i. never thought i would do a Heelfic. Heelfics are already in this fandom. but. my friend was looking at shoes and she came across a particular pair of orthopedic heels - that i don't have a link to anymore - and commented of their particular unsexiness. despite their distinctively unPepperness - for the fact that it's all clunk and without customary subtle flair that is Potts fashion, this fic came about. 'cause i told her, i would make those shoes sexy.

i failed, 'cause it's hard to make something unsexy and unPepper, what it is not. but. i did write this and i hate sitting fics. makes it seem like i wasted my thirty minutes just writing something.

also: if anyone has these heels and thinks they're otherwise of what this fic claims - i apologize! they're cute in their own right, honestly. parental M(om) has a pair and she is very pleasantly happy with them. they're also surprisingly squishy.

ALLOVER COMFORT
/pseudonymosity
PreIM1. Pepper's shoes catch Tony's particular attention.

"Whoa."

"...What is it now?"

"You."

Pepper sighs. He's persistent, she'll admit. Two weeks and a half into her employment and he is still resisting her resistance to him.

"Mr. Stark," she looks up, expecting his grinning at her as a prelude to his attempts to distract them both from the task at hand. Instead, she finds that he's staring at her legs, which is something she isn't surprised by as he is wont to look at her legs, but it's more often if she's in a skirt. As it is, she's wearing a pair of sleek black pants.

"Mr. Stark."

"Yeah?"

"Would you kindly direct your attention to page fifteen?"

"Yeah, sure."

She has a new tactic, seeing as how everything else that she usually employs to reject unwanted advances from others, is not working. By telling him "Mr. Stark. I am flattered, but please - if you would stop that," it makes him even more likely to direct his attention to her that much more intensely. Plainly addressing his inappropriateness proves to be sorely ineffective.

JARVIS has taken quite the liking to her and has managed to convince Tony she really does mean exactly what she says: that sincerely and truly, she is not interested. As their first encounter has proven, Miss Potts is a terrible liar and that's the basis of why he hired her. So, no - "the theory that Ms. Potts is playing-hard-to-get is out of the question, sir."

Despite Tony understanding such, he does not relent. She's rather awkward, yes, but he's not exactly doing anything too untoward that actually makes her viscerally uncomfortable, as opposed to a few past employers that have. Job hunting is terrible for many reasons - in particular, she has to explain why she has quit so many jobs (as well as explain why she had to take up so many jobs in the first place). While she threatens Mr. Stark is on the border of sexual harrassment, her past employers - namely of the modelling sort - take the cake in actual harassment. So, no. Mr. Stark is being inappropriate, but...appropriately inappropriate. (Goodness, that doesn't even make sense.)

Now, she's regarding these particular actions towards her as just part of the job - like getting him coffee, or helping to redirect poor Butterfingers away from a corner that has confused her system and effectively trapped her.

And yes, Butterfingers is a her, Tony insists. She was the first addition to Mr. Stark's robot family - because despite what he may say, he is quite endeared to his creations. She is a very confused, clumsy thing. She gets stuck in places regularly and Pepper is often the one to help her get out of them. Sometimes she finds the poor girl-thing-mecha wandering in a sort of circle, or JARVIS notifies her of the trouble. The latter situation makes her think fondly of JARVIS as a sort of big brother to his siblings.

(Butterfingers' name was initially Buttercup, but it didn't work out. For obvious reasons. Have you seen Butterfingers?)

"Mr. Stark."

He's looking at her legs - or her pants, really - again. She's miffed. Again. It's like this. A daily rinse and repeat of his leering and her exasperation.

"Why are you wearing those granny shoes?"

She blinks at him.

"What?"

She looks down at the objects of their...conversation, wiggling her toes inside the shoes unconsciously. Yes, they're not her standard heels and yes, they are a bit clunky with the wedges. But she likes them and they're only temporary. She's got that foot problem to deal with - a consequence of wearing heels so constantly.

To term them as "granny shoes" are a bit...extreme, though. Or perhaps she's just a little defensive over her shoes...

But. Whatever her shoes may be called is not important here, nor should her shoes be receiving so much attention when there is much work to attend to.

"Can we please return to the business at hand? You have a-"

"Stand up."

She sighs and sets aside her papers. Tucking a hair behind her ear, she similarly does so with her feet; she shifts them inwardly towards the couch, so his gaze is interrupted. It's not. He just merely follows the movement intently.

She starts calmly, "My shoes-"

"Are granny looking."

"They're just shoes."

"Fuck no. They're more than that. They're not your shoes."

"I think my purchase makes them mine, Mr. Stark. If you would like, I have the receipt."

She doesn't actually have the receipt anymore, but she can't keep saying "What?" because it's not going to move along this conversation and end in him complying to work. She knows how to work (with) Mr. Stark by now. Sort of. She's still figuring it out, rather rapidly, but surely. Because that's how it is with Tony Stark - never a chance to stop and smell the roses. It's always "go, go, go."

"JARVIS," Tony orders, assuming the appropriate tone to indicate that his request is of great import, "Miss Potts' heels. What are they called?"

"Orthopedic heels, sir," JARVIS tunes helpfully, "With leather linings, made breathable for allover comfort. Rubber outsole provides traction and durability. 3/8 heel."

"Potts. Stand up. Or you're fired."

Pepper raises an eyebrow before relenting, standing up very slowly.

"Start moving around. Don't care where. Feel free. Pretend I'm not even here. In fact, I encourage you t-"

"Tony."

(She's trying to get into the habit of calling him by first name, per his request. She's learned if he calls her Potts, he's giving her the opportunity to call him Tony.)

"Walk. Just a little, Miss Potts. I deserve a break. You deserve a break. We deserve a break."

She sighs and she's not sure why she even agrees - God knows she most adamantly refuses to be anyone's monkey - but she does walk around. Silence pervades, other than the trickling sound of the waterwall and her shoes against the floor.

"Why didn't I notice this before?" He muses, after a moment of observing her walk. She feels ridiculous. She's being paid to just walk.

"Your heels - and damn, your heels - make this clicking noise that I've become accustomed to. And then that...those," he gestures with his hand to her shoes, as if offended by them, "those don't sound like that click. How did I not notice, all day? This morning?"

Pepper informs, "You had a hangover today and requested my shoes off when I entered."

Well, no. It was JARVIS who had requested it, but she assumed the order had to have been made by him.

"I was an idiot then. I like that clicking noise. It's nice. No. Keep walking. Why did you stop walking. Keep walking. Or you're fired."

She's getting quite tired of that threat. She's half certain he won't, and the other half is certain he will. It has only been two weeks and a half, and while she knows she's made an impression on him, she's wary and entirely aware of his whims and attention span. Even if JARVIS seems to be on her side, she doesn't think an AI can disobey his master once his master makes a decision.

(She can protest if he does fire her, but then maybe...maybe it is firing her that just indicates she should just get out. Now.)

"Only you, Miss Potts." He says after another moment, then nods at the couch so that she can return to it.

She does so, noting how he is still staring at her shoes.

"Only me what?"

"Only you could make granny shoes hot."

Does he expect her to throw herself at him for that statement? Because she's not going to. And he must be getting desperate. She knows for a fact Mr. Stark has a preference for...more flair in shoe choice (not for personal use, but goodness, wouldn't that be a surprise for her to see one day? She's almost seen everything else.) Sometimes, basing his companions off certain flair.

"I mean, sure. They're a little chunky looking. But they're still pretty sexy. And you're comfortable - that's what they're for, JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir. For 'allover comfort.'"

"Yeah. So. Sexy and comfortable. A damn good combination, Miss Potts."

He looks up at her then, finally, and grins, "Keep up the good work."

And she half wonders if he's paying her to just wear shoes.