บท 20: A Pleasant Surprise
-Stark Mansion, Los Angeles, California-
-January 26, 2007, 1830h local-
"Hello there, I'm Naruto. What's your name?"
There's a few seconds of awkward silence before it was broken.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked.
"Introducing myself." Naruto said plainly.
"Before that?" Tony asked again, indicating to the fighting positions Naruto still in.
"I heard shouting and running! What was I suppose to think?" Naruto defended himself?
"Not attacking just anyone who comes out?" Tony said in a deadpan voice. Naruto finally relaxed his posture after this and stared again at Tony's arms.
"Hi! I'm Naruto! How are you, little lady?" Naruto asked with a friendly smile?
"Again, what are you doing?" Tony asked with a weird look in his face.
"I'm introducing myself. It's polite." Naruto emphasized the last part with a nod.
"She's like nine months old. She can barely even talk."
"How would I know!?" Naruto said with a pout.
Pepper finally showed up behind Tony. When Naruto saw Pepper place her hand on Tony's back, he finally put it all together.
His face immediately brightened up with a smile and let six feet into the air, which surprised both of them. When he landed, Pepper had the presence of my mind to pull him into the house before anyone can see him, but Naruto's mood could not be deterred.
"I knew it! I knew it!" He repeatedly said while jumping around. Tony and Pepper just keep on looking at him, waiting for him to calm down. "When did it happen, and she's your baby, right? Come on, don't leave me hanging here!"
"Ok. You guys catch up.I'm going to take Morgan to bed." Pepper took the now named Morgan from Tony's arms and retreated. She's going to wait out the excitement before coming back down. "JARVIS, call me the moment they try to leave the house. I don't want another Bianchi incident." Pepper said before retreating.
"Of course, Miss Potts." JARVIS answered.
Tony and Naruto watched Pepper leave before Tony led Naruto to the kitchen.
"Help yourself with anything." Tony said, pointing to the refrigerator and the cupboards.
"You have ramen?" Naruto asked automatically.
Tony sighed and pointed at the rightmost cupboard. He should've guessed that Naruto would eat ramen.
Naruto immediately went to the cupboard and prepared himself a cup of ramen using the microwave. When it was done, he promptly unsealed metal chopsticks from his pocket and retrieved the cup. He placed it on the island and sat down.
When Tony saw Naruto finally settled down, he finally started the conversation.
"What have you been up to all this time?" Tony asked.
"Traveling mostly. Been around almost every major city I can get too. Started my own business with the money I took won from you guys..." This sent a wince in Tony's face remembering the beat down he received. "Took me a while to set it all up; that's why it took so long to drop by." Naruto finished before slurping another strand of Ramen.
"Good for you. What business did you open?" Tony asked genuinely curious what business an over-energetic, ramen addicted, force of nature, Naruto would open.
"I opened a Japanese style fast-food restaurant chain." Naruto said flippantly.
That's when a thought ran through Tony's mind.
"Don't tell me... Japanese style fast food... Opened in the last two years... Why I haven't, I thought of it!" Tony thought rapidly.
Stark Industries had been aiming to branch out in the past two years. They've been discussing it for a while, and numerous suggestions had been thrown around, but no one seems to agree on where they should head next. Not until a board member suggested to buy out a new up and coming fast-food chain, Shokugakure. Everyone was skeptical at first until the same board member brought take out from the place. They were immediately hooked, and everyone agreed to buy out the company.
The only problem is, no one knew who the owner is. The restaurants seemingly appeared out of nowhere with all the supply chain and staff in place. There's no clear command structure since each branch seems to operate on its own, but they are all the same indicating that one person owns it all. They tried to find the name of the corporate owner through back channels, private detectives, and even government records, but all of it yielded any useful clue. Each place seemed to be registered to the manager with no hard evidence it being a franchise.
Tony already pulled the idea due to the lack of progress two weeks ago, but it looks like some development might happen today.
"You're the owner of Shokugakure?" Tony asked.
"Yup! You heard of it?" Tony shook his head in affirmative. "Awesome!"
"How'd you manage to do that? It would've cost you several hundred million to start that many branches at once." Tony said his company analyst reports.
"Same way I did with you. Only on a smaller scale..." Naruto lied. "I'm going to ask you about that anyway. Do you want to own the corporation partially?"
Tony was ecstatic about the development but stopped himself. He's still a businessman, even a lazy one.
"Why'd you want to sell it?" Tony cautiously asked.
"I'm not selling it. I'm giving 35% of the profits to you so someone else can handle the day to day operations." Naruto said while slurping the leftover soup of his ramen.
Tony quickly computed the returns in his mind.
"45%, and it's a deal." Tony countered.
"Alright. But I want an increase in your stocks. How is that, by the way?" Naruto asked suddenly, remembering what the rest of the money he left went to.
"You now own 8% of my company. You originally had 3%, but every time you make a profit, 90% of it goes into buying new stocks. The rest is placed into a bank account. I don't know the specifics since Pepper handled most of it." Tony said, remembering about Naruto's portfolio, which is absurd with its growth. It's like his gambling skills; any investments that use Naruto's account rarely lose money.
"Awesome! That means I can be a board member, right? We can work together!" Naruto said excitedly.
"Not exactly, at least not right away..." Tony reluctantly said. "Most of your stocks are in different shell companies. You still need to make a transfer to make it wholly yours." Pepper surely won't like the idea of Naruto as a board member. It would create a more chaotic work environment for everyone.
"Eh. That's easy..." Naruto said dismissively. "Anyway, don't think I forgot about you. So what happened with you and Pepper?"
Tony sighed, hoping not to get into all that. Don't get him wrong, he's really grateful for Naruto's push, but he's still not into all that mushy stuff.
"You still need to ask?" Tony said with a groan.
"Of course! I'm fully invested in this." Naruto said as his only argument. He continued to look at Tony with hopeful eyes.
"Fine! Fine! It's like I'm talking to a kid!" Tony finally relented.
-Flashback Start-
It's been four months since the Vegas fiasco. Tony and Pepper just came back from a stressful board meeting in New York. Apparently, some of their stocks are unaccounted for only appearing that they are sold but no idea to who. This is a normal phenomenon that can be attributed to sales error, but this has been happening more frequently and in larger stocks.
This should have been investigated already, but those money-grabbing assholes decided to join together to veto his motion. This should typically not be possible since he has a controlling interest of the company, but the board can veto him as long as everyone decided no. He really needs to find a way to change that charter. Losing guns is one thing, but losing whole missiles is another.
"Ugh. Just sleepover tonight, Peps. It's dark out already." Tony suggested. Pepper sleeping over had been a regular occurrence due to her erratic work schedule, but she hasn't slept over ever since Vegas. It's like she's putting some distance between them. But tonight seems like a bit different, and he has no idea how right he is.
"Alright. Is my room still available?" Pepper hesitantly asked.
"Yeah. Left it as it is." Tony said while hiding a small smile.
Pepper walked towards her room, preparing herself for what's to come. She had been keeping a distance to see what Tony would do without her continuously cleaning up his mess, but it looks like her fears are unfounded. Tony didn't spiral into his usual drunk playboy ways but seemed to clean up his act. He hasn't taken home any floozies since their talk, which has garnered attention from tabloids and TMZ. He still goes to parties and events, but he keeps his act clean, drinking just enough to have a buzz and steering clear from all the bimbos.
Pepper already knows that she won't be able to hold herself till the six months are up. She can finally see a future with Tony, and the thought still frightens her. What would everyone think when they got together? That she's another one of those gold diggers only with him for his money?
She thought back to how it all started and felt herself in an impasse. She doesn't know if she should be thankful or angry at Naruto. Without him in the picture, they wouldn't be in this situation.
It's already 2 am, but she needs to do this now, or she won't be able to gather enough courage to do it again. Pepper change into a more comfortable attire; pajama shorts, string top shirt, and fluffy flip flops.
Pepper took another deep breath and walked towards the door, intent of having a talk with Tony. What she didn't expect was Tony standing on the other side of the door about to knock.
What happened next is what they both consider stupid and right at the same time. Tony kissed Pepper on the lips, seemingly not in control of his actions. When he finally realized what he was doing, he started to pull back, but Pepper had other plans. She looped her arms around Tony and kissed him back. She then pulled Tony inside of her room.
-Flashback End-
"Wow. You took a long time. I thought you would be together the moment I left." Naruto said with a sagely nod.
"Hey! It's not my fault!" Tony defended himself.
"Moving past that..." Naruto said clearly not believing Tony, which irked him a lot. "Why does no one know about Morgan, and when did she come around?"
Tony took a page from Naruto's book and scratched his head.
-Flashback Start-
Tony and Pepper are in a sanitized room in the Stark Mansion. All the medical equipment and medicine required before, during, and after the operation. Only Tony, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and a medical group who all signed Non-Disclosure Agreements are in the Mansion.
James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a 5'8, solidly built, 38 years old, an African-American man. Tony met him during their time at MIT, and they immediately became best friends. Rhodey joined the US Air Force, where he quickly reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel due to his close relationship with Tony and his skill in being a fighter pilot. He's recent assignment is being a liaison with Stark Industries and a member of the experimental technology branch.
Obadiah wasn't informed since he has an obligation to the company, and him knowing about Tony's relationship with Pepper and the birth of their new child would lead for the whole board of directors knowing. Both of them are still not ready exposing their relationship to the world.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you, Tony!" Pepper's shout was heard even outside of the room.
"I have a new fighter jet in production. I'll give you three if you go in there first." Tony said to Rhodey, scared for his well being.
"No way, man. I don't want to die for your mess." Rhodey said immediately while walking backward.
Tony faced Happy hoping to bribe him to do the same thing, but Happy cut him off before he could speak.
"It will only get worse the more time you spend out here and not in there."
Realizing that Happy's right, he immediately rushed into the room and sat beside Pepper.
"What took you so long!?" Pepper asked between contractions.
"Rhodey came by to wish you luck." Tony lied immediately.
Pepper clearly did not believe him, but another contraction cut her thoughts off.
"This is all your fault!" Pepper shouted again while trying to break Tony's hand. "We only have unprotected sex once! Once!" She said again, referring to the first time they got together.
In a rare moment of self-control, Tony shut his mouth before he could retort to what Pepper said.
The medical staff attending to Pepper remained professional throughout the ordeal, but some small bouts of giggles could be heard from time to time.
Pepper's labor continued before exactly at 7:43 am, May 22, 2006, their baby girl was born. The nurse cleaned up their baby and placed her on Pepper's arms.
"She's so beautiful." Pepper said with a smile and tears streaming down her eyes.
"Hello. I'm your Dad." Tony said to their baby. The only difference his face was to Pepper is that he isn't drenched in sweat.
"What should we name her?" Pepper asked.
"Morgan." Tony answered.
"Morgan? I like it, but why Morgan?"
"I had a dream about your Uncle Morgan holding a baby. I don't know. It seems like a sign to me."
Pepper was cleaned up a little bit before Tony called Rhodey and Happy in. As soon as they got in, they saw Pepper sitting on the bed with a baby in her arms and Tony sitting beside her.
"I want you to both meet Morgan Stark."
-Flashback End-
"As for why nothing is on the news, I just had her record sealed until I want it to be public. Perks of being rich and powerful." Tony informed Naruto with a smug smile.
"When are you planning to make it public?" Naruto asked.
"Maybe when she's a year old, but I'm aiming for at most two years old." Tony answered.
"So, where am I sleeping?" Naruto asked without missing a beat.
"Up the stairs, the third room at the right of the left hallway. It has its own bathroom and mini kitchen."
"Thanks!" Naruto stood up. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat. Let's finish the business end of stuff tomorrow."
Tony nodded and stood up too. They walked toward the stairs and separated with a nod. When Tony got inside the room, he saw Pepper on the bed playing with Morgan.
Pepper heard Tony got in the room and asked,
"How is he?"
"He's doing fine..." Tony said while changing into his sleeping attire. "He's actually doing more than fine. Did you know he's the owner of Shokugakure you've been looking for?"
Pepper immediately slumped and placed her face in her hands.
"How can he be a problem even if he's nowhere close? He's the one I've been looking for a year and a half."
"Think of it this way. You finally found him." Tony said with a teasing grin.
"I'm sure now. I hate him." Pepper finally said without any seriousness.
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