The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 6

Mary read her latest notes intently as someone put a bouquet of roses in front of her face. She blinked in surprise and looked back. Tony was standing there, smiling cheerfully, watching her.

"Hi?" she said cautiously, glaring at him. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Must something happen immediately for a man to bring a flower to his girlfriend?" Tony said, leaning over to kiss her. Mary took the gift carefully and smelled at the blossoming flowers. She closed her eyes. They smelled wonderful. "So, do you still have to be at work today?" he asked.

Mary thought about it and looked at her notes and drawings. "I just need to write something and try it. It will take up to an hour, I promise. Today I have even no more power to do more. Why are you asking?"

Anthony smiled contentedly. "Great. I'll pick you up in an hour. We're going to dinner at your favorite restaurant."

•••

Pepper rang hesitantly and waited a moment outside the door before Stark opened it. She couldn't believe she was really going home to Anthony Stark. Well... who ever gets lucky like that?

"Ah, Miss Potts," he smiled, and she could see that he was really relieved. He quickly invited her inside and then slammed the door behind her. "I'm really glad you took the time. You don't even know how much it helped me."

"That's a little thing, Tony. I like to watch Peter again," she said and thanked him softly as he helped her out of her coat and hung him on a hanger.

"He was looking forward to seeing you again. From the morning he spoke of nothing but you," Tony laughed lightly, and Pepper's heart clapped joyfully at his statement. Peter was really sweet. "Come on, he is waiting for us in the living room. I had to turn on a fairy tale, otherwise, he would jump all around and my head would probably break. Still, I'd like you to keep the TV from him. Mary doesn't like it, and I don't like it too much too."

"That goes without saying," Pepper nodded solemnly, and immediately swallowed the poisonous comment about Mary. Tony doesn't have to know about her relationship with the woman. It would give him another worry, and she really didn't want to. "What time should I send him to sleep?"

Tony laughed. "I knew you are dependable. With Peter, you will respect yourself naturally, and he will probably not whimper that he wants this and does not want that. Sometimes we have such a period. We usually send him to bed at eight, at most nine. I think there will be some leftovers from lunch in the fridge, and of course, you have anything you want. Yeah, and here," he recalled, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. Pepper blinked, then stepped back and began shaking her head vigorously.

"Mr. Stark - Tony... that's off the table. I can't accept that. I really like to watch Peter and I don't want anything, seriously," she said emphatically, folding her arms over her chest. When Tony handed her several dollars, she shook her head again. For a moment they just stared at each other, like a beast of prey. Tony smiled as Pepper raised one eyebrow. Her eyes narrowed as he frowned. In the end, he gave up.

"Well, you're adamant like a rock, and I'm actually getting a little scared of you sometimes," he admitted cautiously and put the money back into his wallet. Pepper laughed. "But you'll have to accept my lunch invitation."

Her eyebrows flew up questioningly. "And your girlfriend will not mind?"

Tony paused and thought for a moment. "Well, I have to reward you somehow. I would suggest that I raise your salary, but that you would put me in the ground. So I'll have to insist on the lunch invitation. And... what the eyes can't see, that heart doesn't hurt. Mary has no reason to blame me for anything and be jealous."

"Pepper is here!" Peter squeaked delightedly and ran after them. Their voices came into the living room, and he realized that his beloved Pepper had arrived.

"Oh, hello Peter! Well, haven't you grown up since we last saw each other?" she played surprised, and then gently burst his hair. Peter giggled and held out his hands to hug her. She complied, lifted him up, and he grabbed her tightly around her neck. "We will be together fine here, right?"

"Absolutely," he nodded emphatically, then turned to his father. "Hi, Dad."

"Well, my own son throws me out of my house!" Tony shook his head in disbelief, but then laughed. "He can't wait to have you for himself. But I should really go if I want to stop in the lab."

"Any complications?" Pepper asked.

"No, no, I just need to check Jarvis. He has been scrubbing lately, so I want to find out what's going on," he explained, and in the meantime, he dressed quickly.

"Daddy, Jarvis is sick?"

"Oh, no, that's just a cold," he winked at him and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "So have a good time. And don't be too much trouble for Pepper!"

"Dad," Peter puffed and rolled his eyes. But then Pepper and he waved to him and his father was gone. "Will we play?"

"Of course," Pepper said with a smile and went to the living room. "Will you show me your room?"

•••

"Aren't you a little overworked, Jarve?" Tony sneered his eyes running over the flickering holograms.

"I feel great, Mr. Stark. I have to inform you that your girlfriend is already waiting at the elevators. It wouldn't be appropriate if you were late for your date, "Jarvis said in his robotic voice, and Tony had to chuckle.

"You know about everything, don't you? Well... um, um... I guess everything's all right. Optimize, throw away unnecessary data... wait, wait! Please give it back and show me," he asked, frowning slightly as unfamiliar signs and notes began to appear in front of his eyes.

"Opening files, sir," he informed him, and Tony watched impatiently as everything was loading slowly. It was really very extensive and he had no idea what it might be. He had never worked on such a thing. Were there someone else's fingers in it? What was that?

"Thanks, Jarve. Please let Mary know I'll be with her in five minutes." Perhaps. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't like this at all... "Give me closer look, Jarvis. And make me a copy. This does not seem to me. What the hell?!"