Tony strides confidently down the halls of SI, ignoring the looks anyone sends his way. Most are smart enough to keep their eyes forward, but a few stray glances hover on him a little too long. He can't blame them, he is Tony Stark. It's not every day you see Tony Stark, even if this is his business.
Tony plops one of the grapes he's carrying into his mouth and smiles at an older man in a grey suit. It's not his color, it just makes his skin look even ashier than it already is. And it clashes with his hair. What little of it he has left.
He didn't get strawberries. He'll never make that mistake again. He's ninety-five...eighty-seven percent sure that Pepper likes green grapes. They're a basic fruit, who doesn't like them? You can't go wrong.
He would've bought her a whole fruit basket, another giant bunny, or maybe a bear this time. He would buy her the best steak dinner money can buy. Or fish. She likes fish sometimes. He would buy her anything she wanted. But Pepper has made it clear that she can't be bought and any attempt would be shut down immediately. But he wouldn't have it any other way. It's one of the things that made him fall in love with her.
Things had been rocky with them for...a while. They officially ended their relationship nearly a year ago. Well, Pepper ended it. Tony hadn't wanted to let go. Still doesn't. Pepper had told him it was just a break but since when do breaks last this long? But she had needed space and he did his best to give that to her. But it's been so long! And there's no rule saying your ex-boyfriend/boyfriend you're just taking a break from can't bring you grapes on a Thursday at one in the afternoon.
The desk outside Pepper's office is empty. Tony smiles. No assistant would've been able to keep him from barging in unannounced, but either way, it's nice not to have to fight one off and ruin his grand entrance.
Tony almost trips when something darts into his path. Correction, someone. Tony looks down and blinks. Down because the human now standing in his path is tiny and very short. And that's saying something because he's not the tallest. (He'll never admit that. His ego makes up for any lacking height anyway)
He's just about to question why there's a child roaming around when she speaks.
"Uh, Mr-Mr. Stark, sir. Um, Ms-She-she's not-she's busy. She said not to let anyone in. In-including you. Sir. Sorry."
Tony's eyes narrow and his eyebrows furrow. The only thought his brain can supply is, "What?"
"Ms. Potts," The child continued. "She requested she not be disturbed."
"Who are you?" Tony asked bluntly. Why is there a child telling him what he can and cannot do? In his own tower!
"Penny. Parker. I-I intern for Ms. Potts. I'm an intern for her. I intern here." The girl stuttered. There has to be some law against employing twelve-year-olds. Or interning. Does it count if you don't pay them? Or is that worse?
"Well, intern Penny Parker, I won't bother her for long," Lie. Tony plasters on a smile and steps around the child. Penny's voice stops his hand right before he touches the door handle.
"She's not actually in her office," He turns around slowly to look back at her. Had she always been carrying an armload of files? "She stepped out. Said she wouldn't be back for a while."
"Is that so?" Well, shit. There goes that plan. He could leave the grapes for her but that's no fun. He could track her down but if she's in a meeting then she would only be upset with him for interrupting. He could wait for her but contrary to what some people think, he does have things he needs to do.
The air shifts when the door opens behind him. Tony spins around. "Penny, wha-" Pepper stops short when she spots Tony. He huffs and looks back at Penny.
"You lied to me." He points. The girl shrugs, looking halfway apologetic.
"Sorry. She scares me more."
"Touche," Tony hums. He's well aware of how scary Pepper can be. Also one of the reasons he fell in love with her. "Hi, Pep, grape?" He holds them out to her. She looks down at them, back to his face, and then to Penny.
"Sorry, Ms. Potts, I told him you weren't here but-"
"It's okay, Penny," Pepper stops the girl. She smiles but it drops when she looks at Tony. He would be lying if he said his heart didn't drop a little with it. "Tony." She steps aside and allows him the room to enter her office. She says something else to the child outside before joining him and closing the door. "I'm busy, Tony, what do you need?"
"You know you can hire an actual assistant, right?" Tony gestures towards the door Penny is behind instead of answering. Pepper wouldn't accept the truth, she would just kick him out.
"I have an assistant," Pepper rounds her desk and looks over at him. "Penny is interning."
"Right, because there's a difference." Tony sets the grapes down and takes another one. "You're not allergic to these too, right?"
"No, I'm not," Pepper's lips curve up. "Tony, why are you here?"
"I can't come say hey? Check-in? Offer you a delicious fruit?"
"I already ate, thank you." Pepper sits. She looks as good as the last time he saw her. Better even. He didn't think that was possible. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually," Tony scrambles for something, anything to say that'll keep him here longer. "Why is there a child interning for you?"
"She's fifteen," She said. "Her name is Penny and she's far from the first intern we've ever had."
"Fifteen?" Tony mumbled. "That's practically a fetus. I think all of our interns are legal adults, at least. Usually."
"And how would you know that?"
"I know a lot of things." Tony shrugs. Pepper huffs.
"I knew her uncle," She explained. "He died six months ago."
Tony bites the inside of his cheek. He never should have asked about the damn kid. Great. He always says all the wrong things. "Sorry." Pepper waves her hand through the air.
"I hadn't seen him in a long time. But I got to talking to his wife at the funeral, Penny's aunt. I thought a summer internship would be good for her. She's smart, top of her class at Midtown Tech. May agreed. It'll help her get into college when the time comes and it's a good experience if she decides to go into business."
"College. That's a little ways away."
"You were already there at her age."
"Yeah, well, I'm me."
"Tony," Pepper sighs. "If there's nothing important, I have a busy schedule."
"Right, of course," Tony stands. He's seen her and as much as he would like to stay, he doesn't want to get on her nerves. "I'll see you later."
"Bye, Tony." Pepper is already typing before he's out of the room. He closes the door silently and releases a long sigh. He takes one step and the child is there again. He does not flinch but he does think about the ways he could sneak a bell onto her without her or Pepper noticing.
"Sorry. For lying before, Mr. Stark," The files she held before are gone but she fidgets with a piece of paper. "I'm-I'm a big fan, actually. But, like I said, Ms. Potts scares me and she's kind of my boss and she's super cool, too. And she was nice enough to give me this internship, so."
"Yeah, she is pretty cool," Tony agrees. "No hard feelings, kid." She smiles and he moves past her, ready to begin thinking about reasons to see Pepper again soon. Tomorrow maybe.
Pepper continues to humor Tony. Whenever he manages to catch her in her office. He doesn't want to venture outside of that yet. She'll either be busy or at...home. Which used to be with him but he can't think about that too much because his chest gets all tight and FRIDAY has to warn him that his vitals are worrying and it's a whole thing that leaves him exhausted and annoyed for the rest of the day. So he doesn't think about it.
Penny is always there. If she's not, neither is Pepper. This he's come to learn. He wonders if the poor kid has to sit through boring meetings. He wouldn't wish that on anyone. Well, he would, because he's petty, but not a child. That's just cruel.
But even though Pepper will let him bother her, let him bring fruit and whatever else he can think of-nothing ever big because she wouldn't take it. Not that she takes the little things either, she's merely indulging him. She doesn't want him there. And he wants her to want him there. And what else can he keep doing? Distance didn't work, not for a year. So now it's time to change tactics.
He's down here again, ready to walk into her office. Empty-handed. Maybe that'll have some effect. But before he reaches the door, someone speaks up.
"She's not in there." Tony turns and raises an eyebrow at Penny. Her arms are full of files again. Really, what are those? Tony didn't know they used so much paper.
"You lying to me? Cause I can just open the door and see."
"No, sir. Sorry, again." The girl shakes her head. Tony sighs and looks back at the office. He wants to check, just to be sure, he didn't realize the child had lied before, she could be doing the same now. But even if she is, Pepper doesn't want to see him.
"Right, thanks, kid," Time to brainstorm. Maybe he should try a large gesture? He's been trying little things for, what, three weeks? Maybe if he-
"She likes pineapple." Tony stops, halfway gone. He spins to look at the child. She looks startled to have spoken but continues with his attention on her. "There's these candies, she can never find them anywhere. They're called-"
"Charmers," Tony said. "Right." He mumbled to himself. He knew that. He forgot. "Thanks, kid."
"I think-" Tony stops again and looks at her. She pulls her lips into a thin line. Tony gestures for her to continue. "I think she, Ms. Potts, I think...she always looks...sad after you leave. But then she'll like, smile more, for the rest of the day. It's honestly mixed signals but I think she likes it when you visit, even if she acts annoyed."
"You think?" For the first time since he started coming down here, Tony feels a small spark of hope. He also feels childish because an actual child is telling him that the girl he likes smiles after he talks to her. How far he's come.
"Yeah, but...I mean, what do I know? I'm just a kid, right?" She laughs in a little self-deprecating way.
"Being young doesn't mean you can't know things," Tony shrugs. He knew a lot of things at a young age. "Pep says you're smart."
"Really?" Penny lights up at the praise.
"Yeah, sure," Tony shrugs and moves on. "Got any other tips for me?"
"The coffee machine in the break room down the hall broke so she has to go down a floor if she wants coffee but she doesn't really like it that much anyway. She often buys from the little shop a block over."
"I thought interns got coffee."
"I do, sort of, sometimes. She only has one cup in the morning. She drinks tea for the rest of the day. She likes chamomile. I said it was cliche and she said it was calming. If she needs a little more caffeine, she'll drink Earl Grey."
"Tea, right." Tony squints his eyes, a plan already forming. Probably a bad plan but those are always the best ones, aren't they? "Thanks, kid. I'll see you later."
"Oh, okay, bye, Mr. Stark!"
Charmers-a ridiculous name if you ask him-are incredibly hard to find for anyone who isn't Tony Stark. And he doesn't just find them. He finds all thirty-seven flavors they offer. Including cucumber and a few others he'd rather not think about. Whoever was behind them is a madman. And coming from him, that's saying something.
He gets mostly pineapple but orders a few other flavors. The more normal ones. He'll give Pepper some options. She doesn't have to accept them all. He can give the rest to the kid. She is the one who reminded him of these stupid things, she deserves a reward.
He gets the old coffee machine in the breakroom thrown out and replaces it with a better one. Even if Pepper prefers the coffee shop down the street. He would just buy that but she would probably be annoyed with him more than anything so he refrains.
He gets Pepper a Japanese tea box. It was on the pricy side but he thinks she'll like it. He fills it with the two teas that Penny mentioned and a few other options he thinks Pepper would at least like to try. He sets it aside for now and decides it's a gift for later. Even if all he wants to do is give it to her now.
This is a...delicate time. Tony builds things, he knows you have to approach some situations with caution. He prefers not to, but if you're not careful, you can cause an explosion. Apparently, that relates to situations outside the workshop too.
He ventures down to Pepper's office on a...Tuesday, he thinks. Penny is outside talking to a woman at the desk. That must be the assistant Pepper mentioned. When she catches sight of Tony, she stands.
"Don't worry, I'm not here for her," He told the assistant. "I'm here for you," He points at Penny. The kid looks behind herself and back to him before pointing at her chest.
"Me?"
"I'm looking right at you, kid, yeah. I've got a job for you. If you're up for it."
"Wha-what kind of job?" Tony sees the assistant raise her eyebrow. He can't have her reporting back to Pepper.
"Walk with me," He gestures and Penny hesitates before following. "I took your advice, found the candy, got some tea, replaced the coffee maker."
"It wasn't really advice, Mr. Stark. I was just stating facts." They stop far enough down the hall that the pesky assistant can't hear them.
"Right, well, it was helpful. Maybe, we'll see," He hasn't actually given any of these things to Pepper, except the coffee maker which was for everyone really, but he has a good feeling about them. "Back to that job offer."
"I already have a job," Penny narrows her eyes. Tony almost laughs. She looks just like Pepper when she does that. She's teaching her well.
"It won't take you away from that one. I just need you to...send a text. When Pep is in her office or when she's out."
"You want me to spy on her?"
"Don't think of it as spying. Think of it as...yeah, I got nothing. You'll be spying but I don't want to know what she's eating for dinner, just when she's in meetings or whatnot."
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you want to know?" Penny asked. Tony hums. It is a valid question for what he's asking her to do. "I mean," She continues before Tony has the chance. "I think I already know. I just think you should say it. Get it out. It'll make you feel better." She smirks and it's Tony's turn to narrow his eyes. This kid.
"I'm trying to win her back. Happy?"
"Very. What number should I send these messages to?"
Tony smirks.