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
"DUM-E...DUM-E, no! Drop it! Drop. It!"
Pepper shook her head as she passed Happy playing tug-of-war with Tony's firstborn bot and a priceless Persian carpet. If she had known just how much work it would be to pack up the tower, she would have argued much harder whenever Tony first brought up the idea of selling.
She understood why he wanted rid of the place. They had originally intended to convert the tower back to a business center and penthouse, but after what the media had aptly dubbed the Civil War, even Pepper had difficulty living in a place with so many interconnected memories. How much worse it must be for Tony who (after his Malibu mansion was destroyed) moved into the tower full-time and turned it into the Avengers' HQ and Home. The whole tower was nothing but a memorial to what had been.
The kitchen where Natasha and Tony experimented with omelette recipes.
The lab where Bruce and Tony spent hours and hours debating the inner workings of everything on, off, and under the earth.
The lounge where Clint and Tony introduced Cap to all things pop culture (and Cap expressed disgust over the things that were allowed to be on display today!, much to the hilarity of the others.)
Every room in the tower bore a mark of the Avengers' presence...and every square foot was haunted by their ghosts.
It made Pepper's skin crawl.
After the chaos and noise of Happy's packing efforts, the server room seemed almost heavenly - quiet, except for the whir of the machines, and absolutely peaceful. Pepper sat down at the main console and pulled up her company email. It would take a while for all of the mainframe data to upload itself onto the backup drive she had brought, so she hoped to at least get through the inter-office memos while she waited.
Five executive disputes, one ethics complaint (about the embossed pattern on the toilet paper in the ladies', no less), and two reminders that, yes, food in the office fridges is fair game unless specifically labeled later, Pepper sighed and leaned back. The data was still downloading: images, files, and bits of code flashing across the screen in a parade of bits and bytes. Pepper watched the screen idly for a moment or two, smiling sadly when a video of the Maximoff twins briefly displayed itself.
How had things devolved so quickly into such a mess?
She switched out the drives and started another download - but this time a warning popped up that some of the files were double encrypted. Pepper clicked "Yes, view" and waited while the screen loaded, tapping her nails on the desktop.
The list of offending files was not long: specs for Vision, copies of Howard Stark's videos, the coding for Ultron, medical files on the Avengers, and a new file titled simply (and curiously) The Kid.
Pepper frowned. It was an unobtrusive folder, except for the quadruple layer of security graying out most of its contents, but Pepper could see clearly a school ID, several report cards, and what looked like a home video of Tony. There were also banks and banks of text messages, sound files that must be voicemails, and a school schedule form. Who was this kid that Tony would be keeping such extensive track of them?
Oh.
Oh no.
Pepper closed her eyes, feeling the tears clot on her lashes and hating herself for reacting this way. She had always known it was a possibility, after all. God only knows she had personally handled several such claims over the years - ordering the tests or filing the restraining orders or (on one memorable occasion) spraying the desperate woman with mace when security took too long to escort her off of Tony's lawn. But this was clearly different. This time Tony was actually interested in meeting the kid; had met him already, in fact. And all without saying so much as a word to Pepper.
Not. One. Solitary. Word.
She had thought they were past this. He had promised! And just because they were on a break from their non-professional relationship at the moment didn't mean that Tony Stark had a right to start up the ghosting again.
Just who was this kid, anyway?
Fingers hesitating slightly, Pepper typed in the passcode (h-0-t-t-a-m-a-l-3-s) that would give her access to Tony's private server: the one that stored files for FRIDAY and all of Tony's personal projects. It might not have been professional - or even strictly ethical - to spy on her boss and his presumed offspring this way, but after years of working for a genius man-child with impulse control issues and a history of self-destructive tendencies, Pepper barely gave it a second thought.
If he didn't want her to look, he shouldn't have given her his password.
With the security barriers appeased, Pepper watched, mesmerized, as the previously-grayed-out files came to life in a dizzying display of color and reality.
The kid's name was Peter Parker. He was fourteen, adorable, and curly-haired - not exactly the spitting image of Tony, but as Pepper pulled up a photo of his apparent mother (a Mary Fitzpatrick) and let it hover beside an image of him and Tony, the resemblance became clearer.
Much clearer.
"Oh..." Pepper whispered to herself, one hand coming up to brush against the holograms. There could be no mistaking the resemblance! Peter and Tony even had the same Bambi-brown eyes...
Unable to help herself, Pepper dove deeper into the files, feeling not unlike a certain Greek protagonist opening a certain box. The kid (Peter) was smart, no doubt about that. He had been in the Gifted track ever since first grade, and was currently a straight A+ student in the top 10 ranking at Midtown School of Science & Technology - attending on a full-ride scholarship, no less.
He was also on the decathlon team, a National Merit Scholar, and the star of the robotics club. No wonder Tony had fallen hook, line, and sinker!
Pepper only hoped he had thought to make sure the DNA test was conclusive before promising Peter Parker the world (Though, given these pictures and the kid's GPA, any test might be strictly a formality.)
She tapped on the keyboard's scrolling feature, looking at the months' worth of archived text messages that evidenced just how involved Tony had become in the kid's life, trying to ignore the aching feeling that throbbed away in her chest. It was fine. No, really, it was. She understood better than perhaps anyone else how unpredictable, oddly private, and completely possessive Tony could be over the things (and people) he cared about, short though that list may be.
And shorter still it had grown with the Civil War.
Was that why Tony had decided to keep Peter a secret? If so, Pepper supposed she could understand why.
Understanding and excusing were two completely separate things, however. If nothing else, as the CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper knew that she ought to have been notified about the discovery of an heir. Tony should have told her right away, and they could have figured out the details together. As an executive team, even if not as a couple.
So why hadn't Tony said anything?
Was he afraid he'd scare her off for good?
Pepper drew in a sharp breath. For a cocky, arrogant genius with an oversized ego and no real sense of modesty whatsoever, Tony Stark could be surprisingly insecure. She needed to talk to him. Now. Before she drew any more conclusions and caused herself any more hurt. Before whatever this was had any more of a chance to push a wedge between them.
Whoever Peter Parker was (and whatever he was to Tony), Pepper wasn't about to let him be the catalyst that destroyed them. They were just on a break, not broken up. So down with the secrets; down with everything. She was going to get a straight answer out of Tony if it was the last thing she ever did.
With a sigh, Pepper looked up at the ceiling. "FRIDAY?"
"Yes, Ms. Boss?" The AI was as prompt as ever - and Pepper thanked whichever tech gods had first inspired Tony to tinker around with electronic assistants.
"Cancel my flight to D.C. And send a message to Candy that I will not be able to meet with the representatives from Banzai Corporation tomorrow."
"Of course, Ms. Boss. Will that be all?"
"Where is Mr. Stark?"
"Boss is currently in the Alpha lab."
"Is he alone?"
"Yes. Would you like me to notify him of your arrival?"
Pepper kicked off her heels and closed out the computer, making sure to log out of both the files on Peter Parker and her company email. "No thank you, FRIDAY. Put in an order for dinner, though. Takeout. Enough for two."
"Of course, Ms. Boss. Is there anywhere in particular you prefer to order from?"
Pepper waved a hand distractedly as she made her way to the elevator. "No, no...that's all right, FRIDAY. You pick."
"Of course, Ms. Boss."
"I'm going to have a little talk with your creator."
TBC...