Tony watched as Pepper walked out of the crowded room, making her way outside alone. Christine rolled her eyes and looked over to Tony, wondering if he was going to follow her back over to her group, but he only shook his head at her in annoyance and left the room as well. He couldn't be around her right now, not after what she had done. Tony wasn't the exactly the nicest guy in school either, but what Christine did was completely uncalled for and she saw nothing wrong with it.
''Pepper!'' Tony called out when he walked outside, seeing her making her way down his driveway. ''Hey, wait up!''
Pepper ignored his calls and kept walking, trying to gain some speed but it was proving difficult with the brace on her leg. She just wanted to go home and not have to deal with anyone. All she wanted from this night was to let go and have a good time, and in a matter of twenty seconds, it had all been ruined.
''Where are you going?''
''What's it matter to you?'' she looked over to him walking beside her. ''Go back to your party Tony,''
''I wouldn't call that a party anymore,'' he shrugged, continuing to walk with her. ''I'd call that a bunch of drunk idiots that are trashing my house,''
''Yeah? What's the difference?'' she shook her head. ''Seriously, you can stop following me,''
''I'm not following you, I'm just...accompanying you,''
Pepper looked over at him and shook her head. ''Just stop it,''
''What?''
''We're not going to be friends, okay? Your girlfriend just verbally attacked me in front of everyone because I looked at you, and now you've just left everyone to come walk with me. Trust me, it's not a good idea, just leave me alone,''
Tony kept walking beside her while he thought to himself about the situation he was in. He just wanted to get to know Pepper more, become friends, and he knew it was going to cause a multitude of problems for both of them, but he didn't care. What he had with Christine wasn't a relationship, he didn't even know what it was, but he wasn't going to let her act the way she was to stop him from talking to Pepper, he just didn't care.
''So...wanna tell me why you were drinking so much tonight?'' Tony looked over to her. ''I know that's not normal so don't give me that 'high tolerance' crap,''
''Did you not see everyone else doing the same thing?'' she defended. ''Everyone at your parties act like drunken assholes, I may as well fit in, right?''
''Uh huh,'' Tony rolled his eyes. ''Except you're not an asshole,''
''Right,'' Pepper chuckled. ''How would you even know that?''
''I don't,'' he shrugged. ''But I can tell,''
''You know nothing about me Tony, which makes me wonder why you're so interested?'' she looked at him.
''Because...I don't know. Is it so bad for me to want to talk to you?''
''When you're girlfriend is a maniac, yeah it is,'' she chuckled before tripping on the sidewalk.
''Whoa, you okay?'' Tony asked as he put his arm around her to hold her up. ''Are you even supposed to be walking on your leg?''
''How else am I supposed to walk?'' she leaned toward him. ''I'm fine,''
Tony continued walking beside her, making sure she didn't fall over again. He didn't know why she had stopped talking, but he didn't try and start a new conversation. It was silent between them, but it was peaceful for once, and he actually enjoyed it. Pepper wondered why Tony was still walking with her since it was clear she was going home, but she didn't ask him anymore, she just walked with him, and it was nice.
When they began walking down Pepper's street after their long journey to her house, it was around midnight and she could hear Tony yawning every few minutes. It wasn't as if she asked him to walk her home, but she still felt bad that he had come with her and now had to make his way back on his own.
''You okay getting up the stairs?'' he asked as they reached Pepper's house.
''Yeah, I'll be fine,'' she nodded, making her way up as Tony walked next to her. ''Uh...thanks for walking with me,''
''It's cool, sorry about Christine,''
''Not your fault,'' she shrugged.
''Still, sorry,'' he told her before yawning again, rubbing his eyes.
''Do you want a coffee or something?'' she offered. ''You look like you're going to fall asleep on the sidewalk,''
Tony chuckled lightly. ''You're inviting me in for coffee?'' he raised his eyebrows.
''And coffee only, least I can do since you abandoned your party to walk with me,''
''Is it...'' he gestured toward the house. ''Would your dad mind?''
Pepper shook her head. ''He's not home, he'll probably make it home for breakfast,'' she told him as she began unlocking the door.
Tony walked in behind her and closed the door, watching as she turned on the lights in the house. He was surprised by how different the inside of her home looked compared to what he thought it would look like. Most families had photos on their walls, but Pepper's house was blank. There were no memories scattered around the living room or hallways for guests to see, it was as if they had only just moved in, or this was how it always was for them.
''Nice house,'' Tony complimented as he followed her into the kitchen. ''I like this one better than my own,''
''Would that be because yours is currently getting trashed?'' she asked.
Pepper didn't know if it was the alcohol she drank throughout the night or the fact that she was actually giving Tony a chance, but she liked talking to him. Even if they were just talking about her house or the coffee, or Tony's rambling about meaningless street signs as they walked, she just liked it. He was easy to talk to, and she hadn't realized that until tonight.
''Rhodey's got it covered,'' he shrugged. ''He cares more about making sure it doesn't get trashed than I do,''
''Don't your parents ever come home when you've got a party? Or say anything about the mess?'' she asked as she prepared the cups, brewing the coffee.
''They've only caught me once and it was after Stark Industries stocks had a really good day, so they didn't exactly go crazy, but they aren't around much to see the mess,'' he told her casually, watching as she carefully poured the coffee.
Pepper always wondered about Tony's parents, given his lifestyle. He had parties every few weekends and they always got out of hand, it was a wonder his parents didn't find out, or maybe they did. Tony understood what it was like to have parents who were obsessed with their work, but he had it harder than Pepper did. Both of his parents chose work over him in his eyes, and he had grown so used to it that it didn't even bother him anymore, but that's where he and Pepper differed.
They walked into the living room after Pepper made their coffee and sat on the couch, letting the light from the kitchen illuminate the room just enough. When Pepper left that afternoon, she had no idea she would end her night sitting on the couch with Tony next to her after being humiliated in front of everyone by Christine. However it wasn't the worst ending to the night she could have imagined.
''Wouldn't people be looking for you?'' she asked when they sat comfortably on the couch together, each leaning back onto the sides. ''You've been gone for over an hour...''
''Maybe, probably not,'' he shrugged. ''I don't think anyone would notice I'm not there,''
''Well it's your party,''
''No it's not,'' he shook his head, looking down at his cup. ''It's just my venue, people only show up for reputation,''
''Then why do you keep throwing them?''
Tony shrugged his shoulders. ''Like I said, reputation, I guess,''
Tony didn't know why he was suddenly being so truthful to her about what was going on, but it just felt like a moment where he didn't have to cover anything up, like he could tell her anything. Pepper noticed this too, realizing how different he was when they were alone together and how much she liked him like this. Without his friends, without the reputation meaning anything, he was a completely different person, but it was rare that anyone ever seen it.
''What about you? Why do you always show up?'' he asked.
''I've been to two...'' she narrowed her eyes at him. ''And the first one I was kind of forced into attending, but this one...I guess I just wanted to get away in the most convenient way,''
''Get away from what?'' Tony asked, leaning on his arm as he looked over to her.
''Everything,'' she shook her head, sitting up. ''Don't you ever want to just...forget?''
Tony didn't answer her straight away, he just looked at her for a moment. He always wanted to forget, to get away from everything and pretend nothing else existed. It was all he ever wanted to do, and she knew what it was like.
''All the time,'' he nodded lazily, sitting up as well. ''For everything to stop, nothing to matter,''
With every word said, somehow they began getting closer to one another without either of them noticing.
''But sooner or later you stop forgetting and you have to remember,''
''And then you start all over again,'' she continued from his words.
Tony nodded as he watched her closely, sitting up.
''Yeah...''
Pepper couldn't help getting lost in his gaze as he moved closer to her, it was like she was frozen. She had seen a completely different side of Tony, one that no one else got to see and the fact that he decided to show it to her made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. Tony had always found Pepper interesting despite how little he knew her, but right now, he felt like he knew her more than anyone.
Within seconds of the room falling into silence, Pepper felt Tony's lips pressed against hers. It was soft and meaningful, as if they were still talking to one another, explaining how they felt, and they could feel every word. She never thought she would be doing this, but despite her strong denial for any feelings for Tony at all, she couldn't hold back the fact that right now it felt right. Tony's hand moved up to Pepper's hair, holding her to his lips as he kissed her. He had never kissed someone like this. It wasn't desperate or passionate at all, it wasn't leading into anything. It meant something.
''No,'' Pepper pushed him away gently, although her hands still remained on his chest. ''We shouldn't...''
''Sorry,'' he looked down, immediately feeling rejection. ''I shouldn't have-''
''No, it's not...'' she began as he sat away from her.
Pepper could see the sadness in his eyes, but she didn't mean for her words to be taken as rejection. She didn't regret kissing him, she just couldn't deal with the drama that came with kissing someone who was in a relationship, no matter how unstable it was, but she needed him to know that.
''It's not that,'' she smiled at him. ''This is the first time we've really talked, and I like talking to you, but it's not the right...time,''
Tony nodded his head. ''Yeah, I get it,''
''You're in a relationship, and I'm not one of those girls,''
''I know,'' he nodded. ''You're not like any girl,''
Pepper just smiled at him and sat back against the couch, watching as he did the same. His hand rested on her legs as they laid next to him, and as the moments passed, Tony could see Pepper's eyes falling closed. He never expected his night to turn out the way it had, but he was glad it did, because now he knew something he didn't know before. He wasn't playing around anymore, he wasn't pretending to be in a happy relationship with Christine. Now, he knew what he wanted. Pepper.
