The Small Things (Iron Man Flash fic)

The Small Things
Marvel’s Iron Man Flash Fic
Prompt: Taken for Granted
Characters: Tony, J.A.R.V.I.S., Pepper
Universe: Movie (Post Iron Man 3)
Word Count: 347

    This was the fifth time it had been late.

    Tony just did not know how to approach this kind of situation. He never had to do it before. As a man of his status, he had always expected such mundane things to just happen. It was hard to come in every morning and not see it there, waiting in all its glory. It was like a little jab to his soul, reminding him of everything he had just gone through. Losing his house, temporarily losing J.A.R.V.I.S., almost losing Happy and Pepper. A man needed that one stable thing in his life!

    “Sir?” J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed from his phone. Tony had nearly forgotten he had propped up the little device on the counter beside him. “I believe the machine has stopped.”

    “Really?” Tony’s head shot up from where he had been moping, and he was happy to see that his AI was correct. Even when J.A.R.V.I.S. wasn’t attached to all the systems in the apartment, he was a better assistant than money could buy. “About time. That took, what, an hour at least?”

    “Five minutes, Tony.” The man slightly tilted his head to look at the ginger haired woman casually standing beside him, sipping from a porcelain mug of steaming coffee and already looking prepared for the day. “Sorry my coffee pot doesn’t instantly spit out coffee like yours did, but that’s how normal people usually have to function.”

    “Normal?” Tony questioned. He took a small sip from his mug of coffee and grimaced at the bitter taste. It definitely wasn’t his gourmet imports from Indonesia. “I’m not normal. I’m Tony Stark. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta meet a man about a British soap opera. Last night’s episode was a doozy.”

    Pepper could only shake her head as Tony spared her a quick peck on the cheek before escaping her apartment to visit Happy, who still lay in the hospital. It was a slow process, but she was starting to think that Tony was finally learning to appreciate what he had instead of taking it for granted.