeing more and more on him these days. It was amazing that she had worked for this man for over five years, and still, so often, felt like she barely knew what made him tick. "Oh, yes, I'm sure you're terribly fond of a good soupy ballad. And isn't this where you make fun of me for singing Miss Potts' song?"

"Pardon?" His eyes were still on her face, but his memory was apparently determined to continue tracing the curve of her jeans.

"Yes. Even Jarvis caught that one. But then, he probably has more variety in his music database." She finished polishing the wall and put the cloth and solution into a holder on the top of the ladder. "Maybe Disney will come out with a heavy metal version, and then –" She stopped as she looked down at him, almost frowning. There was definitely something about the way he was looking at her. "Mr. Stark?"

He cleared his throat and looked down the wall of glass, trying to clear his head. Have I ever heard her sing before? I must have. But I think I would have remembered. It's not even like she has a phenomenal voice, but its just so… sweet. Sweet? Seriously? What the hell is wrong with me these days? And why does she have to look so good in denim, when she already looks so good in business clothes?

He tried to put on his customary smirk as he looked back at her. "So what are you doing up there? Besides tainting my speakers with animated love songs, that is."

She felt her concern slip away into their usual banter. Just like always. Keep it professional, or keep it light. "Oh. This?" She motioned at the glass. "The crew got the walls in, but they had to check on some of the hardware connections outside. It should be up soon." She looked back at the wall and frowned, looking for any remaining dust. "I know how long you worked on these, and that you were really looking forward to them being installed… so I wanted them to look their best when you saw them the first time…"

His eyes darkened as he stared at her. Really? You came in on your morning off, early, just to make sure my walls were sparkling when I saw them the first time? "Well… thank you. That's, ah, really, very –"

"Tony-kins?" A giggle followed the question from the stairs. "Where did you run off to?"

His eyes closed for a moment, and when he opened them, all he could see was a pained expression on Pepper's face - just for a moment - before it froze into a businesslike blankness, taking all emotion with it. Great. Something she learned from me…

"Ooooh! This is your workroom? It's so big! And look at those cars!" His current liaison walked in wearing only her underwear and the pale blue dress shirt he had been wearing the night before.

Tony turned quickly and spoke very quietly to his assistant. "We need a door higher up."

Pepper bit back her first response. "I'll make a note. Sir."

His eyes widened slightly in exasperation, but he only shook his head before turning back to the woman whose name still eluded him. "Yeah, right, listen, I'll be upstairs in a minute, okay?"

The blond pouted grandly. "But Tony…"

His voice became a bit more strained. "Upstairs. This area is classified. I'll be up soon."

"Classified. Oooh." She sighed a bit, and made a slow, dramatic exit up the stairs. As she reached the corner she turned and looked back at him. "Well, hurry." Her glance moved to Pepper, and she spoke in a rather condescending voice. "By the way, this shirt is going to need washing." And with a smirk she turned and vanished up the stairs.

Tony actually looked mortified, and turned to his personal assistant. He had to say something. Something. Anything. I'm sorry she said that, she's just this girl… I'm sorry, she doesn't mean anything… I… But nothing came out by the time Miss Potts had descended from the ladder and was putting away the cleaning supplies.

"Miss Potts…"

"I'm sure everything will be ready for you to test once you have time, Mr. Stark. And I'll talk to the workmen about installing a coded hallway door so you won't be interrupted so easily."

"Pepper."

She looked at him, her voice and expression completely under control. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

There was a long moment as they stared at each other. "You're mad."

"I'm certainly not mad."

He looked a little lost. "Upset?"

She looked away, then back. "What you do and who you do it with is none of my business."

There was something so cold in her delivery that he almost took a step back. "No. I suppose not." Then, trying to establish his usual teasing with her, he added with a leer, "Of course, if you wanted to get involved-"

Miss Potts took a deep breath, cutting him off harshly. "Will that be –"

She was interrupted by a sudden blink of light, and the clear glass walls glowed blue for an instant before going clear, then opaque, then clear again. Strands of blue-white light briefly outlined the active screen portions of the wall, then faded, leaving only the touch panel near the door. Tony lit up like a child at Christmas.

"Yes!" Dashing over to the workbench, he typed quickly on the keyboard there, then turned to look at the walls. "Perfect, this is perfect. Jarvis, did you run the connections test yet?"

"Doing it now, sir."

Pepper, nearly as distracted as her boss, stared at the walls. "This is amazing."

"I know."

She couldn't help it. It was definitely annoying, the way he could suddenly appear so charming to her – and even more annoying that it was usually when he wasn't trying to be. She gave the back of his head a resigned smile. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, I've got a couple hours here." He scanned the screens as various patterns and drawings appeared, oblivious at the moment. "Jarvis, check the resolution on panel three. Is that a - no, no, there it is."

"Mr. Stark." Her slightly sharper tone caught his ear, and he glanced over at her. She blinked once or twice, waiting for him to catch on, and then nodded toward the stairs with her head. "Your… friend?"

He frowned for a moment, as if trying to understand, and then looked back to the wall dismissively. "Just get rid of her. I've got too much to do down here." A positive chill emanating from the direction of his personal assistant made him look back. "What?"

It had been a long day, and it was not yet nine o'clock in the morning. Pepper later blamed her outspoken lack of tact on that fact. "I don't know how you can treat someone you care about this way."

He was tired, a bit hung over, totally absorbed in the technology, and later blamed his loose tongue on that fact. "Who said I cared about her?"

"Mr. Stark!"

He spun in the chair, his voice more harsh than usual. "Listen to me, Miss Potts. If you went to a gym, and wanted to play racquetball, and found someone who looked like they were good at it, and had a good game… would you really feel the need to spend the next day with them?"

Her jaw dropped. "It's hardly the same –"

"It is for me."

"Well – it shouldn't be." Here blue eyes flashed sapphire as she stepped closer to him. "You can't just go around ignoring people's feelings –"

"I'm not ignoring anything. You saw her. I'm a notch on the bedpost. A big, platinum plated, diamond crusted notch." He stood to look her in the eye. "They don't want me. They want Tony Stark – billionaire, playboy..."

There was a bare pause as she watched what might have been pain fade from his expression. She spoke haltingly. "Well, sure, some of them… but… they can't all be that way."

His eyes darkened dangerously. "If they're not, I'm not bringing them home."

"Tony, that makes no sense! Why shouldn't you find someone who really –"

The volume of his response caught her off guard. "Because I'm me, okay? I'm totally absorbed with my work. No one wants to come in second to the job. And ninety-nine percent of my job is in my head. Thinking." He tapped his finger, almost angrily, against his forehead. "I'm here all the time."

Her voice seemed even quieter after his outburst. "Did you ever consider there might be someone out there who could love you for who you are?" He gave a condescending little snort of a laugh, but she went on. "Someone who would understand, who might make you want to get out of your head from time to time?"

He looked past her, the realization of how much he had said finally hitting him, leaving him feeling a little exposed. His response was tinged with sarcasm. "Well, Pep, if you meet her, by all means, give her my number." His gaze returned to her eyes, and he motioned toward himself with his hands. "But I doubt that any woman worth having deserves living with this."

He turned back to the keyboard, physically removing himself from the interlude. In the five or so years she had been working for him, they had occasionally spoken frankly before - but never quite like this. It was stirring up too many feelings… and for now, he was happy to retreat into the cool, logical, creative world of his technology. It was a few moments before he heard her voice, and realized she was still standing there.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts."


oOo

oOoOo

oOo


please feed the author…