Stark Crossed Lovers

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The next morning at the breakfast table Sam could tell something was going on. Tony was acting nervous, and Sam was trying to figure out why. "Why are you tapping on the table?" Sam questioned before eating another bite of her cereal. "Huh?" Tony respond back, not realizing what he was doing. Sam sternly looked down at Tony's hand alerting him to his tapping. "Oh, sorry," Tony responded sheeply, thinking back to the night before. After Sam went to bed Tony turned on the TV in his lab and continued to work on Sams suit. He was working on toning down the tracking system, when he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. "Criminal still at large tonight in New York City." He quickly shot his head to look around and face the TV to hear what was going on.  Tony quickly read through the headline and noticed they were talking about Oc. Tony's blood began to boil, he understood that people made mistakes, but this was unacceptable. How could anyone make this mistake? He thought to himself. Then his thought process shifted, how was he expected to keep Sam safe now? If the police couldn't catch this guy and the Avengers couldn't take him on, who really could? Tony, in a fit of rage, threw the tool he was holding across the room. He wanted to to tell Sam, so she knew that he was still out there. He wanted to tell her she wasn't allowed to leave the tower again. But he couldn't. If he told her about Oc she would get worked up and scared again. And if he told her that she couldn't leave the tower anymore, he was afraid that the remainder of their relationship wouldn't be on the table anymore. He decided that the best course of action would be to not say anything. But as most things did regarding danger and Sam, this whole situation caused his anxiety to run high. Sam's voice brought him back to the moment. "Did you take your medication?" Sam asked. "Yeah yeah yeah I'm just waiting for it to kick in, you know it takes a while," Tony responded, looking at Sam and offering her a smile. Sam just softly nodded her head in agreement. "So," Tony started off changing the subject. "What did you want to work on today, target practice, flying, landing, fighting…." Tony was interrupted by Sam. " I don't think I'm ready to get back in the suit right now."  Tony tried to think of a good way to argue back, insisting that Sam needed to practice. But he realized he couldn't exactly explain why she needed to practice without bringing up Oc. "Yeah, that's fine," Tony said, trying to brush it away. He went to suggest another idea before hearing Pepper entering the room. "Good morning," she said softly as she made her way down the stairs and to the kitchen table. Tony smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she leaned down to hug him. "Hey kiddo," Pepper said looking up to see Sam looking back at her. "Hey," Sam responded back with a small smile. "You know, I was thinking that tonight, maybe I could cook dinner and it could be a nice family thing." Tony smiled, "That sounds great, especially if there is dessert afterwards," he finished with a wink. Sam began to make fake gagging noises hearing Tony's comment to Pepper. "I was also thinking that maybe now that Peter is in the picture, that maybe he could come over for dinner too, if your dads okay with that," Pepper said looking over to Sam, still holding on to Tony's chest standing behind him. Sam's eyes grew large as she stared back at Tony. She hoped that batting her eyes still worked for her to get what she wanted. "I don't know Samantha..." Tony said trailing off, worried about how Peter could play it off to his Aunt May. "Pleeeaaase?" Sam begged. Tony stared back at Sam making an unsure face. "Come on, he's my boyfriend, isn't that what normal boyfriends are supposed to do, have awkward dinners with their girlfriend's family?" Sam was trying everything she could think of to get Peter to come over. Tony thought for a while, looked up at Pepper, and then back at Sam. "I guess it will be okay, as long as he is home on time, and May doesn't start asking questions about Peter being gone, and where he is at and…" Tony was interrupted once again by Sam. "Thank you, thank you! I swear he won't say anything," Sam then took off to her room. She hadn't showered yet, and more importantly needed to talk to Peter about coming over. Once Sam was out of earshot Pepper turned to Tony. "I also thought it would be a good opportunity for you to tell her that the guy that was targeting her is still on the loose." Tony stood up and crossed over to the living room, turning the TV on and turning the volume up louder then usual so there was no chance that Sam could hear their conversation. Then he made his way back into the kitchen with Pepper. "Honey, I can't tell her that." Peppers face grew red, "You can't keep her in the dark, the guy was willing to kidnap her to get to you, don't you think he would be willing to do worse?" Tony didn't take long before responding back, "I just got her back though Pepper." Pepper looked at him, her face full of compassion. Tony continued, "If I tell her he is back, she will be scared, and I will have to tell her that she can't hang out with the kid." Pepper was listening carefully to every word. "I can't hurt her anymore, I can't," Tony finished. Pepper still thought that Tony would be doing the right thing in telling Sam, the guy was clearly dangerous. But she had seen the hurt in Tony's face and felt it when she was around him, to know that Sam really got to him. Pepper knew how much he cared for her, and she also knew how strong headed Sam could be. If he were to take away a tiny bit of Sam's freedom Sam very well could take off, and then they wouldn't know what was happening with her. Pepper sighed "Okay," she started off trying to smile. "We don't have to tell her right now, but EVENTUALLY..." Pepper said making her point very clear, "you will have to."  Tony smiled and kissed Pepper. "Now, please turn this TV down, your voice already gives me a headache, I don't need another loud obnoxious object giving them to me too." Pepper turned away from Tony, smiling, and made her way to her office to work on some paperwork for Stark Industries. As she made her way there she couldn't help but to worry. Worry that if Oc were to strike again, could Tony take him on? Or worse if he did something to Sam, would Tony be able to cope?