Pepper woke up and had the sudden urge to go down memory lane. She went into her attic storage for her old photo albums and started to flip through spent time admiring and missing her old decided she would donate a good portion of her boring work outfits and buy some new things that had color and print and still be professional. She found pictures of her old friends in the band with her and decided to look them up on Facebook. She sent them all friend requests and wrote them all a message at the risk that they were still angry at her for breaking up the band by quitting suddenly without explanation. It always bothered Pepper that she could never remember what had happened that night or that year. She would rack her brain and it always gave her a headache. She was anxiously awaiting their response when her doorbell rang, snapping her out of it. She looked at the clock and it was only 9:30.
Who on earth could that be? She thought.
She got up and went to the peep hole and looked inside. It was Tony. Pepper felt a panic wash over her. She couldn't let Tony see her like this, in her pajamas. He would never let her live it down.
"I'll be right there," she said through the door.
Pepper sprinted to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She dabbed some concealer under her eyes along with a cream blush on her cheeks and a quick swipe of gloss on her lips. She grabbed her mascara and finger combed her hair quickly.
She sprinted back to her room and quickly pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a sweater and opened the door for Tony when the realization that she forgot to put on a bra hit her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she held her arm over her chest.
"You look great Potts. I like your hair down" he commented.
" Can I come in?" he asked.
Pepper stepped aside to let him in.
"You still didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" she repeated.
"You seemed really off last night. I came to make sure you're ok and cheer you up" he said as he produced a bag of bagels, cream cheese, and lox.
Hmmmm this is new for Tony. Since when did he notice things like that?
"I'm fine Tony. You didn't have to do any of this and come all the way here. You could have just called" she said, trying to calm down the butterflies in her stomach.
This is new. Butterflies for Tony? No way. I'm still thinking of Brad. It can't be Tony.
Tony looked more gorgeous than ever in his blue jeans and leather jacket.
"Here let me take your jacket and hang it" she offered as she grabbed it from him while she still had a hand over her chest.
"Are you trying to undress me?" he teased as he raised his eyebrows at her.
Pepper gave him the look he loved seeing when he teased her.
"Tony it's my day off. Please don't start with me" she snapped.
Tony looked at her for a moment and he knew something wasn't right.
Pepper never snaps like that. What's wrong with her? Tony thought.
"Something is wrong Pep. You're not yourself. What's going on?" he persisted when she returned to the living room.
"Last night I got told that I look like a school principal from my high school crush who had a perfect blogger wife that looks like a personal trainer" she blurted out all at once from her place on the couch while she hugged a pillow to her chest.
Tony was silent for a moment carefully crafting his response in his head.
"If you were my principal I'd be in the office everyday" he joked hoping it would make her crack a smile.
The corners of her mouth turned up just a little and then she continued.
"It's more than that. Everyone wanted to know why I changed so much. They wanted to know why I'm single and why I don't have vacations and why I'm not exciting or fun anymore. It's like my whole identity and personality was erased. The high school Pepper is completely gone" she said sadly as she bit into a bagel.
Tony couldn't help but feel guilty. He felt that he was keeping her from meeting anyone because of his own selfish reasons and he felt as if the demanding job and lifestyle he had prevented her from having the vacations that she definitely deserved.
"This is my fault Pepper. I'm sorry" he said quietly.
"It's not your fault Tony. I don't exactly make myself approachable to men. And I took this job. I can't remember why. I switched majors and I have this block of time in my memory missing and I don't know why I wanted to do work in the accounting department at SI" she said forgetting about the pillow covering her braless chest and she flopped back on the couch.
Tony was going to be thoughtful and sweet but he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra and that went right out the window. He was trying so hard to refrain from saying anything. He didn't want to be insensitive but the burning desire was starting to win.
"Do you always go braless on weekends?" he blurted out unable to control his thoughts.
And he immediately regretted it.
"I appreciate the breakfast but I think it's time for you to leave" Pepper said with venom in her voice getting up to open the door for him.
"I'm sorry. That was insensitive but I couldn't help it. It was totally inappropriate. I always try to be respectful to you when it comes to this stuff. I don't want to make you uncomfortable," he said, feeling like a jerk.
"For your information I was still in pajamas when you rang the bell and I was rushing to get dressed and I forgot my bra OK. So next time I would appreciate a call beforehand" she said holding the door open and giving him what he dubbed as the look.
"You're really still kicking me out?"
He was giving her his puppy eyes. And she was starting to melt.
"What were the pajamas you had on?" he teased with an eyebrow raised.
"Fine stay if you want but you're going to get bored. I'm just going to be doing housework and organizing some stuff and my pajamas are none of your business" she said, not happy that his puppy eyes won again.
"Watching you is never boring" he said smiling at her.
To be honest Pepper thought Tony coming to check on her was super cute even with his idiotic behavior.
The corners of her mouth turned just a bit but it wasn't a full smile.
Pepper disappeared and Tony took a seat on the couch. A few moments later Pepper returned to the living room.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Tony offered.
"No offense Tony but you'll just end up getting in the way" Pepper said.
Tony was making a face.
"I'm capable,"
"Ok fine. Can you go up to the attic and bring down some of the empty storage bins?" she asked.
"Sure but what for?"
"I'm doing a closet clear out and I'm going to donate some stuff. I have dozens of clothes and shoes I'm not going to wear anymore. And I want to pick up some new pieces" she said.
"Can I have a say? What if they're outfits I love seeing you in?"
"No Tony you can't have a say" she shut him down gently.
He made a sad face at her and headed upstairs to retrieve the bins for Pepper. He rummaged through the shelves quickly and then he spotted the bins and grabbed them quickly.
Tony was about to go back down the stairs when something caught his eye. There was a gorgeous white electric guitar on a stand next to the attic window. Tony grabbed it with his other free hand and headed back down the stairs.
"Explain" he said pointing to the guitar in his hand.
Pepper looked up and jumped up quickly.
"What are you doing with that?" she asked defensively.
She grabbed it from his hands protectively like a mama bear would her cub.
She ran her hands over it and it gave her goosebumps down her arms. She closed her eyes for a moment and flashbacked to Becky Sanders graduation party.
Her band had just finished playing and she was admiring her shiny new Gibson.
"That guitar is so cool. Can I hold it?" said a voice behind her.
Pepper felt her heart jump. It was Brad Stevens.
"Sure" she said practically shoving it in his hands.
"This is incredible. You are incredible" he said.
"Thanks," Pepper said as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"We're going to tour this summer. It's exciting" she said.
"I'm definitely going to have to catch one of your shows," he said.
"We're going to that all night pancake house after this if you wanna go" she said impulsively.
"I would. I really would but I'm actually leaving tomorrow morning to go to Ireland for three weeks. I wanted to say goodbye" he said.
"Oh" Pepper said, feeling her heart sink.
"I hope you have a nice trip," she said.
"Thanks. I'm going to try and come see you on the road. Break a leg" he said as he pulled her into a hug and he smelled her hair. They were hugging a lot longer than they should be when Lorena Costa interrupted them.
"Brad are you coming?" she said with annoyance in her voice.
That was his type. He was attracted to dark haired Latina women with lots of curves.
"Sorry Ginny I gotta go" he said as he took off.
She shook the memory and looked up at Tony.
"You play guitar?" he asked.
"I played a little. Nothing serious and it was a long time ago. The guitar was my father's and he gave it to me" Pepper said, taking it from him and putting it down on the couch.
"Play something for me," he said.
"I can't. Actually Tony I need you to leave" she said politely.
"Why? I'm not getting in the way" he said in his defense.
"You're not but it's my day off and I have things to do and you're distracting me. I will see you on Monday" she said basically pushing him out the door.
"I'll call you later," he said.
"I'm not going to answer," Pepper teased as she closed the door.
Pepper looked at her messages again and she was pleased to see that her old band mates had answered her and they wanted to meet up tonight.
Pepper was nervous. She wasn't ready to face them. She wasn't sure what she was going to say but she was going to rip the bandaid off tonight.
Pepper arrived at The Chateau Marmont and headed to the bar. She ordered a drink and could feel the eyes of many people on her. She wasn't sure if it was because they knew who she was or the way she was dressed. She had on a sateen halter jumpsuit from Fred Segal in a blue shade that made her eyes pop. And her hair was loose and wild. She really needed this night out.
"Ginny" she heard a voice behind her.
It was the voice of Julia Pan, her former friend and bandmate.
Pepper smiled and she motioned for her to follow. Pepper followed her and there was a table with Samantha Spooner and Amanda Forks. She stared at them for a moment and she was completely overwhelmed. She could feel tears pooling in her eyes.
"How are you Ginny?" Amanda said.
"I'm good. I - wow. You guys look incredible. How are you guys doing?" Pepper said, trying to control her tears.
Pepper was flooded with so many memories. The best times of her youth were with her band. She was getting overwhelmed and she blinked and wiped at her eyes. It was times like these that she was grateful for waterproof mascara.
"I'm still playing music. I'm in a new band called Halogen" Amanda said.
"No shit. I heard that song called Love Me Wrong. I can't believe that's you guys" Pepper said.
"What about you Sam?" Pepper said looking over at the gorgeous blonde.
"I'm married. I have twins at home. I decided to take my love of jewelry and turn it into a business. I actually brought you guys some sample pieces" she said, handing each of them small gift bags.
If any one of them was married with twins, it would be Sam. She was by far the prettiest of the bunch. She had the girl next door look. She was the one with the family and white picket fence.
Pepper opened the bag and took out the delicate necklace that Sammantha had custom designed for each of them.
"This is gorgeous. Thank you so much" Pepper said putting it on immediately.
Everyone was admiring their pieces and smiling. She really knew each of their personal styles.
"Ok Julia what have you been up to?" Amanda asked.
"I own a vintage thrift store. Pan's Pickin's" she said quietly.
"And I'm divorced with a son. He's three" she added.
"Do you guys ever wonder what would have happened if the band hadn't broken up?" Sam asked.
Pepper felt a wave of nausea and guilt hit her chest.
"I'm so sorry. I know I never gave you an explanation and you deserve one but honestly I don't know what happened. It's like there's a block in my memory. I'm sure it was stage fright or something like that and then with my parents death I moved in with my cousin and I had to get a job and things were rough" Pepper said as tears forced their way out of her eyes.
"We don't know either but Ginny you were so shaken up. It was an hour before show time and you came into our room and you were shaking so much. You said you couldn't go on. You started crying and you wouldn't tell us what happened. We tried to be in touch with you, but you just disappeared. We tried for months and then we moved on with our lives. We figured you didn't want to see us anymore" Amanda suggested.
"I don't know. I just can't remember anything. I'm so sorry for leaving without explanation"
"It's in the past Ginny. You can't go back and change things but we can forgive and forget. We're here together. Let's have a drink" Julia said.
"And let's hear all about Tony Stark," Amanda added with a smirk on her face.
Tony again. It's always Tony. Everyone wants to know what Tony is like and what it's like to work for him. I can't escape him.
"Let's see Tony is brilliant, generous, selfish, immature, and he has the attention span of a three year old. He's also charming and eccentric and reckless. But he's a workaholic, therefore I'm a workaholic, but my job is exciting. Tony always manages to surprise me but no one sees the good sides of him" Pepper said not realizing her eyes were sparkling as she talked about him.
"Did you ever fuck him?" Amanda asked bluntly. That was one of her lesser qualities.
Pepper turned bright red at the thought. Her deepest fantasy was just called out by one of her old friends.
"Absolutely not," Pepper said sternly.
"But I bet you want to," Amanda pressed.
"Contrary to popular belief not every woman wants Tony Stark. I happen to be completely desensitized to anything he does anymore and besides he's my boss," she tried to sell them.
"Well I wouldn't kick him out of bed that's for sure," Amanda said and the other 3 girls nodded in agreement.
"He's definitely hott," Julie said.
"I've had enough of Tony for the moment. He put a glass table in his workshop and then when he was testing a rocket booster there was a flaw and he crashed into the table and called me ten minutes into my high school reunion to come and help him get the shards of glass out of his skin which isn't that unusual but Brad Stevens was there. Even though he's married I still wanted to spend some time with him" Pepper explained.
"You're still hung up on Brad Stevens?" Sam asked.
"No it just would have been nice to catch up with him"
"That guy was such a can do so much better. Be glad you never got together with him. Besides I heard he has a small dick" Amanda said again with her bluntness.
Julia giggled and Sam just smirked.
"Well Amanda that's a category you know the most about" Sam teased.
Amanda shot her a look just as the food arrived. Pepper was relieved that they ordered shareables before she got there because she was ate and drank and laughed and shared stories from the last twenty years and Pepper never felt more like her old self, more took her phone out and pulled them all in for a selfie.
She captioned it "Reunited and it feels so good" and sent it to facebook.
Tony was down in his shop tinkering still thinking about Pepper. He tried to imagine her playing guitar and he couldn't. It was foreign to him. His soft spoken quiet Pepper playing guitar. He was thinking about what she had said last night about him only wanting her because he couldn't have her and how far that was from the truth. And what really was getting at him was the fact that she kicked him out because she had plans with someone. He knew he couldn't keep her around no matter how many excuses he made. Pepper wasn't his and that was something he needed to change but he knew that it was going to be the hardest thing he would ever have to do.
Pepper said goodbye to the girls as they all went their separate ways. They made a promise to meet up at least once a month as a group. Pepper started to walk to her cab when some guy jumped in and the cab drove off. And to make matters worse it began to pour.
Pepper made her way under the awning and she looked at her phone. She called a cab company and they said it would be 45 minutes and she didn't want to wait that long. She checked the time and it was two a.m. and she didn't want to bother Happy so she called the only person she knew for sure would be up.
Tony was about to clean up and turn in when his phone rang and to his surprise it was Pepper.
"Hey Pepper what's going on? Are you ok?" he asked his voice full of concern.
"Yeah I'm fine. Some guy jumped in my cab and they said the next one wouldn't be for another 45 minutes and it's raining and I didn't want to bother Happy on his day off. Can you come and get me?" she asked hoping he would say yes.
"Of course. I'm on my way. Where are you?" he asked.
"Chateau Marmont" she said.
Tony was trying to process what guy would leave Pepper in the rain. What guy would leave any girl in the rain? What kind of guy doesn't make sure his date gets home safe? He would need to find out this guy's name and pay him a visit.
Twenty minutes later Tony pulled up directly in front of the Chateau Marmont and he got out to open the door for Pepper. He walked back around and got inside the driver side and turned to look at her.
"Tony it's pouring. You didn't have to get out and get the door"
"Of course,I did," he said, taking in the sight of her.
Her hair was wet and curling up and her bare skin was covered in droplets and her freckles were staring him in the face. They locked eyes for a looked slightly glazed and tired but the gorgeous blue was mesmerizing.
"Thanks for coming to get me," she said.
"I'm always here for you,"
Pepper was staring at him and he was more gorgeous than she had ever seen before. She didn't know if it was the drinks she consumed or the fact that she had an amazing night but he was irresistible and she was suddenly aware of her hard nipples poking through the delicate fabric and her hair and makeup being a mess and she covered her chest with her arms.
Tony pulled into the drive that leads up to his house and straight into his garage. They got out of the car and he grabbed a blanket from his workshop to wrap around her. He placed it around her shoulders and smoothed out the bumps and began to rub vigorously to get some warmth into Pepper. Pepper could feel the warmth from his hands penetrating the blanket and she pulled the blanket tighter just as he pulled his hand away and their skin brushed, sending a shock through her.
" You should get cleaned up. I'll get you my MIT sweats you love" he said as he walked away.
How do I breach the subject? How do I ask her about her date without asking? she asked.
Pepper got out of the shower and dried off quickly. She used a second towel to dry her hair as much as possible. She put on the clothes Tony left out for her and all the drinks were wearing off and it was giving her a massive headache. She opened the door and she smacked right into Tony who was on his way to bring her tylenol and a bottle of water.
"Thank you. You read my mind," she said with a smile.
"No problem Pep" he said as he turned to leave.
He totally chickened out. He wasn't going to ask her anything. It was her private life no matter how much it pissed him off.
"Tony, wait,"
He felt a beacon of hope. She wanted him to stay and talk. He may have a chance yet.
He turned to face her and she pulled him in for a hug impulsively. She could tell he must have been shocked since it took him a moment to wrap his arms around her as well. This was only their second hug.
"By the way don't think I didn't notice how incredible you looked tonight," he said when they pulled apart.
"Well the rain kind of put a damper on things," she said.
"Lucky guy whoever he was" Tony said hoping it wasn't true.
"It wasn't a date. Just met up with some old friends" she said quietly.
"Well you look incredible, if I'm allowed to say that"
"It's allowed but it's been a crazy day and I need some sleep" she said giving him the look.
"Good night Miss Potts,"
"Good night Mr. Stark," she said as she closed the door behind Tony and slipped into bed.