Unexpected

Old Friends in Unexpected Places

Saying farewell to my grandparents seemed harder this time than it had been before for some reason. Maybe it was the holidays were over. Christmas and New Years had always been a time to grow closer to family and to really be thankful for them and bask in the glow of their love, so having to leave them again at the airport tugged harshly at my heart. The only comfort I had was that I'd see them again in just over a month in February to see The Phantom of the Opera with them. I held onto that comforting thought during my long plane ride down to Miami again.

I was dressed to the nines in one of the outfits my grandparents had gotten me for Christmas, a pale blue, short sleeved blouse that I tucked into a grey, A-line skirt that had a brown belt that went down to just above my knees. It was originally intended to go with tights and maybe ankle boots, but since I knew I'd be leaving the winter wonderland of Michigan to go back to the almost tropical weather of Florida, I'd opted for a simple pair of flats. My golden hair was left loose around my shoulders, falling down to my chest now, and I was even wearing a light pink lipstick. My bruises and all had completely faded away by now, and after sneaking a few shocks from an electrical outlet when my grandparents weren't around to see my energy absorption had helped remove all the discomfort from my bruises ribs. Honestly, I felt like a new woman in this new year, even as I flashed back to the last time I'd landed here, remembering all the horrors that had befallen me and everyone else who were sucked into the whole Mandarin incident.

I wasn't taking any chances this time. Even now my silver shocking device was clipped to my belt and my single carry-on bag sat beside me in the shotgun seat of the rental car I'd gotten for myself. I kept the radio tuned into the local news stations instead of trying to find music stations. Last time I was here I'd stopped at a gas station just in time to see Stark's mansion drop into the sea. This time I was prepared for anything.

Nothing happened though until I reached another of Stark's homes. It struck me as astounding that this man owned not just one, but several mansions! Who had money like that? Stark did apparently. As soon as I arrived at the splendid building, Pepper Potts ran out to greet me, her arms spread wide for an excited hug as she shuffled out in her pencil skirt. I grinned at the red head, embracing her. Last I'd seen her she'd been freaking out because of the Extremis coursing through her. Now, however, she was smiling again like the craziness of Christmas Eve hadn't happened, though we both were very aware that it did.

"How are you?" Pepper asked pulling away from my hug and leading me into the grand home.

"Fine! The plane ride was longer than I remembered, but isn't everything just that much more of a drag after a holiday vacation?"

"Exactly." Pepper nodded.

"And how about you? I... I must admit that I'm kinda ashamed of how I left you when-"

Pepper brushed the topic away with a wave of her hand, "I'm fine. Tony's fine. We're all fine, and honestly, things have been going really well. We're rebuilding and things are starting to get back to normal, or, as normal as life can be when you're dating Iron Man."

"So... you're-" I gestured up and down her.

"Back to normal?" she finished for me good-naturedly, "Yeah. Tony had apparently figured something out with..." she paused for a moment before clearing her throat, looking down at the ground, "Maya. Um, a long time ago, and he was drunk at the time, so he figured out how to reverse the effects of Extremis pretty quickly, so I'm back to being just regular old Pepper Potts."

"Not just Pepper Potts!" a familiar masculine voice called out from the overhang above us, "but Pepper Potts the CEO of Stark Industries, the world leader in clean energy and all that junk, Voted Business Woman of the Year, and the girlfriend of the luckiest man on earth!"