Iron Man fic: Penelope
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*
And now for a little bit of Iron Man fic, inspired by getting soaked on Sunday! *g*
Penelope [Iron Man, Tony, Pepper, gen/het, PG, 1,605 words. Movieverse. Many thanks to hils for the speedy beta and annalazarus for the Britpick.]
Penelope
Pepper hasn't been to the basement in three days. She's dealt with everything necessary from her office and it's been almost restful, not having Tony calling for her all the time. She's been to two dinner functions in his place - she enjoyed one, and at the other was bored but concealed it - and she's gotten to bed at a reasonable time each night.
A very satisfactory three days. Except for the fact that apparently she can't help worrying about Tony. He's like a child, she thinks - when he's quiet, it's always a sign of trouble. And Tony really does manage to get in some spectacular trouble.
Pepper breathes a huge sigh and pushes back her chair. She picks up an apple from the bowl on her desk and heads for the stairs.
Tony - in his armor - is suspended above a tank of extremely muddy water. He is soaked, the water streaming off him, and his helmet is under his arm. He looks extremely pleased with himself, another sign Pepper's come to distrust.
"Aha," he says. "Eve, come to tempt me."
"Maybe it's just a reminder that you need more fiber in your diet." Pepper says, placing the apple next to one of Tony's computers. "You don't want to get too fat for your suit."
The crane swings Tony down to the ground, and two robots set to work pulling the suit off him. "No, you're definitely Eve. Very tempting, too."
Pepper feels herself flushing - Tony does this to her, too often - and tightens her lips against it. She suspects that she's not being entirely successful though.
Tony lifts his arms and half the suit comes off. Pepper looks, then quickly looks upwards, because she's not entirely sure that Tony is wearing anything under the armor. He chuckles.
The rest of the armor comes off, and she finally sees, to her relief, that he's wearing swimming trunks. Though he would have been hard pressed to find a skimpier pair.
Pepper shakes her head at him. "Is that really necessary?" she asks, pointing to the trunks before dropping her hand quickly with even more of a blush.
"What? You think I should be naked? I think that might have caused chaffing. In areas that I'd rather weren't chaffed. Don't you agree, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"The suit has not been designed with that in mind, Sir, though if you wish me to add a padded internal layer, a draft design will take approximately twenty minutes," J.A.R.V.I.S. replies.
"You know perfectly well what I meant, Tony. You were quite dry inside the suit, so normal attire would have been perfectly suitable."
"Merely a sensible precaution," Tony replies, picking up the apple and biting into it. He talks with his mouth full. "I thought you were all about sensible precautions."
"And it's sensible that they're so-small?" Pepper bites her lip, because that was not at all what she intended to say.
"I hope you're referring to my trunks, and not my assets. And, come to think of it, were you checking me out, Miss Potts?" Tony has that smile on his face, the one that makes her say stupid things. She tries to ignore it, and the way he's flexing his muscles.
"Simply observing a large expanse of goose bumps," she replies primly.
"In that case, shouldn't you be providing me with warm towels? And a Scotch? It wouldn't look good for your boss to get hypothermia."
"Alcohol is bad for you if you're hypothermic, but I can make you some hot cocoa if you'd like?" Pepper smiles at him. She knows the answer.
Tony rolls his eyes in disgust, so Pepper turns on her heel, heads upstairs, and returns quickly with a pile of warm towels. She hands it to one of the robots. "Don't be too gentle," she tells it.
*
The reason for the water-tank experiment becomes clear a week later. Pepper has CNN on in the background as usual while she's updating Tony's schedule, and she sits up and listens when she hears a mention of Iron Man.
Apparently he's in Bolivia, in torrential rain so heavy the cameraman has to wipe the lens every few seconds and even then the view's still blurry. She thought he was in the basement, working on increasing controlled power to the thrusters and she runs down to check. It's empty, all the robots standing idle.
She turns on the TV there. There's been a mudslide, the result of weeks of heavy rain and years of excessive logging. A map comes up in the corner of the screen, showing a village, but there's no village visible on the camera, not even any sign that there might ever have been one there. Just a rough track beyond the camera that ends in mud and broken trees, a huge gash across the hillside. It's still sliding, and Pepper can't see Tony.
She knows he's there, though. Not just because the reporter - high pitched with either excitement or shock or possibly both - has mentioned him, or because the basement is empty, but because it's Tony. And he's become obsessed, ever since Gulmira. He's trying to save the world, and he's only one man, and however special he is - and he's incredibly special, there's no doubt about that - he's only human under that armor.
So she knows he's in there, somewhere, doing something crazy, and she's back here, watching. It's exactly what she was afraid of, the reason she quit, the reason she shouldn't have listened to him when he talked her into staying. Because she's good at many things, but sitting and watching while Tony's in danger is not something she's good at. It isn't something she's even sure she can do.
She can't look away either. She's up close to the screen, scouring the area for a visual on him.
" J.A.R.V.I.S., have you heard from Mr. Stark?" Pepper asks.
"I am not currently in contact with him," J.A.R.V.I.S. replies, and Pepper would love to lose her cool, to throw something at him, if only he had a body for her to aim at. Instead, she moves calmly and steadily away from the screen and sits down. She crosses her legs at the ankle.
"Please inform me the moment you hear from him," she asks.
"Certainly."
The camera is sweeping across the hillside now, showing the devastation left behind by the landslide. It looks like a war zone, Pepper thinks. Tony's survived a war zone before, he can survive this. It becomes a mantra in her head, until she can't hear the reporter or the news anchor anymore, just the words in her head. Tony can't die.
She's still watching the screen though, so she sees the camera feed go dead, static on air for a couple of seconds before they cut back to the studio where worried looks are quickly smoothed over.
Pepper has no idea how long she's been watching, or how long Tony's been missing. It isn't like her to lose track of time. She checks - it's 1:07 now.
"How long was Mr. Stark able to stay underwater in tests?" she asks J.A.R.V.I.S..
"The maximum length of time was one hour, five minutes and three seconds. However, some adjustments have been made to the suit since then."
"Which would enable him to stay under for longer?" Pepper asks.
"That was the intention. However no trials have been run on the armor since the alterations."
"I see. Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.."
She divides her attention between the television and the clock. She can hear the clock ticking - she's never noticed it before.
Pepper is quite disconcerted to notice that she's biting her nails. She hasn't bitten her nails since fifth grade, when her parents promised her a manicure set if she'd quit. She stopped immediately back then, and a week later she had a manicure set. She can't seem to stop at the moment.
There's a shrill sound in the background, and it takes her a moment to realize that it's her cell. She flips it open reluctantly - she doesn't recognize the number and she isn't in the mood to deal with reporters or S.H.I.E.L.D. or anyone else.
" Pepper, I thought you weren't going to answer." The voice is slightly distorted and faint, but it's unmistakable. Tony.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" she shouts. "You could have gotten yourself killed. And why didn't you call me before?"
"Ah, I take it you know where I am then." He sounds slightly sheepish, though she can't be sure with the poor signal. "Reception was a little weak. I need to work on the suit's communications system when I get back."
"Are you-did you-?" Pepper stutters slightly trying to work out what question she should ask.
"I got some families out safely. They wouldn't have survived long enough for rescue teams to save them." He sounds proud, and Pepper has to tamp down on her own pride in him. "So I think even you might have to agree that that puts me squarely in hero class. Or maybe even super hero - I'm not sure which, actually. So yes, the suit does work satisfactorily under mud, though it still needs some fine-tuning. Which I'm sure is the question you were trying to ask."
"Naturally." It wasn't, of course. "Are you on your way home now?"
"Yes. Gotta go, got an incoming call from Rhodey."
She closes her cell. "I hope Rhodey kicks your ass," she says quietly, and heads upstairs to order pizza and fetch warm towels. She orders a cheeseburger as well, and sits and waits for him.
*
And now for a little bit of Iron Man fic, inspired by getting soaked on Sunday! *g*
Penelope [Iron Man, Tony, Pepper, gen/het, PG, 1,605 words. Movieverse. Many thanks to hils for the speedy beta and annalazarus for the Britpick.]
Penelope
Pepper hasn't been to the basement in three days. She's dealt with everything necessary from her office and it's been almost restful, not having Tony calling for her all the time. She's been to two dinner functions in his place - she enjoyed one, and at the other was bored but concealed it - and she's gotten to bed at a reasonable time each night.
A very satisfactory three days. Except for the fact that apparently she can't help worrying about Tony. He's like a child, she thinks - when he's quiet, it's always a sign of trouble. And Tony really does manage to get in some spectacular trouble.
Pepper breathes a huge sigh and pushes back her chair. She picks up an apple from the bowl on her desk and heads for the stairs.
Tony - in his armor - is suspended above a tank of extremely muddy water. He is soaked, the water streaming off him, and his helmet is under his arm. He looks extremely pleased with himself, another sign Pepper's come to distrust.
"Aha," he says. "Eve, come to tempt me."
"Maybe it's just a reminder that you need more fiber in your diet." Pepper says, placing the apple next to one of Tony's computers. "You don't want to get too fat for your suit."
The crane swings Tony down to the ground, and two robots set to work pulling the suit off him. "No, you're definitely Eve. Very tempting, too."
Pepper feels herself flushing - Tony does this to her, too often - and tightens her lips against it. She suspects that she's not being entirely successful though.
Tony lifts his arms and half the suit comes off. Pepper looks, then quickly looks upwards, because she's not entirely sure that Tony is wearing anything under the armor. He chuckles.
The rest of the armor comes off, and she finally sees, to her relief, that he's wearing swimming trunks. Though he would have been hard pressed to find a skimpier pair.
Pepper shakes her head at him. "Is that really necessary?" she asks, pointing to the trunks before dropping her hand quickly with even more of a blush.
"What? You think I should be naked? I think that might have caused chaffing. In areas that I'd rather weren't chaffed. Don't you agree, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"The suit has not been designed with that in mind, Sir, though if you wish me to add a padded internal layer, a draft design will take approximately twenty minutes," J.A.R.V.I.S. replies.
"You know perfectly well what I meant, Tony. You were quite dry inside the suit, so normal attire would have been perfectly suitable."
"Merely a sensible precaution," Tony replies, picking up the apple and biting into it. He talks with his mouth full. "I thought you were all about sensible precautions."
"And it's sensible that they're so-small?" Pepper bites her lip, because that was not at all what she intended to say.
"I hope you're referring to my trunks, and not my assets. And, come to think of it, were you checking me out, Miss Potts?" Tony has that smile on his face, the one that makes her say stupid things. She tries to ignore it, and the way he's flexing his muscles.
"Simply observing a large expanse of goose bumps," she replies primly.
"In that case, shouldn't you be providing me with warm towels? And a Scotch? It wouldn't look good for your boss to get hypothermia."
"Alcohol is bad for you if you're hypothermic, but I can make you some hot cocoa if you'd like?" Pepper smiles at him. She knows the answer.
Tony rolls his eyes in disgust, so Pepper turns on her heel, heads upstairs, and returns quickly with a pile of warm towels. She hands it to one of the robots. "Don't be too gentle," she tells it.
*
The reason for the water-tank experiment becomes clear a week later. Pepper has CNN on in the background as usual while she's updating Tony's schedule, and she sits up and listens when she hears a mention of Iron Man.
Apparently he's in Bolivia, in torrential rain so heavy the cameraman has to wipe the lens every few seconds and even then the view's still blurry. She thought he was in the basement, working on increasing controlled power to the thrusters and she runs down to check. It's empty, all the robots standing idle.
She turns on the TV there. There's been a mudslide, the result of weeks of heavy rain and years of excessive logging. A map comes up in the corner of the screen, showing a village, but there's no village visible on the camera, not even any sign that there might ever have been one there. Just a rough track beyond the camera that ends in mud and broken trees, a huge gash across the hillside. It's still sliding, and Pepper can't see Tony.
She knows he's there, though. Not just because the reporter - high pitched with either excitement or shock or possibly both - has mentioned him, or because the basement is empty, but because it's Tony. And he's become obsessed, ever since Gulmira. He's trying to save the world, and he's only one man, and however special he is - and he's incredibly special, there's no doubt about that - he's only human under that armor.
So she knows he's in there, somewhere, doing something crazy, and she's back here, watching. It's exactly what she was afraid of, the reason she quit, the reason she shouldn't have listened to him when he talked her into staying. Because she's good at many things, but sitting and watching while Tony's in danger is not something she's good at. It isn't something she's even sure she can do.
She can't look away either. She's up close to the screen, scouring the area for a visual on him.
" J.A.R.V.I.S., have you heard from Mr. Stark?" Pepper asks.
"I am not currently in contact with him," J.A.R.V.I.S. replies, and Pepper would love to lose her cool, to throw something at him, if only he had a body for her to aim at. Instead, she moves calmly and steadily away from the screen and sits down. She crosses her legs at the ankle.
"Please inform me the moment you hear from him," she asks.
"Certainly."
The camera is sweeping across the hillside now, showing the devastation left behind by the landslide. It looks like a war zone, Pepper thinks. Tony's survived a war zone before, he can survive this. It becomes a mantra in her head, until she can't hear the reporter or the news anchor anymore, just the words in her head. Tony can't die.
She's still watching the screen though, so she sees the camera feed go dead, static on air for a couple of seconds before they cut back to the studio where worried looks are quickly smoothed over.
Pepper has no idea how long she's been watching, or how long Tony's been missing. It isn't like her to lose track of time. She checks - it's 1:07 now.
"How long was Mr. Stark able to stay underwater in tests?" she asks J.A.R.V.I.S..
"The maximum length of time was one hour, five minutes and three seconds. However, some adjustments have been made to the suit since then."
"Which would enable him to stay under for longer?" Pepper asks.
"That was the intention. However no trials have been run on the armor since the alterations."
"I see. Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.."
She divides her attention between the television and the clock. She can hear the clock ticking - she's never noticed it before.
Pepper is quite disconcerted to notice that she's biting her nails. She hasn't bitten her nails since fifth grade, when her parents promised her a manicure set if she'd quit. She stopped immediately back then, and a week later she had a manicure set. She can't seem to stop at the moment.
There's a shrill sound in the background, and it takes her a moment to realize that it's her cell. She flips it open reluctantly - she doesn't recognize the number and she isn't in the mood to deal with reporters or S.H.I.E.L.D. or anyone else.
" Pepper, I thought you weren't going to answer." The voice is slightly distorted and faint, but it's unmistakable. Tony.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" she shouts. "You could have gotten yourself killed. And why didn't you call me before?"
"Ah, I take it you know where I am then." He sounds slightly sheepish, though she can't be sure with the poor signal. "Reception was a little weak. I need to work on the suit's communications system when I get back."
"Are you-did you-?" Pepper stutters slightly trying to work out what question she should ask.
"I got some families out safely. They wouldn't have survived long enough for rescue teams to save them." He sounds proud, and Pepper has to tamp down on her own pride in him. "So I think even you might have to agree that that puts me squarely in hero class. Or maybe even super hero - I'm not sure which, actually. So yes, the suit does work satisfactorily under mud, though it still needs some fine-tuning. Which I'm sure is the question you were trying to ask."
"Naturally." It wasn't, of course. "Are you on your way home now?"
"Yes. Gotta go, got an incoming call from Rhodey."
She closes her cell. "I hope Rhodey kicks your ass," she says quietly, and heads upstairs to order pizza and fetch warm towels. She orders a cheeseburger as well, and sits and waits for him.