Rescue

Tony Stark/Iron Man

Tony and Pepper entered the ballroom to a roar of applause. Ever the showman, Tony waved at the crowd of rich folk and journalists, smirking cockily as some cameras flashed. Tony wore a pristine gray suit, with a silk green shirt underneath, while Pepper was wearing a sleek black dress that really did incredible things to her legs.

"What am I spending my money on again?" Tony mumbled to Pepper, who had an arm in his as she guided him through the room.

"It's a fundraiser to help schools on the East Coast," Pepper whispered to him, nodding graciously to the crowd. "We're donating equipment, helping with school programs, that sort of thing."

"Why would I help a bunch of nerds?" Tony asked with an honest smile.

"You love nerds."

"I love the nerds I actually know," the billionaire smiled a bit wider. "But no, it's great. I wish you'd told me sooner. Am I giving them enough money? I want to make sure it's a lot."

"Between you and Mahmoud, I think a lot of good will be done. It's not perfect, of course," Pepper admitted, taking a glass of champagne as a waiter passed and the pair walked up to a podium at the end of their walk.

"Fanboy's paying for this too?" Tony blinked. "Oh yeah, he's rich. I should get him something."

"He's rich, so you need to get him more stuff?" Pepper asked.

"Rich people get free things, everyone knows that. At least, all the random crap people keep sending me says so."

Pepper sighed in annoyance as they finally reached the podium, Tony getting behind it to speak.

"Okay, calm down so I can get a word in," he said, the audience laughing on command. Tony hid a scowl. Always annoying how pandering some people can get. Of course, Tony also didn't like when people ignored or got mad at him, but at least they had the respect to be honest with him, rather than kissing his ass. "All right, we all know why we're here. To give money to schools, then drink wine and eat expensive foods to make sure we keep wineries and caterers in business. Which, is kind of a fundraiser on top of a fundraiser so, congrats to us!"

Everyone cheered.

"So, get plastered, eat a lot, and pay out the butt to keep the next guy as smart as me in school! Cheers!"

As everyone clapped, Tony looked at Pepper, grinning. "Pretty good, right?"

She gave him a look that was typical Pepper, a combination of fond and exasperated. "Good, except that you weren't supposed to give a speech. That guy was."

Huh. Yeah, that older balding guy looked surprised as hell.

"Eh, I probably did a better job anyway," Tony took her by the arm. "Come on, let's dance!"

"You're incorrigible," Pepper chuckled, letting herself be pulled away.

"Hey, I'm irresistible," Tony smirked.

"Well, 12 percent or so," Pepper smirked at the stunned look on Tony's face. "Maybe a little more, depending on how things go."

"Sheesh, you'd think you'd let that go," Tony grumbled.

"Only a little," she giggled, almost shaking with laughter. "About 12 percent."

The pair grinned at each other, dancing across the ballroom as one. For a moment, Tony felt at peace. He had his girl, good food, and some crap drinks, while the terrible classic music played. Pepper was smiling at him, guiding him more than he was guiding her. Thank god she was a good dancer.

She pulled him in for a kiss, and he let her do it, pressing close. They held for a moment.

"Mr. Stark."

And then someone had to goddamn ruin it.

Holding back the urge to call in a suit and rain repulsors on the interrupting speaker, Tony pulled away and sighed slightly, annoyed. Pepper chuckled, then the two looked at the speaker.

A blonde woman stood there. She was kinda pretty, short, and looking way smug. Huh. This chick.

"I'm sorry, can I help you, Miss..." Tony trailed off, looking confused.

The smug look on her face fell away, Pepper coughing back a delicate laugh. She recovered, badly, and held out a hand with a fake smile. "Christine Everhart, WHiH World News."

"Oh I get it, you want a job," Tony said quickly. "I get it, working for those hacks. Tell you what, Pepper could use a new assistant since her best one turned out to be Avenger material."

"I'd rather not," Pepper smiled. "Natasha was too good to be replaced by anyone subpar."

Christine's smile shattered, turning into a scowl. She dropped her hand, which Tony had pointedly not taken. "I wanted to ask you about recent reports that you've been patrolling New York City. Don't you think this show of vigilante justice may cause issues? If you start attacking people in the street, with none of the training or oversight that police officers have-"

"How about this, I'll promise not to attack anyone who isn't stealing, attacking, or messing with people. Oh, or shooting at me, that's important," Tony snarked.

"And you aren't worried about taking jobs from good police officers?" Christine asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Not the good ones, no," Tony smirked. "Trust me, there is plenty of crime in the world to keep me busy. I just throw out a helping hand when I can."

"Yes, you do... but what about your latest partner?" she smiled viciously as if she'd nailed him.

Which technically, was the opposite of the truth in so many ways (Tony mentally high-fived himself). He cocked an eyebrow at Christine, not noticing how Pepper had stiffened. "What, Dial? He's solid. Kids got some mad skills."

"I don't disagree," though her tone said otherwise. "I'm talking about the new female in armor who has been following you both around on patrols. A lot of our viewers are wondering who she is, what her purpose on your 'patrols' are since it doesn't seem to be fighting crime."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Rescue isn't a superhero."

"Ironic name, considering she hasn't 'rescued' anyone yet," Christine pointed out. "So you just gave your armor, one of the most powerful weapons on Earth, to a woman foooor what, exactly? So you could have some cheering you on from the sidelines?" Christine asked. She looked over at Pepper, her smile vicious as the redhead eyed her back. "Any thoughts from you on the new woman in Tony's life? Or did you already know about her? His 'woman on the side?'"

Tony felt his blood rush through his veins. From the look on Christine's face, she realized she'd reached too far when she saw the look on her face. Tony, even before he'd become Iron Man, had a reputation for being dangerous. He didn't waste his time on idiots. But mess with what was his, and suddenly the full force of Stark Industries, a company more powerful than most nations on the planet, was pressing down with an army of lawyers and a mountain of cash. Now that he was Iron Man, well...

The Stark heir leaned in but stopped when Pepper moved in front of him. "Actually, Christine, if you'd like, you can speak with me about that."

"Oh?" Christine sounded amused. "Can you tell me anything about her?"

"I can even arrange an interview, if you'd like," Pepper said calmly.

"Sounds interesting. Who exactly is she, by the way?"

"Me."

Tony felt like kissing Pepper when he noted the gobsmacked look on Christine's face. Pepper smirked. "So, when did you want to interview me?"

"You're the one?" Christine couldn't have sounded more surprised.

"Yes, I am," Pepper smiled. "So, when should we have the interview?"

After discussing things, Christine left, and Pepper turned to her boyfriend.

"What's your plan?" Tony asked.

"I need to get ahead of this," Pepper frowned. "I can't let her control the narrative. I need to confront this."

"You don't need to do anything," Tony reminded her, scowling. "Seriously, just ignore whatever people are saying."

"I can't," Pepper shook her head. "I mean, I don't care about them, the interview is mostly for the company, to make sure we don't have idiots trying to discredit you with something. Everhart and her station is nothing. We can just buy them if we want to really shut them up, or force them to say nothing but good things about us," she smirked. "Kidding of course..."

"You sure? I mean, everything I ever learned about journalistic ethics, I learned from Citizen Kane," Tony snarked, getting a chuckle in response.

"No, Tony," Pepper guided him to the side, looking around. "The problem is, I really want to... to do more, with the Rescue armor. Maybe not your Avenging stuff, but protect people. Not because I'm being pressured or anything. But when I think about it, about helping people, I just, I don't know," she laughed. "Is it weird? I haven't even had the suit for that long and I already want to fight crime in it. Not to do the superhero thing, not to hunt down bad guys, but if I see someone in trouble, I want to help them. Is that weird?"

"Maybe. Might want to talk to someone less, well, me about that," Tony admitted. "I'm the guy who used his first real suit to fight terrorists without telling anyone, remember? I'm kind of the worst guy to talk to about responsible armor usage."

"Yeah, I'll talk to Rhodey," Pepper pulled Tony to the center of the room, and the pair began to dance. "Seriously, what do you think?"

"I think you should do it, and I also think you shouldn't," he said, surprising Pepper. "I'll support you. But from the second you brought that up, I've been thinking of a thousand different ways to try and upgrade the armor to keep you safe, with my number one being to take it away so you can't get in danger in it."

"Tony..."

"I still have nightmares," Tony shrugged as best as he could, trying to seem relaxed. "About Killian taking you. About you standing next to an exploding Hammer drone, or when Stane was chasing after you," he took a deep breath. "I put you in danger, so many times. And now you're telling me you want to put yourself in and I just..."

He scowled, only to soften when Pepper pressed her palm to his cheek. Gently, she pulled his face to look into her eyes. "I feel that way all the time. Ever since I saw you in that suit for the first time, covered in bullets. And after Loki, and aliens, seeing how much more dangerous the universe is..."

Something in Pepper seemed to crystalize, strengthen. "I was so scared. But now, I can do something about it. I mean, I'm not asking to join the team or anything, but... Dial made my suit for a reason. And I think, in some way, he saw that I would need it. If not now, then later. So. You have a War Machine. Can you accept a Rescue, now and then?"

He grinned. "God, that is so corny. Steve teach you that?"

"He's classy like that," Pepper gave him an honest look. "I want to do this. Not tomorrow or anything, I just want to think it over for now. But it feels like it's something for later. I don't know, it feels like... it feels right."

The light in her eyes seemed stronger. She suddenly seemed so giant now, as though she'd grown in the middle of the speech.

Tony clutched Pepper close, sighing. "I love you. God help me, I don't deserve you."

"You do," Pepper said, smiling up at him while pecking his lips. "God, I don't know if I should though..."

She seemed to shrink into herself. "It's easy to talk about. But actually doing it... I need time, first."

"Take all the time you need," Tony tried not to sound relieved. "I'll talk to Dial and Fitz, get Jarvis to work some sort of plan. Hell, I'll hire every martial artist in the city to train you if you want. Just... is it wrong that I'm hoping you change your mind?"

Pepper shook her head. "I've spent a lot of nights hoping that you would finally put away your suits. I don't blame you."

"Sorry," Tony winced. "So this is what it feels like, huh? Sheesh, I really am an asshole."

"You have your moments."