After the battle
(Oh, God, another sucky title)
This is another 'missing scene' for IM2. It's funny; IM was so perfect, I didn't feel the need to rearrange the story. I didn't even mind that Tony and Pepper didn't get together!
IM2 on the other hand was really frustrating. I don't care for Avengers or Shield, so their story lines were a big waste IMO. And don't get me started on those lame villains!
Anyway, here's another little scene that I came up with.
It's set after the roof scene in IM2, but it's not a sequel to 'Tony's revenge'.
Pepper sat in her hotel room, holding a phone to her ear. "I appreciate your help, Natalie," she said. She paused, then, "Oh, Tony's fine." She glanced over her shoulder. Tony had walked by a moment ago, fresh from his shower, and gone directly into the bedroom. "He's tired," she added. "Exhausted, actually -mostly from having to explain why he never mentioned the tiny little fact that he was dying," she added dryly. Come to think of it, you didn't tell me either, Miss Secret Agent, Pepper thought resentfully.
The young woman immediately picked up the reference, but Pepper cut into her apology.
"It's ok, Natalie," she said. "Tony told me about you and SHIELD, and the need for secrecy, and -" And I'm forgiving you only because you're overseeing the clean-up, she thought. "And I understand," she said aloud. But only partially. "Absolutely," she added. "Everything's fine."
A moment later, Pepper put down the receiver. She would have to deal with Natalie and SHIELD soon, but not tonight. Right now, there were more pressing issues to consider -like the fact that Tony was in her bedroom, waiting. 'I'm too tired,' he'd said sheepishly (and pointedly) when they got to the hotel, but even if they were not going to be intimate, the mere fact that they were going to share a bed made her nervous.
That she was wearing comfy cotton pajamas only added to the pressure. Pepper rose and smoothed them down, and wished, not for the first time, that they'd miraculously turn into the silky things she'd bought in Paris the year before; the ones she never even bothered to unpack.
Ah, well.
She turned off the lights and padded to the bedroom, pausing only briefly to look at the Iron Man suit heaped in a corner. She had mixed feelings about the suit, and tonight they were mostly negative. It had taken five technicians working nonstop for two hours to remove the suit from Tony, and by the time he'd finally stepped out of his suit, he was drenched in sweat, his clothes in tatters.
"I'm yours," he'd said in self-deprecation, then winced in surprise when she pulled him into her arms.
Tony had resisted at first. He didn't like be perceived of as weak or defenseless, and he most certainly did not like to rely on others. "I need a shower," he'd said, but Pepper had refused to let go.
Tony's capitulation, when it finally came, seemed complete. He leant heavily on her and meekly let her lead him into the waiting limo. Once inside, he'd mumbled a few apologies. "I'm sorry," he said awkwardly. "For the party, for the -"
"That's ok," she said quickly, "It was the Palladium poisoning."
"Actually, that was just me, being a jerk," he said ruefully. "Look. Just let me apologize, will ya?"
And she let him. How could she refuse, when he was being so sweet about it? Besides, it wasn't every day that Tony Stark decided to spill his guts –and it showed; he had a difficult time putting his thoughts into words, but he did, and by the end, Pepper realized that Tony's exhaustion came, not from his battle with Vanko's drones, but from keeping a deadly secret.
She kissed him and soothed him with caresses.
"Never again," she'd whispered in his ear. "Don't ever lie to me again."
"Ok," he said. "Promise."
...
Pepper tip-toed into the bedroom. Tony was sitting in bed with eyes closed and hands comfortably clasped on his lap. He was probably naked underneath the covers, and the realization made her heart beat faster. She'd seen glimpses of his body before, back when he still had a drinking problem, for instance, or when he'd fallen prey to some illness. And it wasn't like he was shy about showing off his upper body.
But nothing compared to this.
Pepper leant on the doorway, needing a little time to adjust. That he loved her, she had no doubts; she never had. That he'd finally found the courage to tell her...
She frowned. Actually, he hadn't told her yet.
"Aren't you coming?" he said suddenly. He opened his eyes and glanced in her direction. He smiled; a lazy, seductive smile she'd never seen before.
Oh, he knows what he's doing, Pepper thought. One look at that smile and she found herself irresistibly drawn to him -
Just like countless women had before.
'Stop it!' she told herself firmly. She was not about to let the memory of those women –or anything else- come between them right now. She took a couple of confident steps towards the bed, only to stop when she saw him eyeing her from head to toe –no; not from head to toe; from neck to toe.
"Yes, Tony," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm wearing pajamas. I packed for what I thought was going to be a business trip, after all."
"Those are nice," he said, still studying her.
She cringed. 'Nice' was the last word she was hoping to hear. On a scale of one to ten, 'nice' wouldn't even rate half-a-point. 'Nice' was the kiss of death of compliments!
Suddenly, the distance to the bed seemed insurmountable.
Noticing her hesitation, Tony took matters into his own hands. He pulled back the bed covers and patted the space next to him.
"Hop in, dear."
She laughed despite herself.
"You're such a gentleman, Mr. Stark."
"I am," he said, "I even fluffed the pillows for you."
"Thanks." She got into bed and lay down next to him, but not so close that their bodies would touch. She pulled the covers up to her neck, and then stared at the ceiling. She was aware of him all along; the warmth of his body, his very breathing… and his eyes, watching her closely.
Eventually, he lay down too. He turned on his side and tugged the sleeve of her pajamas. "Could you move a little bit closer?"
She smiled. "You want to cuddle?"
"I want to hold you, yeah."
She tentatively laid her head on his shoulder. Tony wasn't as shy; he wrapped both arms around her and sighed contentedly.
"There," he said. "This is better."
Gently, she touched his bicep. 'Oh, wow,' she thought. She'd admired his body from afar for so long…
It took her a moment to realize he was fondling her, too. He was languidly stroking her arm.
"You've been working out," he muttered.
"I like to stay in shape."
"I like that you stay in this particular shape," he said gallantly. "I think you'd look rockin' hot in a suit."
"What kind of suit?"
"You know."
"Oh." Leave it to Tony Stark to picture her, not half-naked in a lacy, gauzy gown from Victoria's Secret, but covered head-to-toe in a metal suit. "No, thanks," she said. "You are not putting me in one of those."
"I'd give it a nice pink finish."
"Especially if it's going to be pink."
"Silver, then. Or blue. Any color you ask." He paused for a couple of seconds, then he cleared his throat. "Uh, Pepper -"
"Yes?"
"There's, hum, something I've gotta tell you," he said solemnly. He even stopped touching her. "It's... uh, a confession, of sorts."
She cautiously raised her head. Her heart sank when she saw how serious he looked. She instinctively looked at the new arc in his chest.
"Are you ok?"
"Oh, yeah, this is working just fine."
"Then what is it?"
"Well... I've never done this before."
"What?"
"This," Tony said awkwardly. "Talking, I mean. I don't talk in bed. Usually, I just -" he made a vague gesture with his hand. "You know."
"I can guess," she said dryly. She knew Tony didn't even like to stay in bed afterwards.
"So, if I say the wrong thing, bear in mind that this is virgin territory for me, so to speak."
She held back a smirk. "Ok."
"You're gonna have to be gentle with me," he added, giving her his best puppy-dog look.
"Ok," Pepper said, openly smiling. Tony Stark's puppy-dog looks only worked on those who didn't know there was a wolf inside.
"You'll have to have a lot of patience, too."
"Don't I always?" She caressed his face. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
"But that's the weirdest part. I want to talk. I always talk when you're around."
"I love hearing you talk. It's what made me stay all these years."
"Really?"
"You don't think it was your smile that made me stay, do you?" she said mischievously. "Or your eyes, or the curls on the back of your head, or -"
"I thought you stayed because you'd signed a contract."
"Ah, but why did I sign such a contract?"
"Oooh," Tony said, "I see."
She felt blissfully happy, all of a sudden. She impulsively wrapped her arm around his neck. She wrapped a leg around him too, only to bump into something hard under the covers. She looked up sharply. "Is that a piece of your suit?"
He shook his head. "That's a piece of me."
Curious, she slipped her hand under the covers. First, she discovered that yes, he was naked. And then –
Her eyes widened. "Oh, wow, that's you. I thought you said you were too tired!"
"I was," he said. "But then you sauntered in, wearing those sexy pajamas -"
"Sexy pajamas? Tony, I'm covered neck to toe. In cotton."
"See-through cotton," he pointed out. "Besides, when a man loves a woman, he doesn't care what clothes she's wearing -provided he can get her out of them as fast as possible," He added, rolling over so he could be partially on top. "Let that be a lesson to you, Miss Potts." And he began to unbutton her pajama top.
She smiled. 'When a man loves a woman,' was probably the closest he'd ever get to admitting his feelings for her. It didn't matter, really. A woman in love didn't need to hear the words that often… Provided the man she loved showed her the way he really felt.
And she had a feeling Tony was more than willing to do that.
The end
Note: RDJ told Jonathan Ross that he wanted to 'put Paltrow in a suit, to show off that rockin' body'.
BTW, I think I have a couple of stories to add to 'Just a little bit of news'.