Here's the next chapter! I wanted it to be longer, but somehow it felt right to end it there. So I'm sorry that it's not that long. I hope you like it either way, please let me know what you think! And thank you for the reviews, it always makes me happy to read them!

I don't own the characters or places!


Later that night, Tony was lying in bed and stared at the ceiling. Next to him, Pepper was already sleeping peacefully. The rest of the evening had been good. They had been dancing and holding Pepper in his arms while everyone else was looking at them was the best feeling he'd had for quite some time. However, they didn't talk to many people anymore. Every time someone approached them, Pepper tried to block it or Tony was just too lost in thought to follow the conversation. Of course he still smiled at everyone widely (the dancing with Pepper had really cheered him up), but his thoughts often wandered back to the conversation with Anna (he didn't know her last name and he also didn't care).

Right now, he was also thinking about it again. But he doesn't care about it either way, does he? After all, he's better than everyone else in this room. And he's also an Avenger. Which makes him even more popular. Save the world once and everyone forgets that you're a monster, right? Her words echoed through his head. Since when did he care about stuff like that? Normally, he'd always shrugged those things off. Somehow, he couldn't ignore it anymore. Maybe Steve's moral code was already influencing him as well.

He wasn't a monster, was he? He tried to save the world, to make it a better place. He wanted to help people. That's what he was doing, as Tony Stark and also as Iron Man. Yes, he'd made mistakes in the past. Big mistakes, like producing weapons for years. Weapons that were better than the ones everyone else made, which made it also easier to hurt people with them. He really thought that he was doing enough to undo the damage he'd made.

And what if it wasn't enough? Could he help those people who suffered from the war? It wasn't like he could just go out there and every war in this world, it wasn't that easy. New York had proven that. There were always new threats, some of them even more dangerous than a few people with weapons who were shooting at each other. And shouldn't they protect the world from those bigger threats? That was the task of the Avengers, right? And he was an Avenger.

But when they took care of that, who helped everyone else? Could he figure out a way to help those people? Maybe even with his technology, so that no one else had to get hurt? It would be a huge task and it would take much time and energy, he knew that. But it would be possible, wouldn't it?

Maybe he should talk about this with Steve. He always knew about right or wrong. And he had so many ideas how to help others. And he'd tell Tony if he was beating himself up about something he couldn't change either way. Steve had a very realistic way to see things, even if he also wanted to help everyone. He was a soldier. And soldiers knew what had to be done first. Whereas Tony was just… himself. Yes, he was a genius, he had enough money to do everything he wanted and he was Iron Man, which many people envied him for. But was there anything else? Was he a good person? Or did he just believe that all those years, ever since he became Iron Man?

He looked at Pepper next to him. She believed that he was a good person. And she even loved him, even if he still didn't understand why, the years hadn't changed that. She was the best thing that ever happened to him. And he nearly lost her many times. Because Iron Man was so important to him. Which meant that helping others was important to him. He hadn't been able to stop it. Trying to live without a suit had gone completely wrong. Which had caused him to nearly lose her again. And yet here they were, together. They had been at this charity event together and, except for the conversation about him being a terrible person, it had been nice. In the car, he'd let JARVIS check the news and they were already on top of the lists. Together with that nice picture of them after they got out of the car, he'd told JARVIS to get it for him. They really looked good together, especially Pepper in that dress. His actual plan when they got home had been to rip it off of her, but somehow, they both hadn't been in the mood anymore… He hadn't been in the mood for it. On their way home, Pepper had still tried to cheer him up, without success. She knew that even if he'd been smiling and laughing, those things were still on his mind. The dancing had been fun and it had really made him happy, but when all those people were gone and reality got him back… He hadn't been able to smile and be happy anymore.

And they also didn't talk about it again before they got to bed.

Suddenly, the realization hit him. He hadn't been able to stop being Iron Man, not even for Pepper, the most important person in his life. Which meant that he wanted to help people. He couldn't live without this anymore. And that made him a good person, in many ways. He was Iron Man. And one of the Avengers. You give the people hope. Iron Man gives them hope. And what would we be without that? Pepper had told him. He sat up in bed, carefully not to wake Pepper and ran a hand through his hair.

People could talk how much they wanted. They could say about him whatever they wanted too. They didn't know a thing about him. About his fears and dreams, about the things that were important to him. The people who were important to him. You're a good person, Tony. And everyone who counts knows it. Pepper had been right all along.

Tony felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. With a smile, he looked at Pepper again. Just to find her awake, looking at him with concern in her blue eyes. "You should be sleeping." he whispered softly.

"While you're lying here awake all night?" She asked and shook her head. "I couldn't sleep either. Are you alright?" She frowned and sat up as well. "You're smiling."

He chuckled softly. "Seems so, doesn't it?"

"Did you figure it out?"

Now it was his time to frown. "Figure out what?"

"That you're not a monster?" Pepper took his hand and squeezed it. "Because you are many things, Tony, but not a bad person."

"Yeah, if you say it like this, then I've figured it out." He admitted slowly.

"And what's your conclusion?"

"I couldn't stop being Iron Man, even if I've tried very hard. Which means that I can't stop helping people. I can't stand it to know that people are suffering, I have to help them when the possibility's there. And that doesn't make me a bad person, right?" He hesitated. "Even if I don't know how it's been before."

"Before what?" Pepper asked carefully.

"Before Afghanistan." He muttered. She had been right, they never really talked about all those things. Of course Pepper knew what happened to him, but he never told her how he felt about it. How his nightmares had haunted him the first months after his return. How they still haunted him sometimes, even if there were now other dreams that were more terrible. "People keep saying I've been an asshole. To be honest, I really have been an idiot. Self-obsessed, not caring about the opinion of others, you know that stuff." But did that really change? Probably not that much. After all, he was still Tony Stark. And he didn't behave good all the time.

"Back then, you also haven't been a bad person, Tony." Pepper muttered. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have fallen in love with you." She kissed his cheek and he turned his head so their lips met.

"I didn't know that you've liked me back then." He muttered and ran his hands down her bare arms, enjoying the feeling of her skin.

"I did. Maybe not as much as after that, but I've been clearly in love with you. A crush on my boss, how stupid." She smiled, thinking about the old times. When everything had been easier and more complicated at the same time.

"And I've not just hired you because of your skills."

"Seems like we've both been stupid." She kissed him again.

"Completely stupid. But did that change?" His hands wandered to her back and to the hem of her shirt.

"Possibly not." Her lips were on his throat now and he closed his eyes. "I'm glad that you see it like this." She said suddenly. "That you're not thinking about it anymore. I couldn't stand it, hearing her talk to you like this."

"You know that I'm used to stuff like this."

"Normally, you just laugh about it. This time it was different, I saw it from the look on your face. It really bothered you."

"You know me too well, Pep." He muttered.

"I do. And I love you."

"I love you too."

"Will you fire him? Ben? For what his wife said to you?" He could see the concern in Pepper's eyes. She seemed to like that man and Tony knew that he was an important trading partner of SI.

"You want to keep him." He muttered. "He seems to be valuable to the company. And you like him."

"He's always very nice and patient. And he doesn't get annoyed when you suddenly change a plan that has already been made for weeks. You don't find people like that very often."

Tony rolled his eyes. "My company, I can change plans when I want it."

"We agreed to talk about it before you do it, though." She threw in.

"Yeah, seems like we did." He kissed her cheek. "You can keep him. Besides, I don't even know his last name anymore. Firing him just with Ben would be difficult, I bet SI has more people who own that name." He winked at her.

Pepper laughed. "You're impossible."

"You love me."

"I do." She kissed him again, more urgent this time. "Let's not do something like this again."

"What do you mean?" He whispered, his hands slowly starting to unbutton her shirt.

"Going to an event like this. Yes, you should also make public appearances. But not when it ends like this. And I didn't like your reporter friend very much too. I also didn't like the way he talked to you."

"Since when are you so protective of me?" He muttered when he was finally able to wrap his arms around her bare skin.

"I've always been. You just didn't notice it." She replied and sighed when his lips wandered to her neck.

"I did notice it. But not like this."

"You've said it yourself, we're a team. Which means that we look after each other."

Slowly, he leaned back and looked into her eyes. She was smiling at him which made his heart beat even faster. "My Pepper, you're amazing." He whispered and kissed her again. When her hands began to push up his shirt, he thought that they really wouldn't find much sleep that night.