English is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes. If it's unbearable, let me know!
Pepper quickly realized she wasn't gonna make it, not in her current situation.
Three months ago, she had let Aditi from HR convince her to register on a highly exclusive dating app. The plan was simple: to have access to a list of non-random guys, with whom she could have non-Iron Man related conversations, go on plaisant dates and ultimately, well, have sex.
Aditi had met her prince charming this way, after he had sold his tech company to the Silicon Valley and decided to flip houses in LA. Now, she had a radiant glow on her face every morning upon arriving at the office, despite what working at Stark Industries would throw at her. "Though there haven't been any reports of sexual harassment coming from Tony lately", thought Pepper, "that certainly has made life easier for everybody at HR, and for me as well".
Pepper had been texting three guys over the past three months. She had gone on first dates with two of them, and only the last one had made it to the second phase. That second date was originally supposed to take place at Nobu, that high-end spot Pepper claimed was too cliché, even though she secretly drooled over the memory of their food every now and then. Due to some last-minute unforeseen events at work (translation: due to Tony's latest spin), the dinner had to be relocated to Mister Netflix-Show-Producer's place in the Valley. Pepper arrived at 10:37pm, exhausted, starved, thirsty, and very much still in her work clothes.
By the time she had downed her second martini, she decided that it was the perfect time to break her eight-month dry spell, and she made a move on her date. Joshua, since he had a name, responded eagerly and they quickly moved to his bedroom.
This is how she found herself overthinking under this man, and unable to reach her orgasm. He was easily a nine, perhaps even a ten if she didn't compare him to Tony Stark. He was for sure taller than her boss, and even descent in bed. But that wasn't cutting it.
The last time she had been with a man, Tony had recently come back from Afghanistan. He had stepped out of this military plane as a new version of himself, and it took a few weeks for Pepper to register all the implications. First, there was that whole "Shutting down the weapon manufactories" press conference. For most people, it felt like the words of a mad man who had been locked up in a cave for three months with PTSD. But for her, it felt like he was finally starting to show the world that he cared about his legacy. He was still leaving other people to figure things out for him, like how the company was supposed to take a new direction and continue to pay salaries to the 90,000 employees around the globe. But at least, he wasn't running around the world chasing the latest Victoria's Secret Angel. Instead, he had locked himself up in his basement, working on his new confidential project.
This new version of Tony Stark was now paying at least 40% of attention to her every time she came bugging him for something. He was talking seriously about business, making sense and showing some vulnerability. The 7am dry-cleaning calls from Jarvis had stopped, and Pepper figured out that he was now becoming more discreet about his guests. This new version of Tony was dangerous for her sanity.
She had started to see a friend from college again who had recently moved to LA. She thought she had found the perfect no-strings-attached guy, someone who would not be upset when she rescheduled four times due to work conflicts, and who would not ask questions about Tony's captivity in the bedroom. But that's when Pepper discovered the new effect Tony had on her.
She had always found him objectively attractive. During her first weeks as his PA, the sexual innuendos thrown at her daily would make her blush, and in some cases, she would even feel slightly weak in the knees. But that quickly stopped after he left her to show the way out to his guests for the first time (red hair twins), asked her to cancel his trip to the White House and his meeting with the President of the United States with a 24-hour notice, and sent her to attend the SI Board Meeting instead of him, all in the same day. She had stood in that meeting room full of senior executives, trying to come up with a good reason to justify the absence of the CEO and the increase of Tony Stark's personal expenses over the last quarter.
That had helped her develop an immunity to her boss' charms. The guy was bad news.
So when eight month ago she found herself thinking about Tony's new found maturity and toned body, while in bed with another man, to say she was shocked was an understatement. After forty minutes of internal struggles, she finally gave up and pictured Tony in her head. But she also made a vow of celibacy; no more relationship until her hormones were back in check.
After the dance and the balcony episode at the fundraiser, and later the spying mission on Obadiah followed by the whole « I am Iron Man », Pepper decided she was good to go. Her immunity should be back, right?
Well, three months later, she found herself disappointed and mortified. She couldn't go on like that and let her boss ruin her chances at a normal relationship and a healthy sex life. She would work on a solution, as soon as she was done with her present situation. To do so, she mentally gave up and started to imagine Tony's rough hands holding her, instead of Joshua's. She pictured her boss' lips making their way up her neck, his goatee scratching her ear while he would praise her in a deep voice. She would bury one hand in his smooth hair, and brace one arm on his shoulder while he would tilt her hips and find that sweet spot that would send her over the edge.
Pepper reached her climax in ten seconds, but the satisfaction was short-lived. That one small incident eight months ago had now been confirmed: the famously unshakeable Pepper Potts was now vulnerable to Tony Stark's charms, just like everyone else.