Chapter Text
Pepper was searching for Tony, who was undoubtedly hiding from her and the meeting that she had specifically told him he was not allowed to ditch. She has tracked him down many times before, usually for similar reasons, so figuring out where he would go was easy. His personal lab has the highest level of security in the building and only two people she was aware of are allowed open access. Luckily for her ( and unfortunately for Tony ), she was one of those two people.
Only instead of finding him inside his lab, she was now looking at a young teenage boy fiddling with a piece of one of the Iron Man suits. He hadn't noticed her yet, which made her think of how Tony hyper-focused on his work.
"What are you doing in here?"
The boy jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to face her. She quickly recognized him from a photograph that passed across her desk when Tony told her about his new personal intern. Peter Parker was his name if she was remembering correctly.
"Miss Potts, uh, hi. Mr. Stark gave me permission to come in here too, I, could, um-"
She raised her hand to signal him to stop his rambling, "Where is he?"
It was clear by the expression on Peter's face that he did indeed know where he was, but he did not want to tell her. Tony likely told him not to tell her in the event that she came looking for him.
"I-I don't kn-know," he weakly stated.
Pepper was almost impressed by how awful a liar this boy was and slightly annoyed at the attempt to mislead her.
"Hey, kid. I got the pizza! Extra toppings, just how you like it," called Tony, who was buried under a stack of pizza boxes. There were so many that they blocked most of his vision, leaving him oblivious that she was three feet in front of him and ready to drag him out by the ear. "Fuck!" he shouted after putting down the pizzas and meeting her furious gaze.
"Language," Peter commented before grabbing a box and pulling it towards him.
"Oh please, you're just as bad."
"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said with the most innocent expression she has ever seen, amusing Pepper immensely in the process.
Tony rolled his eyes at both of them. Watching how they interacted with each other in her presence was not only entertaining but also provided answers to some of the questions she had about some of his recent behavior. He was happier, less reclusive, he had reached a healthy weight. Obviously, he was eating more regularly. She hadn't considered that these changes were caused by another person, much less his intern, but it was clear. Pepper would bet money that it was Peter who suggested a food break, something he would have never done on his own.
It was nice to see him open up with someone that was not herself or Rhodey. This boy is a good influence on him, already placing Peter in her good graces. Pepper had a feeling that he would continue to impress her as she got to know him.