Yes, Virginia, There Really Is An Iron Man: Chapter Twenty-Six
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
PAIRING: Tony/Pepper
DISCLAIMER: Iron Man etc. belong to Marvel Comics et. al.
Chapter Twenty-Six:
Saturday came too soon. They took a cab back to the estate, showered and changed, and talked about the day’s schedule over a breakfast of Cocoa Puffs and strong coffee. Around ten (after Spongebob) Pepper did a quick “hi and bye” at the door as Rhodey arrived and trudged off to meet her mother at her own house. She’d be getting hell for coming over from Tony’s estate (in one of his cars, no less), but after last night… Nothing could pry the grin off her face.
Nothing except the photo on the cover of the lifestyles section of The Chronicle that Georgia Potts was waving at her.
“What the hell is this, Virginia?”
Apparently, it’s a grainy photo of me and my boss making out like randy teenagers in the elevator. With a plant leaf in the foreground. And that is Christine Everhart’s name as the credit. The headline: Scandal or Resolved Tension? The relationship that Stark and Potts have had over the years- was almost screaming at her in bold font sized at least at 72 points.
“Oh my God.”
Her mother jabbed a finger at the Prius she’d driven to her daughter’s home. “Get in the car. We’re going to your sister’s.”
“What?!”
Georgia closed her eyes and held up the paper again. “You are not supposed to get involved with your boss, Virginia! Never! Especially not someone like Tony Stark.”
Pepper stood her ground in her own driveway and jabbed a finger at the paper. “That? You don’t even know what-”
“He only wants what he always does, Virginia.”
“No.”
“No?” Georgia flung the paper into the open back seat of the Prius and slammed one hand on the roof. “What the hell are you talking about? Are you saying he loves you? Is that what he told you? Because a man will say anything to-”
“You don’t even know him, mom. You’ve never tried to get to know him.”
“I don’t need to. It’s all printed in black and white”
Pepper ground her teeth together. She wasn’t one for emotional outbursts, but she and her mother had been having almost this same argument for years now. She jabbed a finger between the two of them. “Fuck the papers, mom! The papers don’t tell you anything truly personal about the man and they certainly do not emphasize the fact that yes, he is a man like the rest of the world-he just happens to be really smart as well. He eats peanut butter sandwiches, works so hard that he forgets to sleep, plays the piano when he needs to relax from everything, and he is a genuinely decent man who loves me.”
Georgia slapped her daughter’s hand out of the air and pointed right back at her. “Don’t you ever swear at me again.”
“Were you even listening to me?” Pepper shouted. She didn’t think she’d ever been so mad in her life-and it wasn’t that she and Tony had been caught, or that one of the billion headlines she’d imagined now decorated the top of the lifestyles section-it was simply the fact that this gave her mother that extra ammunition against Tony.
Her cheeks even felt hot. “Mom, Tony Stark is a decent man and I love him. Trashy articles and bitchy blonde reporters be damned.”
Georgia stared into her daughter’s eyes for several long moments-recognizing something within them that used to spark up her own baby blues. “Honey…”
Pepper waved her hand in irritation and swiped at her eyes. Hot tears were lying just beneath the surface-waiting for something to crack within her. When it finally did, she covered her mouth with both hands and sank to her knees on the concrete. Her mother was quick to envelope her in a warm embrace.
“Shhh… Ginny, hush now.”
Pepper sobbed wetly between her fingers. “I just don’t want you to hate him anymore!” she groaned.
“He’s put you through so much,” Georgia excused, thinking about those three months that her daughter spent looking like an extra for Night of the Living Dead and the confusion of the weeks following Stark’s return home. She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her daughter’s head. “It’s going to take some time.”
Pepper broke free of her mother’s embrace and stood up, wiping her face and circling the Prius. “Let’s just go to Caroline’s.”
Georgia Potts nodded and climbed into the driver’s seat.
TBC
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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
PAIRING: Tony/Pepper
DISCLAIMER: Iron Man etc. belong to Marvel Comics et. al.
Chapter Twenty-Six:
Saturday came too soon. They took a cab back to the estate, showered and changed, and talked about the day’s schedule over a breakfast of Cocoa Puffs and strong coffee. Around ten (after Spongebob) Pepper did a quick “hi and bye” at the door as Rhodey arrived and trudged off to meet her mother at her own house. She’d be getting hell for coming over from Tony’s estate (in one of his cars, no less), but after last night… Nothing could pry the grin off her face.
Nothing except the photo on the cover of the lifestyles section of The Chronicle that Georgia Potts was waving at her.
“What the hell is this, Virginia?”
Apparently, it’s a grainy photo of me and my boss making out like randy teenagers in the elevator. With a plant leaf in the foreground. And that is Christine Everhart’s name as the credit. The headline: Scandal or Resolved Tension? The relationship that Stark and Potts have had over the years- was almost screaming at her in bold font sized at least at 72 points.
“Oh my God.”
Her mother jabbed a finger at the Prius she’d driven to her daughter’s home. “Get in the car. We’re going to your sister’s.”
“What?!”
Georgia closed her eyes and held up the paper again. “You are not supposed to get involved with your boss, Virginia! Never! Especially not someone like Tony Stark.”
Pepper stood her ground in her own driveway and jabbed a finger at the paper. “That? You don’t even know what-”
“He only wants what he always does, Virginia.”
“No.”
“No?” Georgia flung the paper into the open back seat of the Prius and slammed one hand on the roof. “What the hell are you talking about? Are you saying he loves you? Is that what he told you? Because a man will say anything to-”
“You don’t even know him, mom. You’ve never tried to get to know him.”
“I don’t need to. It’s all printed in black and white”
Pepper ground her teeth together. She wasn’t one for emotional outbursts, but she and her mother had been having almost this same argument for years now. She jabbed a finger between the two of them. “Fuck the papers, mom! The papers don’t tell you anything truly personal about the man and they certainly do not emphasize the fact that yes, he is a man like the rest of the world-he just happens to be really smart as well. He eats peanut butter sandwiches, works so hard that he forgets to sleep, plays the piano when he needs to relax from everything, and he is a genuinely decent man who loves me.”
Georgia slapped her daughter’s hand out of the air and pointed right back at her. “Don’t you ever swear at me again.”
“Were you even listening to me?” Pepper shouted. She didn’t think she’d ever been so mad in her life-and it wasn’t that she and Tony had been caught, or that one of the billion headlines she’d imagined now decorated the top of the lifestyles section-it was simply the fact that this gave her mother that extra ammunition against Tony.
Her cheeks even felt hot. “Mom, Tony Stark is a decent man and I love him. Trashy articles and bitchy blonde reporters be damned.”
Georgia stared into her daughter’s eyes for several long moments-recognizing something within them that used to spark up her own baby blues. “Honey…”
Pepper waved her hand in irritation and swiped at her eyes. Hot tears were lying just beneath the surface-waiting for something to crack within her. When it finally did, she covered her mouth with both hands and sank to her knees on the concrete. Her mother was quick to envelope her in a warm embrace.
“Shhh… Ginny, hush now.”
Pepper sobbed wetly between her fingers. “I just don’t want you to hate him anymore!” she groaned.
“He’s put you through so much,” Georgia excused, thinking about those three months that her daughter spent looking like an extra for Night of the Living Dead and the confusion of the weeks following Stark’s return home. She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her daughter’s head. “It’s going to take some time.”
Pepper broke free of her mother’s embrace and stood up, wiping her face and circling the Prius. “Let’s just go to Caroline’s.”
Georgia Potts nodded and climbed into the driver’s seat.
TBC
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