When A Bright Idea Dims
By Sinead

Author's Note: MONACO! Yeah. Me? Make the Monaco act fit into one chapter? Ha! Not likely. Not even the novelization fit it into one chapter! Then again, I like to drag things out a little, add in my own flair to things. We'll get back to the romance after the action. Sorry about the lack of an update. I had this written, had to go through it and edit it, and then I got a quasi-promotion at work where my hours are increased (thank God), but since I'm training myself for the position, I'm exhausted when I get home and don't want to write. So this has been sitting on my harddrive for the last . . . month, almost a month and a half. The only creative inspiration that I had expressed had been for playing with clay.

Many apologies for the wait! Please forgive me!

Chapter Four

"Can we make this go faster?" Tony was eager to be schmoozing with the big names. He was beyond happy. They had set a date for their wedding, sent out a save-the-date, and had even gotten a couple replies to the new email account that they had set up just for this occasion, asking if it was a shotgun wedding because Tony had gotten pregnant.

Tony. Not Becka.

Tony was the only person not laughing at that question. Becka did. She found it ironic.

"No, sir, we're part of a motorcade. That means that we go at the pace that they've set." Happy was driving safely, enjoying going at a slower pace than what he normally drove at for his boss.

"Balls." Sitting back, Tony wrapped his arm around Becka's shoulders, smiling and leaning over to kiss her cheek, resting his nose against her cheekbone and breathing in the scent of her. She was wearing some light perfume, something invigorating and yet grounded. It smelled like it had been created just for her, to her desires and specifications. "Mm. Where did you get this scent?"

"Discount rack at a department store. It looked interesting."

"Really? What is it?" He took another deep breath of the smell.

"The Star Trek perfume called Pon Farr."

Tony pulled back, staring at her. "No."

"Yeah. Smells fantastic, doesn't it?"

"Geek."

"Pot calling the kettle black?"

Grinning like a schoolboy, Tony knew that he was going to piss Pepper off in about five minutes the moment that they rolled up to the Hotel De Paris, where the rich and famous (or just rich) were drinking and enjoying pre-gaming in high-class glory. Getting out of the Rolls Royce, he held his hand out to help Becka out, who was looking fantastic in a red and black cocktail dress. It was cut in a soft fashion, showed off just the right curves, left things to the imagination, and her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail to show off her graceful neck. She wore low but sophisticated heels, which seemed odd to Tony, but didn't question it. They pulled the outfit together, since they were of a delicate design.

They posed for cameras, Tony flashing a peace sign and Becka waving to a few people who were intent upon getting her attention. She smiled brightly, and once Pepper and Happy moved around the car to follow them in, she muttered in an aside, "Does Pepper know who arrived here before us to make preparations?"

"Not. A. Clue."

"She's gonna kill you."

"Yeah. Probably." But Tony was grinning as they walked through the doors. Happy left their group at the door to the lounge, moving to a place where he could grab a quick smoke, his hand holding on tightly to the football.

The football was a suitcase-looking red and silver block of metal that could fold out into a portable Iron Man suit. It wasn't great, it wasn't fancy, and there were bugs that Tony was working out on it, but aside from all the trouble, it should do in a pinch. Hopefully, it could even do more than just minimal damage to an opponent, but Tony would just have to field-test it and find out. He brought it along just as insurance. Being without his armor anywhere off of US soil made him itchy and nervous. He turned to Pepper. "Now, just to make sure, whatever happens in the next twenty minutes, just go with it."

"Go with it?" the new Stark CEO asked in a half-panic.

"Like go with that."

They were greeted in another woman in red, only her outfit was a bit more bold and sexy. Rebeckah wanted to take her out back and tell her that when one says "less is more," they weren't talking about clothing.

"Mr. Stark! Hello, how was your flight?" Natalie asked with a smile aimed only at her boss. Becka knew how to fake a smile. It was all in the eyes. So she faked being happy to see Natalie, just like Natalie faked being happy to be seeing Becky.

"It was excellent, thank you."

"It's nice to see you," Becky added on. "I don't speak French and have no desire to learn unless I have to move to France."

"Then I'll be happy to assist you as well, Ms. Fahey. There's a photographer here from the Associated Press who would like to take your picture."

Tony couldn't wait for people to call Becka as "Mrs. Stark" in his presence. That would be absolutely fantastic. He moved so that he was between Pepper and his woman, posing naturally as if they were talking and smiling at each other, not at odds at all.

"When did this happen?" Pepper asked through her smile. "When?"

"You made me do it," he replied as Becky turned to smile directly at the camera a beat before the other two did.

"You quit. Smile." They turned to face the camera in unison, still smiling and looking for all the world like they were happy with each other. "Stop acting constipated."

"You are so predictable."

"Don't flare your nostrils."

Becka watched as Pepper grabbed her drink and the photographer walked off. Natalie outlined the day's schedule for them while they smiled and nodded to the other rich people in the lounge. When Tony demanded to have the corner table, Becka muttered, "So is there anyone here that we need to keep an eye out for?"

"Hammer. Remember what I did to him in the Senate hearing?"

"Yeah. He wasn't too happy that he was manipulated like that."

"Yeah. I do not like that man. He cuts corners and doesn't field test half as much as he should. His work is shoddy, and he's a terrible salesman to boot. His personality is worse than mine."

"Considering the rumors I've heard that he's had to pay for nightly companionship, I'd have to agree with you."

"Are we going to have this talk about my sexual history in public?"

"Nope. Private. Tonight. I need to know things."

"Which you are entirely entitled to, darling. Pepper, are you okay? You want a massage? I can have Natalie make an appointment. I don't want you to be tense."

Becka fell in step beside Pepper as they made their way to the bar, possibly for Tony to order a drink of his choosing, as well as for Becka to do the same. She didn't like most of the hard-alcohol and didn't like tasting it if it was avoidable, preferring light-on-tequila margaritas.

"Oh, I don't want Natalie to do a thing for me," came the new CEO's reply in a level, calm voice. That was something Tony prided her on. She was great at this kind of stuff. You know, not showing too much emotion when any other woman would be snarling and throwing a hissy fit.

"Green is not a great color on you."

"Please, will you stop?"

Becka's eyes widened very slightly as she saw a face that she hadn't wanted to see. "Tony. You jinxed it."

"I what?" He genuinely looked confused.

"Anthony! Is that you?"

He knew that obnoxious voice anywhere. "My least favorite person in the world, Justin Hammer."

"How ya doin'? You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car or women following in his wake."

"Careful what you say about my fiancé and my CEO. They're not women to be trifled with." Tony was smiling as he said it, but his words were as firm as steel.

Hammer didn't pay that any attention. "You know Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair?"

Some things didn't get to some women. However, there was one thing that would get to every woman on the face of the earth, and that was facing down a former fling of a current lover. Cracking her knuckles carefully under the din of the bar, the Bostonian woman was about to play some dirty cards.

Pepper heard the clicks and knew that if she didn't say or do something to diffuse the situation, there was going to be a full-on problem. Tony was often oblivious to the machinations of women or how they reacted to some things.

"Hi," Pepper said calmly, hoping that if she interrupted this before it happened, there wouldn't be blood to clean off of the expensive carpets.

"Yes. Roughly." Tony turned, ignoring Pepper's attempt at dissolving the looming confrontation, his back moving like it was welded in a straight line. He rested his arm around his fiancé's waist at that moment, holding on to her carefully, nonverbally warning her that this was something he could handle and was going to do so because he didn't want Becka to deal with it. He and Pep would show her the dance of politics and double-edged words that celebrities and wannabe celebrities used.

Justin pointed to Pepper, using his hand to accentuate the syllables of "Bee-Tee-Double-You," and he dropped his hand, "the big story, the new CEO of Stark Industries. Congratulations."

"Oh, thank you," Pepper Potts replied, smiling and nodding, none too happy to see this man.

"My editor will kill me if I don't get a quote from you for our Powerful Women issue."

"Oh. Sure, we can arrange that."

"She's actually doing a big spread on me in Vanity Fair, and I thought I'd throw her a bone."

Tony watched carefully with the expression on his face of aloof disbelief before shaking his head and gently squeezing Becka closer to his side. Hammer just opened himself up for a volley of insults that he just wouldn't say in public.

"Oh really? She did quite the spread on Tony last year . . ."

"And she did a story, as well."

"I've the feeling she did better work on the story," Becka said with a smile. "I read it on the plane before my own stint in a cave. Decent quality work."

"You know, you're right," Tony said with a grin. "Think she could help me write my autobiography?"

"Will this be before or after vodka?"

"I can't handle Russian products for some reason," Tony explained, smiling. "They just don't agree with my system."

"I'm going to go to the washroom." Pepper excused herself before the conversation turned more sour.

"I'll join you," the younger woman said, which clearly left Tony in a panic.

"Don't leave me," Tony begged under his breath, mask of confidence still in place.

Smiling and sauntering off behind the stalking CEO, Becky knew that any more time around Everhart and she'd kill something, blow a fuse, or say something that would brand her in the public eye for all of time. One thing she had learned from Tony's vast amount of experience was "watch out what you say to any member of the press or media."

Once in the washroom, Pepper sighed explosively. "I'm gonna kill him. Did you know about Natalie?"

"Yes. And I told him that I don't want to see her more than twice a week."

"Great. You know he's not going to listen."

As Pepper cooled off, Becka leaned against the cool wall of the expensive bathroom. Her voice lowered. "Is it just me or has he been slipping?"

"You mean into his old persona? Yeah. He's been doing that."

"Why would he? What could cause him to be more impulsive and scattered than usual?" Turning to a mirror to check and make sure that her makeup was still in place, the almost-Stark leaned her hands on the marble ledge, staring into her own eyes as if she could find the answer.

"I think it has to do with whatever he's not telling us."

"That's what I was thinking, too." Drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Rebeckah straightened and looked at herself before turning to the woman she greatly respected and admired. "So what do we do? You've known him longer. What can we do?"

"Move along at his pace and help him the best that we can in hopes that he figures out whatever it is that's driving him insane, then be open with us. As CEO, I can't have Stark's greatest asset go rogue. So we have to work with him in order to try to guide him into such a place that he'll trust one of us." Pepper paused, then added, "And hopefully, everything would work out fine by that point."

When they walked back out to the lounge, Tony was nowhere in sight, but Natalie guided them over to their corner table, leaving them to stand a few feet away for privacy. Neither gave the missing man much thought until they saw him again.

Only now, it was on the television screens.