A/N: I'm having so much fun writing for IMAA that I've decided to write a new story even though I'm trying to take a break from FF. It's very difficult to do, I gotta tell you, but if this story doesn't catch anyone's interest, I'll just leave it as it is. Anyway, I hope you like this one. If you do, please review to let me know and then stop by my other IMAA story titled Broken.

Ownership Disclaimer: Don't own anything other than my laptop and my crazy mind. Don't sue me.

Standard Disclaimer for My Stories: My stories are graphic, angsty, frustrating, filled with cliffhangers, drama and foul language. Read at your own risk – medical issues and subsequent bills are not covered by yours truly ;) If you don't like, please don't read. I appreciate reviews and constructive feedback but if you cannot stand the plot, save yourself and me some time and walk away. You don't have to love all IM/IMAA stories :)

Screen Optimization: Remember that most of my stories, including this one, are written for the half-screen option here at FF. You'll see fewer line/paragraph breaks if you set the screen to half-screen.

Summary: Set after the end of Season 2. The world knows the true identities of Team Iron Man, and while the knowledge allows the heroes to fight crime without remorse, there are always two sides to every coin. Follow Pepper and Tony as they try to make the best out of their new romance while attempting to survive their last month in high school.

BTW: This story and all its sequels will follow the calendar of year 2013 even though the series ended in 2012. Let's just pretend Team Iron Man fought the Makluan/graduated in 2013.

The Last Month

Prologue

"I guess there's nothing else here for us to do, son."

Howard Stark stared around him as the small crowd that had gathered to witness the fight against the Makluan army was beginning to grow in size after the revelation of the true identities of the Iron Man team. "I think it's best if we call it a day. What do you think?"

Tony followed the path his father's eyes were taking and realized what he was trying to say to him in code. Truth was that the aliens were gone and so was Gene, and the young inventor knew that Nick Fury and his team would take care of clean-up duty for them.

"I guess you're right, Dad. Time to go home."

Tony eyed the ground around him until he found his helmet and put it on.

"Don't forget to stop by the armory to drop off the suits for repair," he told his teammates.

Luckily for the youngsters, the Makluan army had decided to attack on a Friday. Tony could already feel his muscles demanding some rest, and as opposed to all the other times he had finished fighting crime in the dead of the night, he was going to do just what his body deserved: sleep.

"We'll be there, Tony." War Machine responded before turning to face his mother. "Mom, I'll meet you at home. I have to go take this off."

"Alright, James, but don't be late. We have some talking to do."

If War Machine could ever look disappointed and intimidated, the moment was now. "Yes, Mom. Coming, Pepper?"

"Right behind you!" the redhead said as her faceplate closed. "I'll be home in an hour, Dad."

"Alright, sweetheart, but I want you to come straight home."

"I will. See ya!"

Her words were trailed by the purple of her flight stabilizers as she took to the skies. War Machine, Iron Man and Howard Stark – who was still suited up in the Space Armor – followed shortly after her. The fly back to the Makluan Temple was mostly silent, each teenager caught in their own thoughts regarding what coming out as heroes meant for their lives.

After ten minutes of nonstop supersonic flight time, the four armored individuals landed inside the armory. Tony was the first one to remove his suit thanks to the advantage the Extremis gave him.

"Phew! That could've gone worse!"

"Tell me about it. We could've lost!" Rhodey jested as he slowly began coming out of his suit. "At least you don't have to hear it from my mom today. She's gonna ground me for life."

Tony waved his hand dismissively toward his worrisome friend as he walked toward the computer to beginning running the damage scan on the suits. The software had been designed to make a comprehensive list of repairs the suits would need after a major fight, and it would then order them from critical to low-priority. Designing the code for the program had been long and difficult due to different specs for each suit, but the payoff of saving time when repairing the armors was priceless to the inventor.

"Yeah, Rhodey. I think from all three of us, you have it the worst. My dad seemed pretty cool with the whole Rescue thing," the redhead said as she too took off her suit of armor. "Your War Machine days may be over," she teased her friend, earning her a loud groan from him.

"I don't know about you, kids, but this old man is tired," Howard said as he made sure the suit was completely off his body. "I'm gonna take off now. Tony?" he turned to his son. "Any chance you will come back home soon?"

"Yeah," Tony said as he typed something on his computer. "I'm tired, too. I'll just make sure the software is running on all four suits and I'll see you at home."

"Very well. You did a great job, all of you, but please take the weekend to be kids, alright? Let the police do their job for at least a couple of days."

"We will, Dad."

"Alright. See you at home."

Once the three teenagers were left to themselves, each one began placing their banged up suit where it belonged so that Tony could repair it later. As Tony began running diagnostics on each suit, Rhodey and Pepper took upon the task of making sure the Space Suit was in place as well. Once their job was done, the two of them walked to where Tony stood, still typing furiously on the keyboard.

"I'm done, man. You coming?"

"Yes," Tony said as he keyed in the last code he needed to call it a night. "Let's go. I have a date with my bed."

"Don't we all?" Rhodey offered as all three of them walked to the back of the temple to jump in Rhodey's car. Luckily for him, the insurance company had replaced his car with a new one, so he did not have to rely on public transportation anymore.

"You know, I oughta get a car myself," Tony said as he got in the copilot seat and Pepper lay on the back seat. "Might as well get one now since I'll be going to college soon."

"College? Ugh! Don't remind me. I haven't sent my applications yet. I'm still hoping S.H.I.E.L.D. adopts me," Pepper groaned while Rhodey started up the engine and began driving out of the temple. "You'd think being a member of Team Iron Man and helping save the world would get my foot in the door, but noooo!"

Tony chuckled and looked back over to her with a flirty smile on his face. "C'mon, Pep. What does S.H.I.E.L.D. have that Team Iron Man doesn't?"

"Jetpacks?" she offered in what she hoped was a serious tone, but it was difficult to keep a straight face when he smiled at her like that. She felt the blood rush to her face as she remembered the kiss Tony had given her just a short while ago, so she looked away and pretended to rest her eyes. "Drop me off first, Rhodey, please."

"Already on my way, Pepper."

"Thanks," she sighed as she got comfortable in the back on the seat. Only a brief moment had passed when her phone went off and she turned on the speaker feature without even having to open her eyes. "Hello."

"Pepper?" The frantic voice made her eyes snap open and she sat up in the seat.

"Happy?" The mention of the name of the current unofficial-official boyfriend of Pepper Potts did not sit well with the young genius, and Rhodey had to bite his lip to keep himself from snickering at the face Tony was making as he tried to focus on anything except the conversation behind him.

"Oh, Pepper! I'm so glad you're alright! I saw you in the news and… wow! You just went up, like, ten notches in my book of awesomeness! I mean, I thought you were already cool and all, but… you're also a superhero? That tops it all!"

"Oh, Happy," she laughed nervously. "It's not that big of a deal."

"It IS! I'm dating a gorgeous superhero! I'm the luckiest man alive!"

Pepper bit her lip and her eyes flew to the back of Tony's head. The billionaire had his arms crossed on his chest, and his face stared out the window in an effort to pretend he was not listening in to every word that was being said.

"Why don't we talk about that later, Happy? I'm heading home and my dad is waiting for me."

"Oh, sure! Man, why didn't I think about it? You must be tired! Well, I just wanted to make sure you were OK, Pepper. Are we still on for tomorrow? Remember, Belly Buster Burgers, my treat."

"Oh," Pepper closed her eyes. "Yeah, I… I kinda forgot about it."

"Oh, it's OK. I can pick them up and stop by your place. Is that better?"

"Uhm, Happy… I… it's too much trouble…"

"Not at all! Anything for my girlfriend! Well, I'll let you go, Pep. See you tomorrow, your place."

"Right, uhm… bye."

The silence and tension in the vehicle after the phone call ended was suffocating, and when Rhodey stopped in front of Pepper's apartment, she all but ran out at the speed of light. Rhodey watched in awe as Pepper disappeared behind the entrance door to the building before his eyes landed on his friend.

"Aren't you gonna do anything about it?"

"Just drive," Tony responded, wondering if he really had a chance with his friend, Pepper Potts.