![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Fic: Distant Memories
Inspired by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nickygabriel's picture, found here: http://i.imgur.com/OUKkF5Q.jpg
Title: Distant Memories
Word Count: 708
Characters: Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane
Relationships: Tony Stark & Virginia "Pepper" Potts
Spoilers/Warnings: n/a
She was one of the most powerful women in the world. She was confident, precise, and effective, and she demanded no less from everyone else. Being a personal assistant had not been something she’d seen herself doing, especially considering the fact that it was such a thankless job. Sometimes she wondered why she’d even taken it, all those years ago.
But then she remembered the young man, barely twenty-three, eyes panicked and at the same time dull even as he smiled carelessly and casually hit on her as if she ought to be thankful of his advances. She’d cut off his flirting and accepted the position in the same breath, insisting on a trial period before committing fully to the job. Mr. Stane, she had seen, had not been wholly happy with that, but at the time she’d taken that unhappiness to be because of losing an otherwise competent manager who could keep people on task and be an asset to the company. Being a personal assistant might not have been very dignifying, but she’d seen broken people before, and Tony Stark was cracking, not yet shattered. She’d worked at shelters before, aided those who needed a kick in the pants as well as those that needed a soft touch, and she saw both in front of her.
Mr. Stane had taken her aside, apologized for Mr. Stark’s rude behavior – they had been inspecting a lower level of R&D, where she was in charge, and Mr. Stark just steamrolled over the fact that she was a manager. She didn’t have to humor him, of course – Mr. Stark was probably still hungover from last night and unlikely to remember insisting on having her as an assistant. No need to subject herself to the selfish desires of a spoiled rich kid, after all.
And, well, at the time Mr. Stane had seemed reasonable and understanding. She’d blushed a little at his praise for her work as manager, but held firm. No, Mr. Stane, I gave my word. No, Mr. Stane, I don’t mind being a personal assistant. Rest assured, Mr. Stane, I’ll leave if I ever feel as if Mr. Stark is treating me badly.
She’d gone to work the next day, packed up her desk, and then made her way to the top floor. She had asked to be directed to Tony Stark’s office, and it hadn’t taken her much effort to get past the receptionist on that floor (she’d have to change that, when she was fully seated in her new duties), but Mr. Stark’s office was empty. So she set her box down on the nearest chair and went to go find her nearest charge. When she did find him, Tony Stark was splayed out over a desk, throwing pens at the tile ceiling with his tongue clenched between his teeth. At her clearing of her throat, he had startled and nearly fallen off.
“What are you doing here… Pepper?”
“Virginia,” she had corrected primly, and then held open the door. “You’re going to be late for your nine o’clock meeting.”
She had fought with him for three years on her name, correcting him each time, until she’d finally met the infamous Col. Rhodes (“You’ll love Rhodey, Pep—” “Virginia, Mr. Stark.” “—and I know he’ll really love you!”).
“He does things like that,” Rhodes had said, staring down at the glass as the two of them overlooked the current destruction that was Tony Stark’s workshop. “He pisses you off and then tries to make it better in extravagant ways; he gives you nicknames and holds on to them as if that’s what keeps a friend a friend. He gives you gifts and doesn’t realize why it might be rude; he expects you to be there for him immediately even if he doesn’t return the favor. And I love him anyway, the stubborn bastard.”
The next time Tony called her Pepper instead of Virginia, she had said nothing except letting out a small sigh and saying, “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”
And it had been a pleasure to see his eyes slowly light up, his smile spread out in beaming lights, even as he had said in return, gravely, “That will be all, Ms. Potts.”
nickygabriel's picture, found here: http://i.imgur.com/OUKkF5Q.jpg
Title: Distant Memories
Word Count: 708
Characters: Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane
Relationships: Tony Stark & Virginia "Pepper" Potts
Spoilers/Warnings: n/a
She was one of the most powerful women in the world. She was confident, precise, and effective, and she demanded no less from everyone else. Being a personal assistant had not been something she’d seen herself doing, especially considering the fact that it was such a thankless job. Sometimes she wondered why she’d even taken it, all those years ago.
But then she remembered the young man, barely twenty-three, eyes panicked and at the same time dull even as he smiled carelessly and casually hit on her as if she ought to be thankful of his advances. She’d cut off his flirting and accepted the position in the same breath, insisting on a trial period before committing fully to the job. Mr. Stane, she had seen, had not been wholly happy with that, but at the time she’d taken that unhappiness to be because of losing an otherwise competent manager who could keep people on task and be an asset to the company. Being a personal assistant might not have been very dignifying, but she’d seen broken people before, and Tony Stark was cracking, not yet shattered. She’d worked at shelters before, aided those who needed a kick in the pants as well as those that needed a soft touch, and she saw both in front of her.
Mr. Stane had taken her aside, apologized for Mr. Stark’s rude behavior – they had been inspecting a lower level of R&D, where she was in charge, and Mr. Stark just steamrolled over the fact that she was a manager. She didn’t have to humor him, of course – Mr. Stark was probably still hungover from last night and unlikely to remember insisting on having her as an assistant. No need to subject herself to the selfish desires of a spoiled rich kid, after all.
And, well, at the time Mr. Stane had seemed reasonable and understanding. She’d blushed a little at his praise for her work as manager, but held firm. No, Mr. Stane, I gave my word. No, Mr. Stane, I don’t mind being a personal assistant. Rest assured, Mr. Stane, I’ll leave if I ever feel as if Mr. Stark is treating me badly.
She’d gone to work the next day, packed up her desk, and then made her way to the top floor. She had asked to be directed to Tony Stark’s office, and it hadn’t taken her much effort to get past the receptionist on that floor (she’d have to change that, when she was fully seated in her new duties), but Mr. Stark’s office was empty. So she set her box down on the nearest chair and went to go find her nearest charge. When she did find him, Tony Stark was splayed out over a desk, throwing pens at the tile ceiling with his tongue clenched between his teeth. At her clearing of her throat, he had startled and nearly fallen off.
“What are you doing here… Pepper?”
“Virginia,” she had corrected primly, and then held open the door. “You’re going to be late for your nine o’clock meeting.”
She had fought with him for three years on her name, correcting him each time, until she’d finally met the infamous Col. Rhodes (“You’ll love Rhodey, Pep—” “Virginia, Mr. Stark.” “—and I know he’ll really love you!”).
“He does things like that,” Rhodes had said, staring down at the glass as the two of them overlooked the current destruction that was Tony Stark’s workshop. “He pisses you off and then tries to make it better in extravagant ways; he gives you nicknames and holds on to them as if that’s what keeps a friend a friend. He gives you gifts and doesn’t realize why it might be rude; he expects you to be there for him immediately even if he doesn’t return the favor. And I love him anyway, the stubborn bastard.”
The next time Tony called her Pepper instead of Virginia, she had said nothing except letting out a small sigh and saying, “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”
And it had been a pleasure to see his eyes slowly light up, his smile spread out in beaming lights, even as he had said in return, gravely, “That will be all, Ms. Potts.”