"Hi, how are you today?"
"Good. How are you?" Tony responded smoothly.
"I'm doing very well today, thank you for asking," the saleswoman replied as Tony and Rhodey strolled up to the display cases. "Are you looking for anything specific?" she asked as they glanced over the jewelry.
"An engagement ring for my girlfriend," Tony said.
The saleswoman smiled and said, "How sweet. Do you have anything in mind?"
"Pepper is…" Tony sighed. "I don't know how to describe her. She's… beautiful. She's a ginger, but closer to strawberry blonde than a flaming red-head. She's absolutely gorgeous. And she fits some red-head stereotypes. She never takes 'no' for an answer. And if something needs doing, she'll often do it herself. She's bit of a control freak at times," he admitted, grinning, "but I love her for it. Without her, I'd get nothing done. Well, I would, but it would take a few more years and irritate a lot of people. Well, more than I already do. She always knows the right thing to do. She's just that perfect, straight A student who everyone loves, and I just need to find her the perfect engagement ring."
While Tony had been explaining all of this, the salesperson had weathered it all well. She was used to enamored people speaking endlessly about their significant others and the "perfect gifts" they needed to find, so this was not out of the ordinary for her. "Well, first things first, how much are you looking to spend?"
"Money isn't an issue," Tony said, "trust me. I just want to get the ring that's perfect for her, the cost doesn't matter. Well," he said, "I don't want to get her the cheapest thing out there, even if it looks amazing. Which it won't, because you can always tell when the diamond's fake. Well, I can tell, but I can't claim the same for every idiot in the world." Rhodey cleared his throat. "Anyway, back on topic. I want to get her something real that will let her know that I love her and will let everyone else know that she's truly my wife. I don't want people to think I hired some cheap slut for the night."
"Okay. Now, do want this to be a traditional ring with only diamonds, diamonds with other gems, or simply no diamonds at all?" the woman asked.
"Diamonds, definitely. It's an engagement ring, not a class ring. Also, I want just diamonds, nothing else. Pepper doesn't like anything extravagant or flashy, and that includes multicolored rings that won't match her outfit, or something crazy like that." Tony shook his head in disbelief. "She always insists everything has to match perfectly. I've never even seen her wear sweat pants to school. I mean, she goes to community college. At least a quarter of the people do it."
"She just wants to make a good impression on the teachers," Rhodey said.
"She doesn't really need to do that. I mean, its community college!"
"Not all of us are geniuses, you know. We don't just our jobs handed to us on a silver platter," Rhodey responded.
Before Tony could retaliate, the saleswoman made her presence known. "Ahem," she cleared her throat and Tony and Rhodey both turned to her. "Sir, I have a few rings I think you'd like to take a look at," the woman said, gesturing toward the items.
That set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Tony looked at countless rings and Rhodey would give his opinion every so often. Most of the time the rings would receive a "It's just not Pepper." A few, however, received a pondering expression and a "Maybe. It's a possibility."
In the end, after an hour of searching, Tony found the right one. "That's it," he said, staring at the latest ring he had been shown, "that's the one. That's Pepper's ring."
After they settled the details about the purchase the saleswoman asked, "Would you like anything engraved on the inside?"
Tony's face lit up. Leaning over, he whispered something in the woman's ear.
Rhodey frowned. "What? Is your best friend not allowed to hear these things?" he asked as his best friend and the saleswoman exchanged another quick whisper. Just as Rhodey was about to say something else Tony took a step back from the woman.
She nodded and said, "I'll have that done right away. Your soon-to-be fiancée is a lucky woman."
Tony smiled. "I like to think I'm the lucky one."
-CTS-
"What was that about?" Rhodey asked after they exited the jewelry store.
Tony shrugged. "I want Pepper's ring engraved," he said.
"And that's such a big deal that you don't want me to know what it says?"
"I want Pepper to be the first one to know. Even if you don't tell her about it, it still feels wrong to let you know what it says. It's something personal that's only for Pepper. If she wants to share, that's fine. However, in the meantime I'd like to keep this one thing private," Tony said.
Rhodey nodded, seeing his best friend's logic. "Okay. I understand," he accepted before changing tones. "You know, Tony, you're not that bad a guy."
"I'd like to think so." Tony smirked a little before growing more serious. "I can only hope she feels the same way," he said.
"Don't worry," Rhodey said, giving his friend's shoulder a squeeze. "She does. She loves you and even wants to move in with you. She's definitely not going to bail on you anytime soon."
"Now," Rhodey said, glancing sideways at Tony, "When do you plan on asking her?"
"When the time's right," Tony simply replied.
-CTS-
As Mrs. Potts sorted through the mail, her eyes widened. "Ginny," she called, "You have a letter."
"I'll get in a moment, thanks," Pepper called back.
"Ginny, you'll definitely want to open this right away," her mother replied.
"Is it a bill?"
"No," Mrs. Potts, said, "it's from Harvard."
There was stunned silence for a few moments before Pepper came barreling in the living room. "It's here? The letter's here?"
"Unless you know a different Harvard, the letter's right here."
Pepper snatched it from her mom's hand. "It's really here," she said. She bit her lip. "What do you think it says?"
"We won't know until you open it."
"I can't do it," Pepper cried out. "I'm too nervous."
Mrs. Potts put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "No matter what it says, just know that we're proud of you."
As Pepper jittered with anticipation, anxiety, and nervousness, Mrs. Potts called her husband into the room. "What?" he asked before glimpsing their daughter. His eyes widened in understanding.
"Why don't we all sit down," Pepper's dad said, "and then you can open that." He helped Pepper to the couch. His daughter was not a weak girl, but he feared that in her state she might faint at the letter's response, whether it was from relief and gladness or from disappointment. Either way, the results would be shocking.
Pepper seated herself on the sofa between her parents. The three of them internally trembled with anticipation as Pepper slowly opened the envelope. "'Congratulations,'" she read. "'We want to welcome you as our newest edition to the Harvard class of 1996!'" At that point Pepper's voice had become too high to even hear, but her family got the gist.
"Congratulations!" her mother cried, sweeping her into a hug. "You did it!"
"I knew they'd have to let you in," Mr. Potts said, smiling broadly.