Yes, Virginia, There Really Is An Iron Man: Chapter Nineteen
TITLE: Yes, Virginia, There Really Is An Iron Man
AUTHOR: Quicksilvermad
SUMMARY: (Movie-verse) Pepper deals with Tony’s newfound lease on life and ends up making a mountain out of her molehill of emotion where her boss is concerned.
GENRE: Humor/Romance
RATING: PG13 (maybe R)
PAIRING: Tony/Pepper
DISCLAIMER: Iron Man etc. belong to Marvel Comics et. al.
Chapter Nineteen:
On Friday, Pepper walked into the workshop at ten in the morning with a mug of coffee and some forms that needed a few signatures-a pre-written “I would gladly do this” letter to the MIT people who wanted him to give the commencement speech and the donations Tony wanted made for Child’s Play. He was planning on participating in the auction, but as always he made a separate donation “just because.”
She expected to find him hunched over something mechanical and got that much right.
What she didn’t expect was how horrible he looked.
Tony’s skin was pale and waxy with the exception of the dark circles beneath his eyes… And his eyes…
They were so bloodshot that Pepper was immediately worried.
Among the build up of grease marring his cheekbones were the uneven cutting lines of tear tracks.
“Tony?”
He jerked away from what he was doing and stared at her. “Hey,” he croaked.
His voice sounded like he’d swallowed a bag of gravel.
“Are you okay?”
He kept his eyes glued to hers and shrugged-wincing slightly as a nerve was pinched in his abused shoulder. “Nightmares.”
Pepper set the coffee and paperwork down beside his project on the coffee table and reached across to wipe the smudges from his cheeks. “Why didn’t you call me?” she asked.
“It was really late and I, uh…”
His big brown eyes darted away from her and she saw his nostrils twitch with effort along with the pursing of his lips and convulsive swallowing. Why wouldn’t he look at her?
“Tony?”
“They were about you.”
His hands suddenly reached out and tugged her down onto his lap. “Can you promise me something, Pepper?”
Curious, Pepper nodded.
“Please promise me you’ll never leave,” Tony ground out. His throat was so dry that every word crackled with the effort it took to speak them.
The utter sadness in his voice had Pepper pulling him against her body. “I won’t leave you, Tony.”
She lifted his head and kissed him gently.
The image from his nightmare of Pepper Potts sitting in a chair across from him with her heart in Obadiah Stane’s hand flew through Tony’s mind and he grasped at her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and poured himself into the kiss. Pepper, more than a little surprised, gave a little squeak as he pressed her against the soft leather of the sofa. His teeth clacked uncomfortably against hers, his facial hair scraped harshly against her soft skin, and he was pressing most of his weight onto her.
She framed her hands against his face and took all that he had to give.
Tony pulled himself away from her mouth and looked down at her face.
Pepper was lovely-her lips were bruised, her chin was bearing evidence of a friction burn from his beard, her cheeks were flushed, and her chest was heaving with the effort it took to get enough air. And in Tony’s mind he was imagining her like this throughout the seasons.
“Pepper…?”
She let her eyes flick across his face and ran he tips of her fingers through his messy hair. Her heart was beating so fast… It matched Tony’s.
She answered the unspoken question in his voice by kicking her heels off and reaching down to undo the first button on her cream-colored blouse. His eyes followed her actions and he leaned up a bit to pull his muscle shirt over the top of his head. Pepper kissed his exposed chest right above his hammering heart.
“I want this,” she whispered against his skin.
Tony let out a shaking sigh and lightly ran his knuckles across the swell of her breasts.
“I need this, Tony,” Pepper slid her right leg against the back of the sofa and leaned backwards-pulling him closer to her body and cradling him to her with enough tenderness to remove uncertainty from both of their minds. Everything would change if they kept going.
Everything.
Pepper leaned up and kissed him again with that same softness as their very first kiss.
TBC-WARNING: The next chapter contains mature content. If you are uncomfortable with this, click the link for the chapter afterwards.
Back | Forward | Skip One
AUTHOR: Quicksilvermad
SUMMARY: (Movie-verse) Pepper deals with Tony’s newfound lease on life and ends up making a mountain out of her molehill of emotion where her boss is concerned.
GENRE: Humor/Romance
RATING: PG13 (maybe R)
PAIRING: Tony/Pepper
DISCLAIMER: Iron Man etc. belong to Marvel Comics et. al.
Chapter Nineteen:
On Friday, Pepper walked into the workshop at ten in the morning with a mug of coffee and some forms that needed a few signatures-a pre-written “I would gladly do this” letter to the MIT people who wanted him to give the commencement speech and the donations Tony wanted made for Child’s Play. He was planning on participating in the auction, but as always he made a separate donation “just because.”
She expected to find him hunched over something mechanical and got that much right.
What she didn’t expect was how horrible he looked.
Tony’s skin was pale and waxy with the exception of the dark circles beneath his eyes… And his eyes…
They were so bloodshot that Pepper was immediately worried.
Among the build up of grease marring his cheekbones were the uneven cutting lines of tear tracks.
“Tony?”
He jerked away from what he was doing and stared at her. “Hey,” he croaked.
His voice sounded like he’d swallowed a bag of gravel.
“Are you okay?”
He kept his eyes glued to hers and shrugged-wincing slightly as a nerve was pinched in his abused shoulder. “Nightmares.”
Pepper set the coffee and paperwork down beside his project on the coffee table and reached across to wipe the smudges from his cheeks. “Why didn’t you call me?” she asked.
“It was really late and I, uh…”
His big brown eyes darted away from her and she saw his nostrils twitch with effort along with the pursing of his lips and convulsive swallowing. Why wouldn’t he look at her?
“Tony?”
“They were about you.”
His hands suddenly reached out and tugged her down onto his lap. “Can you promise me something, Pepper?”
Curious, Pepper nodded.
“Please promise me you’ll never leave,” Tony ground out. His throat was so dry that every word crackled with the effort it took to speak them.
The utter sadness in his voice had Pepper pulling him against her body. “I won’t leave you, Tony.”
She lifted his head and kissed him gently.
The image from his nightmare of Pepper Potts sitting in a chair across from him with her heart in Obadiah Stane’s hand flew through Tony’s mind and he grasped at her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and poured himself into the kiss. Pepper, more than a little surprised, gave a little squeak as he pressed her against the soft leather of the sofa. His teeth clacked uncomfortably against hers, his facial hair scraped harshly against her soft skin, and he was pressing most of his weight onto her.
She framed her hands against his face and took all that he had to give.
Tony pulled himself away from her mouth and looked down at her face.
Pepper was lovely-her lips were bruised, her chin was bearing evidence of a friction burn from his beard, her cheeks were flushed, and her chest was heaving with the effort it took to get enough air. And in Tony’s mind he was imagining her like this throughout the seasons.
“Pepper…?”
She let her eyes flick across his face and ran he tips of her fingers through his messy hair. Her heart was beating so fast… It matched Tony’s.
She answered the unspoken question in his voice by kicking her heels off and reaching down to undo the first button on her cream-colored blouse. His eyes followed her actions and he leaned up a bit to pull his muscle shirt over the top of his head. Pepper kissed his exposed chest right above his hammering heart.
“I want this,” she whispered against his skin.
Tony let out a shaking sigh and lightly ran his knuckles across the swell of her breasts.
“I need this, Tony,” Pepper slid her right leg against the back of the sofa and leaned backwards-pulling him closer to her body and cradling him to her with enough tenderness to remove uncertainty from both of their minds. Everything would change if they kept going.
Everything.
Pepper leaned up and kissed him again with that same softness as their very first kiss.
TBC-WARNING: The next chapter contains mature content. If you are uncomfortable with this, click the link for the chapter afterwards.
Back | Forward | Skip One