Chapter Text
Tony cursed as the turbulence caused him to lose his video game. “Shit!”
Shutting off the game in frustration, he took in his surroundings. He could hear a light snore coming from somewhere behind him; probably Obi sleeping on the couch. His flight attendants seemed to be in the bar lounge laughing about something. He considered walking over to them, but didn’t really feel like it.
Then there was the sound of his assistant softly typing. Her seat was facing his. Only Pepper would be working at 10pm on an eleven-hour flight to Paris.
As if she could hear him thinking, she started packing her stuff away. When everything was put nicely back in place, she let out a long sigh. Slowly, she put her elbows on the table between them, and started massaging her hairlines.
She must be tired. Or stressed.
Most likely both, he figured.
Over the past six months she had proven herself to be capable of handling … well, almost everything. Most of his past assistants only lasted about a month, maybe two months if they were persistent. When they quit it was always for the same reasons. He either slept with them, or he was just too reckless for them to do their job.
Pepper however, she ignored his flirting completely. She matched his temper with either a temper of her own, or the patience of a saint. When he was being impulsive she somehow saw it coming. When he was hungover, she took care of him, but scolded his ass out of bed a few hours later.
It’s not their first business trip together, but it’s the first time that she accompanies him on one this far. The shorter flights never gave him the opportunity to see her do something besides working.
He thought she was just gonna take a nap, based on how tired she must be.
Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out…
“A book?” he said outloud. From the looks on her face in a rather judging tone.
“I’ve done all my work. Am I not allowed to-” she sounded almost embarrassed.
“Ms. Potts don’t insult me. By now you should know I very much prioritise free time.”
“For yourself” her reply came almost automatically.
“Didn’t know my assistant liked to read, that’s all.”
“Well I do.” she said, slightly defensive.
“What do you like to read about Miss Potts? Forbidden relationships, workplace romance, steamy activities with your boss?”
It seemed her game plan was just to ignore his remark, since she leaned back in her lounge chair and opened the book.
He wasn’t going to let that happen.
“I just don’t get it.”
She sighed at his interruption.
“Mister Stark people say you’re a genius, I’d expected you to know what reading is.”
“It’s just ink on paper;”
“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.”
Talking over each other had become some sort of habit for the two of them. Both being too eager to let the other person finish.
“So, what’s so special about it?”
Pepper shrugs.
“Right. You wanna be all ‘mysterious miss potts’? Got it. Actually that would make a badass name for a stripper.” He pointed his finger at her with a mock-serious face.
Squeezing her eyes shut in irritation, she hissed
“Mr. Stark, please just let me read my-”
Before she could finish her sentence, he snatched the book out of her hands.
“Mon Mari” he said surprised, with a perfect French accent, “my husband. You’re reading in French?”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because I can.” she shrugged, trying (and failing) to be nonchalant “Also since we’re going to Paris. Thought I might pick this book up now, refreshing my French.”
Tony gave her an impressed nod. He respected her answer.
“You know I speak a little French myself. It resembles Italian in some ways.”
Pepper nodded, confirming that she already knew this about him. She seemed so relaxed all of the sudden. Tony wondered if she had thought he’d make fun of her little hobby.
“I’m not as advanced as people think I am though.” he said while flipping through the pages of the book. “Luckily I have you by my side now Pepper” pronouncing her name in a French accent.
His attention was snapped away from the pages when a slight chuckle entered his ears. He didn’t hear that sound often, but it sure was a pleasant one. Over the past few months he had learned that’s the sound she makes when she’s genuinely amused. It was not the same as her actual laugh though. That’s one she keeps fairly hidden, because, unlike a lot of people might suspect, Pepper Potts genuine laugh is loud. He has only heard it once. It was when her former colleague Brian from the accounting department told some inside joke from when she still worked there.
“What’s it about?” he asked as he handed her the book back.
“Oh uhm,” a slight panic returned to her eyes. “It’s nothing special. You’d find it boring.”
This only fueled his curiosity even more.
“Only one way to find out.” he pressed.
She must have known he was not going to drop this anytime soon, and sighed in defeat “Okay fine.”
Tony made a winning gesture, which earned him glare from Pepper, making him actually win twice.
“It’s about this woman” she started “And she’s obsessed with her husband. Hence the title.” She gestures towards the cover. He nods, encouraging her to go on.
“She has a whole office full of notebooks about the things he says, how he behaves,.. she even keeps track of how long it takes him to get home from work, that kind of stuff. She’s kind of a psychopath, I think? I mean I’m not sure…but she had children with him just so that she could spice up their relationship, and now she’s jealous of said children because they have a strong connection with him.”
Tony makes a weird face, to which Pepper agrees “Yeah I know, insane right!? And the whole book is told from her point of view, so it’s really as if you’re inside the mind of a… stalker? I don’t know if that’s the right word, because they’re married.”
Just when Tony thinks she’s done explaining, she starts again
“And the thing is she’s so obsessed with him, that as a reader, you don’t even know his name. I’m kind of intrigued, because I think he might find out about how creepy she is. She’s not being so sly sometimes. I don’t know for sure though, I’m only halfway.”
Tony couldn’t help but grin a little. She might not notice it herself, but the longer she’s talking about the plot, the more animated she becomes. It’s as if she’s coming to life. Talking about a book.
Tony himself is not much of a reader. He usually makes fun of people that read for pleasure (and lots of other people), but somehow… he kind of liked her explanation. He liked getting a glimpse of the real Pepper, the one behind her ‘professional-put-together-assistant-mask’. Even more, he too was kind of intrigued.
“See that’s why I don’t do relationships.” he put a hand over his heart and sighed “I need to protect this fragile soul from psychopath wives.”
His dramatics were, as expected, met with one of Pepper’s signature eye rolls. She would never admit it, but he did see a slight curve on her lips.
“Feel free to tell me where the story goes though.” he added
She scoffed with a smile “I believe you too have the ability to read mister Stark.”
“A menu? Yes. But why would I waste my time on a book? Especially when you’re reading it already.”
“Well if you want to know the ending, you better let me read.”
“Right,” he nodded “enjoy Miss Potts.”
“Thank you mister Stark.” she sounded pleased.
Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and Tony knew something had changed between them.
After only six months of working together, they were still learning to accept each other, and their many differences. It was a process far from finished, but it’s moments like this that make him believe it’s possible for them to get along some day. Moments like this when he puts all his reflexes aside, and decides to embrace their differences instead of underlining them by his comments and jokes.
She had shared a part of her personal life with him. A glimpse. And he had welcomed it.