Affairs of the Heart

Tony & Pepper, Ironman

June 19th 2018

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Ironman and/or Marvel. I just enjoy playing with them.

Chapter Three

The next day came too soon and Pepper was dismayed to find that her apartment building was swarmed with photographers and reporters, all waiting for their chance to bombard her about the photo that she was sure had gone viral overnight. Stubbornly, she had refused to go online to see the chaos unfolding, so she had no idea what anyone was saying yet.

Since she technically had nowhere to be, she resigned herself to being cooped up in her home and hoped that they would grow tired of standing around and waiting. She briefly thought about going door to door to apologize to her neighbours and felt a prickle of frustration, dismissing it almost as quickly. What normal person had to go apologizing to their neighbours because they just started dating someone? She knew deep down that this was what she'd signed up for when she took the job she did all those years ago, being in the public eye and being with Tony only meant it would get worse.

"Better get used to it," she sighed, dragging herself to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. She took her time for once, not having the usual pressure to answer emails and field calls at the same time. Once she was done, she stood in her living room and took a look around, unsure of what to do next. She didn't actually want to stay in her apartment all day long. Biting her lip, she walked out onto her balcony and peeked over the edge to see if the crowd had thinned out at all.

If anything, the amount of people had increased and it only took her a second to realize why. An extremely familiar car was parked at the entrance to the building. Right then, she heard a loud knock and she made her way to the front door quickly, not surprised in the slightest to see Tony standing on the other side, his signature smirk splashed across his face.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're supposed to be at work!"

"I was on my way there and I heard the news... Your address is officially public knowledge if it wasn't before." He scratched his goatee, smiling apologetically. "So I came to take you to the mansion. Then I'm going into work."

"Why would I go to the mansion? And how did you even get in?"

He looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Your building has some of the most lax security I've ever seen. You're safer at the house. You're also not going to get out the front door or the garage without trouble... I'm not sure if you noticed the party waiting for you downstairs. At least at the house, you can go outside without being mauled."

She stared at him for a few seconds before sighing, knowing he was right. It would also win her some points with her aforementioned neighbours, she hoped. "Let me just get some things..." She quickly went around the apartment, gathering what she anticipated she might want throughout the day, packing it into a small bag as she went. She was surprised, to be completely honest with herself, that Tony had thought about picking her up at all. Thinking about other people wasn't usually his strong suit.

He's changed. You have to start giving him some credit.

"Okay. Ready." He stepped out of the doorway to let her pass and she quickly locked the door. "So what are they saying about last night?"

"Uh... Well... The usual... Gossipy things..."

"Is it that bad?" She groaned, feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment. There was a knot in her stomach now and she was starting to feel a little sick about everything. For so long, she had maintained the utmost professional relationship with Tony, stomping out the rumours for years and putting all his previous assistants to shame. And yet, she thought, here I am. The next in a long list no matter how long it took.

"Having second thoughts?" He asked, noticing the change in her expression.

She stepped into the elevator with him and forced herself relax when she saw the tiniest amount of panic in his eyes."No Tony," she said, grabbing his hand, "I'm not havng second thoughts about anything."

He nodded stiffly and let go of her hand as the doors opened to the lobby, instead placing it on her back, leading her out to the chaos. "Here we go," he murmured, pushing the front door open. Happy was there, moving to flank her other side while trying to keep the more persistent of the reporters away from her. It felt like minutes had passed instead of seconds, the shouting in her ears sounding further away than it was, but she came back to earth when someone grabbed her arm from behind and spun her around out of the grasp of both Tony and Happy.

There was a microphone inches from her face and the focused eyes of a reporter bored into hers. "Pepper Potts, do you-"

Whatever question he was about to ask was cut off as Tony shouldered in front of her and grabbed the hand the reporter held out, pushing him back away from her. "Get out of her face and don't touch her again," Tony threatened, looking over the now still and silent crowd. He turned back to her and ushered her into the now open door of the car, slamming it shut behind him. She could practically feel the tension and anger radiating off of him and tried her best to calm her own stuttering heart. She was used to being followed and occasionally harrassed by the media, but not like... that. Not a huge crowd trying to engulf her. She was just the PA, idling in the background, watching it all happen to Tony.

"How do you deal with that all the time?" She asked, disappointed to hear a slight tremor in her voice.

"That was pretty bad, Pep," Happy answered from the front seat. "Worse than normal. It's been a long time since someone got a little grabby."

Tony said nothing, staring out the window. He silence only made her nervous. A silent angry Tony was never a good thing.

"Maybe I should just come back today, I'm sure-"

"Nope."

She narrowed her eyes. "Tony, I should clean up the mess I've made! This is a big deal!"

"We made the mess together, but you're on vacation. I can handle it." He assured her, finally turning to look at her. "I'll have a press conference," he continued, ignoring her raised eyebrows, "and it'll be great. I'll set the record straight... Throw in a couple threats to the general population... Just the way I like to do things!" She could see he was still mad, so she decided to drop it, even though it killed her to bite her tongue. It was his company after all and after last night, maybe she wasn't going to be working there for much longer anyways. The board would probably have something to say about her continued employment and the nature of their relationship.

They dropped her off at the house in short order and she was left with her thoughts for the day. Assuming he makes it through an entire workday. She snorted to herself and made herself comfortable on the main balcony, soaking up the sunlight with the book she'd grabbed from home. She still hadn't turned her phone on and she figured she should keep it that way as long as possible. Vacation equals no stress.

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark would like to know what you want for dinner tonight." She jumped at the sound of Jarvis' voice, having been engrossed in her book for a few hours.

"Oh, um... He can get whatever he wants," she replied. "Jarvis, what time is it?"

"It is five oh-two in the afternoon."

She raised her eyebrows. More than a few hours. "Time flies when you're having fun."

"That is what they say."

She got up from her chair and stretched, wandering back into the much cooler house, feeling pleasantly relaxed. She never had time to read like that. Or to just sit in the sun. She eyed her phone that was sitting on the counter, deciding it was finally time to face the music before Tony and Happy arrived. She powered it on and settled onto the couch with it, waiting for the influx of messages and emails she knew were waiting for her.

Seventy-five emails. Eighteen text messages. Not as bad as she thought at least. Opening up the internet, she barely hesistated before clicking on the news tab.

'The Ten Year Chase'

'Best Kept Secret at Stark Industries'

'It would appear that Pepper "Virginia" Potts has finally given in to her baser needs as Tony Stark rises to the forefront of the international stage...'

'It's now even more questionable than before that Tony Stark's famous personal assistant was granted the position of CEO...'

She closed her eyes, her heart falling into her stomach. Feeling the sting of tears, she kept them closed and threw her phone towards the other end of the couch, trying to focus on her breathing. She had known it would go this way, there was no other way it could go. His past was very real and would always colour any relationship he formed, whether it was her or someone else.

Still, knowing that didn't ease the hurt. The embarrassment that her coworkers might think differently of her. The sadness that how she felt for him was going to be put under scrutiny.

"Miss Potts, I am detecting an elevated heart rate and physical symptoms indicating distress," Jarvis announced. "Shall I notify Mr. Stark? He is arriving."

"No Jarvis, I'm okay," Pepper said, wiping rogue tears from her face.

"Honey, I'm home!" Tony sang out suddenly, waltzing in with take out bags in his arms.

"Welcome home, Mr. Stark." Jarvis responded.

"Not you dear, the other one," Tony snarked back, placing the bags on the table in front of Pepper. "You must be so proud of me, staying at work the entire time! How much work got done is still up for debate, but-" he rambled, emptying the contents of the bags in front of her, "we can't all get what we want!" His hands stilled when he finally looked up at her. "Uh, Pepper, your eyes look like they were, uh, leaking." He finished dumbly. "I promise I got work done, it was just a joke."

She laughed at that.

"What's wrong?"

She shrugged, reaching over to grab a box of the take out – Chinese from the smell of it – trying to avoid his stare. To his credit, he didn't say anything, following suit and picking up his own box of the take out. He never took his eyes off her though and she almost laughed again at how scared and tense he looked.

"Did you see the news at all?" She asked him, not liking how casual she sounded. As though it was nothing.

"I may have glanced through it. Is that what's wrong?"

She shrugged again, trying to get a read on how he felt about it. "It doesn't bother you at all, does it?"

"Well... I've had worse things written about me. I take offence to what they're writing about you, however, which I addressed at the press conference I promised to do today. There's not much more we can do about it..."

"So it doesn't bother you that they think it's just another fling?" She asked, feeling her sadness morph into frustration. "They think we're just, you know, sleeping together! That I'm just in it for the fun and fame!"

"Are you?" He asked her seriously – too seriously.

"What!?" She jumped up to her feet in shock. "How could you ask me that? Did you really just ask me that?"

"Well I know the answer and so do you, so what's the problem?" He snapped back. "You care too much about what people think they know."

"I'm going home," she spat, turning her back to him to collect her things.

"No."

She ignored him, shoving her book back into her bag and walking around the couch to grab her phone from where it landed earlier. She could feel the sting of tears again. What was wrong with her? Where did the cool, calm and collected Pepper run off to in the span of twenty-four hours? She felt unhinged and just... wrong. Not herself. Did that prove that this was a mistake?

"Pepper!" Tony grabbed her arm, whipping her around. She hadn't even noticed him get up. "Pepper, you're not going home. You saw what they were like this morning and it's not going to stop anytime soon. Just-"

"Let go of my arm," she warned him, trying to wrench out of his grip.

"Just stay here," he pleaded and she could see he was trying to reign in his own annoyance. "I would feel better if-"

"Oh," she scoffed, "well if you feel better, that's all that matters!"

"Pepper," he narrowed his eyes, "I just mean... I didn't like how that guy grabbed you this morning and I'd feel better if you were close by until some of the crazy dies down."

"Fine! Let me go!"

He released his grip on her arm and sighed. "Pep..."

"I'm going to bed." She brushed by him quickly, walking towards the stairwell that lead to the bedrooms. He caught himself before the automatic innuendo-filled comment that sprung into his mind left his mouth and let her go. He wasn't very good at this. She was staying which was enough for now.

"Jarvis, let me know if she tries to sneak out." He requested.

"Very well, Sir."

Pepper stalked up the stairs and made her way into the bedroom she usually occupied whenever she stayed over because of work and locked the door once she was inside. She was fuming, the adrenaline making her shaky. She quickly stripped and put on some of the pajama's that she had stockpiled and slid into the large bed, gripping her pillow until she finally calmed down.

"Jarvis?" She questioned eventually.

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Can you play the footage from today's press conference?"

"Of course. One moment."

She sat up in the bed and turned to face the projected image.

"I'm here today to address the photo that I'm sure every single one of you has seen from last night. If you haven't seen it, but I know you have, it's of Pepper Potts and I about to make out before one of you interrupted and ruined my night," Tony joked and the crowd laughed with him. "I am dating Pepper and I would appreciate if for once in your lives you could accept what I'm saying graciously and pay me back for all that I do. This morning, one of you got a little too handsy with her and this is the only time I'll say that if anyone touches her again in an attempt for a comment, a story, anything, I'll personally sue you into the ground." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm not taking any questions. I am in a committed relationship and that's all you need to know. This had no bearing on her being named CEO and until after the events at the Expo, nothing has ever happened between us. Not for lack of trying on my part," he smirked, "but she's way too professional. Don't believe me? Don't care. Thanks for your time."

The projection faded away and Pepper felt guilty. So guilty.

"Jarvis, where is Tony right now?"

"He is currently in the workshop."

"Okay. Thanks." She said, flopping back down onto the bed. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She would apologize tomorrow.

He was trying. It was time she started to acknowledge it and reciprocate.

AN: I haven't been responding to reviews individually up to this point but I just wanted everyone to know I appreciate the feedback and interest in the story! It's always nice to know someone cares! :') Haha.