Quick note…I filled out my little profile. Not a lot of info, but I did choose a picture that I think you all would enjoy…It is, of course, at the ending of the movie—but I used it as a bit of inspiration for a scene in chapter 2 of the story…
Anyways, on to the next chapter…
'Predictable vs. Spontaneous.'
Pepper glanced at the clock on her dash board--7:15pm. Right on schedule. At her current speed, she should arrive at Stark Mansion at least ten minutes early. Tardiness was not a word to describe Pepper Potts. In fact, there were certain other rules Pepper Potts chose to live by. To name a few,
Always arrive to any appointment at least ten minutes early.
Never assume things will go as planned. Always have a PLAN B.
Always have a prompt response ready when dealing with pushy reporters.
Always carry a stick of deodorant in your car (you never know when you might need to re-apply)
Never date those you work with.
The list being longer of course, Pepper has realized that over the past year that these rules, in particular, had become a bit more dominant over the others.
Rules were meant to keep her in control of her life; to keep things from getting out of hand. No shocking surprises or unpredictable results for her. She was, after all, the epitome of organization, poise, and professionalism—She recalled being described as she was presented an award at Stark Industries annual Employee Conference a few years back. Tony Stark was suppose to be the scheduled presenter that night, but to reasons beyond everyone's control, he had found something else to do that evening—or rather, someone else to do.
Nonetheless, she accepted the award from her colleague, bid her humble thanks, and returned home that evening proud of her accomplishments. Her conventional approach to her work left nothing unfinished, and kept her moving forward. She liked it that way. She liked knowing what was in front of her, what was behind her, and what was coming up next. The spontaneous nature of her boss, Tony Stark, however, was in total contrast to her own work ethic.
His impulsive, unplanned, and sometimes reckless behavior has, in most cases, resulted in chaotic outcomes-- Sometimes costing his company very large sums of money, damage to the factory, and in every case—a headache for his personal assistant.
On the other hand, his straightforward, idealistic, and spirited actions also lead to remarkable breakthroughs both in engineering and design, growth for his company, and on occasion, a very generous bonus for his staff.
For reasons unbeknownst to everyone that has observed them working together, Pepper Potts' predictable work ethic and Tony Starks' spontaneous nature complimented each other in a way that could not be explained.
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Edging the accelerator down a bit more to climb the hill ahead, Pepper relaxed into her seat and allowed her car to take her up the familiar path to Starks' mansion. Raising her right hand to her mouth, she tried to suppress a yawn, but failed miserably. She knew she needed to get some sleep, but being fully aware of the fact that Tony Stark would be out on a mission over the next few days, she doubted that sleep would come easily tonight.
Turning the last turn, and ready to enter Starks' driveway, Pepper had to blink several times to make sure she was not hallucinating. A very large, very metal, and very closed gate blocked her final approach to the house. She hit her breaks and the contents of her purse which sat on the passenger seat next to her spilled forward onto the floor of the car.
"Shit!" She cursed, as she made a grab for her belongings. With her purse back in order, she pressed a button to bring her window down, she looked around for a call box, but found none.
"Um…Hello?" She called out to no one. "Mr. Stark?...She waited. "Jarvis?"
"Good evening Miss Potts. Mr. Stark has been expecting you…Please, drive forward once the gate has opened." Jarvis responded in his programmed British brogue.
Pepper sighed in relief of hearing the familiar voice. "Great, thank you Jarvis." The gate began to open, allowing Pepper to continue up the driveway to the house entrance. She drove slowly, surveying the new security cameras along the pathway. When in the world did he have all of this installed? She thought to herself. That man never ceases to surprise her.
She glanced back at her clock on the dash.
7:35pm
Late. So much for being early. Picking up the pace, she quickly parked her car, and ran up the stairs leading to the front entrance of the mansion.
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Bursting through the door of the mansion, Pepper crossed the foyer and into the living room area where she deposited her belongings.
"Jarvis, where is Mr. Stark?" Pepper queried the AI, rather than going to look for him herself.
"He is currently in his bedroom. I believe he would like for you to wait for him in the home office." Jarvis replied courteously.
"Thanks again, Jarvis." She replied sweetly and began walking toward the back of the mansion.
Arriving in the office she took a seat in her chair and instinctively booted up her computer. Whatever needed to be done tonight, she hoped it wouldn't take too long. The last thing she needed was to be stuck working past midnight.
"You're late." Tony's voice came out of nowhere and nearly threw her from her chair. "You're never late." The smile in his voice was evident.
"Well that's what happens when I am suddenly blocked by a gate that had never previously existed before…" She responded quickly and turned in her chair in the direction of his voice. Since she had just arrived in the office, she had not signaled Jarvis to turn on any lights, so she had to squint in the darkness to see him. "Jarvis, would you please turn on the lights?"
"Of course Miss Potts…lights up to 75 percent."
As the lights slowly came on, she took in the appearance of her boss. His hair had been slicked back, and he was freshly shaved; his goatee sharp and flawless. He was clad in a black skin-tight lycra body armor shell; the top of which covered his torso, shoulders and arms. She assumed there was a matching piece that covered his legs as well, but he had thrown on a pair of black sweat pants over his bottom half in respect of his company. His feet were clad in what looked like protected rubber soled socks. All of which was designed to regulate his body temperature and prevent chaffing while locked within his suit.
He watched her carefully as her eyes danced over his wardrobe in cautious scrutiny. Smiling, he shifted his weight so it was evenly distributed onto both legs, stuck his elbows out and planted both fists at his sides. He thrust his chin out and made a horn-like sound effect as he struck a superhero pose.
"Like what you see, Potts?" He glanced back down to catch her eyes, and found her trying to suppress a laugh. "Thought so…hard to resist a man in stretchy skin-tight apparel." He dropped his arms and flashed her a quick playboy smirk.
"I have to admit, I am speechless." Pepper stood up and walked towards Tony. He carefully followed her motions as she approached. She wore a light green v-neck sweater and a pair of jeans. She chose a pair of flat shoes tonight, so as she came closer, she was noticeably shorter than she was this morning.
Realizing he was watching her, she averted her gaze and focused it on his chest. The cobalt blue of his arc reacter shone brightly. She frowned slightly, registering for the first time since they had started talking that he was prepared to suit up and fly out-- tonight.
"OK" Tony clapped his hands together, "Fun and games over. Let's get down to business." Pepper nodded and started to head back to her workstation.
"Ah-ah," Tony countered, "This way—follow me." With that, he strode purposefully out of the office and towards the staircase leading down to the workshop. Pepper stutter-stepped and departed the office after her boss.
Tony began, "Over the past few months, as you may recall, we have had a few incidences of breaking and entering here at the mansion as well as back at the Compound." He continued, "Unacceptable. I can't afford to have these security breaches and putting the things I care the most about in any danger or at risk of being exposed." He shot a look back at Pepper to make sure she was following. She nearly knocked him over when he came to a sudden stop at the glass entrance to his workshop. The had stopped so close that they both had to readjust their footing.
Recovering, he fumbled for words as he tried to continue, "I..uh…well, as you've seen, I have made a few…improvements to the security systems here at the house. And back at the Compound, measures are being taken to improve the security there as well."
"Alright, I agree. These are great steps to be taking, Mr. Stark," Pepper nodded and crossed her arms. "But what does all of this have to do with me? Here, tonight?" She asked quite seriously.
"Everything." He replied softly and just as seriously. She paused, trying to take in the meaning of the word. Confused of his intentions, she opened her mouth to question him, but promptly stopped short as she felt his hands grasp her right arm. His lips came together and formed a mischievous smile as he gently tugged her closer.
Unaware of his intentions, Pepper began to panic. "What are you doing?" She asked nervously; her hand beginning to tremble.
"What, you don't trust me?" He feigned a hurt expression and chuckled. "It's not like I'm asking you to dance again," He replied, "Not that you would dance with me again. After that night, I imagine that was the first and last one." He grinned and recalled the night of the benefit. Despite its ending, he often found himself recounting their dance and near-kiss on the balcony that evening, and also the regret he felt having left her standing up there alone in the end.
"Well, I…uhm…" Unable to form words at the moment, she stared at her hand in his and watched as he began…rolling up the sleeve of her sweater.
Her hand felt soft between his rougher, somewhat calloused ones. "Your hand is very soft Miss Potts, you must moisturize," he half-joked. He had been watching the panic and the calm play out on her features since he had grabbed her hand. She looked up at his face, waiting for him to explain. Satisfied that he had her full attention, he finally began to clarify why she was here.
"I need to scan your hand, Miss Potts." He informed her as he guided her hand towards the biometric scanner. "Jarvis, prepare to scan Miss Potts's lovely hand here, and record and store the results to be used for all-access within Stark Industries," He continued to hold her gaze, "Including here at home too."
He pressed her palm to the cool surface of the scanner. She watched, fascinated as a blue line scanned her from top to bottom and back.
"Scan completed. The results have been stored and implemented, Mr. Stark. Thank you for your cooperation Miss Potts." Jarvis informed his creator and his assistant of the finished procedure.
Tony finally released his hold of Pepper's arm. "There, all done. Now that didn't hurt one bit, right?" He asked her teasingly; his own fingers still tingling a bit from their contact.
She brought her limb back to her body and proceeded to roll down her sleeve. She leveled her gaze at Tony and reclaimed the control over the situation and her body. When had my heart started to pound? She wondered.
Their reverie was broken by the sound of the glass doors sliding open.
Tony was the first to step straight through them. Following quickly behind, Pepper took a deep breath.
"I will leave you in charge of the house, of course. If anyone asks where I am—" She interrupts, "No comment, I know." She explains, ready to step back into their comfortable routine of her finishing his thoughts.
"Great…I will be back in two days. Jarvis will give you the entire run-down of the new security updates." He walked towards the 'launching pad' and stripped off the pair of sweats he was wearing. Watching him prepare for his mission, Pepper felt a new kind of panic and fear well up from within.
"Tony!" She shouted, using his first name and getting his attention through his rambling. He stopped and turned, waiting for her to speak. She walked up to him cautiously, ready to reprimand him for getting ready to do something so foolhardy and dangerous, but instead opted for something that was not so predictable—
She placed her recently scanned right hand onto his shoulder and quickly pulled him into a hug. Her arms wrapped around his body swiftly and she felt the muscles beneath the lycra body material shift as he slowly returned the gesture. It took Tony a moment to realize what was happening, but was grateful for the sweet sentiment. He took a deep breath and savored the few seconds of contact, and just as quickly as the hug started, it was over. She pulled back quickly and cleared her throat.
"Ahem..I, uh….Be careful," She added, "please." Straightening the hair that framed her face, she shook her head and stood nonchalantly, waiting for him to say something smart.
Instead, he smiled and said, "Yes, Ma'am." He turned quickly away from Pepper and found his spot on the launching pad. "Hit it, Jarvis."
"Yessir."
Pepper stepped back quickly and watched as automated arms came from beneath Tony's feet and above his head, ready to suit up their master.
Moments later, Tony Stark stood before Pepper Potts clad in his Iron Man armor—He had never looked so heroic, she decided. Just before he was about to take off, he turned towards her and shouted, "Hey Potts!" An electronic Tony Stark voice echoed through the workshop. She focused her eyes on the brightyly lit eyes of the mask, and waited for him to say something else. She was surprised when he didn't. Instead, he struck his earlier superhero pose from their time in the office.
She laughed out loud. He smirked from inside the suit and in a matter of moments, he was rocketing off to the middle east.
Tony Stark, she thought, what a show-off. So predictable. And with that, Pepper Potts strode out of the workshop and back up to gather her things.
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Review! I am hoping that this chapter was enjoyable too. I have all of these scenes in my head of Tony/Pepper...I just can't wait to share them with you.