*************
He didn't figure it out.
The boxing club Happy had dragged him to was ancient. There were no cameras, no audio sources, hell, the owner hadn't even checked Rowan's full name when he'd entered. He wasn't a frequenter; in fact, it had probably been his first visit, too.
So he eventually gave up on the matter. If he put enough effort behind it, he could make JARVIS track him down, of course, but at the end of the day, Tony was man enough to admit that the guy hadn't shown any interest in him whatsoever. Best to just let it rest. That didn't mean he stopped thinking about the handsome blonde entirely, he simply had other things to worry about... more important things than a nice backside, anyway. Like dying. It was ridiculous how much time you could spend on dying if you wanted to do it right.
There was still so much to do... and so little time to do it all.
"Tony." When he looked up, Pepper looked at him from the other side of the limousine with a state of near-cold understanding.
Tony blinked and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. My mind's somewhere else."
"Color me astonished." The vindictiveness flooding Pepper's tone was nothing if not justified; that didn't mean he had to sit back and welcome it.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked tensely. Pepper usually backed off when he adapted that tone of voice. The last go-rounds had made it very clear that he would never spill what it was that had him behaving like an a-grade asshole lately. The first dozen or so questions about his feebleness and the erratic moods that put pregnant women to shame had crashed and burned too many times. At some point, Pepper had stopped asking and Tony didn't blame her.
Tonight, though, she seemed to give it another go.
"How about anything, Tony? Anything would be a good start," she retorted impatiently. "Where are you?"
"Right here," he said, straightening his back and giving her a little smile he hoped looked genuine.
She rolled her eyes in a gesture that clearly meant to say, No, you are not, but she let it drop anyway. God bless her. "I'm really glad you're coming with me, you know? It's been a while since you joined me on these events."
Tony smiled. "It's your first one as CEO. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
And he really was glad he'd agreed to come to the annual Stark Industries gala. Pepper had never looked more beautiful, the long white gown was an extreme contrast to her auburn wavy hair. She radiated a certain calmness tonight that he hadn't seen on her before. There was pride in her eyes, too: the good kind, like this was where her life had been meant to head all along. It was a good look on her. She deserved it all.
"You're making me blush, Mr. Stark", she said, calling him on his staring, but the self-confident way she was leaning back betrayed her words.
"You look gorgeous," he told her, suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of letting her know it all. The adoration he'd always held towards her... his gratefulness, the sudden attraction. He had been trying so hard not to take this thing between them any further, because it simply wasn't fair to her. Still, not trying was... awful, to say the least, because he could picture it so easily. It would be like breathing, just letting their longtime friendship develop into something more. It just made so much sense to be with her. It seemed... reasonable, somehow. She knew—better than anyone else—what a mess he was and she still liked him, right?
No. He had to reign himself in. He'd made the promise not to hurt her any more than he already would.Still. Not telling her how fiercely proud he was of the competent and beautiful woman she was, and the even more competent and beautiful CEO she had become, was simply impossible.
"Thank you," she said, smiling. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Are you ready for this?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you?"
"Oh come on, don't fool yourself, I've been to more cooperate parties than you."
Tony laughed, and as the car stopped in front of the main entrance, he could already see the shades of a thousand flashlights going off outside.
"Oh wait, I forgot to mention," Pepper said before Tony could open the door of the limousine, "your new PA is going to be there."
Tony arched an eyebrow at her. "I really don't need a new PA."
"Yeah, right. Like you could survive on your own for so much as a week. I thought we were way past that foolish prospect."
He glared at her, pouting expressively. "Is she at least as frivolous as my last PA?"
That got him a mischievous grin. "Actually, he is ex-military. And frivolous isn't exactly how I would describe him, no."
Ex–what? Tony's eyes widened and now he was the one stopping Pepper from opening the door. "You're kidding me, right? Please tell me you're kidding me. Pepper darling, honeybunch, light of my life, is this Prank-Your-Ex-Boss? Because after all this shit the government is pulling at me right now, you wouldn't do something like that, right? You wouldn't bring some stupid army-lapdog into my private life?"
"Actually, that's the exact reason I chose him, Tony. He knows the way the military is operating and I'm sure he has some good opinions on the matter. He doesn't work for them anymore; we've been checking his files numerous times. JARVIS has cleared him personally. He's very professional, intelligent and if need be, he can protect you from–"
Tony snorted loudly—about to tell her exactly what he thought about his need for protection, but Pepper stopped him short. "More important: He's also a great guy, Tony. I trust him to be there for you. Do you think it's easy for me to let someone else into your life like that? To trust someone enough after what happened with Obadiah? Just give him a chance. Will you... for me?"
Well, that was a low blow and she knew it. Tony sighed, and if he hadn't been so tired, he sure as hell would've pulled more of a fuss about this. But he was tired, he was exhausted, and at the end of the day, it probably didn't matter all that much what he wanted and what he didn't anymore.
"Fine," he conceded. "I'll try not to give him a hard time."
Pepper leaned forward and kissed his cheek, a little closer to his mouth than she usually did. "Getting mature in your old days?"
Tony smiled at her, eyeing her red glossy lips for a second.
Pepper had rescued him so many times—too many times to count, really. Not in life-to-death-situations, maybe, but in other ways. Smaller ones... She'd saved him in every way humanly possible and, for a moment, he really wished he could just be weak and let her work this out, too. That he could put all the weight of the world on her delicate but oh so strong shoulders... and just let her rescue him this one final time.
He wouldn't, of course. She would have enough on her plate once it was all said and done.
"What's his name?" he asked, leaning back.
"Who?" Pepper asked, and she looked a little dazed. Well. He hadn't lost his game all that much, apparently.
There was a knock on the door.
"Military guy," he said, straightening his black bow tie.
"Steve," Pepper said over her shoulder while finally pushing the door open a fraction, before Happy was there to help her out. "Steve Rowan."
"Rowan?" Tony repeated, following her into the bright lights.
Huh. What a coincidence.
