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Previously: The Senate Hearing to determine the possession of the Iron Man suit took place in Washington D.C. as Ed stayed in NYC with the Parkers. Tony was able to keep the suit and Ed realized how little she knew about certain cultural references...


May 12th, 2010 – Malibu, California

I eyed the wall around the property from afar as I ran parallel to it, wondering if there were some paparazzi hiding on the other side. We still needed to be careful though, even if things have calmed down a little.

Those paparazzi were overly tenacious.

Tony's hearing with the Senate hadn't helped but at least the press was more focused on him and not on the people around him.

I had still needed to hide on the airplane when we landed back in California…

But now, back at the Mansion, I could at least be less cautious as long as I stayed away from the gates and the wall. The press wanted information on Tony and the Iron Man suit for the most part. I was tuning into a second thought.

Heading back inside, I passed by the kitchen, filling a glass with water and I heard the front door open.

And slam shut.

Uh oh… Someone did not seem to be in a good mood and –

Pepper turned the corner in a huff, sniffling as she looked around the room. "Hi, Ed," she said with a sigh, trying to take a deep breath. "Is he in his lab?"

I almost visibly untensed at that question. Good, she wasn't mad at me. "Hey and probably, I just got back."

Pepper nodded, sniffling again and massaging her temple. "Of course, he is. Not at work again," she mumbled.

"Are you… ok?" I asked slowly, taking a sip of water.

Pepper shrugged, waving it off. "I have several bones to pick with him."

I nodded slowly. "Uh… Good luck."

I didn't want to get involved in the disagreement between Pepper and Tony because, of the few that I had witnessed, neither side gave up easily, rapidly firing back and forth their arguments.

It could almost get worse than the ones between Tony and myself…

Pepper nodded in thanks before marching away, even the sound of her heels clicking against the floor showed her frustration.

Yup, definitely not getting in between them.

Instead, I finished my glass of water and headed to my room, wanting to take a quick shower and continue to do some research on the replacement for palladium.

Though… I still wasn't exactly sure why Tony needed to find a replacement for it. Could it truly be for the money? Or… was there another reason? One he hadn't given me or – more likely – didn't want to give me.

I hadn't really given it that much thought before but… there must be, no? Tony didn't do something just for the fun of it, especially not asking for help. His decisions were calculated.

So… Why?

Maybe I should look into palladium a little bit more while looking for a replacement.

As I sat down at my desk, freshly showered, I moved some papers around and… Oh yeah.

I lifted the book off my desk, taking a deep breath as I stared at the title.

Or more, the author.

"So, we meet again," I grumbled tiredly.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Fucking Shakespeare.

At least I had gotten that only question in that category correct in the game. I had still lost though… Badly.

On the airplane flight back to California, Pepper and I had discussed how I could broaden my knowledge of the 21st century and all the cultural references I had missed.

If people caught on that I lacked knowledge on overly common things, they may begin to question my identity. Especially if they knew about Edward of the Howling Commandos.

Even though the possibility of them thinking we were the same person were slim – HOW would Edward have gone from 1945 to 2010?! – it still was not a train of thought we wanted anyone to pursue.

So… I had to cut into my research time on the alchemic circles and on the palladium replacement to focus on everything and anything that was apparently common knowledge.

Thankfully, Pepper had made a beginning of a list of what that knowledge was because I had no idea where to even start.

It had irked me at first, to use my time to learn these – in my opinion – useless things but, I technically had two choices: 1) I DON'T learn them and, consequently, I stay inside and avoid people to not let my lack of knowledge show or 2) I take some time to go through the list and not look like a complete idiot when I interacted with others.

Yeah, I preferred option 2.

Alright then, William Shakespeare, what do you have to say about this Hamlet character?

"Miss?"

Damn it, I hadn't even opened the book yet!

"JARVIS?" I replied, looking up.

"Would you please join Sir and Miss Potts downstairs in the lab?"

Uh… "They didn't kill each other, did they?" I wondered slowly, not having moved from my chair just yet.

"No. The argument is over if that is what has you worried," said JARVIS and I slouched slightly in relief.

"Ok, so what's it about?" I asked, standing and walking out of the room.

"Nothing unpleasant."

I stopped, frowning at the ceiling. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Miss Potts had requested you join them."

Was JARVIS becoming more… sarcastic or was it just me?

I huffed but continued on my way, wondering what all this was about. Pepper had been angry when she went to see Tony. What had changed in… 15 minutes?

Oh boy, am I the one in trouble now?

Opening the glass door to the lab, I hesitantly walked through, glancing around before spotting Tony and Pepper sitting at the only couch, each holding a tall glass of… wine? Alcohol?

I wasn't exactly sure what was in said glasses…

"Ed!" greeted Pepper, almost breathless, the largest of smiles on her face. Even Tony was smiling. It wasn't as big as Pepper's but still!

What had I missed?

At least I could almost say for certain that I wasn't in trouble.

I glanced around the room as I approached the two of them, spotting a splatter of green… liquid near U. That was what Tony had been drinking the last couple of weeks. I realized then that I had never really asked what it was or why he had decided to start drinking it.

More things to add to the list it seemed.

"So, what's going on?" I asked slowly, focusing on the two adults.

Tony had stood by then, heading toward DUM-E who was holding a tray with a bottle of whatever they were drinking and another tall glass. "Well, meet Stark Industries new CEO," he said, motioning towards Pepper who was still beaming.

I almost stumbled at that statement. CEO? Stark Industries?

PEPPER?!

"Fucking shit! Seriously?!" I gasped out, my gaze flickering quickly between Pepper and Tony several times in disbelief.

"Yes, seriously. She does a better job than me anyway," replied Tony as he filled the third glass.

I turned towards Pepper, still in shock. "Con – congratulations!"

"Thank you! I'm still digesting the news too," laughed Pepper, smoothing her hair back. "I had not expected the conversation to go this way!"

"You looked ready to kick his ass upstairs," I remarked with a chuckle which made her smile too.

"No ass-kicking today," said Tony, going to hand the glass to me but stopped, pulling it back slightly. "You're only getting one of these, got it?"

I sent him a look but rolled my eyes and nodded none-the-less. "I'll be responsible," I articulated, repeating the words drilled into me after the drunken night I had in New York the other month.

It was surprising enough they were letting me drink today considering the earful I had gotten…

Tony handed me the glass and grabbed his, raising it in the middle of the three of us. "To the new boss."

"Prost!" I said, smiling towards Pepper. "Congratulations!"

She was beaming at the two of us and I thought that… it probably was a good move on Tony's part. She could focus on the business while he could focus on… whatever he wanted.


May 21st, 2010 – Malibu, California

"What the hell was that?!"

I slowed my movements slightly to glance at the boxing ring where Tony and Happy were sparring – no, BOXING, the more boring version – and where Happy was staring at Tony in shock, almost in indignation.

"Mixed martial arts, blame Short Stuff," replied Tony off-handedly and I stopped suddenly.

"Do not drag me into this," I snapped, crossing my arms. "That's why I don't spar with the two of you. I don't need Happy to get annoyed with me."

"I just thought it was because you were so independent," replied Tony with a hint of… mocking. He better not be.

"Says the man who constantly needs an assistant," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "How you're currently surviving is beyond me." It had been – what? – a handful of days and he was somehow still functioning.

Tony grabbed his bottle, taking a gulp of that green liquid before raising said bottle. "Here's a crazy idea. How about you do it?"

I scoffed before actually laughing. "That was probably the worst joke you have ever made," I said, shaking my head. "I'd be a horrible assistant. I wouldn't listen to you half the time."

"Most of the time," countered Tony.

"All the time."

"Lest we forget you'd need to interact with many others almost all the time," thought Tony out loud, leaning against the ring's ropes. "It would probably take – oh what? – an hour before you got a reputation."

"Hence why I'll never do it," I replied in German, rolling my eyes and refocusing on the punching bag.

The modified punching bag.

Even though Tony didn't know about the serum, he had known that me using my automail limbs on a normal punching bag would break it easily. It barely took him a day and I had a new bag that I didn't have to worry about.

Neither with my limbs not with the amount of strength I used on it.

Though… I may or may not – more on the 'not' side – have mentioned it in one of the emails to Peter. Since his last comment on Tony and my relationship, having covered it up by saying that Tony was being very nice, I didn't want to add more reasons for Peter to think we were related…

But…

It was true that Tony was doing a lot of these 'nice things' in the last few months. Not only for me but for Happy and Pepper too. Just promoting her to CEO was a HUGE deal.

Even Rhodey had gotten help. Even though…

I slowed my movements slightly, remembering the end of the conversation I had overhead the other day when I had walked across the living room and Tony and Rhodey were in the staircase leading to the lab.

I hadn't heard what the subject had been about but, piecing together from what I knew, especially from the hearing with the Senate, the words "friendship or duty" were very heavy.

The government must not have given up on getting the Iron Man suit and were roping Rhodey into negotiating with Tony on their behalf, using their relationship against both of them…

Sadly… Rhodey was a soldier and even Ben had been weary about the level of duty Rhodey had compared to the devotion to the friendship.

Having spent WAY too many years amongst soldiers, I had seen both sides equally, duty versus friendship.

I just didn't know where Rhodey fell among all the others.

He wasn't as rule oriented as Colonel Grumpy or some of the Briggs soldiers had been considering what he had done in the past for Tony. However, he also wasn't at the level of Steve and the Howling Commandos. Steve broke many rules and didn't listen to more orders than I could count to do the right thing.

Rhodey seemed to be somewhere in the middle, almost like Mustang and his soldiers: follow most rules but look out for each other.

And create a coup d'état apparently…

But Rhodey…

The Senate hearing had been the first and only time I had seen him act as a soldier, I didn't have much to go on to make an assessment.

I just hoped it didn't end badly between Tony and Rhodey… Not because of the damn government and the Iron Man suit.

"You packed yet?"

I glanced behind me at Tony who was apparently taking another break, drinking again that weird green liquid.

"Packed?" I repeated, stopping the swinging bag next to me. "We just got back! Where are we going this time?"

"Maybe you're the one that needs an assistant to keep the dates straight," remarked Tony with a smug smile. "Monaco."

My eyes widened, remembering how FUCKING FAR away that was from Malibu, California. It was for sure going to be an airplane flight there and I already wasn't looking forward to it…

"Why?" I sighed, leaning against the punching bag. "What the hell was there in Monaco?"

Tony shrugged, taking another sup of his drink. "Grand Prix Historique," he replied with words that sounded French. "A car race through the city. I get VIP treatment to watch the race since my company sponsor's one of the cars."

I massaged my face, taking in all that odd explanation. However, there was something… off. "I thought the whole point of the last few weeks was for me to lay low and NOT be seen with you," I remarked, crossing my arms and sending him a look.

Tony shrugged. "You can still watch the race. VIP access to wherever you want. We don't need to babysit you. You do speak French, right?"

Oh boy, that had been a while. "I probably need some practice," I replied hesitantly in French, hoping I used the correct verb and tense.

"And you somewhat have an accent," said Tony. "The locals will be fine with you and you can ask for directions."

Damn it… He was making it easy to agree to it but…

"Do I need to go?" I wondered slowly and I noticed… something pass over Tony's features but, a blink later, he was back to his annoyingly normal state.

"Once in a lifetime chance but if you want to be a hermit here with DUM-E and U, that's fine by me," said Tony with a shrug. "You're explaining it to Pepper though when she shows up."

"Oh fuck you, trying to guilt me again," I grumbled in German, giving the punching bag a swift kick. "If you want me to go, just say so."

"Didn't say that," he replied, going back to facing Happy.

"Heaven forbid you do!" I called back, getting back into my fighting stance. "Maybe I should tell Pepper that: I'll go if you ask nicely."

I heard Tony scoff but then I heard the two men resuming their boxing and I focused on the punching bag.

As I went through the motions of punching, kicking, elbowing, kneeing and everything else, I thought over the notion of going across the world to watch a car race.

To be honest, it wasn't all that appealing when Tony first mentioned it. I didn't care for his race-like driving when he had driven me around but…

Maybe if I wasn't in the car, it would be different.

And… I hadn't seen Monaco.

When the hell would –?

"Miss, Miss Potts has given a warning that she's arriving with the notary in two minutes," stated JARVIS and I groaned out, steadying the punching bag. "It would give you adequate time to hide if you so wish."

I sent Tony a look before picking up my own water and trudging towards the exit. "Thanks, JARVIS," I mumbled, wiping my brow.

"Don't be mad you lost the coin toss!" called Tony, not breaking focus from his boxing with Happy.

"I still think you cheated!" I called back, leaving the gym and heading towards my room.

I had known that Pepper would be arriving that afternoon with the notary from Stark Industries to finalize signing the position of CEO of the company from Tony and Pepper. The problem was that Tony had been an asshole when he decided to use the gym at the same time as me, knowing the notary was coming.

A coin toss as to who would leave sealed my fate considering I didn't want any random stranger to see me at the mansion. It would cause too many headaches and bring up too many questions that I didn't want to deal with.

And I had lost the coin toss…

With a huff, I tossed my now empty water bottle onto the bed, glancing around my room as I shut the door with a kick of my foot.

I could probably use a shower and then…

Fuck, I knew I had forgotten something when I had gone to the gym. I should know better than ot leave my cell phone but… I kept forgetting to bring it with me when I leave the room…

And, because of that, I had a missed call and text message from Peggy.

Peggy

If you have time for a chat. I'll be free all evening.

I glanced at the time, did the calculation for the time difference before calling Peggy, flopping on my bed.

It took two rings before Peggy's face appeared on the screen.

"Good evening," she greeted with a smile. "You were busy running I take it?"

"Guten Abend," I replied using her time to greet her, "and almost. Training at the gym."

Peggy hummed, nodding. "Still as spry as ever."

"Gotta keep active with this house arrest," I mumbled with a shrug.

"It will end eventually," said Peggy, something she had repeated to me on several occasions. "But at least you had been able to go to New York for the Expo. How had that been?"

I smiled slightly at the memory. I told her about the opening night and the time with the Parkers and Leeds, about how Tony was called off to Washington, D.C. for the hearing.

"Oh yes. Never did like Senator Stern," huffed Peggy with a shake of her head. "He hasn't gotten any better over the years."

"He did look like an asshole," I added. "Slimy too."

"As long as he doesn't get his hands on the Iron Man suit," said Peggy with a sigh. "Tony won't give it up without a fight though. And I do believe you would help."

I scoffed, a smile on my face. "If he asked nicely, maybe."

"Did he ask nicely about Monaco?"

My eyes widened at that. "How did you know about that? I JUST heard of it a couple of minutes ago!" Was I always the last person to hear about something?! Or was I just so damn oblivious to anything and everything happening around me?

Peggy chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "Of course… Will you be going though?"

I shrugged. "I haven't decided yet."

"So, I take it, Tony didn't ask nicely."

I sighed heavily, flopping onto my side as I thought over the conversation I had had with Tony about Monaco.

And of the look he had had for but a split second when I questioned the need for me to even be there.

What had happened? Had Tony truly wanted me to be there? But why? We wouldn't even be around each other once we landed there because of the paparazzi. The only times we would see each other would be on the airplane ride there and possibly at the hotel.

So… why?

The more I thought about the situation and Tony's reaction, the more confused I became…

"I can see some gears turning in your mind," remarked Peggy, pulling me from my thoughts. "Did you want to share or are you going to figure it out solo?"

I sighed, hesitating. Should I trouble Peggy with this? Or should I, as she said and as I usually did, figure it out solo?

With a huff, I cursed at myself, shaking my head. I had decided to not rely only on myself, to count on others. I could try to talk to Peggy about this.

If I couldn't talk to my oldest friend on this side, who would I be able to talk to?

"Do you think Tony wants me to go to Monaco?" I asked quickly before I changed my mind.

"Well, it would be more if YOU wanted to go or not, no?" replied Peggy, slightly confused.

"Yes, but… Do you think he'd be…? I don't know… Disappointed if I didn't go on the trip?"

Peggy paused, thinking over the question as her brows furrowed slightly. There was silence between the two of us before she finally began answering slowly, "The two of you are more similar than either of you would ever admit nor care to admit. Both of you seem to care but have problems showing it. Perhaps spending time together and bringing you to places is a way to show that he cares. Without saying it of course."

"And annoying me at the same time…," I mumbled softly but Peggy still seemed to have heard me as she smiled softly.

"Perhaps. But, as I said, similarities and you probably annoy each other. I doubt it's one way."

I didn't answer but I didn't feel like I had to: she was right and she knew it.

"Well, I will let you make the final decision," continued Peggy with a smile. "It could be fun, though. Food for thought."

"Thanks," I replied, also remembering Tony's words about the trip. He had said it would be 'Once in a lifetime'. And now, Peggy was saying it could be fun. Well…

"What else would you have done if you weren't going to go to Monaco?" she wondered, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Research," I answered with a shrug. "Tony had shockingly asked for me to look into palladium if you'd believe that."

She frowned slightly. "He did? That is surprising… Did he say why?"

"He mentioned something about it costs a lot of money using palladium but, you know him…"

Peggy hummed and nodded. "I see. And yes, I know how he is." She paused for a moment, focusing on a spot somewhere out of my view and – "Well, you could do some research on the plane ride there to keep your mind occupied."

She had a point…

"Fine, fine, I'll go. Make everyone happy it seems," I replied and, I realized – almost with a surprise – that I was nearly looking forward to it.

What was going on?!

"You should start packing then," said Peggy, readjusting her position. "I'll let you get started on that."

"Wait," I sat up on my bed, confused. "When is the trip?"

"I do believe you're leaving tomorrow and the Grand Prix is the day after."

"For the love of...!"


Well, to be honest, I am truly looking forward to writing the rest of the story. I wasn't too sure the last few chapters, trying to make them interesting but also itching to move it quickly to the good part. So hopefully this chapter wasn't too iffy for you readers and I hope the next ones are better!

Thanks again!