Ch. 2

Natasha didn't need to face the door to watch for Tony. She took a sip of her beer. Tony had better hurry his freaking butt up. She'd had to deal with three drunks trying to hit on her. She would already have to explain this outing to Clint; she didn't want to have to also explain about the men she'd killed. Which is what she would do if anyone else tried to mess with her. She saw another one eyeing her, but Tony chose that moment to come in, so she went over to him.

"Tony! Haven't seen you 'round here in a while," shouted the barman, who looked as if, for every drink he sold, he had one himself. The large man nodded to Natasha, "Is this the new one? Baby," he said directly to Natasha, "tomorrow, when he dumps you, you know where to find me."

"Georgie, I'm married!" Tony shouted back to the barman.

'Georgie' just belched and waved a dismissive hand, "Never stopped you before."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "'Never stopped you before?'"

Tony looked uncomfortable, "He never realized that Pepper is my wife."

"You brought Pepper here?" She gestured to the smelly, sweaty men; the sticky floor; and the drunken barman. "Nice taste. Every girl's dream date." She expected a famous Stark snarky comment but was greeted with only a sigh. He must really be out of it, she mused.

Natasha joined him at a small table. He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him with a hand. "Tell me what happened. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"Right," he swallowed. "So I was asleep, with Pepper, when JARVIS woke me and said that someone was at the door. I didn't want to wake Pepper, so I left her and went to get the door."

"JARVIS didn't tell you that it was one of your exes?" Nat broke in.

"He's been programmed not to remember them, so they can't be, well, implicated in anything. He just said it was an intoxicated girl."

"And, of course, you can't resist one of those."

"No! I mean, yes! I mean, of course I can! I told Cindy-"

"Cindy? So you remember this one?" Natasha was not about to cut Tony any slack.

"I told her to go away, I'm married, but she passed out on the doorstep. I didn't want to leave her there. I knew what Pepper might think if she woke up and Cindy was downstairs, I don't think Pepper's forgotten a single one of my exes, but I knew that Pepper wouldn't leave her there either! So I carried her inside, to the guest bedroom-"

"Where you put her on the dresser and stuck your tongue down her throat."

"No! I put her on the bed and I told JARVIS to attend to her and I was on the way out the door when she woke up. She was drunk, and kept yelling. I tried to get her to quiet down but-"

"How'd she get on top of the dresser, right at lip level?"

"She jumped up there herself! She kept asking if I remembered when we were…together and she jumped on the dresser and said, 'Remember how you put me here?' and then she kissed me. That's when Pepper came in."

"She kissed you? Big strong Iron Man couldn't stop a drunk girl from kissing him?"

"I didn't have time!"

"Fine, say it did happen that way. What took you so long to call? You must have known she'd come to us."

"I didn't sleep with Cindy! I called her a cab and paid the guy to take her far away. I also looked everywhere for Pepper's ring, in case she'll ever take me back," he sighed and pulled said ring from his pocket. "Will you give it to her?"

"No. I told you, tell this to her yourself. Maybe she'll believe it."

"So you don't?"

He looked so dejected that she softened her demeanor a bit. She did believe him, she'd know if he was lying, but she still wanted Pepper to make the final judgment without any influence. He had made many mistakes. "Tony, Pepper is the one who needs to believe it. I know you love her and she still loves you, but you hurt her. You did many things wrong that, if done differently, would have changed the outcome. Give her time and she'll be willing to listen." Natasha, an abrupt person, stood and offered a few bills to Tony for her beer. He shook his head and waved her off. Shrugging, she started toward the door, noticing as she did that Tony ordered himself a drink. She hoped he wouldn't let this tip him back into the life of a drunk.

A/N So, Natasha seems to believe Tony. Do you? Let me know if you think that Pepper should forgive him or not. I'm still up in the air.