A/N: YAY! Thanks for being patient with me! Here's another chapter for you. I hope you LOVE it. Keep them reviews/favorites/follows coming! They really make this old writer's day ^_^
Guest Review Responses
Toni: In the previous chapter's guest review response you pinpointed of all these clues for us, thank you for that and for this chapter. Maya's up to something...? Not a question; but I'm merely questioning what that 'something' could be and how sweet, innocent Howie factors into it. – She is up to something, indeed… but it may not be what you think ;)
Yup, there is definitely something suspicious about Maya. Update soon! – LOL! I love it how everyone is like: "MAYA DIE YOU BEEOTCH!" And, sadly, you all have a very good reason to be up in arms about it.
Hi!Great chapter as always!ok am really relieved to see that my two favourite couple are finally together and hope that nothing will EVER change that!Poor tony and pepper being parents is not always an easy task,it's really funny that part where tony had not put jimmy's diaper correctly:-)! ohh,what is Maya doing here?I have a doubt on her sudden soon!oh, by the way i'm a girl:-) – Nothing ever will… or at least not in the way it did before ;) (JK coughmostlycough).
Apps: Can't say anything more than THANX to r a moment I thought Maya will kiss him hard….MISS U STARFIRE! – LOL! I know! That was the intention ;) And I miss being around here, too! Stupid, real life, huh? Ruins everything :(
We're all girls here, huh? My hubby (who betas for me) was hoping he was not the only guy following the story :P
Chapter 3: May
Tony Stark walked out of the elevator that led to the lower-level of the Stark International penthouse where the SI board members and he would meet today. He was so focused on reaching the door to the meeting room that he almost missed Trish's friendly smile and wave by the reception desk, and he definitely missed her snickering when she realized that the inventor was trying to munch on his pod and talk on his sandwich wrap. He had been a father for six weeks, and it was just now that little James was getting used to the schedule Pepper had designed for him. This only meant, however, that the inventor and the ginger had weeks of sleep to make up.
There were still some drawbacks and kinks that were yet to be worked out on the schedule the couple was trying to follow. Nonetheless, the redhead had been able to work around some minor setbacks, such as the current one, when Tony had been originally scheduled to watch over the baby but he was instead attending an impromptu SI meeting to report on his new inventions – or lack thereof. Pepper was scheduled to nap after spending four hours of the night monitoring the baby (who was recovering from a minor case of the sniffles), but instead she was watching over the baby again. As he had begrudgingly left the penthouse, Tony had promised her that, as soon as he was out of the meeting, he was going to fly home and give her a chance to rest – even if he was tired as hell himself.
The billionaire finally made his way inside the room and sat in his chair, eyes partially closed while he yawned. He had not realized that Howard was already there, but when the old man saw his son chewing on his pod and he laughed, Tony became instantly aware that he was not alone in the room.
"Hey there, Son," Howard began and sat in his chair, opposite to Tony's, both at the ends of the large conference table. "Baby still keeping you two up?"
"How come you are not answering your phone?" Tony asked in between yawns, completely ignoring the man's question, as he was more concerned about why his calls were not getting through. Tony then shook his sandwich wrap at his father to emphasize his point and spoke again. "I've been calling you since I got here!"
"Have you?" Howard asked with a smirk. "I don't think that you've registered that sandwich wrap to the Stark 1 satellite to make and receive calls."
"What?" Tony asked, blinked several times and then stared at his hand. His eyes opened wide and a light blush of embarrassment hit his cheeks. He then looked up to stare at his father, who was laughing hard again, and he rolled his eyes at his old man.
"Give me a break, OK? Howie's been sick."
"Oh," the news startled Howard enough to end his laughter. "How sick? Hospital sick? How come you didn't tell us before? Do you kids need help?"
"Not hospital sick, no, thank goodness," Tony began and took a bite of his wrap that he had been trying to take out of his pod for the past five minutes. "But sick enough to keep us up, yes. He's got a minor cold."
"A cold? How did he get a cold?"
Tony shrugged and took another bite of his food.
"Don't know. Maybe one of the maintenance guys brought it up or something. Pepper and I feel fine. We can handle it."
"Well, at least you two are healthy enough to take care of him. Babies are a lot of work, especially when sick. But it will get easier as he grows up."
"I hope," Tony replied and finished his wrap. "As I also hope that this meeting is short. Why the hell are we here, again?"
Howard rolled his eyes. "The usual bull crap, I'm afraid. Our friend, Mitch Richards, wants to know when you're releasing new tech. He thinks that new inventions should be pouring in by now since you haven't created anything new this year."
Tony groaned and put away his pod. "Did he forget I just had a kid? Besides, he could've just asked me via e-mail, the jerk."
"He doesn't want to talk to Pepper," Howard reminded him, knowing very well that, even now, the ginger was still the inventor's gatekeeper. "You know how he is."
"Yeah, and at this point, I guess I'd rather deal with him myself. Pepper doesn't need any headaches right now."
"Neither do you."
"Perhaps. But if you think I look bad, you should see her. I'm seriously thinking of borrowing Jarvis for a few days a week just so that she can rest. If she's restless, then I'm restless. And if I'm restless, then she is too and…" he sighed and shrugged. "It's getting better, but it's not good enough yet."
"That wouldn't be a bad idea, you know?" Howard offered. "Why don't you take him full-time for a few weeks?"
"Nah. I don't want us to get spoiled and then end up suffering more when he leaves. Just a few days out of the week will be fine. Mostly when Pepper has to do schoolwork or when I patrol the streets at night."
Howard shrugged and stared at his watch. "Whatever you think is best, Anthony. I'll talk to Jarvis and let you know how that goes. Are you ready for the meeting, though? It's time to start it."
"Yeah, I guess. I'll try to make it quick by bullshitting my way through it. I actually do have some ideas in mind, but they relate more to pregnancy and baby-related inventions than a new phone or bike."
"OK, that's fine with me. Whatever shuts them up," Howard replied.
Howard's finger briefly hovered over the button to activate the projection of the board members, but he never got to actually press it. His attention and Tony's were instead diverted from the would-be meeting to the two unexpected visitors that slammed their way inside the room, completely ignoring the flustered-looking Trish running behind them.
"Sir, I'm sorry. They wouldn't listen," Trish said hurriedly, always the professional despite her current romantic relationship with Howard Stark. "They don't have an appointment and they refused to make one."
Howard glared at Nick Fury for a moment before his eyes softened again when he stared at his long-time assistant.
"It's OK, Trish. I'm sure Nick has a very good reason to storm in here without an invitation… again."
"You bet I do, Howard," Nick replied and his eye then landed on Tony, who was shaking his head in disapproval of the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s antics. Even though the inventor was surprised that Nick Fury and Maria Hill had appeared out of nowhere, he was not surprised that the man thought that they had the right to barge in. Nick Fury's status allowed him to charge into any place, at any time and for any reason, with the excuse that S.H.I.E.L.D. was an international organization and thus had jurisdiction everywhere in the world.
"I'm here for your son," Fury continued.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Tony mumbled, stood up from his chair and faced Nick. "What do you want now? More weapons? A high-tech, bionic eye patch? Or did you lose another one of my enemies that can abduct my kid and my fiancée and came here to tell me about it?"
"No," Fury began, walked over to Tony, grabbed his right wrist, used it to violently turn over his body and smashed the blue-eyed boy against the table. "I'm here to arrest you, Tony Stark."
"WHAT?" Tony spat, and before he could pull away from Nick's grip, Maria Hill helped her director bind Tony's arms using one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technologically-advanced handcuffs. "What the hell are you doing? What pissed you off now?"
"Tony Stark, A.K.A. Iron Man," Nick began. "You're under arrest for the murder of Rhona Erwin. You're coming with us, Son."
xxxXXXxxx
The room he was in was not foreign to him: he had screamed his lungs out at Whitney once before in one of these containment cells. It had happened following Pepper making her peace with the blonde's actions after convincing Gene to remove her from the trance she was in, but the situation was slightly different at the present moment. Instead of Whitney being the one under custody and scrutiny, it was Tony Stark who was under fire, and instead of Pepper Potts doing the questioning, it was Nick Fury that played the interrogator part. Or at least for now it was.
Immediately after Fury had left the board meeting room with Tony in tow, Roberta Rhodes had been called by Howard Stark for legal backing. The lawyer and the senior inventor were both currently talking to the jurisprudent representatives of S.H.I.E.L.D., aggressively advocating for the young genius' speedy release. Tony, on the other hand, had not been allowed to leave his containment cell since he had arrived at the Helicarrier, and he had been kept from speaking with anyone other than Maria Hill or Nick Fury. The Head of S.H.I.E.L.D. was aware that, as opposed to the last time that Tony Stark had been arrested, he was no longer a child – he had just turned twenty-one years old. In addition, S.H.I.E.L.D. was an international association that did not have to follow the justice system guidelines of the United States, or any other country, for that matter. In other words: they could keep Tony there for the rest of his life, if they so wanted to.
His hands were still bound by the electronic cuffs, though they were now cuffed in the front rather than behind his back, and even though he was certain that he could have, a long time ago in fact, hacked into them and disabled them by using Extremis, he did not feel like making matters worse for himself right now. It was bittersweet to him, the fact that, years ago, he would have not hesitated to sleaze his way out of something like this by hacking the entire flying fortress if he so wanted to, perhaps even going the extra mile just to piss off Nick Fury with his over-the-top actions. However, things had certainly changed since he had first put on the suit. Both the inventor and Fury knew it.
Before, way back then, his actions only directly affected him and him alone. If he decided to blow himself up to save the world, that was his problem. If he decided to abandon his company, that was his deal. If he decided to stay up all day and all night doing nothing but patrolling the streets, no one would have a say in it. Today, however, years later, these decisions were no longer as easy or as white-and-black anymore. Today, every action taken, every word spoken, crawled its way back to his family at home.
His family – Pepper and James – the only reason he was keeping his big mouth shut up until now. His little family: the reason why he had ended the life of the person he was today being accused of murdering in cold blood. His precious, little family: the reason why he had not told Nick Fury exactly what he thought about his idea of arresting Iron Man.
"I sure hope you're not waiting for your phone call or your attorney to talk to me. That's not how it works around here, Stark."
"I know. I'm not under any delusions," Tony said, finally breaking the long silence, his eyes blankly stared at Fury. "I'm not even going to deny what I did. There's no need. I don't regret it, and she deserved it."
"You're not one with authority to decide that. That's why you're here."
"You had no issues when I broke Ghost's neck."
"Prick had it coming," Fury said, sat back in his chair that rested across from Tony's, and crossed his arms over his chest. "It was pure self-defense. Plain and simple. You were unarmed, assaulted, not in a suit, and he was about to slit Potts's throat – we could confirm it by the prints on her neck. This time, though, you had all the advantage in the world. Plus, you had the choice to stop yourself, and you didn't."
"The choice?" Tony asked with a disbelieving scoff and a shake of his head.
He briefly stared to his left, at one of the one-way glass walls that encompassed the small room, and narrowed his eyes at it, wondering who could be standing behind it this very moment, dissecting him and his actions; perhaps even taking to heart every word he said. He knew that Pepper was innocent here, completely not at fault for his own actions, so he was not truly troubled by the possibility that she could be, at this moment, being given the same treatment as he in some other place on the Helicarrier. Yet, the fear that Fury would take it out on her or the baby in other ways he had not yet thought about, was still gnawing at his soul.
He had not even told Pepper the details of Rhona Erwin's demise, and the redhead had never asked for the specifics since more important matters had been at hand. He should have seen it coming, nevertheless, that she would eventually find out what he had done; she always did. As he had just told Nick Fury, he held no regrets for it, and if one single regret ever came out of this at all, it would be the fact that Pepper was going to find out about his deed from someone other than him.
Tony finally returned his gaze to Nick Fury and exhaled in barely controlled anger.
"Talk to me about choices when it's your kid's and your wife's lives on the line. Talk to me about choices when a birth is the only reason why a psychopath didn't decapitate your fiancée. There are no choices when the lives of those you love are in danger, Nick. You, of all people, should know that."
"Potts was in no danger when Erwin broke into your company, since she wasn't even in the building in the first place. And Rhona was no threat to you when you had her under your grip, Stark. There were a million ways that you could've handled the situation, but you chose the easy way out."
"The easy way out?" Tony asked, again in disbelief. "You make it sound as if I enjoy killing people."
"Based on what I saw, I'd say that's just about right."
Tony frowned and his jaw tightened.
"Are you saying that I'm heartless? Are you saying that I can't control myself? If that's what the problem is, then you oughta look at yourself in the mirror, Fury. I'm not the one that was willing to blow up an entire fleet of my own people when I couldn't control the Living Laser."
Nick Fury gave him a long, silent stare before he finally stood up from the chair. He rested his hands on the table, putting his weight on them, and he then leaned down to stare at the inventor with every ounce of contempt he could.
"All I'm saying is that I hope the day you snap and try to hurt the ones you love, that someone will be there to keep them safe from YOU. What's to stop you from going on a rampage? What's to stop you from snapping someone's neck if you think that's what they deserve? When you get angry, you lose all control, and I hope that someone is there to save Pepper from you when you decide she deserves to be dealt with… or that at least someone is there to wipe her blood from your hands – just like you did with Rhona Erwin."
Tony's response, in the blink of an eye, was to use the metal cuffs and his strength to hit Nick Fury's chin. The General was pushed back a few feet, but he quickly recovered to stop the angry bout Tony was about to engage in. The inventor then hacked into the cuffs using Extremis, and when the heavy contraption hit the floor, he jumped over the narrow table and tried to get a choke hold on the older man. Nick Fury, however, knowing beforehand that his words would incite this behavior, was more than ready for him. He easily flipped him over, made the blue-eyed boy hit the ground, and then sat on him.
"Get off me! Get the fuck off me!" Tony cried. "I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!"
"For what? So that you can prove me right? Or is it because I know that your fiancée is in danger with you? What are you going to do next? Suffocate your kid with a pillow? Throw Potts from your high-rise? Or are you just going to bust her pretty little head open with a repulsor of yours?"
"Shut up!" Tony yelled as he struggled to try to remove the General from his back. "You don't have a fucking clue what you're saying! I'd never hurt Pepper! I'd never hurt my son!"
"Really? Because I have video evidence that states the contrary: that you can't control your anger! I just hope that someone is there to stop you from killing your fiancée. She can be a stubborn bitch, but I like her. If I'm not there to stop you, I hope someone else is there to put a bullet through your head before you kill her."
"SHUT UP!"
Nick Fury responded to Tony's demand by lifting him from the floor, turning around in place and slamming his front against the glass wall near the entrance door. Even in his anger and with his enhancement, the billionaire was not able to break the hold the General had on him. The more he struggled, the tighter Fury held onto him, and if it had not been for Pepper walking inside the room at that instant, Tony would have shut down the engines of the Helicarrier, just to spite the man.
"What the hell, Fury?" Pepper glared at the General. "I thought you said he was calm!"
"He was!" Fury replied, his grip on the inventor not loosening even though Tony was no longer fighting him and he was instead staring at Pepper with guilty eyes. "But he had to go get all worked up over nothing, as always."
"Worked up over nothing?" Tony practically snarled but did not move. "You just said I'd hurt my family! You just called me a fucking serial killer of my own blood! How the heck did you expect me to react, you asshole?"
"That's enough, Tony," Pepper said between gritted teeth. "And you, Nick, let him go. Tony and I need to talk… in private."
Fury narrowed his eye at her.
"You know how I feel about leaving anyone alone with him… even you… especially you, actually."
"I'm sure I'll be fine. He won't hurt me. And even if he does, there're, like, a hundred agents watching through the walls."
"And they're not leaving," Fury said, his hands still on Tony. "The most 'in private' you're going to get is you two alone in here while we all watch and hear."
"That's not gonna do," Pepper said. "You can stay outside, but I want our voices to be muted."
"I can do that, no problem," Tony said with a smirk. "In fact, let's do that right now," he added and narrowed his eyes, in the way he always did when hacking a computer, but one glare from the ginger made him stop in his tracks.
"That's not necessary, right, Nick? Tony doesn't have to hack your surveillance system to give us some privacy, right?"
Nick Fury eyed her for a moment before he rolled his eye and sighed in exasperation. It appeared to him that the conversation that he and the redhead had had before he had interrogated Tony had gone in one ear and out the other. Either Pepper was extremely sure that Tony would never lay a finger on her, or the girl was too much in love to believe that her fiancé could do any wrong. Fury was betting on the latter to be the case.
"Fine," he finally relented and let go of Tony. "But if he does anything out of line…"
The General trailed his words. He knew that he did not have to finish his statement for it to be clearly interpreted by the couple. Pepper's nod confirmed it with him that she had understood his silent threat. If Tony displayed even the minimum amount of aggressive behavior, Fury was going to have his agents shoot him dead on the spot. Pepper could not forget his warning – his promise – to make good on it if he believed that Tony was a danger to anyone else or himself. This was the only reason why she was not going off at the inventor right off the bat; or at least not until they were at home, where screaming at each other would not be met with capital punishment.
Fury glared at Tony one last time and reluctantly walked out of the room, leaving the two heroes in an uncomfortable silence Pepper immediately broke.
"Let's just sit down, alright?" she suggested.
A second later, she was picking up the table from the floor with his help. Five seconds after that, they were staring at each other – Tony back in his chair and Pepper taking what had been Fury's seat – and they remained silent for what felt like an eternity for everyone watching outside. Pepper was still trying to recover from what she had learned about Tony a few moments ago, and Tony was trying not to further enrage his fiancée. He could already tell that she was trying her best to remain supportive of his actions, but even Pepper had a limit on what she would put up with from other people for him.
Finally, after a full minute of silence, Pepper rubbed her eyes with her hands, as if the action would erase the gory images of Rhona's exploding head from her mind, and she then spoke in a soft tone that she knew would not set him on edge, but that would tell him that she was quite upset with him.
"What were you thinking?"
The loaded question made the genius look at his lap for a moment, as if he were deep in thought. He then knitted his brow, exhaled slowly, and looked up to stare at her hazel eyes before finally replying.
"You know what I was thinking, Pep."
Pepper closed her eyes and sighed. This was going to be more difficult than what she had originally thought.
"I would've, Tony, if…" she opened her eyes once more and locked them with his. "If I hadn't seen the footage or hadn't heard the voice recording. I would've known if… if she hadn't begged you for her life. You-you murdered her, Tony. You didn't just kill her, you… you tortured her and killed her. And I don't understand why you had to do it. I can't believe you'd do such a thing."
"Why not, Pepper?" he retorted, his voice slightly higher than before, but he was careful not to make any sudden movements. "You wanted her dead, too, remember? You were the one who tried killing her first."
"Out of self-defense, Tony! She was going to kill you, I was pregnant, and I couldn't fight her like that. Blowing her up in the suit was all I could do at that point to stop her. She was asking for it then, but when you had her in your hands…" the ginger shook her head lightly, her eyes shifted to her right, and the images and words of the Goth girl hit her again. She then clenched her eyes shut and held back tears before she finished her statement.
"She was asking to live. She was pleading you to let her live."
He slowly slid his hands across the table and held hers in his, his thumbs stroking her knuckles. The gesture made her stare at him again, this time with tears of anger and disappointment trailing down her cheeks. Pepper waited, expected for Tony to accept his culpability and tell her why he had taken such extreme measures, but when he finally decided to speak again, the redhead was surprised by his words.
"Pepper, do you remember the night you were looking at adoption centers? Do you remember what I told you then?"
The ginger's eyes shifted left and right as she searched her mind for the memory, for the conversation that had taken place that night. She knew that he was not referring to the issue about the adoption, but to the other conversation that happened afterwards – the one that made her as upset as this one.
Pepper closed her eyes briefly and, when she opened them again, his face was inches from hers. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, her knuckles and then spoke again.
"Do you really want to give him up? Is that really what you want?"
"No," she choked and shook her head. "No, I don't."
"Then you don't have to," he told her firmly. "I'll see to that, Pepper. I promised you – I swore to you, that I wouldn't let anything happen to him, and I will do anything I can to protect you and him. This baby is staying with us whether whoever sent those birds to kill him wants it or not. They're just going to have to kiss my iron ass if they think they can convince me otherwise. The SI board couldn't stop me. Stane and Hammer couldn't stop me. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't stop me and the fucking Makluan couldn't stop me either. Whoever these assholes are, I want to see them try – no, I dare them to try to hurt you or the baby. I will kill them, Pepper. I will kill them when the time comes. Them and anyone else who tries to take you away. I'm not taking any chances."
Pepper closed her eyes again and threw her arms around his shoulders. She loathed hearing him talk like this – so full of hate and thirsty for vengeance, but he really could not help it at this point. She was certain that some of that same anger and violent tendencies he felt were embedded in her by now, too. How could anyone not expect it after everything they had survived? How could anyone not develop a sense of extreme self-defense when sometimes it appeared as if everything and everyone was out to get you?
Her eyes landed on his again and she shook her head in disappointment.
"Not taking any chances," she said to him to let him know that she remembered what he had said to her, and he nodded for her to know that she had remembered it correctly. She did not dare to repeat his entire promise to her in case Nick had not kept his promise not to listen in to their conversation just now.
"You're not taking any chances."
"No," he shook his head lightly. "I'm not. Not with you. Not with James."
"What if…," she swallowed hard, the weight of his words finally dawning on her. "What if not taking it gets you killed? What if not taking it… what if…"
Tony hung his head. He brought her hands to his lips, placed a single kiss on the back of her hands, and kept them on his face. He then closed his eyes and held tighter onto her hands, but he did not verbally respond. He knew he did not have to. He knew that she understood his silent reply. Pepper clenched her eyes shut and returned the strength of his grip on her, and the couple remained silent for a long time – at least until Maria Hill announced it was time for Pepper to leave.
xxxXXXxxx
Nick Fury watched from his upright position behind the glass walls as Pepper stood up from the chair, following Maria Hill's notification. Tony immediately stood up with her and kept holding onto her hands until he went around the table and pulled her to him for an embrace. The couple hugged for another moment; one in which the inventor whispered something to the ginger while he stroked the back of her head a few times. Pepper nodded a couple of times before they finally pulled away from each other. Tony then held Pepper's face in his hands and gave her a quick but passionate kiss his fiancée eagerly returned. A second later, the Rescue alter ego followed Agent Hill out of the room.
Once he knew that Pepper was out of hearing range, the General turned slightly to his right to stare at the brunette standing next to him – who had also been watching the entire scene – and sighed.
"I hope you have a good reason for being here, Ms. Hansen. I'm sure you can appreciate what your presence here entails for our plans."
"I know. And I actually do have a good reason for showing my face around here," Maya gave the General a curt nod, but her eyes were glued to the inventor, still inside the cell, as he was being handcuffed again with a non-computerized set of bracelets, this time. She visibly flinched when she saw a familiar-looking metal brace being attached to his neck, and she almost gasped when his body suddenly convulsed and then collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
At least Pepper didn't have to see this, she thought with sadness, truly grateful that the spunky redhead was not a witness of how criminals were treated aboard the Helicarrier. If Pepper knew what they were about to do to the blue-eyed boy, Maya had no doubt that Rescue would blow the entire ship to Kingdom Come, faster than anyone on board could react to make a difference. Based on what she had learned recently, S.H.I.E.L.D. – Nick Fury included – truly underestimated the redhead's abilities and determination when it came to anything that related to her fiancé, Tony Stark.
"So?" Fury began once he saw the agents take an unconscious Tony away to the maximum-security containment area of the fortress. "What are you here for?"
"I'm here to advocate for Tony. I'm here to clear things up."
"Advocate for him?" Fury scoffed. "What are you, his lawyer, now? Last I checked, Ms. Hansen, you didn't go to law school."
"I didn't need to. I went to college for genetics, biomolecular engineering and cellular biology research. And that alone, General Fury, is more powerful than any law of any country around the world."
Nick Fury stared up and down at the woman who was yet to show any signs of bluffing or of being intimidated by his presence. He had been surprised that she had suddenly shown up at their doorstep, as if she had nothing to fear from S.H.I.E.L.D., and it had been his curiosity alone that was currently saving her from sharing a prison cell with the billionaire. Based on the brunette's overly-confident attitude, it now appeared to the General that his curiosity was about to pay off.
"Why don't we cut to the chase, then?" Fury began. "How exactly are you here to advocate for Stark? Are you going to try to cut us a deal for his freedom? Because, I can assure you, Ms. Hansen, that's not going to fly. The World Security Council wants Iron Man permanently decommissioned and sentenced to life in prison, and I doubt that you have anything with you that can overturn that decision."
Maya did not flinch at hearing his words, and instead gave him a knowing smirk – Pepper was no longer the only one with good researching skills.
"I'm well aware of that, General. And I assure you that what I have to offer will guarantee Tony's freedom from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the WSC."
"Is that so?" Fury asked with a hint of incredulity. "Are you going to offer us a fixed Extremis version in exchange for lowering Tony Stark's sentence? You know your stepfather still owes us that perfected serum, right? How is he, Dr. Killian, by the way? Is he still forgetting where he leaves his car keys?"
"Aldrich is fine," Maya retorted. "He's doing better than most of us, actually."
"Oh, I'm sure of that," Fury said. "If you actually make it out of here, be sure to give him my regards."
"I will," Maya said and finally faced Fury with a determined look. "Right after I explain to you why you need to set Tony free. Why you've got the wrong man."
"You mean Stark?"
"Yes," she said. "Tony's innocent. You can't charge him with the murder of Rhona Erwin."
"And why is that?"
"Because I made him do it," she deadpanned. "It's my fault he killed her. He did it because of me."
The shock on the General's face was evident, but what was not evident was how Maya Hansen, who had not even been near the scene when Tony had crushed Rhona's skull, was responsible for the most atrocious action Iron Man had committed so far.
"You have my attention, Ms. Hansen."
"I knew I would."
xxxXXXxxx
Not many situations shook the Head of S.H. .D. to the core, but whenever something or someone managed to catch him off-guard or gave him information he was not privy to, it always made him feel as if he was not doing his job well enough. He could not help but feel like a failure – even if he was aware that even the best of the best made mistakes – because he knew that, in his line of business, blunders made typically cost lives – innocent lives. Yet, erring was definitely a human trait and, at the end of the day, as trained and experienced in combat and strategy as someone as he could be, and despite his moderate physical enhancements, a human was all he truly was inside.
The more he thought about Maya Hansen's important message to him, the more he recognized that he had failed the inventor and the redhead. He had failed to keep them safe. He had failed to protect them as he had always intended to do. He had failed at his most significant mission as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Phase 3 was quickly becoming a complete failure, and all he could do about it at this point was sit back and let life take its course – let unfold the events he had been trying to prevent from happening in the first place. Years of preparation and intelligence gathering had gone down the drain, in seconds, with the information Maya had brought to them. As much as he hated to accept it, one of his main suspects had turned out to be his greatest informant in this whole operation he had been overseeing for ages.
That had really stung him. The fact that he had been proven useless and wrong by one of the leading perpetrators of the mission he had been charged to avert. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were in grave danger – more than they had ever been before, and all Nick Fury could do for them was pretend that he did not know what was coming their way. He had to let it happen. He had to let it break them. He had to let it hit them hard in the face. Only then would his efforts prove successful. Only then would they be able to fight back. Only then would Tony and Pepper be ready to do anything to save the world.
Even if that cost them their lives or the lives of those they loved.
So young, Nick thought with bitterness. They're so young.
Even if the relationship between the heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D. had somewhat turned sour ever since Stark Solutions had bought Hammer Multinational and they had taken away their weapons, Nick Fury could not deny the fact that he still liked the weird duo. Business was just business, and on a personal note, he actually admired the power couple as much or more than some of their most devoted fans did. His reasons for admiring them were different than the ones their aficionados who followed their every move had, but that did not make his own motives any less valid. That did not make his job easier either, especially not today.
He had tried his best to put off the arrest of Tony Stark, even though the WSC had wanted him behind bars the same day he had killed Rhona Erwin. Nick had done whatever he had been able to do to stall the World Security Council's efforts while the baby was born and while the couple set a routine – but he had only been able to hold off for so long. The Council was rather shortsighted in these kinds of matters; they had only seen a deranged man in a suit of armor on the loose. They did not have time and resources to waste on his recommendations, and they did not see the Tony Stark that Nick Fury did; the one that had killed out of anger and desperation. The one that had and would kill again for the ones he loved.
"You had no issues when I broke Ghost's neck."
"Prick had it coming," Fury said, sat back in his chair that rested across from Tony's, and crossed his arms over his chest. "It was pure self-defense. Plain and simple. You were unarmed, assaulted, not in a suit, and he was about to slit Potts's throat – we could confirm it by the prints on her neck. This time, though, you had all the advantage in the world. Plus, you had the choice to stop yourself, and you didn't."
"The choice?" Tony asked with a disbelieving scoff and a shake of his head. "Talk to me about choices when it's your kid's and your wife's lives on the line. Talk to me about choices when a birth is the only reason why a psychopath didn't decapitate your fiancée. There are no choices when the lives of those you love are in danger, Nick. You, of all people, should know that."
And he did. He did know it. Too well, in fact.
It may had not been a child or a wife, but Nick Fury knew a thing or two about killing for the ones you loved… or killing the ones you loved. Even if he himself had not been successful in killing his own brother, and even if Jake "Scorpio" Fury had ended up killing himself, the fact remained that Nick Fury had tried to kill his own flesh and blood for the sake of others – for the sake of saving the world. The question remained, however, on whether Tony Stark or Pepper Potts would be able to do the same if – when – the time came to do so.
"General Fury, do you have a moment, sir?"
"Come in," Nick responded and, seconds later, his second-in-command closed the door behind her after walking inside the General's private office. She stood in front of his desk, hands behind her back and still as ever, but it was evident in her eyes that something was clearly bothering her – and Fury knew exactly what that something was, as it was troubling him too. She had been extremely against arresting the inventor, and she had also been doing everything in her power to help him leave as soon as possible. It had taken Agent Hill the summoning of years of training to keep her from choking the brunette when she had reappeared, especially after learning that there would be no more efforts to keep Tony Stark from being locked up in S.H.I.E.L.D. for a while, thanks to the biologist's intervention and recommendation.
"It is not I who needs convincing, Agent Hill," Fury said to let her know that they shared views on the matter. "You know that."
"I understand, Sir," she began. "But you know how I feel about trusting Maya Hansen. She's been on our priority watch list for years. Why did we not arrest her on the spot when we had the chance? We had every right to do so. The Council would've exonerated Stark in exchange for her and her stepfather, Dr. Aldrich Killian. It would've been more than an equal trade!"
"Tables have turned, Maria," Fury responded, and with the mention of her given name, the Agent knew that she was currently speaking to Nick Fury, the man, and not Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Maya has us by the balls."
"But she could be bluffing," Maria reasoned. "She could be lying to us and trying to stall the operation for her personal benefit. You know she can't ever be trusted. You know what she used to do to Stark before she left."
"I do, and I know what she's doing to him now. And that's why I know she's not bluffing. Stalling, yes, definitely. But lying? Not at all. I agree with her that we need to stall. We need to take a step back and just watch it unfold. Otherwise, our cover will be blown and Stark and Potts will be left vulnerable. More than they are now."
Maria shook her head fervidly, refusing to believe what she had just heard. She knew that telling Tony and Pepper the truth about what was being done to them would only cause more trouble and would not prevent their deaths, but she also found it unfair that they now had to listen to and trust a woman who she would not trust with fake money. Agent Hill had told Pepper once before that Maya Hansen had nothing to fear, and Maria would stand by those words unless proven otherwise.
"Maybe I can help you understand," Pepper said after a pause. "Maybe I can help you help her."
Maria could not help it when her eyebrows shot up, shock evident on her face at hearing Pepper's words.
"That'd be quite ironic, Miss Potts. Ironic and brave."
"Well, I'm no longer Tony's girlfriend. At this point, it'd be Maya Hansen who would have to watch out for herself, not me."
"Well, if you ask me, I think Miss Hansen has less to worry about than you ever did Miss Potts."
"It's not my position to question you, Sir," Maria continued after a pause. "But I can't help to think that you're making a mistake. Hansen simply cannot be trusted. She's just trying to help herself get out of the mess she got herself in."
"She's not," Fury replied. "She's got nothing to lose or gain at this point. I can assure you, Maria: she's not going to betray us."
"Then why isn't she here? Why isn't she fixing everything if she can?"
"Because she can't. She can only move forward with the plans. There's no stopping it anymore. We just have to let it roll."
"And what about Stark and his family?" Maria insisted. "Why are we running all those medical tests on him? I just don't understand, Sir. And, with all due respect, I'm tired of having to order my agents to drag Tony's beaten body back to his cell every time we finish putting him through those tests Maya ordered we do on him. I don't see any point to them."
"I can't tell you why, Agent Hill, but I can tell you that they're needed. They're probably our last hope to help Stark. If we don't run those tests and find the answer to what we are looking for… Well, he's probably not going to make it past Christmas."
"He's not going to make it anyway, Director," Maria deadpanned, a scowl on her face. "We might as well let him spend the rest of his days with his family. With his little boy and with Miss Potts."
Nick Fury rarely saw on Hill any palpable signs of disapproval of orders given to her, and even though he could see her obvious dissatisfaction of the entire ordeal, there was nothing anyone could do – not even he. Tony Stark's life was on a countdown, and the countdown had been fast-tracked by Maya Hansen's return.
"Is Miss Potts still demanding to see her fiancé again?"
"She is," Maria responded. "But every time she has called or come down, I've given her the standard response. How long do you think that will keep her from using her suit to force her way in here, though? You know she has an army of suits at her disposal, and I'm sure Stark has taught her how to use them all at the same time."
"I'm sure he has. But she'll stay away long enough to serve our purposes. Besides, she won't just barge in here like she always did before. She has to think about her kid now. She won't run the risk of leaving her son without a father AND a mother. I know that for a fact."
"Are you kidding me, Fury?" the redhead spat as soon as she walked inside the Helicarrier and spotted the General. "I knew you were always full of shit, but this? This is a new low for you! What do you want this time? More weapons? A donation to your eye-patch foundation? Because you're NOT getting either."
"Glad to see you too, Ms. Potts," Fury said in his usual condescending tone, if just to keep up with appearances while being watched by the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he was learning not to trust. He knew that the Council was monitoring the arrest of Tony Stark very closely, and the last thing he needed was to clue them in on what he was trying to accomplish behind their backs. "Or is it Mrs. Stark? I haven't gotten an invitation to the wedding yet, so I'm not sure."
"And at this rate you aren't getting one. Why is Tony here? Why did you take him?"
"What do you mean: why is he here? Where else do you expect him to be? At home with you and your kid?"
"Of course! What lies are you devising now to get your damned weapons back? Tony told me that you blackmailed him years ago by threatening to tell me the truth about how I'd lost my memory, but that's useless to you now. So, what cunning plan have you thought of since then? Whatever it is, it's not gonna work. I know Tony wouldn't want you to have any weapons, no matter what you threaten us with."
Fury smirked, silently admiring the drive of the girl before him, and hoped her determination would not expire before its time.
"Still his gatekeeper, huh?"
"'til the day I die."
"I'm sure," he said and fought the urge to say anything else on the matter. "But, anyway, this is not about weapons, Miss Potts," Fury assured her. "This is more important than that."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that your husband-to-be killed Rhona Erwin in cold blood the day your baby was born," Nick Fury replied, and he could tell by the look of shock that briefly crossed the ginger's eyes that she was not aware of this fact.
"What?"
"Ah!" Fury crossed his arms over his chest. "He hasn't told you, has he?"
"No," she breathed and lightly shook her head. "Tony… Tony wouldn't… and… if he did… he… he'd have had a reason. Like with Ghost. He had a good reason, I'm sure."
"He would've… he did for a while… and until a certain point. But he crossed the line this time, Ms. Potts. He had a chance to stop himself and he chose not to. He had me telling him to stop. He had Rhona Erwin begging for her life, and he chose to crush her skull."
"I don't believe you. You're lying. Tony might be irrational when he's mad… but he's a good man. He wouldn't kill just to kill."
"But he did."
"According to who? You?"
"According to everyone who has seen the footage."
Pepper narrowed her eyes at him and, even from a distance, the General could see her knuckles turning white. She swallowed visibly and took a deep breath, and after staring over her shoulder to look at Virgil holding baby James in his arms by the entrance of the Helicarrier bridge, she returned her gaze toward Fury.
"Show me," she told him. "Show me the footage."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"It's not pretty."
"I don't care. I need to see it. I need to see it myself. And then… and then I need to see Tony. Is he alright?"
"He's calm, all things considered."
"Does he know why he's here?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing. He's been pretty quiet since we arrived. Maybe you can get him to talk."
"And if I do? Would that help?"
"I don't think so," he shook his head. "He's beyond our help now. This is not a matter of the States' legal system. This is a world-threat. The WSC wants me to label him as a terrorist. They have all the evidence they need to prove that he is."
"For one person? For killing one person?"
"There's more to it, but I can't reveal it to you. Showing you the video is actually against the WSC mandates. But I can make an exception for you."
"In exchange for what?"
"I'd say for weapons, but I think I know the answer to that."
"You do."
Fury chuckled. "Yes, I do. Anyone who knows you two, knows the answer to that. And I did have something on Tony back then. I did blackmail him, but now… I have nothing. And I have nothing on you."
"You have my fiancé."
"But you still won't give us weapons."
"No."
"What if Tony's life depended on it? What if I told you giving us a fleet of suits would save his life? What, then?"
The redhead pursed her lips, and the shine in her eyes told Nick that she was holding back tears. Even if her silence went on for a few seconds, he knew that she was not even considering his question. He already knew the answer to his own question posed to her, he had just asked it to make sure that she knew the correct answer herself.
"Then," she swallowed hard. "Then I guess my baby would only have his mother."
"Good answer, Miss Potts," Fury said with a nod. "Very good answer."
"Sir?" Maria Hill called him for the third time since he had spaced out on her moments ago. She was tempted to wave a hand in front of her superior and maybe even snap her fingers at him. So far, she had held back. "You were saying?"
"Yes," Fury began. "She… she won't be a problem. She'll stay away long enough for us to finish our tests on Stark. Or at least until the Council is… sidetracked."
Maria raised a single brow. "By what?"
"By the mention of the real enemy. By the realization that Stark is not who they think he is."
"When would that be?"
Fury shrugged. "Can't really say. Maya will send me the notification."
Maria held back a sigh. "And meanwhile? We keep doing this to him? We keep torturing him?"
"We can't make an omelet…"
"Without leaving a child without his father," Maria replied with a frown. "Permission to be dismissed, Sir."
The General furrowed his brow at her comment. Even if he agreed with her, the fact remained that nothing could be done to stop it. S.H.I.E.L.D. had to deal with this. Tony had to put up with this. Pepper had to put up with this. And if their kid ended up fatherless or motherless, then so it would be. Life was not fair, anyway, and it had been rather unfair for the pair of heroes as of late.
"Permission granted," Fury said after a short pause, and after Maria Hill left his office, he returned to doing some more brooding of his own.
xxxXXXxxx
S.H.I.E.L.D. knows, Tony thought as he lay on the bed of his cell, unable to move and hardly able to breath or blink. The round of tests had been much rougher today than any other day, and he had a feeling that they would only worsen as time went by. No one told him what the tests were for, but he was a scientist himself. He could read the signs. He could read the computers. He knew what they were searching for.
Extremis is failing me and S.H.I.E.L.D. knows about it.
An act; his arrest had been nothing but an act. Or at least for Nick Fury it had been, as the inventor doubted that the WSC even knew about how Extremis worked. Agent Mallen had been a complete accident and failure, and after searching for the records of the former agent by recently hacking the S.H.I.E.L.D. database using his computer-manipulation gift, the blue-eyed boy now knew that Agent Mallen had died months ago. Of Extremis. Quite literally, in fact.
Is this why they were messing with the Z-Gas? Is this why they were trying to perfect Extremis by merging it with Z0M31-E? Did they know this would happen to me?
Was Nick Fury actually trying to help him survive whatever had killed Agent Mallen?
Tony would have groaned at the idea if his entire body was not in pain.
He had been aware of some recent glitches when using Extremis ever since Rhona Erwin had returned, but he had attributed them to just recovering from whatever she had done to hack their servers. Then, he had attributed his inability to use Extremis to hack into his own suits as just another hiccup in the system, maybe even a result of being tired, but he could no longer deny the truth that he saw and felt. Something was wrong with him, very wrong, and Extremis was definitely involved.
I can't tell Pepper. Not until I'm sure.
Lying was not the best option, he knew that very well, but telling her he was probably going to die soon was not something you told a loved one unless you were absolutely positive about it. He would still have to prepare for the possibility, but he would most certainly not waste Pepper's tears or worry for something that probably had a cure.
I'm sorry, Pepper. Tony clenched his eyes shut. I'm so sorry.
He had made her promises, plenty of times and plenty of them, and it appeared as if he would not be able to keep them all. He had promised her a wedding he was yet to carry on, and he had promised her a life of happiness he had not been able to give her either. Yes, they had been mostly happy for a while now, especially after the birth of their son, but he knew that being locked up in a cell was not part of the plan. She needed him and so did James, and if it was not for the fact that him staying put helped them stay off the WSC's radar, he would had not been cooperating at all with any of the crazy things that S.H.I.E.L.D. had made him do so far.
Such as practically draining half of his blood today.
He opened his eyes again and, with a lot of effort, he pushed himself to sit up on the bed and to rest his back against the wall. The mattress was not the most comfortable one in the world, but after living in the Maggia lair for a month, this was not as bad as he thought it would be. At least he was sleeping on a real bed and not on the floor, and he at least had access to a shower and real food every day.
At least Pepper and James were comfortable and healthy back at home.
Yet, the knowledge that his discomfort resulted in the protection of his family did nothing for how much he missed them. How much he wanted to see them. How much he wanted to be with them again. In just a couple of months, ever since the redhead had given birth to their son, and despite struggling with parenthood, Tony had developed a deeper connection with his fiancée than he had ever thought possible. He was not sure what it was or why or even when it had happened, but he had begun to see his redhead in a new light.
He had always preached and had constantly told her that he loved her, even before they had gotten together for good. But, as of late, saying the words to her brought a pain to his chest. It was as if acknowledging his feelings for her somehow physically hurt him, and he was starting to wonder if what he felt when he uttered those words to the redhead was nothing more than part of him fearing what it would be like to never say those words to her again – what it would be like to never see her again. He had believed before that he loved her, but now he knew that love did not begin to describe what he felt for her. He was not blindly infatuated, but their lives were so mixed together that the thought of not having her with him made him want to curl up in a ball and cry.
And that was not counting what he felt for his son; the little boy that resembled him so much and who displayed the same innate curiosity both his father and mother had. He could only imagine what trouble the child would get into when he learned how to crawl – worse when he figured out how to walk – and perhaps even bigger issues would come to him when he learned how to talk. Especially if James ended up inheriting his father's arrogance and Pepper's ability to speak her mind, nonstop.
Yup, their son was definitely screwed. But the genius would not have it any other way. He would have not wanted anyone else to start a family with other than his quirky girl, and even if their prophecy that their kid was going to be weird no matter what came true, Tony could have not been prouder to have a son like him. His only actual regret would be, however, not being there to see him grow up if his Extremis issue was not resolved.
He slowly took his hand to his pants' pocket and dug it inside to take out Pepper's birthday present to him – or one of them, the one he could take with him everywhere he went. He had been shocked when S.H.I.E.L.D. had not confiscated it from him when he had been searched upon his arrival, but knowing how Nick Fury worked, the inventor had come to believe that the General had let him keep his pocket watch to keep him in line. It had worked so far, and he had a feeling that it would continue to work on him.
Tony pressed the side lock to pop open the watch and a smile immediately graced his face when he saw the picture of his son on the inner part of the cover. Pepper had insisted that a professional baby photographer – if there ever was such a thing – did a picture shoot for James. Although Tony had scoffed at the idea at first, he now knew that Pepper had been correct in pushing for taking these pictures. The results had been rather cute, and he could not deny that, had it not been for this picture and the one hidden behind it, he would have lost his mind a long time ago.
His finger pressed the watch's lock again and, this time, the secret cover behind the baby picture popped open to reveal a picture of Pepper and him. This particular picture had been taken by Rhodey, when the redhead and the inventor were still just friends, and when the trio had still attended the Tomorrow Academy. He remembered the day it had been taken, and even though he had tried to play it cool at finding out that the impromptu photo shoot had taken place, he had been secretly glad that Rhodey had gone through the trouble of surprising them.
It had been the day Tony had first realized that he had a crush on the redhead, and it had happened shortly after she had so blatantly stated they had been on date the day Andros Stark had appeared. The idea that he would one day grow up and have kids and grandkids had never really crossed his mind until he had thought he would never have a chance to do so. One thought had led to another, and in the loneliness of his lab he had realized that if he had indeed been killed by Andros that day, the only regret he would have taken with him would have been never actually telling Pepper he liked her a lot.
And then the object of his affection had shown up.
"Hey, there, Tony!" Pepper said as she walked inside the lab, ice cream cone in hand, and interrupted Tony's thoughts on his life. He gave her a quick glance and then looked away, lest his blush became apparent to her.
"Hey, Pep."
"What are you up to now?" she asked him and then looked over his shoulder at the parts on the work table. "Ooh! Are you building a new armor? Or is it my armor? You know, you still owe me my armor and you keep putting it off? Did you lose my diagram? Do you need a new one? Do you have markers? I can totally redraw it for you right now and–"
"Pepper–"
"You've totally lost the diagram, haven't you?" she took a lick off the ice cream. "I mean, you shouldn't need it since you're a freaking genius and you probably memorized it the moment you first saw it but–"
"Pepper, I've told you that… uhm…" he began as he turned around on his stool but then stopped when a more important matter appeared to him. "Hey, Pep…"
"But that's still so not fair that you're doing upgrades to everything, but you don't have time to build me my armor? You promised me, Tony! And one thing you don't do to friends is to break promises. I mean, honestly! How hard can it be? Are you having trouble remembering what I want? 'Cause you can tell me, alright? Friends don't have secrets. Friends share everything."
"Pepper, listen."
"And I think I've earned my armor, Tony. I really think I have. The bad guys are getting worse and you and Rhodey aren't going to be enough soon."
"Pepper."
"And I know I need practice, but you never let me be out there more than five minutes! What gives?"
"PEPPER!"
"What?"
"You have ice cream on your chin."
"What?" she randomly patted her chin, only to realize he was right. "Oh, crap! Do you have a tissue?"
"Nope," he joked and smiled. "You're gonna have to lick it."
"What? I can't lick it!" she said and then rubbed off the rest of the ice cream from her chin with the back of her hand. She then groaned when her hand began dripping the ice cream, and she shoved the cone into Tony's hand. "Here, make yourself useful and hold that for me. I'm gonna go wash off."
"OK."
He watched her stomp her way to the sink, and a wide smile appeared on his face, and after she finished washing her hands and turned around to head back to him, a cruel idea came to his mind. Seconds before she was to grab her cone from him, he pulled it to his mouth and, without hesitation, licked one side of the ice cream. Her eyes went side as saucers and, in order to keep his momentum going, Tony made sure that every side of the cone had his germs on it before he handed it back to her.
"Here, Pep."
"TONY! What did you do that for? Do you know how long I had to wait in line to buy that? It's soooooo hot outside, all the ice cream places were full!"
"And?" he shrugged and licked the cone again. "What's the problem? You can keep eating it."
"No, I can't! You just licked it!"
"So? Didn't you say friends share everything?"
"Well, yeah," she hesitated. "But-but if you wanted some you could've told me and I could've gotten you a spoon or a small bowl and we could've split it up."
"How is that any different than what I'm doing now?" he asked in a teasing tone. He had never actually flirted with her this much before, but he was definitely enjoying her reactions to his bantering. "Besides, it's not like we haven't shared cooties before."
"Wah?" she asked and gulped. "W-When?"
"What do you mean when? All the time!"
"All… the… time?"
"Yeah, you're always drinking from my straw at school."
"Uhm… huh… I… well… that's… that's different still."
"How?" he asked with a smile, stood up and closed the distance between them. "I don't see how it is. Here, I'll prove it to you. Lick it."
"What? No!" she took a step back.
"Lick it!" he took a step closer.
"I said no, Tony, quit it!" another step back.
"Why not? It's the same!" another step closer.
"It's not the same!" she insisted but this time she did not move.
"Why is it not the same? What would make it the same?"
"It… it… well…"
"It, what?"
"The same… it would only be the same if… if…"
"If, what?"
"If… if I… if I kissed you," she whispered and then looked down. Tony grinned but tried his best to keep his cool, and when the appropriate response came to him, he uttered it without hesitation.
"What's stopping you?"
Tony smiled even wider at the thought of what had happened next. Pepper had looked up at him and they had stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. They had walked closer and she had begun to blush, and right as he had felt brave enough to lean down to kiss her, Rhodey had shown up.
And he had startled them both.
And Pepper had thrown her hands in the air and had yelped.
And she had hit the ice cream cone and it had ended up hitting him square in the face.
And once everything had been said and done, Tony had ended up pulling Pepper's face to his ice cream stained one and had pressed her cheek against his to dirty her up.
And at that moment, at that exact moment when he had smiled at his small victory and Pepper had smiled at the situation, and their faces had still been touching, Rhodey had taken the picture with his cell phone. It had been intended to become a way to make fun of them but, in the end, they had both forgotten that they were being watched. Pepper had helped him get cleaned up and Tony had done the same for her and, later on that day, he had invited her to pick up some ice cream to make up for her loss. To prove to him that she was not against his "cooties," they had shared an ice cream cup and the same spoon.
And it had been at that moment that Tony had begun to toy with the idea that perhaps dating his friend would not be all that bad.
And even today, he knew for a fact that falling for her had been the best thing that he had allowed himself to do.
I need to find out what's wrong with me, Tony thought with renewed spirits and closed his pocket watch. I need to fight back.
A/N: Sorry, | OmegaInfinity |, I couldn't tell you right away :(