Chapter Text
Pepper awoke one morning to the sound of someone leaning on a car horn. Her mind kicked into overdrive -emergency, suits, MORGAN- but the noise cut itself off as suddenly as it had started. It was replaced with a familiar voice, welcome and beautiful but sounding angry as hell. “I’m not leaving, Pepper! You can come out here and talk to me now or I can camp out in your driveway. Your call!” The honking started again.
Pepper didn’t have neighbors, but she knew it was only a matter of time before one of the servants called the police. So she grabbed her robe and headed for the driveway.
May’s face was dark with anger. She gave the horn one extra-loud punch when she saw Pepper and then swung down from the driver’s seat. She stalked over to Pepper with so much fury that Pepper raised a hand to the windows to warn the staff that she was all right and they didn’t need to alert anyone.
“You changed your phone number.” May was clearly too angry for any kind of greeting.
“I’m sorry,” Pepper began. She really was. She’d meant to call May and tell her about her new phone, but every time she started to try she’d just imagined Marla picking up the phone and wondering why Pepper would be bothering her girlfriend.
May was in no mood for apologies. “For weeks, I’m calling you and there’s no answer. I leave messages; I send texts. Nothing! But I see you on the news at all your press conferences, so I know you’re okay. So I figure you’re busy; you’ll get in touch when you have time. But last night I called again – just figured I’d try - and it said your number was out of service!” She stopped and wiped at her eyes. “Fuck this, Pepper. I thought we were friends. We are friends. Why are you doing this to me? What did I do?”
It hadn’t even occurred to Pepper that May would be blaming herself. Just hearing those words made her heart hurt. “Nothing! You didn’t do anything. I just know how busy you’ve been, with school and your business, and... Marla.”
“Marla and I broke up.” May glared at her. “Almost a month ago. Which you would know if you ever answered the phone.”
“I’m sorry.” Pepper hadn’t heard her own voice sound so insincere in a very long time. “What happened?”
“Like I said, I was upset I couldn’t find you. And Marla was... upset that I was upset. She was upset because of why I was upset.”
“I don’t understand,” Pepper said, although she was beginning to. At the very least, she hoped she was beginning to understand correctly.
May rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You went to all those fancy rich-girl schools and you need me to spell this out for you? You’re not that stupid, Pepper.” There was a fondness in her voice that she wasn’t even trying to hide anymore, and it made Pepper feel warm all over. “Just... just have enough respect for me to tell me if I’m wasting my time, okay?”
Pepper took a deep breath. “I didn’t call you – I couldn’t call you – because every time I tried I imagined Marla answering the phone or I got scared I’d hear her voice in the background. And I told myself that we could still be friends and I tried. But I don’t want that, May. I don’t want to just be friends with you. You’re so beautiful, and you’re smart, and you’re the strongest person I know, and I can’t just be around you and not-”
No one had kissed Pepper since Tony had died, and there had been a time when she’d wondered if she’d ever even want to be kissed again. But as May Parker’s soft mouth pressed down against hers, as she felt May’s hands in her hair and the beginnings of desire starting to slowly curl in her belly, Pepper knew. She seized May’s shoulders, pulling her closer and kissing her back with a hunger she couldn’t imagine trying to contain.
“I take it back.” May gasped as Pepper broke off from her mouth and began to kiss her neck. “You are stupid. All you had to do was ask.” She ducked her head, reclaiming Pepper’s mouth in another fierce kiss. Her leg slid between Pepper’s thighs, and it took her a moment to realize that she was grinding shamelessly against her best friend right in the middle of her driveway.
“Wait-” It took a huge feat of will for her to pull away. “We can’t-”
“Okay.” May gasped, but stopped. Pepper stared at her. May’s eyes were dark with desire; her pupils were huge. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were swollen and deep red. She was the most gorgeous sight Pepper could ever imagine. “Sort of mixed signals – but okay. Are you all right? What’s going on?”
Pepper smiled and gathered up both of May’s hands in hers. “I just mean we can't do this here. Morgan. And the staff.”
May smiled back as she understood. “Staff. My God. I’ve genuinely fallen for a rich girl, haven’t I?”
“She’s fallen for you back,” Pepper promised. She pulled May forward, leading her towards the house and some sense of privacy. “Please. Come on in.”