Soli Deo gloria
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Iron Man. Or the Avengers. Or Angry Birds.
SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING. JUST, YOU KNOW, AS AN FYI.
I wanted to write Pepperony fluff :D
Tony tapped his foot against the floor of the super-secret Avengers base with impatience. He played at his tie and asked Happy, "When's this thing supposed to start again?"
"Seven o'clock," Happy said, not looking up from his cellphone.
"Is it like, a deadline, or is that a loose time?" Tony wondered, his face grimacing as he worried at his tie.
"Do you mean will anyone notice if you're really late? I thought you liked big entrances," Happy said.
"Yeah, typically. I dunno. Pepper knows it's starting at seven, right?"
Happy looked up from his text inbox (134 unanswered and unopened texts from Peter Parker—could the kid not take a hint?) and said patronizingly, "Do you want me to go knock on Pepper's door and ask her if she's finished applying her mascara yet?"
"No. I like you enough not to send you walking to your death," Tony said.
"That's what I thought." Happy returned to his Angry Birds.
Tony stopped fussing with his tie and stood up straight. He checked his watch, checked his phone, blew a raspberry, and tapped his other foot. Then he resumed messing up his tie.
Happy cast a sidelong glance at Tony. What was with this guy? Mr. Confidence, Mr. Strut into a room and own it from the first moment in, had sweaty palms?
"What's with you? You're not acting like yourself," Happy said.
"I know. I know."
"You're acting nervous. What's wrong with you?" Happy pocketed his phone and grabbed the tie himself. He brought it back to a perfect state of being as Tony restrained himself into some façade of calmness. "There. Your tie's perfect."
"You'll make someone a fine wife someday, Happy," Tony said sarcastically.
"That's more like it." Happy smacked his arm. "Get it together."
"Okay. Okay. I will." Happy took his spot by Tony's side. The two men were quiet for approximately three seconds before Tony said, "I just feel like I'm forgetting something. Like, something really important that I really should've remembered."
Happy groaned and glanced at his own watch. "Now you've got me wondering where Pepper is. Look, it's probably nothing. You're just worried about being late."
"But I never worry about being late to anything, really—this is just another charity fundraiser. No, something's slipped my mind."
"Somebody's getting old," Happy teased.
"No, you know age doesn't affect me. I'm invincible and immortal, 'kay? Don't confuse me with normal humans," Tony declared.
"Sounds like you're confusing yourself with Thor," Happy said off-hand.
Tony blew another breath through his lips and leaned back and forth on both feet. "Wow, this usually doesn't happen."
"Did you check your calendar? Or with Pepper? She does all the remembering for you so this doesn't ever happen," Happy said tongue-in-cheek.
"Haven't done that yet," Tony said, just as Pepper came down the stairs. She wore an elegant cream-colored dress with a silver clutch and high heels. Happy muttered to himself, "Finally, thank God," as Tony stepped forward, asking, "Pepper, is today something important? It's itching on the back of my mind—you gotta help me."
Pepper smiled to herself as she came up to him. "I'm sure there's a less subtle way to point out that today's our ten-year anniversary as a couple."
"Oh, you know me. Never one for subtle," Tony said, giving her a smile as she looped her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. (Inwardly, he exhaled deeply. Wow, maybe he was getting old. . .)
"I know. Which means I know that you're totally not subtly sneaking out of the party to celebrate with me," Pepper said.
"Oh, I am? That's what I'm doing now? I'm doing something sneaky and celebratory and surprising and it'll knock your socks off?" Tony joked.
"Ohhhh, a surprise. I'm looking forward to it," Pepper beamed. She gave him a big kiss; his eyes remained open, though, 'cause he realized he just walked straight into that one. Nice. Now he needed to produce a meaningful surprise out of thin air.
She stood back and went to fuss with his tie. Her eyes widened in surprise when she found it to be all knotted right without her help. She said, "Let me check my lipstick and then I'll be right out."
Happy got off the wall he leaned against and said, "I'll start up the car."
"Great. We'll be right out, Happy," Pepper said, smiling brightly as she went to the hall mirror for a quick glance at her kiss-smudged lips.
Tony grabbed Happy's shoulder. Happy said, "Nice move, boss."
"So, Happy. I think I remember hearing you have a ring on you. A nice ring, had it for, what, twelve years?"
"Oh, as opposed to the one I've had for eleven years?" Happy bantered.
"This is serious, Happy. I need it. Like, right now."
Happy stared at Tony, noticing the hard seriousness in the man's eyes. The man who was sometimes so rash, so quick, so casual, so shallow, had determination steeling his face.
"Oh wait, you're serious," Happy said, sounding like Tony had knocked the wind out of him.
"Yeah, I am. I thought you noticed that when I said that I was serious. So, um, back to the matter at hand. The ring? I kinda need it."
"You're going to—you're going to—" Happy looked from Tony to Pepper and back again.
"Happy, you sound like a broken record. Or a malfunctioning robot. Either analogy works for me. Now, the ring?" Tony held out his hand.
"You gave it back to me when I gave it to you that first time. Why is this time going to be any different?"
"Because the first time I wasn't serious. We managed to tide over the reporters with Vulture's capture and stuff. It wasn't necessary."
"Oh, necessary? Like a proposal to Pepper is just a distraction—?"
"Don't you dare call it that. I-I gave it back to you because I wasn't ready. I got cold feet. I didn't do it then. But I mean to do it now," Tony said firmly.
"Tony, I don't mean to tell you what to do, but are you sure about this? Is this something you really want to do? I don't want this to be something you and Pepper end up regretting—"
"Happy, the only thing I'll be regretting is this conversation if I don't have the ring box in my hand by the end of it. Now," Tony sighed; there was bright urgency on his face, the face of an earnest man. He held out his hand and said to his friend simply, "Please."
Happy nodded and retrieved the ring from his pocket. "Of course." He managed to hide it in Tony's hand right as Pepper came striding over.
"I'm ready. Happy, I thought you were getting the car?" Pepper wondered.
"Yeah, yeah, I am. Just forgot to tell Tony something. Peter Parker. You know. That kid's driving me crazy. I-I'll go get the car." Happy hurried away.
Pepper looked after him with some confused concern. "What's with Happy?"
"Peter's doing a number on him. You know, teenagers. It's a new kind of stress for him." Tony put his hand at Pepper's shoulder and smiled. "Shall we?" His other hand snuck into his pocket, stowing the ring for safekeeping.
"We shall."
Two hours later, Tony and Pepper 'snuck out' of the fundraiser as subtly as they could. Which wasn't really that subtly. They'd had a good night together, forgetting all about the Avengers and the Accords and how the world was basically in shambles, and remembering only the other. Camera lights and flashes glowed after them as they stumbled into the back of the limo manned by Happy with their lips attached together. Happy raised his eyebrows as he closed the door behind them.
"Now it's only you and me and this car," Tony managed to say.
Pepper broke them off enough to sit up and say, "Well, you and me and Happy and this car."
"Happy doesn't count. He just drives," Tony said.
"I heard that. I appreciate how much you value me," Happy said, settling down into the driver's seat.
"Tact, Happy. Roll down the window." Tony waved a hand after him.
Happy did so with rolled eyes and relief.
Tony turned back to Pepper. She sighed as she framed a hand around his face. "You're kinda drunk right now," she said factually.
"Only kinda?" Tony said.
"Bed's the place for you," she said.
"What? It's only nine. What are we, eighty?" Tony wondered.
"The surprise can wait until tomorrow," Pepper told him. She smoothed his unruly hair out of his face and smiled down into his eyes.
He totally wanted to argue with her. He wanted to do what he set out to do and ask her to marry him before he lost the courage to. Funny, he always did everything with confidence. He'd never had to call up courage to do something before. Huh.
But not now. Not when everything swam around some and he wasn't himself. Pepper, of course, was the smarter of the two of them. Of course she was right.
"Okay. It can wait," he said. He liked the look of patience in her eyes. Like she'd wait until the end of the world for him. Like they had all the time in the world.
In the morning he cleared his head by going to the gym room. So there were two gym rooms. One was used for measuring strength and endurance and speed. All its workout appliances were hooked up to computers. It was more like a lab than anything. Tony went into the one that looked like a local small town's gym had been transplanted into the new Avengers' facility.
Maybe it was to avoid the hangover pounding in his head; maybe it was to stall opening his heart before the love of his life. Maybe a combination of both. Who knew. Tony didn't care. He just stuck to the grind and did plenty of weight-lifting and stretching. He was getting old, and considering all the looming tensions with the Avengers and the world, he had to keep up his strength—
Somehow all that looked easier to handle than this did.
Tony set the 30-lb weights down and stared at the ring box. It sat on a pressing bench, just mocking him. He put it there as some kind of visual motivation before he started. He just hoped Pepper wouldn't come looking for him and accidentally find it.
Or. Well, maybe. . . He looked at it thoughtfully. That wasn't a half of a bad idea.
Technically it wasn't his worst idea ever, but it was up there. He shouldn't give it half as much credence as he does.
He pressed an intercom button on the wall. "Hey, Pepper?"
A second or later, a reply came: "What is it, Tony?"
"Can you come down to the regular gym? I wanna show you something."
"I'm kind of busy right now." Cue the convenient ruffling of papers. "Can you come up here?"
"It's the surprise I couldn't show you last night because I was drunk. It's all ready down here. I don't know if I can move it. It's all in like, perfect position. So can you just come down here, please?"
Pepper didn't quite cut off her scoff before she said, "Sure, I'll be right down."
"'kay. Cool. Love you." Tony gulped as he let go of the intercom button and stared at that ring box. He couldn't very well step out of it now, could he? Not that he wanted to, of course. It was just . . . Tony Stark didn't get scared easily. When it came to affairs of the heart, he usually just threw up a few protective walls created from sarcasm and supposed indifference and that usually did the trick. He couldn't do that here. All his walls were down. All his chips were laid on the table. And Pepper would either take him or reject him. That was it. No walls to hide behind now.
Pepper came thumping down the stairs and entered the gym. She wore black slacks and a white silky blouse. She bore a clipboard and a binder in her arm. "Okay, Tony. What is it?" she asked, a little winded and a little exasperated. "I'm busy right, really busy—" She looked around the gym. "I don't see it. It's set up here, you said? Where's the surprise, Tony?" She followed the path of his eyes and froze when she saw the ring box. He looked up to see her eyes shining with alarm and surprise.
There. She knew. Hard part was over. Dread's the worst part of doing anything scary, anyway.
Tony felt suddenly injected with energy and courage. He swooped down on the ring and walked right up to Pepper. He opened the ring box and smiled at her. "Surprise, surprise. But you knew it was coming, right?"
Pepper restrained herself from slapping him. Him acting like this was a joke—when it was a marriage proposal!
"Pepper," Tony said in a soft voice. His eyes made her lose all her frigidity. He held her left hand in his right and squeezed it. "Pepper, this was a long time coming. And this is like, legit. This isn't a press conference insta-proposal for a media distraction. This is just you and me. We were ten years together yesterday. And I realized something—something important. We've been choosing each other for ten years. We've become strained and even separated. But we've come back together. We always come back together. And ten years is a long time to be together. But I'd like to be together for a lot longer. Maybe four or five decades instead of just one, or for as long as I live. Whichever comes first. That is . . . if you . . ." Tony gulped, and that's when he got down on one knee. "I love you, Pepper. It all comes down to that. I really do. That's an indisputable fact. I wanna marry you. Will you marry me?"
"Tony. . ." Pepper whispered in a shaky voice. Her paperwork fell from her arm. She couldn't find the words.
"Hey, hey," Tony said, standing up and cupping her face. "It's okay, it's okay. Take your time. We've got all the time in the world. I'd wait through all of time for you."
"Tony. . ." Pepper ended up closing her eyes and nodding fiercely.
"You do? You do? I get that you're nodding but if you could maybe just say it out loud for confirmation—"
"Yes, Tony Stark, I will marry you! Now, shut up!" Pepper kissed him, hard, as she wrapped her arms around him so irrevocably that the two of them were inseparable.
They kissed for a long time until they finally broke for breath. Tony, as usual, found his voice quickly enough. "So this is you admitting that somehow you're going to somehow handle all this," Tony gestured to himself, "for the rest of your life?"
"More like for the rest of your life," Pepper said. "The way you act sometimes, I wonder how you haven't been killed yet."
"Oh, that makes more sense," Tony said. He slipped the ring onto her finger.
She gasped. Tears marked her voice as she said, smiling, "It's beautiful, Tony."
"It's okay-looking. I think you being the wearer of it makes it beautiful, but that's just my opinion," Tony said, tilting his forehead against hers.
"Oh, Tony," Pepper said, hiding her face in his shoulder. She clung to him and he gripped her tighter. This was the only way he'd never lose her because of himself. He couldn't mess them up now. Now the only way he could lose her was by any of their thousands of enemies worldwide.
He held her tighter. He'd never let any of them touch her. He wouldn't let anyone, of Earth or foreign, hurt his Pepper, his fiancée.
Later, to end Happy's state of suspense, Tony sent him a text: 'Mission accomplished', with a thumb's up emoji. Happy breathed a happy sigh of relief and patted himself on the back. This made carrying around a ring for twelve years not feel pointless, but worth it.
Thanks for reading! Review?