Theme #21: Hands
Title: Like A Rare Woman
Author: lizbeth_mairead
Theme: #21Hands
Rating: PG/T
Length: 1,507 words
Summary: Tony explains to Pepper the finite principles of a rare woman through a unique metaphor.
Pepper wasn’t sure what to expect when she pulled up into the drive way of Tony’s house, but she was on edge. He had sounded so strange on the phone, and she had hoped that after sealing the deal with Fury he would have been feeling a little bit better. She wasn’t sure why he was so melancholy lately, and it bothered her. Tony usually told her everything, and if he didn’t, he would get around to it. Pepper grabbed her purse and keys and got out of her car. She walked up to the front door, still dressed in her pencil skirt and blouse from work. Before she could get the door open Jarvis swung it open for her.
“Good evening, Miss Potts,” Jarvis said in a sterile voice.
“Thank you, Jarvis,” Pepper murmured, concern lacing her voice. It was quiet, oddly so, but what was even more intriguing was that it wasn’t silent. Soft, tinkling piano music was drifting through the house and it made the hair on the back of Pepper’s neck stand up. The last time a piano was played in Tony’s house, it was Obadiah playing, and since then that piano was destroyed. Pepper didn’t remember Tony getting a new one, but then again she wasn’t paying much attention to anything other than her Blackberry that constantly rang or the inbox that was constantly full.
Pepper sat her purse and keys down on the hall table and walked quietly into the living room. Other than the piano, it was just the waterfall that was softly flowing off the wall. Pepper felt something bloom in her chest: it was a sad feeling. The tune that the piano was evoking in her was practically breaking her heart for reasons she didn’t know. As Pepper slowly walked into the living room, she came around the edge of the corner to the steps that lead up to the piano, where she found Tony Stark leaning over a brand new shiny, black Steinway grand piano. The ivories were smooth under his calloused fingers, and he looked oddly out of place in his faded jeans and oil stained shirt. However, as Pepper came around a little bit more, she saw his profile, the way his hair gently fall onto his forehead and the way his features were relaxed and at ease. He wasn’t looking at any music, but staring out the large window that overlooked the ocean.
“Tony?” Pepper murmured, feeling like a proper criminal for breaking the tranquil moment.
Tony was humming under his breath, and without breaking the tune, he gently nodded his head in his direction, telling her to come over. Pepper came up the steps and carefully sat down beside him on the piano bench, watching his hands before looking up at him questioningly. Her blue eyes were quizzical and she was caught in between curiosity and wonder. It wasn’t like when Tony was caught up in a project, when his attention was solely focused on a task. He was indeed focused, but he was pensive. Pepper could tell from the way his eyes looked so distant.
Tony continued to play, and Pepper tried to place the song. It was beautiful, long and flowing until it would come to an abrupt cord that clearly brought your attention front and center. Then… the chorus… it was like a flurry of snow flakes pulling the strands of red gold hair out of her bun and gently tickling her skin. It was enrapturing and soon Pepper found herself in a dreamy, romantic place that had her warm and soft and she didn’t want to leave.
Tony watched Pepper’s features, admired how the creases in her forehead softened and the corners of her lips turned gently up. Her eyes turned a tender shade of blue as she looked out the same window he had been looking out moments ago. Without breaking the tune, Tony slid his arm underneath the closer of Pepper’s arms to reach the higher keys, all the while watching her profile. He began to loop the song, not letting it end. He found that was something beautiful about the piano, about music. You didn’t ever have to turn it off, and even if you were stuck in a dank, dark cave, you could still use your voice to sing. Music was something that Tony had never mastered; music had mastered Tony. It intrigued him to no end, because it was one of the only things he had found in life that could enrapture him so entirely that he had come to a stand still. This song was evidence of that, just by looking at Pepper and the beautiful way she was day dreaming of things he felt were too personal to ask, though he wanted to know them badly.
Tony was easing himself back into the romantic lull of the song, but Pepper’s voice interrupted his lazy concentration.
“Sing some of it,” she murmured.
Without question or a stray beat, Tony’s rich voice quietly filled the little alcove where the piano sat. “Up here we sacrifice our children to feed the worn out dreams of yesterday and teach them dying will lead us into glory-But hey, don’t listen to me,
cause this wasn’t meant to be no sad song… I’ve sung too much of that before…right now I only want to be with you till the morning dew comes falling…”
Pepper’s breath caught softly in her chest and she drew her eyes slowly up from the window, down to Tony’s hands, then up his arms until she was looking at the side of his face. Then, the beautiful whirl of the snowflakes started again, wrapping around her and Pepper was content to listen to the song.
“I want to take you to the island, trace your footprints in the sand, and in the evening when there’s no one around, we’ll make love to the sound of the ocean…”
Tony’s fingers slipped on the keys on the last chord when Pepper rested her hand on his arm. Tony let his hands fall from the keys and rest on his legs, looking down at the shiny white ivories. Pepper wrapped her arm through his and gently rested her head on his shoulder.
“When did you get a new piano?” Pepper finally asked after a few minutes of silence.
Tony smiled gently and wrapped his arm around Pepper’s shoulders. He stood up with her from the piano and they both lazily walked over to his couch. “This morning,” he said as they plopped down on the sofa. As if synchronized, both put their feet up, one pair was stiletto clad and sexy, the other was booted and scuffed.
“I could’ve ordered it for you, Tony. You must have had to gone across town to get it,” Pepper said, leaning her head against his shoulder comfortably. “For that matter you didn’t even mention you wanted a new piano in the first place.”
“Miss Potts, you have a lot to learn about music,” Tony said as if schooling a student.
“Tony, I have played the flute for eighteen years.”
Tony blinked in astonishment and looked down at the beautiful redhead that was reclined against him underneath his arm. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, well, I never had a reason to bring it up,” Pepper said with a smile, watching the sunset’s gleam off Tony’s boot.
“Well, nevertheless, you have a lot to learn about the piano,” Tony said with a nod. “A piano is…” He grinned as his hand began to drag up and down Pepper’s arm slowly. “…like a fine wine or a rare woman. You treat her with respect… she holds a certain regal authority in a part of your life and…”
Pepper looked at him out of the corner of her eyes as Tony leaned down and whispered in her ear, “…she can make the most beautiful sounds…”
Pepper elbowed him and Tony threw his head back with a laugh that sounded like a bark. Pepper smirked and nodded. “Then why didn’t you let me buy you one sooner?” she asked, looking up at him.
“As I said, I wouldn’t have my assistant call a rare woman- wait, wait, WAIT, no comment. I will fire you if you comment. Ignore what I just said.”
Pepper was in stitches, giggling at his side, and Tony grinned too. It was true. She did make the most beautiful sounds. “A piano is like a rare woman, as I said…” Tony looked down at her and sighed, mumbling the last bit of his thought. “…it has to be something special when you meet. You can’t just make a call, order her right on up. It’s something you have to do yourself.”
Pepper looked up at Tony, leaning her head back on his shoulder.
Tony smiled and pressed his lips into her red hair. “Because every time you see her, she’ll strike a chord on your heart strings and that, my dear Miss Potts, sets her apart from all the rest.”
Author: lizbeth_mairead
Theme: #21Hands
Rating: PG/T
Length: 1,507 words
Summary: Tony explains to Pepper the finite principles of a rare woman through a unique metaphor.
Pepper wasn’t sure what to expect when she pulled up into the drive way of Tony’s house, but she was on edge. He had sounded so strange on the phone, and she had hoped that after sealing the deal with Fury he would have been feeling a little bit better. She wasn’t sure why he was so melancholy lately, and it bothered her. Tony usually told her everything, and if he didn’t, he would get around to it. Pepper grabbed her purse and keys and got out of her car. She walked up to the front door, still dressed in her pencil skirt and blouse from work. Before she could get the door open Jarvis swung it open for her.
“Good evening, Miss Potts,” Jarvis said in a sterile voice.
“Thank you, Jarvis,” Pepper murmured, concern lacing her voice. It was quiet, oddly so, but what was even more intriguing was that it wasn’t silent. Soft, tinkling piano music was drifting through the house and it made the hair on the back of Pepper’s neck stand up. The last time a piano was played in Tony’s house, it was Obadiah playing, and since then that piano was destroyed. Pepper didn’t remember Tony getting a new one, but then again she wasn’t paying much attention to anything other than her Blackberry that constantly rang or the inbox that was constantly full.
Pepper sat her purse and keys down on the hall table and walked quietly into the living room. Other than the piano, it was just the waterfall that was softly flowing off the wall. Pepper felt something bloom in her chest: it was a sad feeling. The tune that the piano was evoking in her was practically breaking her heart for reasons she didn’t know. As Pepper slowly walked into the living room, she came around the edge of the corner to the steps that lead up to the piano, where she found Tony Stark leaning over a brand new shiny, black Steinway grand piano. The ivories were smooth under his calloused fingers, and he looked oddly out of place in his faded jeans and oil stained shirt. However, as Pepper came around a little bit more, she saw his profile, the way his hair gently fall onto his forehead and the way his features were relaxed and at ease. He wasn’t looking at any music, but staring out the large window that overlooked the ocean.
“Tony?” Pepper murmured, feeling like a proper criminal for breaking the tranquil moment.
Tony was humming under his breath, and without breaking the tune, he gently nodded his head in his direction, telling her to come over. Pepper came up the steps and carefully sat down beside him on the piano bench, watching his hands before looking up at him questioningly. Her blue eyes were quizzical and she was caught in between curiosity and wonder. It wasn’t like when Tony was caught up in a project, when his attention was solely focused on a task. He was indeed focused, but he was pensive. Pepper could tell from the way his eyes looked so distant.
Tony continued to play, and Pepper tried to place the song. It was beautiful, long and flowing until it would come to an abrupt cord that clearly brought your attention front and center. Then… the chorus… it was like a flurry of snow flakes pulling the strands of red gold hair out of her bun and gently tickling her skin. It was enrapturing and soon Pepper found herself in a dreamy, romantic place that had her warm and soft and she didn’t want to leave.
Tony watched Pepper’s features, admired how the creases in her forehead softened and the corners of her lips turned gently up. Her eyes turned a tender shade of blue as she looked out the same window he had been looking out moments ago. Without breaking the tune, Tony slid his arm underneath the closer of Pepper’s arms to reach the higher keys, all the while watching her profile. He began to loop the song, not letting it end. He found that was something beautiful about the piano, about music. You didn’t ever have to turn it off, and even if you were stuck in a dank, dark cave, you could still use your voice to sing. Music was something that Tony had never mastered; music had mastered Tony. It intrigued him to no end, because it was one of the only things he had found in life that could enrapture him so entirely that he had come to a stand still. This song was evidence of that, just by looking at Pepper and the beautiful way she was day dreaming of things he felt were too personal to ask, though he wanted to know them badly.
Tony was easing himself back into the romantic lull of the song, but Pepper’s voice interrupted his lazy concentration.
“Sing some of it,” she murmured.
Without question or a stray beat, Tony’s rich voice quietly filled the little alcove where the piano sat. “Up here we sacrifice our children to feed the worn out dreams of yesterday and teach them dying will lead us into glory-But hey, don’t listen to me,
cause this wasn’t meant to be no sad song… I’ve sung too much of that before…right now I only want to be with you till the morning dew comes falling…”
Pepper’s breath caught softly in her chest and she drew her eyes slowly up from the window, down to Tony’s hands, then up his arms until she was looking at the side of his face. Then, the beautiful whirl of the snowflakes started again, wrapping around her and Pepper was content to listen to the song.
“I want to take you to the island, trace your footprints in the sand, and in the evening when there’s no one around, we’ll make love to the sound of the ocean…”
Tony’s fingers slipped on the keys on the last chord when Pepper rested her hand on his arm. Tony let his hands fall from the keys and rest on his legs, looking down at the shiny white ivories. Pepper wrapped her arm through his and gently rested her head on his shoulder.
“When did you get a new piano?” Pepper finally asked after a few minutes of silence.
Tony smiled gently and wrapped his arm around Pepper’s shoulders. He stood up with her from the piano and they both lazily walked over to his couch. “This morning,” he said as they plopped down on the sofa. As if synchronized, both put their feet up, one pair was stiletto clad and sexy, the other was booted and scuffed.
“I could’ve ordered it for you, Tony. You must have had to gone across town to get it,” Pepper said, leaning her head against his shoulder comfortably. “For that matter you didn’t even mention you wanted a new piano in the first place.”
“Miss Potts, you have a lot to learn about music,” Tony said as if schooling a student.
“Tony, I have played the flute for eighteen years.”
Tony blinked in astonishment and looked down at the beautiful redhead that was reclined against him underneath his arm. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, well, I never had a reason to bring it up,” Pepper said with a smile, watching the sunset’s gleam off Tony’s boot.
“Well, nevertheless, you have a lot to learn about the piano,” Tony said with a nod. “A piano is…” He grinned as his hand began to drag up and down Pepper’s arm slowly. “…like a fine wine or a rare woman. You treat her with respect… she holds a certain regal authority in a part of your life and…”
Pepper looked at him out of the corner of her eyes as Tony leaned down and whispered in her ear, “…she can make the most beautiful sounds…”
Pepper elbowed him and Tony threw his head back with a laugh that sounded like a bark. Pepper smirked and nodded. “Then why didn’t you let me buy you one sooner?” she asked, looking up at him.
“As I said, I wouldn’t have my assistant call a rare woman- wait, wait, WAIT, no comment. I will fire you if you comment. Ignore what I just said.”
Pepper was in stitches, giggling at his side, and Tony grinned too. It was true. She did make the most beautiful sounds. “A piano is like a rare woman, as I said…” Tony looked down at her and sighed, mumbling the last bit of his thought. “…it has to be something special when you meet. You can’t just make a call, order her right on up. It’s something you have to do yourself.”
Pepper looked up at Tony, leaning her head back on his shoulder.
Tony smiled and pressed his lips into her red hair. “Because every time you see her, she’ll strike a chord on your heart strings and that, my dear Miss Potts, sets her apart from all the rest.”