Chapter 12

Pepperony

Pepper wrestled through her drawers and her wardrobe, searching for a pair of heel to match the dress that she had bought. It was a dark blue dress, and she knew that somewhere around here she had to perfect shoes to match it with. There was also a peach colored dress, and Pepper was hunting down the shoes to match them with also. Abby sat up on the bed in the middle of the clutter Pepper had created, playing with one of her toys she had clutched in her hands.

Tonight was the Stark Industries family dinner for charity, so that meant Tony, Pepper and Abby were attending. Abby was five months old now, and the media was still hungry for more photos and information about her, but it was definitely a lot more settled than it had been in previous months.

''Which one do you like best?'' Pepper asked Abby, staring at the two dresses. Abby just looked back at her with a smile, cuddling her toy. ''I can't decide.''

''The blue one,'' Tony's voice came from the doorway, grease covering his arms.

''Please tell me you're not planning on wearing the suit tonight.'' Pepper ran her hand through her long hair.

''For your information, no I'm not.'' he told her. ''I was just fixing something.''

Pepper nodded to herself at her decision to wear the blue dress. ''Happy's going to be here at seven, so I need to put Abby down for a nap, and then I need to call up and see how things are going at the hall.''

Pepper was now working from home, choosing to stay with their daughter rather than return to work and hire a nanny to care for her. It was easier this way, and Pepper got a lot more done and was in control of a lot more. She was on charge of tonight's dinner, organizing everything to be taken care of since she had always helped over the years and enjoyed planning.

Tony walked out from the bathroom after washing his hands of grease, making his way over to pick Abby up off the bed. ''I'll put her down for her nap, you need to relax for a while.''

Pepper sighed. ''I am relaxed. I just want to see how things are going, and then I'll sort out what I'm wearing, and then what Abby's wearing, and then pack a bag for her-''

''Pepper, relax.'' he held his hand up. ''All of this, not relaxed.'' She looked over to him, clearly frustrated. ''Yep, okay, I'm going now.''

Tony walked down the hall to Abby's room, closing the shutters and turning on the small night-light that he himself had created for her. It was a light blue glow since both he and Pepper noticed she took a liking toward his arc reactor's glow. Abby clung to his shirt with her hands as he went to set her in her crib, refusing to let go. She whined in protest.

''Hey, you gotta sleep,'' Tony manged to set her down. ''Or you're gonna be grumpy all night.'' Abby continued to whine, her lip trembling as if she was going to cry and Tony couldn't resist picking her up again. ''What's the matter? Come on, you gotta sleep, okay?''

Abby rest her head against Tony's chest, her arms curling up comfortably in front of her and Tony realized the only way he was going to get her to sleep was if he stayed here with her and held her. He walked around the room for a few minutes, his hand rubbing her back soothingly until she fell asleep and he was able to lay her down in her crib peacefully.

''You spoil her.'' Pepper told him as he walked out of her room, pulling the door half-way closed.

It was finally seven that afternoon and Pepper had only just finished getting ready. She was dressed in her blue dress with her hair flowing beautifully over her shoulders, and she found her shoes to match. Abby was dressed in a little purple dress with white tights underneath, her small locks of hair sitting perfectly. Tony was dressed in his usual black tux, holding Abby in his arms as Pepper checked her makeup once again to be sure. Once she was ready, they headed downstairs to meet Happy who was standing just inside the front door as he waited.

''Wow, you look beautiful Pepper.'' he complimented politely.

Pepper blushed. ''Oh, thank you Happy.''

''And you sure look beautiful too sweetie.'' Happy smiled at Abby who squealed with excitement at Happy, he was another of her favorite people. Probably because he was the one who brought her ice cream once before. She clapped her hands and laughed, smiling happily at him. ''Ready?''

Tony looked at him in disbelief. ''No compliment for me? Fine, I see how it is.''

Happy rolled his eyes, opening the door for them. ''You look dashing, boss.''

Tony grinned proudly. ''I know I do.''

There were people everywhere when they arrived at the hall, photographers and reporters swarming the car, but Happy drove past to the back entrance for them, keeping them out of the media's view. He opened the doors for them, quickly helping them inside before any other cameras made their way up to the car.

Inside, everyone had their family's with them as expected, but Pepper didn't expect so many. There were children running everywhere, teenagers sitting at the table on their cell phones, and their parents drinking as they spoke with colleagues. As soon as Tony and Pepper walked inside, everyone noticed. Abby was in Pepper's arms, grabbing onto her dress as all the eyes in the room looked in their direction. Abby had been introduced to Stark Industries a few times before when Pepper and Tony went to the office or to small events like this, but that still didn't stop the interest of everyone in their family.

''Mr. Stark, it's lovely to see you.'' A few people walked past and greeted them. ''Mrs. Stark you look wonderful!'' They complimented.

Abby stared at each person that spoke to them, wondering who they were and why she didn't know them. Just like it was with other children, a lot of people wanted to come see her and compliment her to Pepper and Tony, talking in baby voices as they cooed. Abby just remained silent, looking back at them in curiosity.

The evening continued into the hour, and Pepper was chatting with a few of her colleagues, talking about how easy she was finding working from home, even though she missed working with them. Heather was sitting next to her along with her boyfriend, and once Pepper finished speaking with someone to her left, she turned to see Heather looking back at her excitedly. Pepper moved Abby in her arms to turn to Heather happily.

''How are you?'' Pepper asked with a smile, genuinely missing her assistant.

''I'm great! How are you?'' she asked politely in return. ''And little Abby, she's growing so quickly.''

''Yeah, we're doing great, aren't we?'' Pepper pushed Abby's hair back.

Heather then realized she hadn't properly introduced her boyfriend. ''Oh, Pepper, this is Doug.''

''Doug! I've heard so much about you.'' Pepper smiled.

''It's nice to meet you Mrs. Stark-''

''Call me Pepper.''

''Pepper,'' he corrected. ''You're the best boss in the world, so I've heard.''

Pepper looked back at Heather. ''Well, I have got the best assistant.''

They continued chatting until Doug excused himself to go to the bathroom, and that's when Heather turned to Pepper with a grin on her face. Pepper had realized how different Heather was outside of work, she was much more relaxed and she didn't take things so seriously.

''It happened.'' she told Pepper.

It took Pepper a moment to think about what she meant, and then she remembered their conversation from a few months ago. ''You're...you're engaged?''

Heather nodded excitedly. ''Yes!''

''When did this happen?''

''A week ago.'' she smiled. ''It was perfect.''

''Tell me everything.'' Pepper settled herself in for the conversation, which managed to go on for a while.

For the next hour, Pepper sat at the table and listened to Heather's news, happy for both her and Doug. She considered Heather a friend, and Heather even invited Pepper to the wedding, insisting that the invitation would be in the mail as soon as they set a date. In middle of the conversation, Pepper had to give Abby a bottle since she was getting restless, but other than that, she sat comfortably on her mother's lap until it was time for the dinner to be addressed.

Tony walked up onto the small stage and tapped his wine glass with a spoon, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room. This was an annual charity dinner, and it was always up to Tony to give the speech. He waited for everyone to be silent, taking their seat and staring back at him, waiting for him to speak.

''I know some of you were betting on me showing up in something a little more...well, metal, but I'm afraid the only suit I'll be donning tonight is this tux.'' he told them with a grin. ''Anyway...'' he went on, thanking a few people and then everyone in entirety for coming her and supporting the charity by giving away their money. Abby saw her dad and reached her hands out to him, making little noises in disappointment that she couldn't get to him. Pepper held her closer, trying to stop her from being too loud in the middle of the speech. Everyone laughed as he made his jokes and all, and before he finished his speech and sent them all off to drink again, he had one more thing to say. ''So yeah, thanks for coming. Thanks from Stark Industries, and on behalf of my beautiful wife over there,'' he pointed, and all heads turned to Pepper. ''...and my baby daughter, thanks for coming and thanks for drinking all my booze and eating all my food.''

Everyone chuckled, lightly clinking their glasses together as a toast to his words before drinking once again. Tony stepped down off the stage and walked back over to the table he was sitting at with Pepper, noticing she was still in conversation with Heather once again. Abby was looking at him with sad eyes, trying to reach out to him again, so he walked over and took her in his arms.

''Hey there Ab,'' he smiled, and she giggled as he began walking through the crowd. ''Look at all these people,'' he mumbled to her. ''You're lucky you don't know any of them.''

Pepper watched as Tony and Abby disappeared into the crowd, probably headed for somewhere quieter since she knew Tony would be getting sick of talking to all of these people. Heather had left to the bathroom, leaving Pepper free to grab a drink. It was a good night, they were all out and it was nice. The attention they were getting really wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, and she was surprised at how relaxed she had been all night.

''Pepper,''

She was standing near the table when she turned to see a familiar face. ''Rhodey!'' she smiled. ''I thought you weren't coming.''

Rhodey shrugged. ''I got back early, thought I'd stop by.'' he looked around. ''Where's he at?''

''He took Abby and went for a walk. You know how he is, I think he's had enough social interaction for the night.'' she joked.

Rhodey got himself a drink too, taking a seat next to Pepper at the table. ''And you?''

Pepper shrugged. ''It's nice to get out of the house.''

They sat they for a few moments, just looking around at everyone else who was dancing and talking, having a good time.

''Do you miss it?''

''What?'' she seemed confused.

''This,'' he waved his hand, referring to the crowd of people. ''Being able to go out, have a drink.''

Pepper thought about it. She never really missed coming to these particular dinners because she never used to enjoy them. It reminded her of when she was Tony's PA, before they were together, and she would have to make sure he was here on time and dressed appropriately, having to talk with all of the Stark Industries board members while he left with another woman. Coming to these things were miserable, they weren't a night off for her, she was always looking after him. But now they were together, these things were far from awful. She could enjoy herself, and Tony was always by her side. However, since Abby was born, they never found the time to go out by themselves and have a drink, but she was happy to stay at home.

''No,'' she looked at him. ''Not really.''

Rhodey nodded. ''What about Tony?''

Pepper laughed. ''Does Tony miss going out and drinking?'' she clarified, thinking of the way he used to be. ''You know what? I don't think he does.'' she shook her head, looking around the room for him. She spotted him over in the corner, laughing at whatever Abby was doing. ''I thought he would, I really did, but he's changed so much with Abby.''

Rhodey looked over as well. ''I know,'' he agreed. ''You know you're the best thing that happened to him, right?'' Pepper smiled at his words. ''I don't think I've seen him so happy before. I never thought that Tony Stark would pass up going to a party, and he just doesn't care about that stuff anymore. He's happy.''

''He deserves to be happy.''

They stayed at the hall for another hour, walking around talking to everyone and trying to move away from them, but they were so persistent to make conversation. Finally, Pepper managed to get away from one of her colleagues and catch up with Tony who was already making his way through the crowd to the door, hoping he wouldn't be called over by someone else.

''You wanna go?'' he asked Pepper when she appeared next to him.

''I don't mind.'' she told him, although she really did want to leave.

''Well I think someone's a little tired.''

Pepper looked at Abby in his arms, her head on his chest with her eyes almost completely closed. She had had a big night out, and they decided it was definitely time to go home. They walked out to the parking lot where Happy was, opening the door for them to get in before he drove them back home.

Abby was asleep by the time Tony made his way up to her room, her arms drooped down by her side and her head laying against his chest. Pepper followed him and managed to carefully pull off Abby's shoes and her little coat before he gently laid her down. She didn't wake at all, too exhausted, and she continued sleeping as her parents watched on, waiting to see if she was about to awake.

''She's the best baby,'' Pepper smiled. ''She just sat with me quietly the whole night. Except when you were talking to everyone, she was trying to reach out to you.'' Pepper chuckled lightly at the memory.

''Everyone was telling me how cute she is.'' he smiled. ''They're jealous, I can tell.''

''Who wouldn't be? She's perfect.''

The next morning Tony awoke to an empty bed, having slept through Pepper waking up, taking a shower and getting Abby. It wasn't even a late night, but it was 9.30am and he had only just opened his eyes. To wake himself up, he took a long, hot shower and got dressed, making his way down stairs to find something to eat.

''Why didn't you wake me up?'' he asked, seeing Pepper at the kitchen bench with Abby in her high chair.

''You looked too peaceful.'' she smiled. ''Besides, we weren't doing anything today, so you might as well sleep in.''

Tony found some cereal and took a seat across from Pepper. She was looking through her emails on her phone, reading all of the thank yous from the Stark Industries employees for the charity dinner. She was glad everything went to plan, they needed a night out. She was also searching for any new things she had to do for work such as fill out reports or set up conferences. It was a relief that she didn't need to attend those anymore, only the really important ones.

''Anything interesting?'' Tony asked, eating his cereal.

Pepper shook her head. ''Not really.''

A few hours passed by and Tony remembered he had promised Rhodey to help him at the base, sorting out some things with the military. He was supposed to be there at ten, but since he forgot as usual, he took his time and left at one instead. The military needed help something to assist their newest operation, and Tony was usually the person that they went to with things like this since Rhodey always told them how he could help. They needed Iron Man's help even when he wasn't in the suit.

Pepper put Abby down for her nap, only taking twenty minutes without Tony this time, which was real progress compared to how long it used to take. She made her way back downstairs to open her laptop and check her emails again, actually hoping for some work since she had nothing planned for the day. She jumped up when her cell rang in the living room, forgetting to turn it off loud, thinking it was going to wake Abby. She looked at the unknown number, wondering who it was before she answers.

''Hello?''

There was a brief pause before a man spoke. ''Ah, Ms. Potts.''

''Mrs. Stark, actually.'' she corrected, curious as to who it was.

''Oh, that's right, you're married now.'' he chuckled, and Pepper was growing familiar with the voice, fearing who she believed it was. ''You see, I've been kinda out of the loop, but you'd know that of course, being the one behind it.''

Pepper tried not to make her voice tremble as she spoke. ''Who is this?''

There was a sigh on the other side of the phone. ''I think you know who this is, Pepper.'' he told her. ''I know, we'll play a game to refresh your memory.'' Pepper's heart beat faster. ''Let's see, let's see...ah! I've got one. Who spent a year in prison because of you? Huh? Who was stripped of ever growing a weapons empire because of you?'' Pepper swallowed, trying to gather her thoughts before he spoke again. ''Who is now out of said prison, and on their way to visit a very special person?'' he spoke in a more menacing voice, intimidating her. ''Hmm? Have you cracked it yet, Pepper? Come on, talk to me, I sure have missed you.''

Pepper steadied her breathing, her mind a mess as she tried to think how this could be, but there was no denying who the man was. She knew the voice, she knew the way he spoke. ''Hammer.''

上一章 Chapter 11 Pepperony最新章节 下一章 Chapter 13