Yes, Virginia, There Really Is An Iron Man: Chapter Thirty-Two
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: PG
PAIRING: Tony/Pepper
DISCLAIMER: Iron Man etc. belong to Marvel Comics et. al.
AN: *happy dance* Finals are OVER! I passed my Senior Review, I can't feel the ends of my fingers from all the exacto knife cutting I had to do, and I'm slightly hungover from the celebratory ouzo I drank last night. I have a three week break, folks-ON WITH THE STORY!
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Pepper excused herself to her private restroom as soon as they returned to Stark Industries. She comforted Tony in the court room, but Pepper’s “water-off-a-duck’s-back” approach to the journalist’s sniping slowly fell away the closer Happy drove them to the office. Christine’s words had cut right through her heart.
She knew the rest of so-called “society” would see her the way Christine implied.
After those photos hit the printing presses…
Pepper hated having her photo in the paper and this was absolutely the worst possible thing she could have imagined ever being printed. Naked baby pictures were so very tame compared to the strange sight of herself abandoned to such carnality… Especially with her boss. A man who was almost constantly in the public eye-where she hated to be. And this whole thing would hurt him despite what he said.
Pepper sank to the floor and pressed her forehead into the plush carpet as the tears came up from that bottled place within her. Her mouth opened silently as she choked upon the sheer amount of anguish and she curled her back against the wall.
Her vocal block snapped with sharp wail that bubbled up from within her gut and exploded from the deepest part of her.
Tony burst into the restroom seconds after he heard her painful-sounding whine and he knelt on the floor to gather her into his arms. He didn’t ask what was wrong-he didn’t need to. He didn’t even vocally reassure her that everything would be okay because he didn’t really know that it would be.
He simply held her and tried to stem back his own tears as the love of his life came apart.
“Oh, Pepper,” he whispered into her disheveled hair after a while.
Inexplicably, Pepper repeated the phrase: “I’m sorry” over and over until the words became less like words and more like sounds that had no meaning. Her lips moved and her breath whispered across those meaningless words until it just fell into a slight quaver in her chin.
Tony rocked her back and forth and pressed his mouth to her forehead and brushed his hand through her fringe. “You don’t have to be sorry about anything,” he assured and thumbed her tears away as best he could.
“I’m supposed to be stronger,” she hiccupped.
“Says who?”
Pepper swiped at her nose.
“You’re human,” Tony reassured. “You’re allowed to be human, Pepper.”
She felt a little better hearing his warm voice-feeling his breath against her ear.
He sounded distraught when he spoke some time later after Pepper had calmed considerably. “Aren’t we both allowed to be human?” he whispered.
Pepper twisted in Tony’s lap and pressed her face against his neck-her fingertips curled gently in his hair. “I love you,” she reassured.
He sighed and Pepper almost felt some of the weight of the world lift from his chest and shoulders. “I love you, too.”
Feeling more like herself, Pepper leaned back in his arms a bit and stroked his face gently. “You know the only other time I have ever broken down like that was when you were taken away from us all for three months?”
Tony pressed his forehead into Pepper’s shoulder and breathed her in.
“I hate that feeling, Tony.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do?”
He had no answer for her and wished to God he would find one soon, but for the time being he had an idea that was far more in-the-moment than long term.
“We’re gonna go home, change into some ridiculously comfortable clothes, eat popcorn and cookie dough, and watch a marathon of horror films until we pass out on the couch.”
Pepper gave a tiny smile. “Sounds like a plan.”
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: PG
PAIRING: Tony/Pepper
DISCLAIMER: Iron Man etc. belong to Marvel Comics et. al.
AN: *happy dance* Finals are OVER! I passed my Senior Review, I can't feel the ends of my fingers from all the exacto knife cutting I had to do, and I'm slightly hungover from the celebratory ouzo I drank last night. I have a three week break, folks-ON WITH THE STORY!
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Pepper excused herself to her private restroom as soon as they returned to Stark Industries. She comforted Tony in the court room, but Pepper’s “water-off-a-duck’s-back” approach to the journalist’s sniping slowly fell away the closer Happy drove them to the office. Christine’s words had cut right through her heart.
She knew the rest of so-called “society” would see her the way Christine implied.
After those photos hit the printing presses…
Pepper hated having her photo in the paper and this was absolutely the worst possible thing she could have imagined ever being printed. Naked baby pictures were so very tame compared to the strange sight of herself abandoned to such carnality… Especially with her boss. A man who was almost constantly in the public eye-where she hated to be. And this whole thing would hurt him despite what he said.
Pepper sank to the floor and pressed her forehead into the plush carpet as the tears came up from that bottled place within her. Her mouth opened silently as she choked upon the sheer amount of anguish and she curled her back against the wall.
Her vocal block snapped with sharp wail that bubbled up from within her gut and exploded from the deepest part of her.
Tony burst into the restroom seconds after he heard her painful-sounding whine and he knelt on the floor to gather her into his arms. He didn’t ask what was wrong-he didn’t need to. He didn’t even vocally reassure her that everything would be okay because he didn’t really know that it would be.
He simply held her and tried to stem back his own tears as the love of his life came apart.
“Oh, Pepper,” he whispered into her disheveled hair after a while.
Inexplicably, Pepper repeated the phrase: “I’m sorry” over and over until the words became less like words and more like sounds that had no meaning. Her lips moved and her breath whispered across those meaningless words until it just fell into a slight quaver in her chin.
Tony rocked her back and forth and pressed his mouth to her forehead and brushed his hand through her fringe. “You don’t have to be sorry about anything,” he assured and thumbed her tears away as best he could.
“I’m supposed to be stronger,” she hiccupped.
“Says who?”
Pepper swiped at her nose.
“You’re human,” Tony reassured. “You’re allowed to be human, Pepper.”
She felt a little better hearing his warm voice-feeling his breath against her ear.
He sounded distraught when he spoke some time later after Pepper had calmed considerably. “Aren’t we both allowed to be human?” he whispered.
Pepper twisted in Tony’s lap and pressed her face against his neck-her fingertips curled gently in his hair. “I love you,” she reassured.
He sighed and Pepper almost felt some of the weight of the world lift from his chest and shoulders. “I love you, too.”
Feeling more like herself, Pepper leaned back in his arms a bit and stroked his face gently. “You know the only other time I have ever broken down like that was when you were taken away from us all for three months?”
Tony pressed his forehead into Pepper’s shoulder and breathed her in.
“I hate that feeling, Tony.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do?”
He had no answer for her and wished to God he would find one soon, but for the time being he had an idea that was far more in-the-moment than long term.
“We’re gonna go home, change into some ridiculously comfortable clothes, eat popcorn and cookie dough, and watch a marathon of horror films until we pass out on the couch.”
Pepper gave a tiny smile. “Sounds like a plan.”
TBC
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