Iron Will
A Man Like Tony Stark
The scent of freshly brewed coffee, the hiss caused by strips of bacon as they hit the grill, and the crowd of patrons which created at bustling atmosphere seemed to be the only things that were keeping Peyton awake as she worked an early morning shift at Jimmy’s Family Restaurant.
Numerous people hounded the poor waitress restlessly for a refill or a brand new cup of Joe, and the brunette would always smile and nod, saying she would return with it shortly in response to the antsy diner. For someone as sleep deprived and over-worked as Peyton was feeling, she thought she pulled off “happy-go-lucky” pretty easily.
“Peyton, table six’s order is ready,” Mike, one of the chefs, called from inside the kitchen, placing a plate atop the metal bar.
“Okay, thanks Mikey,” Peyton smiled, handing some change back to a customer and wishing them a good day before taking the order to the table, along with a fresh cup of coffee.
Peyton gently placed the order atop the table with the usual perky grin. “Here you are, Mr. Jenkins,” she said, putting the white mug onto the table right after. “And here’s your new cup of coffee.”
The elderly Mr. Jenkins smiled up at his usual waitress and nodded his head in thanks. “You know me too well, Peyton, thank you.” He chuckled out softly.
“Sure thing, Mr. Jenkins, just let me know if I can do anything else for you.”
“I will, thank you,”
Peyton then walked off to make sure that the rest of the customers in her designated area were pleased with the service. More needs for coffee were voiced and she answered each and every one of them with haste, wanting to make sure that their dining experience was more than just satisfactory. When the clock struck seven o’clock, Peyton smiled to herself.
Only one more hour to go, She told herself victoriously, smiling as she refilled yet another cup. Her grin faltered when she remembered that she’d have to head straight to Professor Edwin’s class, though she knew it was a lecture that she couldn’t miss. She had planned on talking with her Professor about Stark and venting about the past few days she had spent with him. If she could allow herself to let it all out, she’d probably feel better about the lack of sleep. Maybe during class I can sit in the back and take a power nap? She thought hopefully.
Living with him was no easy feat. However, Peyton had to look on the bright side of things. At least she met a good friend like Pepper through all of it.
Peyton gave a quiet yawn and returned behind the bar to pick up more orders. As she placed down plates onto different tables, she could hear the restaurant’s door opening as it hit a bell above the doorframe. After placing the final plate down, she turned towards the door and flashed a smile.
“Hello, welcome to Jimmy’s, how man—” Peyton had to stop halfway and blink her eyes to make sure she was seeing correctly. “Tony, Happy, what are you both doing here?”
“We came to eat,” Tony replied bluntly.
“Pepper came down with a bit of a cold,” Happy explained. “Since she usually does the cooking, we decided to eat out.”
Peyton could begin to feel a migraine beginning to form in the back of her skull as she heard Tony’s answer. “Well, why didn’t you choose a place closer to home? I mean, you drove quite a ways to just come and eat.”
“I was wondering where you went to and Happy told me he had dropped you off here. Thought I’d come and check out the place where you work.” Tony answered, looking around the diner through a pair of dark shades. “It’s quaint … I like it.” He concluded.
Slightly shaking her head, she grabbed two menus from the counter and motioned for the two men to follow her. She placed them in a booth by the window, told them the morning’s specials, and said she’d be back later to take their order. Within minutes, Peyton was giving them to the kitchen staff, and then delivering their hot meals. Halfway through their meal, Jimmy’s was beginning to calm down as the breakfast crowd began to dissipate.
Peyton walked behind the counter as Mr. Jenkins walked up to pay for his food. “Leaving already, Mr. Jenkins?” She smiled.
“Afraid so, Peyton,” he nodded his head, returning her smile. “The food was good, make sure you tell Mikey.”
“Thanks, Mr. Jenkins!” Mikey shouted from the back, causing the elderly man to chuckle lightheartedly.
Peyton laughed along and received the twenty dollar bill from him after he fiddled throughout his wallet. “Here you go, and go ahead and keep the change, Peyton.”
“Are you sure?—There’s a lot of change left over,”
“It’s fine,” he replied, putting on his hat and flashing a reassuring smile. “Have a good day, Peyton.”
“Thank you, Mr. Jenkins, you, too.”
As Peyton put away the money, she began to clean up the bar with a cloth, making sure it was spic and span, watching Tony and Happy out of the corner of her eye curiously. Tony ate each bite ravenously, it were almost as if he hadn’t eaten in days, while Harold ate like a normal human being. Her eyes glanced about the restaurant and noticed it had become quite empty compared to the morning rush with only four other tables being occupied.
I wonder how Pepper’s feeling? Peyton thought, letting her mind wander as she cleaned. Turning around, she walked into the kitchen. “Hey Mikey, could you make me some chicken noodle soup?” She asked.
“Sure thing, Peyton, what table is it for?”
“No table, I want to give it to some people to take home for a friend,”
“Oh alright,” he nodded his head. “Want me to put it in a container?”
“Please,”
“Will do,” Mikey smiled, getting out the necessary pots and ingredients to create it from scratch.
After thanking him, Peyton returned to the front and walked over to Tony and Harold’s table. “How’s the food, guys?”
“It’s great, Peyton,” Happy smiled.
Tony grunted and took another bite to respond to her question. “I’ll just take that as a ‘good’,” Peyton mumbled, immediately returning to her perky disposition. “Need refills, anything?”
Happy looked over at Tony and shook his head. “I think we’re good,”
Peyton nodded back and excused herself to once again check on the rest of the customers and as she got ready to leave, she brought out the container of soup for Pepper to the table. Tony and Harold looked at her in slight confusion, and she quickly explained.
“It’s for Pepper; I had Mikey make some Chicken Noodle Soup. Tell her I hope she feels better.”
“Your shift’s over isn’t it?” Tony inquired, noticing her change of clothes and lack of a nametag. “Where are you going?”
“If you must know, I’m going to school. I’ve got to meet my journalism teacher, discuss a few things about this article I have to write on you.”
“Oh, really? I’ll come along.”
Peyton’s eyes bugged out for a second and she shook her head softly as if to get anything out of her ears that might have caused her to hear him wrong. “Pardon?”
“I’ll come with you,”
“Why do you want to come?”
“I want to talk to your Professor, discuss a few things about this article you have to write on me.” Tony replied, rephrasing part of what she had said earlier.
Sighing, Peyton looked at her watch. It was a little past eight and she had to get going if she were to make the bus in time, and she just knew if she were to battle Tony on the subject he’d fire back at her and possibly make her late. “Fine, but I have to leave now.” She caved.
Tony gave a sigh of his own and rose from the booth, taking out his wallet and placing two twenties onto the table for Happy to pay with. Taking out a ten, he held it out for Peyton.
“Here,”
“What’s this for?”
“Tip,”
“Just leave it on the table,” she grumbled, not wanting to accept his money. She was already living with him; there was no need for her to take anything else from him.
Rolling his eyes, Tony flicked it onto the table as well. Peyton bid Happy goodbye and Tony told him he’d call when he was ready for them to be picked up. After that, Peyton walked out of Jimmy’s and towards the bus stop, Tony right on her heels as he put on his sunglasses.
“So what school do you go to anyways?”
“USC,”
“Hm, I always pictured you more as a UCLA type of girl,”
“I almost was since my dad’s friend is a professor there, but I decided against it for that reason. I wanted a fresh slate, to be independent and responsible for myself.”
“It’s understandable,” Tony shrugged lamely.
As they reached the bus stop, Peyton looked back and saw Ron pulling up in the large vehicle, a small smile of relief coming over her features. She was glad that they had made it in time.
The doors hissed open and Peyton walked on first, taking out her wallet and getting out the fee for the lift. The doors hissed closed and Tony walked past Peyton. “Put your money away, I already paid.”
Peyton glanced at Tony in confusion before glancing at the collections box, immediately noticing the twenty dollar bill that stuck out from the rest of the crumpled up ones and change like a sore thumb.
She grumbled about how she wished she had money to throw around like that before putting away her things and walking towards the back of the bus with Tony, sitting on the opposite side of where he sat. The ride was a quiet one. Tony sat patiently throughout it all while playing around on his personalized cell phone and Peyton jotted down questions for future interviews with him. She couldn’t help but feel if Tony were like this half the time, she wouldn’t mind being in his company all that much.
After a few stops, they disembarked and walked onto the USC campus, strolling comfortably past the clock tower and school buildings till she got to the Administration. Peyton took notice that a few people would shoot curious glances at Tony, wondering if he was really who they thought he was and what someone of his stature was doing with someone as normal as Peyton. Some couldn’t help but wonder if she had slept with him, and it was that rumor that silently began to spread like wildfire among the student body.
“Do you think Peyton Salvatorrelli did the deed with Stark?”
“Wow, she must really be desperate,”
“Psh, I always knew that she was a golddigger,”
Peyton was fully unaware of the words that were being spoken behind her back, though Tony could tell that something was stirring in the minds of the people around them. He’d seen it too many times; he’d been a victim of it too many times. He knew that something was going to go out of control there, he just didn’t know when.
Peyton was soon guiding them through the halls of the Administration building, soon coming to a stop before Professor Edwin’s class. “It’s still a class, so please… no big stunts or anything,” she somewhat pleaded to Tony.
“Got it,”
She let out a soft sigh of relief and nodded her head, opening the door and walking inside the lecture hall. The idea of a power nap entered her mind and Peyton became oblivious to all the curious glances that were shot at her as she walked up the stairs and to the top row, picking the farthest away seat so as to not be spotted by Edwin.
Tony sighed and sat down beside Peyton, gazing about the room and occasionally glancing at the people who would stare at him in slight awe or confusion. Peyton placed her things onto the floor and let her head rest upon her arms which were folded on her desk.
Smirking, Tony reached over and lifted up a bang, causing her to look at him from the corner of her eye in slight annoyance. “Not going to put on your thinking cap today?”
“Nope,”
“Not even going to give it the old college try?”
“Nuh-uh,”
“Then why bother coming?”
“Because I’ve got to talk to my professor after class,” she reminded. “You can go ahead and go to the cafeteria and wait for me there. It’s nice; it was just remodeled from the ground up a few months ago.”
Tony shrugged his shoulders and continued to play with his phone, and as the Professor arrived, he only immersed himself deeper in his electronic. Peyton paid slight attention to the first ten minutes of the hour and a half lecture, though immediately knocked out afterwards. Tony looked at the brunette from the corner of his eye, smirking to himself a little as he heard soft snores coming from the girl.
The billionaire was thankful that time seemed to fly by, and soon the class was becoming depleted of students. Tony took this as the time to wake Peyton and shook her shoulder. “Hey… hey, wake up,” he ordered, continuing to urge the girl to open her eyes. He sighed in slight annoyance and got an idea. “Hayden, wake up.” He said in a louder tone.
“It’s Peyton,” she grumbled softly.
“Your professor’s leaving, you know,”
Peyton shot upright as his words seemed to slap some sense into her, grabbing her bag from the floor and racing down the steps. Tony could only laugh softly at her before slowly rising from the seat, taking his time as he followed her out of the classroom.
“Professor Edwin!” She called, rushing through the walls of students.
The educator could barely make out the sound of his pupil’s voice and came to a stop to turn and see if someone were actually calling him. He saw Peyton hurriedly making her way over and gave the girl a smile. “Why hello, Miss Salvatorrelli,” he greeted.
“Hello, Professor,” she replied, letting out a soft sigh of relief as she had caught up.
“How was your nap?”
Peyton could feel a bit of blush arise upon her cheeks. “You saw that?” She inquired quietly.
Edwin chuckled and nodded his head, “Yes, but the main reason I know is because you have left a red imprint upon your forehead.” Her blush seemed to brighten and she muttered an apology under her breath for sleeping during his lecture. “It’s quite alright, Peyton, I know that you must be more tired than usual with your special assignment.”
Peyton couldn’t help but smile as she saw how understanding her professor was being. “Thank you, Professor,” she said. “Would it be alright to talk with you about how things are going with the article?”
“Of course, that’s why I’m here.” He beamed. “I have a good amount of time till my next lecture, so shall we head to my office?”
“Please,” she nodded.
“Where are we going?”
The Professor and pupil turned around to see Tony making his way towards them. “Ah, Mr. Stark,” Edwin began, extending his hand out for him to shake. “What a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name’s George Edwin, Miss Salvatorrelli’s journalism professor.”
Tony stared at the hand awkwardly. “Oh, I don’t really shake hands,” he mumbled.
Professor Edwin looked at Tony in slight confusion though did his best to cover it up. “Oh, alright then,” he said, trying to still sound cheery and not at all flustered. “Were you going to join us in our discussion, Mr. Stark?”
“No, he’s not,” Peyton stated, turning to Tony who was giving her an accusing glance.
“Oh, I’m not?”
“No, you’re not.” She repeated. “Why don’t you head to the cafeteria like I suggested earlier? It’s real nice. I heard they even put in a brand new Starbucks.” She took out a few dollars and handed them to him, urging him to leave them be. “It’s on me.”
Tony wasn’t quite sure of what to do as Peyton and Edwin waited for him to leave, and as soon as he saw a group of young college girls batting their eyes at him flirtatiously, he grinned to himself. “You know, I think I may just take you up on that, Hayden—”
“—Peyton,”
“Yeah, see you later,” he said, beginning to walk down the hall. “Oh, and nice meeting you, Georgie,”
“I’m sorry about him,” she groaned to her professor.
“No, it’s fine. He’s a bit of an eccentric fellow, isn’t he?”
Peyton chuckled to herself. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Well then,” Professor Edwin opened up the door and smiled. “Shall we start our chat, Miss Salvatorrelli?”
It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had confided in her professor and she felt so much better for doing so. Peyton had told Professor Edwin about her time at Tony’s home, how he was putting her at her wits’ end and how she was coping by spending time with Pepper, among other things.
When she had finished with her rant, she then went onto the actual business. She inquired about how she should approach the article, what she should ask him in future interviews, and most importantly, how to make Tony not sound like himself so that the public would enjoy the article more.
Professor Edwin had given her a few good pieces of advice, but mostly told her that if she believed she was doing justice with her piece, that was all that really mattered. And after hearing that, she had to agree. It wasn’t a matter of giving the public what they wanted, but rather showing them what Tony Stark had to offer – the good and the bad.
As Peyton walked into the café, she looked around and expected to see Tony sitting at table playing with his phone like usual. When she didn’t see him, a bad feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. Where’d he go off to now?
Giving a sigh of annoyance, she sauntered back out of the lunchroom and into the open courtyard. Maybe he called Happy to pick him up? she thought, taking out her cell phone and beginning to dial his chauffeur’s cell. “Please let him be with Happy,” she mumbled, placing the phone to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Hi Happy, its Peyton, is Tony with you?”
“No, I can’t say he is,” Harold replied. “Is he not with you anymore?”
“Well, he was supposed to wait for me in the cafeteria, but he wasn’t there when I went to get him.” Peyton sighed and grabbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off a headache she knew would come. “He’s around here somewhere, I’ll just go and look.”
“Okay, then. Are you finished with your business there?—Would you like for me to pick you both up?”
“That’d be great,” she looked down at her watch and saw it was around noon. “When do you think you’ll be able to get to the USC campus?”
“Well, I may hit a bit of traffic, I’d say two hours tops. I’m sorry about the wait. I’m leaving right now.”
“It’s fine, Happy, don’t worry. I’ll tell you what, I’ll take Tony to my place and you can pick us up there.”
Peyton gave Happy her address and hung up a few seconds later, gathering herself as she began to search for the billionaire. Her phone began to vibrate inside her pocket and she got it out quickly, opening a newly received text.
Happy told me you can’t find Tony. Here’s his number so try calling him.
I’m sorry about him, Peyton.
—Pepper.
She quickly sent a reply text thanking her for his number and immediately dialed it. As it rang, she could hear another phone going off around her, and she looked about her surroundings before spotting a group people, that consisted mostly of girls, encircling someone. “It couldn’t be…” Peyton mumbled to herself.
“Hold on girls, let me get this,”
“But it is,” she rolled her eyes.
“Hello?”
As soon as she confirmed it, she hung up and made her way through the crowd. She saw Tony staring at the phone in confusion before turning to the rest of the crowd around him. “Tony,” she called.
He turned his head and finally faced her. “Oh, when’d you get here?”
“C’mon Tony, we’re going to my place,”
Whispers arose and Peyton knew what was going on immediately. They thought she was sleeping around, sleeping with multi-billionaires to climb her way to the top. The whispers stayed as that though, no one willing to say it out loud. It was annoying Peyton immensely.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.” She firmly demanded. No one spoke up and she glared at the crowd that surrounded her. The silence infuriated her further, and she let her thoughts be heard. “You’re all pathetic for talking about me, but the fact that you don’t even have the guts to say it right to me is even more so.”
“So we all think that you’re fucking Tony Stark and sleeping your way up,” a blonde from the crowd said, crossing her arms and staring at the brunette with a superior glint in her eye.
Peyton realized her to be a girl from her journalism class and she rolled her eyes. “Well you’re mistaken. There’s no way in hell that I’d ever sleep with Stark.”
“Then what are you doing together?”
“I don’t have to tell you that,”
“Then why should we believe you?”
“You don’t have to; in fact, I honestly don’t know why I’m even wasting my breath trying to convince you otherwise. All I know is that I’m not sleeping with him.” Peyton said, looking to Tony after sending one final glare at the blonde. “Let’s go, Tony.”
Peyton didn’t even wait for Tony to stand up and follow, partially not even caring if he was or not. She just wanted to get out of there, she just wanted to punch something right in the face and vent about how stupid her peers were. She was just amazed at how immature they all were for their suspicions.
Get over it, Peyton. They’re idiots who don’t know what they’re talking about. She argued to herself. Besides, the opinions of others don’t matter. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. As soon as she thought of one of her favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt, she seemed to perk up a bit with confidence. Stopping her walk, she turned and waited for Tony, who was a few feet behind her, to catch up.
He looked at her oddly and shook his head. “What was that all about?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “They got the better of me.”
Thinking she had dismissed the matter, Tony looked to his watch and looked about. “Happy’s not here,” he mused, “and he’s probably going to hit afternoon traffic. So how much longer do I have to tag along for?”
“You’re the one who wanted to come along.” Peyton sighed, beginning to wonder why she hadn’t kept walking. “We’re going to my place now,” she raised a hand and flagged down a cab, opening the door and looking at Tony. “Happy will pick us up there.”
“I knew you wanted to take me home,”
“Trust me, I’ve brought back better,”
Tony stared at Peyton as she got inside the car. Well, he certainly hadn’t been told thatbefore. Without wasting any more time, he got inside the taxi and was driven to a quaint apartment complex.
Peyton and Tony had a bit of an argument over who should pay, and it was an argument that Peyton had, much to her displeasure, lost when Tony threw over a fifty dollar bill for the twenty dollar fare. After having “settled” the matter, they walked up a few flights and were standing before Peyton’s door, the brunette immediately unlocking it and walking inside.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” she sighed.
Tony walked with his hands behind his back, inspecting the room with interest, taking notice of all the little trinkets and photos that were placed on the counter along with some other forms of memorabilia. “It’s simple, homey,” he murmured.
“Yeah, it’s nothing much,” Peyton agreed, walking into the kitchen and placing her things on the counter. “But it’s home. You want something to drink? I have water, soda, tea, coffee,”
“Any Scotch?”
Peyton gazed at him for a second, and was surprised at herself for not being shocked that he’d even ask that of her. She was definitely hanging around him too much. Nonetheless, she turned around and walked towards a cabinet, taking out a glass and a bottle of the whiskey and pouring him some. She placed it upon the counter before him, knowing quiet well by now that he didn’t like to be handed things, and got herself a bottle of water.
“I’m surprised you have some,” Tony said, taking the Scotch and swishing it around in the glass before downing a good portion of it.
“It’s a good way to unwind during finals,”
He chuckled and nodded. “So where’s your room? You rent alone?”
“You don’t need to know that, and yes, I do.”
“Well, you’ve seen my room, haven’t you?”
“What’s your point?”
“Fair’s fair,”
“Not when it was an accident,”
“So you’re saying I should accidentally find your room?”
“Stop being a smartass,”
She walked around the counter, leaving Tony standing at the small bar before he turned around to see her on the couch. He watched her kick off her shoes and pick up the plasma television’s remote while taking another sip of his liquor.
She was definitely not like any other female that was usually around him. The closest one that acted similar to her being Pepper. Pepper didn’t take Tony’s crap most of the time, if ever at all, but Peyton wasn’t afraid to call him out on it or call him insults. Tony wasn’t necessarily fond of being called a smartass on numerous occasions, though he had to admit, it was definitely amusing to be in the company of a woman like Peyton. Ever since he came out as Iron Man, he had been coming under fire by news stations and the government especially, fearing that he could use his creation as a weapon against the nation. However, whenever he was done dealing with annoying anchors who just wanted a story and Rhodey who was talking to him about what the government wanted, Peyton was another way for him to forget all that. He loved to make her flustered. She was too easy, too entertaining to not want to provoke.
He finished off his glass and walked into the kitchen. “Mind if I help myself to more?” He asked, already getting out the Scotch and pouring some more.
Peyton rolled her eyes and waved him off. “Just finish off the bottle, there’s not much left anyways,” she said apathetically.
Tony downed what he had poured and served himself again, taking the last few drops of the whiskey and walking over to join her on the couch. The local news was on and there was another segment upon him and his armor. Peyton switched stations, not wanting to listen to the anchor’s talk about what a threat Tony was. Even though she didn’t know Tony all that much, she knew enough to know that he wouldn’t do something as mental as terrorize the nation.
The billionaire rolled his eyes and took a swig. “So what else do you need for your interview?”
The brunette shrugged in reply. “I don’t know; I’m not sure what I want to ask yet. I don’t know if I want the American public to know what a smartass you are.”
A low chuckle escaped his throat and he looked at her expectantly. “We haven’t had an interview in a while. Why not ask some questions right now?”
She looked him up and down for a second, reaching into her pant pocket and taking out her iPhone, letting it record their mini-interview. “Okay,” she sighed. “How’d you come up with him?”
“Long story short, I was taken hostage to make weapons for terrorists and instead of making them, I made the suit to escape.”
“Where’s the original suit?”
“Broke to pieces after I made my escape,”
“So why rebuild it stateside?”
“Because I saw the damage that was being done because of my weapons and I wanted to put a stop to it. I wanted to change Stark Industries’ image.”
“How many more suits do you plan on creating?”
“However many I want,”
“Why’d you come out as Iron Man when you could have kept it to yourself?”
“Things seem more interesting this way,”
“Not to the government,”
“Who cares about what the government thinks?”
“A lot of people,”
“Well, they shouldn’t,”
Knowing this could continue on, Peyton decided to ignore his last comment. “So does your being Iron Man mean you’re going to be playing the role of a hero now, or are you going to use it as a toy?”
“I’ll use it for whatever I want to use it for.”
Peyton and Stark went back and forth with the questions, occasionally getting into heated debates about certain topics, but it was all put behind them as Happy phoned and announced his arrival at the complex. Peyton was slightly relieved when she received the call. They could finally go home and she would be able to write up a transcript for their small exchange.
“That was Happy,” she sighed as she ended the call. “He’s waiting down outside.”
“Oh, good,” Tony rose from his seat and placed the now empty glass into the sink. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”
“First door on the left,”
Tony walked down the small hallway and Peyton got up from the couch to tidy up, turning off the television and washing the glass that Tony used. When Tony took more than five minutes to return, Peyton got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, deciding to find out if he was doing what she hoped he wasn’t.
The bathroom door was wide open, the billionaire not inside the facility. “Tony!” She yelled, walking further down the small corridor and into her room.
Tony was standing around her room, taking it in. The walls were painted a light gray, the carpet was a spotless white, and her few furnishings were all black. “Your room’s real dark, Peyton. I would’ve figured you for something more… cheerful – like pink or something.”
“I told you I didn’t want you in my room, Tony.”
“What?—I’m not doing anything, just looking.”
“It’s an invasion of privacy,”
Tony gave an exasperated sigh, giving the room one final look before announcing that he was heading down to meet Harold.
Peyton gave a sigh of her own and sat down upon her bed, glad to feel the familiar cotton sheets after being without them for the past few days. She was glad that she had kept her room relatively clean when she left for Stark’s, otherwise him being in here would have embarrassed her. The only part that could have been considered disorderly was her dresser that had knick-knacks scattered across the top from when she was packing.
Rising from the bed, Peyton took one final glance as Tony had done, turning off the light and bidding it farewell again.
She hastily made her way down, knowing that if she didn’t, Tony would question her as to what took her so long. As she got in the car, he did just that, and she swiftly told him that she had to disinfect her room after him having stepped foot in it.
As they headed home, Peyton looked out the window, watching the scenery fly by her. As she heard Tony complain about her response being “harsh”, she couldn’t help but smile. Even though he annoyed her to her wit’s end, she had to admit, it was definitely amusing to be in the company of a man like Tony Stark.
Numerous people hounded the poor waitress restlessly for a refill or a brand new cup of Joe, and the brunette would always smile and nod, saying she would return with it shortly in response to the antsy diner. For someone as sleep deprived and over-worked as Peyton was feeling, she thought she pulled off “happy-go-lucky” pretty easily.
“Peyton, table six’s order is ready,” Mike, one of the chefs, called from inside the kitchen, placing a plate atop the metal bar.
“Okay, thanks Mikey,” Peyton smiled, handing some change back to a customer and wishing them a good day before taking the order to the table, along with a fresh cup of coffee.
Peyton gently placed the order atop the table with the usual perky grin. “Here you are, Mr. Jenkins,” she said, putting the white mug onto the table right after. “And here’s your new cup of coffee.”
The elderly Mr. Jenkins smiled up at his usual waitress and nodded his head in thanks. “You know me too well, Peyton, thank you.” He chuckled out softly.
“Sure thing, Mr. Jenkins, just let me know if I can do anything else for you.”
“I will, thank you,”
Peyton then walked off to make sure that the rest of the customers in her designated area were pleased with the service. More needs for coffee were voiced and she answered each and every one of them with haste, wanting to make sure that their dining experience was more than just satisfactory. When the clock struck seven o’clock, Peyton smiled to herself.
Only one more hour to go, She told herself victoriously, smiling as she refilled yet another cup. Her grin faltered when she remembered that she’d have to head straight to Professor Edwin’s class, though she knew it was a lecture that she couldn’t miss. She had planned on talking with her Professor about Stark and venting about the past few days she had spent with him. If she could allow herself to let it all out, she’d probably feel better about the lack of sleep. Maybe during class I can sit in the back and take a power nap? She thought hopefully.
Living with him was no easy feat. However, Peyton had to look on the bright side of things. At least she met a good friend like Pepper through all of it.
Peyton gave a quiet yawn and returned behind the bar to pick up more orders. As she placed down plates onto different tables, she could hear the restaurant’s door opening as it hit a bell above the doorframe. After placing the final plate down, she turned towards the door and flashed a smile.
“Hello, welcome to Jimmy’s, how man—” Peyton had to stop halfway and blink her eyes to make sure she was seeing correctly. “Tony, Happy, what are you both doing here?”
“We came to eat,” Tony replied bluntly.
“Pepper came down with a bit of a cold,” Happy explained. “Since she usually does the cooking, we decided to eat out.”
Peyton could begin to feel a migraine beginning to form in the back of her skull as she heard Tony’s answer. “Well, why didn’t you choose a place closer to home? I mean, you drove quite a ways to just come and eat.”
“I was wondering where you went to and Happy told me he had dropped you off here. Thought I’d come and check out the place where you work.” Tony answered, looking around the diner through a pair of dark shades. “It’s quaint … I like it.” He concluded.
Slightly shaking her head, she grabbed two menus from the counter and motioned for the two men to follow her. She placed them in a booth by the window, told them the morning’s specials, and said she’d be back later to take their order. Within minutes, Peyton was giving them to the kitchen staff, and then delivering their hot meals. Halfway through their meal, Jimmy’s was beginning to calm down as the breakfast crowd began to dissipate.
Peyton walked behind the counter as Mr. Jenkins walked up to pay for his food. “Leaving already, Mr. Jenkins?” She smiled.
“Afraid so, Peyton,” he nodded his head, returning her smile. “The food was good, make sure you tell Mikey.”
“Thanks, Mr. Jenkins!” Mikey shouted from the back, causing the elderly man to chuckle lightheartedly.
Peyton laughed along and received the twenty dollar bill from him after he fiddled throughout his wallet. “Here you go, and go ahead and keep the change, Peyton.”
“Are you sure?—There’s a lot of change left over,”
“It’s fine,” he replied, putting on his hat and flashing a reassuring smile. “Have a good day, Peyton.”
“Thank you, Mr. Jenkins, you, too.”
As Peyton put away the money, she began to clean up the bar with a cloth, making sure it was spic and span, watching Tony and Happy out of the corner of her eye curiously. Tony ate each bite ravenously, it were almost as if he hadn’t eaten in days, while Harold ate like a normal human being. Her eyes glanced about the restaurant and noticed it had become quite empty compared to the morning rush with only four other tables being occupied.
I wonder how Pepper’s feeling? Peyton thought, letting her mind wander as she cleaned. Turning around, she walked into the kitchen. “Hey Mikey, could you make me some chicken noodle soup?” She asked.
“Sure thing, Peyton, what table is it for?”
“No table, I want to give it to some people to take home for a friend,”
“Oh alright,” he nodded his head. “Want me to put it in a container?”
“Please,”
“Will do,” Mikey smiled, getting out the necessary pots and ingredients to create it from scratch.
After thanking him, Peyton returned to the front and walked over to Tony and Harold’s table. “How’s the food, guys?”
“It’s great, Peyton,” Happy smiled.
Tony grunted and took another bite to respond to her question. “I’ll just take that as a ‘good’,” Peyton mumbled, immediately returning to her perky disposition. “Need refills, anything?”
Happy looked over at Tony and shook his head. “I think we’re good,”
Peyton nodded back and excused herself to once again check on the rest of the customers and as she got ready to leave, she brought out the container of soup for Pepper to the table. Tony and Harold looked at her in slight confusion, and she quickly explained.
“It’s for Pepper; I had Mikey make some Chicken Noodle Soup. Tell her I hope she feels better.”
“Your shift’s over isn’t it?” Tony inquired, noticing her change of clothes and lack of a nametag. “Where are you going?”
“If you must know, I’m going to school. I’ve got to meet my journalism teacher, discuss a few things about this article I have to write on you.”
“Oh, really? I’ll come along.”
Peyton’s eyes bugged out for a second and she shook her head softly as if to get anything out of her ears that might have caused her to hear him wrong. “Pardon?”
“I’ll come with you,”
“Why do you want to come?”
“I want to talk to your Professor, discuss a few things about this article you have to write on me.” Tony replied, rephrasing part of what she had said earlier.
Sighing, Peyton looked at her watch. It was a little past eight and she had to get going if she were to make the bus in time, and she just knew if she were to battle Tony on the subject he’d fire back at her and possibly make her late. “Fine, but I have to leave now.” She caved.
Tony gave a sigh of his own and rose from the booth, taking out his wallet and placing two twenties onto the table for Happy to pay with. Taking out a ten, he held it out for Peyton.
“Here,”
“What’s this for?”
“Tip,”
“Just leave it on the table,” she grumbled, not wanting to accept his money. She was already living with him; there was no need for her to take anything else from him.
Rolling his eyes, Tony flicked it onto the table as well. Peyton bid Happy goodbye and Tony told him he’d call when he was ready for them to be picked up. After that, Peyton walked out of Jimmy’s and towards the bus stop, Tony right on her heels as he put on his sunglasses.
“So what school do you go to anyways?”
“USC,”
“Hm, I always pictured you more as a UCLA type of girl,”
“I almost was since my dad’s friend is a professor there, but I decided against it for that reason. I wanted a fresh slate, to be independent and responsible for myself.”
“It’s understandable,” Tony shrugged lamely.
As they reached the bus stop, Peyton looked back and saw Ron pulling up in the large vehicle, a small smile of relief coming over her features. She was glad that they had made it in time.
The doors hissed open and Peyton walked on first, taking out her wallet and getting out the fee for the lift. The doors hissed closed and Tony walked past Peyton. “Put your money away, I already paid.”
Peyton glanced at Tony in confusion before glancing at the collections box, immediately noticing the twenty dollar bill that stuck out from the rest of the crumpled up ones and change like a sore thumb.
She grumbled about how she wished she had money to throw around like that before putting away her things and walking towards the back of the bus with Tony, sitting on the opposite side of where he sat. The ride was a quiet one. Tony sat patiently throughout it all while playing around on his personalized cell phone and Peyton jotted down questions for future interviews with him. She couldn’t help but feel if Tony were like this half the time, she wouldn’t mind being in his company all that much.
After a few stops, they disembarked and walked onto the USC campus, strolling comfortably past the clock tower and school buildings till she got to the Administration. Peyton took notice that a few people would shoot curious glances at Tony, wondering if he was really who they thought he was and what someone of his stature was doing with someone as normal as Peyton. Some couldn’t help but wonder if she had slept with him, and it was that rumor that silently began to spread like wildfire among the student body.
“Do you think Peyton Salvatorrelli did the deed with Stark?”
“Wow, she must really be desperate,”
“Psh, I always knew that she was a golddigger,”
Peyton was fully unaware of the words that were being spoken behind her back, though Tony could tell that something was stirring in the minds of the people around them. He’d seen it too many times; he’d been a victim of it too many times. He knew that something was going to go out of control there, he just didn’t know when.
Peyton was soon guiding them through the halls of the Administration building, soon coming to a stop before Professor Edwin’s class. “It’s still a class, so please… no big stunts or anything,” she somewhat pleaded to Tony.
“Got it,”
She let out a soft sigh of relief and nodded her head, opening the door and walking inside the lecture hall. The idea of a power nap entered her mind and Peyton became oblivious to all the curious glances that were shot at her as she walked up the stairs and to the top row, picking the farthest away seat so as to not be spotted by Edwin.
Tony sighed and sat down beside Peyton, gazing about the room and occasionally glancing at the people who would stare at him in slight awe or confusion. Peyton placed her things onto the floor and let her head rest upon her arms which were folded on her desk.
Smirking, Tony reached over and lifted up a bang, causing her to look at him from the corner of her eye in slight annoyance. “Not going to put on your thinking cap today?”
“Nope,”
“Not even going to give it the old college try?”
“Nuh-uh,”
“Then why bother coming?”
“Because I’ve got to talk to my professor after class,” she reminded. “You can go ahead and go to the cafeteria and wait for me there. It’s nice; it was just remodeled from the ground up a few months ago.”
Tony shrugged his shoulders and continued to play with his phone, and as the Professor arrived, he only immersed himself deeper in his electronic. Peyton paid slight attention to the first ten minutes of the hour and a half lecture, though immediately knocked out afterwards. Tony looked at the brunette from the corner of his eye, smirking to himself a little as he heard soft snores coming from the girl.
The billionaire was thankful that time seemed to fly by, and soon the class was becoming depleted of students. Tony took this as the time to wake Peyton and shook her shoulder. “Hey… hey, wake up,” he ordered, continuing to urge the girl to open her eyes. He sighed in slight annoyance and got an idea. “Hayden, wake up.” He said in a louder tone.
“It’s Peyton,” she grumbled softly.
“Your professor’s leaving, you know,”
Peyton shot upright as his words seemed to slap some sense into her, grabbing her bag from the floor and racing down the steps. Tony could only laugh softly at her before slowly rising from the seat, taking his time as he followed her out of the classroom.
“Professor Edwin!” She called, rushing through the walls of students.
The educator could barely make out the sound of his pupil’s voice and came to a stop to turn and see if someone were actually calling him. He saw Peyton hurriedly making her way over and gave the girl a smile. “Why hello, Miss Salvatorrelli,” he greeted.
“Hello, Professor,” she replied, letting out a soft sigh of relief as she had caught up.
“How was your nap?”
Peyton could feel a bit of blush arise upon her cheeks. “You saw that?” She inquired quietly.
Edwin chuckled and nodded his head, “Yes, but the main reason I know is because you have left a red imprint upon your forehead.” Her blush seemed to brighten and she muttered an apology under her breath for sleeping during his lecture. “It’s quite alright, Peyton, I know that you must be more tired than usual with your special assignment.”
Peyton couldn’t help but smile as she saw how understanding her professor was being. “Thank you, Professor,” she said. “Would it be alright to talk with you about how things are going with the article?”
“Of course, that’s why I’m here.” He beamed. “I have a good amount of time till my next lecture, so shall we head to my office?”
“Please,” she nodded.
“Where are we going?”
The Professor and pupil turned around to see Tony making his way towards them. “Ah, Mr. Stark,” Edwin began, extending his hand out for him to shake. “What a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name’s George Edwin, Miss Salvatorrelli’s journalism professor.”
Tony stared at the hand awkwardly. “Oh, I don’t really shake hands,” he mumbled.
Professor Edwin looked at Tony in slight confusion though did his best to cover it up. “Oh, alright then,” he said, trying to still sound cheery and not at all flustered. “Were you going to join us in our discussion, Mr. Stark?”
“No, he’s not,” Peyton stated, turning to Tony who was giving her an accusing glance.
“Oh, I’m not?”
“No, you’re not.” She repeated. “Why don’t you head to the cafeteria like I suggested earlier? It’s real nice. I heard they even put in a brand new Starbucks.” She took out a few dollars and handed them to him, urging him to leave them be. “It’s on me.”
Tony wasn’t quite sure of what to do as Peyton and Edwin waited for him to leave, and as soon as he saw a group of young college girls batting their eyes at him flirtatiously, he grinned to himself. “You know, I think I may just take you up on that, Hayden—”
“—Peyton,”
“Yeah, see you later,” he said, beginning to walk down the hall. “Oh, and nice meeting you, Georgie,”
“I’m sorry about him,” she groaned to her professor.
“No, it’s fine. He’s a bit of an eccentric fellow, isn’t he?”
Peyton chuckled to herself. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Well then,” Professor Edwin opened up the door and smiled. “Shall we start our chat, Miss Salvatorrelli?”
It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had confided in her professor and she felt so much better for doing so. Peyton had told Professor Edwin about her time at Tony’s home, how he was putting her at her wits’ end and how she was coping by spending time with Pepper, among other things.
When she had finished with her rant, she then went onto the actual business. She inquired about how she should approach the article, what she should ask him in future interviews, and most importantly, how to make Tony not sound like himself so that the public would enjoy the article more.
Professor Edwin had given her a few good pieces of advice, but mostly told her that if she believed she was doing justice with her piece, that was all that really mattered. And after hearing that, she had to agree. It wasn’t a matter of giving the public what they wanted, but rather showing them what Tony Stark had to offer – the good and the bad.
As Peyton walked into the café, she looked around and expected to see Tony sitting at table playing with his phone like usual. When she didn’t see him, a bad feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. Where’d he go off to now?
Giving a sigh of annoyance, she sauntered back out of the lunchroom and into the open courtyard. Maybe he called Happy to pick him up? she thought, taking out her cell phone and beginning to dial his chauffeur’s cell. “Please let him be with Happy,” she mumbled, placing the phone to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Hi Happy, its Peyton, is Tony with you?”
“No, I can’t say he is,” Harold replied. “Is he not with you anymore?”
“Well, he was supposed to wait for me in the cafeteria, but he wasn’t there when I went to get him.” Peyton sighed and grabbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off a headache she knew would come. “He’s around here somewhere, I’ll just go and look.”
“Okay, then. Are you finished with your business there?—Would you like for me to pick you both up?”
“That’d be great,” she looked down at her watch and saw it was around noon. “When do you think you’ll be able to get to the USC campus?”
“Well, I may hit a bit of traffic, I’d say two hours tops. I’m sorry about the wait. I’m leaving right now.”
“It’s fine, Happy, don’t worry. I’ll tell you what, I’ll take Tony to my place and you can pick us up there.”
Peyton gave Happy her address and hung up a few seconds later, gathering herself as she began to search for the billionaire. Her phone began to vibrate inside her pocket and she got it out quickly, opening a newly received text.
Happy told me you can’t find Tony. Here’s his number so try calling him.
I’m sorry about him, Peyton.
—Pepper.
She quickly sent a reply text thanking her for his number and immediately dialed it. As it rang, she could hear another phone going off around her, and she looked about her surroundings before spotting a group people, that consisted mostly of girls, encircling someone. “It couldn’t be…” Peyton mumbled to herself.
“Hold on girls, let me get this,”
“But it is,” she rolled her eyes.
“Hello?”
As soon as she confirmed it, she hung up and made her way through the crowd. She saw Tony staring at the phone in confusion before turning to the rest of the crowd around him. “Tony,” she called.
He turned his head and finally faced her. “Oh, when’d you get here?”
“C’mon Tony, we’re going to my place,”
Whispers arose and Peyton knew what was going on immediately. They thought she was sleeping around, sleeping with multi-billionaires to climb her way to the top. The whispers stayed as that though, no one willing to say it out loud. It was annoying Peyton immensely.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.” She firmly demanded. No one spoke up and she glared at the crowd that surrounded her. The silence infuriated her further, and she let her thoughts be heard. “You’re all pathetic for talking about me, but the fact that you don’t even have the guts to say it right to me is even more so.”
“So we all think that you’re fucking Tony Stark and sleeping your way up,” a blonde from the crowd said, crossing her arms and staring at the brunette with a superior glint in her eye.
Peyton realized her to be a girl from her journalism class and she rolled her eyes. “Well you’re mistaken. There’s no way in hell that I’d ever sleep with Stark.”
“Then what are you doing together?”
“I don’t have to tell you that,”
“Then why should we believe you?”
“You don’t have to; in fact, I honestly don’t know why I’m even wasting my breath trying to convince you otherwise. All I know is that I’m not sleeping with him.” Peyton said, looking to Tony after sending one final glare at the blonde. “Let’s go, Tony.”
Peyton didn’t even wait for Tony to stand up and follow, partially not even caring if he was or not. She just wanted to get out of there, she just wanted to punch something right in the face and vent about how stupid her peers were. She was just amazed at how immature they all were for their suspicions.
Get over it, Peyton. They’re idiots who don’t know what they’re talking about. She argued to herself. Besides, the opinions of others don’t matter. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. As soon as she thought of one of her favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt, she seemed to perk up a bit with confidence. Stopping her walk, she turned and waited for Tony, who was a few feet behind her, to catch up.
He looked at her oddly and shook his head. “What was that all about?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “They got the better of me.”
Thinking she had dismissed the matter, Tony looked to his watch and looked about. “Happy’s not here,” he mused, “and he’s probably going to hit afternoon traffic. So how much longer do I have to tag along for?”
“You’re the one who wanted to come along.” Peyton sighed, beginning to wonder why she hadn’t kept walking. “We’re going to my place now,” she raised a hand and flagged down a cab, opening the door and looking at Tony. “Happy will pick us up there.”
“I knew you wanted to take me home,”
“Trust me, I’ve brought back better,”
Tony stared at Peyton as she got inside the car. Well, he certainly hadn’t been told thatbefore. Without wasting any more time, he got inside the taxi and was driven to a quaint apartment complex.
Peyton and Tony had a bit of an argument over who should pay, and it was an argument that Peyton had, much to her displeasure, lost when Tony threw over a fifty dollar bill for the twenty dollar fare. After having “settled” the matter, they walked up a few flights and were standing before Peyton’s door, the brunette immediately unlocking it and walking inside.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” she sighed.
Tony walked with his hands behind his back, inspecting the room with interest, taking notice of all the little trinkets and photos that were placed on the counter along with some other forms of memorabilia. “It’s simple, homey,” he murmured.
“Yeah, it’s nothing much,” Peyton agreed, walking into the kitchen and placing her things on the counter. “But it’s home. You want something to drink? I have water, soda, tea, coffee,”
“Any Scotch?”
Peyton gazed at him for a second, and was surprised at herself for not being shocked that he’d even ask that of her. She was definitely hanging around him too much. Nonetheless, she turned around and walked towards a cabinet, taking out a glass and a bottle of the whiskey and pouring him some. She placed it upon the counter before him, knowing quiet well by now that he didn’t like to be handed things, and got herself a bottle of water.
“I’m surprised you have some,” Tony said, taking the Scotch and swishing it around in the glass before downing a good portion of it.
“It’s a good way to unwind during finals,”
He chuckled and nodded. “So where’s your room? You rent alone?”
“You don’t need to know that, and yes, I do.”
“Well, you’ve seen my room, haven’t you?”
“What’s your point?”
“Fair’s fair,”
“Not when it was an accident,”
“So you’re saying I should accidentally find your room?”
“Stop being a smartass,”
She walked around the counter, leaving Tony standing at the small bar before he turned around to see her on the couch. He watched her kick off her shoes and pick up the plasma television’s remote while taking another sip of his liquor.
She was definitely not like any other female that was usually around him. The closest one that acted similar to her being Pepper. Pepper didn’t take Tony’s crap most of the time, if ever at all, but Peyton wasn’t afraid to call him out on it or call him insults. Tony wasn’t necessarily fond of being called a smartass on numerous occasions, though he had to admit, it was definitely amusing to be in the company of a woman like Peyton. Ever since he came out as Iron Man, he had been coming under fire by news stations and the government especially, fearing that he could use his creation as a weapon against the nation. However, whenever he was done dealing with annoying anchors who just wanted a story and Rhodey who was talking to him about what the government wanted, Peyton was another way for him to forget all that. He loved to make her flustered. She was too easy, too entertaining to not want to provoke.
He finished off his glass and walked into the kitchen. “Mind if I help myself to more?” He asked, already getting out the Scotch and pouring some more.
Peyton rolled her eyes and waved him off. “Just finish off the bottle, there’s not much left anyways,” she said apathetically.
Tony downed what he had poured and served himself again, taking the last few drops of the whiskey and walking over to join her on the couch. The local news was on and there was another segment upon him and his armor. Peyton switched stations, not wanting to listen to the anchor’s talk about what a threat Tony was. Even though she didn’t know Tony all that much, she knew enough to know that he wouldn’t do something as mental as terrorize the nation.
The billionaire rolled his eyes and took a swig. “So what else do you need for your interview?”
The brunette shrugged in reply. “I don’t know; I’m not sure what I want to ask yet. I don’t know if I want the American public to know what a smartass you are.”
A low chuckle escaped his throat and he looked at her expectantly. “We haven’t had an interview in a while. Why not ask some questions right now?”
She looked him up and down for a second, reaching into her pant pocket and taking out her iPhone, letting it record their mini-interview. “Okay,” she sighed. “How’d you come up with him?”
“Long story short, I was taken hostage to make weapons for terrorists and instead of making them, I made the suit to escape.”
“Where’s the original suit?”
“Broke to pieces after I made my escape,”
“So why rebuild it stateside?”
“Because I saw the damage that was being done because of my weapons and I wanted to put a stop to it. I wanted to change Stark Industries’ image.”
“How many more suits do you plan on creating?”
“However many I want,”
“Why’d you come out as Iron Man when you could have kept it to yourself?”
“Things seem more interesting this way,”
“Not to the government,”
“Who cares about what the government thinks?”
“A lot of people,”
“Well, they shouldn’t,”
Knowing this could continue on, Peyton decided to ignore his last comment. “So does your being Iron Man mean you’re going to be playing the role of a hero now, or are you going to use it as a toy?”
“I’ll use it for whatever I want to use it for.”
Peyton and Stark went back and forth with the questions, occasionally getting into heated debates about certain topics, but it was all put behind them as Happy phoned and announced his arrival at the complex. Peyton was slightly relieved when she received the call. They could finally go home and she would be able to write up a transcript for their small exchange.
“That was Happy,” she sighed as she ended the call. “He’s waiting down outside.”
“Oh, good,” Tony rose from his seat and placed the now empty glass into the sink. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”
“First door on the left,”
Tony walked down the small hallway and Peyton got up from the couch to tidy up, turning off the television and washing the glass that Tony used. When Tony took more than five minutes to return, Peyton got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, deciding to find out if he was doing what she hoped he wasn’t.
The bathroom door was wide open, the billionaire not inside the facility. “Tony!” She yelled, walking further down the small corridor and into her room.
Tony was standing around her room, taking it in. The walls were painted a light gray, the carpet was a spotless white, and her few furnishings were all black. “Your room’s real dark, Peyton. I would’ve figured you for something more… cheerful – like pink or something.”
“I told you I didn’t want you in my room, Tony.”
“What?—I’m not doing anything, just looking.”
“It’s an invasion of privacy,”
Tony gave an exasperated sigh, giving the room one final look before announcing that he was heading down to meet Harold.
Peyton gave a sigh of her own and sat down upon her bed, glad to feel the familiar cotton sheets after being without them for the past few days. She was glad that she had kept her room relatively clean when she left for Stark’s, otherwise him being in here would have embarrassed her. The only part that could have been considered disorderly was her dresser that had knick-knacks scattered across the top from when she was packing.
Rising from the bed, Peyton took one final glance as Tony had done, turning off the light and bidding it farewell again.
She hastily made her way down, knowing that if she didn’t, Tony would question her as to what took her so long. As she got in the car, he did just that, and she swiftly told him that she had to disinfect her room after him having stepped foot in it.
As they headed home, Peyton looked out the window, watching the scenery fly by her. As she heard Tony complain about her response being “harsh”, she couldn’t help but smile. Even though he annoyed her to her wit’s end, she had to admit, it was definitely amusing to be in the company of a man like Tony Stark.
Notes
I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO GET THIS OUT.If you've stuck with me through my long hiatus with this story, I love you to pieces. If you've just recently started reading this story, I love you to pieces as well. You're all going to be chopped up by the time I'm through loving you, becase you dear readers...
I'm going to spam you with Tony Stark so you can all see how much I love you and want to get you pregnant with Tony Stark's kids.
That's enough for now, me thinks. NO WE NEED MORE SEXY.
Exciting News Alert.
I'm going to go see Iron Man 3 tonight at midnight! It's finally coming out in the United States and I'm so pumped to see it. I imagine that when I see it, I'm going to have a surge of inspiration for this story so I'll probably want to update again soon. My college semester ends on the 23rd of this month, so after that day, there should slowly but steadily be more chapters.
I also plan to get started on chapters dealing with Iron Man 2.
That's it for now. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMMENTING AND RECOMMENDING! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! :D
@Allyers
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the story and I'm going to be publishing the next chapter soon. :)
2/4/14