Chapter 16
Pepper sat across from Tony in their meeting and he was really trying to pay attention. She was impressed that he was once again on time and he had tied his own tie. Pepper was the one this time who was bored and missing the inappropriate texts from Tony during the meetings. She wondered if she was too hard on him sometimes. She really wished that she could remember stripping down and coming on to Tony. She wanted to know what it felt like to be naked with him and kissing him. She was staring off into space trying to picture it while the meeting was clearing out.
“Are you coming?” Tony asked snapping her out of her reverie.
She believed that the universe was giving her these signs telling her to stay far far away from this.
“Yeah sorry”
Pepper and Tony were on their way back when the receptionist stopped her.
“Excuse me Miss Potts” she said.
Pepper stopped and turned around.
“These were delivered for you” she said handing her a vase with flowers inside.
“Thank you”
She opened the card and it read:
I hope these flowers brighten your day. I’ll see you tonight. xoxo Dean
Pepper was smiling and blushing. Tony felt a rage was over him.
“Are those from wonder boy? It seems a little obsessive. He hasn’t even been out with you yet” Tony said sarcastically.
“I think it’s a very sweet gesture” she said as she leaned in to sniff them.
Tony’s phone pinged and he got the notification that once again someone Jarvis didn’t recognize was in his house.
“We have to go. Someone’s in the house” Tony said in a panic.
All he could think about was Tiffany’s safety.
“Pep what if they found her. What if these guys found her and something happened to her? I can’t lose her too”
“Everything is going to be ok. I bet she just has a friend over”
They got back to the house and Tony stormed through the door. He was about to search the entire house. They heard a consistent banging coming from upstairs and Tony felt his heart drop. They hurried up to follow the sound and what Tony found was not what he expected at all. He opened the door to Tiffany’s room and she was having sex with a guy in the reverse cowgirl position. They were both moaning and the silver in her nipple rings was shining in the light.
“Tony” Tiffany said desperate to cover up.
Pepper just gasped behind him. Pepper looked at Tony who was in a blind rage. He bent down to grab the guy and pull him up.
“Get the fuck out of my house NOW before I put on the suit and pulverize you” Tony said.
The boy grabbed for his clothes and ran down the stairs trying to get dressed on the way. Tiffany covered herself with a robe and went out onto her balcony. Tony grabbed the door handle and was fidgeting with it. He waved his hand and called his repulsor hand to him and when it finally got there he put it on and blasted the lock.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? I thought someone came to kill you. Do you know what that’s like? Do you?” Tony screamed.
“I’m sixteen. I’ve had sex before” she said.
“Not in this house. You will respect the rules while you live under my roof. Jarvis go back to complete lockdown mode” Tony said angrily.
“No you can’t do this. I’ve been going to school and following your rules. You can’t lock me up because I had sex” she cried.
“Watch me” Tony said as he slammed the door and walked out.
Pepper followed him.
“I know you’re upset Tony but sixteen is normal these days for kids to be having sex. And she was being safe. I saw the condom” Pepper said.
“She’s not just anyone’s kid. She’s my kid” Tony said.
“Why don’t you give yourself time to cool off and then maybe go talk to her?” Pepper said.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your date?” Tony asked dismissively and he walked into his bedroom and slammed the door.
He had a colossal headache. He stripped off his suit and flopped back onto the bed. He had not changed the sheets since Pepper had slept there with him because the bed smelled like her and he loved it.
Pepper knew Tony was angry and tried not to take it personal but she was a little peeved. She went into her bedroom and started planning her date outfit.
“So what’s it like to work for the famous Tony Stark?” Dean asked Pepper while they waited for their dinner.
“It’s a headache” she joked.
“It’s actually a whole mix of things. It can be exciting or stressful sometimes even scary. Tony is a workaholic so therefore I’m a workaholic. But he’s very generous to those loyal to him. He’s more than made up for the times I’ve almost quit” Pepper said not really wanting to talk about Tony.
“What do you do?”she asked.
“I work in the IT department for Biotech” he said.
“You guys are sort of a competitor. Is that why you bought me a drink? To spy?” Pepper joked.
“ No I swear I didn’t know who you were” he said.
Pepper just smiled at him.
“ So what do you watch on Netflix?” she asked.
“Ozark,” he said again.
“Thats a good one ” she said finally starting to feel comfortable.
“Do you mind me asking how old you are?” Pepper asked.
“I’m 27. Is that a problem?” he asked.
“No I was just curious. You look young” she said.
“So do you” he said.
“I’m 33” she said.
“Wow I thought you were like my age” he said.
“That’s very nice. Thank you” she said.
Tony got up after a few hours. He saw that it was nine thirty. His headache was still present. He knocked on Tiffany’s door and he got no response.
“Can we talk please?” he asked.
Tiffany opened the door and then went back on the bed.
“I’m sorry” he decided to lead with.
Tiffany looked at him with surprise.
“I was not expecting to see that when I came home. I had a bad day at work and then when I heard the headboard hitting the wall I didn’t realize that was what I was hearing. I know it’s still new but you’re my daughter. My flesh and blood and that boy was defiling you. I saw his... inside of you. You can’t know what that’s like for a father of a daughter. A father who has done all those things to lots of guys daughters. I know what they were thinking. I know you don’t want to hear this but I was so horny when I was sixteen. All I wanted was girls to like me. And then I met your mother and everything changed. Once a guy actually..... he.. he wants it all the time. It changes him. It messes with his brain” Tony tried to explain.
“Teenage girls get horny too you know” she said to Tony.
“Yes I know. Your mother was one of them” Tony said.
“Ewww” Tiffany said.
“I’m going to take you off of lockdown. But if you’re going to have sex with a boy he better come here and meet me and take you on a proper date.I started that way with your mom until she hurt me and then I changed. I’ve slept with hundreds of women and I only remember a handful of their names. I’m not proud of it. And I’m sure you’ll meet a guy just like me. An arrogant playboy but sixteen is way too young to let a guy disrespect you. Please make him work for it” Tony said trying to relate to a sixteen year old girl.
“Guys don’t want to take girls out on dates. They want sex first. What am I supposed to do?” she cried.
Tiffany was crying and hugging him. He stroked her hair and held her tightly.
“Ok so let me tell you about guys. Imagine an apple tree and all the apples are girls. The freshest apples are always at the top. Your mom was a top apple and so is Pepper. So when I was seventeen and your mom responded to my flirting I went to the top of the tree for her. She was the first one. And then we split and I had a hard time and I realized that the bottom apples would still have sex with me so I didn’t care anymore. I figured why not. And now that I found another top apple I don’t deserve her because of what I did to all the bottom apples. So that’s where I stay. I’m a bottom feeder. But you need to always be a top apple no matter what. Wait for the guy that will climb to the top for you” Tony said.
“Dad don’t be so hard on yourself. You deserve to be happy” she said.
Tony froze. That was the first time she had called him Dad.
“Wait did you just call me Dad?” he asked. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t hearing things.
“That’s the first fatherly thing I’ve heard you say” she said.
“I’m trying” he said.
“You know The other day when my friends were here and I said you embarrassed me. I wasn’t going to admit it to you but they thought you were so cool. They’ve been telling everyone at school about the house and all the tech. Everyone is impressed” she said.
“That’s because I am cool. No one is cooler than me” Tony said.
“My friends might think it but I will never think you’re cool” she said.
“You know Tiff I don’t want it to be like this. I want you to be free and to be able to tell the truth about your mom and your life. I haven’t been trying as hard as I should to find these guys and I’m sorry” Tony said as he squeezed her hand.
“It’s because you love Pepper” Tiffany said.
“I do love her” Tony said for the first time out loud.
He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Saying it out loud to someone was the first step. Saying it to Pepper was somewhere on the list and he wasn’t sure where.
“Then why don’t you tell her?” Tiffany asked.
“I’m scared” Tony confessed.
It was relief to let out some of the feelings he’s been holding in.
“Dad you were asleep when he came here to pick her up. He was a complete tool” Tiffany said.
“What if she likes him? I don’t want to interfere with her happiness” Tony said as if all the fight he had in him for Pepper had left.
“Dad there’s no way she likes him more than you. Name another girl that would put up with you if she didn’t love you” Tiffany stressed.
She saw the sadness and desperation in her dad’s eyes and it made her sad. All he had to do was speak up. And they heard a car door shut outside.
“Hurry Tiff run down and tell me if they kiss. I don’t want to look like I’m spying” he said.
Tiffany took the stairs two at a time and watched through the peephole and he did indeed go in for the kiss. She watched and Pepper definitely kissed him back. She hurried back up stairs taking the stairs three at a time this time where she found Tony waiting.
“Yeah he kissed her and she kissed back” she whispered.
Tony felt a pain in his chest that he never felt from the RT and he suspected love had something to do with it.
“Thanks Tiff. Goodnight” he said.
“Goodnight Dad” she said kissing him on the cheek.
Tony got undressed into only his boxers. He gave Pepper a minute to get in the house before he headed downstairs for a night cap. He walks at the bottom step when she turned around.
“Hey” she said.
“How was your night?” He asked as he kept walking to his bar.
He took out a glass and poured himself some bourbon. He took out another glass and motioned to see if she wanted some. She shook her head no.
“It was fine. We had a good time. He’s 27. And as it turns out we like a lot of the same bands and Netflix shows” she said.
Tony never felt such fury inside of him. He wanted to find this guy and tell him to get lost and that Pepper was his. But he wasn’t going to be a jerk. If Pepper was into this guy and she was happy he wasn’t going to interfere.
“That’s great. I’m really happy for you. Is there a second date?”he asked.
“Yeah Friday night” she said.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier. I had a really bad headache and I was so upset about Tiffany. It was wrong” Tony said.
“I forgive you” she said.
“Are you going to bed?” he asked.
“Not yet. I need to unwind a bit” she said.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to watch the next episode of Stranger Things with me. I’ve been waiting for you to watch it” he asked.
“Tony that’s too intense for me to watch at night. I’ll have nightmares” She said.
“You can sleep in my bed with me if you want. I’ll protect you” he said.
Pepper looked at him and he looked so sad. She could only imagine how he felt after finding Tiffany in that position.
“Ok yeah just let me change” Pepper said.
Tony was getting the Netflix ready when Pepper came out in the silk pajamas she had on the other night. Her could see her nipples through her top and the images of her naked sitting on top of him flooded his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut again. He needed to flood naked Pepper out.
“What’s wrong Tony?”she said as she curled up on the couch next to him.
“It’s my eyes. They’re bothering me that’s all” he said.
“Let me get you a cold towel compress” Pepper said as she was about to get up.
“No it’s fine really. Relax. You’re off the clock” Tony said.
Pepper sat back down and leaned closer to Tony. Slowly she was making her way over until her head was on his shoulder. Tony put his arm around her and started gently caressing the skin of her arms with his fingertips. He was tracing circles all around her arm.
Pepper just had the realization that if things were to work out with Dean that all this touching and flirting with Tony would have to come to an end. She didn’t know how she could ever let it end. She didn’t know if she could physically keep her hands away or push his away.
Why couldn’t Tony see? Why couldn’t he understand? She laid down and put her head in his lap and turned to face the television.
“I did what you said Pepper. I talked to Tiffany calmly and she called me Dad” Tony said.
“What?” pepper said sitting up quickly and she paused the show.
“Yeah it was a pretty nice moment” he said.
“I’m so happy for you Tony. What did you say to her?”
“ I said girls are like apples and all the best apples are at the top of the tree but guys are lazy and they don’t want to climb all the way up so they pick from the bottom because it’s easier. I told her to always be a top apple. And not to go for a bottom feeder like me, find a guy willing to climb to the top”
“That’s really impressive Tony except that you’re not a bottom feeder” Pepper said.
“Yeah I am. It’s ok though” he said brushing her hair back while she stared up at him.
Pepper sat up and touched his face.
“You were hurt Tony. You closed yourself off to love after Rachel left you. Anyone would be upset at a young age. Don’t be so tough on yourself” Pepper said unable to keep her hands away from Tony.
And then he said what she was thinking earlier and she didn’t have an answer.
“Is Dean going to be cool with all of this if you guys start dating?”Tony asked.
“Well if we start dating I imagine I won’t be living here anymore. Actually since you’ve had a breakthrough with Tiffany it doesn’t look like you need me anymore. I should probably move my things back” Pepper said as she sat up.
“There’s no big hurry to leave Pep” Tony said feeling her slip away.
“It’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow but I’m going to start packing my room and bringing a little bit back at a time. Shouldn’t take me more than a week” Pepper said.
“Or you could stay” Tony said lacing his fingers in hers.
“Tony I told you it would only be temporary” Pepper said.
“I know. You’re just so pretty and I’m selfish. I always want you here” Tony said.
Pepper didn’t know what to do. She knew what she wanted to say but her mouth refused to move. If only she could believe that it could work that they could have a chance then maybe she would stay.