AN: 3 chs today. Better give me those powerstones.
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[On the way to the restaurant]
Tony leaned back in his seat, phone against his ear, his voice casual as if he hadn't just lit up the sky with enough energy to power a continent.
"Jane, it's me. Yeah, the whole thing. Crimson Dynamo, bright red suit, screaming vengeance, yadda yadda. I handled it. No, don't worry about casualties. The team put up shields. Just make sure the press knows the fireworks were a tech demo and spin it into something flashy. Maybe call it a 'fusion stress test'—the nerds will eat it up."
He paused, smirking. "And send flowers with a little donation to the city hall so they don't complain about the blackout. You know how politicians get."
He hung up, tapped his wristwatch, and pulled up a menu of restaurants. After scrolling past a dozen Michelin stars and vintage wine cellars, he settled on one. "Table for two. Corner. No paparazzi. Thanks."
Pepper glanced at him, brows raised. "You just survived an attempted murder, and your first instinct is dinner reservations?"
Tony flashed a grin. "What can I say? Plasma beams build an appetite. Besides, it'd be so bad to end our date without a proper dinner."
...
[Inside the restaurant]
The place looked expensive, as one would expect from a top restaurant. Waiters moved smoothly, dropping plates without a sound. And both of them got the usual eyes from the people around them. Well, mostly, Tony.
Tony and Pepper sat across from each other, a bottle of deep red wine between them.
For the first few minutes, neither spoke. They sipped their wine, cut into their meals, and let the silence linger. For Tony, it was comfortable. For Pepper, it was anything but.
She set her fork down lightly, eyes studying him across the table. He was calm, collected, even relaxed. Not a hint of strain, no trace of the battle that had shaken half the city. His shirt collar was open, his expression was easy, almost smug.
Finally, Pepper asked, "Is this common? Do you get attacked by criminals all the time?"
Tony paused mid-bite, fork hovering, then set it down gently. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, leaned back, and gave her the kind of look he usually reserved for reporters who asked if he made his own suits. A mixture of amusement and faint surprise that the question needed asking at all.
"You make it sound like I trip over bad guys every time I step outside," he said, tone light.
Pepper arched a brow. "That's what it looked like. Dinner plans one moment, plasma bolts the next. You didn't even flinch."
Tony swirled his wine before taking a slow sip. "That's because flinching gets you killed. And yes, to answer your question, it's not exactly rare. The suit makes me a target. The company makes me a target. My last name makes me a target. Take your pick."
Pepper studied him for a long moment. "You're not even worried."
Tony shrugged. "Why should I be? I won. The city's intact. Pepper Potts is having dinner with me instead of filling out casualty reports. That's what I call a good night."
"That's not normal," she said softly, shaking her head. "Most people would be rattled. Shaken. Maybe even traumatized."
He tilted his head, considering her words. "Most people don't get into power armor and shoot lasers at each other over Midtown. I've had worse. Trust me, compared to some of the things out there, Vanko was just a warm-up act."
"Oh, I know. I saw you fight that glowing blonde during the Skrull incident, then land a plane, fight Sublime, then that ice guy. Still... You are really normal than I expected. Like in a good way," Pepper set her glass down. She took a deep breath.
There was a moment of pause before she spoke, "So you're telling me this is my new reality. Business meetings, charity galas, and occasional assassination attempts on the way home."
Tony grinned. "Pretty much. It's never boring. You'll get used to it."
Her lips pressed together, not quite a frown but far from a smile. She picked at the edge of her napkin, her thoughts pulling tight lines across her face. But before she could speak...
"Sorry if you are traumatized or scared from that incident," Tony said as he reached into his pocket and took out a bracelet. He placed it on the table. "For you. Wanted to give you a couple of days after evaluating you properly, but things got pretty dicey back there. And considering you are going to stick with me for a while, it might get dangerous for you. So, take it and always wear it."
Pepper put the fork down and took the bracelet.
She is examining it closely. At first glance, it seemed simple. It was a slim bracelet, smooth and plain except for a faint line that pulsed with red light.
"This is supposed to keep me safe?" she asked.
Tony tapped the rim of his glass. "It is not supposed to. It will. Think of it as your personal guardian angel, except this one doesn't need wings or a harp. Just nanites and a little Stark ingenuity."
Pepper looked up at him. "So it's like your armor."
"Yup. Just scaled, tuned, and streamlined. It will react faster than you can blink. If someone points a gun at you, the suit will intercept the bullet before your brain even registers the threat. If someone tries another plasma trick like our crimson friend earlier, the suit will shield you. And if you ever find yourself in the middle of something much worse, like an alien invasion or a building collapse, it will fly you out of there before you can say help."
She traced her finger along the faint red glow. "You're serious."
"Yep!" He took a sip of wine.
Her lips curved, half amused, half wary. "Do you give these to all your assistants?"
"Only the one who works with me closely. Can't put everyone around me in danger now, can I?" He said.
Pepper strapped the bracelet onto her wrist. The moment it touched her skin, the band adjusted with a subtle hiss, resizing itself until it fit perfectly. The red line pulsed once, then settled into a steady glow.
She flexed her wrist. "Feels… warm."
"That's the biometric sync. It just keyed itself to your vitals. From now on, it knows you better than your doctor. Heart rate, oxygen levels, stress response. You get in trouble, it activates. You want it on standby, it listens. All automatic."
Pepper glanced at him. "And what if I don't want a suit jumping out of my jewelry?"
Tony shrugged and sliced into his steak. "Then take it off. I'm not forcing you to wear it. But if you decide to keep it on, just know it will save your life before you even realize you are in danger. Call it paranoia. Or call it me making sure you don't get vaporized because some maniac wants to make a point by targeting me."
The bluntness of his words made her pause. She set her hand over the bracelet, thumb brushing across the glowing line. There was weight in what he said, weight he tried to mask with casual humor.
"Thank you," She said.
...
...
[Next Morning – Stark Tower]
Pepper woke abruptly. A deep rumbling shook the air, loud enough that even the soundproofing of her room couldn't drown it out. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming, but the vibrations that rattled her glass of water on the nightstand said otherwise.
She dressed quickly and stepped out into the hall.
The noise grew louder as she reached the lounge.
Natasha stood with her arms crossed, eyes fixed on the massive display that covered the wall. Beside her stood a woman Pepper didn't recognize. A blue girl with yellowish eyes, in a jumpsuit.
Pepper's attention shifted to the footage.
A giant green monster swung a fist the size of a small car, colliding with the chest of an equally massive robot. Metal screeched, sparks sprayed, and a loud howl. "HULK SMASH!" The robot stumbled, regained balance, then fired a pulse cannon straight into the creature's chest. The blast lit up the room like a flash grenade.
Pepper froze. Her mouth opened slightly, words caught in her throat.
"What… is that?" she managed to mumble.
Natasha replied. "That is Hulk."
Pepper's head snapped toward her. "Hulk?"
"Bruce Banner," Natasha clarified. "Brilliant scientist. Alternate persona." She gestured lazily toward the screen where Hulk grabbed the robot's arm and ripped it clean off before throwing it like a javelin. "This is him… on a bad day."
Pepper blinked several times. "And he's here. In this building?"
The floor shook again as Hulk tackled the robot through its energy shield.
Natasha finally looked at Pepper, her lips quirking into something close to a smirk. She patted Pepper lightly on the back. "Yep. Tony's testing his new training bot and trying to teach Banner some self-control at the same time. Just another morning here. Give it time. You'll get used to it."
Pepper's eye twitched. She turned back to the screen as Hulk bellowed, hurling the giant robot across the room like a rag doll. The entire lounge shook with the echo.
"Another morning," she repeated faintly.
Natasha just nodded, completely unbothered as the screen showed Tony's robot climbing back to its feet, weapons reconfiguring for round two.
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