Okays, sorry kids that i haven't been uploading with my usual vim and vigor but i've been insanely busy with school (failing Algebra 2 does such things to ppl) Anyhoo- hope you love it, those of you who actually read IRON MAN fics are awesome- since we seem to be a minority.. as usual- be sure to inform if you notice any bits that are off. Thanks to you ppl who have pointed out things that i missed.
And as usual- share the love when you finish reading :-) review and make the redhead rejoice
Pepper walked into the huge Malibu house- she did not even look up anymore. Jarvis let her in automatically- and the only guy that had ever gotten into the house without authorization was Nick Fury and Pepper was not even sure that he was human, so he really didn't count.
"Hi Pepper."
The music struck her at once- and her heart jumped awkwardly as it always did at the sound of his voice. Made even worse by the fact that she wasn't expecting it.
He had called her- late Friday night- and told her that he needed her at the house. Immediately.
It was almost 8:30, and she had been planning on going to the movies. Her dress was nothing, if not casual.
Tony couldn't remember the last time that he had seen her like this- Standing there, with her eyes open wide at the sight that greeted them.
"Happy Really Late Birthday Pepper." He said quietly.
Her hands dropped to her side- palm pilot forgotten.
The entire front living room was set up like a theater- even a popcorn machine sat behind the huge couch that looked like a giant movie-theater seat positioned in front of the giant screen that seemed to come down from nowhere.
He felt awkward suddenly- she was floored, and he was proud that she was surprised.
Then this sudden rush of shyness hit him and he wanted to run down to his workshop and work on the roadster.
This was not something that he was used to- women were easy to understand.
He was always completely at ease with them.
However, Pepper Potts was another species entirely.
He wanted her to be proud of him- to want him for his stupid irreverence for life and lack of tact, along with the endless list of faults tacked under the name Anthony Stark.
"You already got me a present." She pointed out- a look of slight glee spread across her face.
He cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Well um, that didn't count since I made you dance and remember my social security number- I also left you on the roof, which pretty much left the gift null and void." He shrugged uncertainly in that adorable way that always left Pepper breathless.
"You shouldn't have done that, I-"
"-No Pepper. I should have."
He used his "Boss" voice- he rarely did that.
"I really shouldn't..." Her voice trailed off hesitantly and he dared to hope that she wanted to stay with him.
"Ah well, you don't have to." He heard himself say, "But I have um- Space Balls, and Lethal Weapon and uh..." He looked down at the DVD's that were scattered across the in table. "Terminator, and Die Hard."
"Any girl movies?" She chuckled, and he found himself waiting on every laugh that escaped her throat.
He grinned.
"I am nothing, if not prepared. And since there was the freak chance that you might actually stay- I prepared an entourage of girl type movies that a guy can watch without putting his manliness on the line."
"Such as?"
He pulled another stack from the coffee table.
"How to lose a guy in 10 days, while you were sleeping-"
"Any old movies?"
He eyed the stack disapprovingly, he knew what was in it- and there wasn't anything over the age of 25.
"Miss Potts, I never figured you for an old movie lover."
She shrugged and smiled.
"Always have been."
"I didn't get any- wait!"
He took off down the hall, racing toward the area that housed his dad's old office, and countless other rooms filled with his parents' stuff.
Until this night, he couldn't force himself to look through it.
Pepper-, who knew none of this, followed him after realizing that he was gone and not coming back in an instant.
A door- that she had never seen open was now ajar, golden light flowed from it.
She pushed the door gently open- watching him rummage through cardboard boxes with a possessed look.
"What- what are you doing?" She asked after several moments.
He kept digging, moving from box to box.
"My mom, she loved old movies. Especially the classic romances. I um- I hated them. But my dad always watched them with her, he- he bought her all of them that he could find.." He looked up at her suddenly- and the brief flash of his eyes looked overly bright. "Anyway." He continued, opening another box. "I know that they're here somewhere- Aha!"
Tony motioned for her to come over- and she found herself standing next to a huge box filled to the top with orderly lines of old movies.
He laughed,
"They're all VHS. I didn't realize that she had this many."
Pepper gently ran a finger over the covers, smiling when the titles brought back good memories.
"An Affair To Remember, That Touch Of Mink, Arsenic And Old Lace, Philadelphia Story, Sabrina, Roman Holiday…"
"She- My Mom- loved Cary Grant-" His crooked smile showed that he was remembering.
"He was one of the best."
His eyes turned on her,
"Pick out few- if you want to watch."
"You don't want to Terminate things?"
His smile was soft.
"Nah- I can Terminate any day, I haven't watched these since-" He coughed and stumbled over his words suddenly.
"-In a long time." He finally finished,
Pepper found herself struggling not to want to comfort him- the pain was not forced, or specifically called up to her to make her feel bad for him.
Tony almost seemed embarrassed to allow people a glimpse underneath the Iron Armor.
Pepper grabbed the whole first stack- ensuring that she would be staying for several hours at least.
"Do you even have a video player?"
He grinned, and stuck a hand in the next box over- pulling out a large, wildly outdated VCR.
"I came prepared."
3AM
Said the bright blue-green LCD readout when Tony pressed the remote.
They were halfway through Philadelphia story- and they were 2/3's through the first stack of movies.
Pepper sat, less than a foot away, her red hair had worked its way out of the severe low-pony that she always wore and was standing in unruly waves around her head.
Her feet were tucked up underneath her- she stared happily at the TV as the men and women moved in Black and White around the screen.
Standing- he moved into the kitchen to refill his large Coke, slipping hers out of the cup holder built into the couch.
He suddenly realized that at sometime in the night she had become comfortable with him.
A prime example was the fact that she had not noticed when he had left to go to the kitchen. She wasn't painfully aware of every movement that he made.
Thus the comfortableness.
He heard her laugh at something said on screen and found that his skin crawled in pleasure at the sound of her easy merriment.
When he entered the living room, he took a risk- sitting immediately next to her- and handing her the Vanilla Coke.
She noticed him suddenly.
"Thanks." She said- still occupied by the movie.
Therefore, he relaxed- just savoring the feeling of her next to him.
By the end, she was smiling faintly- her head drooping to fall onto his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was deep- it was almost 4:30.
The credits suddenly appeared on the screen as the smiling faces of Kathryn Hepburn and Cary Grant filled the screen.
Tony now realized why his mom had loved these, and why his father had loved watching them with her.
The sudden memory of him coming home from MIT- to find his mom and dad sitting on the couch, smiling like high-school children while watching an old and outdated movie.
He had surprised them- and they had been delighted to see him, which had made him even more angry than usual. He had stormed to his room.
Tony frowned at the thought- he had been a horrible college age person.
Too interested with being angst-y and raging- coupled with his father's money and power, no one but his father ever told him no.
Everyone else remained cowed by the fact that his dad was one of richest men in the world.
Dear old daddy could not be everywhere with him- telling people to treat him like they would treat anyone, and so Tony got away with murder.
Until his parents were killed.
Then he had disappeared, found places where he could lie his way away from publicity and the eyes of the world.
That was until he turned 21.
He had been arguing with someone.
But that was his life- an argument, a swift and brief make up, followed by another argument.
He had this amazing idea- something that had come to him in a drunken stupor the night before.
At least he assumed that it was the night before…
However, once he got into work all of his father's ridiculous engineers had informed him that the technology that he was proposing was too advanced for the world to pick up on.
"Too Advanced?"
He had screeched with that look in his eyes that always preempted a world changing idea- although no one knew how gifted Tony Stark was yet- he had only begun running the company four months ago.
Obadiah Stane watched the young man from a deep in thought position in one of the lovely comfortable chairs that was placed around the main office.
What had been his office until the idiot prodigal rolled back into town after boozing it up and dropping off the radar for four years.
He was a brat- yes, but even Stane- completely wrapped up in his own plans for power- could see that the boy had a brain that Einstein would have envied.
"Tony." He began in a placating manner, "They can't help it- they don't see the need in advancing weapons technology that far."
Tony blew air out of his mouth in an infuriated and childish manner then threw himself down in the large chair that dwarfed his smaller frame.
"They have no vision Obi. The future of this company depends on vision." He smirked "And the undeniable facts that we men love our wars- but really- these men are absolute idiots!"
He was standing again- and pacing, pausing at the end of each turn to scribble another addition or idea to the large notepad that covered most of his desk.
"Mr. Stark?" The medium sized skinny man who looked twice Tony's age and who was half afraid of his young boss entered timidly. "Your four o'clock is here."
Obi moved to stand- but Tony motioned for him to stay.
"Tell my four o'clock that there's been a mistake- I'll see him some other time-"
"But sir-"
"Fired!" Tony sang out- then made a slight sweeping gesture to the horrified assistant standing in his doorway. "Yes, I'm serious! Get out!"
The little man was gone- never to be seen again in Stark Industries.
"He didn't last very long." Obadiah remarked passively.
"The man was clearly a moron- I mean really- he could see that I was busy."
Obadiah made no comment.
"You think I'm spoiled don't you?" Tony didn't turn- just kept scribbling.
"You are spoiled Tony. You're just brilliant and rich- those two things give you allowances, keeping everyone willing to ignore your other… idiosyncrasies"
Tony grinned, despite himself.
"I'm going to need a new secretary/assistant you know."
Obadiah stood- and slowly made his way to the door.
"I'll make sure my assistant sends another one up soon enough."
Tony nodded, really not listening-
"Who was my four o'clock Obi?"
Obadiah chuckled-
"The president."
Later That Same Day
Pepper Potts sat in the beautiful lobby outside the main office in the SI building.
She felt very young today- although she was the best in her field.
It was hard, interviewing to a boss that she knew very little about.
All she had to go on was what the news and the agency had told her.
The man with the most brilliance that anyone had seen in a decade. Or more.
He was also extremely temperamental and known for his unhealthy habits and bad temper.
Nevertheless, working for him would give a jump start to her resume and that would be worth it- even if she only worked for him for a few years.
That is when she realized that someone was standing in front of her- staring in a bemused expression at her seated form.
A kid stood there, well- she couldn't really call him a kid- he looked to be about her age. Dark hair, dark eyes, nice suit. She noted these things with a professional glance.
Very young.
Maybe an assistant or aide?
"Can I help you?" He asked- his voice was a medium tone, with the slight hint of a smile in every word, "The model agency is sadly in the next building- I can have one of the secretaries show you the way-"
"No-" She politely interrupted, "I'm here to see Mr. Stark about a position as his assistant. Although," she continued frowning "My appointment was supposed to begin over an hour ago and he still hasn't showed up…" She sighed, and then smiled at the man patiently listening to her. "They said he was slightly inconsiderate of everyone."
He smiled hugely.
"He is."
She eyed the man with new interest.
"You know Mr. Stark?"
"Personally." He responded immediately. "You could say that we work together."
Pepper nodded- interested immediately.
"When do you think he'll be here- I haven't had lunch yet so I would like to know as soon as possible."
The man frowned.
"I'm sure he would have been more punctual had he known who he was keeping waiting- although since I'm here, and you're here and we're both starving- we can go to lunch, I'll conduct the interview and relay my notes to him."
Pepper still didn't understand who this guy was- or how he was related to the company- but this sounded better that her waiting in this lobby for another hour- besides, this guy was cute. Maybe they could be friends if she got the job.
Similar tightness welled in her heart as she started the interview, discussing the type of work that she would be doing and what her hours would be as a personal assistant etc.
The lunch was fabulous, the time ended with her reentering the SI building, and going into the huge office that belonged to her prospective employer- a few things immediately caught her eye. Giving hints about the secret character of Mr. Stark.
His desk was cluttered with papers and drawings of various bits of machinery.
You could pretty much tell anything about anyone by their desk.
The man- whose name was Mr. Anthony (He had chuckled when he had told her his name, she had wondered why)- had moved across to make a call on the large button filled phone on the desk.
Pepper eyed several of the pieces of paper- reading the different logistics jargon that was scribbled all over it,
After his phone call- he came over to stand beside her- eying the page that she was looking over.
"So what do you think?" He asked carefully.
She shook her head
"This is an amazing tech plan- clearly decades above all the competitors- But here-" She pointed. "He's made a mistake- this should be multiplied against the inverse or the fuel burn will be halved."
Anthony eyed her with surprise and admiration.
"You're hired." He said.
"Really?"
That's when the hulking frame of Obadiah Stane came striding through the door.
"I swear to God, Tony Stark- if you skip out on another meeting that you promised to be in- I'll put the hit out on you myself-" The large man seemed to suddenly notice the stunned redhead standing in front of the desk.
"Oh- I see you've met Virginia Potts- she's the assistant that they sent over for you to interview- she supposed to be the best that they have,"
Tony Stark nodded, enjoying her shock like he hadn't enjoyed something in years.
"Yes, we' just had lunch- Meet my new assistant."
She had almost denied the offer to be his assistant, but even when he was the most ridiculous and her life the most lonely- she couldn't leave him.
That was all that there was to it.
She ran his life like the wife that he didn't want- so she had put up with him, and all of his infuriating and endearing ways.
No denying it-
She loved the man inside the suit.
Dreams and reality seemed to bend and sway as Pepper came to- her head gently rose and fell as they breathed. The warmth that curled around her body- he was there- the arc reactor humming so gently that she almost thought that she was imagining it.
Tony was fast asleep- his arms almost around her.
When Happy slipped in at 9:30 the next morning, he found them. Curled against one-another.
Happy Hogan finally showed the smile for which Tony had nicknamed him all those years ago.
The large man was slow to smile- but this, this was worth cracking his face into that unnatural expression.
It was classic- this was what he had been watching for years.
It was like some sort of strange soap-opera.
The man that employed him, and the only other personal employee of the man that owned Stark Industries were a constant source of entertainment to the calm driver/chauffeur/anything-else-Mr.-Stark-needed.
But Pepper- Pepper was always kind and witty and completely capable of doing anything the bratty millionaire needed.
This was something that he had waited for- it would be interesting to see how it played out.
Dubai was beautiful this time of year- the warm breeze swept across the sea with the slightest scent of flowers.
Pepper sighed inwardly- wishing that her family could see her now- walking amongst the rich and famous as if she belonged.
But she didn't. No matter how long she worked for Tony Stark- she would always just be the woman who worked for Tony Stark.
She smirked- Tony belonged only by birth anymore- he was never one for the snobbish traditions of the rich and famous.
The assistant was always finding him- building and having fun in general with anyone that he could find- no matter what their economic status was.
"Pepper!" The man in question shouted, His eyes alight with pleasure. "Pepper they're going to let me test out the-" Which was followed by a long ramble of technology which Pepper understood easily.
He was excited that they would let him touch their technology- Pepper knew that they were lucky to have him mess with anything technological.
He could fix anything- and it was good for him to be away from America, where IRON MAN was on the lips of every household.
Tony had hidden at his house for weeks- only going out on missions- and even then- only missions that would not be televised later.
He had been closeted recently with the leader of SHEILD- A tall, stern man with eyes that saw through you,She assumed in more than one way.
Anyone that came with Mr. Fury had gave her the eeriest feeling that they were much more than they seemed.
The most recent one- was a mild mannered man with electric green eyes.
Bruce Banner was his name, And he smiled and was as polite as any man she met.
Tony laughed at him and made quiet jokes- but nothing like his usual ribbing. He was cautious around the quiet man, and Tony was never cautious.
"Mr. Banner seemed like a good man. How do you know him?"
Tony actually laughed out loud-
"Pepper- I do know good people. I just never could stand their company before. They made me feel bad about myself."
Pepper hated these awkward moments when he would reveal himself to her. Those innermost thoughts that had plagued him throughout all of the years that she had worked for him- that she had never known about.
He was so much more open now- as if he wanted her to know that he was human.
This made her feelings for him- which were terrible at best- even more difficult to control.
That, and the irritating fact that he was a good man. In the Iron Suit and out of it.
He went to his meeting (well, most of them... if they were important... usually). But other than that, she hadn't seen a woman come out of his house in the weeks since he had returned.
Her boss rarely drank- which was extremely unlike himself. He was the same ball of energy with the bright eyes and abrupt manners.
She genuinely enjoyed working for and being with him in these days.
But she- of all people should have known that this would not last.
The last few paragraphs are a little ADD- but that is how Tony struck me, never on the same thing for more than like 2 seconds. Haha, sorry if it drove you nuts- i'm about halfway through the next chapter, hope you liked this one.
Really short i know- but i felt bad for not uploading for so long so i thought i'd give you something to read and review *cause of course you're going to review*
Anyhoo- thanks for reading-
until next time,
Red