Pepper Potts to the Rescue

Chapter One

Virginia "Pepper" Potts could feel the tight reigns she had on her temper slowly slipping from her grasp. It wasn't just one thing that made her finally lose her grip completely but lots of little things. Lots of little things combined with a little too much alcohol. Okay, maybe a lot of alcohol. The night had the potential to be one of the best nights of her entire life. After all, an engagement party celebrating her upcoming marriage to her long-time boyfriend Anthony Stark was definitely something to celebrate. They had been together since...well, she honestly couldn't remember a time in her life without him. All those years ago, she started out as his PA, then moved to CEO of his company and now finally here she was...going to marry him. She had landed the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark, and she almost couldn't believe it herself.

From the minute she woke up on the morning of the engagement party, she should have known things weren't going to go her way. When she got into the shower, she realized there was no hot water. None, and it wasn't just cold. It was ice cold. Arctic cold. By the time she got out, she felt like a freckled Popsicle. Her teeth chattered as she hurried from the shower. She had to hurry up and get to her hair appointment. Then she realized she had no clean clothes so she had to run to the laundry room in only a towel. Luckily for her, none of Tony's Avenger pals were around to see her slip and fall down the stairs, completely naked. A yelp escaped her lips as she landed directly on her tailbone. Well, on the bright side she hadn't broken her neck, but that was surely going to leave a mark. Her coccyx was throbbing as she waddled the rest of the way to her destination. She could hear Tony's AI ask if she required medical assistance but she ignored her. Friday must have taken that as a no because after that she left her alone.

It took a lot longer to get dressed than originally planned as she tried not to agitate her injury further. If she wasn't careful, by the end of the night she wouldn't be able to move. She put on a pair of black leggings and one of Tony's button up shirts so she wouldn't ruin her hair when she finally put her dress on. When she got in the car and pulled out into traffic after arguing with Happy for about ten minutes about her not needing a security detail because she was only going to get her hair done, she realized she had no gas. She was running on fumes. The last person to use the car was Tony. That wasn't a shock to her. He always forgot to get gas.

When she pulled into the gas station and got out, she was immediately recognized and flagged down by a reporter for the New York Times who wanted to discuss her upcoming nuptials and what it would mean for Stark Industries. Ugh. She knew she should have worn sunglasses and a hat to hide her hair. Although it wouldn't have really mattered since all of Tony's cars had license plates with Stark and then a number on them. It made it really difficult not to be seen. That's it. Next time she was taking Happy's car.

By the time she finally lost the reporter because she was too nice to merely blow him off like Tony would have, she was running late to her hair appointment. Next time, she was going to have the hairdresser come to her even though sometimes she did enjoy getting out and doing non-work related things. This was obviously not a good idea. By the time her hair was put in an elaborate up-do and looking just the way she wanted, it was raining outside, and not just raining. Pouring. She could feel her eye start to twitch. Had she broken a mirror this morning and not realized it because it was beginning to look like she was in for seven years of bad luck.

After waiting fifteen more minutes for it to clear up a bit, she realized it just wasn't going to happen and she made a mad dash for the car. Luckily for her, the rain hadn't done too much damage to her hair. It was a good thing the drive back was uneventful. She didn't know how much more she could take. She just happened to be gettin out of the car in the parking garage at the same time the cake was being delivered. Something in her told her to inspect it before accepting the delivery. When she opened the giant box to examine the dessert meant for the party guests, her mouth dropped open and her hands flew up to cover the rising horror on her face. "Oh my God. What is this?"

The delivery guy shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned over her shoulder. "Looks like a huge penis, ma'am."

Pepper spun around, and the man stepped back, his hands rising up in self defense. Pepper didn't blame him. She did want to deck him. "This isn't what I ordered! This isn't even remotely funny. Where is my cake?"

Realization dawned on the man's face, and he smiled sheepishly as he refused to make eye contact. "Oh. I think I know what happened. I must have accidentally mixed up deliveries. I bet that bachorlette party has your cake. Oops."

"Oops? Oops? Fix this," Pepper demanded. "Fix this now."

"I'll be right back." The driver apologized repeatedly as he fumbled for his phone. He turned his back to her, walking away as he scrolled through his contact list.

Breathe, Pepper. Remember to breathe. Oh God. She was going to lose it. Pepper took a deep breaath and made a phone call of her own.

"What's up, future Mrs. Stark?"

At the sound of Tony's voice, Pepper's throat tightened. "Tony." She didn't realize she was on the verge of crying until she tried to speak. Her voice was shaking, her throat slowly closing up. Oh God, no. No, she could not break down. Not now. Taking a deep breath, she pushed on. "It's terrible."

"Pepper, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Tony's voice had lost its playful edge. "I'm getting ready to come your way now. I'm getting in the car."

"It's the cake."

There was a few beats of silence between them before Tony spoke again. She heard his car door slam. "The cake? Something happened to the cake?"

"Tony, it's bad. It's so bad."

"Hey. It can't be that bad."

Instead of simply describing the atrocity to him, she snapped a photo and sent it. After all, she didn't think she could properly give him all the details of the shape and size over the phone. Within seconds, he was outright belly laughing. She could picture him bent over the steering wheel, shaking with laughter.

"Mr. Stark, this is so far from funny," but even as she said the words, she found herself smiling in spite of herself. Tony's laugh made her overly tense shoulders relax.

"Come on, Potts. It's kinda funny."

Pepper let out a small laugh of her own. "Okay, I'll give you that much. It's kinda funny. Will you just get here? I miss you."

"Leaving now. I should be there within the hour. Try not to get too worked up. I'll give you lots of stress relief when I get to you...if you catch my drift."

Pepper giggled. "I get you. Get here. I love you."

"Love you too, Pep."

Pepper hung up with Tony, somehow feeling a little bit better about the situation. If Tony could laugh about it, she should be able to as well. After all, it was just a cake. As long as he was there with her, that was really all that mattered. At some point during her phone conversation, Happy had appeared and was chatting with the delivery driver. When he noticed she was through on the phone, he approached her.

"I've got this, Pepper. Go inside and get ready," he said, and when she paused, he put a hand on her lower back and guided her toward the elevator. "Seriously. I'll make sure this is fixed. Just go get ready. I can handle it."

"Thanks, Happy."

Once back upstairs, Pepper could feel a bit of her troubles melting away as she applied her makeup. Part of her was tempted to cover her freckles completely, but she knew Tony liked them. One of her favorite things he did was when he would count her freckles with kisses. Just thinking about Tony's soft kissable lips roaming over her skin made warmth pool in places that made her blush. No more time for those kind of thoughts, Potts. She had to keep moving or she would be late. Once she had slipped into her blue backless dress, a throwback to their first dance years back, and put her matchy strappy shoes on, she glanced at the clock and realized Tony still wasn't there. Guests were going to be arriving soon but that was Tony for you. He would stroll in with five minutes left, put on a suit and look simply dashing as if he had been slaving away on his looks for hours. She both loved and hated that about him. After giving herself one last check over in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place, she was ready for the night to begin.

"Where are you?" Pepper whispered angrily into the phone two hours later, taking a quick glance around to see if anyone was listening in on her conversation. The last thing she needed was for a reporter to get wind of her arguing with her soon to be husband. Seeing the coast was clear and most of the guests were dancing or chatting with each other, she didn't even try to hide her annoyance at the caller. "You were supposed to be here by now. I didn't know I was getting married to myself. I'm pretty sure that's not even legal."

"Hey, Pep. Love you too."

Pepper blew a strand of red hair that had fallen out of her elaborate up-do out of her eyes. It had taken forever for the stylist to pin up it all up. Two entire hours of her life actually, and here it was, falling out and the night had barely begun. She could hear the smile in Tony's voice, and right now his playful tone was bothering her. He wasn't taking this seriously. "You are so in love with me that you can't even show up to our engagement party on time. I know you are conveniently never on time to business meetings, but I thought this actually meant something to you."

It was Tony's turn to sigh. "Come on, Pepper. You know you are overreacting, right? This isn't my fault this time. I swear. The weather out here is nasty. I'm stuck in traffic."

The stupid hair she had removed from her eyes was somehow back in her face. She twirled it between her fingers, only barely resisting the urge to just yank it out of her head. "Uh huh."

"I'm serious."

Pepper could hear the pout in his voice. Right now she was sure he was giving her his famous Tony Stark puppy dog eyes that used to attract girls by the horde. Thank God, she wasn't video chatting with him at the moment or she likely would have melted on the spot. Even after all these years, one look from him could make her forget her own name. Those chocolate brown eyes did crazy things to her self control."Iron Man is stuck in traffic?" She teased. "*The* Iron Man?"

Tony chuckled. "Well, since I don't currently have my suit, yes. I'm stuck in traffic like a normal person. I don't think I like being normal very much."

Her annoyance with him clicked down a couple more notches. He had promised her no matter what that he would not use his suit today because today was special. Today was her day. He told her nothing short of the world coming to an end would stop him from being there for her, and he had even put the suit under lock and key to prove it to her. It was a little over-dramatic but she appreciated the sentiment behind his grand gesture. "I need you, Tony. Please get here."

"I'm coming, Pep. I'll be there soon. Love you."

She knew he meant it. "I love you too."

Another twenty minutes went by. Still no Tony Stark. Pepper could hear the quiet chatter around her begin to grow louder by the minute. The rumors being whispered about Tony. Maybe he isn't coming. Maybe he is having second thoughts. Maybe he found someone better. Maybe he found someone younger.

A shudder ran down Pepper's spine. She wasn't getting any younger. That was true, and Tony, honestly Tony was like a fine wine. He only got better with age. He was just as attractive as he was when she started working as his PA. Even more so now. She definitely didn't see herself the same way and obviously neither did anyone else in attendance. Pepper tried to ignore it. She really truly did but when Christine Everhart sat down at the bar next to her, she just couldn't anymore.

"Miss Potts, would you like a drink?"

"Miss Everhart," was all Pepper was able to force out from between clenched teeth. Of course, *the* Christine Everhart would show up here. The same Christine Everhart that Tony had brought home with him years and years back when he was still a playboy. The same Christine Everhart that she had thrown out of his house the following morning and called her trash to her face. She was here. She was here getting her a drink, and Tony was nowhere in sight.

Before she could even answer, Christine held up a perfectly manicured hand. "Wait, don't answer that. I'm getting you a drink. You obviously need it."

Pepper let out the breath she had been holding in, watching as prim and proper Christine leaned over the bar to flirt with the bartender as she ordered a couple of drinks. Fuck it, Pepper thought to herself, accepting the drink and throwing it back in a few impressive gulps. If Tony were here, he would be shocked. Or proud. Probably a little of both.

Christine's eyes grew wide at Pepper's display, and she almost laughed at the woman's shock. Almost. "Wow. I'm impressed. I thought the CEO of Stark Industries didn't know how to have a good time."

Pepper forced a smile as best as she could under the current circumstances. "Oh, you would be wrong. I'm pretty good at having fun when I really want to. Off the clock, of course."

Christine's smile actually seemed genuine as she followed her lead and threw her own drink back, finishing it like a shot. It made Pepper feel a little uneasy, wondering what the woman was trying to accomplish. "Of course. Another drink, Miss Potts?"

One of Tony's one night stands was here at their engagement party, and they were drinking together as if they were best buddies. Had she been sucked into an alternate dimension? What was happening right now? The thoughts bounced around in her head for awhile and she almost stopped to ponder them but then decided against it. This was her party after all. Her and Tony's party and he wasn't here. He wasn't here and she was. A snide smile appeared on her lips. "It's Ms. Potts, and why not?"

Pepper honestly didn't know what she was doing. She usually didn't drink. Tony was the drinker. She was the thinker. That's what she always told him, and he would laugh. He told her she always had her head on straight. She always acted rationally. She told him she had to. Somebody in their relationship had to because well, Tony was Tony. She was responsible for him. She was responsible for his business. She was the CEO, thanks to him. She had to conduct herself like one but tonight...tonight something in her shifted. Pepper Potts was the responsible one. She had always been the responsible one. Well, she was sick of that shit. So fucking sick of it.

One drink become two. Two became three. And then came the shots. Shots? What the fuck was she doing? This wasn't college. Why was she taking shots with a woman who had been in Tony's bed? And she's a reporter to top it all off. Was she insane? She was doing shots with a freakin' reporter. A freakin' reporter that had seen Tony naked. Her phone singing out Tony's ring tone brought her back to reality. At least for the moment.

Pepper turned her head to the side, away from Christine as she answered the call. "Anthony Edward Stark, where are you?"

"I've moved about a mile or two so closer to you than I was before, honey."

"Tony," Pepper almost whined as she imagined the absolutely adorable expression that was bound to be on his face. She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. She missed him. God, she missed him so much. "Don't. Just don't."

"Pep, are you drinking?" There was surprise in Tony's voice.

"Sure am. Christine is here and she's ordering me drinks...something my fiance should be doing but he is currently stuck in traffic."

"Wait. Christine as in Christine Everhart?"

"Yeppers, Mr. Stark."

"Miss Potts, did you just say, 'Yeppers?'"

Pepper all out grinned at the apparent shock in Tony's voice. It wasn't often that she outright surprised him. He was a genius after all. It took a lot to daze him. She didn't care who saw or what they thought about her out of character behavior. This was her night. This was her party and she would act like an irresponsible twit if she wanted. "Yeppers," she said a second time. That was quite a fun word. She needed to use it more often. She wanted to see the expression on Tony's face when she said it directly to him.

"That's it. Send Happy with my suit. I don't care how he gets here. I'm bypassing this traffic. You are clearly in trouble. What have you done with my fiancee?"

Pepper couldn't help it. She snorted a laugh. "I'm fine, Tony. I'm actually having fun. The night was starting off shitty but it got better..."

There was silence for a beat before Tony replied, "Who are you and what did you do with my fiancee? Shitty? Did Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, just say the word 'shitty?'"

That made her laugh out loud. "I'm okay, Tony. I'm swear. I'm okay. Just get your cute little butt over here because I miss you." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She honestly didn't care who was listening at this point. She missed Tony Stark. She missed him so much. She wanted to shout it from the mountain tops. The things she wanted to do with that man.

"Just keep the party going, Potts. I'll be to you soon."

Another fifteen minutes went by. "Soon" had long since passed in Pepper's eyes. She couldn't count the number of drinks she had helped herself to in Tony's absence but her head felt fuzzy, and she felt very warm even in her backless dress and high heels. Her tongue had loosened up quite a bit, and Christine seemed to be loving the open conversations they were having. It started out innocently enough. Pepper and Christine were talking about what they had been up to over the years. Pepper wasn't that shocked to learn that Christine was married and had gotten divorced. She had a two year old son named Everett who was currently staying with her ex, and from the way she was talking about the man, he was the bane of her existence.

"You're lucky to land someone like Tony Stark."

Pepper didn't take offense at her statement and nodded. She didn't disagree at all. She was lucky.

"I mean, who would have thought in the end he would have ended up with you?"

Okay, now she was pushing it a bit. Pepper couldn't think of anything nice to say so she took another drink instead. Just keep drinking, Potts. Tony will be here soon.

"I mean he had to have slept with what hundreds of women over the years right? Thousands maybe and he ends up settling down with the plain woman who worked as his PA?"

Did she just call her plain? Pepper finished her drink, slamming the glass down on the bar. It was as if the temperature in the room had climbed another ten degrees in the last five seconds. "That's enough, Miss Everhart." Her voice was shaking.

"Back to formalities then, Miss Potts?" Christine gave her a fake shark smile. Her cheeks were flushed from drinking too much. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that he had been with supermodels and actresses but he chose you. You of all people. I mean, come on. You are cute Pepper Potts but you aren't that cute." She stopped for a minute before slipping her phone out of her purse. "Oh. Oh, check this out."

Pepper swallowed. Oh God no. What was she going to show her? This was not going to end well.

After a few minutes of searching through God knows what, a knowing smile came over Christine's face and she pushed the phone up to Pepper's face. Pepper blinked and rubbed her eyes. There in front of her eyes was a picture of Christine Everhart she had snapped during her one night stand with Tony. They both were naked. Tony was passed out on his stomach, his head turned toward the camera. His eyes closed as his mouth partially open. The Christine in the picture was grinning. She had taken pictures of it. Fuck. Pepper's right hand became a tight fist at her side. She didn't realize her body was trembling until she stood up.

Christine spun around on her stool to face Pepper, a snug smile plastered across her face. "Does his ass still look like this? I remember it being very nice and firm. I never did like you, Pepper Potts. I should be the one marrying Tony Stark. Not you. Just remember when you are moaning his name later tonight, he was moaning mine first."

That was it. That was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. That was the moment Pepper Potts did something so out of character it shocked everyone in the room. Before she could talk herself out of it, her clenched fist was flying at the blonde's face. The poor bitch didn't even see it coming. It connected with a crack, and Christine's head was flying back on her shoulders. The shock didn't even register on the reporter's face until she was flat on her butt now on the floor, staring up at her attacker with blood streaming out of her now crooked nose. Everyone in the room gasped.

Oh shit. You've done it now, Potts.

"What the fuck?" Christine cried, blood soaking her once beautiful blue gown. Well, now Pepper had the best looking blue gown in the room. The random thought was so bizarre, it almost made her giggle but that would have been extremely inappropriate considering the circumstances. "You broke my nose! I'm calling the police."

Both Colonel James Rhodes and Happy Hogan were there in a beat, stepping in between the women, blocking Christine from her view. "Whoa. Whoa. Let's just take a second and calm down," Tony's best friend Rhodes said as he offered a hand and helped the injured woman to her feet. He removed the handkerchief from his jacket pocket and pressed it to her bleeding nose as she leaned her weight against him. Seeing Rhodes standing always made Pepper happy. A fall from the sky almost took his life, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down instead but with the help of special protesthics Tony invented, he was able to walk again. Christine almost stumbled and fell, but Rhodes held her up. Tony's friend may be more steady on his feet than she was on a normal day."No need to call the police."

"She assaulted me! I'm pressing charges!" Christine shrieked. "I'm calling the police!"

"Miss Everhart," Rhodes said gently, his voice surprisingly calm considering what had happened. "I am going to personally drive you to the hospital. We can discuss options on the way there. I will give Mr. Stark a call and see what we can work out."

Pepper's mouth dropped open. Wait, what? He was going to drag Tony into this? Christine Everhart was going to win this round? That was not okay with her. "Rhodey.."

Rhodes whispered something to Christine who nodded before he turned to face Pepper."I've got this."

"But I..."

Rhodes made sure Christine was steady on her feet before he stepped away from her and focused his attention on Pepper. He guided the upset redhead to a bar stool and forced her to sit down. "I've got this. Trust me," Rhodes assured her. "Sit here. Take a few minutes to yourself. You need it. Seriously, Pepper. Cool down before you make this worse."

"But I..." She didn't have a chance to interject her thoughts because Happy placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her away from Rhodes, back around to face the bar. The world actually spun a full three-sixty at the small movement. Maybe she had enough to drink. Her stomach lurched. "I guess I'm slacking as head of security because I should be escorting you out of here right now, right?" Happy asked, leaning in close. "But just between you and me, that was impressive. You've got a wicked right hook."

That made her smile. "Thanks, Happy."

"I have to do another sweep of the building and make sure things are secure, and I'm going to be tackling people who try and leave with footage of your little stunt. Are you going to be okay? No punching anybody while I'm gone."

Pepper rolled her eyes and forced a smile. "I'll behave." When he left, she put her head down on the bar. What are you doing, Potts? She couldn't believe she had actually hit someone. Never in her life had she actually gotten physically violent. It wasn't her style. Her mouth had always been her weapon of mass destruction. In the past, she never had to resort to using her fists, but Christine showing her that picture made something inside her rational mind snap. All of the bad things that happened today on top of the fact that Tony wasn't here to tell the bitch to shut up himself, had made her temper take over. Well, that's a typical redhead for you. She almost laughed because that is something Tony would tease her about. That's when her phone started ringing. It was Tony. A loud sigh escaped her lips. She may as well answer it. She couldn't put it off forever. "Hello?" She didn't even have the energy to lift her head.

"You actually punched Christine Everhart? What were you thinking?"

Pepper was actually shocked at how infuriated Tony sounded. She couldn't remember a time he had actually talked to her like that, as if she was a child in need of some serious discipline. She recognized it well. It was usually the tone she used with him. Her head shot off the bar as she jumped to her feet. Her pulse skyrocketed. It felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest. Oh no. No way. He did not have the right to call her up and bitch her out. He wasn't even here. He wasn't here. And she was the one who had to entertain the girls of his past while he was out. Tears jumped to her eyes. Her mascara was about to be ruined.

"Do not use that condescending tone with me, Mr. Stark." She didn't even try to keep her voice down. Hopefully the music was enough to drown her out. "I wasn't the one who fucked her. That was you." She knew his past. He never tried to hide it from her so it was a low blow to say those words. She knew it was the wrong thing to say but the words came out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"That was over ten years ago! You are honestly bringing this up now? Do you know what I had to promise to do for her to keep you out of jail?"

Pepper visualized Christine and Tony naked in bed and shook it out of her head just as fast. He would never do that to her. He was a changed man. His favors would not be anything sexual in nature. "Well, if it's like the things I had to do for you in the past, I would call it even."

Tony sighed. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Why am I acting like this? Why are you defending her? I'm going to be your wife. You should be on my side. You weren't here. You don't know what happened."

"Pepper..."

"I'm done talking to you, Mr. Stark," and with that Pepper hung up the phone.

As soon as Pepper hung up without saying goodbye, Tony knew he was in the doghouse. He let his head fall against the steering wheel. Shit. This was definitely not how he planned this night to go. Tonight was supposed to be special but instead, here he was stuck in traffic, having arguments about a past one-night-stand over the phone with his fiancee. He hadn't meant to lose his temper with her but sitting for extended periods of time in gridlocked traffic will do that to even the most mellow person in the world. That on top of having to negotiate the terms in which Christine Everhart would not turn Pepper into the police, he was stressed to the max. Never in a million years did he think that Pepper would actually haul off and punch someone. I mean, if she was going to get in a physical altercation with anyone it would have been him. Back when she was his PA, he put her through so much shit. It honestly surprised him she hadn't smacked the crap out of him at some point. God. She really must love him.

Running a hand through his hair, he let out one of the longest sighs he ever had in his life before smacking his head against the steering wheel over and over. You are an idiot, Stark. You may be a genius but you are a huge idiot. He was definitely sleeping on the couch tonight. He would be lucky if she let him back into the building.

When he raised his head to check to see if traffic had moved, his eyes instinctively flicked to the rear-view mirror. He saw the reflection of lights coming closer at a high rate of speed. Too fast. He didn't have time to do anything but brace himself as the crunch of metal filled his ears. The last thought he had was of Pepper before everything went black.