After All We've Been Through (Steve x reader)

To Each Their Own Coping Mechanisim.

   "Our safety must come first. If these business men cannot manage they're own affairs, why should we let them invest in ours?"

   Ouch, that hurt!

   Tony would like to heave the half filled glass of Cognac at the pompous man, but it's only gonna make things worse.

   Hours. Days. Weeks have passed since the systems went down, and Tony can't find a thing.

   Now, thanks to Pepper he was spending more time then he wanted away from the Tower and fraternizing with the others of his social caliber.

   By now, his predicament is in the news and many investors have begun pulling funds for this projects. It's enough to make Tony cry.

   This is crap!

    Making sure Pepper is successfully occupied elsewhere, he decides to indulge his weary body and get himself a drink....or two.

   Tony gazes blearily through the half dozen empty glasses lined up on the bar in front of him, and falls forward.

   A burly security guard catches the inebriated man "Mr. Stark! Are you alright?"

    Tony turns to look at the man "Jes.. peachy!"

    He flails his arms in an attempt to get away but he has the coordination of a newborn calf. Tony head butts the guard in the chest and his right arm slaps him in the face.

   "Mr. Stark!" The man sets his teeth and turns to the bartender "Send someone to find Ms. Potts."

-

  Pepper sips delicately from her own glass and listens attentively.

   The speaker, a congressman Arthur Woodman, addresses the eager crowd "I ask all of you to consider your future and invest in companies that have to goal of safeguarding you and families. Together we can change the way it's always been done."

   I wonder if Tony's heard this...

  Pepper moves from her place at the rail when a man in a dark suit approaches her.

   "Ms. Potts?" He looks lost.

   "Can I help you?" The red haired woman is cool and aloof.

   "The congressman asked to speak with you" The man offers a slight smile, but his eyes dart around the room.

   "Is something wrong?" Pepper asks, quietly.

   The man doesn't focuses on her face "Of course not. Please join us, Ms. Potts."

   Tony's escort helps him to a chaise and settles him into it.

   "I'm all right" Tony raises a limp hand "Tell Pepper..... I'm fine."

   His voice is too loud for the professionals business atmosphere and several wealthy investors turn to stare.

   Their whispered scorn fills the air around him.

   "- that Stark?"

   "-business gone down the tubes."

   "Shame on his behavior."

   "Never had much dignity, that one."

   "Pepper?" Tony looks from end to end of the crowded room.

   A red haired woman in a purple cocktail dress is leaving with a man in a shabby black suit.

   Tony stumbles after her "Pepper!"

   Pepper catches the inebriated Tony before he catches his own weight.

   The smell of achohol on his breath makes her wince.

    "Tony!" She levels her gaze with his "What  have you been doing?"

   Tony sways dangerously, slurring his words "You know, a little drink ... or twoooo."

   He falls into Pepper's arms, and smiles sheepishly up at her "Oops."

   "Please take Mr. Stark to his car" She tells the dark suit "I'll join him in a while."

   "Of course, Ms. Potts."

   Two suits carry Tony away, stopping only to let him vomit on a multimillion dollar rug instead of their name brand shoes.

   Pepper groans, silently "Oh, Tony."

   "This way, Ms. Potts"

   The slimy looking politician transforms before Peppers eyes. As she enters, he straightens and offers his hand in greeting.

   "I'm glad you decided to meet with me, Ms. Potts. I thought you might decline since Mr. Stark is out of commission. You, of course, will pass on all the pertinent information."

   Pepper holds her head high "I will do my best."

   "The collapse of Stark Enterprises is big news in the business world." Congressman Woodman says "I think it a terrible shame."

   "Beg pardon, sir, but Stark Enterprises isn't down yet, and after the way you shamed him in front of his colleagues. I don't know that I believe you." Pepper puts an edge to her voice.

"Fortunately, Ms. Potts I'm not funding this, but I represent a business man who will."

"Then please, give him Mr. Stark's card and have him call." Pepper slides a business card across the table "Excuse me, I have to make sure he gets home.

-
   "{Captain America Issued Language}!"

Natasha had done her best to track the source of the information, but to no avail. The information was encoded and required a warrant. Not that it would have been hard to get, but the source of the information was linked to a company outside the U.S.

"This is a technological attack, Tony" Natasha had warned him "Either they want something or they are trying to distract you."

He had gone on to the business association meeting without so much as a backward glance, and that more than any of this angers Natasha the most.

"I feel like I do all my this for nothing" She complains to Clint "What's the point of warning the people about the storm if no one is going to get out?"

Clint fingers a dart from Tony's board and glances at the makeshift security system "Well, you better figure out what you're gonna say to him. He doesn't look so good."