Previously on The Paths We Travel…
"She ran from the stress and the fear that in just a few hours she would have to reschedule three days of appointments for a man that she was sure she cared for more than she would admit to herself."(Chapter 1)
"One thing he did genuinely fear in that single moment, was watching Pepper, the one person he knew he could always count on, walk away from him for good." (Chapter 3)
"Months later, he would come to discover that even he, the great Tony Stark, would never truly be in complete control of the chaotic life that was his." (Chapter 3)
"Tony Stark had a new enemy. And he couldn't have come at a worse time." (Chapter 5)
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Chapter 6: The Path Home
Pepper Potts scoffed as she sped past the posted speed limit sign.
Curves Ahead. Speed Limit 45mph.
She looked at her speedometer. 60mph. She reminded herself to slow down or she would be soon flying off the edge of a very steep cliff. And then she thought of the serious phone call she had only minutes ago received from her distressed boss—
60mph just wasn't going to work…65,66…She pressed harder on the accelerator as if increasing her speed would help outrun the nerves that were creeping up on her. She felt her fingers tighten on the steering wheel, her knuckles losing their pink shade and turning white. Her thoughts began to wander aimlessly as she approached the entrance to Stark Mansion. Strange enough, not one thought was pertaining to the current situation at hand.
She suddenly recalled, for the first time since she had been hired, a bittersweet memory from her very early days as Tony Stark's personal assistant.
"Oh, Miss Potts, don't forget—you need your new keys, and I need your signature on these lease papers…" Debra Conry, Stark's interim secretary, spoke the words, but Pepper stared blankly at the older woman, completely confused as to what she had just told her, and was certain she had just spoken it all in another language.
"I'm sorry," Pepper said, shaking her head, seeking clarification, "…keys? What 'lease' papers?" Pepper said, awaiting an explanation.
Debra seemed quite confused herself but continued, "Well..." She began, "to your new apartment of course…" Pepper's eyebrows shot straight up to the tips of the red bangs on her forehead. "Now, that you are Mr. Stark's personal assistant, it is required of you to be available at any time of the day…or night. To ensure your prompt response, and at Mr. Starks' rather insistent request, you have been afforded a new apartment that is located within approximately twelve miles of both Stark Industries and Mr. Stark's home—"
Pepper threw her hand up, startling the woman in front of her, "And I have NO say in the matter?!" Pepper seethed. She felt heat begin to rise in her chest, and her mind raced. Before she realized what she was doing, her body propelled itself back through Tony Stark's office doors and straight to the edge of his desk. Three sets of eyes were suddenly trained on the upset redhead as she stormed into the large office—Stark himself, James Rhodey, his military liaison, and Obediah Stane, Stark's business partner and mentor, all watched as the infuriated woman stalked quite determinately towards the man that held the focus of her anger.
Stark sat on the edge of his desk, a glass of amber liquid in his right hand—she guessed scotch, because that's what men like him would drink-- a harsh liquor that brands your insides on its way down. It offers no forgiveness as it sears a path straight through to your stomach, yet, it provides the drinker with feelings that border on euphoric delusions of grandeur. That-- was most definitely, Tony Stark's drink of choice.
"Why Miss Potts, a pleasure to see you again so soon," He glanced at his ridiculously expensive watch, "just ten minutes ago in fact." Pepper stopped short of standing directly in front of the billionaire playboy and instead stood just off to his left, arms crossed, ready to address him with her complaint. Stark continued, "Let me guess, you were so taken aback by my obviously irresistible charm that you wish to start immediately--"
"No, Mr. Stark," She interrupted, "I still plan on waiting until next week—after all, it will take me that long to move all of my things to my new apartment." The adrenaline that had fueled Pepper's rampage into the office was still pumping at full force through her veins as she leveled her heated gaze directly at her new boss. Not once had she considered that confronting and yelling at the man who was rightfully considered to be one of the most powerful men in the world, as probably not a great idea.
Stark took a mouthful of his drink. "Ah, yes. Two bedrooms, great closet space, a beautiful view—and my personal favorite perk—a Jacuzzi tub big enough for two." Stark raised his glass and dipped his head, "You're welcome."
"You're welcome?" Pepper repeated, shocked. "Mr. Stark, with all due respect, I have no intention of moving out of my current home just so I can be closer to…You."Stark smirked, and continued to hold her eyes, allowing her to finish her argument. Showing him that she was indeed serious, Pepper continued in her most professional voice, "…and while I do appreciate the gesture, I must decline, and insist on staying in my current residence" Satisfied that she had made her point, she allowed her shoulders to relax and laced her fingers in front of her.
"Unacceptable." Stark objected. Pepper blanched. Rhodes and Stane, who had been watching the heated exchange with amused interest, found themselves holding their breath.
"I…I'm sorry?"Pepper stammered; astounded at Stark's response.
"Miss Potts," Stark stood suddenly; setting his drink down and bringing himself up to his full height. He moved to stand directly in front of Pepper. "…while I appreciate your candor and honesty regarding the situation at hand, I feel I must now inform you of my intentions." Stark watched as the previously confident woman in front of him wavered, and moved to take a step back from his towering form. "This company has and will continue to run as a superior and dominant force within the weapons industry. I am in a very serious business that not only requires commitment on my part, but on the part of the staff I employ." He raised his hand and pointed his index finger at her. "You are now a part of this staff."
Tony Stark had the ability to intimidate many people. Men from all over the world would cower and crumble at his feet after witnessing his ability to be a shark in the business world. In comparison, women from all walks of life would tremble and melt-- into his bed no less-- after being subjected to his charming and charismatic prowess.
Pepper Potts was not one of those people.
With a renewed vigor, she regained the step she had lost when Stark approached her and fired back, "Yes, Mr. Stark, I am now part of your staff. And as such I too have an investment in this company. As I clearly explained to you during our very first meeting, I am not one to twist the truth, nor do I have any problem stating it. And the truth is… I am never late to work." Pepper's chest was heaving now and the freckles on her cheeks were beginning to vanish with the now pinkish color tainting her fair skin. Her voice softened, but the seriousness remained, "I like where I live, Mr. Stark." She exhaled.
They continued to hold each other's gaze as the tension in the room hummed with intensity. Rhodes and Stane, who had both since left the room in search of a less hostile environment, found themselves perched on the other side of the office doors eavesdropping shamelessly.
Stark's jaw unclenched. He was impressed. Again. "Miss Potts, I'm not going to force you to move somewhere you don't want to," Stark revealed. "Just consider," He tilted his head and waved his hand in the air. "… Your 'investment', as you say, in this company cannot and should not be taken lightly. You will be working long hours… Stressful days… and achingly long nights…" He emphasized the word 'achingly' by closing his eyes tightly—as if he were imagining something mischievous involving himself and his new personal assistant.
He slid his eyelids open to find Miss Potts staring at him intently.
"Trust me…you're gonna want that Jacuzzi with those massaging jets." Yeah, that's exactly what he was picturing.
Pepper's shoulder slackened and she blushed in spite of herself.
"I will see you next week Miss Potts, bright and early…" Stark turned away from her and snatched up his now watered down drink. He punched the intercom on his desk, "Mrs. Conry, could you please inform Rhodey and Obi that it's safe to return now…"
Pepper absently straightened her blouse and shifted uncomfortably on her feet, "Well then, I will see you next week." She began to exit the office as Rhodes and Stane entered, "On time, of course." She added quickly.
She busied herself at Debra's desk by gathering her briefcase, blazer, and cell phone. She paused for a moment, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Possessions in hand, she opened her eyes, and strode out of the office toward the car park.
Debra watched her retreating form, shaking her head. 'That girl won't last a week' she said aloud. She began straightening her desk, getting ready to leave for the evening, and noticed that the keys and the paperwork for Miss Pepper Potts' new apartment were nowhere to be found.
Years later and many other heated arguments behind them, Pepper Potts and Tony Stark had come to work extremely well together. After all, Pepper did love her Jacuzzi tub.
Tires squealing as she rounded the last turn to the Mansion, she grabbed her Blackberry and dialed the automated number to reach the house AI, Jarvis.
"Good evening Miss Potts. What can I do--" He was stopped short as Pepper frantically interjected.
"Jarvis! I'm sorry…I need your help." She said quickly.
"What seems to be the trouble?" Jarvis questioned, a programmed worry in his voice.
"It's Mr. Stark—he contacted me about twenty minutes ago—he's in trouble. He told me to tell you something about 'protocol 911'?" Pepper braked to allow the front gate to open for her.
"What's protocol 911 Jarvis? What's going on?" Pepper pleaded with the AI to give her some answers.
"Mr. Stark has programmed all of his robotic assistants to attend to him if there was a medical emergency. It seems now is the time to initiate that sequence. Please make your way down to the workshop once you have arrived, Miss Potts." Jarvis clicked off contact, and Pepper came to a screeching halt in front of the Mansion.
It sounded like one of his cars was backfiring repeatedly, she thought randomly. Pepper stood in the rear of the workshop and waited anxiously for the impending arrival of Iron Man, Tony Stark.
Jarvis had initiated the emergency sequence and all of Stark's helper robots were at the ready, waiting to attend to their injured creator. Four robotic arms in total hovered over the black operating chair which Stark used on occasion when making improvements to his chest's arc reactor—which, had never again needed the assistance of a certain redheaded assistant—much to
Pepper's surprising disappointment. Regrettably, she would take sticking her hand in fake pus any day rather than feeling this overwhelming sense of fear that Tony was truly hurt.
She first heard the sounds faintly, and had dismissed them as just sounds of the ocean below. But the 'pops' got louder and more consistent. She equated them to the sounds of one of his cars backfiring and being resistant to their owner when he worked on it.
Suddenly, the sound echoed deafening loud through the tunnel ahead and Pepper reflexively threw her hands up to cover her ears. She watched, horrified, as a streak of gold and red appeared abruptly from the curve of the tunnel and slammed into the concrete and sliding a good ten feet forward before coming to a stop in front of her.
Black powder burns and scorch marks covered the surface of the once shiny and polished paint of the suit. The familiar shapes of bullet holes mottled the right shoulder, and a large indentation on the front of it indicated that something very large had slammed into the midsection of the suit.
Pepper got over her shock at seeing his landing and raced over to where her boss lay.
"TONY! Oh my God!" She shouted frantically, as she carefully placed her hands on the headpiece. She helped him roll over onto his back, and was relieved when she heard a groan escape from the form she held. "What do I do?!" She yelled out to no one in particular.
"Potts…" Tony managed to say, her name coming out in a puff of both relief at seeing her, and as a subtle warning to get out of the way of the swinging robotic arms heading towards her, "…look out." Just in time to recieve the warning, Pepper gently laid his head down onto the cold ground, and was nearly side-swiped by robotic arms reaching towards the metal heap that was Tony Stark.
She watched worriedly, as the robotic arms gently pried off the leg casings of the suit, then moved to the arms. Jarvis, downloaded with all medical training and knowledge necessary to execute any sort of medical procedure ever created, took great care in removing the contorted iron from the body of its wearer. He made sure to leave the helmet on and the back piece of the suit to ensure a proper spine alignment in case there was any neck, back, or spinal injuries. Now, laid out on the floor of the workshop, Stark was identifiable from the pieces of metal that had been removed from his body. As a final step, Jarvis brought the bio-scanner on-line and proceeded to scan Stark from head to toe to identify the extent of his injuries.
Pepper waited. She nervously fidgeted with the end of her shirt and bit her lip. As soon as she was given the word, she would be next to her boss in an instant.
"Scan complete. By all means, sir, you are one lucky S.O.B? Is that the correct phrasing?" Pepper stood, dumbfounded by Jarvis' sense of humor—no doubt programmed specifically by Stark himself.
Tony groaned again and sighed, the sound of his voice muffled by the helmet he still wore. "Yeah, buddy…that's right. What's the word? Can you take this thing off?"
"It seems that your injuries consist of: a concussion, three bruised ribs, an abrasion on your right shoulder—which will require approximately twelve stitches—and several contusions over your legs. I will now remove your helmet and torso armor." No sooner had the armor and helmet been removed that Tony found his head lying in the lap of Pepper Potts.
"YOU CRAZY SON OF A BITCH!" She spat, "I swear, if you ever do this to me again, I will kill you myself!" Pepper shook his head, giving emphasis to her words.
"Hey! Hey…hey…easy now! I'm an injured man." Tony pointed out. His lips contorting to a frown as a wave of pain shot through his chest and stomach. Pepper's eyebrows lifted and her hands carefully cradled his head as the pain subsided.
"I'm sorry! Oh, my…we need to get you to a hospital…"
"NO!" Tony shouted, sending another jolt of discomfort through him. "No." He added, calmer than before. "Jarvis can stitch me up here, and wrap me up so my ribs don't feel like they've been kicked by a football player." He groaned again and clutched at the nearest thing in the vicinity of his fingertips—Pepper's hand just happened to be right there. She held on tight, and squeezed his hand back in reassurance.
"But--" She started.
"No buts, Pep—please, just do as I ask…for once." A grey robotic arm came from her left with a needle in its grasp. Placing it at his neck, Pepper looked away as it injected him with a substance she assumed was a painkiller. With that, he closed his eyes and relaxed slightly into her arms again.
"Ok Tony." She said softly. "Ok…" Hesitantly and gently, she began raking her hand through his sweat-soaked hair. She smoothed it back from his forehead and gazed at his tired features.
Just as his breathing started to even out and she thought he had fallen asleep, his lips quirked into a lopsided smile and, without opening his eyes, he spoke quietly, "Did I hear you mention something about taking a bath?"
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OMIGOSH—that was fun to write.
I'm sorry it took me so long to update...finals at school, you know…more soon!
I hope you liked…please review