Chapter 28

The bright lights shone in their faces, highlighting the sweat that drenched them after their amazing performance. They were both breathing hard, but she was breathing harder than Tony was – his Extremis doing what it did best. Someone from behind the cameras handed them both a couple of bottles of water and towels to help aid them in their recovery so that they were ready to face the new music.

Cameras, the redhead thought with a fake smile on her face. Fake in the sense that she was happy that their little dance had gone well for being amateurs, but she was not happy that the host had decided – at the very last minute – that he was going to take advantage of their presence on his show to interview the power couple.

They should have known better, both teens knew. They had practically handed a free interview to the masses; an opportunity for their lives and relationship to be scrutinized in public. The show was live, so unless someone in the studio felt sorry for their lack of experience onscreen if they screwed up, the whole world would instantly know about it.

I may need to make my MyFace private after this, Pepper thought. Or just crawl under a rock and never come out.

"Wow! Iron Man and Rescue," the host suddenly began to mark the beginning of the interview; a wide, satisfied grin on his face at seeing the couple sitting next to each other, with Pepper being closest to the host. Tony's extended left arm rested against the edge of the couch, and his right hand went across his lap so that he could hold Pepper's right hand.

"Can you folks believe this?" Michael, the host, continued, "Iron Man and Rescue are on my couch! Right now! Look. At. Them! Wow! Let's hear it for the city's heroes!"

The host's inciting words were followed by a thunderous applause from the audience, and a shy wave from Pepper towards them. Tony, on the other hand, a tad more used to being in the spotlight, gave the audience a sure wave with his right hand, and his most disarming, toothy smile, hoping it aided in the crowd going easy on them.

"Woman," Michael aimed his words at the redhead. "How do you get anything done with that man near you? I mean, look at him!"

As if rehearsed, the camera zoomed into Tony's face as he gave his ginger a quick wink and a squeeze to her hand. The duo exchanged a silent glance, quietly supporting each other through the insane hole they had dug for themselves, which prompted Pepper's confidence to boost enough to share her own spunky comeback with the host.

"Really, Michael?" Pepper tilted her head to the side and then grinned mischievously. "Bold of you to assume I get anything done."

The host threw his head back in a boisterous laugh as he smacked his desk repeatedly with his left hand, as if Pepper had told the funniest joke ever. The crowd was not far behind, although they also added whistling and howling meant to support her use of innuendos.

"Well, that certainly explains the stamina we just witnessed," Michael raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"You should try it, Mike," Tony interjected, not wanting the host to put Pepper in a tough spot. "Maybe you'd be able to do the same things the people you invite here do."

The crowd gasped and clapped, amused by the genius' sass. The host, however, was completely undeterred. "Savage Stark. I love it! I mean, it makes sense, right, my friends? How else do you take on an army of aliens without being a bit savage."

The audience cheered and clapped, adding to their agreeing sounds a few chants of 'I love you, Tony' and the occasional 'Marry me.'

"Anyway," Michael cleared his throat and schooled his face into a decided look, "Let's get serious here. Why don't you guys tell us why you are here today. The world wants to know."

The couple eyed each other and, after a couple of nods, they silently decided that Tony would take this question.

"Well, as you mentioned before our performance, we are here to do a quick fundraiser for a very noble cause. Stark Solutions will match the donation times ten."

"Speaking of which, do you want to hear how much money was donated in the two minutes you guys danced?"

"Of course!" Pepper replied.

"Good thing you're sitting down, Tony, because this is gonna hurt the wallet: two MILLION five-hundred thousand thirty-seven dollars!"

The crowd gasped and clapped, not believing the amount of funds raised in minutes. Then, as the crowd and the host enjoyed the good fortune, Tony took out his phone, an idea coming to him. If they kept the conversation on the fundraising, the opportunity to ask about their personal lives would be highly diminished. Their segment was only ten minutes long, and they had already used about five minutes of it.

"Well, excuse me, Mr. Stark," Michael jokingly stated when he saw Tony engrossed on his phone. "Are we boring you?"

Tony's only reply was to press his phone closer to his ear, whisper into it, and then raise his right index finger towards the host. The crowd giggled at the inventor's antics, and Pepper gave the host an apologetic smile.

Five seconds later, the fundraising amount on the screen changed to $27,500,407 as Tony's donated amount was added to the total, inciting the crowd and the host to stand up from their chairs and go wild.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU SEE THE GREAT TONY STARK PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS?"

The shocked crowd applauded and howled for nearly a minute, all feeling good for being part of the cause, even if just by being there with the heroes and host. Once the audience calmed down again, Michael turned his attention to Pepper with a look that Tony did not like at all.

"Wow! Nearly 28 million dollars, Ms. Potts. How do you feel about that?"

Pepper smiled. "I don't think this is about me, Mike. This is about all the kids that will have a better place to grow up once the SCA Foundation reaches them."

"Hear, hear!" Michael clapped for Pepper's words, "But I mean, it must be somewhat bittersweet for you."

Pepper furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean? Because I'm part owner of Stark Solutions and we just donated 27 million dollars?" the redhead chuckled.

"Oh, no! Not that at all. I meant because, when your mother abused you, people like the SCA Foundation didn't exit, so they didn't come to your rescue. Oh, wait! Rescue? Is that why your alter ego's name is Rescue? Is that a nod to the abuse you endured when you were a child?"

The crowd awing in sympathy for the girl gave the ginger just enough time to reign in her shock and her need to lash out at the nosy man before her. A thousand questions formed in her mind, including the particularly important one of how the hell had Michael found out about her past. None of the questions, however, would be answered now. None of the answers, in fact, mattered at this time, either. All that mattered was ensuring that she smiled and played along, for the sake of their image and Stark Solutions.

"Well, Mike, there isn't much that I can say about my story. It was… the typical child abuse case, right? And I didn't have SCA behind me, but my social worker did her best to get me to a safe place by the time I reached six."

Another chorus of awes came from the audience, with a few sniffs here and there.

"Six, yes. And I think everyone, especially Tony, is glad that you got out of that and came to New York. Otherwise, you two would've never met."

"Blessing in disguise, I guess?" Tony chimed in, not wanting Pepper to continue having to answer these unexpected questions. "But, believe me, Mike. I'd rather lose out on ever meeting Pepper if that meant her mother never laid a hand on her. No kid should ever have to go through that. Ever."

Pepper was hardly able to contain the widening of her eyes as she stared at her boyfriend with a look of betrayal that cut through the blue-eyed boy's soul. It was not until a second later that Tony realized what he had done: he had inadvertently given away the fact that he knew about the abuse, even if he had not been the one to share it with the host of Breakdancing with Celebrities.

"Well, while the circumstances are not ideal, I'm glad you made it and you're here, Ms. Potts. And I'm also glad that the family of the now-deceased doctor who flagged your issues for CPS shared the story so that you could leave that place," Michael said solemnly to Pepper before he turned to face the camera. "For any kiddos out there, who are also being hurt by someone you love, speak up. The phone number for SCA is below. It's gonna be OK. Tell someone you trust. And, who knows, maybe one day you too will be a badass hero like Ms. Potts here. Let's give Ms. Potts a hand, everyone! Let's hear it!"

Pepper powered through the pain of the applause and the fact that her past had just been shared with millions of people across the globe before plastering on a fake smile that lasted until she and Tony were inside his car.

xxxXXXxxx

The ride to the Makluan Temple had been the quietest he and Pepper had ever shared. In all his time knowing her, he had never seen Pepper not say a word for nearly an hour. He did not attempt to make conversation either, opting to allowing her to drive the talk – or lack thereof – in whatever way she wanted to take it. He was not going to tell her how to share what she was feeling at the moment, either. It was certainly not his place.

He had half expected her to walk towards her armor backpack, put it on, and leave him in the dust. However, she instead took out from her purse the Stark Pod he had given her for her birthday and haphazardly threw it on one of the worktables. She closed her eyes briefly, her weight held by her hand on the edge of a counter as she breathed hard through her nose. When she opened her eyes again, her hazel orbs were blurred by tears that seemed to have no end in sight.

"You knew," her words were not a question. They were barely a whisper, but also a sure affirmation of what she was certain to be true.

"I didn't tell Michael to bring it up."

"I don't care about Michael right now!" the ginger screamed with more energy than she thought she still had. "You. KNEW!"

"Want me to get Roberta on the line? The family of the doctor should've never told anyone about your file. CPS files are confidential."

"ARE YOU NOT LISTENING TO ME? I don't care about suing Michael right now!"

Tony raised his arms in a surrendering gesture. "I'm sorry. I did hear you. And yes… I knew."

"Who told you? Did you hack into CPS files?" she took a few steps towards the inventor.

"No," Tony gulped, knowing the storm he was about to unleash on himself. "Your sister. I… I asked. She told me."

"Sam? SAM TOLD YOU? Why… why did you ask? WHY? How long have you known?"

This time, it was Tony who took a step closer to the redhead, leaving them only three steps away from each other. He wanted to physically comfort her, but he knew better than to even attempt it at the moment.

"A month."

"A MONTH?!"

"Pep, I-I'm sorry. I just – I just didn't buy the bruise comment was about a cat. No cat leaves worse bruises than the one you got during that mission that night. I just wanted to know who hurt you so I could keep you safe, if I needed to intervene. That is all."

Pepper closed her hands into fists and walked towards Tony with purpose, just to get in his face.

"You just wanted to know who hurt me?" sarcasm dripping from her voice. "You! Right now, YOU hurt me, Tony. How dare you? How DARE you go behind my back and talk to MY SISTER about it? I told you I didn't want to talk about it!"

"I know, Pep. I know! And I'm so sorry. I… I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry. I should've never done that."

"I can't believe you, Tony. I trust you. I trusted you," Pepper poked him on the chest, hard. "Why didn't you respect my wishes. Why?"

"Because I'm an idiot. I have no excuse. I know I messed up, Pepper. Believe me, I know. I… I would take it back, babe. I would. I would."

The response, while meant as an attempt to calm her down, only made the redhead recall the second thing that had bothered her from the interview.

"Take it back, you say? Oh, yeah! Just like you would take back knowing me, right? You regret that now, too?"

"What?" Tony's head recoiled.

"Your speech of: oh, I would rather not know you than you being abused by your mom," the ginger said in a mocking tone before she dried some of her tears with the back of her hands.

"OK, no. I know you're mad at me… rightfully so, but that is not what I meant, and you know it. I wouldn't trade being with you for anything, not even for my own mother coming back to life. But if the price to pay for you growing up in a safe home would have been never knowing you and I was asked to choose between the two before I met you, I would live with it."

"Live with it," Pepper mocked. "Live with it, he says. Well, guess what, Stark?"

"What?"

"Now," she inhaled deeply, feeling the pain of her words even before she spoke them through her tears and sobs, "Now, you get to live with it."

"What do you mean, Pep?"

"I mean, you get to live without me. I… this is over. We are over."

The girl began walking fast past the inventor, but he quickly moved in front of her, his arms extended to his sides to block her path.

"Wait, please. Are you… did you just break up with me?"

"Do I need to spell it out? YES! I'm breaking up with you. And I'm quitting Team Iron Man, if that wasn't clear enough."

Tony felt his stomach drop to his feet.

"No, Pep. Listen, please. I know you're mad. I deserve your anger – all of it, but please don't do this. I'll give you time. Space. Whatever. Just, please… don't say it's over."

Pepper tears only multiplied at seeing his broken face and demeanor. He was not even trying to hide the tears that were now forming in his eyes, nor was he trying to pretend his entire body was not shaking in fear.

"Tony, please get out of my way."

"No, Pepper. Please… please give me another chance."

Pepper scoffed. "Would you?"

"Would I, what?"

"Give me another chance if I royally screwed up like you did?"

"I…"

Tony swallowed hard as he thought about her question. He knew, after a minute of silence, that he did not have to answer the inquiry. They both knew how important trust was for them. His lack of an answer was in and of itself a response, anyway.

"This can't be it, Pep. I love you. So much. Do you not remember that?"

"I do," Pepper nodded as she went around him and began her trek towards the front door. "That is why this hurts so much."

Just as she reached the door, the ginger stopped in her tracks after hearing one more question coming from the blue-eyed boy.

"Pep… will you ever forgive me?"

Pepper sighed loudly, breathed in for a moment, and then replied as she exited the Makluan Temple.

"Don't hold your breath."

The retort sent Tony into a moment of trance, as he recalled the last time that he had heard that phrase being spoken to him.

"I guess I'll just hope I have enough goodwill accrued with her that she'll forgive me… eventually."

Sam scoffed. "Don't hold your breath."

"Jeez," Tony rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the encouragement."

"Anytime."

"Sam," Tony whispered with bitterness. This had to be her fault.

A/N: OMG, Y'ALL! I'm so flattered by the response! I'm glad you're still here :D So, I wanted to take this time to share with you some answers to some of the reviews, as well as letting you know what the plan is for updating this fic. First, I want to clarify that the abuse that Pepper received from her mother was never sexual in nature. You will get more details about what happened in the past before the story ends, but I wanted to make sure that was clear :) Also, I know there are some loose ends about things that Sam has done so far, and I want to promise you that I haven't forgotten them. They are coming. Lastly, I think we all hate Sam, but I wonder if any of you see her being able to redeem herself? What are your thoughts on that?

Now, as far as updates, I was able to map out all the remaining chapters and their content. I anticipate we will have about 38 in total, including an Epilogue, give or take. In other words, this story is almost done. If you have read my other stories, you know I will give you a happy ending, but also a rocky road. If this is the first story of mine you read, please know that it will get better.

Anyway, thank you again so much for your support. Stay safe, my Faithful Readers!