Big Reputation [An Iron Man FanFiction | Pepperony] - COMPLETED

Transitions

"Oh my God. I can't take this anymore!" Pepper Potts decided, breathless after pushing away from Tony's arms once they landed on the rooftop.

He didn't seem concerned at first; her first flight was bound to leave her panicked, if he knew anything about his assistant.

"You can't?" he mumbled, pulling off the Iron Man helmet.

"I can't take this," she repeated, dusting herself off.

"Look at me."

Pepper ignored him. "My body literally cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or wreak the whole company!"

"I think I did okay here!" Stark exclaimed, motioning towards the now burning city below them, now handicapped by the remains of the Hammeroid army.

She didn't care. "I quit. I'm resigning. That's it."

Tony craned his neck towards her as if he didn't hear her right the first time. He looked almost offended as he took a step toward her.

"What did you just say? You're done? That's surprising." A very brief pause. "No, it's not surprising. I get it," he continued, as though the puzzle pieces finally fit together. His face softened. "You don't have to make excuses."

"I'm... I'm... I'm not making any excuses," she stuttered, stepping forward.

Tony mirrored her. "You actually were just making excuses. But you don't have to."

"No, I wasn't making an excuse!" Pepper insisted, now embarrassed. "I'm actually very

justified."

"Listen. Hey, you deserve better." He lifted his hand in understanding, not needing to hear more.

She didn't expect him to agree with her, so all Pepper managed before he could cut her off again was "well..."

"You've taken such good care of me." He grabbed her hands. "I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it, so..." After another pause, "right?"

Pepper blinked, wondering if he was actually validating his reasoning with her.

"Thank you," she managed instead.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Yeah, yeah. But let's talk clean-up."

Tony went straight into business, but Pepper was prepared. Even though she found herself thinking more highly of her boss in the past year, she was programmed to assume the role of assistant in the back of her mind after being stuck there for so long. Still, something was off; his eyes seemed...lighter than usual, even after being almost murdered by a hundred Iron Man clones.

"I'll handle the transition. It'll be smooth," Pepper promised, blushing when she finally glanced away from his steady eye contact.

Stop it, Pepper, she scolded herself. He is your boss. He is Tony Stark. Tony Stark. You know how he is with women.

Tony swallowed hard, breaking into her thoughts. "Okay. What about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That's gonna seem..."

Pepper looked back up. "Well, with you it's like dog years!"

"I know."