Guest(s): thanks for the kind comments, that's highly motivating :)
The first lesson Pepper had learned when she started working for Tony Stark was that he could disappear at any time, and that it was up to her to bring the news to whoever was expecting him: a journalist, a supermodel, his lawyers, Colonel James Rhodes, or even the Vice President of the United States.
Naturally very empathetic, Pepper had quickly learnt to occasionally switch off that side, and show no emotions. « Yes, he left. No, I don't know where to. I have no idea when he will be back, but you will be the first to know. I will call you to reschedule. No, of course, it was very important. Yes, he is a busy man. »
Since Iron Man came into the picture, it became easier to explain his absences to people. She could always blame it on a secret mission somewhere around the world, even if the mission in question had four wheels, and was a vintage car being sold at an auction in the South of France.
That morning, when she hadn't been able to locate her boss, and when JARVIS or Happy Hogan did not provide more information than « Iron Man was called », she new something was off. His attitude toward her had been… unusual at best, and a bad omen at worst.
For everyone else, she was trying to keep up appearances. But since Obadiah's grand betrayal, Happy, Rhodey, and herself were highly suspicious of anything and everything surrounding Tony. She did not think she could forgive herself for being oblivious to Stane's illegal side business, all the while she had been managing Stark Industries as an unofficial proxy for Tony. She knew every lines of that P&L by heart; she had spent ten years of her life in this company, and still, she had no clue of what was really happening behind the curtain. When the threat had come from within, she had failed at her primary mission on her job description: taking care of her boss. It was a good thing that most of the events of the past year had been kept secret from the public, because she had no idea how someone could know about it and still take her seriously after she had been that powerless.
One of the main reasons why she still had the strength to walk in the headquarters of Stark Industries despite the feeling of guilt and hurt was her and Tony's strong will to put this company back on its original tracks - the ones designed by Howard and Maria Stark - and to erase its momentary lapse when SI was fueling the hands of the wrong people with powerful weapons.
Lately, they had worked as an efficient team: Pepper finding out the people within Stark Industries who had been involved in Stane's scheme, and Tony eliminating the weapons that were sold illegally. They had spent multiple evenings going through years of archives of every transaction, every approved shipment, matching those with inventories and Obadiah's movements, so Iron Man could later fly out and destroy what was left of it.
From the start, Pepper made it abundantly clear that she wanted to know when he was leaving, and when he was on his way back.
So when he vanished without a word, after avoiding her for a whole morning, that felt out of character for this new version of Tony.
Pepper knew then that sooner or later, she would have to deal with whatever reason was causing Tony to act strangely.
In the meantime, she would spend her lunchtime rescheduling the next two days, hoping that Tony would be back by then.
She didn't hear from him on Thursday.
On Friday, she carried on with her day as initially planned. She squeezed in as much work as she could while preparing for her friend's engagement party in Beverly Hills. Every now and then, she checked her phone for any updates from JARVIS, but the AI remained awfully silent.
Despite her apprehension, the celebration of Alex's engagement was an event she did not want to miss. It had been too long since she was able to enjoy the company of her friends, and she reminded herself that she deserved to have fun every once in a while, especially given Tony's decision to literally go MIA on her.
That night, she wore an icy blue lace dress with a corset top and an asymmetrical skirt. She applied red lipstick and added the small diamond earrings she had bought for herself from Tony three birthdays ago. Alex's smile and excitement were contagious to everyone around her; she kept looking at her new ring in complete disbelief, and going over every little detail of the proposal that had taken place earlier that afternoon. Even though Pepper had been in the known of the surprise for about a week and already knew every aspect of it, she listened fondly to her friend.
The comment that Aditi made on Wednesday, about Pepper being the next to be engaged came back to her, and a pang of sadness struck her. Despite her genuine happiness for her friend, she also knew that Alex was incredibly lucky, and that only a miracle could extend that luck to her. Matt, the fiancé, was a textbook romantic and had made that engagement so cute, and classy, and magical. Pepper knew there was no way she would ever be on the receiving end of something this adorable. Not unless she quit working for Tony Stark, and that was the one thing she knew she would never do. She had poured so much of herself in this job, she could not imagine what life would be like without it. Or without Tony.
She checked her phone once more, hoping for an update from JARVIS, but there was still nothing. Before she could call the AI to get an update herself, a hand gently tugged her arm.
"Hey, Pep, don't tell me you're working at my party! Tell Stark that Alex Cooper just got engaged, and that there's no way on earth you're not having the night off!"
"Don't worry, that's not what I was doing", Pepper replied with a smile, putting her phone away.
"Come with me, let's get some drinks!"
Pepper followed Alex to the bar, weaving through the crowd in the small reception room at the Four Seasons. Her friend ordered their usual: two martinis.
"So, what kind of trouble is our pretty boy in?" Alex asked, giving Pepper a knowing smile.
"Actually, he's been kinda good lately", Pepper answered. "It's been a couple minute since I've been harassed by the press for comments"
"I did read that GQ interview though. That photo of him in the leather jacket? That's something worth being harassed for—especially when you can see the real deal every day."
"Do I need to remind you that you just got engaged? To someone who has nothing to envy to Tony Stark on top of that?"
Pepper knew exactly which photo her friend was referring to; she had personally approved the shots used in the latest magazine issue.
"A girl can appreciate from afar. But I was kinda disappointed; there was too much of Iron Man, and not enough of the good stuff."
"And what might that be?" Pepper inquired.
"Is he in a relationship? It's been a hot minute since we've seen him with some random model on TMZ."
"I think his attention span is too short for a relationship."
"Well, only you would know that, but people are talking. According to the rumors, he was either injured in Afghanistan, or he's in a secret relationship with his PA", Alex said, reaching for the drinks that were waiting for them.
"Come on, that last rumor has always existed. You know it's not like that", Pepper protested.
"Yes, but now, there is no photo of his naked ass on the Internet to debunk these rumors! So, could it be that Tony Stark has become boyfriend material?"
"Cheers to you, and to that gorgeous ring that we should talk about more!" Pepper said with a smile, glass in her hand.
"Thank you, girl! Look, I know you don't like to talk about it, but I've always been rooting for you two. And now that sense has been forced into him, I kinda hoped that he would be smart enough to see the amazing woman he's working with. You deserve a happy ending, Pep."
"Thank you, I know you mean well", Pepper said, before pulling her friend into a hug.
Before Alex could start listing the five steps that would guarantee that Tony would make the first move, they were joined by Alex's college friend who was getting the room ready for her speech.
The rest of the party went well; they took pictures, they danced, and when her friends went on to order shots, Pepper decided to call it a night. Tony had been gone for more than 48 hours, and he could be back at any time.
After saying goodbye to everyone, she went to the concierge of the Four Seasons to ask for a taxi. While waiting, she felt her phone vibrating in her purse and wasted no time picking up when she saw her caller's ID.
"Rhodey?"
"Pep, are you on your way?", James Rhodes asked, most likely in his car from the sound of his surroundings.
"What are you talking about?"
"I got a call from JARVIS saying that Tony was injured and that he's gonna arrive any minute now."
Pepper felt her stomach drop. She had been checking her phone all night; there was no way she had missed the information. Which meant, that Tony chose to warn Rhodey instead of her.
"I.. I didn't know, but I'll be there. I'm getting a taxi."
"I'm almost there, I will see you at the house. I'm sorry, I got freaked out because he never calls me in these situations."
"It's ok, I'm sure he's fine. I'll see you there."
After arriving at the house in Malibu, Pepper went straight to the basement.
When she typed her code on the pad, Tony was already out of the suit, and sunk into the couch. Pieces of the armor were scattered on the floor, along with tools, meaning that the suit had been damaged enough that the bots could not remove it entirely on their own.
Rhodey was testing Tony's pupils with a flashlight while the latter was applying ice to his ribs, complaining about something to do with the US military not trusting him enough. But when Pepper saw the bruises covering Tony's right arm, she tried to hide her gasp, unsuccessfully.
The two men turned their head in her direction at the same time, but Tony quickly looked away.
"Pepper, I'm glad you came! How do you get this guy to see a real doctor? He's way too stubborn to listen to me", Rhodey said, visibly already tired of negotiating with her boss.
"Anything they can do in an hospital, JARVIS can do it ten times better", Tony mumbled.
"Which would be reassuring only if you'd listen to him! You cannot continue popping in Advil, and going to sleep, hopping for the best! Pepper, help me out here."
Ignoring Rhodey, Pepper slowly walked toward the two of them.
"JARVIS, why didn't you call me?"
Tony abruptly lifted his head, and locked eyes with her. Pepper knew that the AI would not lie, and that he would reveal whatever game her boss was currently playing.
"You are no longer listed as an emergency contact", JARVIS answered with his usual tone.
Pepper felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach.
"Excuse me? Since when?!"
"Since you were visibly busy tonight", Tony answered himself, gesturing toward her dress, not without wincing from the movement.
He tried to stand, but Rhodey had to catch him to prevent him from falling back.
Tony being considerate of her plans and personal life could have been a sign of maturity and a thoughtful gesture. However, from his tone and attitude, Pepper knew that this wasn't the case. Removing her as an emergency contact after all these years felt... alienating.
"Since when does it matter to you? We had a deal! You were supposed to tell me— "
"Why are you complaining? Isn't this what you wanted? Less stress in your life?"
" —when you leave, so I can actually know how to run Stark Industries for you, without you!"
Tony paused, a certain look on his face that Pepper couldn't quite decipher.
"Right, the company."
"Well, I'm back, but I can't guarantee I'll be in the mood on Monday, so you might have to handle the company for one more day without me," he continued.
He turned to Rhodey and said:
"I'mma take a shower, and then I'll show you the footage I got."
She watched him walk toward the elevator and disappear.
While he'd always been clear about his dislike for her making plans, his reaction had never been this extreme. Pepper couldn't comprehend what had triggered this recent behavior, and she was certainly too tired to figure it out now.
As soon as Tony was out of earshot, Rhodey asked her:
"Okay, what was that, Pep? What did I miss?"
Pepper sighed.
"I have no idea… This might be more than just Tony being Tony."
"Well, you know what? I think I got it from here. You should head home and get some sleep. I'll text you if I find out anything."
Rhodey was right; Tony had made it clear that he did not want her here, and this was not how she had pictured the night ending.
"Thanks James. Just make sure he actually gets some sleep. And sleeping in the basement doesn't count," she said, her voice tinged with fatigue.
As she walked out, she stopped in her tracks.
"JARVIS, since when am I no longer his emergency contact?"
"Since Wednesday, Miss."
She was determined to get to the bottom of this, once she'd enjoyed her weekend and had three full nights of sleep.
Let me know what you think ;)
