Fandom: Avengers

Character(s): Pepper P. | Iron Man/Tony S. | Spider-Man/Peter P.

Pairing(s): Tony/Pepper

Warning(s): mature themes, spoilers through Spider-Man: Homecoming

Even though it was an audio call only (and therefore her appearance was of no consequence whatsoever), Pepper still took a second to smooth down her hair and tighten the belt of her robe before she answered the call. It made her feel more put-together and secure for the trial that inevitably lay ahead.

Taking a deep breath, Pepper pressed the button and cleared her throat.

"Hello, Mom."

"Virginia! Are you all right? We've been so worried!"" Mrs. Potts' voice sounded loud and relieved over the phone line, and Pepper could almost picture her mother pacing back and forth in their kitchen, fingering the string of beads around her neck.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm fine, Mom." She leaned back into the sofa cushions and stretched out her legs tiredly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your father was on the Facebook just now and someone shared pictures of a protest outside your office."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Sweetheart, what happened?"

"Nothing much. Just some college kids stretching their civic rights wings. We get them occupying our sidewalk pretty often, actually. They're harmless."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I had a headache, so I left early...that's all."

"That's all?"

Pepper sighed. "Yes, Mom. That's all."

Pepper loved her parents, but there was no denying that their relationship was...well...rather strained. They sent each other birthday cards and called at Christmas and New Years to exchange well wishes, but they almost never managed to have a normal, in-person interaction without some kind of angst resulting. Sometimes Pepper wondered if she was the culprit (or if she was the only one to notice the tension underlying everything like a suffocating gas), but - whatever the cause - there it was. She wasn't an orphan like Tony, but for 363 days out of the year she might as well be.

And speaking of Tony...

"So you're engaged now." Mrs. Potts' voice sounded carefully neutral - using that particular tone that always riled Pepper more than if her mother had just said whatever she was really thinking.

"Yes." Pepper tried very hard not to sound as prickly as she felt. "I guess you saw the press conference."

"Hmmmph. I certainly did." There was a clatter in the background, as if Mrs. Potts was moving some dishes in the sink. "It was quite the sight, you two practically ripping each other's clothes off right there on national media. Why you put up with him, I'll never know."

"Now, mother - "

"Well, it's true! He couldn't keep his hands off of you...please tell me you aren't sleeping together."

Pepper blushed. "Whatever is happening between Tony and I is our business, Mom. We're both adults."

"Oh, Virginia!"

"And we're going to get married...so we'd be having sex then, anyway."

A disgruntled huff. "At least tell me he got tested first."

"What?"

"It's the least he could do, after sleeping with every housekeeper and pole dancer from here to Vegas, fathering how many kids while he's at it."

"Tony doesn't do that." (Not anymore.)

"Oh, Virginia - don't be so naive! Do you really think that a man like Tony Stark would stay abstinent while single? You did break up with him a while back, didn't you?"

Pepper shook her head. "Yes, but - "

"You're a smart girl, Virginia. Use your head - "

"I am, Mom...and I'm telling you, Tony isn't like that. We were just on a break."

Mrs. Potts went on, just as if she hadn't heard Pepper. " - even if he meant to stay squeaky clean, I know what happens when there's lots of alcohol and scantily clad girls at parties. God only knows where the Black Widow's been."

"Mom..." Pepper trailed off and bit her lip, then frowned. "Wait - the Black Widow? Are you talking about Natasha?!"

"Is there another Black Widow among your circle of acquaintances?"

Pepper snorted...though not with amusement. "No." She said, standing up to pace in hopes of letting off a bit of her mounting agitation. ""No, there isn't. But I can tell you right now, Natasha isn't like that."

Now Mrs. Potts sounded pitying. "Sweetheart, it was all over the papers. I'm so sorry if you didn't know, but they were in Berlin together and - "

"Papers?! Which papers?" Pepper demanded, clenching her fist by her side and unsure of whether to cry or scream. (Curse Tom Amos and The Daily Bugle!) "Look, Mom, if you're talking about what I think you're talking about...do you remember three years ago when those very same papers were running the story that I was having an affair with Bruce Banner and Captain America at the same time? Do you remember that? Because if they're where you're going for your news - "

Mrs. Potts sniffed, affronted. "Well, maybe I wouldn't have to if my only daughter would call me once and a while to let me know she's still alive."

Pepper's grip tightened spasmodically around her phone. "Well," She shot back. "Maybe I would if WE DIDN'T ALWAYS END UP FIGHTING!"

There was a long, stunned pause on the other end of the phone.

Breathing hard, Pepper squeezed both eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose, exercising all of her self-control to calm herself. "Look, Mom." She said, forcing her voice to drop back to a more reasonable volume. "I'm...I'm sorry. Really. I didn't mean to shout."

The silence stretched out for another minute or so. Then, quietly. "I don't want to fight either, sweetheart." Mrs. Potts sounded tired and maybe just the tiniest bit regretful.

Pepper's eyes burned. She wrapped one arm around her ribcage to hold herself together. "I know, Mom."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"And that's why I worry about you. We both do."

"I know."

"I know you like Tony a lot...but, Virginia, you need a man you can trust. Someone you can rely on. Marriage isn't something that can be sustained on good feelings. It's a partnership, fifty-fifty."

"Mom, Tony and I have been partners for many years - "

"But marriage is different. And I don't want you to jump into it without thinking it through."

Pepper groaned. "Mom - "

"Don't you 'Mom' me." It was amazing how, despite being well over eighteen and an established career woman and a superhero ally, the simple clip of her mother's voice could make Pepper Potts close her mouth and stop in her tracks. "Virginia." Her mother said, sounding very urgent indeed. "You know your father and I have tried not to say anything about your relationship with Tony Stark - " (Ha and ha.) " - but, sweetheart, please. Please listen."

"I'm listening."

"People like Tony Stark don't just change because you want them to. I'm sure he means well, but he's jerked you around ever since you first met, and that's not likely to stop just because you're together. I mean, Sokovia was bad enough - !"

Pepper stiffened slightly and sucked in a deep breath.

" - but what's going to happen when the next scandal breaks? I hate the thought of you getting caught in the middle again, Virgina. That's not fair to you."

Tears were welling up behind Pepper's lids now. Sokovia was such a raw subject...still so raw. Not only because of the disaster (that was bad enough), but because of the fallout. Mrs. Potts wasn't wrong - the media storm had been horrible. And Pepper had faced a significant brunt of it. And it wasn't fair. And, no, she didn't want to go through with that again.

But every rose has its thorn, as the saying goes - and Pepper knew that she couldn't have Tony and perfect peace in her life any more than she could be CEO of Stark Industries and have a private life. Some things are just mutually exclusive.

But what right did her mother have to breeze in and stark making declarations and giving advice? She didn't have the whole story. She didn't know anything real about Tony. Or about Sokovia. Or about anything in Pepper's life after college.

And that wasn't Pepper's fault.

"Mom." She said loudly, cutting Mrs. Potts off mid-syllable. "Listen, please. Just listen." Swallowing hard, Pepper injected as much of her professional strength into her voice as she could, praying that her mother would actually hear her. "I understand what you're saying." She said, breathing slowly and deliberately. "Really, I do. And I thank you for thinking of me. But, Mom, you've got to accept that I'm an adult now. And I'm going to marry Tony. I love Tony. I trust Tony. He's not what you think...and maybe I'm not what you think either. I don't want to fight, but you've got to understand that this is my choice. I'm not marrying Tony because he's rich or because the sex is great or because I'm some kind of silly little girl thinking that I just need a prince charming to sweep me off my feet. I'm marrying Tony because he loves me. And because we are both willing to work on our relationship, whatever happens. Even if another city blows up - "

Unbidden, the images of Bruce and the Maximoff twins and the sky raining vibranium and ash rose up in Pepper's mind, and she swallowed down the nausea.

" - even if aliens invade again - "

Steve, Natasha, and Clint's faces were next to appear, searing, aching, ripping with the pain of the Civil War. Pepper clenched both fists.

" - even if Tony loses his fortune or ends up paralyzed from the neck down or has brain damage or if a thousand women come forward saying that they've had his baby - "

Pepper pictured Peter and May and a hysterical laugh bubbled up out of her throat, sounding more like a sob than anything happy.

"- even if that happens, I'm not leaving Tony. And, Mom, that's just how it's going to be. I..." Pepper felt the tears overflow her lashes and run down, hot and stinging against her cheeks. "I hope you'll be happy for us."

There was another long pause. Then Mrs Potts sighed mournfully. "You could do so much better, Virginia."

Pepper saw red. "I couldn't do better if I waited a hundred years!" She snarled, the tears flowing in earnest now. "Not if I waited a million! Tony is good and generous and he makes me laugh. I love him, mother. And he loves me. And we're both going to bring one-hundred percent into this marriage and work at it every day of our lives no matter what happens. We're in it together...until death do us part!" She swiped angrily at her cheeks and drew in a shaky breath. "Goodbye, Mom. I'll send your invitation to our wedding in the mail."

And, with that, Pepper hung up the phone - thinking how much more satisfying it would be if she had a vintage receiver to slam back onto the hook.

TBC...