Title: To Be Successful (Or, How Pepper Learned to Love School Reunions)
Author: Cadey
Rating: To be safe, R.
Spoilers: Post IM2
Summary: "What do people do at reunions, anyway?"
Author's Note: I hate writing/reading high school reunions, as my perception of them has been tainted horrifically by Hollywood and books. But this concept grabbed me and would not let me go, so I wrote. And as a caveat, this is my first IM fic. First fic in almost five years, as well. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own, Marvel does. I'm just having fun.

On with the show!

"What do people do at reunions, anyway?"

Pepper shrugged. "Not a clue. But according to your movies, getting drunk and random hookups with old exes and a massive orgy at the end."

Tony shot her a look. "Hey now, no bringing my porn collection into this. Besides, I was asking what people actually do at reunions."

"Again, Tony, I really don't know. From what I can guess is that the porn flicks aren't that far off, aside from the orgy. You go, get drunk, 'reminisce' with people you couldn't wait to get away from, have drunk sex with an old ex, feel like shit in the morning, then go home. Oh yeah, and then there's the whole unstated contest about who has been the most 'successful' since they left."

Tony snorted and laid his head down in her lap. "You should have everyone beat. Right?" His eyes were softer, a little unsure.

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Yes, Tony. I'm sure that there are a lot of COOs of multi-billion dollar international companies."

"And girlfriends of superheroes," he added impishly.

"Oh yes, lots of those."

"What was high school like for you?" Tony asked, and she could tell it was genuine curiosity. Someone who started MIT at twelve and attended boarding school before then didn't have the same high school experience as everyone else.

"I really don't know," she answered. "I graduated when I was sixteen, so I don't know if it was any different from you."

"Better than eleven," he countered.

She shrugged.

"Sixteen, huh? How did you pull that one off?"

"I skipped a couple of grades since I was home schooled for a while."

He nodded and didn't press her for more information. He was getting really good at that, picking up on where she was uncomfortable talking about her life 'B.T.' - before Tony – and would back off from trying to get anything more out of her. And she knew that he would listen to her if she did start talking about it.

"Do you wish to dictate a reply?" Jarvis asked as the email popped up on the IntelliGlass.

She sighed. Her checking her 'personal' email account to clean it from all of the spam offers of networks was what got them started on the entire conversation. "Not at the moment, Jarvis. Don't delete it though."

And that was the only email that remained in her inbox. She had kept that account specifically for Virginia Potts information, since she doubted that anyone in her high school had connected the awkward nerd that she had graduated as to the calm, competent Pepper Potts. She really did need to thank Tony for the nickname that had grown into a name that she used for everything – even her bank accounts had 'Pepper Potts' on them.

"Do you want to go?" Tony asked. "Wait, where the hell is this place?"

"East Coast," she absently answered. Jarvis likewise spoke up.

"Approximately one hundred seventy miles from New York City."

"Not too far to drive," he muttered. "If you want to go, that is."

She had noted the date and had looked it up. "I might, just to soothe my battered ego after dealing with the Board." She caught his confused look. "It's the Friday night of Hell Week."

Tony grimaced. After her first year as his PA, they had agreed to call the week long meetings in New York with the Board at end of each quarter 'Hell Week.' "If you want to go, go."

"I'll think about it."

Pepper walked up to the bar and caught the eye of the bartender. Not normally a drinker, (Tony had consumed more than enough alcohol for both of them for the next few lifetimes) she paused for a second, then gave a mental shrug. "I'll take a martini, extra dry."

"Olives?"

"At least three," she replied. Nodding her thanks as the drink was quickly mixed and slid across the bar, she dropped a tip into the jar. Taking a sip, she did another survey of the room to confirm what she had taken in on her initial sweep. Twenty years out of school, and she didn't really recognize anyone anymore. She noted the placement of groups, and her attention was snagged at the group of women near the dance floor area. The happy squeals that sounded like 'Becky' had her mouth souring around her glass. That was one name that was familiar.

Continuing to look around, she started to recognize the old social groups – the A/V club and Band were reminiscing further away from the spotlight, but they looked like they were having a fantastic time with it all. The sports teams were catching up on the other side of the bar, and then there were the minglers like herself – a couple of politicians in among the business people. Both were making the rounds of the room, drumming up support or networking, and she knew that she should probably do the same.

She didn't realize that her name was being called for several seconds – no one had called her 'Ginny' since she moved away from her hometown after her father had died – and she stared blankly at the man who was smiling at her. "Ginny?" he asked, a little uncertainly.

She nodded. "Yes?"

"It's Jared Nader," he said.

Twenty years slipped away and the seventeen year old she'd known merged with the man in front of her. A smile spread across her face. "Jared! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you," she explained away.

He laughed and shifted his shoulders under his suit coat. She automatically assessed its value – not wealthy, but mildly prosperous – and took another drink of her martini. "I'm getting that a lot. Speaking of not recognizing people, I was doubting my sanity and memory when I saw you." Then he blushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like a backhanded compliment."

She laughed. Jared always was a little socially awkward, so it was easy to forgive him. "It's all right, how have you been?"

"Pretty good. I started up my own company a few years ago with my partner."

"Doing what?" Even in the middle of a party, she flipped into networking mode easily.

"My partner does freelance reporting and I do the photography for his articles." The blush that was going away renewed itself.

Pepper blinked at the blush. She had no idea, but she assimilated immediately and moved to make Jared ease up. "Have you gotten much published?"

"A few things, yeah."

She reached out and rubbed a lapel between her fingers. "Fine wool," she pronounced simply. "I'd say you're being modest and have gotten more than a 'few things' published."

Jared laughed. "Yeah, we do okay."

"Anything national?"

"Not yet, but we pitched a concept to Vanity Fair a couple of months ago."

"For what?" She still didn't like the magazine, and it wasn't just because Tony had a one night stand with probably over half of the reporters.

"An entire spread on female business leaders, or even the 'powers behind the thrones' women in business, politics, and we were thinking the sciences, too."

Pepper nodded. "Very well-rounded. Do you already have some companies in mind?"

Jared nodded. "A few, yeah. We were waiting on the go-ahead – which we finally got earlier tonight – but I'll be on the phone all day Monday." He shrugged as if to say 'what are you going to do' and focused on her. "What have you been up to Ginny?"

"After Dad died, I moved to the West Coast and got my MBA. I spend most of my time doing my boss' grunt work."

"Grunt work?"

She waved a hand expressively. "Meetings, memos, all the little touches that makes a business run smoothly."

"So what does your boss do? Just goof off?"

Saves the world from itself, she thought. "A little, but mostly he's a lot better with the nuts and bolts, so he leaves me the business side and he does what I don't want to do – which is keep the business moving forward and dealing with R&D." She was good, but she wasn't Tony Stark. The man had a knack for pulling things together from thin air, and an instinctive knowledge of products that were marketable.

Jared tilted his head a little. "How big of a business is this?"

Multi-billion and international. "Seems to be growing every day," she quipped. She heard her BlackBerry beep and reached for it, setting her half-finished martini down. For business, she had an IntelliPad, but her personal phone was still her BlackBerry. And of course, it was a text from Tony. 'Mind if I crash the party?'

He had apparently finished up the meetings in DC that he was scheduled for. 'I think you live for crashing parties,' she typed back. Rolling her eyes, she let the BlackBerry drop back into her purse, she turned back to Jared.

"Boyfriend?" he asked.

"Boss," she replied automatically, then finished the BlackBerry back out as it beeped again. 'Seriously bored here, Pepper. But I won't come if you don't want me to.'

A bored Tony was a mildly dangerous Tony. The last thing she needed was him bouncing all over D.C. 'Yeah come on up. Can't have you bored. Do you know how to get here?' She added a smile at the end of her text to indicate her teasing.

"Uh-huh," Jared said, fixing her with a disbelieving look. "Ginny, it's past eight on a Friday night and even on the West Coast, it's past quitting time. It's a boyfriend," he pronounced.

His social awkwardness never had stopped him from seeing the truth. She blushed. "Running a business doesn't always mean you're off the clock at five," she protested.

He chuckled. "Don't I know it. So what's his name?"

"Tony," she mumbled.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and have her a friendly hug. "Don't worry, Ginny. I won't ask any more about your boss-slash-boyfriend."

She shot him a sardonic look and grabbed her BlackBerry for another text. 'Yeah, I got directions from the GPS unit in your IntelliPad. Nice night for a drive.' She sighed and hoped that the cops would be lenient with him. "Well, he's on his way, so you can meet him yourself. Is your partner coming?"

Jared nodded. "Blythe should be here in about an hour. He had a few things to finish up at work."

"Blythe?" she asked, eyes wide. Surely that wasn't his name.

Jared nodded. "Swear to God this is his actual name, and I've seen his birth certificate, too." He scanned the room and shook his head. "I was starting to wonder if coming here was worth it."

"You and I both," Pepper mumbled. "There's a reason I moved to the West Coast."

"I am glad that I ran into you again, though."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad too." She supposed that since she was there for at least an hour, she might as well network, let others talk to her about what they were selling. She nodded towards the glad-handers. "I guess I should stop hanging out by the bar and see if anyone has something decent to pitch."

Jared nodded, then stiffened a little. "Behind you, Ginny. Looks like Michael Taylor."

Turning her head slightly, she saw what Jared was trying to point out. She definitely wasn't awkward, or gangly, or so much of a math nerd anymore – she had Tony to thank for the crash courses in engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology, so now she was more of a well-rounded nerd – and she knew that she looked attractive, so it was going to stand to reason that people might hit on her. Happened often enough in LA, and with one look, she could tell that the man had his fill of liquid courage.

Hiding the flinch as the man slipped an arm around her, she caught a glimpse of the name tag. Michael Taylor, indeed.

"Who are you here with, sweet thing?" he said into her ear.

She stepped away from him with the ease of long practice of dealing with drunks and grabby hands. "Not with you, Mr. Taylor." Even Tony at his drunkest would back off at the ice in her voice. Turning back to Jared, she grabbed his arm and stalked off.

Jared thankfully kept his mouth shut until they were halfway across the ballroom. "That was smooth, Ginny."

"Years of practice," she replied. She easily integrated into the business/political groups, shaking hands where appropriate.

Thirty minutes later, both she and Jared were nodding at John Black-Meyer as he was trying to sell them both on a startup, and she barely blinked with another man came up to join them, patting John on the shoulder.

"Christ's sake, man, relax!" The two men shared a laugh. Pepper sized up the newcomer – nice haircut, blinding smile, expensive suit, and then the name tag. If she could have gotten away with it, she would have groaned. Stephen Meyer was John's first cousin and the object of her high school crush in her senior year – a really obvious crush, too. Fixing a polite, professional smile on her face, she waited for the inevitable double take, and probably a fair amount of teasing. "And who do we have here?" he asked gregariously. His eyes flicked over their name tags, and stared a little longer at hers.

"Well, well, well, Ginny Potts." She noted the assessing look at her breasts, the quick dilation of pupils, and the wedding ring.

"Hello, Stephen. How have you been?" The words were polite and measured. She had gleaned that Stephen was a reasonably successful businessman, but at the moment, he struck her rather uncomfortably as another Justin Hammer. She wished Tony would text her and get her out of this very uncomfortable situation – and so she could ask him to show up in one of his suits. At this point though, she didn't care which one – business or Iron Man. Jared touched her arm lightly. She leaned in towards him to catch his words.

"I need to call Blythe, see what's keeping him." She nodded. "Want anything to drink?"

"A bottle of water would be nice," she whispered back. It looked like more than enough people were drunk. She didn't need to addle her own senses. Jared nodded and moved back to the bar, nodding to people on the way.

Stephen nodded towards Jared's back. "Boyfriend?"

Pepper shook her head. "Jared and I just reconnected."

He nodded, looking pleased. "As for your question, I've been good. I have my own business, and we're thinking about expanding into the region. We've got a lot of great products." She didn't miss how he shifted closer to her, invading her personal space. And just like Hammer, it made her skin crawl.

Forcing herself to not move (sign of weakness, she reminded herself) took a fair amount of concentration, so she nodded where appropriate in his diatribe, and wished Jared would hurry up and get back here with her water. She was about to excuse herself when a pair of hands landed on Stephen's shoulders.

"Who are you marketing to now, darling?"

Pepper noticed the engagement and bridal set that was set in gold, and the large rock in the center was at least two carats. Alone it would have been fine, but with the additional one and a half to two carats surrounding the large center diamond, it just tipped the ring into ostentatious.

"Becky, I'm sure you remember Ginny Potts."

The temperature must have dropped by ten degrees when Becky finally looked at the woman before her. Pepper smiled gently. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise," the word seemed forced out. Pepper had heard that tone of voice before, but it had always been directed towards Tony – it was the voice of a cheated-on lover or spouse. She breathed a sigh of relief when her BlackBerry beeped.

"Excuse me," she murmured, pulling out the BlackBerry. "I've been waiting for this." Eagerly escaping, she opened up the text from Tony. 'New idea – cars.'

Her brow furrowed. It sounded like Tony had another idea, and it was up to her to decipher the crypticness of it and support him. 'Cars?' she typed back. 'Also, if you show up here wearing the suit that's in your trunk, I think I'll have to do something really nice for you.'

She had barely sent it when she got a reply. 'Nice?' She could see him smirking.

'Nice,' she confirmed. 'Dress up, Stark. Your adoring public awaits.'

Again, another fast text. 'I'll settle for you.'

'I'm waiting, too.'

He had to be driving at least one-forty and having Jarvis transcribe his texts. 'Fifteen minutes at most.'

Jared finally found her and handed over the bottle of water, and motioned over to the theater/drama groups. "I need to go catch up with those guys really fast, Ginny. Are you going to be okay?"

She smiled. "I'll be fine. The sharks here are toothless compared to LA."

He grinned and headed towards the group of people he had pointed out earlier. She relaxed for a few brief seconds before she was once again approached by other classmates that wanted to 'catch up' and subtly probe the woman that had taken the place of little Ginny Potts.

The questions were subtle, intentions behind them less so. From the names, she recognized some faces and the mildly unpleasant memories attached to them. She also noted the testing of her boundaries. Her poise was admired, and the backhanded compliment was filled with wonder about how she went from painfully shy and prone to frustrated tears to this calm, cool professional in authentic Jimmy Choos.

She'd been on the receiving end of all of this before, and the crowds of LA and New York were far more scathing than a room full of old high school classmates. She hadn't been kidding when she told Jared that these sharks were toothless compared to what she was used to dealing with on an average day. Even with that, it didn't stop the little slings from hitting her ego, and any reluctance of having Tony show up evaporated.

"So Ginny, is there anyone special in your life?"

It was near impossible to miss the combination of ice and poison in the voice of Becky Meyer, the woman who put up with a philandering husband. She summoned a smile. "Someone, yes."

"Oh, serious?"

Her lips quirked. "Stable."

"Kids?"

"We haven't gotten to that conversation yet. Yourself?" Deflect and absorb.

"Stephen," a small emphasis on the name, "and I are expecting our third in the middle of next year." Superior smile, small flip of the hair, Becky still had it all down pat. Pepper saw behind it, though. It was a bitter, failing marriage filled with jealousy, and she had no doubt that by the time the newest arrival was two, Becky would be a single mother attempting to keep the shards of her life together. It was so easy to not rise to the bait.

"Congratulations," she said simply. She was absolutely sure that she didn't want to be in Becky's shoes, feeling despondent, expecting a child, and having a cheating husband. And she hoped that she never would find herself in that position. She noted the small stir starting at the doorway of the ballroom, and looked at her watch.

Seven minutes.

He had to have pushed the Audi as fast as it would go. Smiling, she excused herself and headed towards the bar where the center of disturbance was located. On her way, she released her hair from the bun it had been in all day.

His back was to her, but she knew the shape of his hair, the small, barely there curls at the nape of his neck that were almost covered by his dress shirt. And damn did the man look good in a business suit. The pinstripe suit was Armani and highlighted every one of his assets – the wide, muscular shoulders tapering down into lean hips, and just barely visible below the bottom of his suit coat was an ass worthy to drool over.

His head turned slightly, as if sensing her presence, and his lips tilted upwards, crinkling his eyes under the yellow-tinted lenses. "Hey."

She slipped right beside him. "Hey yourself," she greeted back as her hips brushed his side. His arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer. "You look nice."

He chuckled. "Can't disappoint my adoring public, can I?"

"Definitely not. So, cars?"

He nodded, finishing a long drink of a bottle of water. "Yeah." His voice shifted slightly, as it always did when he was discussing one of his brilliant ideas, and down to a whisper. "I think we're getting too narrow-minded about the arc reactor technology, now that it's finished. Yeah, it's fun as hell miniaturizing it further to power phones and pads, but there's an entire untapped market out there for fuel cells."

She'd been around Tony for over a decade, and had made translating his ideas into 'everyday English' a special skill. "Cars," she breathed, a smile spreading across her face. If Tony was right – and he usually was – they could easily kick off the energy war his father had wanted. It would make humanitarian vehicles able to get to disaster zones faster without worrying about the need for fuel, and the DoD would be deeply interested in it as well. Hell, they'd been trying to throw subtle hints out that they were desiring to have Tony build an arc reactors for bases all over the world.

His face lit up, as it always did when he realized that she understood where his ideas were going. "Not just cars. Trucks, trains, planes, boats – anything at all. All that's needed is fuel, and I know how to make that, then after the fuel, it's just a matter of getting the power to the appropriate parts."

"We're going to have to start small to begin with," she warned.

He nodded. It was a necessary evil, one that kept the attention on the technology and not how to mass produce reactors.

"So what brought this idea on?" She knew that a portion of his mind had focused back outwards now that he knew she understood his idea, and he was beginning to interact with the outside world again.

"A guy ran out of fuel on his way here. Looks like the gas gauge went out." He shrugged.

She glanced around, noting that several people were staring at them. Tony had a rather distinctive face, and the sharpness of his goatee added to the recognition factor.

"You're nervous, Potts," he muttered as his hand left her waist and settled at her elbow.

"A little," she answered truthfully. Her attention was snagged by Jared following a tall blonde man.

"Come on Jared, I promised that I'd let him meet you after he helped me out with the car..."

Pepper nearly burst out laughing. It really was a small world after all. "Jared, I assume this is Blythe?"

The blonde blinked at her for a second, then nodded and smiled. "Blythe Jackson," he introduced, holding a large hand out.

Jared did laugh. "Yes, Ginny, this is Blythe. Blythe, this is my old friend, Ginny Potts."

"Ginny?" Tony sounded scandalized.

"The last person that called me Virginia was my mother," she reminded him. She reached out a hand and shook Blythe's large paw. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jackson." She looked between the two men, Blythe seemed to have gotten over the star power that Tony usually produced, but Jared was getting it in full force. "Well, it looks like my introduction is a little unnecessary, but Jared, meet Tony Stark. Tony, this is my old friend Jared Nader."

"Aw, come on Pepper, show a little enthusiasm for me, will you?" Tony mock whined as he shook Jared's hand.

"You tend to show more than enough enthusiasm for both of us," she teased.

Jared stared at her for a few seconds, mouth agape. "Pepper? As in Pepper Potts, Chief Operations Officer of Stark Industries?" His voice was fairly loud from the surprise, and it echoed a bit in the hush.

Pepper shrugged modestly. "That would be me."

Jared blinked a few more times. "It's a small world."

"How so?" she asked.

"Remember the project I was telling you about? Your name was at the top of the list to contact."

She smiled and fished out a business card. "Give me a call Monday morning, and I'll arrange for something."

"Monday Pacific?" Jared asked.

"Eastern," she replied. "We're on the East Coast for another couple of weeks to reopen the Expo."

It had taken minor miracles, but less than six months after the Expo had been mostly destroyed by drones, it was almost ready to reopen. Tony had arranged for Stark Industries to give a presentation on the last day of the Expo itself, right before he gave the ending of the Expo speech early next year. Although with his newest idea, it might fall to her to present it, forcing her out of the shadows. And she could see Tony fidgeting ever so slightly as he typed out his idea onto his specialized IntelliPad.

He glanced up for a second, his normally bright eyes dimmed for a moment in concentration with the engineering issue in front of him. And with a downward twist of his lips, it looked like the math wasn't coming out the way he wanted it to. With a grimace, he saved his work and slid the IntelliPad into his pocket. When he looked back up at her, he was smiling. His capricious moods had ceased shocking her a long time ago. His fingers trailed down her arm until they got to her hand, which he folded his fingers around. "Come on, let's dance."

Her eyebrow winged upwards, but she went willingly along with him. Her world shrank down to just him holding her lightly against his body and the barely there smile hidden by the goatee.

"You look fantastic," he told her softly.

She smiled at him. That seemed to be his opening line anytime they danced now. "Thank you," she murmured back. She felt the gentle tapping on her lower back, and she didn't need to remember Morse Code to know what he was saying, it was all in his eyes.

"...probably just using him for sex."

Both of their eyebrows quirked and they smiled at each other. "Well, that's a switch. Normally I'm the one taking advantage of you," he commented.

"Definitely not something I've heard before."

He gave a dramatic sigh. "That's it Potts, there's only one course of action since you're using me for sex, toying with my emotions, and sullying my honor."

That was more like his normal humor. "And what's that?" she teased.

"Well, isn't it obvious? You're just going to have to make an honest man out of me."

She blinked a couple of times, hesitating just a second as she tried to make sure she had heard correctly. It was just long enough for uncertainty to cloud his eyes and his lashes to droop. She moved closer to him, pressing her body against his, which always guaranteed a reaction.

"Pep -" To silence him, she slid a finger across his lips.

"I guess I will have to, won't I? After all, your honor is at stake, and I don't want Happy dragging me down the aisle to do the right thing by you."

"Pepper -"

She could almost see the conversation flashing in his eyes, and filled in a lot of blanks. He hadn't meant to spring that on her, not here, but he knew that words, once spoken, could never be taken back. So they stayed. Yes, it was fast, yes, it was dangerous, but it was very Tony. She smiled at him. "Tony, I learned by the second week of being your PA that I had two options: keep up or get left behind." Her eyes held steady on his. "And I don't want to be left behind on this. I might have also been thinking about this a little."

"A little?" he asked with a quirk of his lips.

"Okay, a lot. And -" Her eyes shut as Tony kissed her – deeply and all too briefly. "When?" she asked.

"You. Me. Vegas. Now?"

She gave him a doubtful look. "Legal would have your head and mine if we eloped to Vegas without a prenuptial in place."

The distaste flicked across his face. "Anything you want is yours anyway..."

She smiled at him. "It's my job to protect you, remember? You and I can visit Legal first thing Monday morning, get the contract, then go over to the clerk. Okay?"

His head angled slightly. "One small negotiating point."

"And that is?"

"Time table, let's move it up a bit."

"To?"

"Tomorrow at the latest."

"Assuming you can get both of our birth certificates out here and find someone to not only issue the license, but also someone to perform the legal ceremony, then yes. Oh, and getting someone from Legal to draw up the contract. Otherwise, we're waiting for Monday."

"Pfft. What's the point of owning the company if I can't drag people out of bed, demanding that they do my bidding at odd hours of the night?"

Her laughter followed them off the dance floor.

True to his word, he dragged the head of the Legal department out of bed and had Rhodey headed for New York with everything that they would need – aside from rings.

It wasn't Saturday, but Sunday that they were married by a judge in the foyer of the Stark mansion. Judge John Johnson was a man with a lively sense of humor about the alliteration of his name and hinted at being at the hush-hush wedding of Howard and Maria Stark, as well as owing Howard Stark a favor.

Pepper had called Rhodey before he left L.A. and talking him into bringing her a dress – all she had in New York were business suits and only a few casual pieces. And though Tony had encouraged her to go buy a dress, she had just smiled and told him that she had a better one in mind.

Tasking Rhodey with keeping Tony from trying to peek and see which dress she brought from California, she also gave him the additional distraction of buying the rings. Her only condition was that he keep it fairly simple and nothing too ostentatious.

The blue dress still slipped on easily, and though her hair wasn't as long, she felt that the dress was the perfect one. And from the look on Tony's face as she descended the staircase, she knew that it was a good choice. Her hand slipped into his proffered one, but she was mildly surprised when instead of bringing her closer, he brought it up to his lips. She heard a whisper of Italian and felt his breath on her knuckles before it was replaced by his warm lips.

Rhodey and Happy would have to scrape her off the marble floor if Tony kept that up. He eyes jumped to hers, and she almost stumbled at the promises they held. Rhodey cleared his throat, a subtle reminder that they weren't alone.

Judge Johnson looked between them. "Just for formality, neither of you are here under duress or are related?"

They shook their heads.

"Good, then we're down to the good part." He opened the large folder he carried. "You both have pledged yourselves towards the commitment of marriage, and you have both confirmed that in accordance with laws, you are able and willing to enter into this marriage. Mr. Stark, if you will repeat after me."

He repeated each word, his voice adding layers of meaning, and Pepper felt the tears slide down her cheeks as he slid the titanium ring onto her finger. As she had asked, it was plain, no diamonds on it, but a simple stone finish on it, and it fit perfectly.

"Ms. Potts, if you will repeat after me."

She repeated each word, staring into Tony's eyes the entire time, trying to convey everything she felt for him as she slid the twin of her ring onto his finger.

"By the power invested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Stark, please take a page from your father's book, and kiss her already."

Contrary to what everyone expected, Tony didn't immediately kiss her. He instead cupped her face in his hands and kissed away the tears, then pressed his lips to hers. They kept it soft, but the hint of heat let them remember just how explosive they could get. Pepper thought she'd heard Rhodey mutter something about two seals and grapes, but the tone was pleased.

It wasn't long before everyone left, Rhodey headed back to California, Happy driving him to the airport, then dropping the judge off at his house, and then headed back to his apartment in New York. Tony and Pepper locked up the large house again and headed back to the large apartment in the city.

Tony had relished peeling her out of the dress, and it was only after they had woken up from their post-coital nap did they start talking about all of the little things that made a marriage work.

Moving into Tony's mansion. (Not really that big of a deal, she pretty much lived there anyway. "You redecorated it, it's half yours now, too.")

Job delegation. ("You keep doing what you're good at, Tony, I keep everything else running." She ran his life.)

Compromise. ("Let me know when it gets to be too much, Pepper. I can do some things, you know." That lead to a brief pillow fight and a long pause in the conversation.)

Flirting. ("You mass produce pheromones, Tony. Everyone flirts with you, and half of the time, you don't realize that you're flirting back." He gave her a half grimace. "Yeah, but they aren't you. And don't have a backless blue dress that drives me crazy. But yeah, they aren't you." Yet another long pause.)

Iron Man. ("Just call me or text me when you have to leave. And don't try to hide if you're hurt when you get back." She knew that was going to be the hardest part for him – not trying to hide injuries. "In sickness and in health," she reminded him.)

Danger. ("I've got Jarvis working on a wearable GPS unit so I can find you if anyone is that fucking stupid to try and use you to get to me. I also have this really great idea for something else...")

Kids. ("I've actually thought about it, Pepper. I don't know if I'd be any better than my dad, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you are." His shoulders shifted. "Besides, it'd be a crime against humanity to deny the world a kid – or a few – with our good looks and intelligence.")

Telling anyone at SI. ("I hired them to do a job, not delve into my business.")

Wearing the rings. ("Tony, you're not going to be able to work on the cars or dive into whatever R&D brings you if you wear it all the time. I'll get you a necklace you can put it on or something when you have to work with your hands." He turned soulful eyes on her. "I'll always put it back on," he softly told her.)

Bed times. ("We have work in the morning." He gave her a grin that she was sure was trouble. "We're the bosses," he countered smoothly, then made her promptly forget all about arguing.)

Monday was rocky with neither of them certain on how to act, but as promised, Jared had contacted her, and they settled on a photo shoot the last day they were in New York. Tuesday was better, and though rumors ran rampant through the New York offices, not a work was breathed outside of it.

On it went, the Expo reopened just as the unseasonably warm weather came to an abrupt end, and Pepper and Tony provided Jared with his promised photo shoot, Blythe with his interview, and they in turn had provided Tony an idea.

"It's perfect," he chortled as they relaxed in the plane.

"What is?"

"Deflect and absorb until the article is published."

"You mean hide it," she told him flatly.

"No, no, no. Just deflect the attention away."

She stared at him for a second, and then began to see the perverse humor behind the idea. "Okay, I get the humor now. Letting some unknown team break what will arguably be the story of the year before all of the paparazzi and entertainment rag mags. Definitely a subtle 'screw off' to them as well."

He was still ticked about the recent pieces about how much longer it would take for him to revert back to the wild playboy. He hadn't been giving them much in the past year, aside from when he thought he was dying. Other than that, no wild parties, no outrageous antics, and the steady stream of women in and out of the mansion had dried up. All of the attention was on him, luckily.

Not one editor had dared to break the covenant of never speculating on his and Pepper's exact relationship, not since he had given the top brass of every media company he could think of a 'come to Jesus' meeting after she had passed her first month as his PA – and someone had made an off-color joke about it.

"Feel up for the game?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"It's mean and cruel." She paused for a second and smiled. "You talked me into it." His eyes darkened, and she thought she heard a soft moan. "Tony?"

"Opera gloves. You'll look absolutely fantastic in them, and they'll drive me crazy," he muttered.

She leaned forward until her mouth was almost on his. "Tell me more," she whispered, then kissed him.

Pepper Stark – The Power Behind the Throne of Stark Industries
by Blythe Jackson

There is an oft repeated maxim that behind every great man, there is a great woman.

In no case is that truer than in the form of Pepper Stark (neé Potts), the Chief Operations Officer of Stark Industries (SIA). She deftly handles not only the day-to-day operations of the multi-billion dollar company, but also her husband's rigorous schedule as CEO of same company, as the entertainment darling, and as Iron Man.

"It really is a challenge," she commented in the first interview since she and Tony Stark were married in a quiet, private ceremony. "I think Tony's schedule ran off three personal assistants until I decided to give this last one a break and just take care of it myself."

Mrs. Stark's deft touch could be seen early on in her career as Mr. Stark's personal assistant. "Pepper fixed no fewer than five issues for me within fifteen minutes of her walking through the door of my office. I knew that I had to keep her around. Best. Decision. EVER," Mr. Stark remembered with his usual flamboyance.

Among other accomplishments, she is most fond of the charity drives at Stark Industries, some that she will take credit for, and others to where she insists that it was all her husband's idea. But all share a common thread. "Okay, I will take credit for organizing them!" she replies with laughter. "No matter the time of year, we always have a charity drive going. Some are in-house, others are a little more public. Our employees are unbelievably giving, and it really is the least we can do to get the money and time to where it's needed most."

They have both had a very busy year, as it was about the same time last year that Mr. Stark not only returned from his three-month ordeal in Afghanistan, and declared that he was shutting down weapons manufacturing, then his rather unforgettable announcement of his alter-ego, and quickly on the heels of that, the death of his CFO and mentor, Obadiah Stane in an airplane crash. The Stark Expo highlighted the meteoric rise of Pepper Potts to the position of CEO, and then her unexpected step down to COO. But she claims it's all for the best.

"Honestly, people are still asking me about that. I just tell them that both Tony and I are doing what we're best at – he is the face of Stark Industries. I prefer running everything else behind the scenes." Her smile, when she gives it, is bright and warm. "So it's just like when I was his PA, but now I have a fancy title."

"One that you earned every letter of, just for doing what you did for ten years," her husband replies. "I dare anyone – anyone – to do her job for one day, then tell me that I rehired her as COO for... baser reasons."

It seems that despite insidious rumors, Stark Industries' investors are quite happy to have Mrs. Stark's stabilizing influence on the business, as it looked as though the stock was going to plateau or drop after the stunning fight at the Stark Expo, but her appointment to COO negated that, and the stock has averaged a net gain since that time. The investors and business partners also seem to be well pleased with their personal relationship, one that began almost at the same time.

"That night was simultaneously the most terrifying night of my life, and the best night of my life," she fondly reminisces.

Watching her husband – a title that he swears is the one he's most proud of – one can tell that this is a power couple intensely devoted to each other.

And this makes Pepper Stark the definitive power behind the throne of Stark Industries.

(The accompanying picture shows Tony Stark in business wear seated in a prop-reproduction throne, fingers steepled. Pepper Stark is just to his right, only slightly behind the throne, her left hand resting lightly on his shoulder, also in business wear. Both are staring directly at the camera.)

-fin