A/N: Hi there readers. It seems you have stumbled upon my fanfic, this is my first fanfiction that I've ever written, well that's a lie really... I did a Pepperony fic for a piece of English coursework in which I got an A* :D Anyways on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't and probably won't ever own Marvel or any of the characters and actors related to the franchise... That doesn't mean I can't dream though!

"Pepper!" he screamed at the top of his voice, flying as fast as he could to his mansion in Malibu. 'No this can't be happening,' Tony thought to himself, 'she can't be hurt.' He landed in the living room still clad in his gold-titanium armour, "Jarvis check for Pepper and any Intruders." he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice as Jarvis performed the scan showing the results on the helmet's HUD. But before the AI could complete the scan, Tony heard a scream; it sent shivers down his spine.

"PEPPER!" he shouted, running down to the workshop following the deafening scream of someone in pain. 'No please don't hurt her, please,' he prayed, this was all his fault. He should've finished off that gang leader, who terrorised innocent people in the Far East while he had the chance, and not flown off thinking he was dead. Now he'd gotten hold of Pepper, his Pepper, and was hurting her. Tony could feel a tear run down his cheek, how could he have let this happen?

Tony entered his workshop and searched frantically looking for any sign of Pepper, his boots making metallic thuds as his walked, "Pepper…" His voice was no longer desperate but terrified; terrified of what that bastard could have done to her.

"…Tony?" A weak voice came from the centre of the workshop. Tony's heart skipped a beat, 'She's still alive thank god,' he thought as then ran to where her voice was coming from, pulling off his helmet. "Pepper… are you oka-" He stopped talking as soon as he saw her lying on the floor, covered in cuts and bruises, with a gun pointed at her. He felt an enormous pang in his chest and it wasn't because of the reactor.

He stared at her for a few moments before turning his head to the man with the gun, "Please… Don't hurt her," he pleaded, scratch that, begged, "I'll do anything, please."

The man laughed, but lowered his gun, "The great Tony Stark reduced to begging because of his worthless little personal assistant."

Tony snarled at him, "Pepper isn't worthless; she's the one person who keeps me fighting."

"Oh really," the man smirked, "Well let's see how you do when she's dead!" Before he had finished his sentence, the dark skinned man raised his gun and shot Pepper in the stomach.

"NOOOO!" Tony screamed as he leapt forward and floored the bastard, firing one of his repulsors straight into his chest, twice to make sure he was dead. He turned his head to Pepper's still form. Jumping over to her and ripping off his gauntlets, Tony knelt beside her, cradling her in his arms and gently stroking her face, "Pepper… look at me Pep." he whispered feeling the tears run down his cheek. Her head turned towards his, she looked so sad.

"Tony… I-" Pepper spoke, but he cut her off.

"Shhh, stay still everything'll be alright I'm so sorry this is all my fault," Tony said, looking into those beautiful blue eyes.

Pepper coughed some blood and spoke whilst looking straight into his eyes, "I… s-sorry too T-tony…" Were the only words she could manage before her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"NO!" Tony screamed sitting upright in his bed… wait, his bed? He was drenched in sweat too. 'It was just a dream…' He thought to himself, 'Just another nightmare.' And then that was when it hit him, one day it might not be a dream, one day Pepper could get hurt, or even worse, killed, and Tony wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. That's was when he broke down.

Elsewhere in Tony's Mansion

It was half past eleven in the evening and Pepper had just finished the last of the work for today, she was about to leave when the familiar British voice of Jarvis called out to her, "Miss Potts, I believe Mr Stark is experiencing another one of his nightmares."

"Are you sure Jarvis?" she asked, looking up to the ceiling. She really wanted to go home, but she couldn't just leave the man she cares about while he was having a bad night.

"Yes I am quite sure Miss Potts, his pulse is elevated and Mr Stark appears to be crying." responded the AI.

"Oh god…" Pepper whispered. Tony had never cried before, well not while she'd been there. She slipped of her shoes and padded over to Tony's bedroom, taking a deep breath she gently rapped her knuckles against the door, "Tony? Can I come in?" she asked softly. When no answer came she slowly pushed open the door and entered.

Pepper's eyes went straight towards the shaking figure on the bed, 'Oh Tony…' she thought as her heart almost broke. She sat down on the bed next to him, the look on his face made her realise just how vulnerable he could be at times. She reached out and stroked the hair off of his sweat covered face, not caring if she was being unprofessional, "Tony, it was just a nightmare."

"It w-wasn't though," he stuttered, refusing to look at Pepper, she frowned, 'it must've been really bad if he's this shaken up'she thought as her hand continued to run her hand through his damp hair. Tony wiped away some of the tears that were running down his face, he hated it when Pepper saw him in a vulnerable state, but she'd never seen him like this and it scared him, would Pepper –the one person who mattered to him- think less of him? "It was about you…" He trailed off not wanting to retell his hellish dream, it already broke his heart once, and he didn't want it to happen again.

"Tell me Tony, it'll make you feel better honest," she said slowly stroking his shoulder in an effort to comfort him, 'He dreamt about me… why, I'm just his PA,' "C'mon sit up," Pepper requested, and she waited for him to sit upright; she'd never seen him like this not even from the nightmares he had had about Afghanistan. "Tony, what happened in the nightmare?" she asked, gently covering his hand with her own.

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat, his heart skipping a beat when her hand touched his, and began to speak, "I h-had come back from a mission, knowing that y-you were in danger and you were being held at gunpoint by some bastard and th-then," He looked at her, his eyes full of hurt and pain. Pepper knew where this probably going but gestured for him to carry on, "And then he shot you… and there was nothing I could do about it, and, and, I feel so bad about it, 'cause I know one day it could actually happen and someone could take you away me," Tony finished and let out long breath as another tear fell down his cheek, he didn't feel any better despite what Pepper had said, actually he felt worse, having to tell her that he'd dreamt about her being killed.

"Oh, Tony…" she whispered; feeling slightly touched at how much it hurt him to think of her leaving him, Pepper brushed away the tear with her thumb and smiled weakly, "I'm just your personal assistant, why would it make you feel so bad?"

"Because I fucking love you, that's why!" he yelled, then stared at her like a deer in head lights when he had realised what he'd just said and waited for Pepper to respond, even if it were to run out of the room and reject him. However she didn't even do that, she just sat there, in silence, not even looking at him, her hands resting on her knees and staring into space, 'He loves me?'Pepper thought dumbstruck.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that. I wasn't thinking straight and you were never meant to hear that and…" Tony looked at Pepper. Sweet, beautiful, smart Pepper, "and… Please say something!"

Pepper looked Tony in the eye and swallowed the lump that was in her throat, "What do you mean I was never meant to hear that?" She asked, confused as to why he seemed to regret saying it, granted it wasn't said in the most romantic way.

He could see the hurt in her eyes, and he couldn't bare it so he looked down at their, still linked, hands, "I was never gonna tell you, ever, cause I'm Tony Stark, the billionaire playboy I'm not supposed to fall in love, shit, I've never ever felt like this before and, it hurts," Tony admitted, not sure as to why he was saying this to her, she would never feel the same. Pepper would always just see him as her boss-slash-friend who used to sleep with random bimbos. "But it hurts more when I think about you rejecting me, and I understand why you will, and I ju-"

"Tony, who said anything about me rejecting you, hm?" Pepper interrupted, a small smile gracing her face, slightly shocked at her own words. Snapping his head up to looks her in the eyes, those beautiful blues eyes, 'I could stare at them all day'he thought as her words sunk in, "I'm sorry, what did you j-just say?" He asked, trying to read her face but failing to see anything except for the small smile, "Why're you smiling?"

Pepper laughed slightly and shook her head, "To say you're a genius you aren't particularly smart at times are you?" She squeezed his hand, "I'm not going to reject Tony, you have no idea how long I have waited for you to say you love me, to be honest I was expecting a more romantic setting but still…" 'She's been waiting for me to say it?'He said to himself, his jaw gone slack, 'Does that mean she…?'

She laughed again, almost reading his thoughts as she watched his emotions pass freely over his face, after knowing someone for over ten years it was a pretty simple task especially when the guy only ever opened up to one person, "Yes, Tony…" Pepper took a deep breath a looked into his chocolate brown eyes, "I love you too." Then she smiled at him, finally glad that she'd told him, it was the one thing she had truly wanted to say to him when he came home after three months.

"Y-you love m-me," Tony repeated, unable to comprehend what she had just said, the only person he had ever truly loved returned his feelings, "You love me," He said once more, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

"Yes I do, now there's no need to keep repea-hmmm!" Pepper was abruptly cut off as her lips were crushed by Tony's –who had enough of her talking– at first she was a wee bit shocked, but soon relaxed into the kiss and gladly returned it with just as much force, tangling her fingers within his shaggy dark hair.

He couldn't believe this was happening he was kissing Pepper, and more importantly she was kissing him back! Tony sighed happily into the kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around her slim body and pulled the love of his life closer. Using a hand at the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, running his tongue along her soft lips, asking for entrance, to which she complied whole heartedly, letting him explore her mouth with his tongue. She hummed lightly into his mouth before experimentally sliding her tongue against his, eliciting a small moan from him.

Several minutes of passionate kissing later, Pepper reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to die of oxygen deprivation, and rested her forehead on his, her eyes closed and, her fingers still tangled in his hair, "Wow…" was all she could breathe out, still coming to terms to the fact that she had just made out with Tony Stark, the man she loved.

"You got that right," Tony panted and she could feel the smirk radiating off his face. Both hands were on her back, holding her close, he feared that if he let go of Pepper he'd wake up and realise it was all another torturous dream. Pulling his head back a few inches he smiled, not the smile that he showed to the press to mask his emotions, but a proper smile the one that only his parents and Pepper had ever witnessed, "I love you Pepper Potts,"

Upon opening her eyes to his words, Pepper was taken aback at the smile he had, so much so that she felt her heart melt, "I love you too Tony Stark," She smiled softly, running her fingers through his damp hair. Then the look in Tony's eyes changed, he looked almost vulnerable, and it nearly broke her heart, "Tony…? Are you okay?" She whispered, unsure what to do, it was like he'd had another nightmare, but worse.

"C-can you stay with m-me?" He asked, he voice almost breaking, he was worried that he'd have another nightmare if she wasn't close by, "Please?" He looked up at her with pleading eyes, truly scared that she would just disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Of course I will Tony," Pepper smiled reassuringly, knowing that he was asking her to stay and not to have sex with him, and that proved to her even more that he was a changed man, and that she knew they could have a relationship, albeit a unconventional one but they would make it work, "C'mon scooch over, at least give me some room," She teased hoping it would lighten the mood, and it seemed to work because Tony smiled weakly as he made room for her on the bed.

"Thanks Pep'" Tony whispered, as he watched Pepper shrug off her blazer and kick off her shoes. He was too busy ogling her beauty that he failed to hear her say she was stealing one of his t-shirts and a pair of cotton trousers and only snapped out of his trance when he felt her slip into his bed beside him, "Are you wearing my clothes?"

She rolled her eyes and smirked, "Yes I am did you fail to hear me say I was getting changed in your bathroom?" Shuffling closer to him, Pepper rested her hands on his chest, either side of the arc reactor and kissed it, she had always thought it looked beautiful –except when it was poisoning and almost killing him– and now couldn't imagine him without it.

That's when Tony realised he was never going to let Pepper go, one of the reasons why he stopped sleeping around was because he was worried women would see him as a freak with the arc reactor implanted in him –only Rhodey, Pepper and a few others knew it was actually a part of him and not the suit– and now, she was in bed with him accepting his flaw, the reason he was still alive. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her hair, maybe this whole relationship thing wouldn't be that hard right?

"Hey, uh… Pepper," He mumbled into her hair, "In the morning can we talk about us cause well… I um, want to do this right…" He hoped she would understand what he was trying to say, he was useless when it came to expressing his feelings, and his lack of stable relationships didn't help that much either, but he knew the basics, take her out on dates and see if she wanted to take it slow.

"Me too," Pepper whispered, snuggling closer to him, the soft whirring of his arc lulling her to sleep, "Don't worry, we'll sort this all out and I expect a proper date and no flying off in that suit okay?" She joked, tilting her head back to kiss his goatee.

"I promise," He smiled before letting out a long yawn, seemed he was a lot more tired than he first thought and nuzzled his head against her head as he closed his eyes, "Good night Pepper… love you…"

Smiling she kissed him once more, "Love you too…" Pepper tucked her head under his and rested her hand over the reactor, revelling in its warmth before following Tony's lead, soon drifting off to sleep as well.

It was safe to say Tony wasn't plagued by any more nightmares and Pepper had the best night's sleep in a long time.

A/N: So uh, yeah that was it, I hope you enjoyed. Now I need your help, I'm sure whether to keep this as a one shot or to carry it on, so put a review -good or bad both mean a lot to me :)- and say what you'd like to happen with this. 'Til next time ;)