Epilogue: I Can Do That

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Pepper flew low over the spraying, tumbling waves as she rocketed home over the Pacific Ocean. Jim was well out of the sea spray because he was on her back, but she was holding Tony in front, and he ended up acting as a human windshield. By the time she made her approach to the house on the island he looked like he'd taken a shower with his clothes on and his hair was plastered to his head. Fortunately, he was too loopy to care.

"I'm all wet," he stated with authority, blinking seawater out of his eyes. "Ptttheh. And that is crazy salty. Blech. Needs a margarita to go with it. Hey Pep, you wanna set us down somewhere? Maybe I'll pull out the Cuervo and –"

Inside the suit, Pepper rolled her eyes. "Tony, be quiet. We're almost at the house. Just hang on." She shut off her external speakers and addressed her second-in-command. "Hey, Jarvis?"

"Miss Potts?"

"As soon as I land us, I want you to run a full diagnostic on Mr. Stark. I think he may have a concussion."

"Diagnostic is booting up as we speak."

"Great." She hit the speakers again as she rose up into the air above the house. "Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"Hang on tight!"

She boosted herself up so she was vertical. Jim gripped her like a koala bear as she down-thrusted like a pro, slipping through Tony's impromptu skylight and landing so gently on the cement floor in the bunker that Jim barely felt a jostle. ("Show off," Tony mumbled, and she allowed herself a smirk inside the suit.) Jim clambered off and stood back, distinctly impressed.

"Nice."

"Thanks," Pepper said. She was still cradling Tony, who was blinking around at his workshop like he'd never seen it before.

"Wow," Tony said. He looked around everywhere and then at Pepper's faceplate. "Well, that whole experience was humiliating."

His delivery was so flat that it sounded more like an observation than a complaint, but in truth he was a little annoyed. His dime-novel fantasy had never cast Pepper as the freakin' superhero and him as the damsel in distress. This had all turned out ass-backwards. And what an ugly damsel he made, beaten and dizzy and resting in someone else's arms, one eye swollen shut and his face crusted with dried blood. It was the kind of thing that could send an ordinary man slinking off in shame.

Fortunately, Tony Stark was no ordinary man.

"Hey, she saved our lives," Jim argued. "Don't you dare –"

"But this kind of situation has rules," Tony spoke over him, "And attention must be paid."

"Tony, what are you talking about?" Pepper asked.

Tony ignored both of them and wiggled his arms free. Then he pressed down on the hidden releases right over Pepper's carotid arteries. The visor of her suit flipped up, revealing her battle-flushed, surprised face.

"Tony!" she chided.

"Ah, ah. Be quiet." He cleared his throat. "Oh, Pepper Potts," he said with feeling. He clasped his hands and batted his eyelashes absurdly. "My heroine." And before she could stop him, he grabbed her helmet and locked her in a passionate, unavoidable kiss.

Jim snorted. Tony broke off and smiled smugly at Pepper, who was struggling not to smile back. She settled for pursing her lips, sighing through her nose, and gently sitting Tony down on the steel operating table.

"Don't move," she commanded. "Jarvis, hit it."

"Yes, Miss Potts." A laser began to sweep over Tony where he sat on the table, head bent, legs dangling. "And if I may say so, Miss Potts, I am quite relieved to have Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes and you back in one piece."

She smiled at the nearest screen. "Me too. Thanks for helping me in the field. And thank you, Tony, for building such a sturdy suit." She gestured at her armor, rather dented and covered in burn marks from the photon rifles, but otherwise functioning perfectly. "Jarvis, can you get me out of this thing?"

Jarvis multi-tasked like a pro. He started the suiting-down process for Pepper just as he completed his diagnostic scan of Tony, declaring him concussion-free but in desperate need of food and water, followed by a good clean-up and an ice pack or two.

"I'll take care of the food," Jim volunteered as he ambled off towards the basement's small kitchen. He could do with something to eat himself, after all that excitement. "Hey Pepper, did you get lunch?"

"Um … no," she said tiredly as the bots worked on her. "Ow!" Dummy beeped at her in apology. The bots were having a hell of a time with the bolts on her arms and back (the most dented bits of the suit), and they had resorted to tugging. Tony, slightly dazed, watched the show from where he sat.

By the time the bots had freed her from the suit, Jim had returned with three bottles of water and a few Powerbars. He ripped the first bar open with a crinkle and tore it in half, and Tony shook his head at the sight of Pepper in only her flight suit.

"You know, Pepper, you really oughta let someone have a look at you," he suggested with concern. "You could have a lot of bruises under that s-mmllff!" His eyes went wide as Jim crammed a handful of Powerbar into his mouth.

"Here's the rest of it," he said politely, and handed Tony the half-full wrapper. Tony glared at him. The effect was ruined by his puffy cheek.

"Thank you, Jim," Pepper said dryly.

"No problem. Oh, here." He handed her a bottle of water and her own Powerbar, which she tore into immediately.

There was no sound for a few minutes except the crinkle of aluminum wrappers and chewing as everyone got their blood sugar back up. Real food could come later, but they had enough fuel to get things done.

"Jarvis, you were keeping tabs on me, right?" Pepper asked the room at large, and swigged from her water bottle.

"Yes, Miss Potts."

"So, I don't have any injuries that need immediate attention?"

"No, Miss Potts."

Pepper smiled. "Good. See, Tony? Nothing to worry about. I know I got knocked around a lot, but I feel fine."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

30 Minutes Later

"Ah, ah, ah … ohhh."

Tony hovered in silence, icing half his face with one hand and supporting Pepper with the other as she lowered herself down onto the mattress in the guest bedroom.

Tony was tired. His facial injuries looked rather dramatic. He did have some minor internal bruising. However, a hot shower, clean lounging clothes, more water, another energy bar, Motrin and self-administered first aid had gone a long way, and while he still looked pretty beaten-up, he was definitely out of danger and he was actually functioning, which was more than he could say for Pepper. Not that he didn't appreciate her situation. The first "after-battle" was always a little traumatic. Tony remembered his vividly: the cuts, the little crescent indentations in his neck, the fatigue. He cursed himself for not putting more padding inside her suit, especially since he saw her when she stumbled out of the shower. All of her.

It had been an accident. Really. She'd been coming out of the enclosure, and he thought she'd asked for a towel, and he came in with one, assuming she was already covered with one. She wasn't, he scared her, she tripped, he caught her, she was naked, they both realized this and went red, and then they did that non-verbal agreement thing to just add this to the gigantic pile of crap they never talked about. And being a gentleman (on occasion) he wasn't about to bring it up.

He'd seen the extent of the damage, however. Pounding hot water and comfortable jammies could only do so much; her entire back was a mess of little mottled bruises. As soon as she'd flipped off the light in the bathroom, he'd handed her a pain pill and water. She swallowed and chased it without comment.

The walk from the bathroom to the bed had taken an eternity; she was moving like a board. But she'd made it, and she yawned from her perch on the bed, and her shoulders relaxed.

Tony smiled. The medication was starting to kick in. "C'mon, almost there," he coaxed her. "Aaaaalmost there." She lay back with a groan, her head sinking into the pillow. "Good. You are going to be black and blue tomorrow, I hope you know," he informed her. Then he realized he needed both hands to help her here, so he tossed the ice pack on the bed. "Up we go."

"Tony, you don't have to fuss over me," she said as he lifted her stiff legs and settled her.

"Do you need another pillow?" he asked as though she hadn't spoken.

They held each others' gaze for a few seconds. Finally, Pepper sighed and gave up. She just didn't have the energy to fight with him right now. "Yes," she mumbled. "One under my knees, if you don't mind."

Tony smiled. He fished another pillow out of the nearby linen closet and brought it over. As he stuffed it under the bend in her sweat pants he said, "Not at all. Least I can do for the Silver Siren. She saved my ass today, didn't you hear?"

Pepper groaned. "Oh my God, that was so dumb. I don't even know why I blurted that out."

Her boss sat down at her side and brought the covers up over her. "Well, I thought it was kind of funny, personally. And anyway, I give you mad props for improvising under pressure. Me, I had my name handed to me. You had to make yours up on the spot."

She snorted, then yawned again. "Thanks. I just hope nobody saw anything. Oh, if something leaks, or those guys from WarGod talk to the press, oh … this is going to be a nightmare," she said softly.

"Hey, hey." Tony started smoothing her hair back with calloused fingers. "Don't worry right now, okay? Feel better first. We'll talk later."

"… All right. Hey, Tony? Can I … Can I tell you a secret?"

Tony smiled. "Sure."

"Those guys made me really mad. When we were fighting in the air, I had to stop myself from just swinging out and hitting them."

Tony's brow knitted. "What? Why didn't you just do it? You'd have been perfectly justified in knocking their teeth out."

Pepper scoffed. "Hello, I was metal-plated, Tony. I could have taken somebody's head off. But…" She beckoned him closer with her chin, like this was sacred knowledge. "I know exactly what it would sound like."

"What?" he asked, all quiet curiosity, his face inches from hers.

"PLANG!" she intoned, and smiled goofily. And then she passed out. It was that quick. Tony just shook his head in amusement and snatched up the ice pack.

"Knock knock."

He re-applied the pack and looked towards the doorway. Jim was standing in it, fresh from a shower, dressed in a pair of borrowed sweats and an old t-shirt. A damp towel hung around his shoulders.

"Hey," Tony said.

"Hey. She out?"

Tony looked over at Pepper, who snuffled through her nose. "Oh yeah."

"All right. Come on, let's give her some space."

Tony didn't answer. He just cast another look at Pepper and seemed reluctant to leave.

"Come on, Tony. It doesn't take two people to sleep."

This was true. So he hefted himself up and walked out with Jim. They snicked the bedroom door shut behind them and padded across the parquet floor towards the living room; Jarvis had been adamant that they lie down and rest, but they were equally adamant that they could rest just fine in front of the plasma screen with the game on. They were quiet most of the way.

"That was a hell of a show she put on," Jim said at length.

"I know. It's disgusting how well she did," Tony mumbled, letting off some of his anxiety. "A newbie going off half-cocked and saving lives, just like that, like it's no big deal. Unbelievable. I swear, if she scares me like that again I'll –"

Jim smirked. "Aw, you're just pissed off 'cause she lands better than you do."

"Shut up."

Jim ignored him. "So, if we form like, an awesome fighting force, is she invited?"

Tony shot him a sideways angry look … which eventually turned mischievous. "Maybe."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The flashbulbs were popping like crazy. Tony gripped the podium with both hands and tried not to squint.

"And in conclusion," he said, sticking to his notes fiercely, "Stark Industries has finished its investigation into the events at Los Angeles City Hall three days ago. Wild speculation in the press," he shot a look at Christine Everhart, who was smirking fearlessly at him from the front row, "Sketchy eyewitness reports and ridiculously grainy YouTube footage aside, the company cannot confirm that any sort of Iron Man technology was involved in the apprehension of six members of the techno-terrorist organization known as WarGod."

More flashbulbs went off. He waited until they'd died down.

"However, on behalf of the technological community, the company would like to register its relief that these thieves have been apprehended, and that their apprehension involved minimal property damage, full recovery of stolen technology, no major injuries, and no loss of life."

He directed that last sentence squarely at the back of the room, where Pepper was standing stiffly in a conservative pantsuit and flats. The soft brace under her clothes kept her straight as a marine. He couldn't afford to smile proudly at her, but she knew that and smiled at him anyway. Unknown Hero Saves the Day, the L.A. Times had screamed the morning after the battle. Someone in the crowd had taken pictures, and a third of the front page was taken up by a photograph of the pile of stunned thugs near the ambulances, with an inset of the leader dangling unhappily off the flagpole over City Hall's front steps. The identity of the unknown hero(ine) would be kept under wraps for as long as humanly possible, he'd decided; she'd put herself in enough danger already.

As for the kidnapping, nobody knew about it. Tony did not need that splashed all over the press. Stark Industries employed a legal team second to none, and they'd immediately hashed out a gag order for all parties involved.

"I will take a question," Tony said.

Before somebody could ask something important and business-related, almost on cue … "Mr. Stark, how'd you get that black eye and cut lip? Which, by the way, looks suspiciously about three days old. Where were you three days ago, anyway?" It was Everhart.

Tony glared at her. The ice packs had quelled the initial swelling, but his face was still a mess, and while Pepper had pretty mad skills with make-up, no amount of foundation could cover the damage completely. "I was doing business on my yacht three days ago," he answered smartly. "Had a small accident below deck. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. One of the crew members opened a cabin door and I slammed into it." He shrugged. "The door won the confrontation, obviously. Thank you."

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" The voices overlapped and grew to a roar of noise. He ignored the sounds and the flashbulbs and stepped away from the podium.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Three weeks later, Pepper was taking a break from work at the mansion. Dressed in her usual heels and suit, she stood with crossed arms in a corner of the basement workshop and stared at the pod thoughtfully. She looked just as put-together as always, except that her light red hair was cascading down her shoulders because Tony had undone her ponytail earlier and run off with the rubber band like a four-year-old. Her face glowed from the light inside the capsule. She stifled a sigh.

The empty suit hung in five pieces, displayed between the first prototype of Jim's War Machine armor and the IM Mark II. Jarvis and the bots had taken great pains to repair her suit after the battle and clean it up, and it gleamed. In the soft lighting, it looked like a museum piece. It even had its own nameplate at the bottom of the case: Silver Siren, Mark I.

Pepper hung her head. She hadn't flown a single time since the incident at City Hall. She had no desire to. Yes, she'd healed completely, and Tony and Jim were still safe. Happy had been informed not to take "no" for an answer – he was now driving Tony absolutely everywhere – and she'd convinced Tony to take stronger measures against kidnapping. (He'd created some portable, nasty little techno-surprises to ensure that something like this didn't happen to him again.) All the bad guys had been transferred to a maximum security medical facility and they'd be going to prison from there. They'd obeyed the gag order. The press had moved on quickly from the dust-up over City Hall in order to pounce on a political scandal, so Stark Industries was out of the spotlight for the moment. But still, it had been so close. So much of what happened had hinged on luck and engineering. If just a few things had turned out differently, she might not be standing here at all.

She heard the squeak of sneakers behind her, so she didn't even bother to look. "Hi, Tony."

"Hey. I um, I wanted to give you your rubber band back. What are you doing down here?"

She turned around. Tony was standing there in jeans and a grungy thermal with a hole cut out for his arc reactor, looking at her expectantly. He was probably about to do some tinkering.

"Just looking," she said hastily. She made to leave. He liked his privacy while he messed around with his machines. "I'll go. You work." And she started to click away. He caught her elbow.

"Hey, wait."

Pepper steeled herself. He had that look in his eye, the one that said he knew what she was thinking about. He'd been getting that look far too often lately, in her opinion. "Yes?"

"There's, um…" Tony seemed to choke on the words. Then he pulled himself together. "Look, Pepper, whatever you think happened that day, you did great. You really did. You did the right thing, and I have to say, you did it with flair."

Pepper blinked. Tony was complimenting her on her performance? What parallel universe had she stepped into? They'd really only discussed her superhero doings a few times since the event. As soon as she'd been awake enough to carry on a conversation, he'd chided her gently for frightening him and insisted she never do something so stupid again, and she'd agreed. The next day he'd hinted at being proud of her, and since then he'd teased her about it off and on, but that was it. She bit her lip.

"Really? Because I thought I made a pretty big mess. Plus, I did something illegal by letting Jarvis call in that fake bomb threat, and I saved you guys by the skin of my teeth, and I could have been killed."

There was a pause. Tony scratched his head. "Well, yeah, that's all true. But," he added over her incredulous huff, "But, you have to consider the end result. You saved countless lives by evacuating the building. You saved us. You caught the bad guys. And there was a pathetic ten thousand dollars worth of property damage. Hey!" he protested, when she rolled her eyes. "Remember when I took out the Mark III to fight Obie?"

"How could I forget?" she deadpanned.

"Ha ha. Well, if you'll recall, I took out a chunk of the 110 and blew up the factory. Which means that your little piddly-poo ten grand is nothing. It's a drop in the bucket."

He was trying to butter her up, now, convince her of something. She could tell. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm no hero, Tony. I just got lucky."

He shook his head 'no.' "You didn't get lucky, understand? Jarvis showed me the HUD playback, and I saw what you did. You're a hell of a pilot, Pepper. You're focused, you're tough, you're smart, and you're determined. And you didn't put on that suit for a power trip. You put it on to help people you care about."

Pepper blinked at him. "Your point?"

Tony winced. He was trying to work on not rambling so much. "My point. Okay, here's my point. I wasn't wrong. I didn't make a mistake in building a suit for you. And I think … you should put it back on. When you're ready."

Pepper was stunned speechless, but in a very good way. She turned back towards the Silver Siren armor and chewed on her thumbnail. Tony, sensing it was safe, got up next to her and threw an arm around her. She just stared at the armor and their reflections in the glass and processed for a moment.

"You know, I have to admit. Most of it was terrifying, but in the end," she finished with a guilty smile, "it was really rewarding."

Tony's reflection grinned. "You can ease back into it," he said. "Just start slow. Take it out on Sundays. Fly out over the ocean."

Pepper was turning red. His arm was warm. "Wave at me from the deck?"

Tony chewed on his lip. "Nnn, I was thinking more like a high-speed game of air tag." And before she could stop him, he brushed her hair aside with his free hand and planted a tickly-goatee kiss on her neck. "See ya later, Siren," he mumbled in her ear.

He smoothly untangled himself and sauntered away. Pepper let him go. She stood there alone, thinking, with nothing around her but the displayed suits and the hum of the generators, and eyed the armor for another moment.

"Sunday," she mused. "Hmm. Well, I suppose I can do that."

THE END

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Author's Note: My profound thanks to all the reviewers.

I have one question, and I submit it to everyone who's reading this sentence. This isn't technically my fandom (I'm a Numb3rs girl at present), but I think I have a couple more Iron Man stories in me. Anybody interested?