**Guess what? I still own nothing!**
Wow! I never thought I would get so much interest in this story and just within 1 day. Thank you! You guys are great :)
Pip's Point of View
Philip 'Pip' Potts, glared at the SHIELD agent who shared his name, wanting to do nothing else but throttle the man. Or maybe throw him out of the window – any window, he had a whole wall of them to choose from after all. Or maybe both. Throttle him and then throw him out the window to go SPLAT on the pavement.
He clenched his fists trying to keep himself from doing either. He knew that for some reason Toni liked the guy and he knew that the open rudeness and hostility he was displaying was already upsetting and confusing her enough.
But if SHIELD thought they were going to put his girl, his charge, in danger again after things had just begun to settle down they had another thing coming. It was not happening if he could help it.
She was a kid, a very smart one who had gone through things that would break an adult, but still a kid.
"Is this about that foolish Avengers idea?" he saw Phil's eyes sharpen on him before darting to Toni and back again. He bit back the scoffing laugh at the surprise on the agent's face. There was very little that Toni didn't tell him eventually and he felt proud of the fact that she trusted him enough to do that – after the number that Obadiah had pulled on her he found it a miracle that she trusted anyone still.
He still couldn't stop the guilt from rising up in him like bile when he remembered the twisted man who had tried to kill Toni. Just how hadn't he seen the signs?
"Which I of course know nothing about," he smiled at the other Philip.
"Nah, it was scrapped right Phil?" he looked over at Toni, her small frame leaning over the board, her hands flying around as she linked up the PAD. She paused in her work and looked over at them, smiling. "Besides, I thought I wasn't team material. I'm too volatile, self-obsessed and I don't play well with others," she laughed, her face glowing brighter than the reactor in her chest.
Pip knew that the psych report was something that Agent Coulson and Fury had doctored to have her stricken from the agenda when they had found out the truth. If she were part of any team her gender wouldn't be a secret for long and although he thought letting the cat out of the bag wouldn't be a bad thing he knew that the idea freaked her out.
"I'm sorry Miss Stark, but this isn't about personality profiles anymore,"
Pip watched as both the smile and the colour faded from her face.
"Then what the hell is it about!" he snapped. He didn't like being half in the dark where things about Toni where concerned.
"Pip! A moment please," Toni's voice was sharp and he knew his attitude was upsetting her.
He sighed heavily. He didn't want to upset her but he did not want SHIELD getting their claws into her and dragging her out to perform when they needed only to shove her back in the box when they didn't. She was worth more than that; she was worth more than being made to fight battles she had not started. And let's face it. Coulson was not there to pick her brains – they no doubt had whole buildings filled with people to do the thinking at SHIELD.
He stood beside her, his tall frame dwarfing her slight onE and she looked up at him, frowning.
"What on earth is the matter with you? The guys is just trying to do his job and you are growling at him like a grizzly on day one after hibernation,"
He took a deep breath, trying not to transfer his anger at the agent onto her.
"He is bad news Toni. He equals mortal peril. Have a look at this," he stabbed at the PAD "And tell me I am wrong,"
She threw him a mutinous look before flicking her fingers on the screen and enlarging the data. Images landed at the data points of the room.
She froze and he felt a surge of justification.
Videos played around them and his blood froze in his veins. He recognised two of the subjects in the videos. Captain America – he knew all about the involvement of Toni's father in the super soldier experiment. And then there was the giant green man-thing. Hulk. SHIELD wanted Toni – his little Toni - to be involved with these people.
"Woe, OK, no you are not wrong," she whispered, the videos flashing in her eyes.
"See. Now just switch this off and send the nice little agent on his way," he encouraged her but all she did was continue to scan the screens. He knew that look. He imagined that was the kind of look Alice sported before popping the cork on the 'Drink Me' bottle.
"Pip this is serious. Besides, Phil looks pretty shaken by whatever it is," she hissed, finally looking away from the videos and looking at him.
In his mind that made it all worse. The agent was a pretty cool character and he didn't want Toni anywhere near anything that could a) flatten a tank, or b) shake the unshakable SHIELD agent – there was of course a whole alphabet full of 'Toni's not to do's' (including, don't experiment with the cat food) but a and b had just been replaced.
"Exactly! That makes this all worse. And why is he Phil?" Toni was addressing the other man far too informally for his liking.
"Pip, stop it, please" she snapped lowly at him, looking quickly over his shoulder to check on the agent. But he knew that Coulson was far too polite – or well trained – to act like he could hear them even if he clearly could.
"Toni-"
"I could help. Why are you acting like this?"
He ran a hand through his hair trying to stay calm.
"I can only handle you having a near death experience so many times Toni and you quota for the rest of your life is up," he told her and he watched as her frown softened at his words. She was like his own daughter – he had been her carer since she was 8 and one of her holo-doubles when needed until she was old enough to handle it herself – he couldn't just stand by and watch her do something dangerous without saying something.
Her little scarred hand rubbed up and down his tense arm.
"Please don't do this. Let me make my own decision,"
She looked at him pleadingly and he knew what she was really saying. Don't rule my life like Obadiah did. Ever since she was a child the man had made all of the important decisions for her, keeping her at home in that lab designing new merchandise like a trained monkey. That was until he had convinced her that a trip to see her weapons in actions would do her good… She had told Pip repeatedly that she did not want to go – at sixteen she was not sure she could handle pretending to be a thirty-five year old man for a long period of time – something she had to thank her chauvinist of a father for. He should have stuck up for her more, allowed her to decide but he had thought getting out of the lab would benefit her…and then look what happened.
"And what decision would you make?" he sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his eyes tiredly. He knew he should be grateful she was even considering his feeling on this. Despite how he felt, he wasn't her father, and she was more than in her rights to tell him to shut up and send him in his way.
"My decision is that I think I have some homework to do," she smiled that smile that could melt the frostiest of hearts and he nodded his head in defeat.
"Fine, Toni, but for the record I am not happy with this,"
"I know you aren't," she told his softy, squeezing his hand, "But thank you,"
He pulled her into his arm, she stiffened momentarily before relaxing, her arms wrapping around his middle tightly.
"I don't want to see anything happen to you, kid," he spoke into her hair.
She squeezed his waist tighter before moving back.
"I am just going to be doing some research Pip. That is all for right now. Doing a little digging won't kill me,"
He didn't believe her for a minute. He knew that if she felt she could do something she would be in the suit and out the window before he could say 'do you have your lunch money'. And now that he knew Captain America was part of the equation he didn't think he could trust her to keep a calm head.
"Ok kid, but just remember to keep me in the loop," he gave her the 'don't ignore me this time' look but he knew it was pointless. She would do what she would do no matter what. He was an idiot to think he ever had a say in anything – but he appreciated her acting like he did.
He went straight for the elevator picking up his rucksack under the coffee table on the way.
"Need a ride?" Agent Coulson asked.
Why not have the government give him a lift? It would save on the cab fare.
"Going by LeGuardia?" he might as well go to DC tonight since the celebration had been cut short and he had everything he needed in the bag anyway so he didn't need to go home.
"Sure, I can drop you," why did the guy have to be so damn civil after he had just been anything but. Must be the super-secret-operative training.
"Hey Phil, how's it going with the cellist?" Toni shouted from where she was squinting at the board.
Cellist?
They got into the elevator.
"She moved back to Portland," Agent Coulson called back, pressing the button for the garage.
"Man that sucks," drifted to them as the elevator doors rolled shut with a soft thud leaving the two men in a tense silence.
As you guys can no doubt tell 'Pip' is the 'Pepper' of the story – although there will be NO romance between the 2. He is only the carer/protector/nanny for Toni. Hopefully this chapter has cleared up – at least a little – why Pip is acting the way he is.
Toodles! :)