Hello! My second Pepperony one shot in a week! O-o I don't know where this is coming, but while my brain keep working I'll write haha
For anyone who already read "Iron Baby", this one shot would be a small supplement/or sequel as you prefer to call. Hope you enjoy and let your review! ( please remember that Portuguese is my first language, please don't be mean to me :[ )
Happy reading!
One shot – Toy Story
Pepper never felt so scared in her life. No, not afraid. Worse than fear; dread. What could be worse than the feeling of something strange in the spine, something that rises to the chest and hurts? The sinking heart. The heart asking to relax, but the one who owns this heart wasn't worried about the heartbeat, her concern was worse than that. Her concern was to find him.
Where? She wondered. Pepper walked desperate by the huge corridors, but all she found was even more people to her side, preventing her from breathing, preventing her from seeing.
Pepper thought that she never ever feel something so extreme like she already felt with Tony. Like the time she found him drunk in his workshop; fainted and off-world. Like the time he disappeared for one or two nights, and when she thought calling the police, he just appeared with a smiled on his face saying that he was occupied with women. Like the time she found he depressing at certain times; and all she feared was one day find his lifeless body.
Ah! Pepper found a top fear. Tony was now Iron Man. Damn! Pepper could remember his first mission. Pepper could remember the first time he came with the face covered in blood; gasping for air and scratches everywhere in his body. She could remember when he almost died by palladium poisoning. She still remembered the worst feeling she felt in her entire life. That fear. Fear of losing him. Fear of never being able to see his cocky and sexy face. Fear of being a soul without her better half.
Pepper also remembered the time when Tony saved New York. When she saw him on TV; loading a missile on his back toward a large wormhole - not knowing whether he would return or not. This was worse than fear, dread or horror. Her mind couldn't think of a word that would define exactly what she felt that day, and she still felt it when Tony went out for missions.
What if someone kidnap him...? Pepper still couldn't get back to reality. She was among strangers; a thousand. She felt phobia. She wanted to scream.
While Pepper tried to run to check everywhere, every hole, every aisle, all restrooms and all the store, she couldn't help comparing her current feeling with which she already had felt.
It was equal. Completely equal. The difference was that this time, it was her fault.
"Virginia?" She heard someone calling her, but she was so desperate that she couldn't tell immediately who was calling her.
Pepper didn't give up. She left the entrance to the shopping mall, and returned to the main corridors; where she allegedly lost him. Her brain didn't working right, she was just acting on instinct.
Pepper only stopped when she bumped into someone - not that she hadn't already stumbled upon several people over there - but that person held her.
"My God, Virginia! Calm down!"
"HOW TO CALM DOWN?" Pepper shouted. It didn't matter if she had been polite or not. Or if people would hear her scream. She needed... she needed... she needed him.
The truth was, no one would hear her. Not in a big mall, packed with people, and in a Christmas Eve.
"Virginia, look at me... NOW " Mrs. Potts could no longer hold the feeling. She grabbed her face with both hands and did her look at her straight in the eye. "Being desperate will not help you at all, sweetheart," she said calmly.
"How can you said it?" She said almost in tears; out of the clutches of her mother and looking everywhere.
"Because I was already a mother of a child. I'm still a mother, and I'm grandmother ", she replied; too calm for Pepper. She wanted to scream. Pepper put a hand on her face, removing some tears that were already about to fall.
"Honey, you're worried for nothing", she said putting her hands on Pepper's shoulder," Let's find him. There's nowhere that he can go, and the mall is full, making it impossible for someone carry a child with almost two years old without anyone noticing."
"Mom... people knows who his father is", Pepper almost whispered.
"Therefore you should stay calm."
"That makes no sense!"
"Pepper" Mrs. Potts said in a warning tone "People will delate if they saw the son of Tony Stark being taken by a stranger inside the mall, so calm down. Take a deep breath." She said the last sentence with a deep breath and giving signal for Pepper to do the same.
"Mom…"
"Do not argue", she said and Pepper sighed; making what her mother had said.
After a while, even though nearly unperceivable, Pepper calmed a bit down; to her surprise. Now she could think.
"Better?"
"Yes ", she sighed quieter, yet the tension consuming her body.
"Now, let's look for again and not chasing something like two addicted consumer to eighty percent sale" That would have made Pepper laugh if she wasn't concerned.
"Let's... Let's check Walmart again" She said; taking her mother's hand - as if it was a talisman - and leading their up to the big store.
Pepper didn't leave nothing pass this time. Each store she passed, she did her mother to check and contact the sellers and consumers if they had seen a little boy with almost two year old, black hair and blue eyes; wearing a white dungarees and a red-black stripes shirt.
Every store they passed, Pepper had been more frustrated. The idea to call Tony and get him out of the damn SHIELD mission to threaten all people in shopping and find their son was almost dominating her mind... until, what will he think when I say that I lost our son? Pepper went into a trance. It was at that moment that she realized something familiar.
Pepper was standing in front of a huge toy store, and it seemed that more than half of the mall was there, but that wasn't what caught her attention.
Pepper was staring at the floor in inertia state. She could see the walls of glass that was full of kids, perhaps even more than in the first-floor; children taking and asking their parents all the toys they wanted for Christmas. But her eyes were fixed on a certain little boy who was sitting on the floor with a toy box in hand.
It was an automatic reaction. She just entered the huge store like she was deaf, like the screams and high conversations not bothered her. When she came in, she lost the vision that saved her terror; taking her desperate again. Pepper climbed the stairs to the second-floor as fast as she could, and then she sighed with real relief.
The little boy didn't seem bothered to be alone, in fact, he wasn't alone. He was too busy playing with other children near him, as he was busy watching the toys that caught his attention in that sector.
Then he looked to his right position and saw one of his favorite people in the world. He didn't know her name; he not even knew how to pronounce. But he knew he liked her. He knew he loved when she took him in her lap and showed him pictures he deemed interesting. He knew he loved when she kissed him or play with him. He knew he loved just when she took him in the crib and stared at him. He didn't help a big smile as he watched her. Slowly, he stood up – in a funny way - and bent down to pick up the box that caught his attention since he saw it.
Pepper couldn't hold the laughter and a genuine smile when she saw he running up showing his two front teeth.
"Da-ddy" She heard him mumble. Pepper at first, shrugged off his words, as she had just found her baby after 40 minutes of looking hopelessly for him; and the fact that he was a highly communicative child, uttering "blah", "Hm " and "didoo " all 24/7 days.
Pepper saw the box he showed her. It was an Iron Man toy.
"Da…Da-ddy" He mumbled again indulging the box to her.
Pepper was in shock when she hear someone behind her.
"Oh my God! I heard that?" She knew it was her mother's voice going into a state of excitement and happiness at the same time. That made Pepper wake up from her trance. She still looked in shock at her child - warmth and happiness filling her – when she bent his height and she touched his cheek.
"My god, Luke! What did you say?" She asked looking him straight in the eyes.
"Da-ddy, Da-ddy", He mumbled again pointing to the Iron Man toy.
"It's his first word", Pepper muttered low, but demonstrating a deep emotion.
Pepper didn't hold herself too long and grabbed the toy from his hand, pointing to the toy and asking him again; just to be sure.
"Baby, who is he?" She asked in a childlike voice.
"Da-ddy" He said with a smile and pointing the toy with his little finger. Pepper couldn't help the excitement and hugged his tightly, without realizing her force on him.
"For God's sake, Pepper. I want my grandson alive", Joked Mrs. Potts taking the toy in her hands while Pepper hugged and kissed the little Luke Stark on all possible sides, making him laugh.
"Never, ever, ever do that to me again" She said looking him serious, even though he didn't understand.
"Da-ddy" He kept mumbling as he stirred his little hands everywhere.
Kirsten Potts looked at the toy in her hands, then Pepper, and then her only grandson. "I think some billionaire is wearing a suit and appearing up for someone", She said shaking her head in a fun way when Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Oh, what was that Virginia? Jealousy by Luke say 'Daddy' first instead of 'Mommy' ?", She arched an eyebrow sarcastically.
"Just because Tony spends more time with him than me" She huffed annoyed, but still ecstatic to be with her child in her arms.
Luke stretched his little hands towards the toy; wanting it. Kirsten realized the desire of her grandson and removed the toy from the box to him finally play with his Christmas gift.
"Someone will be unbearable this Christmas", she said not holding her laughter to Pepper when she saw the little boy trying to take the Iron Man mask out.
Luke's forehead was furrowed in frustration and Pepper laughed when she realized what he was trying to do.
"Dadd" He said angrily as he continued his attempts to remove the mask of his new toy. Pepper took his hands and looked into his eyes, "Baby, don't has a way to take the mask out, you'll put its head out."
"Let him" Kirsten said playfully when approached to Luke. The little boy didn't care his hands were trapped, he struggled on Pepper and she loosen his hands back and he try again to remove the mask.
Pepper give a long kiss on his forehead before muttering,"Seriously, will you up your dad's ego like that?" She asked seriously making her mom laugh uncontrollably.