Chapter 25

Two years later…

"Hey, Pepper?" James knocked on the door. "Are you ready? The officiant just arrived." James opened the door to the waiting room the ginger was in where she was making sure her makeup and dress were impeccable. The young man smiled brightly at her and walked over to her friend, giving her an approving nod of her attire. "Wow, Pepper. If you weren't already taken, I'd marry you."

Pepper laughed nervously and shook her head. "You're not helping, James. I'm already nervous as it is. Is my dad ready?"

"More than you, I think. Highly ironic, if you ask me."

"Ugh, shut up. Let's go," Pepper snapped at him and followed the snickering man out of the room and down the hall where her father was waiting for her. "Hi, Dad. Are you ready for this?"

"As much as I'm going to ever be," the FBI man shrugged. "How about you? You can still back out of it, you know?"

She shook her head vehemently. "No way. Not that scared," she responded before she turned to her left to stare at Rhodey. "Is Tony here?"

"Left him where he's supposed to be."

"Alright. OK. Then…I guess this is it, huh?"

"Guess so," Rhodey said with a nod and began walking away from her and to where the ceremony was taking place. "See you in a little bit, Pepper."

"Yes, Rhodey," she responded before she exhaled slowly and watched Rhodes disappear around the corner. "The power of ten Makluan rings in me, and I'm getting the jitters for walking down the aisle."

Virgil chuckled and offered his daughter his arm. The redhead accepted it and snaked her own shaky arm around his, and he then placed his palm on her hand. "You look beautiful, Patricia."

"You don't look too bad yourself, Daddy."

"Well, us Potts age gracefully, or so I have been told."

"Not lying," she winked at her dad before she heard the announcement that the ceremony was about to start. "That's our cue," she added and they both walked down the narrow hall, around the corner and to the entrance of the small events room at the hotel.

As they had both expected, the guests had already arrived and stood up as soon as they saw Pepper and Virgil appear by the door, and Pepper's smile widened when she saw Tony standing at the front of the room. He winked at her from afar and Pepper had to take in deep breaths to hide her highly inappropriate blush.

The change in the music informed daughter and father that they had to begin their walk, and as rehearsed so many times before, they did so in unison. Pepper could feel the eyes of everyone on them, but she contained the nervous shake of her hands by gripping her father's arm even tighter. Virgil chuckled light enough for only Pepper to hear, and she practically snorted in response.

The distance between the front of the room where the awaiting officiant stood and the middle of the aisle where Pepper and Virgil were currently on began to shorten and shorten until they both reached the steps of the altar. With a slight nod to the officiant, Pepper let go of Virgil's arm before she leaned in and kissed her dad's cheek, tears already forming in her eyes before she had anticipated them to be there.

"I'm so happy for you, Dad."

"Thank you, Pepper," the man responded. "We couldn't have done it without you. If it wasn't for you…"

"Sshh," she stopped him, knowing very well what he was about to say. "Your bride is coming; smile," she whispered to him when she heard the bridal march begin and she took a step back, mirroring Tony's position on the groom's side of the room. As the Maid of Honor, Pepper had to make sure everything went smooth for everyone, which included making sure Tony and his dad arrived on time to give away the bride.

All eyes in the room shifted from staring at Virgil to starting at the bride standing by the entrance of the room, securely held by Howard Stark's arm. Just as Pepper and Virgil had just done, Marsha and Howard began their uniform walk down the aisle, causing the guests to begin sniffling in joy. Marsha's white dress was very conservative despite having the body to show off a more revealing outfit, but it just was not her style.

When Howard and Marsha finally arrived to the altar, as customary the officiant asked who was giving away the bride, and after Howard stated it was he and walked over to the side to join Tony, the long-awaited ceremony began. Pepper's eyes were everywhere during the ceremony, her prying instincts making sure everything was perfect for the couple, and thanks to her Makluan influence, it truly was.

xxxXXXxxx

The party had ended an hour ago, and after making sure every guest had been thanked and sent home with a parting gift, the night Californian breeze found the redhead sitting in a lounge chair by the hotel's pool, shoes forgotten on the floor. Her feet were aching like mad after being on her feet for hours in the high heels she had chosen to wear for the event, and she now realized it had been a mistake wearing such wonderful-looking albeit uncomfortable shoes. She had never been in charge of a wedding before, and she had not been aware of how demanding the job could be. Next time she was responsible for making sure a couple got married, she was going to make sure she wore tennis shoes…and maybe shorts, too.

Hell, even her Mandarin armor boots were more comfortable than the heels she had worn tonight!

Her Mandarin armor…she was still not used to that little fact of life.

It had been exactly two years ago today that she had finally seen what she was becoming, what Axonn-Karr had planned for her, what Gene had been warning her about. It was now, two years later, that she finally made sense of the difficult times she and Tony had lived through…and survived.

In retrospect, the most difficult thing she had to do was explaining to Tony about what it meant for her to take on the mantle of his once mortal enemy. It meant that Iron Man – should he choose to stay with Pepper – had the decision to make of either becoming the Mandarin himself, or accepting that Pepper would be the Mandarin for the rest of her life – a decision he was still to make to this day.

And it also meant accepting the fact that by default, one of her kids would be the next one in line; his kids if he chose to marry her despite her baggage. It was now that she truly understood the weight that Gene Khan had carried on his shoulders; the encumbrance of the Makluan heritage that now lived in her.

And to think that Gene had been the good guy in all of this!

At first she had been utterly pissed off at Axonn-Karr for not telling her she had been bestowed with the dragonseed, against her will and without her knowledge – just as Gene had predicted all along. She felt like a fool for ever believing the Makluan would not try for his race to live on through her, and she hated herself even more for forgetting what had really occurred when she had been taken prisoner of the Makluan.

She had forgotten that Gene had been trying to save her every time she thought he was stalking them after the rings had been taken from him. He had never touched her in the ways she thought he had; it had all been Axonn's way of preventing her from finding out her fate had already been decided for her. Gene had simply been trying to spare her the pain, the responsibility, the burden of being the next Mandarin.

All this time, Gene had been trying to save her.

If it had not been for Mr. Fix attacking her home she would have never unleashed those memories. If she had not reached the point Axonn needed her to be in order for the dragonseed to wake up in her, she would have never known that the Makluan Guardian had left the rings in her. She would have never realized her memories of the six months of captivity she had originally had in her mind when she was returned to Earth had been a lie: a lie made by Axonn to prepare her for what was to come.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, remembering how everything had unraveled for her. Her visions of Gene were hallucinations caused by Axonn, keeping her from finding out the truth until she was ready to face it. EMF was never the cause, and her attack on Tony had merely been a lesson she had to endure to receive the ability to understand Makluan science. Just as many of the previous Makluan temple guardians had said: she was not worthy…until she was.

Her thoughts returned to today's ceremony, particularly the part where her father had wanted to thank her again for saving their lives. It had been her rage and her need to protect them and Tony that had broken the seal Axonn had left behind, enabling her to becoming who she was today: the first female Mandarin.

The events of that night were the reason why Marsha and Virgil had chosen to get married on this date, to put a positive spin on the night they had almost died at the hands of a fucking computerized haunted house possessed by the master of the VR world.

Then, there was Tony, who had been shocked speechless when he saw Pepper appear out of the Mandarin's armor before his very own eyes. She had feared he would leave her, try to stop her, deny what she had become, but he had done none. He had embraced her instead, apologized for not trusting her instincts, and promised her never to leave again.

And, he had not. Never again did they suggest breaking up. Never again, to this day, had either of them ignored their gut feeling, their knowledge, and their bond. It had taken them this far, and Pepper could not wait to see where it would lead them from now on.

"Are you planning on sleeping at all tonight?" She heard his voice approaching her and she could not help the smile that adorned her tired face. He sat In the chair next to her, suit jacket in his hands, and he began taking off his shoes and removing his tie. "I never knew a wedding could be so exhausting."

Pepper scoffed. "Only if you're not the one getting married or so I've heard. Besides, what do you have to complain about? You got to watch a stripper dance last night." She responded, referring to her father's bachelor party – which she had organized, too.

"Well, there is that…"

"Mmhhh…" Pepper shook her head, eyes still closed.

"But I'd rather get a striptease show from you."

"Tony!" Her eyes snapped open in an instant. "Why don't you just wait until you turn 21, huh? That way you can walk into a bar without faking an ID – or bribing the guard, and see all the stripping you want to see."

"That's ridiculous, Pepper. I don't need to be 21 to watch you strip. We have a hotel room right up there," he pointed to their balcony. "You can strip there right now."

"Will you stop that?" She snapped her fingers and the sleeve of the jacket came to life and slapped the living crud out of the smiling millionaire. He remained unfazed.

"Hey! No powers when I'm not in the suit."

"Then stop talking about stripping."

"Why? You do realize it's gonna happen when we get married, right?"

"Tony," she warned. "If you say the word 'stripping' again, I'm going to make sure it's my grandma who strips for you."

"But, your grandma's dead."

"Precisely."

"Harsh, Potts," he said as he stood up from the chair. "I like it," he added and pulled her up with him. Despite her fake annoyed face, she let him surround her waist with his arms, and she surrounded his shoulders and neck with her own arms. He then pulled the hairband she had used to hold her hair while she monitored clean up duty, and her now even longer red tresses cascaded down her shoulders and back. He brushed her sideway hair away from her face and ran his fingers down her cheek and neck, and down to the tips of her hair.

"Are we dancing to invisible music, now?" The redhead asked when he began swaying their hips from side to side in a slow motion.

"It's the least you can do for me, Pep. That reception lasted four freakin' hours and I didn't get to dance with you once. I think even the janitor asked you to dance, but I never got a chance."

Pepper gave him an apologetic smile and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry about that. I just…well…I never thought my dad would ever marry again. I had to make sure he was happy and taken care of; he deserved it after putting his life on hold for me."

"I know, Pepper," he kissed her forehead. "I'm just giving you a hard time. Everything was perfect. Your dad was very, very happy. And so was Marsha. You did an awesome job."

"Thank you, Tony," she said, closed her eyes and rested the side of her face on his chest.

They remained quiet for a while, dancing to the silent music until Tony spoke up. "Do you feel like planning another wedding?"

"Why?"

"My dad is proposing to Trish this weekend."

Pepper pulled away from Tony with shocked eyes and a wide smile on her face. "Are you serious? You're joking, right? No? You serious? You are serious! Oh, my God!"

"Yeah," Tony chuckled, never growing tired of Pepper's constant questioning. "He showed me the ring and everything."

"Oh, wow! That's just amazing, Tony. I'm so happy they really hit it off."

"Well, how couldn't they? Trish has been in the company forever; she practically took care of me and my dad after my mom died. Might as well get some in exchange, huh?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"TONY! Seriously!" She slapped him on the chest. "Did you suddenly become obsessed with sex or something? Why do you turn everything into that?"

"Not everything," he rolled his eyes. "Besides, what do you expect me to think about when I see you walking around in those tight outfits you wear now?"

"They are not meant to entice you, Stark. They just fit best under the Mandarin armor. I've already explained this to you."

"I know you have, and I've heard you, but my explanation is much better than yours."

"Your explanation being?"

"That you're trying to entice me." He insisted with a look that said he absolutely believed what he had just said.

Pepper sighed. "I think you need a cold shower, Stark. You really need to calm down the hormones."

"Huh…" Tony pursed his lips. "Yeah, you're right. I need to cool down…but so do you…"

"What…Tony…no…no!"

Before she could continue protesting, Tony grabbed Pepper by her hips, loaded her onto his shoulder and then jumped inside the pool with her in tow. Once inside the pool he released Pepper, and the two of them quickly rose to the surface for air. Pepper was glaring at him like never before, and it was then that Tony remembered he was wearing a dry-wash only tux.

"Oh, shit. Pepper, I forgot."

"You…you…Tony…Stark…" she said as she swam toward him, shivering like mad because the water was cold. It was December, after all. "Look at what you've done! Do you know how long it took me to find that tux for you? What the hell are you supposed to wear to your dad's wedding now?"

"Uhm, my armor?"

"Ugh!" The redhead began walking toward the stairs of the pool. "Yeah, real cute, Tony. Maybe your dad should wear the Space Armor again, and Trish the Artic suit and I can wear the Mandarin outfit. It sounds real nice."

"Now that you say it like that, it really does!" He agreed in an obviously mocking tone before he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to him. "Where are you going, Pepper? I'm right here."

"That's…t-that's…" she took in a deep breath to control her shivering. "That's why I'm heading the other way."

"Aw, come on, Pep. Where's your sense of adventure? Or… romance …" he added in a whisper as he rolled the tip of his nose down her exposed neck. The ginger was not sure if she was still shivering because of the cold or if it was because of what Tony's hands were doing to her under the water.

"Tony…stop…"

"Why?" He kissed her on the lips.

"You…you know why…"

Sadly, he did know why: the damn decision he was yet to make. The reason why Pepper refused to take their relationship to the next level until he committed to being the Mandarin or letting one of their kids become one, completely against their will, power or control.

"If you're not serious about it, Tony, you should tell me right now. I don't mind being the Mandarin that much anymore."

"But it's not fair, Pepper. It's not fair that you are forced to live like this."

"Just as it wasn't fair that you had to live your life for a while with an arc reactor in your chest."

"It's not the same. Having a reactor embedded in my chest affected only me."

"Is that what you think? That it only affected you? Tony, it killed me to see you being so close to death when your reactor was drained by the suit, and I know Rhodey was worried sick too. Nothing that happened to you ever only hurt you."

"That doesn't make the decision any easier, Pep."

"It never is, Tony." She responded to him before she got them both out of the water and onto the edge of the pool, and then dried up their clothes, all with the power of the rings. "It never is."

"It would seem so," he said before he silently followed her up to their room.