December 31, 2013
Tony scrubbed his hand across his face and through his hair, glancing at the clock once more. 6:30 in the afternoon. How long had it been since he last slept? Actually, that didn't matter. What mattered was the loading bar on the blue hologram in front of him, the rectangle slowly filling up white as Jarvis ran the simulation of his latest possible solution to their current Extremis problem with Pepper. Killian may have made it less explosive and more stable when he used it on her, but Pepper and Tony did not like the fact that it was currently thrumming through the strawberry blonde's veins, threatening to set fire to anything she touched if she didn't stay relaxed and in control.
He was glad that since it was the holidays there wasn't much Stark Industries work to do. Pepper insisted on handling what there was because not doing the work made her antsy. He understood that. He got anxious when he couldn't tinker the same way she got when she couldn't do any paperwork. So, they spent the days after Christmas in his lab, her sitting on the couch with a computer and binder while he ran his simulations, hiding his frustrating each time one didn't work.
Every night, Pepper would drag him out of the lab so they could eat dinner together, watch a movie, and go to bed. He still didn't sleep as much as he should, but he was getting more than before. His nightmares didn't leave him alone, new ones having been created that involved the love of his life falling multiple times, but Pepper would shake him awake and he would talk about it. His girlfriend would comfort him until he could relax again, sometimes even going back to sleep as he listened to her heartbeat, knowing she was safe and alive, even if there was foreign fire in her body.
There wasn't any more work to do today and Tony insisted he wouldn't blow up the lab if she left for a few hours, so Pepper was currently spending some time with her younger sister, Bianca. The genius was glad they were getting the chance to catch up after so long apart. Pepper had texted him earlier that they were going to go do some shopping and get a spa treatment, and his bet was that they were getting the latter right now.
A soft 'bing' interrupted his thoughts. He shook his head, trying to get rid the exhaustion that was covering his mind like a blanket, preventing him from focusing. He hadn't slept much last night, constantly staring up at the ceiling as he listened to Pepper breathe beside him. His calculations and tests were saying that he was getting closer and closer to finding a solution to Extremis and his fingers had itched to get to the lab all night, but he hadn't wanted to leave Pepper alone after all they had been through. He wanted her to wake up and see him after so long of waking up alone due to his nightly building in the lab before the Mandrian Incident. He was trying to change for her, because she deserved so much better than him.
His final simulation was in its last stages of testing, a spinning circle forming on the middle fo the screen. Tony waited impatiently, one hand absentmindedly fiddling with a loose thread coming from the sleeve of his MIT hoodie. The genius was wearing what he called his 'comfy clothes' which consisted of his well-loved hoodie, black sweatpants, and an old pair of sneakers. He glanced over at the small electronic box that currently held the liquid he had created. It would hopefully be a good antidote. It had to be.
"Testing done, sir," Jarvis said. He turned his attention back to the screen as the conclusive data came rolling onto it. His eyes zeroed in on the answer and he felt his heart jump into his throat, excitement temporarily pushing away his tiredness.
Simulation: Successful.
He pressed a button on the metal, sleek box and it opened, revealing the purple liquid that would rid Pepper of the Extremis in her veins. Pulling on his gloves, he grabbed a syringe, filling it with the substance. He placed it in a cold containment unit to preserve it, yanked off the gloves, and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply as relief filled his chest. He did it. He really did it.
"Okay," he said to himself, opening his eyes. Tony discarded his gloves in the trashcan and stood, stretching. His back popped twice along with his elbows and knees, reminding him that he wasn't exactly a spring chicken anymore. "That's done."
"Correct, sir," Jarvis replied dryly. Tony rolled his eyes, a tired smile forming on his face. Sassy AI. Well, he should have known Jarvis would become the sass master he is today- he was living with Tony, afterall, and he was a very quick learner.
"Astute observation, J," he shot back as he walked toward the steps that lead out of his lab. "Turn out the lights, please." Barely a moment later, the lab was plummeted into darkness and Tony was ascending the steps. What was he going to do now? Pepper already said she wasn't going to be home until later that night. He hoped the New Year's Eve traffic wouldn't cause her to be too late and miss the ball drop. It was one of her favorite parts of the year and he would hate for her to miss it.
The thought caused an idea to hit him and he sprinted the rest of the way up the stairs. Two weeks ago, he had planned to make Pepper a special dinner for Christmas, but the Mandrian happened and they were too tired to get anything besides fast food before collapsing into bed. He could still go through with his plans, just on a different day. The man was going to make this night as romantic as possible, or his name wasn't Tony Stark.
He ravaged the kitchen for the ingredients to one of the few things he knew how to make: spaghetti. His mother had taught him how a long time ago and it was one of Pepper's favorite dishes. Surely, this would make the night romantic, right? Hopefully his girlfriend would be pleased. After all he put her through, she deserved the romantic night of her dreams.
He didn't think he had enough time to make the meat, so he decided to just make pasta with a very good mix of seasoning. Back in MIT, he experimented for a near year before he found the perfect combination of seasonings. Which also meant that Rhodey had eaten a lot of pasta back in their college years. Once again, the genius found himself smiling as he pulled out the ingredients to make his mother's noodles. Boxed noodles could die for all he cared - except for ramen noodles. They had gotten him through some tough times in college.
He made his noodles over the next two hours, making triple the usual amount because he knew Rhodey and Happy would be visiting tomorrow. He asked Jarvis for Pepper's location every thirty minutes and his AI projected that it would be another hour and a half before she got home, maybe even a little longer with the current traffic conditions. For once, busy traffic made him sigh in relief. He might have enough time to prepare this dinner.
Once the noodles were in the pot on the stove, he started to walk toward the storage room down the hall, only for Jarvis to interrupt him, voice mildly amused. "Sir, in order for the noodles to cook, don't you need to turn on the heat?" Tony blinked owlishly, turning back to the pot. Indeed, the heat was not on. He rubbed his eyes with his hand. He must be more tired than he thought... shrugging the incident off, he twisted the nob for heat. His mother always said it was better for the noodles to cook slowly, so he out it on the lowest heat setting.
"All good now, Jarvis," he said casually. "Just lost my head there for a second." The AI remained silent, but Tony could feel the tension in the air. If J had a face, he would probably be raising an eyebrow right now. He would know when he slept or not, always keeping tabs on his and Pep's vitals. It was a bit surprising that he wouldn't say anything disapproving about him not sleeping, but Tony kept his own mouth shut about that. He didn't need to give Jarvis any ideas.
Making his way into the storage room, Tony found exactly what he was looking for. The next twenty minutes was spent dragging a glass table and two chairs into the elevator, unloading them on the roof. The tower was two hundred feet shorter than the ball drop, meaning that they had an amazing view of the ball drop nearby. They watched it up here last year, but they ate dinner at a restaurant. Maybe he could actually top that this year.
Jarvis kept him notified of how the noodles were doing as he set up the spot. He found some fairy lights deep in the closet and strung them around the balcony, smiling to himself as he admired his handiwork. Glancing up, he saw the glowing blue ball. From here, even so far up in the sky, he could hear the roaring crowds and the concert blaring out some rock song that he couldn't make out the lyrics to. A cold breeze blew by him and he shivered in his hoodie, realizing that the cold would be a problem.
For the second time that day, he went into his lab, but this time he didn't stay. He pulled two portable heaters into his personal elevator and brought them to the roof, placing them near the table. He also grabbed some torches and set them up near the table. Warmth surrounded him as he leaned his hip against the table, nodding to himself with satisfaction. "How're those noodles doing, J?" He asked, slowly moving back toward the elevator.
"They still have another ten minutes or so, sir," he responded. Tony entered the kitchen a minute later and stirred the noodles. He had done it periodically as he took the furniture up to the roof and he didn't think he needed to stir them anymore after this. Settling the spoon to the side, he yawned widely. He planned to shower and change into a tux - the blue one because that was Pepper's favorite - but he wouldn't have time to do so before the noddles were done.
Flopping down on the couch, he laid down, flicking the TV on lazily. He changed the channel until it was on the ball drop, then dropped the remote unceremoniously onto the table. His eyes drifted closed, but he pulled them open again. Now that he was still, he could feel the exhaustion in his bones, settling over him like a thick, wool blanket. He wanted to give into sleep, but the noddles were on the stove and... Tony drifted off to sleep before he even registered that his eyes had closed on their own will.
. . .
He was gradually brought back to conciousness by the feeling of fingers running through his messy hair, gently tugging at tangles. His mind was a fuzzy mess and he couldn't remember what he had been doing before, just the blissful dream that had awaited him. He dreamt about Pepper, as he always did. He had dreamt about her and him on the beach, the sun bouncing off her hair and her face scrunched up with laughter, a bright smile aimed at him. Her blue eyes were clear in his memory even after he woke up and was staring at the backs of his eyelids.
Tony shifted a little, leaning into the touch of the hands. He could smell a familiar vanilla perfume and could hear the low hum of a song. The humming stopped after a moment, but the hands blessedly didn't quit moving. "Tony? Are you awake?" The voice was as familiar as the perfume and it didn't take his sleep muddled brain long to figure out who it was.
"Pep?" He mumbled in response to her question. His senses were slowly dialing up, allowing him to feel that the sleepiness wasn't the only blanket laid over him. As he came into more awareness, something niggles at his mind. There was something he was supposed to do, but he wasn't sure what. Whatever it was, it could wait, because Pepper was here and everything was fine as long as she was near.
"Yeah, it's me," she responded, her voice further breaking the fog around his brain. She sounded a bit bemused. "Do you think you can wake up for me? We don't want to miss the ball drop. Jarvis said you've been working hard on something."
"Hm?" The questioning sound was the only thing he could get out as his brain started to make some connections. It was New Year's Eve, wasn't it? A hand stroked over his forehead and he remembered Pepper's request from a moment ago. It was hard work, but he managed to pull his eyes open until they were half lidded. Pepper's face swam into his vision and she was smiling softly, her hair framing her face perfectly as she looked down at him. It was easily evident that his head was settled in her lap and he did not mind that at all. "Hi," he whispered sleepily.
"Hey yourself," she said, running her hands through his hair again. He couldn't help but sigh happily, eyes almost falling shut again. "If Jarvis hadn't intervened, you might have burned the kitchen down, but it looks like the pasta is perfectly fine."
Pasta? It finally clicked and Tony almost shot up in his seat, but he was still incredibly lethargic. It also helped that she tokd him that there hadn't been a fire when he left the pasta unattended. "Jarvis, why didn't you wake me up?" He asked, shaking his head a bit as he tried to hasten the awakening process, fighting the last dregs of sleep from his mind. The TV showed that it was currently 10:55 pm, roughly an hour from the balldrop.
"You were clearly tired, sir, and I had control over the stove. I thought the best solution would be to turn off the stove at the optimal time and let you sleep until Miss Potts got here," Jarvis explained. Tony calmed down a bit, although he was still upset that he hadn't managed to change into a tux and fix his hair for Pepper. She ran her hand through his hair one more time before he sat up. He rubbed at the bit of grit in his eyes, glancing over at his girlfriend. He blinked when he swe that she was not wearing the sweater and jeans she had on when she left, but her pajamas.
Her lip quirked up at his questioning look. "I changed because my sweater was getting a bit itchy and I didn't exactly plan on going out tonight," she supplied. "Now, why did you make pasta? Last I checked, we were ordering pizza." Her face was both amused and curious.
"I wanted to do something nice for you," he admitted, a small smile on his face. "I actually planned to change clothes and shower for you." He ran a hand through his undoubtedly messy brown locks, trying to smooth them down. She reached out and took his hand from his hair, holding it. Pepper placed their joined hands between them, her soft hand covered by his calloused one.
"I think you look perfect just how you are," she said, her eyes soft and bright. His heart turned to a pile of goo right then and there, the warmth of pure love surging through his chest. Pepper was the only person who had ever and will ever make him feel like this. He had spent years building up his walls as a teen, but she had broken through them the first time she smiled at him.
"And I think you look amazing, too," he said, squeezing her hand gently. Tony stood up, pulling her up with him. It was then that he remembered the purple solution down in his lab. "Oh, I created the Extremis cure. I promise that it doesn't hurt and I ran it through like a million different test before-" Pepper kissed him softly and his brain grounded to a halt, only having enough thought to kiss back.
She pulled away a bit. "Thank you, Tony. Thank you. I knew you could do it, but I don't need it right now." Before he could protest, she continued. "I am perfectly calm right now. The solution can wait until morning. I just want to enjoy this night with you, okay? I want to see what you have planned to ring in the New Year."
He smiled and nodded, breathing out through his nose slowly as he relaxed. He understood and agreed with her. Unlike others who got Extremis, Pepper had yet to randomly shoot fire, and it was unlikely that she would as long as she was calm. If she thought she could handle it, then she could, because Pepper Potts could do anything. "Let's eat, Miss Potts. I have another suprise planned to go with the food." Her eyes shown with questions and curiosity, but she didn't ask anything as he lead her to the kitchen. A few minutes later, they had plates full of spaghetti and Tony was holding a champagne bottle and two glasses in one hand.
"What have you been up to while I've been away, Mr. Stark?" She asked from beside him as they stepped into the elevator together. He only smiled at her, giving nothing away. While his 'I am Ironman' speech was not an example of that, Tony could be a very good secret keeper when he wanted to be.
The elevator opened on the roof and Pepper let out an audible gasp at the scene before them. He gave her a kiss on her cheek, then walked forward. He placed the glasses, bottle, and his plate on the table. He pulled her chair out and stood by it, looking back at her with a grin. She was still standing there, mouth open in silent shock. She looked between him, the fairy lights, and the table with something akin to awe. "Do you like it, Pepper?" He asked, genuine hope showing in his voice.
Her face of shock morphed into a smile that could have knocked him off his feet if he weren't holding onto the chair. She came forward and placed her plate on the table, then placed her hands on his arms. Standing up on her toes, she gave him a brief kiss on the lips. "I love it," she said. "Thank you, Tony."
"It was my pleasure," he said. She sat down and he pushed her chair in, rounding the table to get into his. "Did I top last year?" He asked, a surely goofy grin on his face. He needed to know if he had beaten last year's New Year's date. She placed a finger on her chin, rubbing it as she hummed in thought. Tony knew she was just exaggerating to make him wait in anticipation, but he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward hopefully, eyes wide.
She giggled, moving her hand from her chin to across the short distance to him. He reached out at the same time and their fingers threaded together, settled on the glass surface of the table. "Yes, you definitely topped last year." He did an exaggerated fist pump into the air, eliciting another laugh from his girlfriend.
He used his free hand to pour their drinks. They lifted their glasses together and she said, "A toast to our love." Their glasses clinked and they both took a sip, their other hands never letting go of each other. Over the next hour, they ate and talked, Tony cracking as many jokes as he possibly could just to get her to laugh or roll her eyes in that fond way that made him melt.
When they finished their meal, he looked toward the nearby speaker, which was currently off. "Jarvis, please play..." he didn't even get to finish his sentence before his faithful AI had filled his request. A love song played from the speakers and he stood, offering his hand to Pepper. "May I have this dance?"
She placed her napkin to the side and took his hand, allowing him to pull her up. "You may," she said, and then they were dancing. Tony knew that the ball drop would be coming soon, but right now the only person who mattered was right in front of him. The most important person in his life. It felt like they were dancing on air, spinning around the roof of their tower. His eyes were on hers the entire time, their gazes locked as they moved with the music. This night may not have gone exactly as he planned - he had wanted to surprise her on the roof, everything already set up - but he felt that things had actually turned out better this way.
Yells registered in his ears and both he and Pepper looked toward the countdown. One minute left. They stopped dancing in the middle of the roof and his arms wrapped around her waist while hers looped around his neck. Her eyes dazzled in the night, the stars reflected off of him. It occured to him then that he hadn't even thought of the stars above and as they reflected in her eyes, he didn't mind them. They weren't scary in that way.
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.
"I love you, Pepper," he whispered, lightly pressing his forehead to hers. Years ago, he thought he would never find love. He thought that he would always be alone in that aspect. Then she walked into his life and made him feel things that he didn't think he could. Foreign emotions that he couldn't quite name. Five years ago, he realized that he loved her. He fought his way out of that cave for her and he would continue to fight for her.
Six. Five. Four.
"I love you, too, Tony. I love you so much," she whispered, hand carding through the hair on the nape of his neck. Her eyes stared into his, pools of warmth that he could get lost in forever. Pepper was the love of his life ans he hoped to spend the rest of his life with her.
Three. Two. One!
Their lips met the moment the ball dropped. Tony's eyes fluttered closed as the fireworks exploded around them, lighting the sky up in a brilliant array of colors. They broke away after a long kiss and he picked her up, swinging her around as the first minute of the new year passed, fireworks still going off around them. He was sure it was an amazing sight, but he only had eyes for one person. Their lips met again and the rest of the world disappeared, because in that moment only he and Pepper existed.
______________
December 31, 2023
The flood of people made it near impossible for Peter to move, much less see the faces of people more than two feet away from him. A band played on the stage, people pressing closer as the loud music reverberated across the area, vibrating against the concrete. It was a whole lot louder to Peter than others and it made his ears hurt, but he disregarded his own pain as he looked around for his girlfriend of six months. Michelle Jones.
It was still hard to believe, even after six months of being together. He had never in a million years thought that such an amazing, smart, independent woman like MJ would even entertain the idea of being with him. Yet she called him her 'dorky, idiot boyfriend' whenever he happened to do something a lot of people considered stupid. Which was a lot. Sue him. (Except don't.)
"MJ!" He yelled, but he could barely hear himself over the blaring rock music. Sighing, he tried to push his way through, only to stall after moving less than a foot as he ran into what felt like a stone wall of people. A bit frustrated, the hears in his mind turned as he tried to find a solution to this problem. The world knew he was Spider-man and most were no longer hostile now that his innocence had been proven, but he hadn't planned on doing any Spider-man duties tonight.
He looked up, studying the nearby buildings. He saw a lamp post not far away. He could climb up it if he got just a little bit closer. Slowly, Peter pushed the other way, dodging people dancing and zig zagging through every opening he could find. Eventually, he squeezed through and grabbed onto the cool metal cylinder. With his spider related abilities allowed Peter to easily climb up until he could stand on top of it in a crouched position. Not too many people noticed, still enraptured by the music, and he waved at those who did point at him. He turned his eyes to the crowd, scanning unfamiliar faces for MJ.
Finally, he saw her. She was standing on a fore escape, hand up to signal him of where she was. He aimed his web shooter at a tall building and swung himself forward, practically flying over the crowd. He released the web when he got close, jumping onto the railing beside her, a bright grin spreading across his face. "I thought you would be in the crowd," he said.
"And I knew you would eventually get up high," MJ responded coolly, but there was a joking smile on her face. Before they became friends, those smiles were incredibly rare. Now, they happened more often and he was apparently the cause of most of them, by what she says. The admission made him feel a sense of both achievement and gratitude, the former because he, Peter Benjamin Parker, had made her smile, and the latter due to the fact that she didn't have to share the soft side of her with him, but she did. To him, it was a show of deep trust between them. And after everything they had gone through this year, she was one of the most trusted people in his life.
"You know me so well," he said genuinely, stepping down from the railing. Their hands instantly came together, like two magnets of opposite pulses. The two of them looked toward the giant timer displayed on a building. Six minutes until the ball drop. It had taken them so long to find each other and many obstacles had made them both later than they wanted to be, their frustrations with the world being expressed through memes and texts for the passed two hours. "Are we supposed to be up here?" He asked.
MJ shrugged. "I got up here two minutes ago. No one said I couldn't, but..." she glanced at him, hazel eyes capturing him in a momentary trance. "I wouldn't mind getting to the top of a building to see the ball drop better."
"Then it's a good thing you happen to have Spider-man as your boyfriend," he smiled and hooked his arm around her waist with ease. The action would have shocked him a year ago, but now it was a natural thing. Her arms wrapped around his neck securely and he turned his web shooter toward the next tallest building. He pulled her up as he stepped onto the railing once more, feeling her pressed the side of her head against his neck, her curly brown hair tickling his chin.
He made sure his arm was wrapped tight around her before he pushed off the edge, a web attaching itself to the building. He swung, feeling his heart pumping from both the exhilaration of swinging and MJ's arms tightening around his neck. Peter knew she wasn't afraid - she was fearless - and the fact that she would so willingly allow him to carry her across the sky, held only by a single thread. They'd done it what felt like a million times before, but it never got old.
They landed on the building beside the one his web had attached to, the silk material dissolving when his feet hit the roof. MJ did not let go of his neck, however, only stepping to where she was in front of him and his other arm wrapped around her on pure instinct. "You know," she said, "it's not a good thing that I have Spider-man as a boyfriend." Peter blinked, a mix of emotions running through him. Confusion, surprise, and a but if anxiety. What did she mean by that? Did she-
She stopped his train of thought by lifting one of her hands and tapping his temple lightly with her finger. "Stop thinking and let me finish," she said, mouth tilting up into a smile. Again, she knew him well. "I'm saying that I'm not glad I have Spider-man as a boyfriend. I'm glad that I have Peter Bejamin Parker, the dorky kid from Queens, as my boyfriend."
Peter felt like his heart might burst with those words. Emotions with nowhere to go turned into tears in his eyes that he couldn't quite stop from falling down his face. MJ reached up and wiped them away, saying, "Don't get sappy on me now, Parker," she said, but her eyes were shining a bit, too. "It's almost time for the ball drop."
He glanced toward the timer and he saw that there were only three minutes left on the clock. An idea struck him and he asked, "Hey, MJ, how do you feel about a little dance?"
"As long as you don't step on my toes," she said jokingly, a small smile gracing her face once more. They began to dance slowly, Peter unsure of his steps but knowing the general rhythm. MJ was in a similar state. Both of them carefully avoided each other's feet, dancing to a tune that wasn't able to be heard by anyone else.
"No promises," he joked back. The only person who had ever given him a dance lesson was Mr. Stark.... he could recall his mentor's voice in his ear, teaching him which steps to take and when. He murmured the words back to himself aloud and slowly they got into a rather graceful routine. It wouldn't win Dancing with the Stars, but it was their dance. They were dancing to a rythme that existed in their hearts and only theirs. Peter wouldn't have it any other way.
"Who taught you how to dance?" She asked quietly and curiously, gazing at him. "I heard you telling the steps to yourself. I followed them," she said gently. He pulled in a slightly shaky breath before he could speak, memories of the past washing to the front of his mind for a brief moment.
"Mr. Stark did. Tony did," he responded quietly. He gave a watery chuckle. "It's kind of a funny story, actually. We were out of things to do and just talking about random stuff. We started with throwing out ideas for our next project, but it dissolved into our bucket lists." He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the emotions that were tightening it. "I told him that I never danced and he insisted on teaching me for the next two hours. In the end, he said, 'you're on fire, kid!' and Dum-E, his robot, came over and doused us with a fire extinguisher."
Warm tears spilled down his cheeks and MJ wiped them away again, a small but sad smile on her face. He had told her bits and pieces of his time with Mr. Stark and had even admitted to her that Tony was like a father to him. He even told her about the first and last hug they shared on the battle field, something he hadn't told anyone about besides Aunt May. "Thank you for telling me that, Peter," she whispered. "He is proud of you, you know? He really is."
As he looked into her earnest eyes, he believed her. So many people had been telling him that his father figure was proud of him, but he felt like now he could finally believe it. "Thank you, MJ," he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.
"Don't mention it, Pete," she said as they continued to dance. The countdown was going down from sixty, but the chanting voices were drowned out in his ears. His enhanced hearing focused on Michelle's heartbeat, steady and strong. As the countdown reached ten, then stopped in the middle of the building.
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.
"MJ...." he began, taking a deep breath. Was it too soon? How would she react? He had no more time to think about it as the words tumbled out of his mouth. "I think I love you. I know I love you." He glanced away, wondering if he had just messed everything up by saying that. He was so stupid!
Six. Five. Four.
A gentle hand grabbed his chin, pulling it to where he was looking at MJ. Her eyes weren't full of shock, or fear, or anxiety, or any other emotion that would happen if things went south. Instead, her eyes showed love. Deep love that captured his heart and tugged on it. "I love you, too, you dork."
Three. Two. One!
The ball dropped and fireworks exploded into the night sky, but Peter barely saw any of it before his lips were pressed to MJ's, his eyes closing as he felt so much overwhelming love and happiness. Everything was right in the world as long as she was with him. A New Year's kiss really was the best way to ring in the next 365 days, wasn't it?