(no subject)
Here a snip of one of the three IM fics I have littering my monitor at the moment. Look! It's not crack!
Even in the garage, his private space, Tony Stark was on display. Pepper tapped a fingernail against the recently re-installed smartglass panes. When she'd asked if Tony preferred the replacements be opaque, or did he even want steel or concrete instead, it was all she could do not to laugh at his completely baffled expression; every detail of his life was broadcast to the public eye and always had been. In retrospect, they'd been ridiculous, expecting him to keep the Iron Man identity a secret. He was functionally incapable of that level of artifice.
She keyed in and pushed the door open. Following the clang and clatter among equipment and worktables, careful not to brush the tuxedo she carried against anything, she found him underneath the hot rod.
"I know, I know, we're late," he said when her footsteps clicked to a halt. "I'm almost ready."
"I can see," she shook the tux, neatly pressed on its hanger, like an admonishing finger. "New, improved Tony Stark is starting to remind me a great deal of the same old Tony Stark."
There was a clunk and a clang, and a muttered, "Shit." "I meant new and improved with stuff that counts, Pepper."
"And thus my point still stands." The fundraiser itself wasn't important, but it was the first public Stark Industries-sponsored event since Obadiah's death, the media frenzy surrounding Tony's announcement, and since Tony had regained control of the company. It wasn't flying off on another mission, but showing up was still crucial to making sure Tony had the means to keep doing so.
"Fine." He slid out from under the car. She catalogued the streaks of grease and grime, calculating how long it would take him to shower and dress, so didn't notice the grin that broke out across his face until he said, "Iron Man red? Very nice, Miss Potts. I didn't think you were such a big fan."
Pepper smoothed a self-conscious hand along the silk that draped across her hip and fell in an elegant cascade to the floor. That hadn't even occurred to her; all she'd considered was that it was rare to find anything in red that didn't clash with her hair, and that after the last few months, she deserved to treat herself to something special, a little flamboyant. Something just for her.
The silk crumpled between her fingers.
"Pepper?"
Tony sat on the floor, regarding her like a glitch in a line of code. She took refuge in her professional smile, the one that came with the immediate ease of habit. "I'll hang this outside the bathroom. Please don't touch it until you've cleaned up."
Even in the garage, his private space, Tony Stark was on display. Pepper tapped a fingernail against the recently re-installed smartglass panes. When she'd asked if Tony preferred the replacements be opaque, or did he even want steel or concrete instead, it was all she could do not to laugh at his completely baffled expression; every detail of his life was broadcast to the public eye and always had been. In retrospect, they'd been ridiculous, expecting him to keep the Iron Man identity a secret. He was functionally incapable of that level of artifice.
She keyed in and pushed the door open. Following the clang and clatter among equipment and worktables, careful not to brush the tuxedo she carried against anything, she found him underneath the hot rod.
"I know, I know, we're late," he said when her footsteps clicked to a halt. "I'm almost ready."
"I can see," she shook the tux, neatly pressed on its hanger, like an admonishing finger. "New, improved Tony Stark is starting to remind me a great deal of the same old Tony Stark."
There was a clunk and a clang, and a muttered, "Shit." "I meant new and improved with stuff that counts, Pepper."
"And thus my point still stands." The fundraiser itself wasn't important, but it was the first public Stark Industries-sponsored event since Obadiah's death, the media frenzy surrounding Tony's announcement, and since Tony had regained control of the company. It wasn't flying off on another mission, but showing up was still crucial to making sure Tony had the means to keep doing so.
"Fine." He slid out from under the car. She catalogued the streaks of grease and grime, calculating how long it would take him to shower and dress, so didn't notice the grin that broke out across his face until he said, "Iron Man red? Very nice, Miss Potts. I didn't think you were such a big fan."
Pepper smoothed a self-conscious hand along the silk that draped across her hip and fell in an elegant cascade to the floor. That hadn't even occurred to her; all she'd considered was that it was rare to find anything in red that didn't clash with her hair, and that after the last few months, she deserved to treat herself to something special, a little flamboyant. Something just for her.
The silk crumpled between her fingers.
"Pepper?"
Tony sat on the floor, regarding her like a glitch in a line of code. She took refuge in her professional smile, the one that came with the immediate ease of habit. "I'll hang this outside the bathroom. Please don't touch it until you've cleaned up."