Chapter 59: A Gentle Night and a Burgeoning Storm

Pepper's hair had been delicately pinned up, secured at the back of her head with a platinum hairpin.

Perhaps it was the shockwave from the explosion that had just occurred which disrupted her elegant hairstyle. Aetheris reached out and gently removed the pin, letting her golden hair cascade naturally over her shoulders. The breeze whispered past, lifting a few strands and carrying with it a faint, pleasant fragrance.

In the distance, the city glowed with a brilliant sea of lights, but here on this quiet hill in the suburbs, everything was utterly still.

Aetheris plucked a camellia from a nearby bush.

"Miss Potts, I sincerely apologize for scaring you."

That simple gesture made Pepper chuckle, despite the lingering fear in her heart. Her nerves began to settle.

She extended her fair, snow-pale arms to accept the flower, lifted it to her nose, and inhaled gently. The soft floral scent immediately enveloped her senses.

Refreshing. Calming.

"I forgive you!" she said with mock pride.

Aetheris held her slender hand. Though he had held it several times before, it felt different each time.

Soft, pale, and just a bit cold.

His heart tightened at the sensation. Without hesitation, he removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Still cold?"

"Not really. It's just... that explosion really shook me up. My heart's still racing." Pepper clutched the jacket tighter around her, the lingering warmth from Aetheris's body still within it. A gentle warmth began to bloom in her chest.

"Oh? That bad? Let me hear it!" Aetheris teased, pressing his ear playfully against her chest and immediately sank into a sea of softness.

That sea of softness seemed to have its own kind of magic—the longer he stayed, the deeper it drew him in.

"Tony... ever since you became Iron Man, everything around you has become dangerous. I don't know how much more of it I can handle." Pepper didn't resist him. She gently cupped his head, allowing his cheek to rest against her.

Aetheris straightened up, gazing into her reddened eyes. Guilt surged within him. He pulled her into a firm embrace and whispered,

"I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Can't you stop doing these dangerous things? There are police, emergency units—why must you put yourself at risk? Do you know how I feel every time you put on that suit? Others may cheer, but for me, it's terrifying. I'm scared you won't come back."

Pepper buried herself deeper in his arms, her grip around his back tightening.

"Sometimes... you don't chase danger. It chases you," Aetheris murmured, stepping back slightly to meet her clear blue eyes. His tone was gentle but resolute.

"Pepper, I love you. I want to protect you. Always."

He lowered his head, kissing the delicate curve of her neck, then her cheek, and finally, his lips met hers—soft and tender.

When I wear the armor, I face danger.

When I take it off, I can't protect you.

Later, they returned to the villa in the Mercedes, driven by Happy. Aetheris didn't push things further; he didn't want their first time to happen on such a chaotic, emotionally charged night.

The woman he loved deserved better. Didn't she?

Because her underwear and stockings were soaked, Pepper rushed straight to the bathroom to change the moment they got home. Wearing wet clothes was miserable under any circumstance.

"Peter?"

Aetheris dialed Spider-Man's number.

"What's up, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked. At that moment, he was standing in front of a convenience store robber—a burly man gripping a double-barreled Remington shotgun—while behind him, the elderly, white-haired cashier trembled in fear.

"Step aside now, and maybe I'll let you live. Otherwise, I'll send you straight to hell tonight!"

The burly Black man grinned, flashing a set of gleaming white teeth.

Truthfully, he didn't want to shoot if he didn't have to.

"Hang on a sec, I gotta take this call."

Spider-Man fumbled through his skintight suit and pulled out his phone. Seeing it was from Tony "Big Turd," he answered quickly.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Seeing the masked figure in front of him completely ignore his shotgun, the robber grew furious. And when a furious man starts shouting with a gun—things usually don't end well.

"I can't stand people like you. No skill. Just robbery," Spider-Man muttered and casually fired a web onto the man's face, sealing off his breathing and blinding him.

With the phone still in one hand, he shot another web that bound the robber's gun arm, preventing him from pulling the trigger.

A few more shots of webbing, and the man was securely tied to the store shelves. He thrashed wildly, but the strong webs held fast—he couldn't move at all.

Spider-Man turned to the elderly cashier and said,

"Call 911! And I'm taking this Coke. He's paying for it."

He grabbed a bottle of Coke from the counter and pointed at the bound man.

The old woman nodded. But when she turned back, the masked stranger had already vanished.

"So, what's so urgent this late, Mr. Stark?"

Spider-Man now sat atop the Empire State Building, enjoying the vast nightscape of New York City.

It was his favorite pastime, a feeling like he owned the whole world.

"Peter, I've got a job for you. I need you to sneak into Hans Industries and retrieve the robot controller Ivan left behind. I need an untouched sample."

Aetheris stood before his floor-to-ceiling windows, a martini in hand, gazing out at the sea.

"Uh... I'm pretty sure that's illegal," Spider-Man muttered, scratching his head.

"Peter, do you know what happened tonight at the Hans Tech Expo?"

"Huh? I heard some coworkers mention it, but I had stuff to do tonight, so I didn't go."

Aetheris filled him in on everything that had transpired earlier.

"What?! That actually happened? And no one told me?!"

Peter groaned with regret. He'd missed a high-tech mech showdown... all for a petty robbery.

Like picking up a sesame seed and dropping a watermelon.

"Mr. Stark, take me along next time, okay?"

"No problem, Spider-Man," Aetheris replied without hesitation, calling him by his codename.

"Wait... Mr. Stark, how do you know I'm Spider-Man?"

Peter was baffled. As far as he knew, he had never given himself away.

"Don't worry about how I know. Would I ever hurt you?"

Aetheris gave a slight smile. It was time to start collecting the returns on his earlier investments.

After all, he had saved Peter's Uncle Ben, gifted Aunt May a diamond necklace worth tens of thousands of dollars, and even gotten Peter a job with a five-figure monthly salary.

(End of Chapter)

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