#but I will make it happen for you anonyfriend~!

[relatablepicturesofmorgana]

Ahhhh please upload all of his normal sound clips like his "OoooOOH" and the "Wow!"

Ahah absolutely :D!

[themonkeycabal]

Christmas Gift Fic #8

What do you mean it’s not Christmas anymore? Hogwash, it’s Christmas until tomorrow. (I’m trying to get a few more put together. Again, I’m sorry if I don’t get to yours, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, and I might use the prompt at a later date.)

For this one, an anonyfriend asked for: How about Pepper and Darcy's Mom planning/plotting Darcy's future wedding?

***

"Pepper!" Rebecca waved, catching the other woman's attention.

"Rebecca, hi," Pepper greeted as she wove through the tables to the one Rebecca claimed at the edge of the cafe's patio. It was November, but the weather was mild, and there was a heat lamp nearby, making the patio plenty comfortable.

Rebecca stood and offered her a quick embrace, before directing her to a chair. "I ordered already, I hope you don't mind. They have a quiche sampler, and I don't care if it's a mom brunch cliche, but I love quiche and I won't apologize for it. Also, mimosas. I won't apologize for those either."

She nudged a glass at Pepper and gave her a close look over. A little tired, maybe, but not exhausted, she decided.

Rebecca and Pepper weren't exactly friends, but they had common interests — namely Darcy and Tony. That made them natural allies. And, truly, Rebecca did like Pepper. They tried to meet every couple months. For Rebecca it was a mission of mercy; the woman deserved a break from Tony from time to time.

Tony's long string of assistants was never a subject of interest to Rebecca, except how they might impact Darcy. But, since he'd always been careful to keep them separate, she'd never worried much. If she considered them at all is was with the amusement and curiosity of what the story was this time — where they came from and how long they'd last. Until Pepper Potts came into their lives.

One day Pepper walked in on Tony and Darcy, and the cat was out of the bag. Darcy came home and told her all about Tony's pretty assistant who was also pretty cool. Rebecca hemmed and hawed on what to do about that. Should she call Tony? Should she try to vet the woman? And then she felt a twinge of chagrin, remembering how irritating Tony was when she married Paul, with the vetting and the checking him out and the being obnoxiously intrusive. Okay, okay, she got it then. Fine.

Rather than make a big deal about it, not wanting to spook Tony, Rebecca made a plan to see the woman for herself. She waved off Happy's offer to pick Darcy up for a long weekend with Tony, instead she took the day off work and drove Darcy over early. Maybe it was a bit much, but, in Rebecca's opinion when a new person enters your kid's life, you take notice. Their safety was always priority. And when your kid was also Tony Stark's daughter, security and safety took on new, nightmare-inducing aspects. Not that she thought for a second that Tony would allow Darcy to be around somebody who was a threat to her, but, still, Rebecca was her mom and it was her right to meet this woman.

It worked. Tony's house — or AI and that would always weird her out — announced their arrival and she and Darcy entered to find Tony shuffling his feet in the foyer, Ms. Potts standing serenely beside him. He made a quick introduction then watched them both warily while Darcy stood with him and added her own curious gaze. Pepper broke the awkward silence by offering Rebecca coffee and suggesting the two Starks go to the workshop. Tony didn't have to be nudged twice, he picked Darcy up, slung her over his shoulder, and dashed off. When Pepper rolled her eyes and worked her jaw from side to side, Rebecca knew they'd get along just fine.

"So, how are you?" Pepper asked, taking a long sip of her mimosa. "That is excellent."

"It is," Rebecca agreed, enjoying another sip of her own. "I'm doing well. My mother's made her annual demand that I tell her who Darcy's father is. I've issued my annual refusal, so I'm in for a good six months of the silent treatment — or as I call it: heaven." It was a little ritual they had — every year on Darcy's birthday, her mother got snitty about Darcy's mystery father. Why she thought, after sixteen years, that Rebecca would suddenly crack, who knew. Francine would have to wait, just like the rest of the world. Rebecca had no intention of telling her until Darcy was ready.

"Sixteen. I can't believe it," Pepper murmured. "How was the party?"

"Oh, it was good. It got a little wild when Sam broke the ping-pong table, because for some reason he decided to demonstrate his wrestling skills on it. Showing off for all the girls, of course. Only his pride was injured."

Pepper snorted a soft laugh and raised her eyebrow. "Wrestling?"

"He's in a phase; it's all WrestleMania all the time right now. I don't even know. Twelve-year old boys. Paul thinks it's hilarious." Rebecca's eyes went wide when the server brought a plater of mini-quiches. They looked amazing and there were so many. Brunch was the most awesome culinary invention ever. "The rest of the party was good. Darcy didn't punch anybody or set anything on fire. I think Marley has a future as a party planner." Marley was one of Darcy's oldest friends, a pretty girl with a light, bubbly personality that hid a strong core of 'don't put up with none'.

"She must be pretty persuasive. Darcy was firm on not wanting a big party," Pepper observed, helping herself to a few of the pastries. "Tony was disappointed. Sweet sixteen; he thought it should be a big bash."

"Yeah, and what was was he going to do? Rent out the Hollywood Athletic Club and bribe packs of A-listers to attend." Yes, yes, that was exactly his plan. "Darcy would hate that."

Pepper shrugged. "Sometimes I think he suggests things like that just so they can argue about it. Four years and I still don't always understand them."

"Sixteen years and they're still a mystery to me when they're together." Rebecca took a bite of quiche and stared out over the green hills slipping in and out of the southern California haze. "I know my daughter, but there's a whole part of her life that I only get a glimpse into every now and again. She's so much like him sometimes it's almost shocking."

"Except for the times when she's so unlike him — like turning down a big party," Pepper observed.

"She's terrified of being discovered." Rebecca frowned and glanced over at Pepper. "She's not afraid of anything but that."

"She likes her independence," Pepper said. "She sees how people follow Tony around, how they watch him, how they report on him. He's learned to deal with it — either play into it or ignore it as it suits him. And, frankly, he's attention starved. But, I think for her it looks like a cage."

"Do you two talk about it?"

"Sometimes." Pepper drew her napkin through her fingers as she thought. "I think, honestly, there's something of a thrill in it for her, to have these two separate lives. She gets to move between both of them however she likes. Both have their pros and cons."

Rebecca sighed. "It won't last forever."

"No, it won't." Pepper gave her an apologetic look. "You know how careful Tony is."

"Oh, I know," Rebecca assured her. "I have no complaints. And she's getting older, she'll be able to cope with it when the time comes. I just … I see what it does to Tony. I don't want that for her."

"She's not like that. I can't see her getting swallowed by the fame. It won't be an easy adjustment, but she's self-possessed enough that she'll manage. And she's hardly alone."

Rebecca gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks. I'm sorry, I'm getting all," she waved her hand vaguely, trying to explain her feelings of anxiety, "it's just … she's getting older. My baby's growing up. Sixteen! She's got her driver's license. We've set her loose on the world."

Pepper nodded slowly, then her lips tipped up into a little smirk. "I suppose I shouldn't tell you Tony's been letting her drive for years, huh?"

Rebecca clapped her hands over her ears. "No. I don't want to know."

Pepper laughed and took another quiche and a slice of tomato. "The closed tracks, if it makes you feel better. And Tony's an excellent driver. Terrifying, but excellent."

"Not helping," Rebecca said, shaking her head.

"He's having a little meltdown about sixteen, too," Pepper continued. "He won't admit it, of course. But he's been doing safety rating research on cars and trying to install trackers on everything she owns. I say trying because she's caught him at least three times."

Rebecca laughed. "That jerk. God bless him."

"I have to tell you, of all the things I didn't expect when I took the job as his PA, it was bracing myself for his teenaged daughter." Pepper held up a placating hand before Rebecca could fully parse that sentence. "She's a great kid, I really like her, but she told me there's a boy she likes. Tony is emphatically not prepared for that."

Rebecca shuddered a little, she wasn't sure she was ready for that either. "She's had a few little crushes, and a little hand holding, and going to the movies with other kids kind of things. But not a real boyfriend yet. But," she leaned forward over the table, "I cannot wait for Tony's reaction when she finally does. Hilarious."

Letting out a long breath, Pepper shook her head. "Please don't wish this on me. He's difficult enough, now we're adding boys to the equation?"

"It's going to happen," Rebecca told her with a shrug that said she'd accepted this reality. "His name is Josh, he came to the birthday party. I don't know what I think of him. He was perfectly polite, but he got a little mean with his teasing of Sam when the table broke. But, teenagers can be jerks, so I don't know."

With a sigh, Pepper propped her chin on her hand and gazed out over the landscape. "Sixteen. Boys. And then college. That's already started, Tony's pushing hard for MIT, and she's mostly ignoring him, but … that's going to be a thing, I can tell. The math issue was bad enough and that was just one class."

"I'm going to apologize, because I know this is not what you wanted when you took the job."

"No, it's not—"

"No, let me finish," Rebecca cut her off. "But, Tony's his own world of chaos, I know that, and you've got enough on your plate. In this, I think your best bet is to just let them battle it out themselves. Don't try to mediate. There's no reason you should burn yourself out on their dramas. They love each other, they'll get over it."

Pepper blinked at that and was silent for a moment. "If you want me to stay out of it, I will. I just thought—"

"Oh no, oh God no," Rebecca said quickly, reaching out a hand when she realized Pepper took her words the wrong way. "I didn't … I wasn't telling you to back off or anything. I appreciate how much you do for Darcy, and I love that she has another woman she can talk to about things. I'm so grateful. Honestly, it makes me feel better knowing she and Tony have you. I just meant, I think they're them, and some of these things … we just have to let them be them together. They are a mystery only they understand."

Smiling, Pepper took her hand and gave it a brief squeeze before reaching for the carafe of mimosa. Yes, this was a conversation that needed a little alcohol. "Thank you. I try not to get into it, but I want to be there for both of them." Then she laughed and poured them both another glass. "Wait until she gets married."

"Oh boy," Rebecca said dryly and raised her glass. "Though, she'll be a beautiful bride — in, you know, ten years or so."

Pepper grimaced and shook her head. "That's barely enough time to start planning. That's not nearly enough time to even start softening up Tony. Can we say fifteen?"

Rebecca gave her a wicked grin and reached for her purse. "I have a notebook, I have a pen, I have ideas, and an afternoon to kill."

"I have a meeting in two hours."

"Tony has a meeting in two hours," Rebecca corrected. "Call him and tell him something important came up. Now, I know everybody loves the spring wedding, but that's boring. Darcy is not boring. I think autumn. Maybe even winter. Depending on where it is, can you imagine? Magical, am I right?"

Pepper laughed a little and hesitated for a moment, clearly not sure if she should be drawn into an afternoon of fantasy wedding planning. And then she gave in to the allure of the amusement. "Tony has property in upstate New York. The northeast is beautiful in the fall."

"Tony has property everywhere," Rebecca said. "We should go over it, make a list, rank them from best to worst on factors of travel time, expense, seasonal appeal, etc." She clicked the pen three times, grinned again and put pen to paper. "New York — go!"