It was unexpectedly spiteful.

Well, maybe not completely out of left field. He'd forgotten her birthday for the 8th year in a row. Made her uncomfortable at the party (she smelled fine, even if she claimed to have forgotten to wear deodorant). Afghanistan couldn't have been easy (Few tears for your long-lost boss? Tears of joy- I hate job hunting). Got her caught up in his grudge match with Obie.

As Tony pressed his fingers against the glass casing- which he'd gotten replaced after smashing it to save his life, it was a gift and he was going to take care of it- he was reminded that Pepper was the master of passive-aggressive. She was "just" his PA for years, but that was a position that put her in the crosshairs of all kinds of unpleasant types. She wouldn't have survived if she wasn't made of sterner stuff, and Stark Industries only hired the best.

Tony didn't exactly have a good image with the media and the public. He was rich, the first point against him. In this day and age, especially in America, billionaires and the like were viewed as immoral, soulless husks that only knew how to chase a check. He was a player; he'd never had a long-term relationship, just a tangled string of one-night stands. He was an alcoholic, a druggie, a walking disaster. All he did was get high, cause trouble, and use his money to get himself out of said trouble, most people thought.

Which, admittedly, had a bit of truth to it. It wasn't all he did, obviously, otherwise he would've run Stark Industries into the ground. But he did it a lot, for years, with no signs of slowing down. At least, until Afghanistan.

But the people around him, the people close to him, they knew it was just him trying to drown out the noise. Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, they were all aware of his slew of issues. They knew who he really was. He would be the first to swear that they probably knew him better than he knew himself. So if Pepper was the one saying it- or showing it, since she was using words, but they were written instead of spoken, but whatever- then it had to be true, right?

His eyes traced the letters surrounding the outdated Arc Reactor for what felt like the millionth time.

Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.

Yeah, Pepper was right. Tony Stark has a heart. And it was made of metal. As cold and lifeless as the rest of him.


I like to take nice things and twist them until it hurts.