The Revenge of Devil | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 25

Pepper slammed the door behind her and headed straight for the kitchen, where according to Friday was supposed to be her future husband. And when she really found him pouring her a glass of red wine, a loving smile settled on her face.

"So you noticed, too," she sighed, giving him a quick kiss before taking a glass from him, which she drank immediately. It was a very exhausting day.

"It couldn't be overlooked. Peter hates visiting the tailor, but today it has taken on a completely new level. When we got home, he went to his room and I haven't seen him since," he told her carefully. "I wanted to talk to him, but then I thought I'd rather wait for you."

"They had an argument with Michelle," she whispered.

Tony's face twisted in an unreadable expression that made Pepper laugh. "I am glad I didn't talk to him then. I'll be happy to leave it to you. You certainly know enough from Michelle anyway, don't you?"

"She's not very much into sharing, so I don't know anything. And what did you mean by that?" she asked incomprehensibly.

"Nothing bad," Tony defended immediately. "Listen, I like that Jones girl, but maybe you shouldn't stick to her that much. It is very unlikely that they would last. They are fifteen."

Pepper drank red wine to disguise how badly his words had hurt her. Of course, she knew that! She was well aware that Tony was right, but she just couldn't help herself. Maybe it was related to her decision not to have another child, so she kind of adopted Michelle instead. But what else did she could do when she spent so much time with them?

"I'll go see how he's doing," she muttered, setting the half-empty glass on the table.

"Remind him he should eat something. And in the evening you can tell me about your dress rehearsal," he said when she was at the door.

"You know I can't tell you anything," she grinned, "you'll still have to endure it, but I promise it'll be worth it."

"You want to torture me?" he called after her but received no answer.

Pepper just laughed softly at that. She couldn't think of a wedding now, she only had to focus on Peter. Which was no problem, because as soon as she entered his room and found him depressed sitting on the bed, everything else was no longer important to her.

"Oh, baby," she whispered, sitting down next to him.

Peter gave her an unreadable look, then smiled a little. "Do you know I'm old for your nicknames?"

"And do you know that you'll always be my little boy to me?" she teased him as much as he teased her, but she certainly didn't let herself be distracted. "If you're old for my nicknames, you're probably old for mommy's hug too, aren't you?"

"Probably," he replied, but he hugged her anyway.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked after a moment of silence, just rummaging through his curls. His remark that he was old for her nicknames was as painful as Tony's remark about Michelle.

"I don't know," he said honestly. He knew it was just between him and Michelle, but some good advice would come in handy. He had no idea what to do.

"Every healthy relationship must include quarrels. The first one is always the hardest," she explained.

Peter was silent for a moment. He thought about her words and decided she was right. It was their first argument, which in itself was quite difficult, but he also knew it wasn't just that. "There's something more to it," he confided.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she reminded him because she wouldn't like him to confide in her out of duty.

"I just don't know what to do. She lied to me, Mom. And it wasn't about any pettiness. I like the mystery around her, but everything has limits. Did I do something that she didn't trust me with it? Does she feel like she has to lie to me?" he said, and Pepper hugged him tighter. "Where did those lies get you and Dad or Bruce and Nat? How could it work between us when it's built on a lie?" he asked desperately, trying not to think too much about all the moments he'd lied. He was probably just a hypocrite.

"The relationship is not supposed to be a walk in the rose garden. We had a bad time but look at us now. We are getting married. And Natasha and Bruce moved out together. Just because you feel like it can't work out now doesn't mean it wouldn't work out at all," she tried to encourage him. "It's Friday, which means you have two days ahead of you when you don't have to see each other. Maybe it will both benefit you. You will have a calm head on Monday and you can discuss it wisely."

"Thanks, Mom," he muttered with a small smile. What would he do without her?

•••

Natasha wasn't too thrilled with Bruce's decision to visit the Avengers compound. He spent half the day with Tony in the workshop yesterday, and she was looking forward to having Sunday just for themself. But then Thor decided it was a good time to visit, and Bruce agreed to come. And she didn't like it at all. But she certainly wasn't going to tell him that she had other plans for them. It already seemed to her that she was becoming soft.

"I didn't know you and Thor were such great friends," she muttered as they entered. She really tried not to sound annoyed, but she knew she was failing. Bruce began working with Tony on projects for SI, which meant he was embedded in Tony's workshop or in the laboratories of Stark Industries most of the time. They hadn't seen each other slowly all week, and she didn't like it at all.

"Nat! If it wasn't for Thor, I would probably still be stuck on Sakaar," he reminded her.

The redhead did not like to remember this period. This reminder annoyed her even more. Even so much that she was about to tell him to go home and spend time together. She knew he would protest, but in the end, he would comply. As always. But before she could even breathe at all, something she didn't expect happened.

"Am I dreaming?" Bruce shouted in disbelief as they reached the common areas.

"Brucie!" the brown-haired, dark-skinned woman, yelled joyfully and before Natasha could recover, they were already hugging.

"Perhaps you wouldn't be jealous, Agent," Bucky, who suddenly appeared beside her, teased her with a grin on his face. Bruce and the stranger sat on the couch and immersed themselves in their conversation.

"What do you know about that," she snorted but didn't take her eyes off the pair. "You know, Brunnhilde is quite like you. I wonder which of you two would win the fight. She's Valkyrie, it would be a good challenge for you," he provoked her.

"Why would I wrestle with her if I had you?" she asked a rhetorical question and finally looked at him. "I wanted to come tomorrow, but we can postpone the training to today. Come on, I'll finally kick your ass," she told him, not even waiting for his answer before heading for the gym.