Yes, Virginia, There Really Is An Iron Man: Chapter Twenty-Eight
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-Eight:
Caroline Crane (formerly “Caroline Potts”) whistled sharply to direct whomever was ringing her doorbell to just walk around the back of the house and join her on the patio. It was after noon and she was sipping an icy strawberry daiquiri while her husband, Stephen, grilled some pineapple slices.
She was slightly surprised when her mother rounded the corner with her older sister in rather reluctant tow.
Caroline shifted her sunglasses up on top of the pile of red hair she had pulled into a half-twist and shifted sideways in her barcalounger. She grinned when she saw Pepper’s embarrassed face.
“You should be embarrassed, Ginny. Practically caught fornicating on camera…” Caroline clucked her tongue and shook her head from side to side. “So shameful.”
She stood and sipped at her drink. “It’s also about damn time.”
“Hey, Stephen.”
The tow-headed man removed pineapple slices from the grill and waved with the tongs he was holding. “Hey, Pepper. Want one?”
“Sure.”
Georgia sat at the empty patio table and looked longingly at the pitcher half-full of frozen daiquiri. She vaguely heard Stephen’s mumbling of: “Good afternoon, Mom.”
As Pepper slumped into the barcalounger next to her sister’s and munched on the pineapple slice Stephen handed to her. Caroline leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Cheer up, Ginny! I like him. Stephen likes him. My only complaint is we’ve never met him.”
“Oh, we’re gonna meet him now,” their mother chimed in. She was drinking straight from the pitcher. “And Stephen only likes him because he has to.”
Stephen shook his head. “Not true, Mom. Mr. Stark is an excellent boss who actually listens to you when you’ve got something to say during R&D meetings. Plus, I never would have met Carrie if Pepper wasn’t working for him.”
“This is supposed to win me over?” Georgia complained.
“Mom!” Caroline snapped.
Georgia shrugged. “I was joking.”
“We covered this already, Mom,” Pepper sighed and licked pineapple juice off her fingers. “And you told me that you would try to see things my way.”
“Did he say ‘it’ yet?” Caroline interrupted.
“What’s ‘it’ supposed to mean, Carrie?” Pepper asked.
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Stephen, help me out here.”
He brother-in-law cleared off the grill and leaned down to speak into Pepper’s ear. “Does he love you?”
Pepper smiled suddenly, and the look on her face reminded Georgia of a sensation long lost in her own life. True love echoing through blue eyes and the slight turning of her lips. “Of course he does.”
“And he’s actually said The Words?” Caroline kept at it.
“Yes.”
Stephen returned to his pineapple slices and grabbed one for himself. “More than once?”
“Yes…”
Caroline made a squeaking noise in the back of her throat and hugged her big sister. “I’m so happy for you! Mom, how can you not like the man who truly loves your eldest daughter?”
Georgia took a slice of pineapple from Stephen. “I just need to adjust. He’s still her boss. And I’m not too happy with the fact that Ginny got her picture in the paper like some kind of floozy…”
“I called PR on our way down here, Mom. They’re getting The Chronicle to print a retraction and legal is writing up a restraining order on Christine Everhart,” Pepper said.
“That’s who you were talking to? And they work on a Saturday?” Georgia asked.
“Lawyers are always on the clock,” Stephen joked.
“Who says ‘floozy’ anymore besides you and Mickey Rooney?” Caroline asked her mother.
“You guys really know how to cheer someone up,” Pepper chimed in. She shifted in her seat and idly wondered how she could escape this situation. Without thinking, the words escaped from her brain and somehow made it past her lips.
“I want to get back there.”
“Ginny!” Georgia scoffed. “You said you had the day off!”
Caroline finally stood up and shook her head. “No, no-I think that’s a fantastic idea. Why don’t we all go with you?”
“Ugh,” said Pepper. “He’d totally die…”
Georgia plonked the pitcher back on the patio table and dropped the remains of a perfectly good grilled pineapple slice into the mixture. “This sounds good-let’s go! Ginny, you’re gonna have to drive ‘cause Momma had quite a bit of that,” she jabbed a finger at the daiquiri mixture that now hosted one forlorn chewed-upon pineapple bit, “and you know how she gets when she’s had some liquor.”
“She starts talking in the third-person…” Stephen mumbled.
Caroline grabbed her sister’s arm and dragged her to her feet. “C’mon Pep! We’ll all hang out at Tony’s!”
Still quite unwilling, Pepper Potts sighed and walked back out to the driveway-sharing an exasperated glance with her brother-in-law along the way.
“I hate driving your car, Mom,” Pepper complained.
“That’s because you’re too used to driving that high-octane ozone killing beast of a vehicle that you drive now. Momma’s car is environmentally friendly.”
Momma’s car can’t turn sharp corners at high speeds to scare some sense into Momma, Pepper grumbled mentally. Begrudgingly, she sat in the driver’s seat of the Prius and started the engine with that pathetic half-electric whine.
Cars that don’t make you go “damn!” are just plain boring…
It was something she and Tony Stark had in common way before Pepper began working for him.
With another dramatically heaved sigh, Pepper pulled out of the driveway and headed out of San Diego.
This cannot end well…
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-Eight:
Caroline Crane (formerly “Caroline Potts”) whistled sharply to direct whomever was ringing her doorbell to just walk around the back of the house and join her on the patio. It was after noon and she was sipping an icy strawberry daiquiri while her husband, Stephen, grilled some pineapple slices.
She was slightly surprised when her mother rounded the corner with her older sister in rather reluctant tow.
Caroline shifted her sunglasses up on top of the pile of red hair she had pulled into a half-twist and shifted sideways in her barcalounger. She grinned when she saw Pepper’s embarrassed face.
“You should be embarrassed, Ginny. Practically caught fornicating on camera…” Caroline clucked her tongue and shook her head from side to side. “So shameful.”
She stood and sipped at her drink. “It’s also about damn time.”
“Hey, Stephen.”
The tow-headed man removed pineapple slices from the grill and waved with the tongs he was holding. “Hey, Pepper. Want one?”
“Sure.”
Georgia sat at the empty patio table and looked longingly at the pitcher half-full of frozen daiquiri. She vaguely heard Stephen’s mumbling of: “Good afternoon, Mom.”
As Pepper slumped into the barcalounger next to her sister’s and munched on the pineapple slice Stephen handed to her. Caroline leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Cheer up, Ginny! I like him. Stephen likes him. My only complaint is we’ve never met him.”
“Oh, we’re gonna meet him now,” their mother chimed in. She was drinking straight from the pitcher. “And Stephen only likes him because he has to.”
Stephen shook his head. “Not true, Mom. Mr. Stark is an excellent boss who actually listens to you when you’ve got something to say during R&D meetings. Plus, I never would have met Carrie if Pepper wasn’t working for him.”
“This is supposed to win me over?” Georgia complained.
“Mom!” Caroline snapped.
Georgia shrugged. “I was joking.”
“We covered this already, Mom,” Pepper sighed and licked pineapple juice off her fingers. “And you told me that you would try to see things my way.”
“Did he say ‘it’ yet?” Caroline interrupted.
“What’s ‘it’ supposed to mean, Carrie?” Pepper asked.
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Stephen, help me out here.”
He brother-in-law cleared off the grill and leaned down to speak into Pepper’s ear. “Does he love you?”
Pepper smiled suddenly, and the look on her face reminded Georgia of a sensation long lost in her own life. True love echoing through blue eyes and the slight turning of her lips. “Of course he does.”
“And he’s actually said The Words?” Caroline kept at it.
“Yes.”
Stephen returned to his pineapple slices and grabbed one for himself. “More than once?”
“Yes…”
Caroline made a squeaking noise in the back of her throat and hugged her big sister. “I’m so happy for you! Mom, how can you not like the man who truly loves your eldest daughter?”
Georgia took a slice of pineapple from Stephen. “I just need to adjust. He’s still her boss. And I’m not too happy with the fact that Ginny got her picture in the paper like some kind of floozy…”
“I called PR on our way down here, Mom. They’re getting The Chronicle to print a retraction and legal is writing up a restraining order on Christine Everhart,” Pepper said.
“That’s who you were talking to? And they work on a Saturday?” Georgia asked.
“Lawyers are always on the clock,” Stephen joked.
“Who says ‘floozy’ anymore besides you and Mickey Rooney?” Caroline asked her mother.
“You guys really know how to cheer someone up,” Pepper chimed in. She shifted in her seat and idly wondered how she could escape this situation. Without thinking, the words escaped from her brain and somehow made it past her lips.
“I want to get back there.”
“Ginny!” Georgia scoffed. “You said you had the day off!”
Caroline finally stood up and shook her head. “No, no-I think that’s a fantastic idea. Why don’t we all go with you?”
“Ugh,” said Pepper. “He’d totally die…”
Georgia plonked the pitcher back on the patio table and dropped the remains of a perfectly good grilled pineapple slice into the mixture. “This sounds good-let’s go! Ginny, you’re gonna have to drive ‘cause Momma had quite a bit of that,” she jabbed a finger at the daiquiri mixture that now hosted one forlorn chewed-upon pineapple bit, “and you know how she gets when she’s had some liquor.”
“She starts talking in the third-person…” Stephen mumbled.
Caroline grabbed her sister’s arm and dragged her to her feet. “C’mon Pep! We’ll all hang out at Tony’s!”
Still quite unwilling, Pepper Potts sighed and walked back out to the driveway-sharing an exasperated glance with her brother-in-law along the way.
“I hate driving your car, Mom,” Pepper complained.
“That’s because you’re too used to driving that high-octane ozone killing beast of a vehicle that you drive now. Momma’s car is environmentally friendly.”
Momma’s car can’t turn sharp corners at high speeds to scare some sense into Momma, Pepper grumbled mentally. Begrudgingly, she sat in the driver’s seat of the Prius and started the engine with that pathetic half-electric whine.
Cars that don’t make you go “damn!” are just plain boring…
It was something she and Tony Stark had in common way before Pepper began working for him.
With another dramatically heaved sigh, Pepper pulled out of the driveway and headed out of San Diego.
This cannot end well…
TBC
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