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

Chapter 25

Pepper read the weekly reports when Friday's warning popped up in the corner of the screen. She hesitated for a moment before clicking on it. She suspected a little what was going on, and when a full-screen video opened after she clicked on it, her presumptions were confirmed. She watched as the masked person swings between the skyscrapers and her heart tightened anxiously.

"Is that him?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, miss," Friday replied, and Pepper forgot how to breathe for a moment. She shifted her gaze from the computer to the desk and stared at him blankly. She knew her ban would not be permanent, she knew her son too well for that, and unfortunately, he had to be the same as his father. But she would never think Peter would bypass her completely.

"Does Tony know about this?"

"Yes, miss. He has been working with him and supervising him almost from the start."

That's how it was. Not that only Peter kept it from her. Tony kept it from her too and was even helping him. She assumed it was better. At least Peter is not acting on his own and Tony won't let him do something too dangerous. That still didn't mean that she agreed with it, or that their secret didn't hurt her. They couldn't really talk to her about that? She knew she refused it, but they were family, right? Could it be better to keep secrets between them than to talk about things?

She stopped drowning in her thoughts only when someone knocked on the door. "Come in," she said, quickly closing the video that was still playing on the screen while she was busy with her thoughts.

"End of work," Tony said as he appeared in her office.

"What have you done this time?" she asked suspiciously, noticing the large puget of tulips. At least this time he brought her something she liked. Not like bringing her strawberries...

And then it hit her. He probably decided to go out with the truth. If he thought her favorite flowers would ease her anger, he was really wrong. They always tried to be honest with each other. And this was the thing he hadn't kept from her.

"That hurts, Pepper. Can't I bring you flowers just like that?" he asked rather a rhetorical question and picked up an empty vase from the shelf, which he then filled with water.

"So?" Pepper insisted on her version when he placed a vase with flowers on her table.

"So I decided to have dinner. We both have a lot of work lately and we don't see each other so often and I... I miss you, Pep," he said almost inaudibly. Pepper was taken aback. How could she be mad at him when he was like that? Moreover, he was right. The work continued to grow and their time was running out.

"Dinner sounds nice," she agreed with a smile. She was mad at him, but she didn't want to take away from them the time they could spend together. Only the two of them. They can argue later.

•••

Tony was glad he took Pepper for dinner. He almost forgot what it was like to be with this woman. And now with all that was happening around; Ross and Peter, as a Spider-man, were really glad he could spend a moment only with her. All worries seemed to evaporate away when he was around her.

He reached into his jacket pocket to make sure there was still a small box. He wasn't sure he would do it today, but as they sat here, Tony suddenly didn't know why he hadn't done it a long time ago. Peter was right. They wouldn't be younger, and he didn't want to let her slip through his fingers. She was too special for that. He loved her too much for that.

Pepper had just gone to the bathroom while he ordered a dessert and tried to sort his thoughts in his head so he wouldn't get caught up in his own words when he wanted to speak about marriage.

"That was nice, what you did for those young people from MIT," a woman's voice suddenly spoke next to him.

"Ah, they deserve it. Plus, it helps ease my conscience," he said, giving the unknown woman a look. She didn't look dangerous, but it didn't stop him from feeling uncomfortable.

"They say there's a correlation between generosity and guilt. But if you've got the money... break as many eggs as you like. Right?"

Tony's discomfort grew and he glanced over the corridor that led to the toilets. Fortunately, there was no sign of Pepper. Yet.

"I work for the State Department. Human Resources. I know it's boring... but it enabled me to raise a son. That's the thing in which the two of us are no different," the woman continued, putting a photograph in front of him. "I'm very proud of what he grew up to be. His name was Charlie Spencer. You murdered him. In Sokovia. Not that it matters in the least to you. You think you fight for us. You just fight for yourself. Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead... and I blame you," she said, and without another look or word, she left.

"What did I miss?" Pepper asked as she sat back in her seat. Just in time when Tony hid a picture of a young boy in Peter's age in his pocket.

"Nothing funny. I ordered dessert," he said with a small smile, so she didn't notice that something was wrong. They should have enjoyed tonight. And not to worry.

"I hope that my favorite."

"Of course, dear. Strawberry pie, right?" he joked, watching Pepper's eyes with glow with a twinkle of happiness. He liked her like that. Happy and carefree.

Tony tried to enjoy the rest of their evening, but the words from an unknown woman still sounded in his head. He also blamed himself for what had happened in Sokovia, since it was he who had created Ultron. The request for Pepper to marry him was completely forgotten when he began to think that the UN was probably right.