Lesson 5: One step forward at a time

"This really doesn't surprise me."

Tony's eyes snapped open. He swore, regretting his sudden awakening. The sunlight glared through the large hospital window. Mentally, he wrangled, trying to remember what he had been doing before he had dozed off.

"I see you're compensating for the removal of your arc reactor by installing a new one directly into the suit. You've reduced the size of the arc reactor, which will prevent the armor from becoming too bulky like Rhodey's. In fact you've been in two smaller ones as a backup I see, which is good seeing how often you run out of power in the middle of a fight."

Tony's heart clenched and restricted. That was right. "Pepper," he said quietly.

Yesterday was Pepper's last examination; she would now be safe from Extremis. Tony had run the calculations multiple times, had his best people test and examine it, went as far to ask Richard Reed to confirm his solution. This was Pepper, his best friend, his rock, his cornerstone in life. They might not be dating anymore but that didn't change anything. Tony was not going to leave a stone unturned to make sure it was safe for Pepper. What no one knew was that the solution had Tony presented wasn't the removal or the deactivation of Extremis. It was impossible to remove Extremis; too integrated into Pepper's very DNA, but it was possible for Tony to correct it so that Pepper wouldn't have to regulate it, wouldn't risk exploding later down the road. It would make her her own target instead of Tony's weak spot, should anyone discover that Extremis wasn't removed, but Tony was already preparing for that.

"What is this?" Pepper asked, holding up the Stark Tablet she had been browsing. Displayed on the screen, was a new armor design that clearly was not made for a man due to its slimmer design and the inner core molding showing it was for a woman.

"I can explain," Tony said quickly, reaching for it.

Pepper moved the tablet out of Tony's reach, her eyebrow arching up in a questioning manner. "Explain then," she said.

"Can't. Not about that one. Not here," Tony shot out. He wasn't going to explain why he was building an armor for Pepper, not here. Not when someone could overhear it. Tony couldn't remove Extremis, but he could correct it and he could make sure no one ever hurt Pepper again.

"Hmm," Pepper said, flickering the screen back one to show the Mark 43 on it. "And this one?"

"Umm," Tony fumbled, trying to form words. "You see…" Oh, why did Pepper know his passwords? Right, because she ran his life, still did even though she was now his CEO and not his PA.

"Can't stop huh?"

Tony winced. "I am Iron Man, Pep," he said quietly. That truth had never changed. He would repeat those words until the world understood. "I… the armor is just extra. I know I promised I would stop… but… I."

Pepper reached over and squeezed his hand. "I know," she said with a warm smile. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have made you promise that. That night had been crazy and I may have snapped just a little."

"Just a little?" Tony teased. This is why Pepper was wonderful. Why she deserved someone more than him.

"Hmm, just a little," Pepper shot back. She looked out at the window, watching the hustle and bustle of the city pass by. "Now what?"

Tony squeezed her shoulder. "We go forward, one step at a time."

This brings the end of How to Move Forward. :3 Thank you for reading! Sorry for the long wait. The next part of this sage is How to Trap a Spider which has been posted! \o See you there.