The Hamptons' House

2012: Part 3

The changes Tony had gone through since becoming Iron Man were extreme, to say the least. Not just the obvious physical ones. He was practically a completely different person than the eighteen-year-old boy you'd met twenty-five years ago. Not that you were the same person either. The thing was, as much as Tony had grown and changed - as much as his focus had been honed in on something good - before Afghanistan, you worried about him dying from one cause, and after you worried about him dying due to another.

The amount of stress Tony was under was intense. He woke with nightmares every night, though he also seemed to refuse to go to bed. You were pretty sure if it weren't for you wearing him out through increasingly more elaborate sex acts, he'd probably avoid going to bed altogether. He needed help and there was little you could do to help him given how little time the two of you spent with each other.

Rhodey and Happy both seemed to agree with you, but you had the feeling that he might be hiding the worst of it from them and that maybe they were too close to see. He'd always been the kind of guy who rarely slept and was highly strung. If he was hiding that he wasn't sleeping at all, maybe it would just look like mild PTSD to them.

There had been plans to take Tony out on his birthday like you did every trip to the Hamptons. While you, Rhodey, and Tony were lazing by the pool in the late afternoon, Pepper showed up unexpectedly.

"Honey," Tony said, getting up and rushing over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"You did invite me," she said. "And it's your birthday. I felt bad."

Tony smiled and kissed her, his hands running up and down her arms. When he pulled back he looked at her like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. "I am so happy you came. You remember, Cookie?"

"Of course," she said, nodding in your direction. "Hello. Hey, Rhodey."

"Hey, Pep," Rhodey replied, as you smiled and gave a small wave.

Plans were changed after that. You ordered in and had the cake delivered to the house and the five of you just spent the night talking and casually drinking. Tony was really excited about the fact Pepper had shown up. Considering Tony had been worried that Pepper couldn't accept this part of who he was, her showing up seemed to be a sign that she had and that maybe they'd be okay.

You weren't so sure. While she definitely seemed to be trying to come to terms with the relationship you had with Tony, she was slightly awkward around you. She rarely spoke to you directly and she seemed to like to keep one of the men between you and her. You weren't sure whether it was due to a lack of understanding and acceptance or not. The two of you didn't know each other, and it might have just been her sticking with the people she did know. Not that you could blame her if she didn't understand. Most people didn't, and having to both come to terms with an open relationship that you might not be comfortable with, and spend time with the other woman was difficult for most people.

"Can, I ask you a question?" Pepper said. Happy had called it a night and Tony and Rhodey had gone to get you all some more drinks. It was the first time you had been completely alone with Pepper and it looked like she had been waiting for the opportunity for a while now.

You smiled and nodded, hoping that you could ease her mind a little about how Tony felt about her and that you weren't a danger to that. "Go ahead."

"What do you get out of this?" she asked. "I mean... you've been doing it for decades. I assume if you wanted to be with him, you would. I used to think he did it because you were the closest thing to a committed relationship he had, but now he has me and he's still here..."

She trailed off like she wasn't quite sure where she was going with her chain of thought. You tilted your head and touched her hand in what you hoped was a comforting manner. "I know it's hard to understand when what you're used to is monogamy," you explained. "When it started - and this was long before you even worked for him - he was just taking care of me. We were kids and my boyfriend had brought me to this stranger's party and used it as a way to cheat on me. Tony just let me stay with him because I had nowhere else. His parents had not shown up for his birthday and he was feeling pretty alone. We hit it off. And maybe if we were going to the same college we would have dated. But we weren't. Our lives were going in two different directions. The first few times we did this we were trying to start something. But it never happened. Eventually, we realized that it wasn't going to happen and we accepted what it was. He opened the world up for me and the idea that monogamy wasn't the only way to do things and I found someone I love and is meant for me. Tony and I do this because we love each other and this is what we have. We revisit it because it's important to us. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you. I know it's a lot to come to terms with, but you're the first person he's been truly able to commit to. You're important to him, but so is this. I hope you can accept that about him."