Yes, Virginia, There Really Is An Iron Man: Chapter Thirteen
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 Thirteen:
Tony Stark sat on the floor of his shower and shivered beneath a torrent of cold water.
“I’ve been informed that I should ‘bother you’ now, sir.”
“Jesus CHRIST!” Tony bashed his head against the stone-tiled wall and flailed his arms uselessly. Had he been standing, be probably would have cracked his skull open on the floor and bled to death. “How many times have I told you not to do that?! Shower time equals ‘avoid scaring the shit out of Tony Stark’ time!”
Jarvis rattled off a number.
“What?”
“That is exactly how many times you have told me not to speak to you while you are in the shower.”
Tony stood and eased the water back to a more tepid temperature. Any longer under the cold jets and he’d turn blue. “So shut up and leave me alone.”
“Crabby today, aren’t we, sir?”
“Go to hell.”
Jarvis never had a response for that and Tony didn’t hear another peep out of the AI as he washed his hair and shaved around his goatee with the expert of a man who had done it so often that he didn’t need a mirror.
He kept his mind occupied by calculating the escape velocity he would need to break atmosphere in the suit-then how he could upgrade the armor to withstand a vacuum.
That lasted until he finished toweling off and walked, naked, into his closet. He sighed after a moment of deliberating what to wear and gave up his vow of silence.
“Jarvis, what are my appointments today?”
“There is an informal board meeting scheduled at two PM today. Late lunch will be served.”
Tony grabbed a pair of dark jeans and a dark green long sleeved pullover. He hadn’t worn it in a while because the collar just screamed 70s… For the third day in a row, he avoided slicking his hair back and let it dry in messy waves.
“Where’s Pepper?” he asked.
“Miss Potts is in the guest room.”
Might as well wander downstairs and make his version of breakfast. Cold cereal was about the best he could do. As he got out a pair of bowls and spoons, he dry swallowed a Demerol to dull the throbbing in his hand.
Before Tony poured milk into Pepper’s Apple Jacks, he keyed up the intercom. “Pepper, come on down to the kitchen.”
Instead of answering, his assistant descended the staircase and walked purposefully into the kitchen-appointments for the day ready on the tip of her tongue.
Tony poured the milk into her cereal and dropped a spoon in it. “Apple Jacks? Your hair looks good like that.”
Pepper took the bowl from him and tilted her head in confusion.
“It gets all wavy when it’s still wet,” Tony observed, shoveling a spoonful of over-sugared cereal into his mouth. Milk dribbled down his chin.
She honestly had no idea what to say in response to that. In fact, Pepper was still reeling from the incident on the sofa-which she could never sit on again without getting the sensation of Tony’s hard body beneath hers.
Without anything to say, she ate her own mouthful of Apple Jacks and reached across the kitchen island to wipe the milk out of Tony’s goatee with her thumb. Unconsciously, Tony flicked his tongue out to catch anything she may have missed. His timing was slightly off, however.
He licked her thumb.
Pepper’s breath caught in her throat and the spoon she held in her opposite hand clattered to the bowl.
The noise broke Tony away from the moment and he jerked his head back.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Um…”
Pepper turned her head to stare at his fridge.
“I’ve got a catered board meeting in the afternoon. Any ideas on what it’s going to be about?” he expertly changed the subject.
She went back to eating her cereal. If Tony could ignore it, then so could she. “My best guess is the press conference and probably the rebuilding of the factory. Mostly, your little announcement at the press conference.”
“I really want to focus on arc technology. I’ve been thinking of ways it could be used in car engines…” he started off on his intricately technical ideas and lost Pepper’s attention to what he was saying. Instead, she focused on how he said them. Much like she usually did when he got into that language of mechanics and engineering that she didn’t understand.
She ate her Apple Jacks and watched his lips move and his hands gesture.
Halfway through explaining how an arc reactor could power a car for at least fifty years, Tony wet his lips and started smiling. Pepper held the bowl of her spoon against the roof of her mouth and blinked several times to make sure she didn’t just imagine that tongue again.
Today is going to be one of those extra long days, she thought.
TBC
Back | Forward
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 Thirteen:
Tony Stark sat on the floor of his shower and shivered beneath a torrent of cold water.
“I’ve been informed that I should ‘bother you’ now, sir.”
“Jesus CHRIST!” Tony bashed his head against the stone-tiled wall and flailed his arms uselessly. Had he been standing, be probably would have cracked his skull open on the floor and bled to death. “How many times have I told you not to do that?! Shower time equals ‘avoid scaring the shit out of Tony Stark’ time!”
Jarvis rattled off a number.
“What?”
“That is exactly how many times you have told me not to speak to you while you are in the shower.”
Tony stood and eased the water back to a more tepid temperature. Any longer under the cold jets and he’d turn blue. “So shut up and leave me alone.”
“Crabby today, aren’t we, sir?”
“Go to hell.”
Jarvis never had a response for that and Tony didn’t hear another peep out of the AI as he washed his hair and shaved around his goatee with the expert of a man who had done it so often that he didn’t need a mirror.
He kept his mind occupied by calculating the escape velocity he would need to break atmosphere in the suit-then how he could upgrade the armor to withstand a vacuum.
That lasted until he finished toweling off and walked, naked, into his closet. He sighed after a moment of deliberating what to wear and gave up his vow of silence.
“Jarvis, what are my appointments today?”
“There is an informal board meeting scheduled at two PM today. Late lunch will be served.”
Tony grabbed a pair of dark jeans and a dark green long sleeved pullover. He hadn’t worn it in a while because the collar just screamed 70s… For the third day in a row, he avoided slicking his hair back and let it dry in messy waves.
“Where’s Pepper?” he asked.
“Miss Potts is in the guest room.”
Might as well wander downstairs and make his version of breakfast. Cold cereal was about the best he could do. As he got out a pair of bowls and spoons, he dry swallowed a Demerol to dull the throbbing in his hand.
Before Tony poured milk into Pepper’s Apple Jacks, he keyed up the intercom. “Pepper, come on down to the kitchen.”
Instead of answering, his assistant descended the staircase and walked purposefully into the kitchen-appointments for the day ready on the tip of her tongue.
Tony poured the milk into her cereal and dropped a spoon in it. “Apple Jacks? Your hair looks good like that.”
Pepper took the bowl from him and tilted her head in confusion.
“It gets all wavy when it’s still wet,” Tony observed, shoveling a spoonful of over-sugared cereal into his mouth. Milk dribbled down his chin.
She honestly had no idea what to say in response to that. In fact, Pepper was still reeling from the incident on the sofa-which she could never sit on again without getting the sensation of Tony’s hard body beneath hers.
Without anything to say, she ate her own mouthful of Apple Jacks and reached across the kitchen island to wipe the milk out of Tony’s goatee with her thumb. Unconsciously, Tony flicked his tongue out to catch anything she may have missed. His timing was slightly off, however.
He licked her thumb.
Pepper’s breath caught in her throat and the spoon she held in her opposite hand clattered to the bowl.
The noise broke Tony away from the moment and he jerked his head back.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Um…”
Pepper turned her head to stare at his fridge.
“I’ve got a catered board meeting in the afternoon. Any ideas on what it’s going to be about?” he expertly changed the subject.
She went back to eating her cereal. If Tony could ignore it, then so could she. “My best guess is the press conference and probably the rebuilding of the factory. Mostly, your little announcement at the press conference.”
“I really want to focus on arc technology. I’ve been thinking of ways it could be used in car engines…” he started off on his intricately technical ideas and lost Pepper’s attention to what he was saying. Instead, she focused on how he said them. Much like she usually did when he got into that language of mechanics and engineering that she didn’t understand.
She ate her Apple Jacks and watched his lips move and his hands gesture.
Halfway through explaining how an arc reactor could power a car for at least fifty years, Tony wet his lips and started smiling. Pepper held the bowl of her spoon against the roof of her mouth and blinked several times to make sure she didn’t just imagine that tongue again.
Today is going to be one of those extra long days, she thought.
TBC
Back | Forward