Title: Five Minutes
Author: A.j.
Spoilers: Iron Man movie.
Fault: splash
Rating: PG
Summary: "Mr. Stark? Are you ready?"
He watches her, out of the corner of his eye or over mugs of coffee or glasses of expensive booze. She moves like a dancer through all the pieces of his life, her movements smooth and graceful. Every shift or hand gesture full of purpose.
It occurred to him a long time ago that she was put on this planet specifically for him. Not in the ways that his other enjoyments or passions were; no, Pepper is here for Tony. The man that he's never quite managed to be. The man he might be on the verge of becoming.
He'd blown the thought off at the time, convinced that it'd been the product of an extremely drunken train of thought. That still doesn't explain why it keeps coming back.
"Mr. Stark? Are you ready?" She's smiling at him in that tentative way that means she's asked the question a few times already, and she's trying to work out whether or not he's on his third or seventh scotch.
"No." He shakes his head and answers with an honesty that frightens him. Luckily, she doesn't know what he means. "Not yet. I need a little more time."
Surprised, she blinks but recovers enough to nod and refocus on her palm pilot. "Oh. Okay. I can probably buy you another fifteen minutes before we have to leave. Is that alright, or should I reschedule?"
Her eyes are clear and bright and it hurts to stare at this woman who hasn't left, no matter how often or frequently he's tried to make her leave. It's humbling, and for the umpteenth time in the last six months he feels very, very small.
"Fifteen minutes should be fine, Ms. Potts." His smile feels strange and jagged, but he does it anyway. "I just need a little more time."
Listening to her walk away, her voice and mind occupied with her headset and the person at the other end, he closes his eyes and wishes he was better. Ready.
Because as much as she is everything he's ever needed, he knows she deserves so much more.
-fin-