The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 3

Peter was sitting on one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs, constantly fidgeting. He was so bored! His mother was hiding behind a gray door that could only be opened with a special white card, and he had to wait all alone in an empty corridor. That wasn't fun at all.

Carefully, he climbed down from the chair to the floor and went to find the nearest elevator. He had a wonderful idea! He'll find out if Pepper has kept her promise and will have cookies in the office. He likes the chocolate ones, but he forgot to tell her that last time.

"Jarve? Are you here?" Peter asked, staring at the elevator cabin ceiling. How he got there unnoticed by no one was a mystery.

"Sure, young Mr. Stark," the artificial intelligence replied, and a stone fell from Peter's heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't know how he would get to Pepper.

"Can you take me to Pepper?"

"As you wish, sir." Immediately afterward, the elevator pulled up and Peter laughed. He liked the way Jarvis spoke to him. He felt like his dad. And he was very excited to see Pepper again.

The cabin paused and Peter ran into the hall as soon as a small crack appeared in the doorway. The way from the elevator to the office was not difficult. Peter remembered that they kept going straight, and he did so now. This time he had earned a few confused glances, but despite this, no one tried to stop him. He easily reached the door that separated him from Pepper. He reached for the handle, but it was too high. He stood on his toes, but that didn't help either.

"Jarve?" he whispered, hoping that he would hear him from the ceiling.

"Yes, sir?"

"Can you open the door for me?" he still whispered. The answer was a low click. He carefully pushed through the door and when he found it open, he opened it more and went in, accidentally slamming the door behind him. Pepper, who was too engrossed in reading documents, she hadn't noticed Peter at first, but as soon as the door slammed, she jumped up and glared in alarm toward the entrance.

  "Peter! What are you doing here?" she asked, slightly alarmed, and jumped to her feet. She had expected his father to follow him, but Peter seemed to be here alone. This finding caused her to have a smaller wrinkle on her forehead. 

  "I came to see if you already had the kookies," he answered casually, even shrugging. He often saw his father using this gesture. 

  "It's still holding you, isn't it?" she asked a rhetorical question with a small smile. "I actually have cookies, but I'll give you one and only if you say it right. Do you want to try again?" 

  "Kookies!" Peter exclaimed with joy, but immediately frowned when he realized it was probably not right. 

  "It does not matter. Let's try other words. How about a cat?" 

  "Cat," he repeated it without a problem, and the small smile returned to his face. 

  "Great. So now corridor." 

  "Corridor." 

  "Cabinet." 

  "Cabinet." 

  "Car." 

  "Car." 

  "Cookies." 

  "Cookies." 

  "You did it!" Pepper yelled joyfully, lifting Peter in her arms so she could hug him. She wasn't quite sure if this method would work. She just remembered that her parents had always practiced with her when she was little. 

  "Cookies, cookies, cookies!" Peter shouted over and over again. A blinding smile adorned his face. "So, can I have a cookie now?" 

  "Of course. You deserve it," she said and placed him on the floor so that she could reach her table and pull out one cookie exactly as she had promised. 

  "Thank you," Peter said, his eyes sparkling as Pepper handed him the candy.

  "Not worth mentioning. Are you here with your dad?" 

  "Actually, with Mom. She has something to do, and I didn't like to wait, so I decided to go to see you," he replied, eating the cookie. Crumbs fell from his mouth to the carpet, but Pepper ignored it. She had other concerns right now. 

  "Peter, did you tell anyone where you're going?" she asked anxiously, knowing she knew the answer already. 

  "Jarvis knows!" 

  "Um, at least that's something. But now we should go find your mother, how about that?" 

  "All right," he agreed, grabbing her hand by himself. In the other, he held the rest of the cookie. 

  Pepper didn't know where to go, so the couple went to the lobby. There they will have to meet one hundred percent. Peter was talking all the time and Pepper was surprised at how talkative he was. Like a father, like a son, she thought. 

  "Peter! Peter!" a woman shouted down the corridor, and Pepper noticed a beautiful woman with short brown hair hurrying to them. She had never met her personally before, but she knew very well who she was.

  "Mommy!" Peter shouted at her, but he didn't move a millimeter from Pepper. 

  "Peter, what were you thinking? You can't just run, my little bat."

  "But Mom, I'm no longer a bat! And I wanted to see Pepper. I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't want to run away," he murmured, hiding in her embrace. 

  "I guess you'll be Pepper," she said, looking up at the redhead, "what kind of name is that? Pepper?" she asked. On her face was a smile, but Pepper didn't feel very comfortable with her presence. 

  "Actually, it's not my real name. Tony gave it to me and he never explained it, so I don't know what it means," she said pleasantly. 

  "Oh, Tony gave you a name?" said the brunette, the smile disappearing from her face. She stopped hugging Peter so she could stand up and be on the same level as Pepper, or whatever her name was. 

  "Pepper gave me a cookie!" Peter interjected. 

  "You give him a cookie?! We're going to have a family dinner. Is it normal for you to give children cookies before dinner?" she asked sharply, and Pepper swallowed hard. 

  "I'm sorry, Mary. I didn't-" 

  "I don't remember letting you call me by my first name," she interrupted, and at the moment Pepper felt like she was a toddler just like Peter. She was really desperate and unhappy about this situation. Fortunately, she was rescued by a newcomer. 

  "What a nice meeting you are having here!" said Tony, which suddenly appeared. A smile on his face.

  "Daddy!" Peter squeaked enthusiastically and immediately jumped in his arms. 

  "Hi, munchkin. What were you eating?" he asked when he noticed Peter's dirty mouth from the chocolate. He wanted to wipe it off with his thumb, but Peter was twitching so he couldn't quite do it. 

  "Pepper gave me a cookie." 

  "Pepper gave you a cookie? Wait, say it again," Tony prompted, realizing that Peter hadn't lisping. 

  "Cookie! Pepper taught me to pronounce it," he said proudly. 

  "Really?" 

  "It was nothing," Pepper said with a small smile. Tony wanted to say the opposite, but before he could even open his mouth, Mary stood by his side and kissed him. 

  "Dinner won't wait, dear," she said, her voice ringing and shining like the sun. Pepper frowned slightly. She didn't like her at all and wasn't looking forward to their next meeting.

•••
What are you thinking about Mary?🤔