REVAMPED!

Mark XIV: An Unexpected Wedding Guest

She spent thirty minutes posing in various ways with her husband. She can't believe she can call him that now. Her husband. Tony Stark is now her husband. The smile in those photos was truly genuine. She doesn't remember a time she ever felt happier. At the moment, she isn't sure if anything will ever make her feel happier.

True bliss at it's finest.

Now, it's cocktail hour. As all their friends drink and eat appetizers downstairs, Pepper changes into her second wedding dress for the reception. It's nothing too over-the-top. It's just more comfortable for dancing and eating.

Now in her new dress, Pepper walks across the carpeted floor. She applies a fresh coat of lipstick and glances at her reflection. She stares at herself, fixing a few strands of her hair before looking for her heels.

And she forgot where she placed them.

As she scrambles around for them, she accidentally knocks over one of her girlfriends' bags, spilling a few of the contents. Pepper proceeds to putting them back but pauses on a box of tampons.

Pepper starts to think about when she had her last period.

She starts to panic when she doesn't remember.

It wasn't last month or the month before, so when was it?

Doesn't matter anymore. She has more important thoughts on her mind now.

Tony has always wanted a child, but is she really pregnant? If she thinks about the common symptoms, they don't really apply to her. Her appetite has been normal and nausea is common. With stress, she could just attribute it to her work schedule and the wedding planning. Both of those always gave her headaches.

A missed period is nothing, but why does it seem like everything?

She has to take a test to get a definite answer. The issue is, where does she get one instantly without causing a ruckus?

Pepper looks over at the corner of the room where her girlfriends' bags are. Surely, one of them had to have one. They were all in relationships and, who knows, maybe one of them is secretly pregnant.

After five minutes of scrambling, Pepper sighs out of relief when she finds a box. She isn't sure whose bag it is and she doesn't care right now. She respects their privacy for the moment because she's preoccupied. But she's going to start asking questions if she remembers.

Pepper takes a test and it's cold in her hands. A part of her hesitates on taking it now. She could just take it later, but if she's pregnant then she can't drink. And if she doesn't take it, all that will be on her mind is the damn test.

So she decides to take it.

-o-

After the longest ten minutes of her life, Pepper now-Stark finally has her answer.

Staring at those two pink lines, she now knows that she's pregnant. And since the test has new built-in accuracy, she knows that she's four months along.

She isn't sure which surprises her more: the fact that she's pregnant or that it took her four months to find out.

But regardless, she's pregnant. She and Tony are going to have a baby.

To think that on the day they became husband and wife, they find out they're going to be parents. That had to be the reason why she only found out now. It's the most beautiful coincidence.

Pepper looks at herself in the mirror, trying to picture herself as a mother-to-be. She turns to look at her side profile, wondering why she's not even showing yet. Four months and no bump, no wonder she never knew.

Then, she looks up at the smile on her face. She feels as happy as she did in the photos but there was a different spark to her smirk. Maybe it's the pregnancy glow. Whatever it may be, this moment is her new happiest.

Or maybe it will be when she tells Tony. Or feels her baby kick for the first time. Or holds her baby in her arms.

She can't tell.

All that matters is that she'll be happy from this point forward.

"I didn't expect you here…" Pepper mutters to the baby inside of her. "Welcome to your mom and dad's wedding."

[YES PEOPLE THIS WAS PLANNED! For me, not them. If you're going to ask me how Pepper is 4 months pregnant without noticing, there are people that go into labour without knowing]. [2019: Besides, Pepper Potts is a busy woman].