Chapter 4

Pepperony

As the next few days went by, both Tony and Pepper agreed not to tell anyone about the pregnancy until her next scan, which was advised by Dr. Tate to be on the safe side of things. It was still such a shock to both of them that they were going to be parents, and they had never been so scared before, but it was a good scared, it was exciting.

Pepper went to work as usual and didn't say anything out of the ordinary to anyone. She knew how people at Stark Industries would react and she definitely did not want that kind of attention. When her and Tony were first married, there were so many people who speculated that it was because she was pregnant and they awaited news that she was expecting, but the rumors proved not to be true. That was the problem with living in the media's spotlight, they always tried to make stories out of nothing and stir up controversy, but neither Pepper or Tony payed any attention to their headlines about them, they were used to the attention by now.

''Mrs. Stark?'' Heather's voice came into the room, carrying a finished file over to Pepper's desk. ''Your husband is on line two.''

''Okay, thank you Heather.'' Pepper watched as she walked back out of the room before picking up the phone and pressing the line to answer. She wondered what he could be calling for, she would be home in an hour anyway. ''Tony?''

''Yeah, hey, sorry to call...I know you're gonna be home soon anyway but I didn't think I could just leave a note for this.'' his voice was rushed, as though he was doing something else while talking to her.

She could hear the clinging of metal in the background and wondered what was going on. ''What's going on?''

''It's nothing, really, Rhodey just needs some help with something.''

''He needs your help, or Iron Man's help?'' Pepper asked, trying to understand what he was saying.

Tony paused for a moment. ''Well, I guess you could say Iron Man's help, but I'm in the suit so really it is my help, just in the form of-''

''Tony,'' Pepper cut him off as he rambled on. ''Can you just tell me what's going on?''

She could hear him sigh. ''There's some...problems. Rhodey has been watching this terrorist group not far from one of the military's main bases, they're getting too close and they've got...advantages.''

''What do you mean?''

''Explosives.''

Pepper could feel her worry rising. ''And what are you going to do?''

''Don't freak out, alright? We're just going to see what we can do.'' Tony told her calmly. ''We're not going alone, they just need help.''

Pepper rested her forehead in her hand, closing her eyes to take in what she was hearing. It's not as if this was unusual, he was Iron Man and he had responsibilities by being who he was, but she hated him doing things like this, especially when it involved terrorists. Pepper always feared that there would be a repeat of what had happened before Iron Man, that he would be taken or something terrible would happen. She couldn't handle anything happening to him.

''When are you going?'' she asked. Tony didn't answer, but Pepper could still hear the clinging of metal in the background, and it answered her question. ''You're going now.''

''I have to, I'm sorry.'' he told her, sounding legitimately sorry for having to do this to her. He hated leaving her here when he had to go and be Iron Man, he knew all she did was worry about him and watch the news, hoping he was okay. ''I'm leaving as soon as the suit assembles, we need to get there as soon as possible.''

''Tony, this sounds a lot worse than you're telling me.''

''Pepper, please don't worry. I got this, I do this all the time, it's fine. Plus, I got Rhodey with me, it's gonna be fine. Just come home, eat something, go to bed, and please don't wait up for me.'' Even as Tony was speaking, he knew there was no way she wasn't going to worry about this.

Pepper listened to his advice to come home and eat something. He always worried about her not eating because of her long days at the office and the fact that when she came home she was either too exhausted or stressed to worry about food. Especially on nights where he wasn't home because he was off being Iron Man, she made herself sick with worry sometimes and Tony hated himself for being the one to do that to her, so he tried to take care of her even though he wasn't there. He knew her too well.

''This is the part where I usually give you a kiss for good luck.'' she smiled to herself at all of the memories.

Tony felt terrible, he hated having to leave her like this, especially since she wasn't even home to say goodbye. This had just come upon him though, Rhodey needed his help now and Tony would never let him go alone.

''Well, that means you owe me double next time.'' he told her, trying to ease her worries. ''I'll see you in the morning.''

''Be careful Tony, I want you to come back in one piece.''

''I will, I promise.'' he told her confidently.

''I love you.'' she told him. Whenever he left on one of these endeavors, they both wanted those words to be the last thing they said to one another, just in case something went wrong.

''I love you too.''

Pepper sat at the kitchen bench with a take-out container in front of her, lazily poking her fork into the different vegetables and munching on them slowly. The house was completely silent, the only noise was when her ring tapped against the kitchen bench. As it did so, she lost herself in looking at it. It was silver and it had a diamond in the middle, just like she had always pictured her wedding ring to look like. She was expecting Tony to go overboard on the ring since nothing he did in his life was subtle, but the ring was perfect.

Pepper walked upstairs and took a long, hot shower to ease all of the stress in the body, coming out of the bathroom exhausted from the relaxation. She looked over to the empty bed, wishing Tony was here with her. Then she wouldn't have to sleep in the huge bed by herself, she could wrap herself up in his arms and sleep peacefully knowing he was right there with her. Everywhere she looked just reminded her that he wasn't here, so eventually after watching the latest news round-up, she turned the lights out and buried herself in the bed sheets, hoping that somehow she could sleep.

The blankets that had been previously on the bed were now all kicked off the sides and lay pooled on the floor due to Pepper's inability to gain any sleep whatsoever. Her legs kicked beneath the sheets in frustration, and she glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. It was 3am and she was still just as awake as she was when she got home. She was about to go make herself a cup of tea before she heard noises coming from downstairs in the workshop.

''Jarvis, what was that noise?'' Pepper asked.

''That would be Mr. Stark returning home, madam.''

Pepper rushed out of the room and down the stairs in an instant, her feet running along the tiles in the hall as she neared the staircase down to the workshop. She was in such a rush that she forgot she was only wearing her tank top and underwear as she usually slept in, hoping that Rhodey wasn't here as well. As she made it to the glass door into the workshop, she could see Tony standing on the docking station, his Iron Man armor being removed. She input her security code without looking and walked into the room.

''You're still awake,'' Tony looked over with a concerned expression, walking off of the dock and over to where she was. ''I told you to get some sleep, you don't need to keep doing this.''

Pepper didn't answer him, instead her arms just wrapped around his neck and she pulled him in close, resting her head on his chest to find the warmth she had been craving all night. That's all she wanted to do right now, just hug him and know that he was back home safely. Tony didn't say anything either, instead he snaked his arms around her waist and hugged her tight, closing his eyes as his chin rested on her shoulder. This happened every time he came back from anything like this. They would just stand there for as long as they wanted to and just held each other.

''Are you okay?'' he asked her, pulling away slightly to look into her eyes.

She nodded tiredly. ''I am now.''

''Come on, let's go to bed.''

As Tony held his arm around her shoulder and began walking toward the door, Pepper noticed a slight limp in his walk, probably something that had only just occurred tonight. He was injured. Pepper's eyebrows knitted together out of worry, but she didn't say anything. Whenever she did, Tony would always change the subject or play it off less than it was. It was no use, he was too stubborn to admit he was hurt or that he needed some help for it.

They made it up the stairs to the bedroom and Tony walked straight into the bathroom to take a shower, but not before he noticed all of the sheets that were on the ground from Pepper's tossing and turning. His eyes looked over the bed sadly, feeling guilty that it was his fault Pepper couldn't get any rest that night. He turned the shower on hot, wincing at the feel of the heated water hitting his back, stinging him. It had been a long night, and he just wanted to sleep off everything that had happened. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. The military basically had everything under control, they just needed someone to go in and take whatever explosives they had, and that was him and Rhodey since they were the only ones in a metal suit. However, they did get knocked around quite a bit. The suit protected them from any harmful explosives and weapons, but they still suffered bruising, cuts and all kinds of injuries.

Tony stepped out of the shower and dried himself off, slipping into his briefs and walking into the bedroom. Pepper's eyes were on him as he walked over to his side of the bed and sat down. He had a very noticeable bruise on his shoulder, and Pepper couldn't help speaking up about it now.

''You're hurt.'' she told him, moving closer to his side. There were a few cuts along his arms and a small one on his face, barely visible.

''It's nothing.'' he shook his head.

''No, it's not nothing, Tony. You're hurt. Let me help-''

''I'm fine.'' he looked up at her with a convincing smile, and if Pepper didn't know him so well she would have bought it. Pepper got up off the bed and walked to the bathroom, coming back with a small white bag that she kept all of her medical supplies in. ''You don't need to do this.''

''What? Take care of you?'' she asked, looking at him in disbelief.

Tony shook his head. ''No, you don't have to do this, I'm fine.''

''Oh, calm down, it's just antiseptic.'' she rolled her eyes, knowing how childish he was when it came to cleaning up his injuries. Anything medical, he hated. The sterilized smell of all the supplies in the bag made his nose wrinkle up. ''Would you please let me help you?''

Tony looked up at her once again, and he knew he was losing this argument. She was watching him with such concern, he hated it. She was always on edge when he came home from these things, always thinking he was hiding something from her like a broken arm, granted that did happen before and he couldn't blame Pepper for being so paranoid when he brought it on himself.

''I don't want you to have to keep worrying about me.'' he admitted as she sat next to him with her legs folded, spilling some antiseptic ointment onto a cotton bud to dab on his cuts.

''I'm allowed to worry about my husband when he's Iron Man.'' she defended.

''Well I don't like it. You get yourself all worked up, you don't sleep,'' he told her, looking over to the end of the bed where all the blankets had been kicked off. ''I just...wish I didn't have to keep doing that to you.''

Pepper finished wiping the cotton bud over one of his cuts, pausing to look at him sincerely. ''It's not your fault. The world needs Iron Man.''

''But I don't want to keep leaving you at all hours.'' he moved, turning to face her.

''Tony, this is your job. You protect people, the fight the bad guys and I'm so proud of you for that. I can deal with sleeping alone for a few nights if it means you can keep doing it, I'm fine. Just because I can't sleep sometimes when you're not here is not your fault, it's just the way I am.''

Tony looked down at his hands. ''But it's not just you that I'm leaving anymore.''

Pepper reached over and took his face in her palms. ''I knew what I was getting myself into when I married you, okay? Don't stop doing this because of me, or because of the baby, because we're fine. You're Iron Man. I married Iron Man, and I have no regrets.''

Tony shook his head, smiling. ''You're something else, you know that? You really are.''

Pepper grinned, shrugging her shoulders. ''Yeah, well, you're not too bad yourself.''

Tony moved in closer to her lips, stopping before they met. ''If I recall correctly...you owe me a kiss.''

''Is that so?'' Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as his arms made their way around her waist.

Pepper was walking around the bedroom wearing nothing but her bra and her underwear, searching through the entire wardrobe for something nice to wear today. She had gone to the doctors yesterday with Tony and they were thrilled to hear that everything was going perfectly. Their baby was growing at a normal rate, all levels were good and it was healthy, which meant they could finally tell people that they were expecting.

Tony walked in to the room a while later with a glass of water for Pepper who had been suffering morning sickness since she woke up. He couldn't help grin at what she was wearing, handing her the glass once he was close enough.

''Are you planning on wearing clothes today? Not that I would mind, but I don't want the whole restaurant's eyes on you.''

Pepper huffed in annoyance. ''I'm trying to find that blue top I like so much,'' she told him, handing him the glass once again as she turned back to the wardrobe. ''Wait, I think...I found it!''

Tony gave her a weird look as she turned around, excited by just finding a shirt. ''You're freaking out aren't you?''

''No I'm not.'' she defended firmly. ''I just want to look nice.''

''You always looks nice. But on another topic, you're freaking out.''

Pepper sighed and looked up at him. ''I am not freaking out, I just want everything to go...smoothly.''

''It will. What could go wrong?''

''My mother.'' she looked at him knowingly. ''You and me, at lunch, with my mother.''

Tony nodded. ''Yeah, I know. What's the big deal?''

''The big deal?! It's my mother. I see her four times a year and that's enough for me. Telling her I'm pregnant is kind of overwhelming for me, okay?''

Tony threw his hands up defensively, instantly regretting asking that question. ''Hey, I get it. But what could go wrong?'' Pepper kept her eyes on her clothes that she was lining up on the bed, making sure they worked well together. ''Pepper?''

''She's going to think we're not ready.'' Pepper looked up, finally confessing her feelings. ''She already thinks I work too much and with you being Iron Man and us running the company together, I just know that's how she's going to react. I mean, I love her, she's my mom, but I can't handle her sometimes.'' she sighed and took a seat on the bed. ''What if our baby can't stand me? Look at me, I'm freaking out about having lunch with my mom, imagine how I'm going to be.''

Tony would have took a jab at the fact Pepper had just admitted to being freaked out, but instead he knelt down in front of her on the bed. ''Hey, our baby is going to love you Pepper, because you are the most capable woman for anything. You can do just about anything. Being a mother is just going to come to you like second nature.'' he told her, gaining a smile on Pepper's lips. ''And as for your mom, she adores me, so don't worry about it.''

Pepper rolled her eyes. ''You were going good there for a moment.''

Tony shook his head. ''I ruined it didn't I?''

''Little bit.'' Pepper laughed.

''So, how is work going Gin?'' Pepper's mother asked her politely as they were seated at one of the best tables in the restaurant thanks to Tony's request.

Lunch was going fine so far, but that was probably because neither of them had told her about the pregnancy. Pepper wanted to be the one to bring it up, and when she did Tony promised he would back her up on anything if her mother said anything out of line or upsetting. It was hard to sit there and make conversation when the only thing Pepper wanted to do was tell her mom what was going on and get it out of the way.

''Great, it's going great.'' Pepper answered with a smile. ''How about you?''

''Being a florist isn't too exciting, dear.'' her mother laughed. ''But it gets me out of the house, it's something to do.''

Both Pepper and Tony nodded with a smile, silently wishing that the conversation would liven up soon otherwise they would fall into an awkward silence. They had finished eating their lunch, so really there was nothing left to do but talk, and that wasn't working out too well.

''There's actually something that we want to tell you, mom.'' Pepper spoke calmly, preparing herself. She felt Tony's hand find hers and held it for support, which helped her nerves a lot.

''What is it?'' her mother asked, intrigued. ''Nothing's wrong, is there?''

''No, there's nothing wrong Esther.'' Tony spoke up, trying to some weight off of Pepper's shoulders, but that's really all he had to offer since Pepper wanted to be the one to tell her.

''Then what is it?''

Pepper looked to her side at Tony for assurance, and he gave her a comforting smile to ease the tension before she looked back to her mother who was looking at her with anticipation. ''Tony and I...are having a baby.''

Esther looked between the two of them, searching for something that would let her know if they were being serious or not. ''You're pregnant?'' she asked, looking back to Pepper who nodded. ''Oh my god.''

Pepper's hand gripped at Tony's, fearing her mother's reaction. ''I know this is big news mom-''

''Big news? This is wonderful!'' Esther smiled. ''I'm going to have a grandchild!''

Pepper looked back to Tony with a confused expression, obviously not expecting that reaction. ''Y-yeah, you are.''

''I can't believe I'm going to be a grandmother!''

''Neither can I Esther, you don't look a day over 35.'' Tony smiled. Pepper rolled her eyes at his compliment, he had been doing it all lunch. No wonder her mother adored him like she did.

''Oh, stop it!'' Esther laughed. ''Oh, this is so exciting! I'm so happy for you both, you're going to be wonderful parents.''

Pepper's smile lit up at her mother's words. ''Thank you, mom.''

Esther continued smiling as she spoke, clearly happy about the idea of having a grandchild. ''So, tell me Gin, how far along are you?''

''I just had my twelve-week scan yesterday.'' Pepper told her happily.

''That's wonderful!'' she cheered again. ''I'm sorry, but this is so exciting. We have to celebrate.''

''You're absolutely right Esther,'' Tony clapped. ''Excuse me? A martini for this stunning woman here,'' he called to one of the waiters, making Esther laugh once again.

''Sorry Gin, none for you of course.'' Esther looked over to Pepper, making Tony laugh in hysterics at the fact the only thing her mother was teasing her about was that she could no longer enjoy her vodka martinis.

Pepper frowned as she sat there and watched the waiter bring their drinks over, setting down a glass of tropical juice in front of Pepper, which she was okay with. She wasn't much of a drinker anyway, and missing a few martinis was nothing compared to the fact that in six months she would have a beautiful, healthy baby.

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