Archive of Our Own

There was a knock on the double doors. It echoed all throughout the empty bar.

Tony Stark ignored it and poured himself a round of scotch.

There was another knock.

"Happy! There's someone at the door!" He yelled to his manager who was in the back sorting supplies. But the manager didn’t appear and seconds later there was another knock.

Tony left his seat with an annoyed huff. He went to the Iron Legion in the morning when it was closed because he didn't want to be disturbed and yet, here he was being disturbed anyway.

Such was the life of The Iron Man.

He opened the door. "You guys better not be asking me to clean up—"

There was a tall, green eyed redhead standing before him and not a member of the Avengers like he expected to see.

Frankly, Tony would've rather had an Avenger than a customer. The former would be easier to deal with.

"What do you want? We're closed."

The woman didn't shy away from his inquiry or the annoyed tone in his voice. "I'm here to apply for the job as a bartender." She held up a newspaper clipping and Tony could see she had encircled the job posting that said WANTED: Bartender.

Tony looked at her, up and down. Then not helping himself, he chuckled. "You're kidding." She may be tall—taller than him, in fact—but she was also a thin, attractive woman who looked she could be blown away by the smallest exhale.

She frowned and then said, "No. I'm serious."

Tony leaned an arm against the door, blocking her from entering. "I’m sorry, but it's been filled."

Her frown deepened, eyebrows knitting together and forehead wrinkling. "I doubt that. It was only listed this morning."

Ah. So she was a smart one. Tony crossed his arms. "Listen, lady, no offense but you're too pretty and not in a hot way." She looked like she belonged in high society. She screamed class and manners.

She scoffed. "I didn't know the Iron Legion was a bar that discriminated based on looks."

Huh. She was stubborn too.

"It's not that. One look at you and the customers would have you up against a wall."

She put a hand on her hip. "Then I'll just spray them with pepper spray. Besides, I thought The Iron Man didn't hold with rape here in Pointe Dume. Or do you want me to take it up with the Avengers and tell their boss I was being denied a job simply because I'd be a temptation for men's baser instinct?”

So, she didn’t know who he was but was confident enough to mention his name. Smart. Stubborn. Also daring.

Tony couldn't help but appreciate what she was doing. If he dismissed her, he would be admitting that the Iron Man couldn't control his men in Pointe Dume. If he welcomed her in… well, there was no harm in that.

He pushed the door further open. "Alright, Ms. Pepper. Show me what you got."

She walked inside and placed her bag away. Then she proceeded to clean up the leftover bottles on the floor and the table all the while singing a song that Tony was unfamiliar with.

He stared at her then, not because she was beautiful or ballsy, but because she dared to sing.

Ever since Thanos was defeated in the war, nobody had sung a song here in Pointe Dume. Well, nobody in Tony's presence that is.

Her voice resonated well in the bar, bouncing around the walls, entering Tony's ears, shattering his heart. The last time Tony heard a voice this beautiful was the day Thanos invaded his city. His mother had been singing at a family gathering when she was shot out of nowhere. Instead of the melodic tune coming out of her mouth, there was an ugly gurgle as she choked on her own blood.

"Stop!" Tony said, gripping the back of a chair tightly. "You're hired. Just don't sing in my bar ever again."

…

Virginia was left open mouthed as the man picked up the bottle of scotch on a table and walked out, leaving her by herself.

Had she offended him?

There was a soft thud and Virginia jumped. She turned to find a heavyset man beside a box of wine bottles on the counter.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm... I'm the new bartender. Virginia Potts." She shook hands with the man. "I was hired by—I think he's the manager? He just left."

"I'm the manager and the only guy here was—you were hired by Tony Stark."

"That was Tony stark?" Virginia felt the blood rushing to her face. She had been speaking to The Iron Man this whole time? She didn’t know he owned this bar.

"Well, if he hired you, I guess you're okay. I'm Happy Hogan, manager slash bartender slash accountant slash anything the boss tells me to be. Did he say anything to you before he left?"

"He said I couldn't sing in the bar. Is there a rule against it?"

Happy sighed. "The boss doesn't like being reminded of life before the war. But don’t tell him I told you that.”

The war. Virginia read about Tony Stark's contribution to the fight against Thanos. He organized a temporary truce among all the gangs in the state of California and led them all to stand up against the tyrant when he tried to take over the city of Pointe Dume.

Thanos would have taken over the entire state if it weren't for Tony Stark's Avengers. They said he fought toe to toe with Thanos, that he violently ripped the tyrant’s arm off and survived the encounter.

The Avengers' actions earned them medals of honor and afterwards, the law was pretty lenient where they were concerned. Sometimes a murderer would escape justice and then end up dead the next day. Everybody knew it was the Avengers who extracted justice but nobody ever locked them up for it. They kept the streets of Pointe Dume safe.

Based on the stories, Virginia expected Tony Stark to be a scary man, who towered over her with bodyguards trailing not far behind him. But that man she was just with wasn’t frightening in the least. The top of his head reached up to her eyes and there weren’t any menacing bodyguards standing in his shadow. He only had a watch, his suit, and brown eyes that she couldn’t help but see on the back of her eyelids.

"Seeing as you're here already, sweep and mop the floor, would ya? Somebody threw up last night."

"Yes, sir."

"None of that now. It’s just Happy, alright?” Happy said, annoyed at the formalities. “And it's okay to sing in here as long as it’s just you and me.” He winked at her. “I heard you. You have a nice voice. It’d be shame not to use it.”

"But won't The Iron Man, I mean, Mr. Stark get mad?"

"Tony's not here. And I'm not telling him. Will you?"

Virginia smiled. "No."

...

“Where’s Natasha?” asked Tony, looking around who was present in the meeting: Rhodey, Barton, Bucky, and Thor. But their first lady wasn’t around.

Rhodey shook his head. “Still undercover.”

“She sent word yesterday,” Barton added. “But she won’t make it in time to close the deal with Killian.”

“Great,” Bucky said. “The cops are hounding us about the missing kids and the only woman who can scare Killian to say yes to us is busy doing homework.”

Tony massaged his temples. “We’ll just have to do it without her.”

“Tony, Killian hates your guts,” said Thor. “He’ll never sit down with you.”

Tony raised a challenging brow at the blond giant. “Are you doubting me?”

Bucky grinned. A bet always made things interesting. “A hundred bucks says Killian won’t even see you.”

Barton said, “I bet Killian will see Tony but won’t accept the deal.”

Tony gaped at the two men. “Ye of little faith!”

Rhodey laughed. “Alright. I’m with you, boss. Someone has to be.”

“Thanks,” Tony said dryly.

Thor then stood up and said, “Well, if we’re done here, anyone want to skip over to the Iron Legion? I hear the new bartender’s quite a sight.”

Tony’s head shot up. The bartender!

He put on his coat and chased after Thor. “Wait up!”

…

Virginia’s first week on the job involved mixing up drinks not just for the customers but for the VIPs, mainly members of the Avengers. They had a private room in one corner of the bar where they could drink and conduct business in private. The latter being the majority of what they did in there.

She hadn’t had the opportunity to speak to Tony Stark again after he hired her. But today, he came in and didn’t join the Avengers in the private room. When he arrived, he broke away from his members and sat by the counter while the rest went in the room.

When Pepper delivered the Avengers their drinks, she asked, “Isn’t Mr. Stark joining you?”

Clint grinned knowingly. “Naah. I think he wants to have a little alone time.”

Rhodey nodded. “Sometimes, there are days when only the words of a bartender can help, you know?”

Bucky chuckled. “Don’t mind them, Virginia. Just serve Tony his scotch.”

Virginia looked at their faces. Why did she feel like they were setting her up for something? Did Tony know about the karaoke that she and Happy did when the bar was closed? Was that why he was sitting at the counter?

She went back out and served Stark his drink. He didn’t say anything to her. In fact, for an hour, he just sat there, drinking his drink and staring at her. It was like he was studying her, trying to sketch her out. That or he was trying to scare off from his bar.

Well, if it was the latter he had another thing coming. Virginia’s courage always rose with every attempt to intimidate her.

Having had enough, Virginia asked him, “Do you have a problem with me?” she immediately regretted the sharp tone in her voice because this was still the Iron Man for crying out loud. Nobody got mad at him… But he didn’t look mad. Rather he looked genuinely surprised, like he wasn’t expecting her verbal attack.

Virginia felt herself blush. Had she misread him? “I mean, you’ve been staring at me for the past hour and frankly, it’s starting to make me feel… you’re making me nervous, Mr. Stark. If you’re gonna fire me, you might as well just say it now.”

Stark chuckled softly and when he looked at her next, he had on a soft expression. He wasn’t offended by her at all. “Ruffled your feathers there, Pepper?”

Virginia didn’t correct him for calling her by the nickname he’s given her. She didn’t mind Pepper. In fact, she rather liked the idea of losing her given name and adopting a new one. It made her feel like she was truly starting over.

“And why would I fire you?” Stark cocked an eye at her. “You haven’t been doing something you shouldn’t have, were you?”

Virginia pressed her lips together and shook her head. Stark’s eyes were doing that thing again, the one where it seemed to look inside her. “I just thought you might have been offended when I… you know, by my treatment of you the first time we met.”

“What treatment? I was the one being discriminatory.”

Virginia didn’t contest that.

 “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Stark added. “I was only trying to think of a way to ask you something.”

That piqued Virginia’s interest. “Ask me what?”

“How would you like to work for me?”

Virginia narrowed her eyes at him. Was he drunk? “I’m already working for you, Mr. Stark.”

Stark shook his head. “I mean really work for me.” He widened his eyes a fraction, allowing her to see what it was he really meant.

Virginia’s breathing hitched. Was he asking her to be a part of his gang? “What do you have in mind?”

“Do you like cars?”

Virginia shrugged. “As much as the next person, I guess.” The Avengers didn’t make a secret out of where they got their money from—smuggling and betting. The latter was mostly done on race cars. Was Stark’s inquiry somehow related to that?

“Well, I happen to be person next to you and I love cars. You free this weekend?”

“What?”

“I’m taking you out to see the race track. Not on a real date—I don’t do dates—just a fake date. See, I have some deal to make with a businessman and he has this thing for redheads.”

Stark wanted her to be eye candy? Virginia frowned. “Is entertaining businessmen going to be part of my job description if I’m working for you?”

“I’ll pay you for your time. A hundred bucks to distract him.”

Virginia made a disagreeing sound. “I’m not a whore.”

“And you won’t be playing one. But my go-to redhead is on vacation and you’re the next best thing. I need you.”

Virginia pressed her lips together. He needed her? He really shouldn’t have said that. She fought back a smirk. “I’ll do it on one condition.”

He made a Tell Me gesture with his hand.

“You can keep the money. In return, I want you to let people sing in this bar. Once a week. Anybody can sing what they like.”

Virginia could see his jaw tighten as he tried to weigh it all out. “Why?”

“Ever since the war against Thanos, there hasn’t been music here, Mr. Stark. The people, they miss it.” And also a bar without music was incredibly dull, but she didn’t tell him that.

Tony put his elbows up on the table, his chin in his hands. “Sing me a song and then I’ll make a decision.”

Pepper fought a smile from breaking out. He might change his mind otherwise.  “Happy or sad?”

“Sad.”

Pepper nodded, not surprised. She knew the perfect one for him.

“Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow.

Try to remember the kind of September when grass was green and grain was yellow. “

It was like that first day again, when Pepper sang as she worked and Stark stood transfixed.

The other customers had stopped whatever they were doing and looked at Stark warily. They knew music wasn’t allowed in here. They were waiting for him to make Pepper stop.

But Stark didn’t make her stop.

His head had perked up at her song choice and he now rested his arms on the counter, listening intently.   

“Try to remember the kind of September when you were a tender and callow fellow.

Try to remember and if you remember then follow.”

The song wasn’t sad per se; it was more of a nostalgic kind which was exactly what Pepper was going for. If this song didn’t remind Stark of wonderful times before the war, then Pepper didn’t know what will.

When she finished—the song was a short one to begin with—the customers applauded while Stark bowed his head in thought.

After a moment, he raised his head. “Alright. Once a week.” Stark downed his glass and then took out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet. He slapped it softly on the table. “Welcome to the Avengers.”

Virginia didn’t understand. “I told you I don’t want your money.”

“It’s for you to buy a dress.” Stark got on his feet. “Make it red to match his handkerchief.” Stark headed for the door. He faced her at the last minute. “Pepper?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“Mr. Stark is my father. Everybody else calls me Tony.”

…

The weekend came and Tony picked Pepper up by the bar as agreed. She wore a red dress like he asked. It was a color darker than her hair, suiting her nicely.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she got in Tony’s car. “Where are we going?”

“Auto Club Speedway. Aldrich Killian will be there.”

“He’s the one who loves red?”

“You got it.”

The race was already going on when they arrived.

Tony took Pepper to the restaurant Killian usually ate at. It housed a small dance floor where Tony, not wasting any time, escorted Pepper to.

Tony was aware that Killian saw them the minute he and Pepper began dancing. The man never could resist a sexy redhead.

“So, is this what you gangsters do, dance and entertain businessmen?” Pepper asked, her green eyes teasing him as they slowly danced.

Tony laughed. “Not far from what you used to do, isn’t it, Miss Potts?” He felt her stiffen but he pretended not to notice. “I know everyone who passes through my town. And you, Pepper, are a runaway.” From the background check Tony did on her, she came from a rich family. As to why she fled here, he would have to find out on his own.

To her credit, she didn’t stop dancing or move away from him. She gave him a calculating look. “Does The Iron Man disapprove?”

Tony pursed his lips. “Naah. You’re an adult, you can do whatever you want. What I want to know is why the heiress of Potts Trading wants to sing and work as a bartender in a bar run by gangsters.”

She smirked. “I’m not a spy if that’s what you’re worried about. I can’t even lie to save my life.”

“I know you’re not. If you were, you would already have made a move on me. Female spies usually seduce me to give away secrets. Not that they’re ever successful. Anyway, you’ve been working in the Iron Legion for a week now. You’ve seen the illegal side of what we do and you’ve yet to flirt with me. This tells me that you were either disowned by your family or you abandoned them to go live on the wild side.”

Pepper hummed faintly. “When the war broke out, my family retreated into bunkers. We held parties, played cards. They didn’t even help. I didn’t help. Sure, we funded the war but it’s people like you who saved us. I didn’t want to spend one more day in that family and so I left. I figured Pointe Dume would be a nice place to start over.”

So she wanted to go his territory where there were adventures aplenty. Typical. She thought she’d get to live a fairytale. “You should go back.”

“Why?”

“It’s not safe in Pointe Dume.”

“But you make it safe. Women and men get equal wages, it’s safe to walk the streets at night, the crime rate is low—”

Tony interrupted her with a scoff. “That’s because the crime that does happen is sanctioned by the police. It’s a corrupt city, Potts. I am its judge and jury, its police my executioner.” She didn’t know what the Avengers did to rapists or sex traffickers that got caught in his territory. She didn’t know what happened to the criminals that escaped justice. She didn’t know that he couldn’t sleep at night because of the blood in his hands. “Get out before it turns you into a monster.”

“Is that what you think you are, a monster?”

Tony was saved from answering by a hand on his shoulder. Killian. Right on time.

He turned and sure enough, Killian was standing behind him, eyes boring into Pepper’s lecherously. It made Tony’s blood boil. Nobody should have to look at a woman like she was meat.

“Killian, didn’t see you there!” He put a hand on the small of Pepper’s back, protectively. He extended his other hand for Killian to shake. “I’m guessing you’re here because you have an answer for me about my proposal?”

“I do,” Killian said finally looking at Tony. “And I have a proposition of my own.”

“If you’ll excuse us, Ms. Potts.”

…

When Tony had returned from his chat with Killian, he gave Pepper good news. Killian had agreed to Tony’s proposal. In exchange, Killian wanted two hours with Pepper in his house while Tony settled business with Killian’s accountant.

Naturally, Pepper was against it. “You told me I won’t need to play the whore!” She hit Stark on the chest and he had to grab her wrists to stop her from causing a scene.

“It’s just two hours, Potts,” he hissed. “Just until I finish up with the accountant. Use that lovely voice of yours to entertain him. It won’t be hard. He thinks he’s a ladies man, that he can seduce you.”

Pepper huffed and finished her vodka martini. “Easy for you to say! You’re not the one he’ll be harassing.” Was this what they meant by Stark being ruthless? That he would use his employees as clauses in a contract?

“If he gets touchy, you have my permission to kick him in the balls.” Tony glanced back at Killian who was waiting for Pepper to be delivered to him.

The smug look on his face made Pepper sick.

“Look, you left your pretty little life to live in Pointe Dume. You agreed to work for me because you weren’t contented with playing a bartender. If you want to be a part of my organization you have to make sacrifices. I don’t want you to do this, Pepper, but I have no choice.”

“Tell me one good reason why I have to.”

Tony ran a hand through his hair. She had never seen him like this: anxious. “Killian deals with organ harvesting and illegal medical experiments. He uses children he picks up on the street as guinea pigs. The cops came to me, looking for missing children. They think I know where they are. I think they’re with Killian. So the deal I made with him is that he lays off the kids once and for all. In exchange, he gets a cut from our smuggling business.”

Pepper felt gooseflesh erupt on her skin. She closed her eyes. How could she possibly refuse now?

When she opened her eyes again she saw something she never expected: Tony Stark with a pleading look on his face.

“Come on, Potts. Help me set those children free tonight.”

This was it. The opportunity to help—an opportunity that Pepper was denied during the war. And if it meant putting herself in danger… so be it. “Fine. Two hours.”

…

One hour had passed and Tony was sitting in his car in Killian’s parking lot, knee jiggling anxiously.

If Killian raped Pepper—he shook his head.

Think of the children, he told himself. You made a deal with the devil, gave up one person to save many. Pepper understood! She agreed to do it!

But Tony couldn’t shake the guilt threatening to choke him. He imagined coming to find her bloodied and bruised after the second hour was up. He imagined never hearing her sing in the Iron Legion again.

He clenched his fist.

Her voice. God, her voice! When she sang his mother’s favourite song a few days ago, he felt sad—just like he wanted. But he also felt what could only be hope. Maybe one day he could be the man he was before shit went down.

Tony was barely aware when he exited his car and barged in Killian’s office. He pulled a struggling Pepper away from the maniac. Her clothes were wrinkled but otherwise in one peace. There didn’t seem to be any missing chunk of hair from her head. But she was breathing heavily, face twisted in wrath. The sight made Tony angry and relieved at the same time. Killian had only begun his assault on her; Tony was just in time.

Killian wiped a bead of sweat on his temple with the back of his hand. “What the hell, Stark! I still have an hour!”

Tony held up his hands in a calming gesture. “Just hear me out for a minute. Just listen!” His heart was hammering away in his chest and he took a big swallow of saliva to calm himself. “I wanted to be a dick and let you have her but I had a change of heart. Call it a conversion.” He pointed at Pepper. “She looks good on the outside but on the inside… She has syphilis.” He shuddered. “Really bad too. Not yet on a course of antibiotics. I knew you had a thing for redheads so I brought her with me. I’m sorry. We’re partners now. We should be honest with each other.”

Killian’s eyes darted from Pepper and then back to Tony. He straightened his suit and red tie, almost as if he was trying to wipe away Pepper’s touch.

Tony instructed Pepper to wait for him outside. With her gone, Tony approached Killian. “Let’s just shake on it and never mention what happened to anyone.”

Killian was still staring at him, like he couldn’t quite believe what Tony pulled. Tony retracted his hand and nodded curtly. “Right. I’ll have my accountant talk to yours.” Tony turned on his heel and left the room.

Pepper didn’t speak to him in the car on the way back to Pointe Dume. She was pissed at him, he knew. He didn’t play fair. Yes, in the end, it had been her decision to go to Killian, but Tony more or less drove her to do it by making her feel guilty if she didn’t.

When Tony pulled up outside the Iron Legion hours later to drop Pepper off, she turned to him, eyes cold. “You said I wasn’t going to play a whore. But I did. You’re an asshole and I hate you for making me choose between those poor children and my wellbeing.”

Tony said nothing. He knew his sins. He deserved far more than just her hatred.

“But you changed your mind,” Pepper continued. Her icy demeanor vanished and in its place was confusion. “Why did you change your mind?”

Tony’s mouth remained closed. If only he knew why.

He shifted gears, said “I’m sorry,” and then drove away.

…

…

…

Tony didn’t ask Pepper to do any more work outside the bar again. Instead, Pepper spent her days helping Happy in the back (he was a very bad accountant) and her nights working as a bartender.

Sometimes, members of the Avengers would come and ask how she was doing. Pepper took it as odd seeing as they never spoke to her before outside of ordering drinks, but she knew it must be Tony instructing them to inquire on his behalf.

If Pepper knew better, she’d think he was avoiding her. He never came on Open Mic Nights but a lot of the Avengers did. Rhodey was very good singer and sometimes he and Pepper would sing a duet.

When Tony did come, he’d greet her with a curt nod of his head and then disappear behind the private room.

One time, a drunk man said something lewd about Pepper and Tony had been there to hear it. He punched the man in the jaw, the man’s teeth cutting through the skin of Tony’s knuckles. It was one hard punch that knocked the man out clean and had Tony retreating in the Avengers’ private room afterwards.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Pepper said when she entered, bearing with her the first aid kit Happy bid her bring.

Tony grunted. “He disrespected you.”

“He’s drunk.” Pepper sat beside him and brought out the necessary tools from the kit.

“That’s no excuse.”

She held out her palm. “Give me your hand.”

Tony shook his head and flexed his injured hand. “Leave it. It’ll serve as a reminder.”

Somehow Pepper had a feeling this was more than just a drunk man disrespecting her. Perhaps it was Tony’s way of showing how he regretted doing the same thing to her with Killian. He couldn’t punch himself so maybe hurting himself and refusing medical aid was his self-imposed punishment.

She rolled her eyes. Men. She grabbed his hand and he made a surprised yelp. “The scars can serve as a reminder. The blood, we clean up.” She proceeded to clean the cuts on his knuckles with cotton dipped in alcohol while Tony drank his usual drink.

“You’re drinking more than the usual,” she noted as she worked.

“Rhodey told you to keep an eye on me?”

“No. I’m a bartender. I know how much you normally drink versus the amount you’ve been drinking lately.” She dabbed some antiseptic on the wounds. “There’s something bothering you. Maybe I can help.”

Tony chuckled darkly. “Are you sure you want to help me? The last time you did, I broke your trust.”

“I understood your reasons for breaking them. It doesn’t excuse what you did but I understand it.” Pepper looked at him, hands stilling. “Did you get the children back?”

Tony nodded. That was good then.

“You told me to get away because it wasn’t going to be safe for me here. But you only proved me right when you came back and stopped Killian. You’re not a monster, Tony. You’re just someone who’s trying to do his best.”

Tony gave her a weird look. “What are you my shrink?”

“I’m a bartender. Counselling is part of the job description.” She put a bandaid over his wounds. “There.”

Tony raised his hand up. “And you’re a nurse now too, apparently.”

She smiled and nodded. The sight of it, though, only made Tony frown. He grasped her hands then and whispered, “Pepper, I really am sorry.” It wasn’t going to happen again, his eyes said. Not to her, not to anyone.

“I forgive you.”

…

…

…

“Tones,” said Rhodey.

Tony didn’t look up from the newspaper. “What?”

“You need to hire an accountant.”

“I have Happy.”

Natasha scoffed in the background. “Hogan is capable of many things, Tony. Chauffeur. Bartender. Bouncer. Boxer. He can even make a half decent spy if he weren’t so conspicuous. But accountant? He can’t balance the sheets.”

“It stresses him out,” Rhodey added, Natasha nodding. “And you know he has a heart problem. Cholesterol.”

Tony put the paper down and regarded his two friends. Rhodey was his right-hand man. Natasha his left. If they want an accountant, they’ll get an accountant.

“Okay.”

Rhodey did a double take. “That easily? You usually put up more of an argument.”

Natasha snickered and nudged Rhodey on the side. “I think he’s getting soft. Must be that bartender.” She then spoke to Rhodey as if Tony wasn’t in the room. “Only she got him to bring music back to the bar.”

Tony rolled his eyes at their teasing.

Rhodey joined the redhead, chuckling. “You know what, I approve Tones. You need someone.”

Tony picked up the newspaper. It hid the smile on his face at their mention of Pepper. “I gave you two what you want. Now, go away.”

…

The bar was closed but not to Tony Stark. He walked in the establishment and waved Pepper over to one of the booths.

“What’s up?” Pepper asked when she sat beside him.

“I need you to be my secretary slash accountant.”

“What’s wrong with Happy?”

“He’s got enough on his plate. And he has heart problems. I’m being a nice boss.” Tony’s eyebrows danced up and down. “What’d you say?”

Pepper’s first instinct was to say yes, but she held back. “What do you require of me?” She needed to know; would she be using her feminine wiles to distract businessmen again?

Tony understood the question. “I’ll be honest with you. I can’t promise that you’ll be away from dangerous situations or assholes. That’s the risk you have to take when you join a gang.” Someone could go on a vendetta against Tony and kill everyone in his employ is what he meant. “What I want you to do, if everything runs smoothly, is handle the books, be in charge of appointments, and answer the calls I won’t. And I will try my best not to make you a target.”

Pepper nodded slowly. “Why me?”

“Cause you know what we do. You’re comfortable with the fact that some things we do here isn’t legal and yet you stuck around. And I’ve been speaking to Happy. He says you’ve been doing the Iron Legion’s accounting for a while now. So, you know numbers. And I need someone who can keep up with me and isn’t afraid to tell me ‘no.’”

Pepper opened her mouth to accept but Tony held up a finger.

“And there’s one more thing.”

“What?”

“Another reason why I want to hire you.”

Tony leaned in slowly, slow enough to allow Pepper to pull away if she wanted. But she didn’t and she felt his mouth on hers. Soft. Chaste. Teasing a potential for it to be more.

He was hiring her not just because she was competent but also because he wanted her by his side. He didn’t want her working in the bar. She was overqualified for that. Also, it might be because he didn’t want her to have to take care of drunk men with loosened inhibitions. Tony Stark was protective of people.

He pulled away.

“Changed your mind yet?” If he thought a kiss would make her change her mind, he had another thing coming.

Pepper smirked. “My excitement for the job only increased.”

Tony grinned. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Potts.”

…

…

…

Pepper was in Iron Legion and trying to make sense of the previous month’s balance sheet when Tony barged in, eyes frantically looking for someone.

Pepper immediately tensed. “Tony, what’s wrong?”

“Where’s Happy?” he asked, pacing. “HAPPY!”

“He went on a supply run.” Pepper rounded the counter and approached him. “What do you need? I’m free.”

Tony paused to look at her and then shook his head. “No. Not you.” He looked at the clock on the wall and cursed. He didn’t have time.

He began rearranging the furniture, moving extra chairs out of the way so that there were only two, each one facing each other from across a table.

“Are you expecting trouble?” Pepper asked, forcing her senses to stay alert should a shoot-out suddenly happen.

Tony drew out his gun. He didn’t look pleased at having to let Pepper help him today. “Take this.”

It was heavy in Pepper’s hand. Her father used to take her out hunting—some kind of rich people sport she never understood—and the rifles never seemed as heavy as this. Did the weapon weigh heavier because it knew it would be used against a person and not an animal?  

“Aldrich Killian is going to come in five minutes. Once he gets what he wants from me, he’s going to kill me.” Tony took her hand and then showed her how to hold the weapon. “You don’t need to fire. The police want him alive. You just need to point it, alright?”

If it wasn’t for Tony’s hand holding hers, Pepper’s hand would be shaking.

“He wanted to meet alone. So, I want you to hide back there and when I make a toast, you come out and point that gun at him.” He drew back and ran a hand over his mouth. “Pepper, I’m so sorry. I said I wouldn’t ask you to do anything dangerous.”

“No. You wanted Happy but found me instead. It’s not your fault. Besides, you said I don’t need to shoot.”

“Yeah. No need.” Tony’s hand came up suddenly and it cupped her cheek. Then, realizing what he did, he retracted it. “Go. Before he gets here!”

Pepper hid behind the door to the back room just as Killian walked in.

Pepper’s fingers gripped the gun tightly. There was a safety which Tony left locked but Pepper decided to remove. If things turned South, she would protect him.

She wondered at what point in her stay here in Pointe Dume she became the kind of person who was willing to kill to protect another.

Pepper peeked and found Killian sitting down with Tony. She couldn’t hear what it was they were talking about but she could see the dirty grin on Killian’s face as he threatened Tony with a gun of his own. Her chest swelled with anger. That bastard thought he could get away with experimenting on children and killing Tony?

Tony raised his glass---the toast—and Pepper walked out. She pointed it at Killian who looked surprised to find her there. A bar was probably the last place he expected to see her again.

Tony took the opportunity to knock Killian’s gun out of his hand. It fired at the ground and Pepper jumped.

“Tony!” she screamed, bringing up another hand to support the one already holding the gun. She wanted to shoot Killian but she might hit Tony instead.

Killian’s gun was wrenched free and it slid across the floor. Pepper approached them as the two wrestled from the table to the counter. They disturbed some glasses in their struggle, sending them to the floor to shatter. Killian flipped Tony over so that the latter was under him, back to the counter. It also meant that Killian’s back was free for Pepper to shoot.

She walked closer and aimed the gun. She was about to fire when Killian backhanded her across the face, his watch making a hard impact against her cheek bone. Pepper fell to the ground seeing stars.

…

Tony knew one thing and one thing only. Killian was going to die. It didn’t matter what the police said.

He gained the upper hand and shoved Killian down on the floor. He pinned him there and grabbed a shard of glass from the ground. Tony brought it down on Killian’s chest. Hard.

The glass cut at his palm but Tony couldn’t feel it as he repeatedly slashed at his enemy.

He was back in the war again, pummeling one of Thanos’ soldiers with a bat. It was kill or be killed. He brought his arm down and up and down and up and down and up.

When Killian stopped moving, Tony regained his senses again and he dropped the bloody shard to the ground.

He turned and saw Pepper still on the floor and staring at him. She saw him, saw what he did.

She didn’t cower when he approached her, though, so that was a good thing.

He helped her up and then took her face in his hands. Her cheek was cut from where Killian hit her.

“You were supposed to stand there! You weren’t supposed to come near, Potts!” She wasn’t supposed to be with him today!

Pepper shook her head. “I’m sorry! I didn’t want him to hurt you. I wanted to help.”

Tony sighed and looked at the grotesque figure on the ground. He stepped away, ashamed. “Now you've seen me, what I’m capable of.”

Pepper glanced at Killian’s body and then back at Tony. “I have.”

Tony held her by the shoulders. “You’re shaking. Do I scare you?”

She shook her head. Yes, her heart was threatening to leap out of her chest. Her body was in a state of fight or flight. But she wasn’t scared. Strangely enough she felt alive. Near-death experiences could do that to you. But she was certain it was more than just almost dying. It was Tony. He thought he was a monster and Pepper saw how he could believe that. But she’d also seen firsthand what he was willing to do for his city, to keep innocent people safe. A monster wouldn’t care enough to do that.

“No. No, Tony, not you.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s him,” Pepper whispered. “I’m scared of him and people like him. But you… you make me feel alive.”

The next thing Pepper knew she was being pushed against the counter, Tony’s mouth on hers, his touch hot on her skin. He was rough but Pepper didn’t care. They both almost died today. She returned his kiss with equal fervor and she nipped at his mouth and dug her nails hard on his skin.

Then the kiss grew slow and lost its initial intensity as Tony calmed. He broke away and leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry. You must think I’m an animal for jumping you like that.”

She shook her head. She understood why he did it. The need to feel something else other than rage, or fear, or despair. She would gladly take it all away and feel only him.

“You’re only human, Tony.”

Then the police came and took Killian’s body away.

Pepper took Tony home.

…

…

…

Tony’s nightmares stopped when he slept with Pepper by his side. Thanos didn’t invade his dreams. There weren’t screams or blood. In fact, he didn’t dream at all and when he woke up, he felt well rested for the first time since the war.

He couldn’t sleep without her now and spent more nights in her bed than he did in his.

Encircling an arm over Pepper’s waist, Tony pulled her against him, her back to his chest. He kissed her on the ear and said, “You’ve made a really big mistake inviting me to your bed, Potts. I’m never gonna leave now."

Pepper laughed and twisted around to face him. She brushed his bangs away from his face. “But I have to. I have work and my boss dislikes absences and tardiness.”

“Screw him.”

Pepper grinned and then said, “Oh, I plan to.” She kissed him again and they didn’t go back to work until the afternoon.

…

They called Tony The Iron Man. Not because he was some indestructible hero but because he was known for being heartless. He was ruthless and numb, they say. He had lost all feeling and empathy in the war, but Pepper knew better.

She arrived out of the blue and crept through Tony’s defences. She saw him for what he was, easily saw proof that Tony Stark had a heart.

And she wanted to let people know it too.

Eventually the Iron Legion didn’t just have Open Mic Nights. There were Trivia Nights and Dance Nights. Laughter and music was back—all signs that things could go back to normal, back to a September Tony had long been dreaming about.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind,” Pepper said, jolting him from his thoughts, as she returned with their drinks in hand.

“Huh? Oh, just that maybe I’m gonna need a new nickname cause now you’ve turned me into a softy.”

She laughed. “Me? Tony, you’ve been a softy long before I was here. You just didn’t smile enough back then for people to notice.”

“But you did,” Tony said with a smile.

Pepper gave him a smile of her own. “I did.”

Tony stood up and offered his hand to her. “Want to dance? We were interrupted last time.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”