Sooo, I managed to write this while still on holiday (a big house on the top of a hill surrounded by nature is a good place to write). Kudos to y'all for waiting so patiently and liking the previous chapter.
Barefoot Beach Bum (what's the story behind that name, btw?), wooow, yes, that was right. :-D Do you mean the "Ich liebte sie" in regards to Pepper and Tony, or the chapter, because then it has to be "es" instead of "sie". FuyuSarah, haha, I didn't even think about that. I'm not good at smut (miserable at best), so I can't really write that aspect in detail, but I do think that Tony misses Pepper, A LOT, but Pepper seems too distracted with everything and thus pretty oblivious to poor Tony's needs. But hey, at least he gets some in this chapter, good for you, Tony.
Flashback time - and of the happy variety (at least a little bit, I'm evil)! And poor Bruce, I feel u, bro. As always, R&R n all that stuff.
(Also, for the historical stuff, see Frederick the Great, soldier king of Prussia and weird dude who introduced potatoes to germans and prussians. He also just used to plant potatoes everywhere and advice the guards to allow the prussian population to steal them, and I thought that was hilarious back in school)
It's Pepper Potts' first year in her new job at Stark Industries and she has already assaulted a bodyguard (earning herself a new nickname), received many new skills (including 'how to make Tony Stark buy things' which is by saying they're expensive) and the occasional flirty glances of her boss. It's a great position with many opportunities, way better than her last job, but at days like this, everything is a drag – like the fact that To- Mr. Stark ("No, I am not going to call you Tony, Mr. Stark.") still hasn't signed the papers she gave him weeks ago. And the fact that she has to check up on him just for him to do his responsibility – billionaires and their big ego.
The minute Pepper steps into the mansion, she knows there's something up. He must've had someone (a female someone) over, judging by the fact that there are clothes lying everywhere (and no, that is not jealousy what she's feeling, not even a little bit). That's not what puts her at edge, though. It's the silence.
"Mr. Stark, are you here?" Someone responds by giggling and shyly stepping out of the huge bedroom. Twins. Of course.
She won't let the two naked women in front of her startle her though, after all, she's a professional. She wouldn't be working for him if she couldn't handle this. "Pepper Potts, I'm Tony Stark's personal assistant. Do you know where he is?" Giggles, again. Pepper is starting to get annoyed.
"Still in bed," one of them responds and pushes her sister, the giggler, forward. "We're just gonna … get dressed and then go …"
"Yes, that'd be appreciated," Pepper murmurs and waits for the twins to leave before going into unknown territory – Tony Stark's bedroom.
It's dark, thank god. She doesn't want to look at the aftermath of the previous night, especially if the rest of the house is any indication. "Mr. Stark? Are you awake?" she begins, suddenly unsure of herself.
There is a faint movement on the edge of the bed. "Mhhhh?"
"I have some papers you have to sign, in regards to the property you own in Malibu," she continues and wants to open the curtains when he suddenly jerks forward and grabs her delicate hands with his cold ones. "They were due last week …" His face is metres from hers and she's sweating a little bit (just the temperature of the room).
"Don't," he barely brings out. "Don't turn on the lights, I'm …"
"You're having a hangover, I've noticed." Her voice is hard and absolute, it makes him shrink together like she just beat him. This isn't his typical hangover self; something's different, she can tell. She just doesn't know what. "What's wrong? Aren't you feeling alright?"
"I'm a mess, Potts." He tries to position himself back on the bed, but falls on the floor instead. Pepper can't tell if he's crying or laughing hysterically. She figures both.
"Why are you a mess, Tony?" The professional in her is rebelling at the first name, but it seems to reassure Tony. So much that a smile tugs at the side of his face.
"It's just … this day … don't like work, let's not talk 'bout it, k?"
And suddenly, she remembers. It's the day. The one day of the year every single one of her colleagues threatens, because that's when Tony's at his worst. It's the anniversary of the day Howard and Maria Stark were killed in a car accident. There is no preparation for newbies, no brochure called 'the days Tony Stark does weird angsty shit'. Still, she should've known.
"Oh," is all she says. She gets him, has lost both of her parents as well. But her parents loved and cared for her, and with Howard she's not so sure.
"Do you have parents?" He sounds so desperate that she feels like she owes him a big hug. She doesn't, clears her throat instead.
"Used to, yes."
"I'm sorry."
It's her time to smile now. "Don't be, it's not your fault." She knows what to do with him, the same thing she does on her parent's death anniversaries – she just needs him to come with her.
"Whoa, what're you doin'?" His body reeks of alcohol and sex, and he rejects her stretched out hand. Pepper just grabs hold of his arms instead and lifts him off the ground (bless her morning jog).
"Come on, Stark, you need a shower and new clothes," she says to him and smiles. This is familiar, she can handle this. "And afterwards, I've got just the thing to make you feel better." His eyebrows shoot up. "Not that. It's a surprise."
"I dunno ..." His feet somehow manage the walk to the bathroom door with her help (god knows how, he should be in a coma by now).
"Oh, come on, I'll feel miserable if I let you rot in here!"
Her tactic works. "Hmmm, fine. If that'll make you feel better, I'll be a generous boss."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark." She opens the door for him. "Now hurry, you're going to have to do the showering by yourself."
"Are you shitting me?" Tony's face is a mix of annoyance and amusement, eyeing the thing in front of him with suspiciousness. "I think I'm a bit too old for … ice cream." At least he doesn't look like death himself anymore, that's an improvement. And she's willing to play along if that'll keep him distracted.
"It's not ice cream, it's ice cupcakes." She replies with a huge smile on her face. "Whenever I felt sad over something, my dad would take me here. The restaurant's famous for their ice cupcakes, they're delicious." With the rolling of her eyes she adds: "And not poisonous."
"And eating weird stuff is supposed to help me how?" Still not convinced; she knew that. "I could've done that at home, and I wouldn't have to wear pants."
"Locking yourself in the mansion is not the best way to cope with these sorts of things." Taking a bite out of her own, she feels like Frederick the Great, eating potatoes enthusiastically in front of peasants to show them just how delicious they were. The thought of Tony Stark being her peasant makes her giggle a little. "And besides, you refused to go to your parent's grave, so this is the second option. Now, eat your food."
Miraculously, he starts eating and eats more and more and fast. So fast that soon both of his cupcakes have disappeared (every last bit) and he's holding his stomach like a grandpa. "That was great, I should buy this restaurant."
The jokes gives him a light laugh of hers and he grins at his own success. During any other day, Pepper would feel uncomfortable, but right now, it's just what both of them need. The property's not that important.
"Thanks, Pepper." He starts when her laughter subsides. "For being my friend," even though you're not supposed to and we both know I make it hard, "and for taking me here. If you want to make it a tradition, I can arrange one of my bodyguards to catch us some of those every year."
"You're very welcome, Tony."
Because despite everything, despite his tremendous ego and her control kink, they still managed to become friends. And in the end, that's all that matters.
Pepper awoke abruptly, blinking her vision free of the blurriness that was filling her head. Her head moved around. No fire, she wasn't dead yet either. 'Where am I?' Then she remembered – grocery shopping, with Tony, and falling asleep in the car. 'He must've taken me to the bed.' She looked down on herself. 'And dressed me into pyjamas …'
Her mind was still dizzy when she planted her feet on the ground and went out of hers and Tony's bedroom. From afar, she could smell something, someone cooking in the kitchen and the thought of Tony trying to make omelettes and possibly burning the whole building down in the process made her feet go faster and the blood drain out of her face. She exclaimed a quiet prayer while practically running to the kitchen. And she was right – he was in the kitchen. But he wasn't the one doing the cooking.
"Bruce, you're here early!" Her face lit up, she felt like hugging him senseless for coming when she asked. Bruce and her weren't that friendly with each other, but they both belonged to the club Bruce so funnily on his first day at Stark Tower had called 'People who have to deal with Tony Stark's shit' (the list of members grew daily) – she found it was rather fitting.
From the smell and sound of it, he was making her bacon and eggs, which made her stomach signal its discomfort over being completely empty. "Actually, honey, he isn't," Tony came up from behind him, dressed in his Black Sabbath T-Shirt and a black jeans. "You slept through a whole day. I didn't want to wake you."
"I … did?" He nodded and his expression filled with something she couldn't quite memorize. Until it all came back to her – no nightmares and no panic attacks. The memories had been a welcome (and much needed) change and they'd worked. Pepper had just spend 24 hours with sleeping and she didn't remember the day she had felt so awake and good, she didn't want it to stop. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and his followed her shortly.
"And without my help." Proud, he was proud of her. She rarely saw that side of him and he did look better today as well. Maybe they would get through this sooner than they had originally thought. "What did you dream about? 'Cause I distinctively remember you drooling."
"Ice cupcakes." He grinned at her, seemingly remembering the same memories she did, and took her in his arms. They just stood there for a few minutes before remembering that they had a visitor, who was now standing awkwardly in front of them. And who also had a new haircut, Pepper only just noticed.
"Bruce, you've cut your hair," she exclaimed to break the tension.
Bruce seemed to welcome it with open arms. "Yeah, I've had this accident with fire in Kolkata, so it was necessary."
"I like it." He smiled at her, but his eyes also showed concern. He hadn't forgotten their little exchange and what kind of doctor would he be if he didn't show concern.
"No, you don't," Tony said. "You're just trying to make him feel better. It sucks ass."
"I'm not here for hair tips, Stark." His expression must've made every member of the PwhtdwTSs club (too long, they needed to talk about that) proud.
"Well, that's a shame."
"I'll leave you two alone and unpack all my things." He wandered (or ran) towards the stairs when Tony decided to show his girlfriend just how proud he was of her. But before completely disappearing, he shouted: "Pepper, once you're ready, I hope I can have a word with you."
Pepper nodded but was soon distracted by Tony Stark and his lips and tongue. Also, somehow her body urged his hands to move forward already and stop resting on her waist, exploring her body like he used to – part of her wondered if that was Extremis, the other part oh god, Tony …
His wide grin gave her enough room to slowly break free, but not before biting his lower lip a little bit, to show him that he'd just been a dick to his friend. "That was rude," she whispered while he was occupied with the soft spot underneath her ear. His response was a muffled 'Hmm'. The room temperature seemed to increase immensely. Pepper really didn't give a damn. "If you keep on going like this, I might melt us both."
"I'll take my chances."