Tony
"Please, just one lesson, you'll get all my money!"
"This is so pathetic, Tony. You're not gonna pay me for anything"
"But I need to pass this English exam, and without you, that is not going to happen."
"When will you ever learn that money isn't the key to everything, Tony! You could just study for it."
"Yeah, but I'm bad at it! I need to study with you, please, Pepper, you're the only one who could help me."
"Alright, I will help you...", she began, but Tony interrupted her.
"How much do you want?"
"I don't want your stupid money, some people just do things cause they are nice."
"I still owe you something, Potts. And... So, we're gonna meet up after school and then you help me?", Tony said and there were questions in his eyes.
She could still say no, she could still turn him down. He would turn into a nervous teenager like he was. He had wanted to talk to Pepper for a lot of time, and now... Now he was nervous, now he was turning into the complete opposite of the funny and confident highschool heartthrob. And just at the sight o f her.
How strange.
And it was even stranger that neither Pepper or Tony said anything. His heart was almost dying, she should say something.
"Are you okay?", Tony asked her.
Pepper blinked and she was interrupted in her thoughts.
"Huh? Uh, yeah, of course", she said shyly, waved to him one last time and then turned around and left.
Pepper
She told herself to calm down, to not freak out. But she was a teenager, so that did not work out as planned.
It was not even a date, it was just her helping another idiot with his English exams. But it was Tony Edward Stark and that complicated it a little, together with the fact that she kinda had a crush on him.
The time flew and Pepper tried to think of different ways to avoid this situation because she did not want to turn into an insecure girly girl. That was literally the worst thing that could happen. If Pepper wanted to impress him, than she could not be like all these other girls pining over him.
He rang her door bell and she was already freaking out. Plan calm and collected would not work, definitely not.
"Uh, so hey...", he began.
"Okay, so... What in specific do you need to know for the exam?"
"I don't know."
"How helpful you are, Tony Stark! Grammar, books, do you need to write something? You can't just say you don't know. If you want to pass this exam, you need to focus. I would say we start with like classic literature..."
"Like Shakespeare?"
"If you want to, yeah"
Pepper got back into her normal patterns, books and studying, those were things she could work with, as logn as she did not look into his eyes and tried to avoid to think about how perfect his hair was.
It did not work, because every time she looked up from ehr book, every time Tony complained about the characters actions or asked her about the difference between thy and thou, she could not help but stare at him. He caught her looking at him and he smiled at her.
Keep reading the book, Pepper, she tried to tell herself, but Tonys voice tore her out of her thoughts.
"So, I still think you should not do this just because you're nice. You're way too nice, it's actually really... Intimidating, I'd say. I owe you something for this."
"Oh, so you want me to be mean for you? I can arrange that", Pepper said, but it came out a lot more stuttered than she planned on saying.
And Tony actually blushed. Pepper had not thought that things like that happened in real life, people did not just look cute while blushing, especially not Tony Edward Stark.
"No, that was not what I meant, just... Normally, when people are nice like that, they want my money"
Son of a billionaire, there it was. Pepper knew that there were certain reasons why Tony was so popular and some of his friends did not only appreciate his humour but also the reputation of being friends with Tony Stark, Howard Stark's son.
"I actually hate that you have to go through that. Like honestly, money isn't everything."
"But you can buy whatever you want with it. I mean, I get why people would want..."
"Listen, there's just some things you can't buy."
"Like what?", there was this daring expression in his eyes, as if he was challenging her.
Now she was blushing. Pepper hated that she did. She hated that her heart was beating faster, because damn, Tony Stark was an idiot, she knew he was just anotherone of these rich kids that would use her so they did not fail their stupid tests. He did not actually like her, of course not. He was probably just pretending to be soft and cute and nice and so damn perfect. Pepper had learned that some things just did not happen. Her being loved back was one of those things.
"Like knowledge. Most people don't get out of being stupid easily. So, you should study more instead of focusing on me."
"You think I'm focusing on you?", Tony asked, and his voice was actually shivering a little. Nervous Tony was adorable.
"Well, it's certainly not Hamlet you're staring at."
Tony's face now had the colour of a ripe tomato.
There was an awkward silence between them for the next twenty minutes. Pepper kept trying to teach him how to analyse literature, but she could not quite concentrate like she usually did.
She just could not get the sadness in Tonys voice out of her head, when he had told her that most people were only nice to him because of his money.
She went through grammar concepts and tips for writing essays and this time, Tony actually listened.
"I think I've gotta go now."
"Should I guide you to the door or will you get lost on the way there?"
"I'll probably get lost, if I'm honest. Guide me, Pepper.", he said and then he smiled that smile that made her melt.
But of course, she was Pepper Potts, so nothing on her face showed what she was feeling inside.
Tony followed her to the stairs outside of her house, and he actually tripped over them, when he tried to run the way down.
"Are you okay?", Pepper asked, who ran to his side.
"Yeah, this happens to me all the time.", he said, as she helped him get up. He did not let go of her hand afterwards, but she did not mind. She just pretended she did not notice.
"So, what I was trying to say, the whole day, Pepper, is... Thanks for helping me, but I am not really here for the english lesson, just... I wanted to spend time with you, and that seeemed like the best way. You're just so incredible and... I really like you and I think I owe you something...", he looked up to her, the small idiot and she fell for him a little more.
"I really don't want your money", she said, but Tony shook his head.
"Not everything is about money, Pepper.", he smiled at her.
The way he said her name made her heart stop, and she was probably smiling like an idiot already. Normally, these things did not happen. But she had learned, everything was possible with Tony Stark at her side.
He leaned in to kiss her, only to realize that he was too small to reach her.
Pepper laughed a little and pulled him a step up, higher than her, until they were the same height.
And then he kissed her.
When they broke away rom each other, Pepper was still smiling at him.
"This is so cliché and pathetic, Tony, but... I loved it"
