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Chapter 8 - Pepper Gets the Truth
Tony appeared in his New York penthouse's sitting room. It was early in the morning, and the sun reflected off of the other tall buildings nearby and shown through the windows. He rubbed his face and walked over to the baby grand piano. He sat down and started playing 'The Lonely Ballerina'. He smiled as his fingers walked up and down the keys.
Pepper walked down the stairs in her robe. "Are you back?"
He didn't look up and continued playing the song. "I'm back."
She sat down next to him on the bench as he finished the song. He looked up at her and smiled.
"I've never heard you play that one. What is it?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. Gene plays it. I should ask her."
Pepper smiled at him. "How much do you owe her for your swearing?"
"Thank you for reminding me. I need to go get my wallet." He took her hand and led her to his bedroom. He walked over and opened the top drawer of his dresser.
"You have been gone this long without your wallet?" She asked.
He nodded as he opened the wallet and looked inside. "John covered me." He looked around the bedroom. "This looks…."
"What?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Phhh… nevermind. Strange." He looked back in his wallet for something.
"I'm going to get dressed." She told him as she walked out of the room.
She had already left when he turned around, "Pepper?"
She didn't reply.
He groaned. "How to do this? Hmmm…"
He put his wallet in his pocket of his jeans and walked back downstairs. He pat the bar top when he reached the kitchen. "Jarvis. I need some coffee."
Jarvis spoke, "I'm brewing some now. Welcome home, sir."
He grabbed two cups and poured coffee into one. He sat down at the bar and sipped it as he looked at the magazine that lay in front of him. It had a picture of the Doctor, Rose and Sam on the cover. He opened it up and was looking through the pictures when Pepper came downstairs. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white blouse. She had tied her hair up in a pony tail.
As soon as Tony saw her, he poured her a cup of coffee. "How do you take your coffee? I don't even know."
She smiled. "I'll do it."
He returned to looking at the magazine. "Where did they get all of these pictures?"
She sipped her coffee and leaned on the bar across from him. "I don't know. That's a nice one of you, John and Genie." She pointed at an image of Tony and the Doctor holding Genie's hands as they swung her between them.
Pepper held her coffee cup and smiled at him. "I think that little girl is loved more than she'll ever know."
Tony rubbed his chin and looked at the pictures. "She's a rat. That's for sure. And this one! I took this one." He said in shock.
She spun the magazine around to look at what he was pointing at. It was a picture of the Doctor holding Genie and Sam. Genie was kissing his cheek. Pepper smiled. "Did you?"
He spun it back around. "Yeah. Huh. Well, anyway." He looked up at her.
She smiled, "I'm not sure about the beard."
He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, me either. It's weird. I think I'm going to grow it back."
She sipped her coffee as he rested his head on his fist and watched her. "So. Where should we start? Hmmm… how about, what have you been up to this week?"
She blew her coffee, "Well. I went out for New Years. A work party that you would have hated."
He groaned and sipped his coffee.
"Something odd happened. I don't know what to think about it."
He sat down his coffee. "What is that?"
"Happy was there. He was looking for you."
"Happy, huh? What did he want?"
She walked over and sat down on the stool next to him. "He didn't say. But, he did ask me out for a drink. The party was winding down so I went."
Tony continued to look at her with his hand on his fist. "Yeah?"
"And it was strange. He….was just really sweet. Then, as we were leaving…. He….well, he kissed me."
"Like a quick peck, or-"
She was already shaking her head. "Oh no. Like…. Full on…. Smooch."
He sat back. "Really?"
"It was odd. I didn't know what to do because it was Happy. I kissed him back, but….now I'm dreading going to work. I don't want to see him."
"Show me how he kissed you."
She smiled. "Really?"
He held his hands out. "Yes, really! I've kissed you before. Geez. I can't give you advice unless I know what happened."
She sat down her coffee. "Alright. For informational purposes only."
He nodded his head and leaned in. She met his lips and kissed him. Tony cupped her face with his hands and held it as he continued to kiss her. She opened her mouth and his tongue danced with hers. Caught up in the moment, she sucked his bottom lip as he moved to hold her tightly. She grabbed the front of his t-shirt in both of her fists, stood up between his legs and pulled him closer to her. After several moments, they looked at one another.
Tony spoke first. "I'll kill him. Is that what he did?"
"No! Oh my God. What's gotten into you? You've never kissed me like that! Wow." She fanned her hand in front of her face.
He rolled his eyes. "I have kissed you like that. That night-"
"I knew you were going to bring that up."
He smiled, "I've not been able to get it off of my mind. Tell me you have the same problem."
She smiled and nodded her head.
He cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders. "I missed you. I wasn't planning on being gone. At all."
"We missed Christmas-"
He took her hands in his. "I know. I'm sorry. Pepper. I need to talk to you about some stuff. I don't know how you are going to react to it."
"What is it?"
"Well, I feel it fair to warn you that I've been up all night. I will probably explain this…. Just…. All over the place."
She sighed. "I'm used to your explanations. Just tell me."
He pat her hand with his. "Tell me. Who all did you know that died in the Cyber Invasion?"
She looked surprised at him. "That? We never have talked about that-"
"We need to. I know you knew a lot of people. Who?"
She thought. "Phil Coulson. You remember. That guy from the Department of something with a long name. I can never remember it."
"Coulson? Agent Coulson? I didn't know that." He held her hands and shook his head.
"Yes. Him. Jennifer, Rachel, Tom, Jackson. There were a lot. Why?"
"Do you think, knowing that, would make it hard to ever like an alien?"
"A Cyberman, sure. Why? What is this about?"
He shook his head. "I know this sounds crazy. It's important."
She sighed, "I don't know."
"Did you know that President Shepherd lost four of his brothers in that invasion?"
She looked surprised, "I didn't know that. Four? How many does he have?"
He held her hands in his. "Pepper, I'm explaining this badly. Let me start over. I have really missed you. I want this to work with us. I don't want to date anyone else. I want us to be together. You have always been there for me and you're all I have had for so long. Will you move in?"
She smiled at him. "I already live here."
He rolled his eyes. "Really move in. My bedroom will be our bedroom. Or your bedroom. I don't care. Let's try this. What do you think? Is it something we could do?"
She exhaled as he kissed her hand. "Everyone knows how you are-"
He shook his head. "I've not been like that in years. You know that."
He laid his forehead to hers. "I'm flattered, but…."
"Pepper. I'm all you have. You're all I have. I know I'm a pain in the ass. Don't answer. Just think about it." He sat up and dug in his pocket for something. "You need to know everything before you make this decision. It's not something to be taken lightly."
She looked surprised at him. "What is that?"
He held it up. "This is a remote for a transporter."
"Transporter? Where?"
"To a ship. Just underneath the Earth's South Pole. It's hidden there by the magnetic pole."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"
He held her hand tighter. "Trust me, and don't let go. Alright?"
"Wha-?" She said as he pressed the remote and they disappeared.
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They arrived on the transport platform on the Doctor's ship. Tony quickly walked over to the panel on the wall and typed in a code. He put the remote back in his pocket and looked back at a very shocked Pepper.
"Alright?" He laughed at the look on her face.
She looked around. "Where are we?"
"This is called the Asclepius, it's a ship. A ummm. Let me think. A Bloedhoneo Strijur from Veaglurst. I think that's right. I'll have to ask him. Are you freaked out? Do I need to take you back?"
She looked around in shock and held his hand tightly. "This isn't a Zeppelin?"
"No." He smiled. "We're actually in space."
She whispered, "Are we safe?"
He smiled. "Safer than you have ever been in your life."
She looked at him. "Are there aliens here?"
He nodded his head. "All over. And I owe most of them money. Damn card game. You'd be surprised. If you want me to take you back, I will. But, Pepper. It's very safe. I'm right here with you. I won't let go of you. Alright?"
She nodded her head.
"Do you want to see my favorite part of the ship? I have two rooms here."
She looked amazed. "Two? What in the hell?"
He laughed. "One is a suite for me to sleep and relax. The other one. Well, it's new. We just did that last night. Let's go there. It has some more stuff I need to explain."
She nodded her head. "Alright."
"Are you okay? I know this is a lot."
She exhaled slowly. "Just don't let go of my hand."
He walked with her out of the door. They went down the hallway and were not met by anyone. They stopped at a large window and Tony showed her the Earth as it hung brightly outside.
Pepper was amazed. "That is so beautiful."
Tony looked at it with her. "Yeah."
"Are we the only ones up here?"
"In the ship? No. I'm not sure where everyone is. We just got back, so they are probably getting packed to return to the surface or something. I don't know. We'll run into them."
Tony took her to the hanger. As they walked in, she stopped and looked at the ships. "Are these spaceships?"
He nodded and looked at them with her. "Yeah. There's usually another one in here, but we left it behind."
She started to walk with him again and he took her to a newly installed bigger on the inside room at the end of the hanger. On one side were six of the suits he had been working on. There was also a large table that was littered with parts. A cabinet and a chair sat to one side.
He pointed at her. "Alright. I know what you are going to say. I did stop making the suits, but it honestly was only for an afternoon."
She let go of his hand and threw hers in the air. "Are you kidding me?"
He pointed at her. "These are different. These will fly in space! Well, except for that one. I've not got to that one yet. Amazing tech! You wouldn't believe what is on these!"
She sighed as she looked around. She saw the remains of the suite that he had been wearing when he had gotten hit by the missile. The chest plate was lying on the table. It was bent and had black smug marks on it. She pointed to it. "What is this?"
He groaned and looked at it. "Um… well….."
"Were you hit by a canon?"
"No one makes canons anymore, Pepper. No. It was a missile. A Tomahawk Cruise Missile. Surface to air thing. You know… We-"
"I know what the hell that is!" She snapped.
He crossed his arms nodded his head. "Yeah, you do."
She looked around in shock. "This is just…. Surprising. Were you hurt?"
He nodded his head. "Yes. It crushed my shoulder, collarbone, and some other stuff. John patched me back up. I had given him the suit to add some modifications. I didn't know it, but he put a program in it to pop me back to him if I got hurt. It saved my life. I dodged several, but that one got me."
She put her hands on her hips. "Tony! Are you still going to the desert?"
He ran his hand through his hair. "I haven't been in a week. I've been recovering and I've been someplace els-"
"You are going to kill yourself! How do you not see that? These are not going to save you-"
"This one did. A missile?! Pepper! Seriously!"
"You can't bring him back." She took his hands in hers. "Tony. This has to stop."
He looked at her and shook his head. "I can't stop. This is me. I know I can't bring him back, but I can save someone else. Just with this, I saved an entire convoy. That's so many that will come home now. And look at this! That suit right there saved Tony Tyler's life two days ago from an alien who had kidnapped him and was torturing him. Without it, Tony would have died. Six years old. There was no one that could get to him in time but me."
"Is he okay?"
He let go of her hand and ran both of his through his hair. "No. He's not. He's ….. a mess. Like I was when I first came home. Pepper. These suits have been my…..escape. My therapy. I'm not going to stop making them. I just made a deal to make some more for an Army for the planet we were just visiting-"
She held her hand up. "Okay, stop. Planet? You've been on another planet? John said you-"
Tony smiled and took her hand. "We escorted the Andromedaen Princess back to her homeworld. She had been living with John and Rose for the past few weeks. Ashena. Did you meet her?"
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "This is a lot to process."
He moved the chair over to her and she sat down.
"This is just crazy. How are you here? Whose ship is this?"
Right on queue, the Doctor walked into the room. He was looking in a plastic box and shaking it. "Tony. I found this box of fuses we got on Plentitude. Can you use it for the bracelets, or something?"
He looked up and saw Pepper's stunned face. He smiled, "Oh! Hello, Pepper!"
Tony couldn't help but laugh.
Pepper was shocked. "John! This is his ship, isn't it?"
Tony nodded his head. "I'm taking your advice, man."
The Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "Right. How is that going?"
Tony shook his head. "Jury's out."
The Doctor smiled back at Pepper. "Yes, this is my ship."
She was shocked, "What are you doing here?"
He shook the box of fuses. "Giving Tony fuses. Do you like his room? We just sorted it out last night. We needed something to do before we started drinking. Genie helped us."
Tony pointed at a drawing that was taped to the wall. "Yeah. She decorated for me. That's me and her at Disneyworld with Goofy. Although, I'm not sure which one is me and which one is Goofy."
"No one does, Tony." Pepper insisted.
The Doctor laughed and handed the box to Tony.
Tony sat down on the table top and looked in the box. "Yeah, these should do fine. Thanks."
Pepper sat stunned.
The Doctor pointed at Tony. "Fighting program alright? No headache or anything?"
Tony shook his head. "Everything is good upstairs, Captain."
The Doctor nodded. "Alright. Well, that's good."
Tony rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Pity, Legate won't be back for two weeks."
"Ah, I'll spar with you. Or Lewis. He's good. And there's always Rose."
Tony nodded his head. "Right."
The Doctor looked back at Pepper, who continued to look confused. He nodded his head. "Right. I'm just going to….. go."
Tony nodded his head and sat the box down. "Those are perfect. I love this shit."
The Doctor walked away. "Call me later, Tony. Bye, Pepper!"
Pepper shook her head. "This is just crazy. This is one of you guys' sick tricks. Isn't it?"
Tony shook his head. "Nope. It's all true." He pointed, "See out the door? John opened it. You can see the Earth right there. You saw the Earth through the window when we came down here."
Pepper stood up and looked to where Tony was pointing. "We're not going to float out?"
He chuckled, "No. It has a force field. He likes to open the door so Genie can see outside. She must be someplace close."
Pepper shook her head. "Tony? This is-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Genie ran into the room. Tony threw his hands up and exclaimed. "Oh man! The Lizard found me!"
She climbed into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Mum says we're going back to the island. Are you coming with us?"
He sat her down on his lap and pointed at Pepper. "Do you remember Pepper?"
Genie smiled. "Hello. I didn't know you were here. Do you like it?"
She smiled, "I'm not sure."
Genie looked back at Tony. "Well. I can't stay. Mummy told me to be quick. We're going to Grand's for brunch. Will you come?"
Tony thought, "Brunch with Jackie Tyler. Nah. Thank you though. I'm going to spend some time with Pepper for a bit. Alright?"
"When will I see you?"
Tony held her and thought. "Tomorrow. I need to bring your Dad something. And I need to bring your Christmas present to you. Your Dad is going to hate it, so that means I'm sure you'll love it."
Genie smiled at him. "Alright."
"Oh! Hang on. How much is my swearing fee?"
She tapped her lips with her finger and thought as he pulled out his wallet. "$835."
"It's $876. I was keeping count, too. Lizard."
She giggled.
He took money out of his wallet and looked at her. "Alright. You are great at math. Just like we have been doing all week. Do it in your head like I showed you. Ready? Tell me. If we were gone for 7 days, and I swore 876 times. How many times a day did I swear?"
Genie groaned. "Really?"
"Stop complaining. Math in the real world is word problems. Go."
She thought. "Okay. If you swore that much in a week, that would mean you swore about 125 a day."
He smiled proudly. "Right. How many times an hour?"
She thought. "Five times."
He looked surprised. "Really? It must be working. Here's a $1,000. Don't spend it all in one place."
"And?" She insisted as she put the money in her pocket.
He rolled his eyes. "I'll go on an ice cream date with you. Yes. Can we take Pepper?"
She looked back at Pepper and smiled. "Sure!"
He whispered to her, "Hey, do you know what?"
"What?"
"I love your guts." He tickled her ribs as he said, "Especially, this one and this one and this one."
She laughed and wiggled out of his arms. "You are silly Uncle Tony. Bye! Bye Pepper."
Pepper's eyes became huge. "She's just running around the ship on her own?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "There is nothing up here that is going to hurt her. She likes to jump out at people and hit them with a pillow. Keep your guard up. She's sneaky."
Pepper nodded her head in stunned disbelief.
Tony sighed. "So. This is me. I'm making suits. I'm traveling to other planets with aliens. Teaching Lizards how to do math in their heads. I want you to be part of it. What do you think?"
She stood up and looked around the room. "This room is huge. Do you plan to fill it up with suits?"
He shook his head and looked around. "I don't know. I thought about putting a basketball goal right there. It's big enough for a half court."
She smiled and looked back at him. "You and Rhodey loved to play basketball."
He smiled. "He loved to kick my ass at it."
She walked over and stood next to him with her arms crossed. "This is a lot. Why haven't you told me about this before?"
"I thought it would scare you. John has been on my ass about it for months."
She looked at him, "So, John is…."
"I can't remember where he's from. But, yes. It's not Earth. It's some planet that doesn't exist in this Dimension. He's completely misplaced." He chuckled.
"Rose?"
"Oh no. She's human. Crazy ass human, but she's from Earth. London. But, well….let's leave that at that."
"Genie?"
"Gene doesn't know about this. But, her Mom is from here and her Dad is from another planet. That's the reason her eyes are that odd color and she can play music just by hearing it. It's a trait they share."
Pepper nodded her head and looked around. "Is this a trick? Some evil-"
He rolled his eyes and groaned. "No! It's really not." He got down from the table and stood in front of her. He took her hands in his. "Pepper. This is really me. This is what is really going on. I have kept this from you for months, and I'm sorry. I want to share this with you."
She looked around and took a deep breath. "Tony-"
"Hey!" Someone else yelled.
Tony dropped his head dramatically. "I'm in here." He turned and put his hand on his hip.
Lewis appeared in the doorway. "Oh! Hey Pepper."
Pepper pointed at him. "Is he?"
Tony laughed, "Yes. What is it, Lewis?"
"Have you seen John? Pete?"
"John was just here. I haven't seen Pete."
"Damn it. He said he was in here." Lewis complained and walked away.
Tony looked back at her and smiled. "Lewis." He explained.
"He's a….?"
"Quauhtin warrior. A Primus, which is something like a General. Complete badass to another level. Impressive. I don't completely understand it. John's one, too. So. What we were talking about?"
She smiled. "This is like Grand Central Station."
He smiled, "I'm rethinking having my room here. It's never like this. Well?"
"Tony. This is overwhelming. Is this-"
"Tony!" Someone else yelled.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yep! I'm in here."
Howie walked into the room. "Have you seen Pete?" He was wearing his cowboy hat and took it off as soon as he saw Pepper. "Oh! Ma'am. Nice to see you. I'm sorry for the interruption."
Pepper's eyes got huge. "Are you?"
He held out his hand. "Howard Shepherd. My friends call me Howie. And you are?"
She smiled and shook his hand gently. "Pepper. Pepper Potts."
He smiled at her. "Delighted! I know who you are, of course. Tony talks about you quite a bit. Get a few drinks in him and he'll sing like a canary."
She looked back at Tony who shook his head. "I didn't do that."
Howie chuckled. He reached in his pocket and took out his wallet. He pulled a card out and handed it to her. "Ma'am. I'm rather high up in public office. If this man steps out of line, or you need me, just call. I have Marines and the best army on this planet."
Tony held his hand out. "Really? You're threatening me with Marines?"
Howie snapped at him, "Shhh. This is my best line."
Pepper her laughed at him. "Thank you, Mr. Pres-"
"Ah! Call me Howie. I've got to go back to Washington now, and want to enjoy my last five minutes as Howie." He turned to Tony. "I'll have that information that we talked about ready for you this afternoon. We're swearing in the new Vice President, if you two would like to come see that."
Tony looked back at her. "Would you like to see that, Pepper? It doesn't happen everyday."
She smiled in disbelief. "Sure."
Howie slapped Tony's shoulder. "Sounds great! I'll have that ready for you then! If you see ole Pete, tell him I'm looking for him."
Tony nodded his head. "At this rate, he'll be next through the door."
He laughed, put back on his cowboy hat and tipped it to Pepper. "Ma'am."
She smiled and watched him walk out of the door. She turned to Tony. "Howard Shepherd? Really?"
Tony shrugged his shoulders. "We ran into some legal trouble. He came out to help."
"Alien?"
Tony laughed, "A cowboy alien? No. John's father-in-law, Pete Tyler, is his best friend. When Tony was kidnapped, there were some….legal matters that had to be addressed before we were allowed to leave. John had blown up a couple of ships and …. well. He sent for Pete and Howie came along, too. I couldn't believe it. It was his first trip out."
She turned and looked surprised at him. "How many trips out for you?"
"Counting this one? Two. I wasn't planning on this one. I got hurt and John had to leave before I was well."
"That's why you missed Christmas."
He nodded. "Yes."
"Are you well now?"
"I'm fine. John put me back together. This actually a medical ship. John is some….big shot….. hospital administrator for several planets."
She nodded her head and looked around. "This is just…. A lot to think about."
He took both of her hands in his and faced her again. "Then, let's do this. I need to do some things today. I'm sure you have plans already. You think about it, and after the thing with Howie, we'll go a date. You can tell me then what you think."
She looked at him. "I just don't know if I really know you anymore."
He looked confused. "How do you mean?"
"Well, this! The suits. Traveling in space. Aliens. The way you treat Genie-"
"What? I paid her!"
"You know what I mean."
He thought and shook his head. "I really don't. Look. If you don't think you know me then, let's just start slow. A date."
She smiled. "Okay. A date. Yes."
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