one of a kind

Then came Tony’s words, choosing to break the silence with an incredibly cheesy pick up line that had Pepper grinning, laughter immediately following. “Wow.” The redhead exclaimed, head turning to look at him as the giggles fell through her lips. “That’s very sweet of you, honey, anf you didn’t need to follow it up with an explanation. I knew what you meant.” She smirked, face red from the laughter and her cheeks sore from all the smiling, “But that one is definitely going on my list,” She giggled, her list being her favorite pick up lines said by Tony. Some quite romantic, and others hilariously bad or cheesy. 

Still, though, Pepper thanked him with another kiss, very much enjoying the romantic atmosphere surrounding them right now...

...until Friday’s voice cut in. “Forgive me for interrupting, but Baby Boss is crying.” And not even a second after, Morgan’s cries were heard through the baby monitor they had outside, prompting Pepper to pull away from the kiss with a chuckle. “I swear she plans this.” Pepper said, what with their daughter having a knack for crying whenever she and Tony had some quiet time alone and with a baby in their life now, alone time wasn’t as common as it used to be.

           THE SMELL OF FOOD MADE HIS MOUTH WATER .    he couldn’t help himself .    the feeling of pepper leaning against tony caused a smile .  he leans down to kiss her .    a laugh bubbles from his throat ,  eyes crinkling at the corners .

“I know what you’re after, Mr. Stark.” Pepper stated with a smirk, taking hold of a fork and tangling some of the noodles onto the end of it. “One taste.” She chuckled, blowing softly on the hot food to help cool it down before she turned to face him, holding the fork up to his mouth. If he liked it, then she’d continue it, but if not? Well, there was always sandwiches...or pizza. But she really wanted this to work out and if it did, then she’d explain what it was and where the idea to cook it came from.

Fans on both sides were excited when the two of them actually met, some even requesting it after they began communicating online. It started with Pepper liking his videos and commenting on some of them - sometimes with laughing emojis - and then Tony did the same. Liking her content and sometimes commenting with heart eyes emojis and before they knew it, they were bantering with one another on each other’s content - much to their fan’s amusement - and talking behind the scenes. 

Eventually it led to them agreeing to meet up and needless to say, they really hit it off. She couldn’t remember having smiled or laughed so much in one day before, nor wanting to talk to someone as much as she did with Tony. Their fans were excited that they met, blowing up their notifications with likes and comments on a selfie she posted online - and tagged him in - but little did their fans know, that wasn’t the only time they met up. 

It happened a few more times, but not just as friends. As more. Though they kept that part to themselves, enjoying the privacy of their relationship until they were ready to go public with it. And given how much her last photo blew up - with a blurred Tony in the background - their secret relationship may not stay secret for much longer.

Hearing his question, Pepper grinned as she, too, scrolled through her phone. “Mhm. Looking at it now,” She nodded, the fingers that weren’t holding her phone were absentmindedly combing through his hair. Some were set on it being Tony, others hoped it was him, and others were unconvinced because ‘they’re just good friends and they live miles away.’

“It’s, uh, kind of amusing reading through these comments.” She chuckled, glancing down at him. “What about you? Who do you think that mystery man is?” Pepper smirked, unable to help but play along. 

         THERE WAS A SENSE OF RELIEF .      tony  had  worried  that  pepper  would’ve  been  upset ,  or  even  worse ,   wanted  to  keep  their  relationship  somehow  even  more  secretive .      they  hadn’t  even  been  together  all  that  long ,  and  it  spoke  volumes  how  attached  to  her  he  already  was .    he  couldn’t  recall  ever  liking  someone  so  much ,  or  needing  to  be  near  them .    not  that  he’d  openly  admit  that ,  at  least  not  until  he  could  swallow  his  pride  for  a  few  moments .    which ,  really ,  happened  a  lot  around  pepper .    she  brought  out  the  good  things  in  him .

          tony  grinned ,  letting  out  a  soft  laugh .    for  dramatic  effect ,  he  narrowed  his  eyes  and  zoomed  in  on  the  blurry  silhouette  of  himself .    he  glanced  back  up  at  pepper ,  holding  up  the  phone  so  she  could  see  it .     (  he  had  to  pretend  that ,  for  the  time  being ,  the  fingers   carding  through  his  hair  weren’t  making  him  nearly  melt .  )

“Yeah, he does. I’m thinking about it. Do you think he might want to date me?” Pepper questioned, feigning a worried look in her eyes, though at the same time, they seemed to be making things...official? It was obvious to them just what their relationship was - what with how often they were seeing each other, the cuddling, the kissing -, but they hadn’t actually talked about it and Pepper was more than happy with being called his girlfriend. And calling him her boyfriend.

But they could definitely have a lot of fun with this. “They’re already trying to guess who’s in the picture with me,” She chuckled, scrolling through the comments. “Should we keep them guessing?” Pepper questioned, moving the phone so she could glance down at Tony, unable to help but lean down to press a featherlight kiss to his lips. 

@iron-heels said   *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ     ❝ Did you just throw a sockball at me?! ❞    —     ( obscenely domestic starters . || accepting . )

With the window open, Pepper now had a direct and quick route to the top of the tower. She lowered her hand with the phone and used her free hand to tap on the bracelet on the bracelet two times and instantly, the suit began to form around her body starting with her arm. She slid her phone into her pocket and allowed the helmet to form around her head before she took flight out of the window and towards the top of the tower where she instructed Peter to meet her. 

“Friday, get me everything you can on J. Jonah Jameson and Quentin Beck.” There were some things she knew about Jonah what with him being the host of The Daily Bugle, but she wasn’t a fan of the guy so she didn’t pay him much mind unless he went off about Tony, then Pepper would have words with him and Quentin? She definitely knew him. But she wanted everything possible gathered on the two of them. They wanted to paint Peter as the villain? Well, she sure as hell was going to fight back.

Hearing Peter’s voice, Pepper turned and quickly made her way over. “Peter, honey -” The helmet retracted, as did the rest of her suit, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “We’ll get this figured out, okay? I promise...I’m going to make damn sure of it..” She would protect him - it was a vow she made. A silent one - to herself - but one she would keep. Not just for herself, but for Peter, too, of course, and for Tony...

           well ,  until he was blurred in the background of her photo ,  and some detective fans managed to realize the shirt said blurry person was wearing was tony’s .    which ,  how the hell did they see it that clearly ?     so ,  uh ,  he figured pepper knew ,  but he wasn’t sure if she wanted to go public ,  or …

             when the ‘ outbreak ‘ happened ,  tony was still at pepper’s place .   he was lounged on her couch ,  head in her lap while he scrolled on his phone .    then he saw the hoard of comments ,  eyes narrowed .    his head shifted in her lap ,  gazing up at her .

              ❛      hey ,  pep ?      ❜    teeth bit at his lip ,  in a habit of anxiety .    he was unsure what she’d think of it .      ❛        have you seen our fellow detectives on your last picture ?       ❜  

Eventually it led to them agreeing to meet up and needless to say, they really hit it off. She couldn’t remember having smiled or laughed so much in one day before, nor wanting to talk to someone as much as she did with Tony. Their fans were excited that they met, blowing up their notifications with likes and comments on a selfie she posted online - and tagged him in - but little did their fans know, that wasn’t the only time they met up. 

It happened a few more times, but not just as friends. As more. Though they kept that part to themselves, enjoying the privacy of their relationship until they were ready to go public with it. And given how much her last photo blew up - with a blurred Tony in the background - their secret relationship may not stay secret for much longer.

Hearing his question, Pepper grinned as she, too, scrolled through her phone. “Mhm. Looking at it now,” She nodded, the fingers that weren’t holding her phone were absentmindedly combing through his hair. Some were set on it being Tony, others hoped it was him, and others were unconvinced because ‘they’re just good friends and they live miles away.’

His laugh had Pepper’s heart fluttering - her own smile as bright as can be because of it. God, she missed that - his smile, his laugh, him. To think she’d almost lost this - the thought hurt and she wanted to keep that smile there. She wanted to keep his laughter going. Wow, okay, now she was the one being extremely cheesy.

But that was okay. Because she loved him and she’d rather them be disgustingly cheesy with one another than not have each other at all. 

Already with the pet names. Why was she doing this again? “You can also leave your pet names behind, too. Believe me, they do nothing for me.” Clearly nothing was getting through to him, but in a way it was almost amusing because he was trying so hard. This was certainly going to be the most interesting - and probably most frustrating - tutor session she’s ever given. “And Mr. Stark?”  Clearly they were going to make this a little game between them. “Don’t be late.” 

With a little smirk, Virginia made her leave and went about the rest of her day like normal - making sure to keep the whole tutoring Tony Stark thing to herself in case he didn’t want any one to know, but it was tempting to mention it and see the reactions from her friends. However, she held back. Admittedly, a part of her was looking forward to this, but she’d probably feel differently once it began.

Which it was due to in a few minutes now that school had ended. She made sure to clarify at least an hour or so after school so she could get prepared and he could, too, whatever that meant for him. So here she was, waiting outside the main doors for Tony Stark, expecting him to be late.

           YEP , TOTALLY HIS TYPE .     a small part of him ,  that he surely pushed away ,  did feel a bit bad .    but a bet was a bet .    that was the rule among his friend group .     plus ,  any excuse to be around virginia ?   count him in . 

           ❛        you just wait ,  virginia .    can i call you gin ?   ginny ?    they’ll grow on you .         ❜    if she genuinely wanted him to stop ,  he would .   he wasn’t that cruel .

              rest of the day was him waiting ,  not so patiently ,  for the meeting .     well ,  was it a meeting ?    hm .     regardless ,  moral was he was antsy to go .      after his last class ,  he cleaned himself up a bit .   nothing too fancy ,  because this wasn’t officially a date .

               when he appeared ,  he was just ten minutes late .    early ,   for his standards .

He sure had a talent at being late and though she warned him not to be, she really wasn’t surprised. And like he said, it was only ten minutes. “Guess I have to give you some credit there. But only, like...one point.” She smirked. “I figured we can sit outside at the courtyard. We’ll start with you telling me what you struggle most with or, if you even have them, show me some of your assignments and we can go from there.” She said as she began walking in the direction of the courtyard.

“Yes you are! You’re – “ She watched as the scoop plopped into the bowl, almost missing it with the way he tossed it in. Of course that was her bowl. “Tony, this isn’t some reinforced wall you have to break though, this is ice cream. Take it easy or you’re going to tear through the tub.” She laughed, watching as the next scoop he threw - his scoop - missed the bowl completely eliciting another, harder, laugh from the redhead’s lips. “That one was totally yours, by the way. Good job, Iron Man.” She giggled, thoroughly amused by this now. 

      𝚃𝙾𝙽𝚈 𝙶𝙻𝙰𝚁𝙴𝚂 ,  𝙱𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙻𝚈 ,  𝙰𝚃   the ice cream that SPLATTED on the table and unceremoniously missed the bowl .     GODDAMMIT .     eyes raised to pepper ,  glaring at her too ,  before stuffing the scoop in the tub and stepping back with RAISED arms .     in the  ‘ i surrender ’   position .

@iron-heels sent in a question for Tony

“Maybe we should just order pizza at this point,” Pepper said.

Tony was a bit frustrated despite himself. Cooking was supposed to be just following instructions, it wasn’t that hard. Though maybe the following instructions was the problem. Tony liked to experiment with things, make up his own stuff. Listening to others wasn’t something he liked doing, even if the other in this case was a cook book. 

It was even worse because he’d been trying to do something nice for Pepper, but he’d failed. This was why he normally bought her things. Everything else didn’t seem to work out.