You Have My Heart

A Pepperony Fanfic

Pepper walked into the living room in a purple blouse and lavish white skirt. She had taken off her white blazer after returning from work and seeing Tony in his workshop. As she slowly sat down on the couch, his words replayed in her mind over and over; his promise to protect the only thing that made sense in his life – to protect her. It was heartwarming and heart aching at the same time to hear those words, words she thought Tony Stark wasn't capable of saying, or effortlessly slip past his lips.

"Pepper?" His voice ran through her head.

It was only a few moments later when she realized that it was actually him talking to her, and not her thoughts. She shook her head, trying to get a grip on reality. She was about to mirror their normal playful back and forth banter, but only just came upon realizing that he was not in the room. So, where was he?

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked around. "Tony?"

"Are you free for a few seconds?" His voice asked.

Normally, if he was communicating with her via JARVIS, JARVIS would've said something. Pepper looked down and finally realized that he was talking to her through one of her Stark issued communication panels.

"Tony." She sternly said again. She replayed his words back in her head. "There's a difference between our definitions of 'a few seconds'. A big difference." She tried not to laugh.

Tony breathed a laugh. "It'll only take a couple minutes."

"What did you need?"

He paused for a moment. "Meet me on the balcony near the swimming pool."

Before Pepper could respond, a click sounded, meaning he had already hung up. She furrowed her eyebrows and hummed to herself, and began to jokingly talk back to the empty air. "Okay, honey. I can meet you on the balcony in sixty-five degree weather. Thanks, for asking so nicely."

She grabbed a dark red coat that was draped over the couch and carried it with her out the side door, nearest to the pool. When she poked her head out, she didn't see him, or anything thing else for that matter. She cautiously stepped outside and looked around, in search of her needy boyfriend.

"Tony?" She spoke out loud. She walked towards the edge of the balcony near the pool and stared down at the waves that were crashing against the jagged rocks beneath their Malibu house. There were certain times when she would walk out on the very same spot, close her eyes, and just listen to the sound of the ocean. It was calming for her; Tony, on the other hand, would use that moment and scare her—

"Hey." His voice suddenly sounded behind her.

Pepper nearly jumped. She lost count how many times he's done that to her. She whipped around, nearly bumping into him, and gripped the jacket in her hand with a tighter force.

"God, Tony." She swore angrily.

"I've been called many things, but I'll take it as a compliment." He joked with her.

Pepper gritted her teeth, almost wanting to whack him, but decided against it when her eyes scanned his attire. He was dressed in a white tuxedo and a pink tie. Odd, she thought, I've never seen Tony dressed like this unless there was a special occasion. And then suddenly, it hit her.

"You okay?" he asked her casually, walking towards her to stand next to her.

"Yeah." She nodded; something was obviously caught in her throat. Her eyes were wider than normal. Is Tony going to propose to me? The thought zipped through her mind several times.

He scooted closer to her, and draped his arm across her waist, pulling her in closer. Pepper leaned into his embrace and hugged his side, searching for his warmth and comfort. She rested her head against his shoulder and let the silence fall between them as they listened to the crashing waves beneath them.

It was Pepper who spoke first.

"Is there a reason why you're dressed so formally?"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, almost looking offended. "Does there have to be a reason?"

She turned in his embrace to face him. "I believe I, Pepper Potts, hold the world record for getting you, Tony Stark, into a formal outfit; twenty-six minutes and thirty-five seconds." She tugged at his blazer.

He grinned at her challenging words. "Let's just say, I only dress myself up for very special occasions, and this happens to be one of them."

Pepper's breath was once again caught in her throat. Oh my—he's actually going to propose? Her eyes widened again, and then her eyebrows fell down, uncertain of his actions.

"What are you planning, Stark?" She asked sternly, narrowing her eyes at him.

Tony turned his attention back on the outgoing ocean; his lips were no longer curled upwards into an award winning smile. He was frowning. He took a few moments, and then turned his attention back at her.

"I know the past few days have been crazy." He held her close. "Happy is in the hospital and some homicidal maniacs are out to get me..." He reminded her, making her frown in worry. "What I said before was true, Pepper. You." He nudged her, tugging at her blouse. "You're the only thing that makes sense in my life right now, and I don't want to lose you like I almost lost Happy."

"Tony…" She breathed.

"I can't help but feel responsible for Happy's injuries, and I know I could've saved him… but I won't make the same mistake for you."

Pepper looked up at him and stared, looking into his big soft brown eyes. She saw sadness, worry, mourning, and anger. She felt the same way too, especially when everything happened to Happy, but she was a business woman, and hiding and bottling up her feelings was part of the daily job.

Tony smiled warmly, and stared down at his hands. Pepper followed his gaze and felt her heart stop. In his hands was a small dark red, almost hotrod red, velvet box.

Oh, shit. Pepper thought. He's actually—

"I know you have it when I buy expensive stuff for you." He said nervously before looking back up at her. "I never got why… until recently—I mean, I'm Tony Stark. I could buy you anything you wanted; a star, cars, shoes, jewelry, a bank, a franchise, anything and everything. But, you're… you, Pepper. And I've only begun to delve into our relationship. You don't like extravagant gifts because they're worth a pretty penny, or because they catch everyone's eye. You accept gifts that have a special meaning." Tony began to fiddle around with the box in his hands. "And it took me a while—Well, it took Rhodey and I a while—but I finally found what I was looking for."

He opened the box.

Pepper thought she was going to faint on the spot, with her breath stuck so far down her throat, but what she saw wasn't a ring. It was a necklace. A beautiful necklace that didn't symbolize marriage, possession, or anything like that. It was a simple and delicate necklace with a big heart shaped red ruby in the center, and another diamond hanging off the end.

Tony watched her speechless expression and smiled, hoping she liked what she saw. "Believe me, I tried to get the jewelers to replace the ruby with a more hotrod red color, but they couldn't. Something about minerals and rocks." He waved his hand in dismissal.

"Tony." Pepper finally breathed.

He smiled up at her. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, god." Pepper cried, almost smiling.

Tony began to frown. "You don't like it?"

"I—I thought you were going to propose to me." Pepper exhaled loudly, feeling the weight fall off her shoulders.

"Whoa!" Tony yelped. "Pro—Propose? Maybe next week—"

"Next week?" Pepper stared at him.

Tony pressed his lips together. "I'll take that as a no."

Pepper laughed at his words, whether they were a joke or not, and smiled happily at the necklace in front of her. "I think it's beautiful, Tony."

He stared at her with sparkling eyes, as his lips slowly formed a wide smile. "Yeah?"

"It's not something I'd expect you to pick." She admitted. "But that's why I love it."

He could've sworn he was blushing, and if he wasn't, he was damned sure close to it.

His face began to become more serious. "I don't want to lose you, Pepper. I'm not going to let them take you from me. You don't have to wear it all the time—knowing the press, they're going to have a ball with it—I just want to know that you'll accept my heart." Pepper could feel tears slowly escape the corners of her eyes. "Almost two years ago, I came back from Afghanistan, and despite what others still believed of me, you didn't. You saw something others did not, and you put my heart in a glass case, that eventually saved my life, because you believed in me as a person." He stared at her, wanting to wipe those tears away. "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart." He recited. "Here's proof that his heart—my heart—only belongs to one person, and that person is you."

Pepper wordlessly turned around and held up her hair. She felt his arms wrap around her shoulders, and then felt the cold silver necklace fall on her skin. He clasped the necklace together and laid a light kiss on her bare warm neck. He grabbed the coat that she was holding and waited for her to turn around before draping it across her shoulders to shield her from the cold.

Pepper stared down at the symbolic heart and couldn't help but smile warmly. She looked up at him, and saw love and a promise.

Shrugging into the warmth of her coat, she laid her forehead against his, wishing that this spark between them had happened sooner – a lot sooner.

As their noses touched, he breathed those famous words of his that has a deeper meaning only they could understand, "You complete me."