Chapter Text
Tony Stark does not typically eavesdrop.
At least, not in the way the average person thought of eavesdropping.
Okay, he eavesdropped some, but he always revealed himself before the end of the conversation! That gave him some credit, right?
Right.
So, he was currently 'technically' eavesdropping on Pepper's conversation. It wasn't intentional. He had come up from the lab after a work binge and stopped at the top of the stairs when he heard her talking. Her back was to him, phone to her ear, and he could see the tense line in her shoulders. Normally, her talking wouldn't stop him from going over to the kitchen to get something halfway nutritional (or not at all), but this was different. He'd stopped because he caught a word that definitely wasn't associated when dealing with the press or the military or some social gala he may or may not attend (probably not).
"I know, Mom. I know." Pepper said, twirling a pen around in her fingers. She shifted in her seat on the couch and he caught the lines of stress on her face. He inched back into the shadows, debating a full retreat or listening. He had no problem making faces or quiet commentary when Pepper was on the phone with anyone concerning his business, even if it meant he was swatted away or got one of her 'looks.' Sometimes, he managed to make her laugh, which near always resulted in him getting chased back down to the lab when she excused herself from the call. Private conversations with family? That he didn't know what to do with.
He was taking a step backward, settling on the 'retreat and don't let Pepper know I was here' option when the next sentence caught his attention. "I don't know when I'll be able to visit. I'm tied up with work." A pause. "I don't know about Easter either. Mr. Stark might need me." A longer pause. "Yes," she sounded frustrated, "I know he's a grown man but-"
Tony found himself looking at the steps, his supposedly near nonexistent heart torn. Pepper was always there for him, even when he was being particularly awful, and it made something inside of him warm. But she was also not being with her family in order to stay by his side.
Tony didn't have much of a family anymore, aside from Obadiah, Rhodey, Happy, JARVIS, his bots, and, of course, Pepper. JARVIS and his bots were made by him, so some would say they didn't count. Rhodey had been his best friend for a long time, but Tony could never shake the fear that the continued friendship was due to military contracts. Happy and Pepper, while he considered them to be as close confidants as Rhodey, were also on his payroll.
The only family he had that wasn't hired or made by him was Obadiah, his godfather and pseudo uncle, and even then they often only talked business. The next missile. The next model. The next big thing. Sometimes, Tony had to wipe away the thought that he was only being used for his mind.
(Sometimes, he really didn't want to make weapons anymore.)
The ending of the phone call brought Tony's attention back to the problem at hand. "Love you, Mom. Pass it along to Dad." Pepper stayed on the phone an extra few seconds, then brought it away from her ear with a sigh. It was at that moment Tony decided to reveal himself.
"Trouble at home, Pep?" He really tried not to sound confrontational - he tried to soften his voice, to sound curious over authortitative. (Not that he really had any authority over Pepper. She was the one who kept him in line, no matter how the job titles made it look.) This was new territory, new feelings, and part of him wanted to try a hasty retreat when she looked at him in shocked surprise.
"No." She replied shortly. She stood, straightening out her skirt. "Just- no, no problems. I won't take personal calls at work again."
He narrowed his eyes, stepping out from the threshold. "You know I don't mind that, Miss Potts. You can take any phone call you want."
"It's unprofessional."
"I have never cared about formalities."
"That's what gets you in trouble." Her lip quirked up briefly in that familiar small smile. It took some of the tension out of Tony's muscles.
He laughed, guesturing for her to sit down as he came over. "Sit, Pepper. Let's talk vacation."
"Tony-"
He flopped down on the couch across from her, still gesturing. "I won't get up until we talk. Don't I have that meeting at two?"
"I thought you wanted me to go in your place."
"I'll go if you sit." At her doubtful look, he put a hand over his heart. "Scout's honor."
"You've never been a scout." She pointed out, but she did sit down.
"Not Scout's honor then." He amended, offering a smile before becoming more serious. "Pep, you don't need to stay for me. You're entitled to vacation like anyone else." He held up a hand when she tried to interrupt. "Go to your family's Easter celebration. Put that on the books and don't let me forget. Remind me everyday if you have to. Actually, take off for a week. I can handle myself for a week."
"I really doubt that."
"JARVIS will keep me alive." He guestured at the ceiling. "And my bots!"
"Dum-E will try to give you a smoothie full of motor oil and carrots."
"Still nutrients!" At her look, he scrambled for another person. "Obie then. He'll bring pizza. Normal pizza, not 'things went bad' pizza."
"You can't live on pizza."
"If I get pizza with everything on it, then I have vegetables."
"Tony-"
"Okay, okay." He held up his hands in surrender. Even he knew when he was digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole. His mind whirred for another solution. "Look, Pepper," he folded his hands together, eyes shifting from her face to the far wall. "Uh, this is..." He shook his head. Feelings were hard. "I never got to say goodbye to either of my parents." He could feel Pepper's attention fall completely on him. He barely ever talked about his parents. The one time he talked about them to Pepper was when he told her that one of the grand pianos was his mother's. "I spent a lot of time away from home, with boarding school and MIT. I also was a very difficult child, I'll admit that. My mom had her hands full and my dad, well, we were both a little too explosive for our own good. Must be something about the family business." He tried for a chuckle. It fell flat.
"Tony..."
He barreled on, not wanting to hear the pity. He met her eyes again. "I don't want that same thing to happen to you because of me. I want you to go see your family. Make it one of your duties. At least once a month, go see them."
"They live in Pennsylvania. I can't-"
"Then when I go to the monthly Board of Directors meetings in New York, we make a stop there. You go see your family while I'm in the meeting, and stay with them until the next morning if you want."
"You only sometimes go to those meetings. Obadiah does them."
"Then he'll open up a seat for me."
"I always take your notes in meetings."
"I can take notes." She have him another look. "JARVIS will take notes. C'mon, Pep, let me do this for you. I don't want your mom to kill me over this."
He was happy to see some amusement back in her face. "She wouldn't kill you."
"Maybe. Maybe not." He shrugged. "But I bet trying to use pepper spray on Happy runs in the family. He really doesn't want to get threatened again, so maybe visit your family for all our sakes."
She flushed pink and Tony knew he won.
"Fine." She conceded. "If that's what you really want to do-"
"I do."
"-and you don't change your mind-"
"I won't. I promise."
"-then we'll give it a try." A small smile crossed her face. "I really do want to see my family again."
His heart twisted painfully again. "I'm sorry, Pepper. I didn't realize- If I'd known-" His eyes dropped to his still-folded hands, words failing him. He was a self-centered man, he knew. Everyone knew. Everyone thought he didn't care, but he did. Maybe he didn't care enough, or maybe he was afraid to, but he did care. He cared for what little semblance of family he had.
He cared about Pepper.
Tony looked up when Pepper's hand rested on his shoulder, feather-light yet firm. "I stay because I want to, Tony, not because you make me."
He didn't know what to say to that at first. His mouth opened and closed uselessly before he settled on a small smile. "You're my life saver." He admitted. "I don't know what I would do without you, but your family needs you, too. The meetings are ususally at three. We can make it work. I promise I won't forget."
She gave his shoulder the slightest squeeze, then released him. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"
"That will be all, Miss Potts."
He watched her go, waiting until she was out of earshot, then spoke to JARVIS. "J, make sure I don't forget anything I just agreed to."
"Would you like me to set a reminder for the Board of Directors meetings, Sir?"
"Yeah. Remind me every waking hour as of forty-eight hours before. Make sure the pilots are reminded a week ahead of time. Actually, put it in their regular schedules. Mark the change as an urgent notice."
"What airport would you like the jet to stop in?"
"Ask Pepper. Whatever is closest to her parents."
"Yes, Sir."
Tony leaned back in his seat and tilted his head back against the cushion, eyes closing. He took a moment to breathe, gathering himself together. Reminding himself of his parents had helped Pepper, but it brought up memories he wanted to forget. He was tempted to stay there as the aches and exhaustion from his work binge caught up, only for JARVIS to remind him of the two o'clock meeting he agreed to attend.
He sighed. "Fudge."
"Cleaning up your language as well, Sir?"
"Shut up." Tony replied gruffly, then said to himself. "I'm doing this for Pepper. I can behave. Give her one less headache, come on." He wrenched his eyes open and got to his feet, taking a moment to stand there until he found his equilibrium. "Doing this for Pepper."
He would do anything for Pepper.