Seeing that Happy still refused to give up, Tony sighed helplessly and tried to talk him down.
"I suggest you go meet some of the new interns at the company. They're all young and pretty girls. Oh right—except for Gwen Stacy. If you try flirting with her, Carl might literally eat you alive. And trust me, I wouldn't be able to stop him. You know how he is—he can suddenly get really big."
---
Inside the office, Killian had just finished presenting his research.
"Just imagine it, Pepper," he said. "If you could enter the neural core of any living organism and then reorganize its genes—"
"That would be extraordinary," Pepper replied, pausing briefly before continuing.
"But unfortunately, this kind of technology could easily be weaponized. For example, it could be used in the military—to create super soldiers or private security forces. Tony has already explicitly forbidden that kind of application—"
"Oh~~ Tony~~ Tony~~~"
Killian interrupted her, turning his gaze directly toward her.
"Did you know that years ago, I once invited him to join our company, A.I.M.? He rejected it without hesitation. But now, Stark Industries is no longer truly controlled by Tony Stark. It's run by another genius—a brilliant, charming genius. I believe this genius doesn't need to report to Tony, nor does she possess his innate arrogance and sense of superiority. Don't you agree?"
Pepper fell silent for a moment, then looked up at Killian.
"My answer is no, Killian. We are not a biotechnology company, and at this stage, we have no intention of entering that field. So… I'm sorry."
Although she said "sorry," there was no regret on Pepper's face. She and Tony were firmly on the same side. Killian's words had already crossed her bottom line. She wouldn't give him any opportunity—not even a business one.
"I see," Killian said calmly. "Honestly, I am a bit disappointed."
The two of them left the reception room and walked out of Stark Tower together.
"But that's alright, Pepper," Killian said. "I believe we'll meet again."
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then turned and left. He departed alone—the man who had accompanied him earlier was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment, Happy suddenly appeared beside Pepper.
"The car you asked for is ready. Are we leaving now?" he asked.
As he spoke, Happy snapped a photo of the car Killian had taken, making sure the license plate was clearly visible.
Pepper nodded and got into her car, driving off on her own. She was heading home to have dinner with Tony—something they had already planned that morning.
---
When she returned to the villa and opened the door, Pepper was greeted by the sight of a red-and-gold Iron Man suit sitting on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, gently swaying to the music.
"Tony, what is this?" Pepper asked in disbelief.
"Now you're wearing your armor inside the house? Aren't you afraid you'll accidentally wreck the place?"
She was genuinely shocked. Tony's obsession with his "action figures" had apparently reached a new level. Wandering around the house in full armor—at this rate, she half-expected him to wear it to the bathroom in a few days.
"Well, everyone has hobbies," the armored figure replied.
"This is my newly developed suit. Handsome, right?"
The armor stood up and slowly walked a circle around her.
"Do you really have to parade your hobby around the house like this?"
"Not just parade," the armor said. "It can do more than that."
It moved behind Pepper and began massaging her shoulders.
"Honestly, getting a massage through the armor feels pretty good."
Pepper closed her eyes, clearly enjoying it.
At that moment, Tony himself walked up from the underground lab, sat down across from Pepper, and poured wine for both of them.
"Wha—Tony?!"
Pepper opened her eyes, saw Tony's face, and screamed in surprise.
"So? The latest upgraded Sentry Mode," Tony said proudly.
"It can patrol and do a lot of other things."
Pepper's face darkened instantly. She had thought Tony was wearing the armor and chatting with her the whole time—never imagining she'd been talking to an empty shell.
"You are unbelievably bored, Tony," she said flatly, pushing the armor away and turning to him.
"Sorry," Tony said quickly. "I was just testing its performance. Don't be mad. I've already arranged a lavish dinner—we've just been waiting for you to come back."
He led Pepper into the dining room. Sure enough, a table full of exquisite dishes was laid out, all still hot, as if they had just been served.
"Well?" Tony said smugly.
"All of this was finished five minutes before you walked in. I hired over a dozen top-tier chefs. And this—"
He took out a bottle of red wine. The label was yellowed with age, bearing an eagle in flight and the year 1992 printed beneath it.
Pepper recognized it immediately. A 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet—one of the most expensive red wines in the world, worth several hundred thousand dollars a bottle.
"Well… for the sake of this wine," Pepper said with a smile.
She took her seat, Tony uncorked the bottle, and the two enjoyed a rare candlelit dinner together.
---
In the original timeline, Tony's paranoia had already been quite severe by this point. He wore his armor constantly, hid in his basement, delegated social interactions to automated suits, and believed he was only safe inside the armor. All of it stemmed from the Battle of New York.
But now, Tony showed none of those symptoms. His nanotech armor had been developed years ahead of time, fully integrated with vibranium. He hadn't suffered any post-battle trauma during the New York invasion. The current Tony Stark had nothing to fear—spending his days tinkering with satellites and armor, or happily orbiting around Pepper.
"So, what's the deal with that Killian guy?" Tony asked, eating without the slightest trace of upper-class restraint.
"Killian?" Pepper paused. "Happy told you?"
She immediately understood. It had to be that old fool Happy—she'd almost like to fire him tomorrow.
Tony nodded. "Yeah. Happy says the guy's dangerous. He even claimed I've met him before, but I honestly don't remember."
Just as Happy had said, Tony remembered beautiful women—not random men.
"You've met him before?" Pepper asked, surprised.
"How come I didn't know?"
"I don't remember," Tony shrugged. "Happy said it was at some tech symposium. I've been to so many conferences—how am I supposed to remember everyone?"
Pepper found that perfectly reasonable. Tony couldn't even memorize his own ID number; expecting him to remember Killian would be absurd.
"JARVIS," Tony said casually,
"put on something romantic."
---
Night had fallen. The bustling plaza was still packed with people, as if nightlife were only just beginning.
In the shadows, Happy was sneaking along behind a man—the very same person who had accompanied Killian to Stark Industries earlier that day.
With nothing better to do, Happy had actually followed him all the way until nightfall.
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