She loved her job, she really did. It is amazing how few people liked what they did. But there were times. . . Times like right now, where being Tony Stark's PA filled her with a molten rage. No one would know to look though, that's what made her so damn good.

She had told him. Multiple times, in multiple ways, that she had plans. She was allowed to have plans. It wasn't everyday that her college roommate came into town. She hadn't seen Tess in way too long. That was why she took the time off, and she never took time off. So when she had reminded Tony, for what was the 5th time in two weeks, and he started to complain with the standard,

"I don't like it when you have plans. Besides, you never. . ." and it was at this point that his PDA screeched from his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the flashing red text box on the screen.

PEPPER HAS TIME OFF. . . PEPPER HAS TIME OFF…

"Ah." He said as he shut off the alarm. "Do I want to know how you did that?"

"Oh probably," Pepper said sweetly as she turn to walk down the hall.

"You not going to tell me are you?" he called after her.

"Nope."

But that was last week. And while he had not been any more Tony-like than usual, she had a sneaking suspicion that maybe. . . Pepper didn't have time to follow through with that train of thought, the past two days had been nothing but putting out fires and she had had enough. She didn't have time for this, she had to – answer her cell phone.

"This is Pepper."

"Well of course you are," came the familiar voice, "I am just wondering where you are, I just got through baggage claim. . ."

"Shit!"

There was a short pause, then a laugh. "You're still at work aren't you?"

"Oh Tess I am so sorry! Oh my god! I didn't realize the time. . ."

"Chill Pep! Having another Stark-tastic day?"

"You have no idea. . ."

"No worries. Tell you what, you finish up with saving the world, or whatever you do there. I'll take a cab and meet you there. But you do owe me drink though. I'll see you as soon as I see you."

"Tess, you are the best!"

"I know!" came the laughing reply as call ended.

And so Pepper, counting the seconds until she could walk out the door and have some fun, headed back into the trenches.

It was after 5 p.m and most of the office was gone. Pepper was still there of course, Tony noted through the open door of his office. He turned back to his computer, and the open schematic on the screen. It was then that he heard it,…good god, a girly squeal? He looked up to see Pepper mid hug with an unknown woman. He got up from his desk and headed toward the door.

She was a woman about Pepper's age, and a looker at that. Tall, athletic looking. . . My god she could be Pepper's sister! Or cousin. While Pepper's hair was long and a strawberry blonde, this woman's was cut, flatteringly, shorter at slightly above shoulder length and a deep auburn. Pepper was just a shade shorter, and a bit slighter of build, but the resemblance was striking. An image flashed through his mind, he gave a small smirk and filed it away for later consideration. They were mid conversation by the time he approached.

"….long flight, but not too horrible. No screaming children thank god."

"My god you must be starving! Do you need something?"

"No," the woman said with a small laugh and a shake of her head, "I had breakfast once, and lunch at least twice today. Love the East Coast, West Coast jump."

Up close Tony noticed that while Pepper usually had a demeanor of calm efficiency, this woman had a bit more of an edge to her, just slightly more intense than Pepper. Interesting.

"A girly squeal? Really, I expected better of you Potts." Tony said as he swaggered up to them.

"Oh. Tony, this is my friend. My old college roommate, Tess Morton. Tess, this is my boss Tony Stark."

"Pepper's friend." Tony smiled at her, using one of his GQ smiles.

"Pepper's boss." Tess said with a reserved smile. They shook hands.

Oh, yes, thought Tess, not hard on the eyes at all. I wouldn't complain over much having to come into work seeing this during the week. Confident, rich, brilliant, oozes charm, indeed highly fuckable. Danger be this way, wearing an Armani suit.

There followed a short silence Until Tony gave an amused laugh. "Morton?"

"Ye-e-e-s," Tess said slowly.

"Ha! Salt!" Tony laughed pointing at Tess, then turning "and Pepper!"

"Dammit!" Tess said in mock anger, digging into the front pocket of her jeans and pulling out a folded $20 and placing it into Pepper's waiting palm. Pepper laughed as she slipped it into her jacket pocket.

"I just missed something. . ." Tony said.

"Standing wager since college," Tess explained. "If it takes someone longer than 10 minutes to figure out that joke, Pepper pays me."

"And under ten minutes, Tess pays me," Pepper finished. "But that was record time. Thanks boss. Tess I have two quick things to take care of then we can get going."

"Where to?" Tony asked all innocence in Pepper's direction.

"Out." Pepper said with a cool smile. "I'll be just a few minutes."

"Why don't you wait in my office?" Tony was all charm.

"Sure," Tess said easily. Pepper shot her a small questioning look, but she gave a small nod.

Pepper headed down the hall, "I'll just be a few minutes. Behave!" she shot over her shoulder.

Tess arched her eyebrow and gave Tony a small smile, "Was that for you, or me."

Tony laughed and headed towards his office door, "I am starting to like you Pepper's friend."

"Why thank you Pepper's boss. But you can call me Tess."

"Then you can call me Tony. Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks," Tess said, "Nice view."

"Thanks," Tony said walking over and perching on the edge of his desk. "Take a seat," he gestured to a chair in front of his desk.

"No thanks," Tess said with a shake of her head, "Long flight, I'd rather stand. Tony shrugged. "So, how long have you known Pepper?"

"We were roommates Freshman year until we graduated."

"Reeeeeeally," Tony said with interest. He gave a wolfish grin, "Did you braid each others hair?"

"Oh sure," Tess said returning his smile with an innocent one of her own, "right after the sweaty, half naked pillow fights and kissing practice."

"Hm," Tony said staring into space for a moment. He snapped back to the present. "So then you have Pepper in college stories."

"I do. But I am not inclined to share. . ."

"Oh come on," Tony wheedled, "I am sure that she has told her share of stories about me."

"Well, no actually," Tess said as she rubbed her left eye with the heel of her hand, "she doesn't really talk much about you."

"Oh," Tony said slightly deflated, but he recovered quickly, "but still, I am sure you have dirt."

Tess blinked, her eye was dry and was starting to burn, it must have been the air on the plane. "Oh I do, but so does Pepper."

"So?"

"So Pepper has incriminating evidence," Tess said with a laugh. "Shit."

"What?"

"I just lost my contact. Ouch." Tess pulled her hand away from her face and Tony was surprised to see her eye was bright red and streaming tears.

"Are you ok?" Tony came over to her.

"Yeah," Tess said running the tip of her finger around the bottom eyelid, "I just can't find it. It stings like hell."

"Here," Tony took her by the shoulders and turned her towards the desk. "Have a seat, let me see if I can find it."

Tess was about to protest, but up this close, damn. He was good looking, devastatingly handsome would be the term. Granted her left eye wasn't really working, but her right one did. Nice eyes. With his left hand Tony gently held her head to the side, with his right hand on the side of her face, he used his thumb to gently pull her eyelid down.

Tess wondered if he could actually hear her heart skip. His hands, strong but gentle. Holy shit. Breathe, be cool. Out of the corner of her right eye, she could just make out a faint light glowing beneath his red silk tie. Oh, right.

"Look up," he directed. She did so and the accompanying sharp pain made her flinch. "Sorry," he said quietly and gave her a sheepish grin. That was almost too much for Tess. "I think I found it," Tess felt the pressure from his thumb shift followed by the sliding sensation of the lens starting to move.

"Tony! What the hell?" Pepper's voice cracked like a whip from the door.

Dumbfounded Tony and Tess both turned towards the door. But in the split second they both realized what Pepper saw.

What Pepper saw was Tess pressed against the desk, with Tony's hands on her face and her eye streaming like she was crying. Oh. Shit.

Tony jumped back like he had been shocked, "What? Pepper! No, I didn't!" There was a note of panic in his voice. Tess just stood there in shock and blinked, and with an ironic stab, her contact slid back into place.

In the mean time, Pepper had spun around and was storming the few short steps to the door. Tony covered the distance from the desk to the door in a few strides, he was fast. Almost not fast enough. Pepper and Tony reached the door at the same moment, then began the slightly ridiculous fight for control of the door. Pepper trying to get out and Tony trying to keep her in."

"You don't understand. . ." Tony started to say.

"I think I do," Pepper shot back.

"No, I don't think you do, see…" the panic in Tony's voice was a little more pronounced.

"Oh, I see just fine what was going on!" Pepper's anger was ramping up into a righteous fury.

"But. . ."

"I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It," the molten anger in Pepper's voice scorched even Tess from a few feet away.

It was in that moment when it happened. Like the JFK assassination, there were plenty of witnesses, but no one would ever be certain as to what really occurred. Whether Pepper lost her grip on the door, or Tony just put more muscle into it than he meant to, the door swung free, and with a dull thunk, hit Pepper squarely in the face. She staggered back a step. There was a terrible silence. Tony took a step back as Pepper brought her hand to her face. Tess was already half way to her when Pepper turned, pulled her hand away, to reveal a stream of blood coming from her nose. The look in her eyes could have incinerated Tony where he stood. Tess felt her body run cold and her stomach drop through the floor.

"Oh god! Pepper," he said taking a step forward and reached for her.

Pepper belted Tony. It was a good slap, Tess thought. Pepper's arm flashed out in a tight arc and giving it all she had, the palm of her hand connected neatly with the side of Tony's face with a meaty smack. Either Tony never saw it coming, or Pepper had enough behind it, but the force knocked him back a step. You could almost hear it echo.

Tony stood, slack jawed, absolute shock plastered across his face. Pepper turned and stalked out, eyes blazing, hand cupping her bleeding nose. Tony was about to start after her, but Tess reached the door, and putting a hand on his should and held him back. He turned to look at her and Tess was surprised to see fear and worry mixing with the shock, she felt a sudden pang of sympathy for him.

"I wouldn't," Tess said softly, "I'll go talk to her." She paused for a second, "I found my contact. Thanks." She walked out the door.

It took her a few minutes, as she had no clue as to the lay out of the office, but she found the ladies room eventually and walked in. She heard a small sniff and saw Pepper's shoes under the stall wall.

"Pep, are you ok?"

"No," came the teary reply from the stall. "I just slapped my boss."

'I saw. And it was a good one too, by the way. That's what I call gob smacked."

There was a small snorting laugh. "I am so fired."

"I highly doubt that, he couldn't find his own ass with flash lights in both hands if it wasn't for you."

"He. . " her voice faltered, and there was a soft sob, "he didn't DO anything did he?" There was a pleading quality to her voice.

"He was helping me with my contact Pep. It got stuck under my eyelid and I couldn't find it. It sounds so lame, but it's the truth." There was another sob, a bit louder this time, from inside the stall. Tess felt her own throat tighten. "Besides," Tess went on with forced levity, "Iron Man or not, he would need more than his suit to protect himself if he had."

Silence filled the room. "You know the last time I cried at work? It was my first day. I called you absolutely convinced that I couldn't do it."

Tess gave a wry laugh, "I remember that, it was almost midnight East Coast time. Do you remember what I told you then?"

"Yeah. . ."

"I told you that you were fucking fabulous, and that you could handle anything that they threw at you. You are so not fired."

"Oh shit. Tony has got to be soooo pissed!" Tess could hear fear and concern in her voice.

"Actually, it looked like you, well. . ." Tess trailed off, not sure how to finish that statement.

"What!" Pepper demanded. "Tess, please. . ."

"In my opinion, mind you, it looked like you hurt his feelings. And. . ."

"Tess!"

"And. Well look, after all the "Stark-isms" that you shared, which he wanted to know about by the way. I said nothing to incriminate you, don't worry. After all of your stories, and the whole "I am Iron Man" press conference thing. I think, possibly, that you scared him." Tess finished flatly.

"Bullshit! Scare Tony Stark? He has metal bits floating around his heart for god's sake! Oh why did I do that?"

"Well. . ."

"I don't know why I did it!" Pepper wailed, "Well, yeah I do. It has been one hell of a week. And I was so pissed when I saw you guys, my friend for god's sake and he just had to try. . .and it looked like you were crying," Pepper was starting to babble a bit, "and then the door, and I saw the blood, and it really fucking hurt!" Pepper finished indignantly.

"How's your nose? Do you think it's broken?"

"No. It stopped bleeding pretty quickly."

"Well then, let's go find your boss, get everything sorted, then go get nicely drunk. We both deserve it. Plus you get to buy the first round with my $20."

There was a slightly muffled laugh, a flush and Pepper emerged. He nose was slightly red, though she had cleaned off the blood, and her eyes were a bit glassy, but all in all not horrible. Pepper looked at her self in the mirror and gave a laugh.

"I look like hell."

"Yup."

"Thanks a lot Tess!"

"I'm just here to help." She said with a smile.

They headed out of the ladies room and back towards Tony's office.

"I gotta say Pep, your boss. Damn he is a fine, fine man. How do you do it? Or not as is the case."

"You haven't seen the things I have." Pepper said shooting her friend a look that said volumes about the levels of irresponsible, consequence free debauchery witnessed over the years. "You don't want to know. There is a reason I am well paid. . ."

Tess laughed. "I shudder to think. No seriously, I shudder! You know how vivid my imagination is. Let's go patch things up with Lord Byron."

"What?"

"Mary Shelly once said of Lord Byron the he was 'mad, bad, and dangerous to know'."

Pepper considered this for a moment. "Yeah, that's him in a nut shell."

"Oh by the way," Tess said in an offhand manner, "I told him that we had half naked pillow fights and practiced kissing on each other."

Pepper gave Tess a shove, "Dammit, I will not hear the end of it. I swear, I will hear him THINKING about it. . ." she trailed off, looked at Tess and they both gave a lascivious laugh.

The door to Tony's office was closed, and as Pepper raised her hand to knock she could feel her heart pounding in her throat. That instant of blinding rage and hurt replayed in her head, and she could feel the sting of the slap lingering on her fingers and palm. She wanted to cry, she wanted to run. She wanted Tess to stop staring holes in the back of her head, making sure that she would go through with it. She knocked. There was no answer. She turned to walk, run, away only to see Tess leaning against the wall by the elevator shaking her head and pointing to the door.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. She turned back, took a deep breath and opened the door. The lights were off. "Tony?" Pepper called cautiously. There was no answer. "Tony?" louder this time. Still no answer. Pepper turned back to Tess, shook her head with a shrug and closed the door behind her.

Tess had given Pepper her phone back after midnight.

"For the love of god! If he was going to fire you by phone call or text he would have done it by now," she said angrily after Pepper had checked her phone for the hundredth time at dinner. "I will put it on vibrate, and if it's him I will give you the phone back." Tess didn't need to give Pepper her phone back once all evening.

So here they were in the back of a cab after 2:30 in the morning, nicely buzzed, and laughing like they hadn't since college. They were just turning into the driveway at Pepper's tiny but fantastic bungalow, when the taxi's headlights swept across a silver Audi sports car parked at a drunken angle. The license said Stark4. The door was open, but there was no one behind the wheel. Tess heard Pepper suck in a sharp breath. Tess threw some cash at the driver and both she and Pepper bolted from the cab. Both were dressed for the bar, in trendy jeans, killer heels (sex kitten heels as they had called them in college), Tess in a tank top (65 is NOT cold) and Pepper in a v-neck top that had almost every male in the bar ogling.

They both ran as fast as their shoes allowed, both arriving at the car within seconds of each. The keys were still in the ignition.

"Shit!" Pepper breathed tensely. She reached in with a slightly trembling hand and pulled the key out of the ignition.

"No kidding" Tess said coming up with a near empty bottle of scotch from the floor of the passenger side. She didn't recognize the name, but by the smell she knew that the bottle probably cost more than her rent payment. She put her hand on the hood. "It's still warm, he can't have been here too long."

They both looked around the small driveway and almost nonexistent front yard. They didn't see Tony, or even a Tony shaped lump anywhere.

"Pepper!" Tess called as she pointed to the front door. There in the shadows thrown by the porch light was a crumpled form, a dull round glow visible from where the chest should be. Pepper sprinted towards the door. Tess paused for a moment stripped off her shoes, then ran full speed after her friend. When she got there Pepper was already bending over the sprawled form.

"Oh Tony," Pepper whispered. It panged Tess to hear the despair in her friend's voice. Even from about a foot away, the wave of scotch fumes hit Tess like she had walked into a wall.

"Jesus! What he'd do? Swim in the stuff?" As Tess got closer she could see that while he was still wearing the suit from earlier, both the jacket and tie were missing. His shirt was open at the neck, the cuffs missing their links were open and one sleeve was pushed up almost to the elbow. There were multiple light brown stains on the front of the shirt, and Tess really hoped it was spilled scotch that was providing the boozey atmosphere that surrounded the apparently unconscious man. But she doubted it.

"Tony!" Pepper was shaking him by the shoulder. Tony's head was tilted back and rested against the doorjamb. Tess squatted down by his side and felt for a pulse. There was one, strong and steady. She let out the breath that she had been holding.

They looked at each other. "What do we do," they asked each other at the same time.

"Ladies!" the voice came as a surprise and made them jump. There was a slight slur, but he sounded more sober than he had any right to be. Tony's eyes snapped open, and he rolled his head up to give both a slightly lopsided grin. His eyes were red and glassy, and they both suspected that he was having a hard time figuring out how many of them there were, and which ones he should be talking to.

"Did you have," Tony tilted his head and squinted, he chose the Pepper in the middle, "have a, ah, good. . ." he lost his train of thought. Tony stared into space for a moment, then he focused, more or less, on Tess. "Peppersh friend!' he said happily.

"Got it in one. How long have you been here Tony?"

He ignored her question, tilted his head and tried to focus. "Wheresh. . .P-Pepper?"

"Right here Tony."

His head rolled to the other side, squinted, and gave a sheepish grin. "Hi."

"Hi. How much did you drink Tony?"

"Just one. . .and a half. . ."

"Cases maybe," Tess muttered.

Tony heard her apparently, cause he shook his head sloppily, "Noooooo," He drawled. "Bottlesh. . ."

Tess looked at the bottle she had put on the ground near the door. She and Pepper stated at each other in disbelief, and all the while Tony had a stupid drunken grin plastered on his face. You could almost hear him slosh.

There was silence. It must have looked strange, Tess pondered, two grown women dressed for a night out, one not wearing shoes, crouched over a man who was so drunk he couldn't stand, and who didn't even have the common decency to be unconscious. But, he could buy the entire neighborhood. Sometimes life made her brain hurt. She gave a shiver, it had gotten colder.

"Well," Pepper said in a resigned voice, "I guess we should get him inside. Help me get him up."

"Are we going shomewhere?" Tony asked as they hauled him to his feet. It was like trying to lift a bag of sand. His knees kept buckling, but they were eventually able to get him to support his own weight long enough for them both to get a shoulder under each armpit. Pepper managed to fish out her door key, open the door, and by pushing, pulling and dragging, get Tony through the door.

"Crap! I gotta shut of the alarm! Can you hold him?"

"We'll find out." Tess said with a grimace. She grabbed a hold of Tony's belt and turned him to face her. Pepper stepped away and he sagged suddenly. To keep him from falling, and taking her with him, Tess wrapped both of her arms around his waist and heaved. He gave a lurch and they ended up in an awkward hug with Tess supporting most of his weight. Christ he was heavy for a guy with no body fat. His head dropped to her shoulder. Tess gave a small chuckle; she was in a position that most women would seriously kill for. She couldn't say she minded horribly having him in a clinch, oh if only in a different time and place! He sagged again. She slapped him on his shoulder, a nicely muscled shoulder, hard.

"Tony!" Tess said loudly into his ear. She noticed that he was sweating slightly, was he sweating scotch? Probably. "Stay awake. I can't hold you if you don't"

"Kay." Came the reply from her shoulder. A pause. "You smell nice. Very pretty."

"Uh, thanks. You smell like scotch."

Another pause. "Ish Pepper mad at me?" The question caught her off guard. He sounded – what? Like a kid who was in trouble. She would have laughed if it wasn't so damn sad. "I don't like it when Peppersh mad at me."

If he tried harder he couldn't twist the emotional screw further. Well, there went her nice buzz. He was starting to slip and her arms were screaming. Tess wasn't sure how much longer she could hold him up.

"Little help here Pep!" Tess called.

"I'm coming!" came the reply, accompanied by the sound of bare feet on floorboards.

"Pepper." Tony mumbled. He lifted his head and she could see his red glassy eyes starting to water. Oh crap, was he going to cry? Pepper was rounding the corner, but he was still looking at her.

Tess gave a half smile, "No. She's not made at you." She whispered. She saw hope spring to life in his eyes for a second, only to die screaming on his drunken brain.

"But. .." Before he could finish Pepper and arrived.

"Having a good chat?" She attempted a light tone, but couldn't manage it convincingly.

"Oh sure," Tess said wryly, "solving the world's woes," once again each took an arm and manhandled, literally, him through the front hallway.

"So does this happen often?" Tess shot Pepper a concerned look over the back of Tony's hanging head.

"This has never happened Tess. I've never seen him this way. I didn't even think he knew where I lived." Her tone worried Tess.

"The joys of GPS. You can't tell me you've never seen him drunk."

"Oh sure. Buzzed, drunk, hammered, giddy, sloshed, bombed, even three sheets to the wind. But I have never, never, seen him this fall down, blackout, out of control, stupid drunk."

"Shit." They had reached the living room and stopped just short of an armchair. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I'm, I'm not sure. Take him to the hospital?"

"We could do that," Tess pondered aloud. "I am not sure how close he is to alcohol poisoning. . ."

"No. . ." Tony slurred, "No hosh. . . "

"You heard the man. Tony, have you puked yet?" Tess asked.

"No. . . Shorry about the bushes Pepper, I threw up in them."

"Riiiiiiiight," Tess though for another moment, "Well, ok, he's not dead yet. How he drove here I really don't want to know."

"I haven't heard any sirens yet," Pepper said looking over her shoulder at the door.

"So. We can put him back in the car and let him sleep it off there. . ."

"No."

"Ok. Does he have anyone to. . ." Tess trailed off seeing the look on Pepper's face. "which would be you. Huh."

"I'm not willing to call and wake Happy up to come and get him either," Pepper said firmly.

"Or we can put him on the couch, on his stomach, so he doesn't drown in a pool of his own vomit."

"Real nice Tess!"

"Sorry, Pep. But I'm tired and he's getting really heavy."

Drunk strength, especially that of a seasoned veteran such as Tony, never ceases to amaze. It was like someone flipped a switch. Tony found his footing, stepped away, turned to face them and stood swaying slightly.

"I'm fine." Tony stood staring off into space for a moment then he looked at Pepper and took a step towards her.

"I didn't mean to. . ." he started, stopped, and looked from Pepper to Tess , then back to Pepper. "I was," he faltered as he took another step towards Pepper. She stood stock still, worried. Tony reached out and gently took a hold of her wrist. He started to shake. "I. . .She. . . I. . .her eye was lost in her contact. . . I was helping. . . didn't mean to… hurt you… with the door. . ." his voice cracked. And to the shock and disbelief of Tess, and especially Pepper, he sank to his knees and put his face against her stomach, wrapped his arms around her waist and started to cry. Honest to god cry.

Pepper and Tess stared at each other wide-eyed and speechless.

"Don't go. . . please. . . please. . . don't leave. . .I…" but the rest was lost in his wracking sobs. At a loss at what to do, Pepper put a hand on his head and gently stroked his hair, she rubbed his shaking shoulder with the other. This unfortunately made him cry harder for about a minute.

"Um. I'm not going anywhere Tony. It's, uh, it will, um, be ok?" Pepper looked over at Tess, Help me, Pepper mouthed silently, but Tess shrugged in bewilderment.

"Sorry. . .so sorry. . . don't go. . ."

"Tony," Pepper said in her voice that got things done, "stop crying. I am not leaving, so, for the love of god, stop. Please."

"Very forceful Pep. Especially the please."

Pepper gritted her teeth and shot daggers at Tess. Her body was shaking as Tony sobbed on her. "Then you tell me what you are supposed to say to a drunken, crying billionaire, cause I am at a loss here." She looked pained as she stared down at him.

Another awkward few minutes passed. Tony's sob eventually slowed, and turned into hiccups. After a few shuddering gulps there was a wet snort, and Pepper flinched.

Pepper and Tess exchanged slightly disgusted looks.

"Did he just," Tess paused searching for the right word, "snot on you?"

"Um, I think so," Pepper said slightly horrified.

"Eeewww." They said together.

"I'll, um, go get you a towel."

"Yes please. There are some in the kitchen. Hurry." There was a slight shill pitch in Pepper's voice as she said this.

Tess padded quickly out to the kitchen. Pepper could hear her opening drawers, then the water in the sink running. In the mean time Tony's grip loosened and he leaned back on his heels. He wiped his face on his sleeve with a wet "snork", but he wouldn't look at her.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I would never. . ." he gave a strained cough, "hurt you like that. But I had to tell," another cough and Pepper saw a drop of fluid, I'll just pretend that's a tear she though, hit his sleeve. "It wasn't. . .don't leave me. . ."

It was like being stabbed, thought Pepper, only you can't see the blood, or the knife for that matter. She kneeled in front of Tony, their knees touching slightly. Another unsteady breath, and with a speed she didn't think possible, threw his arms around her shoulders, pulling her forward, and buried his face in her neck. He gave a huge sob, and Pepper could feel hot liquid ooze onto her neck. Gross, don't think about it Potts! But fortunately Tony only had one sob left before they fell into an awkward silence. Pepper put her arms around him loosely. "I'm sorry that I slapped you," she said quietly, "I didn't mean it, not really," She fought down the swell of tears that threatened her. Why? Why did her life have moments like this? This was not normal. All she wanted was to spend time with her friend, someone who she didn't have to be on guard from every second. And now her boss decides to go and have himself a little breakdown. Fucking hell.

God he reeked of booze, and sweat, but underneath was his cologne. The cologne, that when he wore it, Pepper had to concentrate on anything and everything but him. She didn't think he knew that it had that affect on her, because she was sure that if he did he would wear it all the time just to get under her skin. She was only human after all. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against the top of his head. What the hell she though, why can't I just this once not worry? She tightened her grip on him, and was it her imagination, but did he pull her just a fraction closer?

Pepper ran her hands up and down his back, feeling the flex of the muscles in his back and shoulders. As Tony took a deep breath, Pepper could feel the hard curved edge of the arc reactor press slightly into her breast. She could hear him breathing, hear her pulse pounding in her ears, the fact the sink was now turned off and that Tess was walking up the hall. Pepper dropped her arms to her sides. Turning her head slightly, she could see Tess enter the room, a wet dishtowel in her hand.

"You ok?" Tess asked softly as she walked over to stand next to Pepper.

"No. But . . ." Pepper trailed off. With a sigh, she put both of her hands on Tony's shoulders and started to push him away. There was a second where he resisted letting go, but Pepper rocked him back on his heels. He wouldn't look at either of them.

Tess dropped to her haunches and handed Pepper the cold damp towel.

"Tony." Pepper said quietly, "It's ok. Tony?"

He finally looked up, and frankly he looked like hell. His eyes had a thick, glazed look and were red, his face was almost a purple and streaked with tears and snot. Pepper reached forward and wiped his face with the towel. She gave a few more swipes before sitting back. He looked slightly better, while his face was still splotchy it was at least cleaned up a bit. Tony Stark may be ridiculously wealthy, a mechanical genius, and a newly minted "hero" to boot, but you can't take anyone, not even him, seriously with snot dripping from his nose.

Pepper refolded the towel so there was a clean side and gave a scrub to her neck with a grimace. She suddenly felt very, very tired, and rubbed her eyes with he free hand. "What time is it Tess?"

"After 3."

"How are you not falling over?"

"Practice. Come on, lets get him settled on the couch, we both need sleep."

The both got up slowly, and with an arm under each of Tony's, they hauled him to his feet. Nearly. The three of them staggered dangerously for a moment before Pepper and Tess were able to steady themselves.

"It's almost like wrestling with scotch flavored Silly Putty," commented Tess as they made their unsteady way to the couch. They turned themselves around and sat down heavily, Tony falling between them. They sat for a moment before Pepper found the energy to stand. She looked down at the snail trails of Stark snot streaked on her shirt.

"Ug."

"Put it on his tab," Tess said with a wicked grin.

"Can you watch him for a second? I want to get a clean shirt and grab a pillow and blanket. And a bucket."

Tess nodded, "Sure. I got this. No rush," she looked at Tony as he sat very still with his head resting against the back of the couch, "I don't think he will be going anywhere soon."

As Pepper headed up stairs, Tess stood up and stretched.

"Well Tony," Tess said conversationally, "How does it feel being the drunkest human being on the face of the planet?"

"Like I need a drink," came the answer.

"Sure," Tess said pleasantly, "why the hell not?" She went to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water from the fridge, cracked it open and handed it out to Tony.

"What ish it?" he asked suspiciously opening an eye a fraction.

"Vodka, but if you don't want any. . ." she started to pull it back when he reached for it. It took him a moment to close his hand around it.

Tony forced himself to sit up slightly and took a tentative sip. It doshn't taste like v-voddka," he said suspiciously.

"What does it taste like?" Tess asked, amused.

"Gin."

"Yup you got me, it's gin." Tess said, watching Tony chug the water. It was gone in under 30 seconds. Tess tugged the empty bottle from his hand. When he hadn't moved for about a minute, she bent down and started taking off his shoes and socks. When that was done with no lasting trauma to either one, Tess looked at his still form.

His shirt was disgusting, soaked with whatever liquids had been spilled over this long evening. Tess made a quick executive decision. She undid a few buttons, then shook Tony, none too gently. it had been a long day.

"Tony, help me with your shirt."

"Wha…"

"Sit up for a second."

He made an attempt to sit up, failed, and with a sigh Tess pulled him forward with one hand, and with the other grabbed the tail of his shirt and pulled it halfway up his back. "Arms up." Tony complied to the best of his ability, it chaffed Tess a bit that he giggled as she tugged his shirt off over his head.

"Oh, huh." Tess said. Tony was wearing a tank top undershirt, and there, burning with white light beneath it, was the arc reactor. She couldn't help but stare, it was just so incongruous seeing something so mechanical in a guy who, not more than fifteen minutes ago, was snotting all over her friend.

Tony followed her gaze, "Yeah. Wanna touch it?"

"That sounded less creepy in your head didn't it?"

"Kinda," Tony leaned his head back for a moment and started to slide to his left. Tess gave a sigh and wrangled Tony until he was laying on his side. Tony rolled onto his back and opened a bloodshot eye. "So wanna see or not?"

'When will I get another chance' thought Tess. "Ok." Sitting on the edge of the couch, she hooked a finger on the neck of his shirt and pulled it down about an inch exposing the edge. It was strange that the seam between the skin and the metal of the reactors edge didn't look as awful as she had though it would.

"Pepper's friend," Tony laughed, "Don't be shy. Here" He pulled his shirt up exposing, Tess had to admit, rock hard abs and the whole reactor. "Tah dah." He closed his eyes and laughed.

Tess peered closer. The technology that was at work, it was mind-boggling. It fit so well in his body, almost like a healed extreme body piercing. "Wow"

"That's what they all say," Tony said as he arched an eyebrow at her suggestively, or as close as he could manage in his heavily inebriated state, "the ladies all love the arc reactor."

Tess laughed, she couldn't help it. This guy was unreal. He had consumed enough scotch to kill an entire frat house, yet he was still making jokes and attempting to flirt with her. Without thinking she tapped the center of the reactor, it was warm and smooth, it felt like glass. Suddenly she realized what she had done.

"Oops, um sorry about that. That didn't hurt did it?"

Tony shook his head, his eyes closed. "It only hurt when it happened. And when Pepper had to help change it out. . ."

"What?"

"Dainty hands. She hand to reach in and touch my heart. . .Connect the wire. . ."

"She never told me that." Tess ran a finger around the outer edge, where the metal met skin. Seamless, amazing, it was a part of him. . .

Tony shivered, "Tickles. . ." he mumbled.

"What does it feel like?"

"Like a chunk of metal shoved into my chest."

"Everything ok Tess?" Pepper said from behind them.

Tony's eyes snapped open, and a look of desperation flashed across his face, "Pepper! I didn't. . . I was just showing," he pulled his shirt back down and put his hand over the reactor in what almost looked like embarrassed modesty. "The reactor. . .cause. . .cause. . ." he gulped hard, "I'm Iron Man. . ." He finished weakly. "Plus, plus," he said as if struck by a sudden thought, "I'm too drunk to get it up, probably, so. . . so we couldn't anyway, but. . .cause see, I'm Iron Man. . ." Tony stopped confused.

Pepper and Tess looked at each other then looked away quickly. Tess shut her eyes tight and shook with silent laughter. Pepper bit her bottom lip, hard, and swallowed back the laugh that threatened. She coughed. "Yes. So I've been told."

"Roll onto your side," she said. When he complied, she helped him put the pillow under his head and covered him with the blanket. She put a plastic bucked near his head on the floor. "Try to aim." was all she said, but she quickly and softly ran her hand over his hair.

Pepper and Tess headed up the stairs. He heard them go, but the black sticky darkness flowed up and pulled him under.