Hi :) Welcome to the first chapter of ''How to win the heart of Pepper Potts''

If you like the Pairing, I hope you'll also like this Story. If you do, I would be very happy about a Review. :D

Also I'm german and don't have a beta Reader yet. So please tell me if you find any mistakes and I'll do my best to correct them.

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Pepper Potts finally shut down her laptop shortly after midnight. It wasn't an unusual time for her as Tony Starks personal assistant to be still at work, actually it was a free evening compared to the last few weeks. She twitched her light grey skirt and blazer back in the right position, before she sighed quietly and stood up to make her way downstairs, where she knew Tony would still be working on one of his projects. Indeed, she found him huddled in his chair, one glove of the Iron Man suite in his hand and countless holograms in front of him. Tony had neither heard the familiar sound of her heels on the stairs, nor the beeping when she entered her code and was startled when he heard her voice behind him.

''Mr. Stark?'' she asked carefully.

The answer wasn't more than a grunt, but it was enough for Pepper at the moment.

''I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving... And don't forget to plan the Business trip'', she added sternly, but Tony just grunted again and Pepper made her way back upstairs, sighing deeply. It was always the same with her boss...

Her apartment was cold and dark when Pepper finally reached it. After her keys hit the bowl next to the door with a silent *klonk*, she engaged the heater and made her way to the bedroom. She knew she hadn't much more than 5 hours left for sleep, but she was used to it by now. At least there was concealer to hide the dark bags under her eyes, which would surely be there the next morning. But there was nothing invented yet to hide the feelings and dreams she had about Tony every night, Pepper thought bitterly. She got out of her clothes and hung them up neatly, before she got into the bathroom to remove her make up. Even though she felt how tired she really was, when she had finally gotten into bed, the thoughts about Tony hadn't vanished; quite the contrary. Tony hadn't brought any women home since Afghanistan, but among these circumstances, Pepper wished he would have.

At least she wouldn't have any hope then, whenever he looked at her differently or made one of his silly but saucy comments on her. Of course she knew at the beginning, what she got herself into when she worked for the biggest playboy in the world. Pepper knew she was attractive, but she also knew she wouldn't ever be a notch on his bedpost. But for some time past, she had to confess that something had changed between them, and she wasn't sure what would happen. Her clock read 2am now and Pepper closed her eyes, trying to forget that man, at least for a few hours.

Tony hadn't slept much in that night - he had to finish the upgrade for the Mark 14.

''Jarvis'', he asked the AI. ''What's the time?''

''7:45, Sir.''

Tony imagined, if Jarvis could sigh, he would have right now.

Dammit... Pepper would be here any minute, she was always on time. Tony knew she would be angry, in that matter, she behaved exactly like his mother would have. Immediately he heard her coming down the stairs and grinned widely. He missed the fact, that he couldn't hide his bloodshot eyes like that.

''Good morning Mr. - you haven't slept...'' Tony's grin faded and he turned back around to his desk when Pepper asked: ''Did you at least plan the trip?''

Tony froze. It had been the first time he had insisted to plan a Business trip by himself and he was sure, it would've been the key to Pepper Potts' heart... He had planned everything... But hadn't made the reservation.

Pepper interpreted his silence the right way and grinned smugly.

''Well, the jet is scheduled for tomorrow, I think we have to improvise when we arrive, then'', she said and left the basement to go back to work.

Surely, that would be the last time Tony would want to plan a business trip by himself. Pepper knew Tony only wanted to eat and sleep in the best hotels, so she had trusted him to get it together. Unlike Tony, Pepper had no problem disregarding the western standards in a country like Japan, where the trip should go.

Pepper already sat on her usual seat in the Stark jet, and was slowly but steadily annoyed with Tony.

''11 hours, Pepper... 11 hours! I would be so much faster with the suit...'', he whined.

Pepper sighed and fished out her headphones so she wouldn't need to listen to him complaining any more.

Around an hour later, Tony had spent by walking up and down in the plane, he sat down in his seat and looked at Pepper. She had her head leaned against the window, facing outside and her hair shone even redder in the light of the setting sun. Her eyes were closed and her left forefinger thrummed the beat on her knee slowly. She was absolutely gorgeous right now and Tony caught himself watching her even more intently than usual. He couldn't exactly tell what changed, but she behaved differently around him. Tony never knew anything else to do with a woman than sleeping with her, but with Pepper he suddenly wanted to do everything. Hold her hand, cuddle, seduce her with a massage after a hard day of work. He had thought he knew Pepper so well, but now he didn't know how he should behave around her anymore. Even though he was sure he wanted to win her heart on this trip, her feelings were a secret to him.

Suddenly, Pepper opened her eyes and smiled at him intimately. Tony smiled back, but lowered his head quickly after.

Pepper couldn't understand Tonys behavior. One day he was a total idiot, the next day they were best friends again. Of course she had noticed, that he had been staring at her, but decided it would be better not to confront him with it. They still had to fly for 9 hours and Pepper closed her eyes, trying to relax at least a little.

After a short time, Tony noticed that Peppers breath had gotten very steady and he waited until he was totally sure she was sleeping. He stood up and carefully picked her up to carry her body to the nearby couch. Even though he didn't want to let go of her he laid her down and got a blanket to cover her. She looked so peaceful and happy that Tony nearly had a bad conscious, because he stressed her out so much.

He leaned down and whispered:

''I'm so sorry, Pepper'', for a brief moment he thought about kissing her cheek, but he couldn't find the courage to do so.