A/N: Hi! I hope to have the next chapter of Steps up by sometime this weekend, but in the meantime I'll be posting the prompts I asked for on Tumblr. :) Enjoy!

Four hours later, and they still didn't know who did it.

It had been a party like any other: music blaring, cameras clicking, his arm holding her securely around her waist. They had arrived fashionably late, due to Tony's inability to find a tie that matched his maroon shirt. Of course, he did have a dark yellow one he thought would work, but Pepper refused to be seen with him if he were to wear Iron Man colors. Her loss, he thought.

They had danced for quite a while, her head rested on his broad shoulder as one hand stroked his back. It was nice, peaceful. A welcome break from the chaos of their everyday lives.

She had yawned then, raising one hand to cover her mouth. "C'mon," he murmured. "You're tired. We should head home." Tony cursed himself now for making that statement; if he hadn't, maybe they would've stayed. Maybe things would've turned out differently.

Maybe she wouldn't have been shot.

Pepper had nodded groggily, extracting herself from his embrace. In place of his comforting hold, she grabbed his hand and tugged him off the dance floor.

The click of the cameras became frenzied as they stepped out into the cool breeze; the paparazzi yelled for their attention. There was nothing like being the CEO of the company hosting the gala to attract attention, apparently. "Mr. Stark! Tony Stark! Are you planning to hand over the suit? What do you think about-"

Then it happened. It was loud to begin with, with the buzz of conversation and the whirr of the cameras and the music in the background, but to him the shot was deafeningly loud. And Tony Stark, certified genius, had no idea what had happened until Pepper slumped to the ground beside him. It hit him, then, like another bullet; he dropped to his knees, hands scrambling frantically for a pulse, a reaction. Anything.

The world became blurry, wet. It crossed his mind that it had begun to rain until he realized it was just the tears pooling in his eyes. Paramedics rushed up to her limp body, shoving him out of the way. Tony stood, gaze fixed on the red carpet on which she had just walked. The deep red of her blood barely stood out against the walkway; somehow, the thought only made it worse. He wanted to scream, sob, kick and punch and wail. He wanted to shout that he was the hero, that she was his Pepper, that he'd give all of his money and fame and fortune to just have her next to him again. But he couldn't. He couldn't do anything.

Hours later, he was finally allowed into the room. Tony wasn't a relative, they had said, and they weren't married. They told him to go out, do something, get his mind off of it. He had laughed, quite humorlessly, in their faces.

But here he was, unease radiating from him. It was an uncomfortable feeling, one Tony Stark certainly wasn't used to.

"She'll survive," a voice remarked. Startled, Tony spun to see the doctor, clipboard in hand, tilt his head toward Pepper. "We think she'll make a full recovery in a matter of weeks. As you can see, Ms. Potts is resting, but-" The doctor glanced at his watch. "She might wake up soon." The man's eyes fluttered to Tony's fist, where he held a small box. "What's that?"

Tony didn't answer for a while, instead observing the women laying calmly in the hospital bed. It was such a far cry from how she had looked only hours before; for the first time that evening, he felt a bit of relief.

"Oh, this?" he replied, raising the box. "It's, uh.. It's a ring." He shrugged bashfully, cheeks flushing. "After tonight.. I guess I just.. I live a dangerous life. So does she. I've been fooling myself into thinking that we're invincible. But we're not, really. And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to either of us before I could tell her how much she really means to me, call her my wife at least once."

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise, a pleased grin spreading across his face. He held out one hand, offering, "That may just be the best thing I've heard all day. Best of luck." And, amidst their conversation, neither of them noticed the tiny flickering of a smile on Pepper's face.