Whaddup, guys. I accidentally wrote two chapters in one go, so here is chapter six. Two for the price of one. Bam.

"Sir… Sir, Mr. Hogan is calling. Mr Stark… Mr Stark, it seems to be urgent."

Tony groaned and rolled over on the bed. "Put him on."

A hologram screen blinked into life over the bedside table beside him.

"Mr Stark! Mr Stark, are you alive? Where are you? Do you need me to come get you? I can bring the car-"

"Woah, woah there, Happy, calm down. I'm at home."

"What's wrong with your face? Why did you leave without me? I'm your bodyguard, Mr Stark, you can't just-"

"Oh, my bodyguard? Well, some bodyguard. Did you see that kid punch me? Twice? Didn't feel like stepping in? And then when I got hauled off by those massive goons and beaten up in an alley? Way to guard. What time is it?" It was definitely still dark. Tony looked blearily at his watch. "Happy. It's four in the morning. I'm going back to sleep."

He ended the call and rolled over.

"Look, I lost control a little. I had a few drinks. I was merry. My judgement was impaired."

"Are you kidding me? 'Merry'? You vanished on my watch. You got in a fight over a girl and you got yourself kicked out of the party and then you didn't even tell the door guy to fetch me."

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry, jeez!"

Tony was sitting at the breakfast table holding his coffee in two shaky hands as Happy berated him.

"Oh, you're sorry now. What good is that supposed to do me? As if I'm not already enough of a laughing stock."

"What are you talking about?"

"Iron Man's bodyguard? Give me a break. And now I can't even stop the man of steel from getting a black eye. Just fantastic. God, Pepper is never gonna leave me in charge again."

"Oh god, Pepper…"

"Yeah, you know what she's gonna say, don't you? 'I leave you boys alone for one night-"

"Wait, where is she?"

"Miss Potts isn't in until twelve, sir," came the ever-ready voice of JARVIS. "It's been in the calendar for a month now."

Fuck. Pepper. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Look, Mr Stark. I don't think you should tell her what happened last night. It'll only stress her out."

"'Stress her out'? C'mon Happy, don't even pretend like she's not the most capable person you've ever met."

"Oh man, yeah, of course,but you know what she's like about your image. She'll call a freaking press conference or something."

The idea of not telling Pepper about the night before was surprisingly tempting. Tony was not one to broadcast his escapades or conquests (unless they were particularly worthy of boasting), but neither was he usually one for subtlety. But he remembered Pepper's face, twisted with concern as she stood over him in his workshop, the unreadable expressions which were becoming more and more frequent lately, the way her lips suffered when he stressed her out. Those freckled lips…

Tony felt an unfamiliar twinge in his gut as he remembered the girl in the bathroom the night before. "Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed with Happy. "She has enough to deal with right now."

"God, can you imagine her face if she heard you got into a fistfight over some chick?" Happy chuckled, his face finally softening from the mask of nervous disapproval, a bachelor uncle who must tell off his naughty nephew and has no idea how to go about it.

Tony winced and said nothing. He could imagine it. The twinge in his stomach wrenched nastily.

"Ok, well in the nicest possible way you should probably go clean up before she gets here. I'll get your clothes from last night and leave them in your room and then I'd better get going."

"Thanks, Happy. I'll see you later."

Tony showered, gingerly wiping the dried blood off his aching face. He finished washing and was standing under the hot, powerful stream, letting the water pummel all thought out of his head, when Tony's "Work Hard, Play Hard" playlist faded out to be replaced by JARVIS's voice.

"As you wished to be informed, Miss Potts has just arrived on the premises, sir."

"Thanks, JARVIS." Tony turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He dried off and dressed, tossing his dirty clothes on the pile Happy had left just inside his bedroom door, and stepped out into the hall. Downstairs, Pepper was standing beside the sofa with her back to him, speaking to someone on the phone.

"Yes… Thursday afternoon sounds good… 12-o-clock? Perfect. This is your first shoot with Mr. Stark, isn't it? …Did you receive my message about his- …Ok, great… Yes, see you on Thursday! Goodbye."

Pepper fiddled with her phone, calling out at the sound of Tony's footsteps on the stairs.

"How was the gala last night?"

"No fun without you."

Pepper turned, smiling, but the smile vanished when she saw him. Her eyes widened.

"Tony, what-" She was speechless.

Tony glanced past Pepper at the big mirror hanging on the wall behind her. His own face looked sheepishly back at him, the bridge of his nose a reddish purple and swollen and a shiner blossoming around his left eye.

Pepper was right in front of him, hesitating, her hands raised as if to touch his face. "What happened? Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah, no I'm fine. I just… had too much to drink and… I misjudged the limo door. It looks worse than it is. I barely even noticed it."

Pepper cupped his cheek tenderly, but Tony couldn't hold her gaze. He coughed and turned away from her hand. "Uh, yeah. I'm gonna grab some coffee and head down to the shop."

"Oh. Don't you want lunch?"

"I had breakfast late. Go ahead without me." He gestured vaguely over his shoulder with the coffee pot as he filled a mug. He walked past her, avoiding her eye, and headed downstairs. Pepper stood, confused, and watched him go.

Tony set his coffee mug on his desk and sat down, cradling his head in his hands. He didn't understand why he felt so sick. It was probably concussion, he told himself. But Pepper's concerned face swam before his eyes and he remembered the weak punch of the young man and the sticky lipgloss the girl had been wearing and his stomach clenched harder.

"Hey JARVIS, give me something heavy."

"Heavier than usual, sir?"

"I just need a beat. Nothing sappy. In fact, nothing with lyrics. Just give me a beat."

A pounding beat kicked in and Tony tried to lose himself in his work.

Tony was in the middle of soldering when the music cut out. He stopped what he was doing and looked up. For a moment he thought he had gone deaf. The silence rang in his ears, setting him off balance. Tony shook himself and turned to face the glass door to the workshop. Pepper was standing in the doorway, one hand on the door frame. From the other, hung something white and red. Tony stared at his blood-stained dress shirt.

"What is this?" In the sudden quiet, her voice rang out although she was speaking very quietly.

Tony didn't reply. She held the shirt a little higher.

"Tony. What is this?"

"I- Uh…" Tony stared at the shirt.

"'Looks worse than it is' my ass. This did not happen the way you told me."

"Pepper…"

"Why did you lie?"

"Happy said you'd worry."

Pepper snorted, a sound of impatience; derision. "Tony. Do you really think a single second passes when I'm not worried about you?" Her voice was still low, but there was a hard quality to it now.

Tony opened his mouth but remained silent, his eyes still fixed on the shirt.

"What happened? What really happened?"

"I uhh… I got kicked out. Hard."

"Why." It wasn't a question. It was an order to explain himself.

"I was pretty wasted…"

"That's not the reason."

"I got in a fight." Even without looking at her, Tony could see Pepper's eyebrows shoot up. He floundered. "This guy, he picked a fight with me, I didn't-"

"Oh god, Tony, what did you do?"

"Nothing! Nothing…" Tony swallowed. "…His girlfriend. Maybe. I guess. I didn't know she-" Tony broke off.

Pepper's arm holding the shirt had dropped to her side. Tony swallowed again, hard, and forced himself to look at her. He saw her eyes flash for a second before she smoothed her expression into cold neutrality.

"Did you go to the hospital?" Totally devoid of emotion.

Tony shook his head.

"Do you need to?"

Another shake. Tony's mouth felt dry.

"I'm clearing your schedule for the next few days. You need to recuperate. No alcohol. You're probably concussed."

"Pepper-"

"I'll have this dry cleaned and pressed. I'm glad you weren't… more severely injured."

Tony opened his mouth, but she had already turned and walked out of the workshop. The door swung closed and Tony watched her through the glass as she walked back up the stairs, her back very straight and the shirt balled in her hand.

Fuck.

Aw, Tony, no... More soon, promise!

PS, In case you want it here is my writing inspiration soundtrack (not my creation, all credit to KuriKuri for the compilation and respective artists for the music).