°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.-> 🎀 𝒫𝑒𝓉𝑒

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and Peter walked out of the room with a small smile on his face, leaving Tony to turn back to his ever-growing work. He sighed deeply, pushing all of the papers away from himself with his left hand, before the ring adorning it caught his eyes. It shimmered slightly under the sunlight that streamed in through the windows, reminding him of the woman he’d agreed to be faithful to ten years ago. 

Pepper was an amazing woman, that much was true. But Tony couldn’t deny that he was losing interest in her; or rather, finding an interest in someone else. The moment Peter had walked into his life, Tony was enamored of him. Being around the younger man was a welcomed breath of fresh air, a clear contrast to the nagging presence that Pepper was steadily becoming as they grew more tired of each other with every passing day. 

He was sure that she’d be giving him divorce papers any day now - if he didn’t beat her to it. It was the only reason that he didn’t feel guilty about starting to show his interest in Peter. His compliments were subtle, for now, and he wouldn’t start pursuing Peter until he talked to Pepper about making a clean break, but he wasn’t putting much of an effort into hiding his feelings for Peter, either.

When the time came for him to attend his meeting, he stood from his chair and made his way to the conference room, where he found the members of the Board of Education already seated at the circular, glass table. Peter was standing to the side, gaze trained on the notebook clutched in his arms, and he looked up when Tony came in. Tony ushered him into the chair next to his own, refusing to let him be the only person standing, and preened at the thankful smile that Peter sent his way. 

As the meeting commenced, Tony found his attention drifting away from the presenting Board, and towards the slender brunet scribbling at a furious pace into his notebook. He scoffed to himself lightly; Peter was the only person he knew that still took notes on paper. It was ironic, given that his generation was generally more tech-savvy than Tony’s. Peter looked up at the sound, giving him a questioning look, and went back to work when Tony shook his head. 

He was brought out of his thoughts when everyone stood up around him, signaling that the meeting was over. He followed Peter back to his office after bidding the Board a goodbye, his eyes dropping surreptitiously to the swell of his ass. He looked away innocently when Peter turned to him, offering him the notebook. 

“You’ll have to look through that before the follow-up meeting in two weeks,” Peter informed him, “Other than that, you’re free for today, Mayor Stark.” 

“Care to keep me company, Mr. Parker?” Tony watched him blush with a smug smirk. 

“I don’t know if that would be appropriate,” Peter said carefully. 

Tony slung a friendly arm around his shoulders. “Why wouldn’t it be? Quite salacious of you to assume anything different.” 

“Mayor Stark,” Peter began, averting his eyes from his face, “Might I remind you that you have reservations with your wife tomorrow evening at Le Bernardin?” 

“I remember,” Tony acknowledged, but dropped his arm obligingly. 

He went home that day with anticipative butterflies ramming against the walls of his stomach. Pepper was home when he got there, stirring a pot of steaming soup. She greeted him with a tired expression, looking unsurprised when his own greeting wasn’t much more excited than hers. 

Tony sat her down at the kitchen table that night and levelled her with a serious stare. He told her then, that he wasn’t willing to continue this marriage for any longer, that the happiness was no longer there. He wasn’t hurt when she responded in kind and admitted to falling for a coworker. 

Pepper packed her bags that night and left for a nearby hotel, stating that she was ready to begin her life anew as soon as possible. Tony didn’t mind, nor did he protest, shutting the door behind her with a finality that pleased him and digging his phone out of his pocket. He didn’t hesitate, then, to dial the number he’d memorized a long time ago. 

“Mayor Stark?” a sleepy voice mumbled into the receiver, “Is everything alright? It’s late.” 

“I’m sorry about that,” Tony said, though the giddiness in his voice proved otherwise, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m free tomorrow evening, and every evening onward.”