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 awesome! And yes, all of you who answered my questions were right, the suit was from Civil War! Also my favourite on Tony!

Can anyone guess from which movie the suit he wears in this chapter is?

There's another fact in this chapter that will be important much later, most probably close to the end of this story. I know you'll have forgotten it until then, but maybe someone already suspects what it could be? I'm curious!

Actually, I already wanted to post this chapter yesterday, but after my first week at work, I've been far too tired. I hope that I'll be able to write in the evenings again soon. Until then, please be patient!

The song to this chapter is 'Confetti Falling' by Big Time Rush. I know it's cheesy, but I've been listening to it while writing the chapter.

I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

BREAKING NEWS: MS. VIRGINIA POTTS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, HAS BEEN THREATENED FOR MONTHS!

It was the interview everyone has been waiting for ever since the attack on Ms. Potts this February. The attack which nearly cost Mr. Robert Smith, part of her team, his life. Weeks later, he'd finally recovered and they decided to tell their story. A story which surprised us all.

Not only has Ms. Potts been threatened for months, she also had a bodyguard who's been with her all the time! And now we all ask ourselves the question how we didn't notice this before! Mr. Robert Smith, better known as Tony Stark, hasn't been a politician at all! Instead, he's just been with her for her safety. Though many people have to admit that he took his role very seriously and was more convincing than many real politicians – including Jeremy Sattler, who's been behind the threats all along! In the past months, many people have suspected that there was more behind the relationship between Ms. Potts and Mr. Smith. They have been right all along. He hasn't just been her bodyguard, but also her partner.

Now that they've told us the truth, many more questions need to be answered. For example what will happen now. Mr. Stark has announced that he will go to LA, where the company of his father, Crafting Enterprises, waits for him. A company that has produced weapons for decades. When he's been asked about everything, he announced that the production of the weapons has been stopped months ago. To the question what he'll do now, he didn't give a clear statement, so it has to be seen.

After the interview, many people started to criticize their doings. After all, they've been lying to the public for months. Many people claim that Ms. Potts shouldn't be our President after working with someone involved in the weapons industry for months and lying about so many things. But is that really true? After all, there has never been any connection between Mr. Tony Stark and Crafting Enterprises – until his father died and he was the new owner of the company. So maybe it has been a bad joke of fate to give him that company at this exact time? That's what many others claim, who are supportive of their new favourite couple.

It has to be seen what will happen in the next months. More interviews are planned, so maybe we will get even more surprises? And, most importantly, we'll get to see if the people will accept Ms. Potts.

The truth is out! Virginia Potts confirmed lying for months! Unbelievable, but true! Our new President – a liar! How didn't we notice this before? Her dear and very popular colleague, Robert Smith, hasn't been a politician at all! In fact, he's Tony Stark, the son of one of our biggest weapons manufacturers, Howard Stark. A cruel, impolite and really far too self-obsessed man! What does this say about our new President? Did she know about it all along or has Mr. Stark fooled her as well? And if she knew about it, what does this tell us about her character? Read our article to find out more!

Yesterday, our new President Ms. Potts and Mr. Smith have given an interview in one of the US' most famous talk shows. There, they explained the story behind the attack on Ms. Potts during the inauguration ceremony. It turns out that Ms. Potts has been threatened for months and has searched help in form of a small security company from New York. Since they didn't want to attract attention, they used a disguise for her bodyguard and told the world that he's one of her colleagues and a member of her team. Said bodyguard has been Mr. Smith all along, whose real name is Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark. Mr. Stark senior has died at the end of the previous year and ever since, Tony Stark is also the owner of Crafting Enterprises, a big weapons manufacturer in LA. However, the production of the weapons has been stopped as soon as Mr. Stark became the owner of the company. What will happen now isn't known yet, though it is obvious that Mr. Stark has plans.

The public opinions towards the news are different. Many people support Ms. Potts' decision to keep the threats secret. They also don't blame her and Mr. Stark for lying. Nevertheless, there are also those who blame them for everything they did and fear that a person who lied for months can't be a good President.

"You shouldn't be watching that stuff." A voice behind my back said, making me flinch in surprise. I didn't hear anyone coming, too focused on the various news channels on TV I'd skipped through. I turned around, just to see Tony leaning in the doorway. His hands were buried in the pockets of his trousers and there was a slight smile on his lips. I noticed the sunglasses in the pocket of his shirt and smiled. "Let them talk, it shouldn't bother you."

"And if it does?" I asked and raised my eyebrows.

He walked towards me slowly. "Maybe I should distract you?"

"That sounds tempting, but don't you have an appointment in an hour?" He sat down next to me, turned off the TV and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Doesn't matter." Tony muttered while he began to kiss my neck. "Let them wait."

I moved away from him and shook my head. "Just because you don't have to pretend being a politician anymore, it doesn't mean that you should be impolite immediately."

"I'm not being impolite. I just know where my priorities are." He grinned. "Right here in my arms."

I rolled my eyes. "You're impossible." However, I leaned in to kiss him. To be honest, I was glad that Tony was here. I'd been watching the news for a long time now and every time I changed the channel, I felt anxious. It was good to hear that many people supported us, but there were also many who didn't. I was afraid that it would cause big problems.

"You love me." He argued quietly and kissed me back. Unfortunately, he pulled away far too soon. His expression was serious now. "You really shouldn't be watching this, Pepper. It doesn't matter what they say. You did the right thing."

"Even if they call me a liar now?" I asked doubtfully and sighed. "That's not how I pictured my time as President to start."

"Things rarely go as planned. From all of the people, you should know that best." He smiled my beloved slight smile and winked.

It worked, I chuckled. "That's different." I argued anyway.

"Why?" He looked curious.

"You can't compare falling in love and this." I pointed at the TV. "This is bad. Really bad. Daisy, Phil and Jim have been trying to lessen the damage the entire morning."

"From what I've heard, it's not that bad." He argued calmly. "The majority of the people supports us. I've also done some research."

I quirked an eyebrow. "How did you do that?"

Suddenly, his face lit up with an excited smile. "I'm writing a program." He began to explain. "It will be like an artificial intelligence. I know that this isn't new, but I think I can make it better than others. I'm not sure what I'll call him yet, but I know it will be brilliant. Once I'm finished, he can do many things. Like doing research, comparing data, maybe even hacking a few servers..."

"Him?" I interrupted him, not sure if I could follow his explanations. However, it made me smile to see Tony this excited about something. He was like that very often ever since he decided to move Stark Industries to LA and build his reactor.

He nodded. "Or should it be a she?"

I stared at him, not sure how to answer this. Apparently, Tony had noticed my surprise since he laughed loudly. "Stop staring at me like this, Pepper! And I really think it will be a he. We had this butler when I was little, he was called Jarvis. Maybe I'll use that name. I always liked him."

"Jarvis?" I felt stupid for repeating everything he said, but I couldn't help it. In this moment, I realized how brilliant Tony was once more.

He took my hands and squeezed them. "You'll know what I mean once he's finished. Where did we stop before I got too excited?"

"I like it when you're this excited. You look happy." I threw in.

"You make me happy, Pepper." Tony emphasized seriously.

"You were doing research." I reminded him.

He nodded absent-mindedly. "Yes, I've compared some data, included the social media... Most people understand your decisions and support you."

"What does most people mean?"

"About 90 percent?" He shrugged. "I'll have to look at it again. So you really shouldn't worry. And remember, the ones who complain are also the ones who make it public. The others normally keep quiet."

"Since when are you an expert in public opinions?" I raised my eyebrows, but didn't try to hide my smile.

"This morning." He replied simply. "Will you stop worrying now? For me?"

"You know that it's not that easy. I'm the President. Even if you don't see it like that, it's still not good that people are talking about me like this. No matter if they are 10 percent or more." I sighed, knowing that I should join the others soon. Mots probably, Phil already had another strategy.

"Give them time. Most probably, they'll stop talking in a few weeks." He grinned. "We just shocked the whole country."

"Which is really funny." I muttered sarcastically.

Tony shrugged. "You know that I'm always in for a good surprise."

"You hate surprises."

"That was back when you were in danger." He explained seriously. "Of course I like good surprises."

"This isn't good." I looked at the clock on the wall. "You have to leave."

Tony held up his hands. "Fine, I'll stop trying to cheer you up." He stood up and put on the glasses. This time, the glass was yellow, fitting his tie once more. Yellow with blue stripes. If I thought about it again... His shirt and suit also had stripes. I decided not to comment that. "Yes, the meeting with Obadiah will be soon. But don't worry, it shouldn't take long. It's online, after all."

"The last time you said that it won't take long, you were gone for four hours." I reminded him and took his hands, letting him pull me to my feet.

"That was different." He leaned in to kiss me. "Please don't worry too much, Pep. We'll figure it out together."

"Before I came here, we already had dozens of requests for more interviews. Most probably, it's even worse now." I took my phone and glanced at the screen. Seven missed calls and twenty-one messages. All from Daisy. That wasn't good. "Alright, it seems to be worse." I showed him the number of messages and calls.

He smiled slightly, though I thought that I could see worry flash in his eyes for half a second. "You should really see what's going on. Clint will accompany you."

"He won't be part of the meeting?" Tony and his team wanted to discuss the future of Stark Industries and Crafting Enterprises with Obadiah. It had yet to be decided what they would all do in the new company.

"No, he won't accompany us to LA." Tony explained and ran a hand through his hair. "He'll stay here with you in Washington and be part of Fury's team."

I stared at him. "What about the hospital in Miami?"

"I think he wants to work there every few weeks." He shrugged. "You'll have to ask him and Phil about his exact plans."

"Phil?"

Tony grinned. "Do you really think that he stays here just because he likes Fury so much?"

I smiled at this, feeling happy for Phil. He deserved to be happy, just like Clint. And maybe I was also glad to have a member of Tony's team around once they were all busy somewhere else. I tried not to think of that too much yet.

Together, Tony and I walked to the door. Outside, Clint was indeed waiting for me. He smiled when our eyes met. "Ready to go? I think the others are looking for you. I met Daisy on my way here and she seemed to be very nervous."

I sighed and my smile faded, all the worries I'd ignored for a few moments coming back at once. "I assume they're watching the news."

"Who isn't?" Clint smiled encouragingly. "In the article I read, they say that it's romantic, how you met and everything."

"Very romantic." I noted dryly. "Tony getting shot in front of the whole world." Every time I thought of that day, I started to feel sick and my heart was beating rapidly in my chest. I also had nightmares, especially when Tony wasn't in bed with me. Knowing that he would have to leave one day didn't make it any better.

"Don't think of it." Tony wrapped an arm around my shoulders carefully and pulled me closer. "I'm fine." He kissed my cheek and looked at Clint reproachfully.

"I'm sorry." Clint muttered, but I shook my head.

"It's not your fault that those people don't understand anything." I said simply.

"They will." Tony sounded optimistic. "We'll make them."

"We already tried that, remember?" I looked at him doubtfully.

"That was just the beginning." Tony smiled. "You know that they'll want to know the full story one day."

"It will take weeks to explain that." I muttered.

"One could even write a book about it." Tony joked and looked at us apologetically when his phone beeped. "I'll have to leave. Clint, keep an eye on her."

Clint nodded seriously. After kissing me shortly, Tony left, accepting a call on his way. "I'm already on my way, Steve! Meet me outside in two minutes. And no, I don't..." We both watched him disappearing around a corner silently.

Once he was gone, I turned to Clint and forced another smile on my lips. Now that Tony was gone, the anxiety returned with full force. "Shall we?"

Once we entered the small conference room, Daisy jumped to her feet. "Where have you been?" She demanded to know. "I've tried to call you dozens of times!"

"I'm sorry, I was with Tony." I apologized and sat down next to Phil. He offered me a cup of coffee and I accepted. The coffee was a little too strong for my liking, but I was glad about the distraction anyway.

"But not the whole morning." She argued. "I've seen him working on something earlier today and he's been alone then."

"She's been watching the news." Clint said simply, now sitting on Phil's other side. "Just like you are."

"Didn't we agree to do that together?" In contrast to Daisy, Jim was frowning at me with concern in his eyes. "Are you alright, Pepper?"

"I'm fine." I replied simply.

"Many people believe you." Phil threw in, most probably to cheer me up. "This is a good sign."

"Tony said the same. But what if that's not enough?" Trying to hide my worries from them wouldn't be of any use, they knew me too well for that.

"It will be. The people still love you, Pepper." Phil placed a hand on my arm. "The interview has been a shock to them, but they'll come around."

"They call me a liar."

"Some of them. But many people like to complain. Remember that they gave you the nickname Pepper because they thought it would anger you? Or that they called you weak because you're a woman? That wasn't true. And you're not a liar. You had your reasons." Jim emphasized.

"I've been thinking." Phil threw in. "Maybe we should keep quiet concerning this for now."

"And ignore all the requests for interviews?" Daisy asked incredulously. "We can't do that! How will that make us look?"

"I didn't say that we should ignore it from now on." Phil tried to calm her. "Maybe one more interview, but nothing else. For a newspaper, this time."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Do you mean that friend of yours who works for the Times?"

"Would that be so bad?" Phil asked and glanced at Clint. "We've studied together. He's always been an expert when it comes to those things."

"Interviews?" Clint didn't sound convinced.

"Asking the right questions." Phil corrected him.

"You want to use that for our advantage." Clint concluded and nodded slowly. "That could work, but only if he knows what it's all about before."

"Otherwise, it could also go wrong." Jim agreed. "But it would also be a risk."

"Everything's risky now." Phil threw in thoughtfully.

"Doing that damn interview was also a risk." Daisy crossed her arms. "And look how that worked."

"Stop seeing everything this negative. One could think that Rebecca's back." It was obvious that Jim said it without thinking about it, but once the words were out, we all looked at each other silently. I could see several emotions on the other's faces. Sadness, uneasiness and even a little anger. After all, she'd betrayed us and risked my life several times.

"I think it's a good idea." I said into the silence. "I'll just have to ask Tony first."

"Most probably, he'll do it." Clint said. "He wanted to drop a few hints about the future of SI anyway and I think that would be a good opportunity."

"When will they head to LA?" Daisy asked. "If he wants to build that reactor soon, they can't stay here forever."

"He wants to wait until we've dealt with everything first." I explained, remembering a conversation we had a few days ago.

"You mean he doesn't want to leave you alone in all this mess." Jim corrected me with a smile. "That's good. Together, you're always stronger."

"I still don't understand why they can't move the company to Washington. Or New York." Daisy let it sound like a question.

"Moving the company would take so much time." I explained. "And besides, most of the employees want to stay and they can't do that when they move to the other side of the country."

"He shouldn't leave you alone."

"I told him to go." I emphasized and shook my head. "It will be fine, Daisy."

Her expression told me that she didn't believe this, but she didn't say more to that subject. Instead, she looked at her phone once more. "Here's someone who says that he admires you for your courage." She chuckled. "And that you were able to get such a handsome man in your bed."

We all stared at her and she shrugged. "He really wrote that. In fact, there are many people who think that it's a shame that Tony isn't single anymore. He's even more popular now than as Robert Smith. Most probably because he doesn't hold back anymore. Even I noticed how charming he can be in that interview."

Jim shook his head slowly. "Unbelievable. I mean, he is handsome and charming, but really? Shouldn't they be discussing other things right now?"

"You should be careful, Pepper." Daisy continued, ignoring Jim's comment. "When he continues to be this charming, you might get competitors."

"As if Tony would even look at them." Clint said contemptuously, just in the moment my heart started to beat faster and I felt a stern determination to show everyone that Tony Stark was mine. "From what the others told me, he only has eyes for you, Pepper, and that from the moment he first laid eyes on you."

I smiled at Clint. "Otherwise, I'll just have to show them that we belong together." I said simply, making the others laugh.

"He should also be careful." Daisy threw in. "Many people also talk about the fact that you don't have a husband yet. For a President, that's scandalous."

"Now you're joking." I muttered. I knew that it wasn't good that I wasn't married yet, but people should be looking at me? Unbelievable. Especially since I wouldn't even notice it. I only wanted one man to look at me – and he already did.

"If you say so." Daisy said, but she was still grinning.

Phil cleared his throat. "Maybe we should focus on the problem at hand once more?"

So we started to discuss the public opinions and our next steps again. However, my mind kept wandering back to what Daisy had said more than once. What would I do if Tony was back in LA and the women started to approach him? I trusted him with all my heart and knew that he would never betray me, but it bothered me anyway to know that others wanted him...

"Pepper? Are you even listening to what I said just now?" Jim's voice interrupted my thoughts and for the rest of our discussion, I didn't think of it anymore.