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Chapter 2: Surprised the Heck Out of Us

Upstate, Tony was sitting on the couch sipping a whiskey and rubbing his forehead. He had just finished a phone call with Secretary Ross. He had been dodging the man long enough, and he couldn't get away with putting him on hold again. The phone call had not gone well. Ross had seen the footage of the fight in Germany, and he was more than a little interested in the identity of the man who was helping Tony by webbing up the Capsicle and his pals. Ross had been after him for awhile now, and the Spider-Man's recent involvement with his plane only made Ross more persistent.

Tony recalled the conversation in detail:

"You really expect me to believe that you have no knowledge of his true identity?" exclaimed Ross.

"The mask covers his face and he shoots webbing. I'm not sure I want to know what the guy looks like under the mask. He could have those creepy spider eyes! I prefer to remain in the dark. Plus, Pepper hates spiders! Since we're engaged now, I feel like I should try to keep my distance." Tony lied. Pepper wasn't even freaked out by spiders. Happy was more arachnophobic than Pepper.

"Cut the crap, Stark! I don't care about what he looks like! I want a name. He needs to be held accountable just like the rest of you. That plane crash with Toomes could have hurt innocent people. I want a name, so that he can be made to sign the Accords."

Tony clenched his jaw and sucked in a breath before answering, "Spider-Man makes his own decisions. He sees somebody doing wrong, and he just swings into action. I really didn't care to take the time to have a heart-to-heart with the Webhead! I have better things to do. At the present, I have a wedding to plan. My fiancé has more influence than you do. She scares me more."

Ross growled on the other end of the line, "You expect me to believe that a man like you wouldn't get the facts on the Spider-Man?! I don't believe you Stark. You would use your extensive resources to get that information. You're too arrogant to let yourself stay in the dark."

Tony heard enough. "Think what you'd like. I don't have time to argue with you about wall-crawlers. My fiancé is expecting me to pick a date for the wedding, so I'm going to have to call you back never. Bye!"

"Stark! Don't even think about hanging up on…"

It was too late. FRIDAY ended the call before letting him know that Pepper would arrive in about 5 minutes.

As a matter of fact, Pepper was just arriving.

She walked into the room ready to get to business, "Tony, I was just talking to Happy. He feels that it will be important for us to set a decoy date to throw off the…" She stopped talking when she noticed the whiskey in one hand and his head leaning on the other. "Tony? I know that look. Is it Ross again?" Pepper was proud of Tony for trying to be responsible as Iron Man by signing the Accords. He had changed so much since his time in Afghanistan. He wanted so badly to be a better man, but his journey was certainly not an easy one. He couldn't do it alone, and that was why their "break" didn't last long. He needed her, and she was committed to being there for him no matter what. If only Ross was more trustworthy.

"You're so smart." Tony replied. Standing up and walking towards her with an admiring look in his eyes. "You know me so well. Honestly, it's like we're already married. Is eloping still out of the question? I have connections. We could be official by this time tomorrow."

"Tony…" Pepper gave him a look that clearly said, "You're avoiding my question."

He sighed, "Yes. I talked to the puppet-master. He wants Spider-Man dangling from his strings, and he believes that I am keeping his true identity a secret. Which I am of course." He took a long swig and downed the rest of the whiskey. "I think I'm glad the kid made the choice that he did. He wants time to 'stay on the ground' and be a kid. If he agreed, he wouldn't have any other choice but to sign. Then the whole world would have figured out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. The kid's aunt doesn't even know yet." (Or so he thought).

Pepper smiled as she walked up to Tony and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, you do have a habit of jumping into things and figuring out details later. It's a good thing the kid has a little more maturity than you."

He gave her look and rolled his eyes, but then he shrugged his shoulders before conceding, "Yeah… he's a really smart kid. I shouldn't have brought him into this now. The bad timing is my fault." He looked thoughtful before continuing, "He's amazing though, right? I mean, the kid was able to manage Toomes and the plane by himself. He didn't even have the suit I made him… my fault, I know!" He said this when he saw Pepper give him a look.

"He would be an asset to the team, Pep. But, he's earned the right to make his own decisions from this point forward. I won't put him on Ross' radar any more than he already is."

Pepper was quiet a moment and then pulled Tony in for a hug. Pulling away and looking in his eyes, she spoke softly, "You care about him, Tony. If you want to protect him, you need to warn him that Ross is looking for him. You should call him. You. Not Happy." She insisted.

"You're probably right. I'll reach out to him tomorr…" He was cut off by FRIDAY.

"Sir," the AI interrupted. "I beg your pardon sir, but there is a disturbance at the security gate. It appears that May Parker is here with Peter. She insists on speaking with you immediately."

Pepper lifted her eyebrows at Tony, "I think she knows."

Tony let go of Pepper and took a step towards the door. "Yeah… FRIDAY, notify security that I'm on my way and let them know that they should escort them to Conference Room 1. We're going to need our privacy." He looked at Pepper. "Any chance you'll come with me?"

She smiled and quirked an eyebrow. "Oh no! I think this is something that you will need to face on your own." She leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek. "One of these days, we'll actually get a chance to talk about wedding plans."

Tony smiled and gave her an apologetic look. "I don't deserve you," he said.

"Maybe not," she replied playfully, "but I choose to love you anyway."

He captured her lips with his own, "I love your more, Ms. Potts."

With one final look, he turned and made his way to the conference room. He only hoped that Aunt Hottie didn't kill him before he even got the chance to pick a wedding date.