The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know! As always thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and left a review, you're amazing! Slowly, we're getting closer to the end of the story. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I do writing it.
The song to this chapter is 'Celestial' by Ed Sheeran.
I don't own the characters or places!
Pepper
The day after I'd seen Tony sing and dance on stage, we met again. The weather wasn't that beautiful and it looked like it was going to rain soon, but we both didn't care. Tony said as long as we would keep our distance from the ocean, it shouldn't be so bad. I trusted him to know what he was doing, considering that he'd lived in New York his entire life.
We kept talking about the show very much, but not the magic part. I was still too fascinated from seeing him moving around on that stage. First, I thought that Lettie was the perfect lead singer for the group, but now I knew that I'd been wrong. Next to Tony, even this extraordinary woman looked pale in comparison. I knew that the crowd also loved him in this role, their loud cheers had proven it. I'd even heard someone call him 'ringmaster' silently, like it was some kind of title.
Tony kept telling stories about how much they had to work out to stay fit for the show. Somehow, the thought of him doing exercises together with the others made me blush furiously. Luckily, I was able to hide it because just in that moment, a hawk which was flying above us attracted Tony's attention. I still didn't understand why this man always made me feel this way.
We'd decided to have a picnic in the forest and I had to admit that it was quite nice. It reminded me of all my travels with Phil. However, with him I didn't feel so distracted. I wasn't sure why, but the urge to touch Tony was getting stronger with each passing day. Sometimes, I even thought that I saw him reach out to me and I wondered if he felt it too. If he did, he was good at hiding it. I also did my best not to let those strange feelings show. It would only make things even more difficult than they already were.
We'd just finished our lunch when dark clouds appeared in the sky. In the distance, we could hear the sound of thunder. We packed our things as fast as possible and soon, we were riding back towards the city. Tony kept telling me that we would make it back to his house in time, but I wasn't so sure. The wind was also getting stronger and I suspected that the weather would reach us long before we'd be back in New York.
In the end, it turned out that we both were wrong. We nearly made it back to Tony's house and only got wet when we were already riding through the streets of the city. However, it was enough. When we entered Tony's house to get away from the rain, we were both soaked.
"I'm sorry." Tony muttered as soon as the door closed behind us. He turned to me and smiled slightly. It didn't look like he felt sorry at all, rather as if the situation amused him. "Let's get some towels." He walked past me and I had trouble not to stare at him. He was completely wet, water dripping onto the dark wooden floor of the entrance hall. His white shirt was glued to his skin and I knew that it didn't hide much of his body anymore.
Inwardly, I scolded myself for those thoughts. Most probably, I didn't look much better myself. I was glad that I'd chosen my dark blue dress and also wore my coat. That would hide most of me because suddenly, the thought of Tony having a closer look at me made me feel uncomfortable.
Footsteps announced his return from the bathroom and I barely had enough time to catch the towel he'd thrown at me. "Thank you." I replied and couldn't stop myself from smiling. "It's fine, by the way. The rain." I began to dry my hair. "I don't mind getting wet."
"You warned me about this." He pointed out. "And I didn't listen."
I laughed. "When do you ever listen to something anyone says?"
"I highly appreciate the opinion of others." He argued with a grin. "I listen to it. I just don't always do what others say."
"Not always? Never." I shook my head and now we were both laughing. Outside, I could hear the thunder roar again. Suddenly very aware of the whole situation, I turned to look outside. It was raining heavily and there was no way that I could go back to the hotel now. I was in Tony Stark's house and we were alone. I knew that Jarvis had to be somewhere as well, but we didn't see or hear him yet. My heart started to beat faster. Out of nervousness? I wasn't so sure. It rather felt like anticipation, though I didn't know why.
He also seemed to realize that for the first time, we were completely alone. Of course we'd also been outside together, but this felt different. A lot more personal. Especially since we were in his house. Suddenly feeling curious about it, I turned around again and had a closer look at the interior.
Dark wooden floors. White walls in the hallway. Dark red curtains in this room. A big dark grey carpet on the floor. All of that together with furniture that was nearly white. Was it pine? It created a sharp contrast. I liked it.
Without really thinking about it, I took a few steps towards the next room. I was fully aware that I was still completely wet, so I tried to be careful. The next room seemed to be the living room. It was even bigger than the hallway, with light green walls. This time, the furniture was darker. There were pictures on the walls, most of them showed different landscapes. Outside the window, I knew that one could see the stables if it didn't rain heavily like right now.
"You have a beautiful house." I muttered when I turned back to Tony. He was watching me with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Thank you." He smiled. "It took me years to have it like this. When I first moved in, this place was a mess." He'd told me about all the renovations before.
"I like it. It suits you." I looked at the living room again, but knew that we couldn't go in there. Not like this. Tony could of course change his clothes, but I couldn't. It would only create a mess and ruin the surely expensive furniture.
"Let's get something warm to drink." Tony said to my surprise and led me to the kitchen. Again, the room was a sharp contrast to the ones I'd seen before. Black and white stone floor, wooden furniture and a surprisingly small table to sit on. I watched him as he prepared tea with practiced movements. It was obvious that he knew where everything was by heart. Not surprising, considering that this was his home.
When he placed the cup of tea in front of me, I smiled gratefully. Until now, I didn't even realise how cold I was. "I'll be right back." Tony muttered and I was sure that he was going to change into dry clothes now. However, he surprised me. Only a short moment after he left, he came back, carrying two thick blankets. He handed one to me and wrapped the other one around himself.
"Don't you want to change your clothes?" I asked and quirked an eyebrow.
"I can't let you sit here in your wet clothes all alone." He said as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "That would be horribly impolite."
"Now we'll both get sick." Somehow, the thought bothered me. After all, he was needed for his show.
"We won't." He said simply.
I took in the look on his face and decided not to argue about it. Instead, I gestured at our surroundings. "You said you bought the house a few years ago."
He nodded. "After a search that took me nearly as long."
"Where did you live before?" He didn't talk much about the time before he decided to start the show.
"Outside the city. About an hour with the train." He explained. "My parents had a mansion there."
"You decided not to keep it?"
He shook his head. "Too far away from the city. And I didn't like it there that much. This house is far more comfortable." He shrugged.
I nodded slowly. Somehow, it really suited him better than a big mansion. "Why didn't you like it there?" I knew that it wasn't a polite thing to ask, but I couldn't stop myself.
He ran a hand through his still wet hair. It made it stick out in all directions and I had to fight the urge to run my fingers through it. "I didn't have the best relationship with my father. We often had disagreements when I was young."
"Which is also why you decided not to keep working for the railroad." I concluded.
He nodded. "It was also boring. My father had done most of the work already. Yes, I'm sure that I could have made it better, but it wasn't worth it. Obadiah is far better for that job."
"Obadiah Stane?" It wasn't a question.
Tony looked surprised. "You know each other?"
"We met briefly at the theatre." I explained. "Before Mrs. Carlyle appeared and he took off."
This made him laugh loudly. "Wise choice." He muttered with a nod. "Obadiah was my father's closest friend. They worked together for as long as I can think. Giving everything to him was the right thing to do."
"You also gave him the house?"
He nodded. "I couldn't just let some stranger buy it. My mother wouldn't have wanted that." When he mentioned her, a short flash of sadness appeared on his face. However, it was gone again just as fast. "We still meet regularly. He's like family to me."
"That's wonderful." I said with a smile. "He seems to be very protective of you."
"I bet he was shocked when he heard that we talked to each other." He smiled slightly.
I nodded. I already wanted to say something else, but then we heard footsteps on the stairs. Only moments later, Jarvis appeared in the doorway. When he saw the state we were in, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I already feared that you wouldn't make it back before the rain started." He said politely.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't offer Ms. Potts a change of clothes." Tony stood up, blanked still wrapped around his shoulders. I realized that his shirt still clung to his skin and looked away quickly. "So I decided to join her in this gloriously wet state."
Jarvis didn't look surprised by this. Rather amused, though he didn't let his show. Only his eyes were shining. "You're a true gentleman, sir." He turned to me then. "Is there anything you require, Ms. Potts?"
I shook my head with a smile. "Thank you, Jarvis."
He bowed his head. "I think the rain will end soon. Should I take you back to the city then?"
Tony glanced at me and after a short moment, he nodded. "We should take Ms. Potts directly to her hotel. Otherwise, she might get sick." He repeated my words from earlier.
Jarvis nodded. "As you wish, sir."
"You should change your clothes before we leave." I threw in once Jarvis was gone. "It's really not healthy."
"I'll be fine. I can change at the theatre." He said simply, his voice leaving no room to argue. Suddenly, he grinned. "Come on, I want to show you something." He headed towards the living room. It was warm and there was a fire in the fireplace that hadn't been there before. I was sure that Jarvis had lit it. I knelt down in front of it and enjoyed the warmth. The tea had already helped, but this was even better.
Watching silently as Tony moved through the room, I decided just to sit down on the ground. The floor was warm close to the fireplace. Tony only looked surprised for a few seconds when he saw me sitting there. Then he joined me, not without leaving a safe distance between us, and handed me something.
It was a book. A very beautiful one, with a cover full of flowers and trees. I turned it around slowly to read the title and breathed in sharply. "Where did you get this?" I asked in surprise. Running my fingers over the title slowly, I looked at him.
"My mother used to read it to me when I was young." He explained. "I thought you'd like it."
I turned back to the golden letters on the book. King Arthur. "My father always read it to me." I whispered. "However, our edition wasn't as beautiful as this one." In fact, it had just been a simple book without a real cover. My father got it from his father and so on. It was so worn out that I'd always feared that it would just fall apart one day. When we left, I'd considered taking it with me, but in the end decided that the risk was too high. The book was one of my most valuable possessions.
"You can have it, if you want." Tony's voice was soft.
"It's too much." I replied automatically, my eyes searching his. There was no hesitation on his face.
"It's not enough." He argued. "You said that you need something new to read a few days ago."
"But not this. It belonged to your mother."
"And I want to give it to you." He said simply. "Consider it borrowed, then, if you don't want to keep it. You can give it back to me any time." Tony smiled then and it looked so soft that I nearly reached out with my hand to touch his face.
"Fine." I agreed reluctantly, looking at the book again. I knew that if I looked at his face longer, I would do something stupid. "Thank you, Tony."
"You don't have to thank me." He stood up and it looked as if he wanted to hold out his hand to me. However, he stopped himself in the last moment. "Look, it stopped raining."
I followed his gaze and realized that it was true. In the distance, I could even see the blue sky. "We should get you back to the hotel so you can change into something more comfortable." Tony continued and I followed him quickly, the book in my hands.
Jarvis was already waiting for us outside and smiled widely when he saw us. He held the door of the carriage open and I climbed in, followed by Tony. "So tell me, what part of the book did you like best?" He asked once the carriage settled into motion.
I smiled. "Can't you guess?"
"Everything that has to do with magic?"
I nodded with a grin. "But you surely prefer the knights?"
To my surprise, he shook his head. "I think when it comes to this book, we have the same opinion." I looked at him in surprise for a few moments. Then I started to question him about which parts exactly he enjoyed in that book.
When I entered the hotel, I wasn't surprised to find Phil sitting in the entrance hall, waiting for me. When he took in my appearance, I knew that he had to hide his amusement. "Not a word." I warned him and walked past him without waiting for a reply. By now, all I wanted was a hot bath and then change into dry clothes. The sound of footsteps told me that Phil followed me.
"I hope you had a wonderful day anyway." He said softly and this actually made me look back at him with a smile.
"It was." I admitted quietly and showed him the book. He looked just as surprised as I'd felt when I'd first seen it.
"This is a very valuable gift." He muttered.
"I won't keep it." I argued. "It's too much."
"I bet he thought otherwise?"
I nodded with a sigh. "I will give it back to him before we leave the city." As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a stab of pain in my heart. I didn't want to leave New York, I realized. However, there was no way around this. We had to move on. Or did we? Because if Tony was a real magician...
Later, when I was lying in the hot water and enjoyed the feeling on my skin, I thought of everything that happened ever since we arrived in New York. Back at the gala, I'd immediately felt drawn to Tony Stark. That feeling didn't vanish. Instead, it only got stronger. He was a very selfless man, even if he didn't let it show in front of others. However, he'd let me have a look behind his mask. He'd saved my life and knew where to find me for whatever reason. His show was incredible, not just the first part, but of course also the magic. Even now, days later, we weren't able to find an explanation for the tricks. But maybe that's what it was.
Magic.
It all felt like magic.
Suddenly, I couldn't get out of the water fast enough. Once I was dry and had put on some clothes, I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. Then I began to write the article, finally knowing what I wanted to write.
The next morning, we made our way to the biggest paper in New York, the New York Times. I wasn't surprised to hear that they'd already been waiting for us. Most probably, they'd expected us to come to them, considering that the high society in New York had spent so much time with us. However, that wasn't the reason why I'd chosen them. I wanted everyone in the city to read the article. They should all know what I wanted to say about Tony and his show.
After the lector had read my article, he raised his eyebrows at us silently. However, he made no attempt to comment it. Instead, he just nodded. "The article will be published tomorrow, Ms. Potts."
I smiled at him. "Thank you."
"You have a very good writing style." He smiled back at me. "If you would ever decide to come back to New York, we could use someone like you."
This made me look at him in surprise. "This is a very generous offer."
He laughed. "You're good. It would be an advantage for us."
"I'll think about it." I promised. He didn't need to know that at this point, I really considered just staying in New York.
After we were done there, I wanted to head to the theatre. Somehow, I wanted to tell Tony about the article before he found out any other way. If Phillip Carlyle was even a little like his parents, he would surely already know that we'd visited the publishing house.
While we were walking through the streets of New York, I felt happier than in a long time. My heart was racing in my chest and I knew exactly why. The search was over. I'd found a true magician. Alone the thought felt like coming home. And maybe, just maybe I also knew that I'd found my Soulmate.
When we arrived at the theatre, Clint was already leaning against a wall outside. He smiled when he saw Phil. Somehow, I didn't think that it was coincidence that he was there, waiting for us in this exact moment. Could it be...? I decided to push that thought aside. That wasn't possible.
"Tony's inside." Clint said instead of a greeting. "He's preparing everything for the show this evening. You can just go in, I bet he'll be happy to see you."
I smiled at him. "Thank you, Clint." Then I entered the theatre through the backdoor, the one that led to the room where they all normally spend their breaks. I was surprised to find it empty, but I could hear voices from somewhere. Not the main area of the theatre, though. Then I remembered Rhodey mentioning once that there was also a cellar. I smiled to myself, not able to wait a second longer to tell Tony about the article. I was sure that he'd be happy about it!
However, I slowed down when I got closer to the door. What if I was interrupting an important conversation? I decided not to announce my presence just yet.
"Why do we even need so much of this stuff?" I recognized the voice. It was Rhodey.
"Because it's boring when the tricks always look the same." Someone else argued. Tony.
"They won't even notice that."
"Many people visit the show regularly. Of course they will notice it, Rhodey." Tony sounded annoyed, or rather resigned?
"You spend so much energy on making all those tricks work. And no one thanks you for it." Rhodey threw in. "In fact, they all even try to destroy us."
"You don't understand." His was voice tired now. "It has to be convincing." Convincing? What did he mean with that?
"I would say that it already is convincing. Even our famous critic for magic shows hasn't written a disastrous article yet." It sounded as if Rhodey tried to cheer him up. "I would love to see her face when she realizes that it's all fake."
"No, you wouldn't." Tony's voice sounded flat, as if he was angry at his best friend.
They kept talking, but I didn't listen to their conversation anymore. I would love to see her face when she realizes that it's all fake. The words were echoing through my mind and suddenly, I was feeling sick. The paper with the article I'd still been holding in my hand fell to the ground and I turned around. I had to get out of here. It was all a lie. He wasn't a true magician. It was all fake.
I began to run, not caring that I knocked over a chair in the process. Another noise caught my attention, it sounded like shattering glass. However, I didn't turn around. Instead, I ran out of the theatre and through the streets of New York with only one goal. Getting away from the theatre as fast as possible.
