Fic: In Another's Eyes (Chapter 19)
Title: In Another’s Eyes
Fandom: The Avengers (AU-Cinematic Universe)
Characters: Antonia “Toni” Stark, Steve Rogers, others.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Toni/Steve
Warnings: Mentions of Non-Con, bondage
Summary: A stalker is targeting Toni, which skews how she sees herself and how she allows others to see her.
Author's Notes: I like this chapter ^_^
Song Lyrics from "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, who is next to impossible to find on YouTube
( Chapter One) ( Chapter Two) ( Chapter Three) ( Chapter Four) ( Chapter Five) ( Chapter Six) ( Chapter Seven) ( Chapter Eight) ( Chapter Nine) ( Chapter Ten) ( Chapter Eleven) ( Chapter Twelve) ( Chapter Thirteen) ( Chapter Fourteen) ( Chapter Fifteen) ( Chapter Sixteen) ( Chapter Seventeen) ( Chapter Eighteen)
Chapter Nineteen:
When Pepper stopped by later that afternoon to check on Toni, she found Steve and Toni lying on the bedroom floor, asleep in each other’s arms. The new dog, Castiel-if anyone was able to steal Toni away from Steve, it would either be Robert Downey Jr. or Misha Collins-was still on the bed, seemingly enjoying having it all to himself. Pepper snapped a picture with her phone before closing the door and as long as Toni didn’t find out, she’d be fine.
Pepper Potts knew Toni Stark better than most. She wouldn’t say she knew her the best, as she always thought that ‘honor’ went to Rhodey, who had known her much longer. Rhodey would insist that Pepper knew her better of course, as Toni and Pepper had actually dated. Toni told the both of them to shut up, she was trying to figure out code. Either way, there was one thing that Pepper knew for sure: Toni looked so good in love.
When Pepper started working for her, Toni was in her late teens. She had lost both of her parents and was getting ready to take over at Stark Enterprises. She was brilliant, beautiful, confident (some would say arrogant) and she used all of that to take the world by storm. All she needed was Rhodey to smooth things over with the US government and Pepper to make sure she got to meetings on time. After the first few weeks it was changed to making sure she got to meetings period, but that was all part of the job, wasn’t it? Improvising.
Rhodey had taken the liberty of filling Pepper in on everything Toni after it was clear she’d be sticking around for more than a week; Howard Stark was not an emotional man, Maria Stark was not an affectionate woman and the result was Toni, who was described by the press as a cock tease and attention whore. It made sense, in a weird way. If she hadn’t been a multi-billionaire, Pepper suspected Toni would have become a stripper/prostitute, as that’s what most would assume a woman with Toni’s childhood would become. But, because she was a multi-billionaire, she instead became a tabloid sensation. These were comparisons that Pepper would never tell Toni she had made, as she valued her life.
In that entire time between her first day as Toni’s PA and now, she had only seen Toni in love twice. The first time, thankfully, was while they were dating. The second time was now, with Steve, and it was a look that completely suited her.
Part of it, Pepper was willing to admit, could have been the fact she finally had a family. Mind you, it was a family made up of crazy people, but it was a million times more stable than anything she’d ever had before. Yes, Toni had Pepper and Rhodey and Happy and even Jarvis, but it wasn’t the same as what she had now. None of them, not even Pepper lived with her on a 24/7 basis; even when they were dating, Pepper had her own penthouse apartment and still lived there most of the time. Weekends were spent at Toni’s, where they kissed and cuddled, but nothing more. It made it easier when they ended things, really, as there was no uncomfortable packing of Pepper’s things and moving them out.
Now, she had four men and a woman living with her on a daily basis. Before, these people only saw Toni at her best; now that they lived with her, they also saw her at her worst. They saw her after she’d been in her workshop for three days straight without eating or sleeping; they saw her when she was angry at herself because she couldn’t make something work; they saw her when she hated herself. They saw her in ways she’d never let anyone see her before and none of them judged her for it. As far as Pepper could tell, they were actually helping. Clint was the annoying little brother-despite the fact he may actually be older than Toni-she never knew she needed. Bruce was able to bond with her on a purely intellectual level, though the fact she was somehow able to calm down Hulk didn’t hurt things either. Natasha was… not complicating things and Pepper was very happy about that. Thor was Toni’s favorite and a good natured older brother figure. And then there was Steve.
The night Pepper tried to be romantic and snuck into the shower with Toni was the night she realized she had competition for her heart. She almost missed the scars on her upper torso-probably would have completely if Toni hadn’t drawn attention to them by trying to cover them up-because of the tattoo on her right hip. She had told Pepper once that she liked tattoos, but only if they were meaningful; they didn’t have to make sense to anyone else, as long as the owner could look at their ink and know it meant something. She wouldn’t have a tattoo any other way.
Toni’s tattoo was a shield; Cap’s shield. If that didn’t have meaning, nothing would.
Maybe if Pepper hadn’t tried to push her, she and Toni would still be together. Maybe if she hadn’t seen the SHIELD, she would have thought that they would have been able to work it out. She knew Toni loved her, but she would have been a fool to think she had all of Toni’s heart. It ended shortly after, just before Steve was found. It was for the best, really. Not that they had failed, but that they had at least tried. The never knowing would have been harder on Pepper. Maybe on Toni too.
She thinks about the first time she and Toni almost kissed, the dance they’d shared beforehand. She remembered being left on the roof after Toni went to get drinks and her never returning. She learned later why that was and forgave her, but the fact she was pushed to the side still hurt, no matter how noble the reason.
It was like one of those country songs that Toni insisted she never listened to.
And now I’m glad I didn’t know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the Dance
She could have said no, pulled away and walked off when Toni tried to lead her to the dance floor. She could have skipped the heartache. There would have been consequences, though; without Toni, Pepper would never have found Natasha.
“Are you alright?” Natasha’s voice was soft and sincerely worried and made Pepper smile. She never thought she’d be a relationship with a woman that wasn’t Toni; she wasn’t opposed to the idea, she just never expected it. Tasha, of course, was the definition of unexpected. She would show up in Malibu on a whim and kidnap Pepper from work, taking her to dinner or two a movie. Once she even took her to Disneyland. Natasha would get her to do all the things Pepper used to get mad at Toni for doing (but after running the company, she completely understood why Toni had done every single one) and that was okay.
“Yeah,” Pepper replied, leaning into Natasha when she put an arm around her. Toni was happy. Pepper was happy. Everything was really alright.
Fandom: The Avengers (AU-Cinematic Universe)
Characters: Antonia “Toni” Stark, Steve Rogers, others.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Toni/Steve
Warnings: Mentions of Non-Con, bondage
Summary: A stalker is targeting Toni, which skews how she sees herself and how she allows others to see her.
Author's Notes: I like this chapter ^_^
Song Lyrics from "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, who is next to impossible to find on YouTube
( Chapter One) ( Chapter Two) ( Chapter Three) ( Chapter Four) ( Chapter Five) ( Chapter Six) ( Chapter Seven) ( Chapter Eight) ( Chapter Nine) ( Chapter Ten) ( Chapter Eleven) ( Chapter Twelve) ( Chapter Thirteen) ( Chapter Fourteen) ( Chapter Fifteen) ( Chapter Sixteen) ( Chapter Seventeen) ( Chapter Eighteen)
Chapter Nineteen:
When Pepper stopped by later that afternoon to check on Toni, she found Steve and Toni lying on the bedroom floor, asleep in each other’s arms. The new dog, Castiel-if anyone was able to steal Toni away from Steve, it would either be Robert Downey Jr. or Misha Collins-was still on the bed, seemingly enjoying having it all to himself. Pepper snapped a picture with her phone before closing the door and as long as Toni didn’t find out, she’d be fine.
Pepper Potts knew Toni Stark better than most. She wouldn’t say she knew her the best, as she always thought that ‘honor’ went to Rhodey, who had known her much longer. Rhodey would insist that Pepper knew her better of course, as Toni and Pepper had actually dated. Toni told the both of them to shut up, she was trying to figure out code. Either way, there was one thing that Pepper knew for sure: Toni looked so good in love.
When Pepper started working for her, Toni was in her late teens. She had lost both of her parents and was getting ready to take over at Stark Enterprises. She was brilliant, beautiful, confident (some would say arrogant) and she used all of that to take the world by storm. All she needed was Rhodey to smooth things over with the US government and Pepper to make sure she got to meetings on time. After the first few weeks it was changed to making sure she got to meetings period, but that was all part of the job, wasn’t it? Improvising.
Rhodey had taken the liberty of filling Pepper in on everything Toni after it was clear she’d be sticking around for more than a week; Howard Stark was not an emotional man, Maria Stark was not an affectionate woman and the result was Toni, who was described by the press as a cock tease and attention whore. It made sense, in a weird way. If she hadn’t been a multi-billionaire, Pepper suspected Toni would have become a stripper/prostitute, as that’s what most would assume a woman with Toni’s childhood would become. But, because she was a multi-billionaire, she instead became a tabloid sensation. These were comparisons that Pepper would never tell Toni she had made, as she valued her life.
In that entire time between her first day as Toni’s PA and now, she had only seen Toni in love twice. The first time, thankfully, was while they were dating. The second time was now, with Steve, and it was a look that completely suited her.
Part of it, Pepper was willing to admit, could have been the fact she finally had a family. Mind you, it was a family made up of crazy people, but it was a million times more stable than anything she’d ever had before. Yes, Toni had Pepper and Rhodey and Happy and even Jarvis, but it wasn’t the same as what she had now. None of them, not even Pepper lived with her on a 24/7 basis; even when they were dating, Pepper had her own penthouse apartment and still lived there most of the time. Weekends were spent at Toni’s, where they kissed and cuddled, but nothing more. It made it easier when they ended things, really, as there was no uncomfortable packing of Pepper’s things and moving them out.
Now, she had four men and a woman living with her on a daily basis. Before, these people only saw Toni at her best; now that they lived with her, they also saw her at her worst. They saw her after she’d been in her workshop for three days straight without eating or sleeping; they saw her when she was angry at herself because she couldn’t make something work; they saw her when she hated herself. They saw her in ways she’d never let anyone see her before and none of them judged her for it. As far as Pepper could tell, they were actually helping. Clint was the annoying little brother-despite the fact he may actually be older than Toni-she never knew she needed. Bruce was able to bond with her on a purely intellectual level, though the fact she was somehow able to calm down Hulk didn’t hurt things either. Natasha was… not complicating things and Pepper was very happy about that. Thor was Toni’s favorite and a good natured older brother figure. And then there was Steve.
The night Pepper tried to be romantic and snuck into the shower with Toni was the night she realized she had competition for her heart. She almost missed the scars on her upper torso-probably would have completely if Toni hadn’t drawn attention to them by trying to cover them up-because of the tattoo on her right hip. She had told Pepper once that she liked tattoos, but only if they were meaningful; they didn’t have to make sense to anyone else, as long as the owner could look at their ink and know it meant something. She wouldn’t have a tattoo any other way.
Toni’s tattoo was a shield; Cap’s shield. If that didn’t have meaning, nothing would.
Maybe if Pepper hadn’t tried to push her, she and Toni would still be together. Maybe if she hadn’t seen the SHIELD, she would have thought that they would have been able to work it out. She knew Toni loved her, but she would have been a fool to think she had all of Toni’s heart. It ended shortly after, just before Steve was found. It was for the best, really. Not that they had failed, but that they had at least tried. The never knowing would have been harder on Pepper. Maybe on Toni too.
She thinks about the first time she and Toni almost kissed, the dance they’d shared beforehand. She remembered being left on the roof after Toni went to get drinks and her never returning. She learned later why that was and forgave her, but the fact she was pushed to the side still hurt, no matter how noble the reason.
It was like one of those country songs that Toni insisted she never listened to.
And now I’m glad I didn’t know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the Dance
She could have said no, pulled away and walked off when Toni tried to lead her to the dance floor. She could have skipped the heartache. There would have been consequences, though; without Toni, Pepper would never have found Natasha.
“Are you alright?” Natasha’s voice was soft and sincerely worried and made Pepper smile. She never thought she’d be a relationship with a woman that wasn’t Toni; she wasn’t opposed to the idea, she just never expected it. Tasha, of course, was the definition of unexpected. She would show up in Malibu on a whim and kidnap Pepper from work, taking her to dinner or two a movie. Once she even took her to Disneyland. Natasha would get her to do all the things Pepper used to get mad at Toni for doing (but after running the company, she completely understood why Toni had done every single one) and that was okay.
“Yeah,” Pepper replied, leaning into Natasha when she put an arm around her. Toni was happy. Pepper was happy. Everything was really alright.