On the next morning, Pepper woke up after a great night's sleep, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. A sense of restfulness enveloped her, and she felt refreshed. The alarm clock, set to go off at 7 a.m. as usual, was still echoing in the room, but this time, it didn't bother her. She had slept deeply, undisturbed by the annoying noise of the device. Only some time later, with a smile on her face, did the redhead stretch her arms and yawn, stretching. She got out of bed calmly, went to the bathroom, washed her face, and put on a coat over her pajamas before heading downstairs. It was only then that she noticed something very important; as she approached the kitchen, she could hear some noises coming from there.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" When the initial shock passed, Pepper managed to ask.
"Oh, Pep!" The woman said, leaving the baking sheet she held on the counter and going to her daughter, hugging her tightly, showing the longing she felt. "I'm so glad you woke up. How are you?"
"Mom, what are you doing here?" The younger Potts repeated, blinking a few times, still trying to understand what was happening. Maybe she was in a dream.
"You really forgot I was coming." The elder didn't seem offended, just stating a fact.
"I didn't forg..." The redhead stopped in the middle of the word, sighing. "Damn, I should have picked you up at the airport last night. Why didn't you call me?" She looked at her mother, being consumed by guilt.
"I did call, but you didn't answer, so I figured there might have been some trouble at the art school, then I took a cab and used the spare key to get in." Sasha replied simply.
"Damn. I'm really sorry, Mom. Yesterday was an extremely exhausting day, and the girls had their last day of school before the Christmas break," she began to explain. "We ended up watching a movie to spend some extra time together, but we ended up falling asleep. I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about it, dear," Sasha smiled warmly. "I can imagine how tiring your days have been. I saw the three of you on the couch when I arrived, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up or take the girls to bed. You were sleeping so peacefully; it was perfect for a photo. In fact, I sent a copy to your phone."
"You're a tech genius now?" the redhead joked.
"I just try to keep up with you young folks," the elder Potts smiled, shrugging.
"How are things in Vancouver?"
"They're great. You and the girls should come over more often." She complained in a veiled manner, she missed the house being full.
"Spending 4 hours on a plane with Erin and Iris when they slept almost the entire trip was easy, but now they can barely go 30 minutes in a car without asking every instant if we've arrived yet. Not to mention the fights."
"You can't blame them. The trip is always boring when you don't have special grandmother like they do waiting for them."
"Now I understand where my modesty comes from."
Sasha laughed. "How are they? They seem so much bigger since the last time I saw them. They're getting more beautiful too."
"They couldn't help but turn out that way with the genes they have." Pepper boasted with a half-smile. "But you're right. They're getting even more beautiful and clever with time. They're growing up fast too, which sucks. Yesterday, they didn't even want my help to take a bath."
"You were like that too. Since you were little with that air of independence. Your father and I knew that when you reached adulthood, it would be impossible to keep you at home."
"Mom, you don't need to bring me down even further by reminding me that soon it will be them leaving home. I thought you were here to help me!"
"Relax, you still have a few years ahead, they're starting to learn to write now." The elder Potts paused briefly. "Speaking of learning, are they playing the piano already?" She asked, recalling a photo her daughter had sent her a few weeks ago, where the twins were engrossed with the instrument.
"Iris does, yeah. She knows like two or three notes already. Erin said she prefers to listen to her sister play, I think she's just like me in that."
"They're not just alike in that, you know..."
"Exactly." She cut in quickly. Pepper knew where her mother was heading. For years Sasha had been trying to broach the subject of Tony with her, so she quickly steered the conversation. "Erin likes painting more than Iris; she loves going to the art school to watch other people paint. They both enjoy cooking, but I think it's because of the mess they make, and their love for sports definitely has to do with the level of energy they carry. It's a lot for such little bodies."
"These girls really are copies of their parents. I don't know why you talk about these things with such surprise; did you really think it would be any different? Like you said yourself, it's the genes. He himself..."
"Mom, don't start." The younger Potts interrupted. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have at 8 in the morning on a Saturday.
"Pep, how long are you going to keep up this story about their father traveling? One day they're going to want to know the truth, and they deserve that. They're both growing up; it won't be long before they stop believing this lie."
"I know, but that's not now. When the right time comes, I'll think of the best way to tell them the truth."
"And when will the right time be? And what truth are you going to tell? Because we both know there's a good chance you'll just come up with another lie."
"I'll never understand why you always choose to side with him." The younger one was starting to get irritated, hating being treated like the big villain just for wanting to protect her daughters' innocence.
"I'm not siding with anyone. I'm just thinking about what's best for those two little girls sleeping upstairs. They're the priorities here, not you two."
"I know that. I also thought of them when I made my decision, and I continue to do so today. Unlike him, who only thought of himself. Isn't that clear?"
"You didn't give him a chance to make a different choice." Sasha pointed out.
"Mom, can we please change the subject? It's been 5 years. I've moved on from this story."
"Their stubbornness is genetic inheritance too." The elder Potts commented. "Let's see if denial is as well."
Pepper rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, determined to put an end to that conversation once and for all. "So, what are you up to?" She asked.
"The girls' favorite cookies. But I couldn't find the chocolate chips, where are they?"
"The chips ran out. I need to go to the supermarket." The redhead explained, sitting on the kitchen counter as she watched her mother move around the kitchen. Since she was little, Pepper loved watching her mother cook; her taste for cooking had emerged in this way, and even as she grew older, the habit was still something she cherished.
While watching Sasha prepare the cookies, even without the chocolate chips, adapting the recipe, the woman found herself thinking about what her mother had said minutes ago. She knew Sasha was right. She really hadn't given him a chance, but neither had he.
Pepper had just put the twins to bed and was in the kitchen of her house, enjoying a cup of tea. At almost 1 year old, the girls were sleeping through the night and starting to develop different schedules from each other, which made her job much easier. The redhead had always thought that Erin and Iris were the perfect mix of her and Tony, but now, as time passed, she saw more and more of him in them. And the more this happened, the more she remembered when she found out she was pregnant.
"I'm here," Potts replied as she approached the top of the stairs, where she found her boyfriend. "We need to talk," she said, echoing exactly the same phrase as he did.
And dear lord, the dark-haired man looked serious.
"We do," he confirmed.
"I'm..." Pepper had started to say, thinking the best way to break the news would be quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.
"I'll go first," Tony interrupted her, preventing her from continuing. "I think we should break up."
"What?" the woman asked, totally surprised. What the hell was this?
"That's what you heard," Stark stood firm.
"Is this some kind of joke? Because I'm really not finding it funny."
"It's not a joke, Pepper."
"Then what is it?" She couldn't even think of anything decent to define the situation.
"For me, it's over," the alter ego of Iron Man said as if it were something simple, but hell, it was far from it. This was much more difficult than he imagined it would be. How could he not show that he loved her? She was damn the love of his life, for crying out loud!
"It's over?" Pepper repeated, disbelieving. "Tony, what's happening? Talk to me, please. Whatever's going on, we can figure it out together," she pleaded.
"There's nothing to talk about. I've made my decision," why did she keep making the situation even more complicated for him? Regardless of his age, the man just wanted to cry like a terrified 5-year-old after the worst nightmare of his life.
"And when did you make your decision? When we made love last night or when you said goodbye today, telling me you loved me?" Denial was starting to give voice to anger. She couldn't say she never imagined this happening.
"Pepper, don't make this harder, please," he begged, not just to her but to a God he didn't even believe in.
"Don't make it harder? Anthony, you're the one making this hard. You didn't even give me an explanation. Damn it, did we mean nothing?"
"Explain what? I've already told you what I want," she really didn't understand that it was precisely because she meant everything to him that he was doing the hardest thing of his life? Didn't she realize how much this was destroying him too?
"And when did you decide you wanted this? Because I'm a little lost here. Was it when you asked me to move in with you? When we planned Stark Tower? When we went to Paris? Was all of that a lie? Because it didn't seem like I was the only one in this relationship," she was nervous and speaking the words at a rapid pace.
"I'm sorry," he sighed.
"Is this because of your anxiety attacks? Is it because of what happened in New York? Did I do something? Did someone make you think something?"
"Pepper, it's because I don't want to be in a relationship with you," he uttered the biggest lie of his life.
"You can't be serious," she almost wanted to laugh.
"What do you want me to say?"
"The truth, Tony. I want you to tell me the truth. I deserve at least that," she yelled.
He also altered his voice, and you know that saying "when one doesn't want to, two can't fight"? Well, it turned out both wanted to, and in the blink of an eye, they began to argue. They both said things they didn't mean, hurt each other, and weren't thinking about the consequences of their argument anymore. They just wanted to make the other feel the pain they were feeling at that moment. It was wrong, they knew that, but feelings are complicated, you can't be rational all the time, especially when you're suffering.
"Aren't you even a little curious about what I had to tell you?" the redhead asked in a strained voice, hating herself for believing that this relationship could work.
"I don't think you can tell me anything that will change my mind," the alter ego of Iron Man replied in the same tone. "But it seems important, did something happen?"
"No, Anthony, nothing," she spat out the words. She didn't want to have a child with this guy. Not with this version of him.
"Pep..." he called out, seeing her head for the door. "You don't have to leave like this, this house is yours too, and it's pouring rain outside."
"I think it never was, and believe me, it's much better to face what's out there than what's in here."
"I'm just trying to protect you," was all Tony could say. He knew it wasn't much, but he needed to explain himself. He needed to find a way to make her understand.
"I can see... You're doing a fantastic job," she laughed without any humor.
"I never wanted to hurt you," he was honest, it was precisely why he was doing all of this. To not hurt her.
"I could perfectly perceive that in the last few minutes. You have a funny idea of love, Stark."
"Pep..."
"You got what you wanted. Congratulations."
"I'm so sorry," and the dark-haired man truly felt it. He didn't want to hurt her, he didn't want to make her suffer. But he loved her so much that it was better for her to hate him, for him to lose her this way, than to continue risking her life, than to put her in danger and watch her die because of him, simply because he loved her. He would never know how to survive in a world where Virginia Potts didn't exist. He would learn to deal with the fact that she was no longer his, it was the best option.
And on Pepper's side, she also felt deeply sorry. She never wanted them to reach that point; she had ignored all her fears and intuitions when she said she loved him and allowed herself to enter the relationship. She thought they would last, that it would be different. And perhaps that was her mistake, she was so afraid it would end that she ignored all the warnings. Potts knew her boyfriend wasn't well, it was clear that something was going on, heaven knows, she couldn't even imagine how difficult it was for him to live with so much pain, with all the emotional turmoil, with constant panic attacks... But since he wanted to ignore it, she chose to do the same. But the redhead shouldn't have, loving him as she did, she should have tried harder. She should have made an effort to help him, and she needed to admit that she hadn't done everything she could. She should never have acted as if they were living in a fairy tale. And for God's sake, she definitely should have told him she was pregnant, she should have said she loved and cared for him, not shouted so many horrible words and said she hated him, because she knew something was wrong. She knew that nothing Tony was doing was because he wanted to, and when she told him to never contact her again, she knew that's what would happen. But just like him, she was suffering. Who can rationalize when they feel such deep pain that they just want to plead with the heavens for it to end? They both had made mistakes, but they had erred only with the best of intentions.
"Lost in thought?" That night, years ago, Sasha asked, pulling her out of her thoughts, preventing her from reliving the worst day of her life.
"Wow, Mom. You scared me," the younger Potts complained. "I was just thinking about some things," she explained.
"About some things or someone?"
Pepper sighed. "I think a little of both," she confessed.
"Do you really want to go through with this? Hiding the girls from him?" Sasha's voice made clear all her concern for her daughter and granddaughters.
"I'm not hiding the girls from him, besides, he made it very clear when we broke up that nothing would change his mind."
"You never told him you were pregnant, my love. You just argued, you didn't talk."
"And it wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't get back with him just because I was pregnant. I also wouldn't risk leaving my daughters with him for him to one day decide he wasn't ready to be a father, just like he decided he wasn't ready for a relationship. We weren't together for a day or two, but for 2 years. 2 years, and he decided it meant nothing. That I meant nothing."
"How long do you think this will last? How long do you think it will take for them to start asking about their father? And when they do, what will you say?" Sasha questioned. From the beginning, she had made it clear to Pepper that she didn't agree with her decision, but she couldn't do much more than advise her.
"I still have some time to worry about that. They just turned 1 year old."
"Well, I hope none of you get hurt even more. That in the midst of this confusion, Erin and Iris aren't affected."
"They won't. I won't let them," the redhead asserted firmly. But she couldn't guarantee it.
By now, Pepper Potts should have known that hell is full of people with good intentions.
"How long do you think this will last? How long do you think it will take for them to start asking about their father? And when they do, what will you say?" Sasha questioned. From the beginning, she had made it clear to Pepper that she didn't agree with her decision, but she couldn't do much more than advise her.
"I still have some time to worry about that. They just turned 1 year old."
"Well, I hope none of you get hurt even more. That in the midst of this confusion, Erin and Iris aren't affected."
"They won't. I won't let them," the redhead asserted firmly. But she couldn't guarantee it.
By that time, Pepper Potts should have known that hell is full of people with good intentions.