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Peter Parker had met Pepper Potts a few times in passing when he went over to work with Tony. Tony had formally introduced them to each other a while ago and she had always been very nice to Peter although neither of them knew the other quite well. But Peter knew he liked Pepper a lot from the little interaction they had.
She took him aside to make sure Tony was treating him well, she dropped off little snacks for him when she came to deliver papers for Tony to sign and she would ask about what he was working on and listen intently while Tony was signing.
But he hadn’t seen her in weeks now. He asked Tony what was up with that. And he was told that she was in the middle of a stressful deal at work and she was secluded in her office. If she needed to give papers to Tony, she had someone else do it. Technically as CEO, she shouldn’t be doing that anyway, but she liked to do it herself. Especially so she could check up on Tony and make sure he did what she asked in an appropriate time frame. But she did not have the time to do that right now.
And Tony had expressed worry that she was overworking herself. And coming from him that was concerning. He had even said that Pepper might be sleeping in the office. Which had sounded like a joke, but Peter thought it might be true. Peter knew he couldn’t do much to help in that aspect. But he knew how to make other people feel better. Through food.
He had searched the internet to see if she mentioned anything specifically in any interviews. And he had found one in which she mentioned her favorite bakery and said that she always got the lemon bars from them. She had such high praise for them, Peter stopped by on the way home from school the other day to try them.
He was going to try and make ones that tasted just as good or better so he needed to know his competition. They were delicious of course. He tweaked the recipe he had already had to emulate the taste and now he was ready to make them.
Peter juiced all six lemons with ease. He had used to take forever to juice lemons but now he was extremely efficient. There were many things that when he first started to cook, he struggled with that he could do without thinking now.
He set the lemon juice aside and began to make the dough for the shortbread crust. Once everything was well combined he used his hands to press it into the prepared pan. He placed that into the preheated oven and set a timer for twenty-five minutes.
He grabbed the lemon zest he had set aside and added it to the food processor with the powdered sugar and pulsed until it was properly incorporated. Lemon was an overpowering scent and with his senses, it was all he could smell right now. Luckily he liked the sharp, zesty scent. There were some smells he couldn’t stand anymore with his heightened scenes.
Peter added the lemon sugar, eggs, flour, and lemon juice to another bowl to create the mixture for the top layer of the bars. He checked his timer and saw he still had about seven minutes left on the crust before he could take it out of the oven.
He spent those seven minutes texting Ned about the new lego set that had just been announced. He had made the mistake of telling Tony about his love for legos and how he and Ned saved up to buy the newest sets. So now, he knew Tony would buy him two when they came out. One for him and one for Ned. He wasn’t happy about it at first. But he learned to accept gifts from the man. If baking was his love language. Gift giving was Tony’s. And Ned was just happy to be included the whole time, of course.
The timer went off and he put his phone down to take the crust out of the oven. He poured the filling on top and then back to the oven it went. Twenty-five more minutes.
He flopped onto the couch and resumed his texting with Ned. When the timer went off, he set them on the counter to cool, then he began to work on his homework. After an hour, he paused to put the bars into the fridge to finish their setting process.
He got through the essay that was due at the end of the next week that he was planning on procrastinating on by the time they were finished chilling.
Peter took the bars out of the pan and dusted them with powdered sugar before cutting them. He placed them into the waiting glass container. He put a short note on top and wrapped it up with a little bow.
He had time to drop these off at Pepper’s office before he had to go patrol. It was after six, but he knew she would still be there.
Pepper Potts was exhausted. She had been working tirelessly the past few weeks. She was working much more than she was not. She felt a bit like Tony when the man did not leave his lab for anything while he worked on a project.
It was getting to eight and she was still sifting through paperwork. Everyone had gone home by now. She got up to go to the bathroom quickly when she noticed a wrapped box sitting in front of her door. She wondered who had put it there. Maybe her assistant, Jessica, the younger woman had been worried she was working too much. Or maybe it was from Tony. But it looked too small for it to be from Tony. Unless he got better at gift-giving recently.
It would be safe because no one unauthorized could get into here and Friday was watching so she would alert her if something was wrong. She put the package on her desk and went to the restroom, she would open it when she got back.
When she got back to her office, she sat down and carefully took the ribbon off the box. Under it, there was a neatly written note. She didn’t recognize the handwriting. Her eyes wandered down to the bottom and relaxed when she saw the signature.
Ms. Potts
I hear you’re having a busy time at work. I miss seeing you visit us in the lab. I hope you’re still sleeping a proper amount of time and eating well in between work. If not, you would be hypocritical when you tease Tony, you don’t want him to turn that back on him. Because he would. And we wouldn’t want him to hold that over on you. I know lemon bars are your favorite dessert, and I hope mine can do your favorite justice. I hope to see you again soon. Please take care of yourself. Make sure you’re eating properly and taking breaks, even if you can’t rest much. Tony is also worried, so take that as you will.
Peter Parker
Pepper was touched. When she found out that Tony had taken a teenager on as an intern. She had been worried. For both Tony and the kid. Tony always said he didn’t like kids. Though there was that one boy from Tennessee, he had kept in touch with. But other than that, he avoided them. He hadn’t wanted any children when they dated.
And he hadn’t even told her about Peter. She had simply walked into his lab to ask him a question and saw the teen sitting next to Tony. And what she saw was completely unexpected. Tony looked happy, he had a genuine smile on his face, as Peter was showing off and explaining something he created. Tony looked completely engaged in what Peter was saying. There was no dismissiveness, no feigned interest, he was just as enthusiastic as the kid just to listen to him.
Pepper stood there, not wanting to interrupt. But Peter noticed her almost immediately, stopping speaking, alerting Tony to look over at her.
She pulled Tony out of that room and forced him to explain. He told her that Peter was a genius teenager that he had met and decided to mentor. And that he had given him a personal internship with him. She knew there was something he wasn’t telling her. But she realized it was rather rude that she just pulled Tony out of the room without saying anything to Peter. She could interrogate him later.
She marched him back in and had Tony introduce them. Later she interrogated Tony longer. He promised that Peter was not his kid. Which was something that had popped into her mind, realizing just how much they looked alike. And how good Tony seemed to be with Peter. If he discovered he fathered a child, he would absolutely treat the child well. But Peter was not his kid. And yet, Pepper noticed that Tony was kind of treating Peter like his kid. You didn’t have to be blood to be family.
Pepper really liked Peter. He was a sweet kid, too sweet. But there was nothing fake about it. He was just like that, all of the time. And she had heard tales of Peter’s baking from both Tony and James. And now it was her turn. She was touched that Peter was thinking of her, enough to make her something when he knew she was having a rough time.
She took note that Tony was worried about her and she could see why that would be concerning. Maybe she needed to relax a little. She didn’t have to stay here until early morning, the work wouldn’t disappear if she left at a reasonable time. And she could assign a bit more work to others. Jessica had been telling her to but she hadn’t listened.
She sighed and opened the container, the lemon bars looked mouth watering. The last time she ate was in the morning. And now she was thinking of it, she was rather hungry. She picked one up and took a bite. The taste transferred her back to her grandmother’s kitchen.
When her grandmother was still alive, she would make lemon bars on weekends when Pepper visited. That was where she got her love for lemons. Her grandmother had lemon trees in her backyard that produced the fruit year-round. She used them for whatever she could. Desserts, drinks, in her cooking.
But Pepper’s favorite thing that she made was lemon bars. A few years ago she found a bakery in New York that tasted almost as good as her grandmother’s. But the ones Peter made were even better than her favorite bakery. They tasted just as good as her grandmother’s and she felt like she was a kid again, sitting at her grandmother’s dining room table, eating her lemon bars, and telling her about her week as her grandmother listened to her like she was the most important person in the world.
She attributed a lot of her success to her grandmother. The woman encouraged her to do anything she set her mind to. Pepper just wished that she could see her now. She was far from that little girl who had big dreams but hadn’t believed she would achieve them.
She wiped at the tears that had escaped her eyes. She opened her phone and clicked on Tony’s contact. It only rang once before Tony picked up.
“Pep, you okay?” There was concern peeking out of his voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to know when Peter is coming in next.”
“Not until Monday. Why? Are you crying? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to thank him for something.”
“Ah, he got you too. What did he make you?”
“Lemon bars, they’re so good. He’s such a sweetheart.” She was still reeling about the fact that he had spent the time making these and delivering them to her office.
“I know, he’s really the sweetest person I know. With all the shit he’s had to deal with, it’s amazing he turned out like this. But he truly has a big heart.”
“We’re funding his bakery if he ever wants one.” She states with conviction. If Peter ever wanted to open a bakery they would take care of all the expenses. His talent should be shared with the world.
“He should have a bakery when he grows up. But also science… he’s too smart to give up.” She could hear him pouting over the phone.
“He can do both, maybe. If he wants that. There’s no reason he can’t.”
“He can do anything if he sets his mind to it.” Tony sounded like a proud father and honestly, Pepper was loving this change from him. Ever since he met Peter, he was different. He was more responsible, he was more aware of others’ feelings, and he was taking much better care of himself. Pepper wondered how Peter got him to do that. But really, all the teen needed to do was flash those big eyes and he could get anyone to do anything.
“I bet. When does Peter come in next?”
“Not until next Monday.”
It was Thursday. “I’ll stop by to thank him then.”
“Alright, I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you. He was worried.” And so was I, she could hear the words he hadn’t spoken. “Are you still in the office?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I’ll bring you dinner. That place you like nearby is still open.”
“Thank you, Tony.”
“It’s no issue, you always took care of me, Ms. Potts. Let me help you.”
“Of course, Mr. Stark. I’ll see you soon then.” She hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She was glad they were okay now. There had been an awkward period in their relationship after they broke up but they were getting back to normal.
Peter had helped as well. And he was also helping her remember to take better care of herself. She would eat with Tony and then go home. Because no matter her success, her grandmother would want her to take better care of herself.