You've all worn me down.

In the year or so since I've been in this fandom I've noticed the intense love so many of you have for Pepperony. Really, it's hard to miss. I've tried to write stories that interested me and I hoped they would appeal to you as well. My reviews do not reflect that.

In Pepperony stories on the other hand it's not at all unusual to see twenty by the time two chapters are posted. I've also been inundated with requests. "You're a good author but you don't write Pepperony. Why don't you write a Pepperony story?"

So you know what? You win. I quit. I give in. Here's your Pepperony. Enjoy.

"Once upon a midnight dreary I woke with something in my head. I couldn't escape the memory of a phone call and what you said." Blues Traveller, "Run Around"

Scylla

Prologue

Tony Stark, child billionaire and gadgeteer genius found himself wrestling with a problem that neither his intellect nor Iron Man could solve for him. It flitted at the edge of his consciousness, demanding his attention and then skittering away when he tried to focus on it. Giving up, he pressed the "playback" button on his POD and listened to his messages.

"You have [five] messages from [Whitney Stane] and...[fifteen] messages from [Pepper Potts]."

There were no messages from Rhodey. Unsurprising because the other boy was only a few feet away in his own room. He lay down his bed, making himself comfortable while he listened to his messages.

He skipped through the messages from Whitney after the first one; they were usually the same type, a new restaurant to try or a concert to attend.

By comparison, Pepper's were much more varied, ranging from school, politics, current events and Team Iron Man stuff.

"Hey, Tony! There's a documentary on tonight about Wakanda. Make sure you WiVO it."

"Found a new manhwa you might like."

"Can you believe that senator? Ugh. What a tool."

"I thought up a new idea or two for my armor. Maybe red and silver. Oh! And a powerful electromagnet."

"Hey...Tony...there's something I need to talk to you and Rhodey about."

"Tony! Have you considered looking for-"

He smiled as he listened to her voice rise and fall, breathy with excitement. In a few of the messages she spoke so fast he had to replay them several times to understand her. In some of them her voice was slow and measured, even occasionally troubled.

Tony felt his jaw go slack and his eyes widened as the problem he'd been unconsciously wrestling with emerged from its nebulous beginnings to blossom full-grown into his thoughts.

"Oh...wow..." he whispered aloud.

He was in love with Pepper Potts.

James "Rhodey" Rhodes thought he had heard every outrageous idea, crazy plan, or downright stupid action his best friend had ever conceived. What came out of Tony Stark's mouth this time had him choking on his oatmeal.

"What? You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding!" Rhodey was glad the boy genius could finally admit to himself how he felt about Pepper. The taller boy thought they'd be great together but Tony's way of declaring his affections would end in disaster.

Storm blue eyes were innocent. "What? It would be dishonest of me to keep dating Whitney when I clearly wanna be with Pepper. And you can't tell me Pepper's better off with Happy." Tony casually waved his toast around as he spoke. "Don't worry. I'll let Whitney down gently. With flowers. And candy. And...maybe Hawaii."

Rhodey shook his head in disbelief. Tony had a PhD in Missing the Point.

"That's only the beginning, genius. You're going to break it off with Whitney, somehow get Pepper to stop dating Happy, then immediately start dating her yourself? Do you hear what you're saying?"

Rhodey groaned in exasperation. Yet again he was trying to talk sense into someone who could build an exosuit in a cave from scraps but had the density of lead when it came to human interaction.

At Tony's look of confusion he continued. "So you and Whitney were dating. Then Pepper goes out with Happy and bam! All of a sudden you're jealous with no indication you were ever interested in Pepper and no had no intention of dumping Whitney until now.

"Besides, do you have any idea how Whitney and Happy will feel, seeing you waltz by with Pepper? It's not like you can start dating the next day. You have to let things calm down for a few months."

Rhodey took a sip of his orange juice.

"Okay, you barely know Happy but he's still your friend. Sure, he's not all that bright but he still has feelings. And Whitney? Man, you've nearly known her as long as you've known me. And she can't stand Pepper. This will be a slap in the face. Let's forget for a moment she has a rich and seriously ruthless father who would send assassins after you for breaking her heart. She's a trained kickboxer and could wipe the floor with you, armor or not. You're just lucky she can't be Madame Masque anymore."

Tony rolled his eyes at his best friend's drama and finished his breakfast. "Fine. I'll lie low for a suitable waiting period and then ask Pepper out so there's no hard feelings. A month. Tops. But I'm telling Pepper how I feel. Today." A thought occurred to him and he brightened. "You like Whitney. Why don't you-"

"Uh...no." Rhodey waved his hands in negation as if trying to delete the thought. "You're not dragging me into this. It's your mess. Fall on your face without me. I'll ask Whitney out in my own time. If she's not interested, so be it."

Tony sighed and grabbed his backpack. Before Whitney's sickness he'd thought his two oldest friends were well on their way to becoming a couple. Then the blonde forgot meeting Rhodey and their relationship reset to nil. It was a shame that Rhodey never tried to pursue her while he was in China. With himself unavailable maybe she'd turn to his best friend for comfort.

"Fine, but I still think you're exaggerating. Whitney and Happy will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

Rhodey stood, thumping his best friend on the back of the head as he passed.

"One of these days, you're gonna learn to stop saying that. And I hope I'm there to say 'I told you so.' "

The halls of the Tomorrow Academy were surprisingly silent; Rhodey noticed Pepper wasn't there to greet them with her usual hyper speed chatter. He felt oddly bereft by its absence.

Whitney Stane stood by her locker, chatting with the Irwin twins. Rona spotted them before Whitney did and glared at the teen inventor with her usual hostile glare. Tony gave her a warm beautiful smile, which enraged her all the more.

Tony felt a bit nervous, unsure how to broach the subject to Whitney. He cared about the blonde. She was one of the few true friends he had, someone who looked past the wealth and position to the real person. Perhaps he'd soften the blow by making her a member of Team Iron Man to show he trusted her and that she meant the world to him. As a friend. Of course, he had to be sure she wouldn't be so angry she'd run to her father with his secrets before he told her.

Rona nudged Whitney, who looked up and smiled dazzlingly at Tony Stark. The boy genius felt charmed and a good deal more guilty. Even Rhodey seemed be-spelled by her beauty and he hadn't been the recipient of that warm regard.

"Good morning, Tony. Rhodey." Whitney leaned in for a kiss.

Tony gave her a preemptive hug, looking embarrassed. "Morning, Whitney. Hey, you mind having lunch on the roof today? Uh, alone?"

Rhodey stifled a moan, knowing the blonde would misinterpret the invitation and blow up even worse when she found out Tony's true intentions.

Whitney's smile turned sly. "Sounds great."

Rona's snarky comment was lost as a rampaging herd of buffalo picked that very moment to stampede through the hall.

"Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaa!"

Or, one Happy Hogan.

"Dude! She said yes! Can you believe it? Best day ever!"

The group took a collective step back as Happy barreled towards them and gathered the five, Rona's silent brother included, into a group bear hug. He released them and grabbed a stunned Tony and spun him around in a circle as if he weighed no more than a tackling dummy. "She said yes! Can you believe it?" the excited athlete asked.

"Um...no?" Tony's response was tentative.

Happy set him down none too gently. "Me neither! Later, Stark!" With that, he took off again, leaving his friends to stare at each other in confusion.

"What was that?" Rhodey spoke for all of them.

"Man...no one can beat Happy when in comes to sheer enthusiasm, can they?"

Pepper slowly approached the group, her expression sheepish but her eyes sparkling in delight. Rhodey felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Happy was behaving as if he'd just been signed with the NBA and the redhead was trailing after him looking chagrined but flattered at Happy's obvious joy.

Uh oh...

"I've never seen Happy live up to his name quite so-Oh my God!" Whitney reached forward as soon as the other girl was within arm's reach and lifted up a gold chain with a large heavy ring strung through it. "Is that what I think it is?"

The three girls huddled together while the male Irwin twin wandered off, bored. Tony found himself unable to move as he recognized Happy's class ring. Rhodey nervously looked from one friend to another but wisely kept his mouth shut.

A soft blush stained the redhead's cheeks as she showed off the ring. "Yeah. It all happened so fast. First Happy wanted to meet me before school to ask me to the Homecoming Dance. I said yes, of course and then we started talking about Halloween parties and one thing lead to another and...we decided to make our relationship...official." She smiled with genuine feeling at Whitney and Rona and miracle of miracles, the three girls were beginning to bond. The goth girl didn't even bother with snarky comments about ownership in the patriarchy but seemed genuinely pleased for someone else's sake.

Pepper radiated contentment and her body language made it clear to Rhodey she wasn't grandstanding to make Tony jealous. She really did want to be with Happy. He was glad for her but couldn't resist a glance at his best friend's face.

The young genius heard the conversation as if from far away through tunnel vision. The bottom of his stomach seemed to drop out and he felt sick. He didn't seem to notice when his best friend turned him around and guided him towards his locker. His movements became stiff and unnatural, eyes glazed.

Rhodey's heart broke, seeing Tony so traumatized. He thought about his playful "I told you so" earlier and felt guilty, feeling as if his ill-advised words had somehow caused this to happen. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm so sorry."

Tony never heard him, nor anything else for the rest of the day.

Pepper had fallen in love with Happy. He was too late.