This story is pretty much my reaction/guess to what happens after the Iron Man 2 novel and the Iron Man 2 movie.
SPOILER ALERT majorly here. Heavy Tony Stark/Pepper Potts. Could be considered as fluff?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this organization of words.
The Next Day
by sunnyrainclud
The next day, she's extremely confused. She had gone to bed elated, terrified, and high off adrenaline, lust, accomplishment, ten thousand emotions and feelings, and yet, she still felt calm, cool, and collected because finally, finally, she and Tony had kissed, and it had been… Well, he had enjoyed it, and she had enjoyed it, and that had to mean something.
She sighs into the pillow.
She's fifteen again and discovering boys, this one boy who's a little taller than her and finally kissed her on the rooftop, all over.
As she gets dressed, she realizes they never exactly discussed anything.
They kissed, and then they went to the office, worked on some damage control, and then he drove her to her home and kissed her again, and then told her he'd see her tomorrow.
But he never said he'd see her like he sees a woman he's dating, or his ex-employee, or his former boss, and frankly, she's pretty sure at the moment she is actually unemployed.
Which isn't a good thing, because if there's one thing Pepper Potts is known for, it's for working hard. And how can she work hard if she doesn't have work?
She finally decides to show up at his house as his friend, dressed casually, but also conservatively, but also comfortable. It's probably obvious by her clothing choice that she is a little confused over what's going on between them.
Luckily, Tony Stark isn't paying attention to her clothing, and focusing on the fact that Pepper Potts, who he kissed last night on a rooftop like he was supposed to months ago, is in his house.
He offers her that martini, and she just laughs.
She's spends the whole day with him looking over what used to be the most ridiculously modern, yet striking beautiful mansion ever built and furnished.
She used to sit on the couch and marvel at how aesthetically pleasing the whole house was, while being overwhelmed with gadgets and panels and really just Tony's useless crap.
However, Tony sold their art to the Boy Scouts, the couch has been blown to pieces, the waterfall has been shattered, the stairs are just gone, and she's pretty sure that the window didn't used to be man-robot shaped.
She hopes that isn't another large gaping hole in the floor.
He laughs and tells her that one was on purpose. She wonders why, accidentally aloud, and ends up having one hell of a serious conversation with him.
By the end of the day, Tony Stark, who still regrets all those little things and the bigger things even more, more or less confirms what she had been unsure of.
He complains that every flat surface in his house was destroyed, the walls included. He frowns, then smiles, then smirks, and says they'll just have to go to her house.
She agrees, at first thinking he means he has nowhere to sleep, but when she's forced into a crushing hold, and then suddenly he's attacking her mouth and she's melting onto the floor, it's pretty obvious, he means sleeping over at her house, with her.
The triangle is a new thing, and she hasn't totally decided if she likes it or not.
After all, these new RT's don't need her dainty hands anymore, and Tony visually regrets telling her this when he sees her face fall.
But she then comments that if he's alive, and not dying any day now from something that was supposed to keep him alive, she can smooth over some of the minor details.
He holds her close, she sighs, he sighs.
Besides, she adds, at least he's still glowing. At least he still has a heart.
621 words. Thanks for reading. Review if you've got the time.