IRON MAN FIC: Accidentally On Purpose
Title: Accidentally On Purpose
Author: shutterbug_12
Characters: Tony & Pepper
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Only borrowing. Make love, not lawsuits.
Summary: It was an accident (but not really).
Author's Note: First Iron Man fic, so I'd appreciate beta-like feedback if you have it. 900 words. For earlwyn, who prompted me with "accident". Happy holidays! ♥ Feedback and concrit is love.
Explosions happened. So did construction, destruction, demolitions, and fires. Pepper had learned to accept--tolerate--all of these at some point or another when they occurred in the contained zone of Tony’s lair. His lab. His space.
Not when crashes and rocky thuds bounded from the second level of the house.
With a short stride but fast steps, Pepper followed the unmistakable sounds of Tony’s latest destructive whim. “What the hell was that?” she cried, her voice covered by another loud boom.
When she arrived at the source of the noise, she slowed to a stop. “Oh, my God!” she shouted, wide eyes sweeping across the room. “What did you do?”
From within a cloud of dust, Tony lazily dropped a hammer to his side and peered at her over the top of his safety glasses. “Wow, you know, I have to say, the fact that you have to ask that question--it’s disappointing, Pepper. It really is,” he said. “I’ve always told people, ‘That Pepper Potts, she’s a smart girl. She--”
“You’ve never--”
“--can always tell when someone knocks down a wall in her house. She never even has to ask.’ But it turns out that’s not the case, since you do have to ask, despite the simplicity of the concept. There used to be a wall here, but now--”
“Why--why did you take out the wall?”
“It was an accident.”
She eyed him, first his face, then the hammer still in his hand, then back to his face. “Tony,” she said, her tone full of unspoken, serious threats.
“I needed to expand my workspace.”
“But it was my wall,” she said, tapping her chest with her fingertips. “It was my room, Tony!”
“Your room?” He tilted his head (as if he were in actual thought), one eye nearly closed with a squint. “No. No, I don’t think so.”
“You gave it to me.”
“Hmm, yeah, I don’t think that sounds like me. Come on, Pepper. Do you think that sounds like me?”
“It was my birthday present.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure I got you a dress for your birthday.”
“You didn’t,” she answered, teeth clenched.
“Well, I should have. You know what? Grab some money out of the account. You can still buy one. Something nice, okay? Sexy.” With his foot, he shoved pieces of the broken wall toward the edge of the room.
She didn’t budge from the doorway. “It was supposed to be a library.”
He shook his head at the floor. “A library? Well, now I’m glad I never gave it to you, because that’s a terrible idea.”
“You said that I could do whatever I wanted with it. Whatever I wanted,” she said, employing the force of her anger to punctuate each word. “Not whatever you wanted.”
“Well, that really doesn’t sound like me.” He kicked another chunk of wall across the floor. “But, look, you can still buy a sexy little dress, okay? On me. Happy birthday.”
With a heavy, slow sigh, she turned her back on him.
“Oh,” he called. “I moved all those books into the hallway. You’re welcome.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, her voice slippery with sarcasm. In twenty seconds, she was already headed toward her car.
~~~
When she returned, no dress in tow, silence filled the house. She carefully stepped toward the hall of her stolen room and jumped, her hand flying to her chest, when a sudden flood of clean, clear light streamed out of the room.
Tony stood silhouetted in the doorway under a lintel of polished, back-lit letters that spelled: POTTS GALLERY.
In an instant, her anger vanished, their earlier spat already far from her mind. She bit her bottom lip, unable to restrain her smile as she approached the room.
“You have an awful name. I mean, sure, it sounds nice when you say it, but it really doesn’t lend itself well to titles. If you want to keep this,” he said, his hand sweeping through the air, “then you should consider changing your name. ‘Potts Gallery’ doesn’t work for me.”
She smiled wider--her only answer--and studied the room with warm wonder. No dust, no hint of destruction, remained on the floor, in the air, on the walls. The four identical walls formed a white square, lit by newly installed fixtures. Tony had left out only one element, and her mind filled and refilled the space with the works of her favorite artists.
Beside her, Tony was still rambling about her name. “--like it was a gallery of Farberware, but then ‘Pepper Gallery’ made it seem like a spice cabinet. So, since it was going to sound stupid either way, I went with the first way. Plus I didn’t have to make as many letters, so--”
“I--I don’t know where to start,” she said, beginning a slow walk around the room. “I can finally curate an entire exhibit and I don’t know where to start. Who should I talk to? What should I buy?” The possibilities seemed endless, and they swam in her head.
Still in the doorway, Tony slipped his hands into his pockets and nonchalantly offered, “Whatever you want.”
Author: shutterbug_12
Characters: Tony & Pepper
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Only borrowing. Make love, not lawsuits.
Summary: It was an accident (but not really).
Author's Note: First Iron Man fic, so I'd appreciate beta-like feedback if you have it. 900 words. For earlwyn, who prompted me with "accident". Happy holidays! ♥ Feedback and concrit is love.
Explosions happened. So did construction, destruction, demolitions, and fires. Pepper had learned to accept--tolerate--all of these at some point or another when they occurred in the contained zone of Tony’s lair. His lab. His space.
Not when crashes and rocky thuds bounded from the second level of the house.
With a short stride but fast steps, Pepper followed the unmistakable sounds of Tony’s latest destructive whim. “What the hell was that?” she cried, her voice covered by another loud boom.
When she arrived at the source of the noise, she slowed to a stop. “Oh, my God!” she shouted, wide eyes sweeping across the room. “What did you do?”
From within a cloud of dust, Tony lazily dropped a hammer to his side and peered at her over the top of his safety glasses. “Wow, you know, I have to say, the fact that you have to ask that question--it’s disappointing, Pepper. It really is,” he said. “I’ve always told people, ‘That Pepper Potts, she’s a smart girl. She--”
“You’ve never--”
“--can always tell when someone knocks down a wall in her house. She never even has to ask.’ But it turns out that’s not the case, since you do have to ask, despite the simplicity of the concept. There used to be a wall here, but now--”
“Why--why did you take out the wall?”
“It was an accident.”
She eyed him, first his face, then the hammer still in his hand, then back to his face. “Tony,” she said, her tone full of unspoken, serious threats.
“I needed to expand my workspace.”
“But it was my wall,” she said, tapping her chest with her fingertips. “It was my room, Tony!”
“Your room?” He tilted his head (as if he were in actual thought), one eye nearly closed with a squint. “No. No, I don’t think so.”
“You gave it to me.”
“Hmm, yeah, I don’t think that sounds like me. Come on, Pepper. Do you think that sounds like me?”
“It was my birthday present.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure I got you a dress for your birthday.”
“You didn’t,” she answered, teeth clenched.
“Well, I should have. You know what? Grab some money out of the account. You can still buy one. Something nice, okay? Sexy.” With his foot, he shoved pieces of the broken wall toward the edge of the room.
She didn’t budge from the doorway. “It was supposed to be a library.”
He shook his head at the floor. “A library? Well, now I’m glad I never gave it to you, because that’s a terrible idea.”
“You said that I could do whatever I wanted with it. Whatever I wanted,” she said, employing the force of her anger to punctuate each word. “Not whatever you wanted.”
“Well, that really doesn’t sound like me.” He kicked another chunk of wall across the floor. “But, look, you can still buy a sexy little dress, okay? On me. Happy birthday.”
With a heavy, slow sigh, she turned her back on him.
“Oh,” he called. “I moved all those books into the hallway. You’re welcome.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, her voice slippery with sarcasm. In twenty seconds, she was already headed toward her car.
~~~
When she returned, no dress in tow, silence filled the house. She carefully stepped toward the hall of her stolen room and jumped, her hand flying to her chest, when a sudden flood of clean, clear light streamed out of the room.
Tony stood silhouetted in the doorway under a lintel of polished, back-lit letters that spelled: POTTS GALLERY.
In an instant, her anger vanished, their earlier spat already far from her mind. She bit her bottom lip, unable to restrain her smile as she approached the room.
“You have an awful name. I mean, sure, it sounds nice when you say it, but it really doesn’t lend itself well to titles. If you want to keep this,” he said, his hand sweeping through the air, “then you should consider changing your name. ‘Potts Gallery’ doesn’t work for me.”
She smiled wider--her only answer--and studied the room with warm wonder. No dust, no hint of destruction, remained on the floor, in the air, on the walls. The four identical walls formed a white square, lit by newly installed fixtures. Tony had left out only one element, and her mind filled and refilled the space with the works of her favorite artists.
Beside her, Tony was still rambling about her name. “--like it was a gallery of Farberware, but then ‘Pepper Gallery’ made it seem like a spice cabinet. So, since it was going to sound stupid either way, I went with the first way. Plus I didn’t have to make as many letters, so--”
“I--I don’t know where to start,” she said, beginning a slow walk around the room. “I can finally curate an entire exhibit and I don’t know where to start. Who should I talk to? What should I buy?” The possibilities seemed endless, and they swam in her head.
Still in the doorway, Tony slipped his hands into his pockets and nonchalantly offered, “Whatever you want.”