Fandom:
Iron Man (movieverse)
Rating: PG-13 (may change later)
Pairing: Tony/Pepper
Summary: It
will not be long, love...
Disclaimer: Most of the characters and situations in this story belong
to Marvel Comics, Fairview Entertainment, Dark Blades Films, NBC, and
other
entities, and I do not have permission to borrow them. No infringement
is intended in any way, and this story is not for profit. All others
belong to me, especially Cedric, and if you want to borrow them, you
have to ask me first.
Any errors are mine, all mine, no you can't have any.
Laura27md made this possible; and especial thanks to Cincoflex this week for listening
to me whine about plot.
Fabulous illustration by Rabid
Potato, who hadn't even read
the scene and still got it spot-on. Thank you!!
*********
He was warm, but uncomfortable. Tony opened his eyes blearily,
taking a moment to figure out that he was lying on the floor of his
Matsue home, covered with a quilt but feeling the hardness of the wood
beneath him. Grunting, he rubbed his eyes and tried to
focus.
The futon was gone.
That brought him sharply awake, and Tony sat up, ignoring the
aches. The room was empty, its polished floor a bare expanse; but
along the far wall the futon cabinet was closed, and he realized that
someone must have put the bed away, as was normal during the day.
Where’s Pepper?
Judging by the angle of sunlight outside the window, it was past
noon. Tony rubbed his face, wishing he’d brushed his teeth
earlier, and climbed to his feet, ignoring the quilt and shaking out
his yukata. The house was quiet, but it usually was; the staff
was deliberately unintrusive, knowing that when he came here it was in
search of peace. But when he stepped out into the short corridor,
he saw one of the younger staff heading towards the kitchen.
“Where is Ms. Potts?” Tony said, pitching his voice to
carry, and the man stopped, turning to bow.
“She is down by the lake,” he replied, his tone equally
quiet, and Tony nodded, relieved.
The man disappeared, and Tony went to get dressed. He really
wanted to go straight out and find her, but the shore was rocky and the
light cotton robe was not gear for scrambling in.
When he found her, Pepper was perched on a boulder, looking out across
the wide expanse of Lake Shinji. The view was one reason Tony had
chosen the antique estate; it was breathtakingly beautiful. Not
unlike the woman who watched it, he thought as he scrunched across the
narrow, pebbly beach. Pepper was wearing casual Western clothes
from her suitcase and had her hair tucked behind her ears, and judging
from the freckles that stood out on her nose she hadn’t applied
makeup; she looked lovely to his eyes, almost translucent in the
sunlight, her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them like a
little kid.
Tony knew she heard him coming, but it wasn’t until he reached
the foot of the boulder that she turned her head to look at him.
And though her expression was serene, he somehow knew that she
wasn’t. “Good morning, Tony.”
He wanted to climb up beside her, but there was only room for
one. “Sleep well, Potts?”
She smiled just slightly. “You snore, you
know.”
It was so entirely not what he was expecting that Tony blinked.
“Yeah, well, I don’t usually sleep on the
floor.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Did you have breakfast?”
Pepper’s smile didn’t waver. “Yes. You
slept right through that too.”
“It’s been a long week.” Tony bit his tongue as
soon as he’d spoken. Her
week’s been worse,
dumbass.
But she didn’t seem to take offense. “You don’t
have to watch over me, Tony. I’m fine.”
He let his brow climb skeptically, and her mouth turned down as she
looked back over the water. “I’m sure you have things
to do. Like that meeting in New York.”
“Postponed.” Like most of his schedule as soon as
she’d disappeared. “I’ve got nothing on the
table at the moment.”
She didn’t answer. Tony regarded her for a long moment,
wondering dismally which one of them would outstubborn the other this
time. Normally he would have infinite patience in this regard,
but some things could only be put off so long, and more lives than his
and hers depended on his actions. Sooner or later he would have
to go back and deal with them.
But here she’s safe, at
least.
Pepper didn’t look back, and Tony knew he’d been
dismissed. Frustrated, he retreated.
You’re being
unfair.
Virginia watched the wind ruffle the water, thinking absently that she
was going to burn again soon if she didn’t get out of the sun,
and tried to ignore her conscience, but it wouldn’t be
still. He’s trying to
help. He’s terrible at it, but he does care about
you.
I know that, she
retorted silently. She’d known it for quite some time, even
before he’d flown off to Afghanistan and everything had
changed. And even if she’d doubted it, the last days would
have proved it.
But she didn’t want to deal with his caring just now.
Virginia could feel it,
an unseen pressure wrapping around her, but it was just one more danger
at this point. Safe she might be, so far from Three, but her calm
was dangling by a raveling thread, and she was frightened of what would
happen if it snapped.
Get a grip, she told
herself harshly. Nothing
really bad actually happened to you, unlike Happy. You
weren’t even seriously hurt. Where do you get off being so
shook up?
It was infuriating, feeling her emotions veering out of control.
One of the requirements of being Tony Stark’s personal assistant
was the ability to master one’s temper, to push past tiredness,
frustration, boredom, exasperation. Even, on occasion,
fear. And Virginia was past master at it; expression of emotion
she used as a tool, but the feelings themselves were not permitted to
influence her.
Well, mostly. Be
honest.
Certainly there were times when things got the better of her, but those
were usually extraordinary circumstances, and never lasted long.
But now she couldn’t seem to get a grasp on anything. She
ranged from a weird calm to instant anger, to bitter guilt, with a dash
of panic thrown in every so often. She felt like she wanted to
curl up and hide, to make all the world go away and stop rasping on her
overstretched nerves.
You have responsibilities,
she reminded herself. They may
be in abeyance at the moment, but they’ll return soon
enough. And she wanted very much to have them back, to get
back to normal, when time to
think about herself was scarce and she knew she was being of use.
And if things were normal, she wouldn’t have to deal with
Tony’s new behavior. The strength of his caring was
something she’d never seen in him before, ever. Certainly
not directed at one of his casual lovers. And it frightened her,
because...because...
Because it’s what you
want?
Tony was easy to resist, at least for Virginia, because despite all his
obvious attractions he had never offered her what she really
needed. But this about-face was unprecedented, and she knew that
the longer it lasted the less reason she had to doubt it.
She buried her hot face in her arms, feeling the sun burning on the
nape of her neck where her shorn hair parted. And felt the
insane, absurd desire to ask Tony for a hug.
She dawdled on her way back to the house, taking the time to appreciate
it as she made her way up the beach path. It was built in a
traditional style, with an overhanging, steeply pitched roof, though of
tile rather than thatch. Wide windows looked out on the
immaculate gardens, which were bursting with hydrangeas; past their
blooming prime, now, but still green and vigorous. Virginia knew
from her previous visits that a large pond lurked on the far side of
the house, with a vegetable garden tucked against the kitchen, but she
elected to go up the front path and inside. The interior space
was cool and clean, most of the spaces large and empty; moveable
screens were available to divide them if necessary.
There was little furniture, most of it traditional as well, though she
knew that the kitchen was state-of-the-art and that there was a small
room that held various electronics for Tony’s use. There
was a tub room with a wooden ofuro, but also tiny shower rooms off each
bedroom that lacked no modernity.
Virginia paused in the little entranceway, savoring the cool stillness
after the sun and wind. The house’s existence had surprised
her when she’d first seen it, but the more she got to know Tony
the more sense it made. She liked the staff, who managed to be
efficient and unobtrusive without a trace of obsequiousness, and
usually found the house relaxing despite the way she always felt out of
place in Western clothing. Which was silly, she reminded herself;
Yuu and her people wore a plain uniform of white shirts and black
trousers, at least when Tony was in residence.
Virginia walked slowly towards her room, lost in thought. There
were garments available if she wanted to wear them. She’d
seen Tony in traditional Japanese formal dress exactly once, and it had
impressed her; he had been neither uncomfortable or clumsy in the
elaborate clothing. But that had been years ago.
She had almost reached her room when she sensed the presence of someone
else, and looked up to see Yuu standing nearby. Her grey hair was
worn in an old-fashioned bob, and Virginia had never seen her look
anything but calm. “It’s time for supper,” the
housekeeper told her.
Virginia smiled back. “Thank you,” she said
carefully, knowing her own accent was atrocious, but Yuu never
flinched.
Tony was waiting in the dining area when Virginia came in, her hands
and face still damp from a quick wash. His glance was somber,
despite a quick flicker of a smile. “You look
better.”
She shrugged at him, not knowing quite what to say. They knelt at
the table to eat, passing dishes back and forth as if they did so every
day. Virginia liked Japanese food, but had to quell a sudden
peculiar longing for a pizza.
“We could get the boat out, if you like,” Tony said
eventually, referring to the sailboat kept under wraps down by the
water. “Or go visit the hot springs.”
Virginia gathered up a bit of rice on her chopsticks. “You
don’t have to amuse me, Tony.”
He made a small gesture of frustration. “No, I suppose not,
but honestly, Pepper, I’m only trying to help here.”
Guilt surged. She hadn’t asked to be whisked off to Asia to
hide, but Tony had done so from the best possible motives, and she knew
she could have refused if she had really wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, staring down into her
bowl, wondering why she felt so sullen.
His sigh was audible. “Stop it, Potts. I’m
sorry too. You’re entitled to...whatever.”
Virginia set the bowl down and very carefully arranged her chopsticks
across it in a perfect X. “Why don’t you just tell me
to suck it up? It’s probably what I need to
hear.”
She expected more platitudes, but his chuckle made her look up in
surprise. “Since when? Seriously, I need to make you
take vacations more often if this is how you react to time
off.”
For some reason, the comment made her smile, a bubble of amusement
lightening the heaviness in her chest. “The hot springs do
sound nice.”
Tony's face lit, relieving lines of tension, and Virginia realized with
an odd lurch that he felt guilty too. Which was stupid, she told
herself fiercely; none of the whole mess had been his fault. She picked up
her teacup. "Maybe tomorrow, okay? I just want to, I don't
know, relax."
"Sure." He waved an expansive hand. "Anything you want,
Potts; name it, it's yours. Except for work," he added hastily as
she opened her mouth, and she laughed at him for what felt like the
first time in ages, inexpressibly tickled by his sheepish grin.
The trouble, she realized after dinner, was that there really wasn't
much to do on
the old estate. Any small chores were the province of the staff,
who would be horrified if she offered to help; there was, oddly enough,
no TV, and while the computer in the electronics room had Internet
access, Tony was busy in there and she didn't want to interrupt
him.
Virginia wandered idly around the house, taking in various details and
reminding herself of how the place looked; its cool spareness pleased
her senses. There were echoes of the house's decor in Tony's
Malibu mansion--the clean lines, the empty spaces--and Virginia
suspected that he was quite aware of the influence.
I wonder how long it would
take to get some books delivered.
There were undoubtedly bookstores in Matsue proper, but she didn't know
if they would carry anything in English, and her Japanese wasn't good
enough to make reading it a pleasure.
But as she passed by the room opposite hers, the one where Tony slept--when he's not crashed on my floor, that is--she
spotted a couple of battered volumes in one of the low open cabinets,
and curiosity tempted her inside. It didn't really feel like an
invasion of privacy; she was in and out of his personal spaces all the
time, and he'd just given her practically carte blanche for whatever
she wanted, but Virginia wasn't expecting much when she crouched to
look at the old paperbacks. More
military history? No--
They were older than she was--older than Tony, in fact--cheap
paperbacks dating from a time when new books could be had for less than
a dollar. She smiled slowly as she flipped through them, reading
titles out loud. "Meet the
Tiger, Enter the Saint, The Last Hero. I should have
guessed."
Tony as a fan of the gentleman thief was somehow fitting. In his own way, he is a romantic.
Though he seemed to guard that secret as fiercely as his armor.
Straightening, she carried the books to her own room. Definitely better than endless
descriptions of battles.
In the morning, the cook served them a Western breakfast of eggs and
bacon and juice. Tony regarded her across the table as he
buttered toast. "I have to run an errand this morning, but it
shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours. Want to hit the
hot springs when I get back?"
Virginia sipped juice. "I could go by myself," she offered, but
Tony smirked.
"You're not getting rid of me that easy, Potts. I happen to like the smell of sulfur."
"Your rivals would say that was only natural," she riposted
half-heartedly, and his smirk grew wider.
"I've reformed, remember?" He took a huge bite of toast and spoke
around it. "Schedule me to rescue a puppy or something if you
think the message isn't getting through."
She sniffed, and reached for the jam.
Tony left as soon as he'd finished. Virginia returned to her room
to finish the book she'd fallen asleep over the night before, but it
didn't take long, and she lay back on the cushion, feeling boredom loom
again. I hope they catch Three
soon, or I'm going to go nuts.
Finally she pushed herself to her feet, returned the book to Tony's
room, and went to the little electronics room. Snapping on the
big flatscreen, she picked up the phone and dialed. Within
seconds, Jarvis' calm voice was reaching her ear. "Ms.
Potts. It is good to hear from you."
Virginia smiled; she found she missed the AI when she was away for more
than a few days. "It's good to talk to you too, Jarvis.
How's Happy doing?"
"He is recovering nicely. The trip to Hawaii was against medical
advice, but he is quite comfortable here."
She sat back in the one chair that the room boasted. "Is he
awake? Put him on camera if he's up for it."
There was a pause, and then the screen flickered and cleared, showing
Happy reclining on a chaise longue on a shaded deck, leg secured with
cushions; he was wearing an uncharacteristically relaxed expression and
an appallingly garish flowered shirt. Virginia’s return
smile felt stiff; he looked much better than the last time she’d
seen him, but at the same time he was strangely diminished. The
excellent camera caught even the faint pain-lines around his
mouth. “Happy...how are you?”
“I’m doing better,” he replied, giving her the gift
of honesty. “It hurts to move much, but I took worse in my
boxing days. No broken bones this time.”
His smile was genuine, but Virginia felt her stomach twist at the
thought. “Has the FBI talked to you?”
Happy shrugged. “Yeah. Couldn’t tell ‘em
much; mostly all I saw was the gun.”
She concealed her flinch. “Have I thanked you for saving my
life?” She kept her voice just to one side of
teasing.
His grin softened. “Twice at least.” He rubbed
his jaw with one hand. “How’s the boss?”
“Off running an errand, he said. I shudder to
think.” The words were easy, cheerful, familiar; Happy
snorted, clearly envisioning the possible weirdnesses Tony could get
into. Or bring home.
“Hope it doesn’t involve squid this time.”
Happy shifted gingerly on the chaise, and Virginia shuddered at the
memory he’d invoked.
“Invertebrates of any kind not welcome,” she agreed.
“Ranks right up there with the noodle incident.”
“Don’t remind me.” Happy sobered, catching her
gaze from thousands of miles away. “Are you okay?”
The gentle question went right through her like a knife of ice. How can you ask me that, you nearly died because of me--
Virginia locked the surge of emotion down hard. “I’m
fine,” she said lightly. “Maybe still a little
jetlagged.”
“Well, you keep resting then,” Happy replied.
“You deserve it.”
“Sure.” Virginia lifted a hand to wave at him.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Mm-hmm.” Happy gave her a casual salute, but the
camera lingered on him, and she saw his shoulders sag with fatigue, saw
his mouth turn down with pain.
The guilt was crushing. She jabbed at the screen’s switch
and stumbled out of the chair, barely remembering to put the phone down
before she bolted out of the little room.
There was no one in the garden just then; sun filled its narrow paths
with light, and Virginia hurried down the leafy corridors of
hydrangeas, not even sure where she was going until she reached it--a
bench under a huge old evergreen, invisible from the house. Her
knees gave out and she sat, staring blankly at the high brick wall
surrounding the estate.
Get a grip, she told
herself. Then out loud. “Get a grip--”
The tremble in her voice horrified her, and she clapped both hands over
her mouth. She didn’t lose control like this; she just didn’t.
Her job depended on her being in control at all times, on keeping her
temper longer than anyone else, and this was just not acceptable.
But the terrifying tide rising in her would not stop, and Virginia
hunched over herself, throat knotting and her fingers pressing deeply
into her own cheeks. You got
through all that without breaking down, you can’t go to pieces now--
It hurt, forcing its way out,
her stomach, her chest, her eyes. Guilt and fury mingled and
boiled over, and she couldn’t straighten, couldn’t calm
herself. All she could do was gasp, her mind replaying
Happy’s blood on the floor, Three’s grip on her hair, the
shivering fear of her first night in the woods--it all kaleidoscoped
around and around, sharp shards cutting her deeper and deeper.
The hard grip on her forearms made her flinch, but it still took an
effort to focus on Tony’s voice, to blink her eyes clear enough
to see him crouching in front of her with concern in every line of
him. “Pepper--”
She wanted to jerk away, to make him leave so he wouldn’t see her
collapse. But she couldn’t even speak.
“Deep breath, Pepper, come on.” He peered up at her,
concern growing towards fear. “Pepper?”
The first sob seemed to tear her throat out, and she didn’t even
recognize her own voice in that low wail. The grip on her arms
suddenly loosened, replaced by an equally hard hug, and she
just...let...go.
There was nothing pretty about it. Virginia gasped and coughed
and choked, chest and throat knotting in sharp spasms; she
couldn’t even think. There was only the pain and rage and
guilt, an unstoppable avalanche pouring out of her; the bewildered
furious hurt at the damage done to her, to Happy, even to Tony.
She wanted to demand justice, but justice couldn’t erase what had
happened, couldn’t close the wound in Happy’s thigh or give
her back the time stolen from her. She wanted to run away to
where no one knew her, so that no one she loved would ever be hurt by
her again.
She wanted to stop being afraid.
Tony tried to say something at first, but she couldn’t make out
the words, and after a while he stopped. Instead, he just cradled
her against him, one hand sliding up into her hair and rubbing slowly
against her scalp. Virginia pressed her forehead against his
shoulder, letting the warm cloth and firm muscle absorb her weeping,
and realizing dimly that just being held
felt incredibly good. She loathed being vulnerable, but somehow
she knew that Tony, the Tony who had come back from his own hell, would
not use it against her later.
It took her a long time to calm. By the time her breathing
slowed, Virginia’s eyes felt like sandpaper and her nose was
stuffed, but Tony hadn’t shifted, hadn’t even stopped the
gentle motion of his hand through her hair. He somehow managed to
make her feel encompassed, wrapped up in his concern.
It was a very foreign feeling, and part of her wanted to bolt away from
it, but the rest of her was just too tired.
So she let herself keep leaning against him, and tried not to wonder
what price she would eventually pay for the indulgence.
The position was very awkward, kneeling on the gravel walk, but Tony
didn’t move, even when his knees started to hurt. The woman
in his arms frightened him, because Tony couldn’t remember ever
seeing Pepper so broken before. Even after her first week of
working for him, even in the mad rush after his first Iron Man press
conference, she had displayed a steel constitution and an unsettling
calm. Her serenity did get frayed from time to time, and on
occasion she even lost her temper, but he had never seen her actually melt down before.
But if anyone’s
entitled, she is.
And beyond the sheer bliss of actually holding her was the nascent
pride that Pepper was letting
him--that she was actually taking refuge in him. It was one of
the long list of things Tony had discovered he wanted from his personal
assistant, and he wasn’t about to take the honor lightly.
He’d spent far too much of his life taking things too
lightly.
On top of it all, though, was worry. He’d tried asking her
what was wrong, but he wasn’t even sure she’d heard
him. He knew it wasn’t Happy; Jarvis would have contacted
him instantly if Hogan had taken a turn for the worse. In the
end, all he could do was wait her out.
Even after Pepper’s tears were spent, she was still for so long
that he would have thought her drowsing, but for the occasional shudder
or hiccup that rippled through her. But at last she stirred,
sniffling one last time and tensing. At the first hint of her
pulling back, Tony tightened his arms, unwilling to lose her just
yet.
“Tony--” Her voice was so hoarse as to be
unrecognizable.
“All right.” He let her go long enough to push to his
feet, but then sat down on the bench next to her and pulled her right
up into his lap.
She squeaked. Tony pressed his cheek against her hair and
searched for words. “Please, Pepper. Please, just let
me do this at least, okay? Let me hold you. You’re allowed to give in once in a while,
you know.”
Pepper shook her head a fraction, though whether in negation or for
some internal thought he didn’t know, but she slowly relaxed
against him; and, wonder of wonders, her arm crept shyly around his
neck, as if afraid he would back away from her touch. The
sensation was a strange delight, and Tony let some time go by before he
spoke again.
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but it seems like a pretty
stupid question.”
She cleared her throat. “‘M not,” she
muttered. “Sorry.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze. Her eyes were swollen and
her nose red, and all he wanted to do was soothe her hot face with his
lips. He gave her a stern look instead. “If you try
to apologize, Potts, I’m going to have to spank
you.”
She made a sound that was a cross between a cough and a snicker, and
rubbed her eyes with her free hand, sitting up a little.
“It’s my fault.”
That made no sense to him. Tony squinted at her, automatically
shifting to keep her secure on his lap. “What’s your
fault?”
Pepper shrugged, a tiny movement that somehow bespoke
hopelessness. “All of it. Happy.” She
looked away. “He’s hurt ‘cause of
me.”
It took him a moment to process her words, and then Tony took a very
careful hold of his temper, because he didn’t think that yelling
at Pepper when she was so upset was going to help. “Let me
get this straight. You’re blaming yourself because Happy got
hurt.”
She gave a jerky nod, and swiped at her nose with the back of her
hand. Without really thinking about it, Tony fished in his pocket
and handed her his handkerchief, meanwhile keeping his voice
even. “You know, I wish Happy were here, because then he
could make you see how stupid
that is.”
Pepper, wiping her face, flinched, and Tony took a deep breath.
“How the hell is it your fault that those three morons
couldn’t even kidnap the right woman?”
“No--” She cleared her throat again. “If
I’d stayed in, instead of going out--”
Tony gave into temptation and stroked the ruffled hair out of her
eyes. “He was probably watching the house. You had to
come out sometime, and he was waiting for it.”
Pepper opened her mouth, but he kept going. “Plus, may I
remind you, protecting you is part of Happy’s job.
I don’t want to see him hurt any more than you do, but he
basically signed up to take the risk.” Tony absently took
the handkerchief and stuffed it back into his pocket. “And
he’ll tell you the same thing, the next time you see
him.”
Pepper blinked, her gaze searching his face, though he didn’t
know what she was looking for. Tony couldn’t tell if his
words were reaching her; he kicked himself mentally for not realizing
that she would feel guilty over Happy’s injury. She takes on every responsibility she can
find, what made you think she would miss this one?
But then she let out a breath, and with a slowness that made him hold
his own breath, she leaned against him again, resting her head in the
space between his neck and shoulder. “I feel like a
wimp,” she said at last.
Tony choked back a laugh. “You?”
He couldn’t see her face, but the air that puffed against his
throat might have been the beginning of a chuckle. “I just
lost it all over your garden, ‘member?”
He huffed gently against the top of her head.
“Pepper. Please. You survived three thugs and two
nights in the wilderness, you got yourself home, and left me with
nothing to do--you hid yourself so well I couldn’t even find you. You left the fucking FBI to clean up after you.
You’re terrifying.”
He wanted to squeeze her until she couldn't breathe. "You're damn
well entitled to a good
cry."
"Not all over my boss," she mumbled, hunching a bit.
It was barely loud enough for him to hear. Tony opened his mouth
to dispute the term, then closed it. Now is not the time, dumbass.
Instead, he tightened his arms a little. “Any time, Pepper,
and I mean that.”
They sat in silence for a long time, and he counted each moment
worthwhile.
The koi in the mossy old pond were huge with age, spotted with glitter,
and possessed of sardonic eyes. They lurked--there was no other
word for it, in Tony's opinion--beneath the water plants, surfacing
slowly on occasion in hopes that treats would be flung.
He sat on the slate edge of the pool and indulged them, dropping in
little pellets of something vaguely nasty; it claimed to be premium
fish food, and certainly the koi loved it, swooping up to gulp them
down, occasionally bumping one another out of the way. They had
come with the house, an accent to the carefully planned, tree-backed
pond and its surrounding hydrangeas; the whole thing was set up to
imitate nature, and was one of the reasons he’d fallen in love
with the place originally.
Tony amused himself trying to tell the fish apart; most of them were a
brilliant orange and white, but there was also one in light pink livery
and two a sort of dark silver, and two more in red and gold so perfect
that he was tickled at how close they came to the suit. They're even shiny.
He tossed more pellets and idly wondered if it would be possible to
breed a koi with a blue spot on its underside, but the thought didn't
last long. Pepper came drifting back to the surface of his
thoughts as relentlessly as the koi.
They'd spent almost an hour on the old stone bench, just sitting in
silence, Pepper still curled on his lap. The length of her legs
made it a bit awkward, but she didn't seem to mind, and Tony had been
too quietly thrilled that she was trusting him to worry about it.
And then his phone had chimed.
If he'd been his old self, he'd have tossed it over his shoulder into
the bushes. But there was Happy to consider, and Iron Man, and
even when the call had turned out to be about the Tokyo reactor he'd
still had to go. Pepper's smile and gentle shove had been no real
consolation.
He'd left strict instructions that she was to be fed as soon as she
came in. And when he'd returned hours later, he was told that Ms.
Potts had eaten, soaked in the ofuro for a while, and lain down for a
nap. Which was, Tony had to admit, satisfactory.
Now, in the mellow light of evening, he wondered what the hell to do
next. Or even if there was anything
he could do.
"I didn't know there were fish in there."
Tony jumped as Pepper's voice spoke behind him, and turned to see her
smiling apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle
you."
He had to smile. She looked glorious in the golden light, her
hair aflame; still worn, but with that relentless tension
relaxed. "They only show if they think they can harrass you into
feeding them. Wanna?"
He held out the fish-treat canister, and Pepper took it, settling
gracefully next to him on the slate and hooking up one knee on the
edge. "How many are there?"
Tony blinked. "You know, I'm not really sure." He peered at
the shifting, glistening forms vying for the morsels Pepper was
scattering. "One plus x, I suppose."
She kept her eyes on the supplicants, long fingers flicking another few
pellets across the water. "Tony, I do want to apologize..."
He set his jaw. "Spanking, remember?" That made her raise
her head and glare at him, but Tony didn't give way. "Stop
it. It's not necessary."
Pepper raised her chin. "You don't even know what I'm trying to
apologize for!"
“Doesn’t matter, I don’t want to hear it.”
The glare deepened, but a spark lit it. “How do you
know? I might have...kicked a hole in the ofuro or
something.”
Tony burst out laughing, and Pepper’s mouth curved in a reluctant
grin. On impulse, he reached over and took the hand not
encumbered with the pellet canister. “Come on,
Pepper. Will you just trust
me?”
She blinked at that, sobering, and he stumbled on.
“I...look, I know this is deeply weird, but...ever since I got
back things have been changing. I’ve
changed. And while you were gone, I...I
couldn’t...” Tony swallowed. “I
can’t pretend any
more.”
“Tony--”
She hadn’t pulled away. He tightened his fingers, trying to
make the pressure show his sincerity. “You don’t have
to--I mean, it’s not--”
Something abruptly pinched
him, right on the ass. Tony flinched violently, lost his balance,
felt Pepper’s fingers slip from his grip, and--arms
flailing--fell backward into the water with a splash worthy of a
cartoon.
For an instant the water closing over his head was icy cold and ghostly
hands gripped his shoulders. But he’d spent hours, days,
submersing himself in the bath inch by inch to gain control, and the
phantoms vanished as quickly as they’d come. The water was
just cool, and green with life, and his backside hit the pond bottom
within a second. Tony shoved himself upright, his head and
shoulders clearing the surface easily, and clawed waterweed out of his
face--sputtering and surprised, but only that.
And the first thing that met his eyes was Pepper doubled over, arms
wrapped around her waist as she howled with laughter.
Irritation and wounded pride fled before delight. He
couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard, and
if it took a ducking to do it, he was willing to make the sacrifice of
dryness and dignity.
Not that he’d had much choice.
Pepper flapped one hand weakly, trying to say something, but the only
thing that came out of her mouth was more laughter. He grinned at
her, ignoring the slightly slimy feel of the water.
“Careful, Ms. Potts, or I’ll--”
Drag you in here with me
was what he meant to say, but halfway through the sentence Pepper
wobbled, grabbed at the pool’s rim, and lost her laughter in a
shriek as she tumbled over the side.
Her splash wasn’t as impressive as his, but it was still enough
to douse his already-soaking head. Tony wiped his eyes clear as
she surfaced with a gasp, and started laughing himself at the sheer
astonished outrage on her face.
Pepper’s head snapped around to glare at him, and Tony raised a
hand. “Hey, I didn’t even touch you! That was
all you.”
“You--you--gah!”
With a quick motion of one arm, she sent a wave right into his
face. Tony whooped and splashed her back, and for a few minutes
it was nothing but shouts and dodges and gouts of water glittering in
the last of the sun.
Finally they sat panting and giggling, letting the water calm.
Pepper’s hair, no longer bright, hung down in stringy clumps; her
shirt was streaked with algae, and there was a strand of waterweed
caught behind one ear. Tony figured he looked no better, but he
was still mesmerized by her--unpolished, undone, unguarded
and...everything he wanted. The laughter sank away as he watched
her, and Tony felt his augmented heart spasm with the need to pull her
close. Not just for a kiss, or more; to feel her touch and know
that she wanted him too.
Pepper sighed, still smiling, and then glanced down. “Your
pets are getting kind of cheeky.”
Tony became aware of the large forms cruising past him hopefully.
“Damn fish. This is all their fault anyway.”
And it was; given a moment to think, he’d realized that one of
the massive koi had actually bitten his butt in its quest for more
treats.
Pepper laughed again. “Is that a fish in your pocket, or
are you just happy sashimi?”
Tony stared at her. “Did you actually make a dirty
pun? You?”
She raised her brows, looking astonishingly prim for someone soaked
through. “Me, Mr. Stark? I think you must be
hallucinating.”
“I’m going to make you all into sushi,” Tony told the
water, but the threat didn’t seem to have much effect.
“Gelfilte fish, maybe.” Pepper sighed again,
shivered, and eyed him uncertainly for a moment, and then astounded him
by sliding over and pressing a cool, lingering kiss to his damp
cheek.
“I...I understand what you’re saying, Tony,” she told
him in a low voice. “But I need time to think about
it.”
Before he could find words she rose, water sheeting off her, and
climbed out of the pond, swinging her legs around to stand on the other
side. “Do you need a hand?”
Tony pulled his eyes from the wet jeans clinging to her calves and
thighs and looked up. “No--uh, no thanks. I’ll
be along in a minute.”
Pepper nodded, apparently oblivious to his gaze, and set off for the
house, squishing audibly. “Don’t stay in too
long,” floated back over her shoulder, and Tony blew her a
raspberry, which was countered only by laughter.
The water was starting to chill, but for a little while, all he did was
sit and grin.
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