In Which Tony Tinkers

Tony looked up from the burn on his arm. "Well, what does your medical expertise think of this?"

He rested on his lab table as Catherine sat in a chair next to it, carefully looking at the small burn. Apparently, he had been trying new thruster technology and gotten his own body in the way. She hadn't asked for the details. Her gloved fingers prodded around the traumatized skin looking for further damage but finding none.

"I think for claiming to be so smart." She leaned back, stretching the muscles in her back. "You've been pretty stupid."

Stark Industries was readying for an EXPO, causing the billionaire to move back to NYC for a couple weeks. To her chagrin, he bothered her constantly. Even worse, Stark had stopped with the official meetings and started calling her office number with the phrase: "Cathy, come."

The first couple times she had told him that she wasn't his dog. It didn't stop him. It actually made it worse. Today was the first time the call had been worth her time.

He hissed through his teeth as she started to apply antibiotic cream in small circles. It would need to be sealed against getting contaminated further with debris and oil. The man was covered in it. This burn was small, strangely so for Stark to call her up. She frowned. Pepper had dragged Tony to her office for much worse.

She started to bandage the burn, sealing in the cream. She pushed a couple wires out of her way to set down her supplies. The lab was a mess. A very modern mess with high tech computers banks installed everywhere and a dozen soda cans covered every surface.

"I tried to call you yesterday but you weren't here." He winced as the bandage stretched over his skin. "Apparently you were doing a house call on the kid?"

"Yes I did." She raised an eyebrow.

There it was. The real reason that she was there. Her fingers left the finished bandage and he slipped away from her immediately, beelining for one of the sodas, picking it up, putting it down, picking up another and discarding that one as well. It took him four tries to find one that still had some liquid in it.

Things had been easier between them since Cap and Natasha had moved on to Europe. There had been less worry and slinking around to hide from the man.

He finished off the can and put it back down. Couldn't he just recycle it like a normal human being? She pretended to be interested in an Iron Man arm that was sitting on a workbench. She picked it up and stared at the complex inside. Half the protective plating was off.

The silence dragged. If he wanted to know more, he was going to have to ask.

"I didn't get a report from you on it." He finally added.

She hid the smile on her face by lifting up the arm to peer at the padded interior. "Like I said, I've had a lot of work lately and that is low on the priority list. I've got nothing in the system on it yet."

"I know."

"Does it get sweaty in here?" She slipped her hand in just to aggravate him. It clamped down instantly, gripping firmly to her arm. She jumped back, pressing a hand against the cuff. It didn't budge. It hummed and clicked instead.

Tony's eyebrows only raised. "I guess you'll find out soon."

"Get it off Stark." She could feel the metal joints working as they adjusted and readjusted as she moved her arm around.

He picked up a screwdriver, twisting it in his hands. "You stuck your hand in there. So what was up with our spider friend?"

She placed the arm heavily against his work table, groping for the release button that she knew wasn't there. "Get this off of me. I don't want to have to treat your third degree burns because I set this thing off."

"Oh. Good point. FRIDAY. Turn off all flight and weapon capabilities of Mark 48 test arm please."

"Turned off sir."

She turned her head up. "FRIDAY-"

"Ignore her." He snapped.

"Ignoring Doctor Crow, sir."

There were moments like this where she considered various different types of revenge on Tony. Her favorite included prescribing that he get a colonoscopy.

"You know you are living the dream of hundreds of small children." He took his screwdriver and tapped against the metal on her arm. It rung out but she barely felt the vibration. "So the kid."

She placed her free hand against the cold outside and pushed. "This was never a dream of mine."

"It should have been."

Catherine shook her head and balled her fist. The glove curled at the joints.

"Wait, wait, wait." The screwdriver dropped from his fingers, rolling across the table. He grasped the metal hand. "You're comfortable in there?"

He turned the glove to the right and left, mystified at something. The hand looked the same as it always did on him.

"Please stop holding my hand like it is a science experiment."

"The suit adjusted itself," he muttered to himself. "Look at that. The regulators are stretched but compensating. No. No. Stay."

He held onto the arm piece as she tried to pull away. Damn it all, she would walk out of this office with the arm still attached to her, get to the tech lab, and let them pry it off her piece by piece before allowing herself to be a further test subject.

"I won't call you the rest of the day if you stay," He said and after a second, she settled back down into th

"So…" Tony's eyes didn't look up to see the look she gave him. He turned her hand and with a firm pull, popped the top of the glove off. The interlocking gears and wires moved like the muscles of an animal. He extended her fingers before letting them curl back.

Before something she said something she would regret, a new voice came in from behind her. "Tony! What are you doing to our poor nurse practitioner? Weaponizing her?"

Pepper's matter-a-fact tone and clicking heels told her that she was in a working mood. Catherine turned in the arm to see her holding a tablet and several newspapers.

Tony's focused snapped from her to Pepper. "The regulators are compensating for Doc's fingers. I didn't teach it to do that."

Pepper gave her a pained expression and she came over.

"That's great honey." Pepper's voice sounded like a mother's. "You should clean this mess up today and please do let Catherine out of that before she tries to quit again."

"I'll clean it up before the party." Tony's attention was gone from her and Catherine's hand fell from his. The closer Pepper came, the more Tony drifted towards her, standing up to meet her. He probably didn't even notice. Her face was still set in all business face but now under the surface was a tired amusement.

"That's still a few weeks away." She pulled up her phone. "The Thompsons called. They want to bring their niece."

"I can't stand their niece." He reached out for her and Catherine hoped that he hadn't forgotten that she was in the room.

"Worse is that their niece works for a newspaper but we have to say yes."

"That must be why," he said quietly as his hands tried to draw her in close.

She pushed him away with the edge of the newspaper and walked over to Catherine. "I'm wearing white today and you are absolutely covered in grease. Take a shower. How are you?"

"Ready to have this taken off."

Pepper looked calm and relaxed as the billionaire sulked behind her to pick up some abandoned piece of tech.

"Tony you should really clean all this up." She gestured to everything, almost everything, at least the floor was clean. "Tomorrow is the interview from the New York Times piece."

"I don't want to. It helps me think."

"Tony..."

"I think it is normal."

"It's not normal.

Tony turned to Catherine. "What do you think?"

Both of them stared at her with an intensity. Pick a side, they asked. As much as she wanted light the match for this fight, she didn't want to be in following explosion.

"I think," she gritted her teeth, braced herself against the metal arm, and pulled, hard. It tugged painfully but released her. "I think what I've thought for the last five minutes. I really just want to get back to work."

The arm fell off her, dropping to the table in two large pieces.

"No more experiments." She shook her finger at Tony and then left, quickly, before the couple could drag her into anymore strange relationship questions or arguments. She had better things to do.

Fun fact. I probably rewrote parts of this chapter about four times. I think I finally hit it just right. I don't know why I have so much fun writing Tony being self-absorbed and Catherine getting mad at him for it. It's just a blast.

I can only imagine planning the wedding is a nightmare for Pepper. I really feel for her. What did you think of the chapter?

Thanks for reading as always - Quin