"Oh the weather outside is frightful,

but I've got a new particle accelerator…

So since there's no place to go,

Let it blow, let it blow, let it blow….up!"

Tony sang to himself as he tightened a bolt, Dummy hovering over his shoulder.

A bleep and the tap tapping of heels on concrete made him turn, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands, as he met the accusing gaze of the lovely Ms Potts, who was clearly mad at him for...something. Hopefully nothing fatal, anyway.

It was the shoes, you see… The Louboutins. Her elegant black pumps clicked delicately when Pepper felt calm; they popped seductively when hips were swung slightly and her walk turned sassy…and they tapped aggressively, like now. All entirely dependent on the mood of their red headed occupant. It was, Tony reflected, an entirely new type of early warning system. Perhaps with a pressure gauge built in, and a transmitter, he could check the amount of trouble he was in at any given point in the day? Hmm….It would have to be subtle for her not to notice the shoes- he could replace them one pair at a time while she was at the office, or even buy her new ones...

"Are you even listening, Tony?!"

The tone in Pepper's ever so slightly shrill exclamation attracted his attention- finally.

"Pepper…You sound stressed. That's not good for you, you know- I'm sure that whatever it is, a nice massage in Hawaii would fix it…We can take the plane if you want- oooh, we could go this weekend? Or maybe Europe- they have the best Spa's you know…"

"Tony! Be serious! I can't go to Europe, and I certainly can't go this weekend. Now, please- focus! You need to sign these year end budgets, and the shareholders annual letter, and there's my leave approval form. Can you do these now, please?"

Pepper briskly ran down her task list, and placed the clip board in front of him on the desk. This brought her perilously close to him, and they both froze for a moment, guiltily enjoying the illicit moment of intimacy. He drew his eyes up towards her face, and a slight blush contrasted the knowing smiled that touched her lips as she leant back again. Disappointment flashed through him, and it was only then that her words registered fully in his mind (which was still processing shoe options that would leave more of her long legs on display yet distribute weight accordingly to activate the pressure pad...)

"Wait- leave? You're going on holiday?"

Brown eyes met blue in confusion. Pepper breathed out lightly, and looked away.

"It's Christmas, Tony…I need three days off. My sister has had a baby, and she wants it to be a big get together. I haven't been home for Christmas in ten years, and I owe her this."

Knowing he wouldn't deny her wasn't the same as feeling it was ok to ask. Pepper knew that Tony, like many orphans, found Christmas difficult. It was why she had always made a point to be around in their usual routine, working late, bringing him a turkey sandwich and some eggnog for dinner on the 24th and leaving a small present on his desk for Christmas morning. She then slipped off home for New Year, when Tony was out partying so hard he wouldn't miss her.

She knew those expressive brown eyes were dismayed, and she couldn't look at him properly, not when it was her that had brought him pain.

Tony held back on a peevish lip quirk that would have given him away, despite the fact that she couldn't seem to look at him. Kind of proud of how his voice was calm, concealing the pang of slight sorrow that their tradition of quietly carrying on with life in the midst of a celebration of love that clearly didn't apply to him (well- not that kind of love, he mentally amended, dwelling momentarily on that rather lovely brunette who had been making eyes at him at the conference yesterday, and had slipped her number into his hand as he left)…

"Pepper- of course. You need to be there. I'll be able to carry on working for those few days, and we'll catch up at New Year. Take as much time as you need. Family is…important."

She looked at him with soft, liquid, loving eyes, and he was quite simply undone.

"Yes, you're right- it is. Thanks, Tony."

Unaware that she had left him speechless- taking his inability to babble as an abrupt way of ending the conversation- Pepper Potts turned and carried both an empty coffee cup and a little part of Tony back upstairs, heels popping and clicking in a delightful diminuendo as she walked away from him.