There you go Pepperony fans! For now it's just a first, short chapter, but I'll update more as soon as I get a chance. This is just an introduction

At the moment I'm also working on 'One and the same', feel welcome to have a look at it as well.

So…there you go!

Pepper was sitting in Tony's living room, nervously typing at her computer. She knew that the report could wait, but she needed something to keep her busy. She tried her best to remain focused on the task, but her eyes kept drifting away towards the clock and her mind towards what Tony was doing at the moment.

Pepper hated it when he was away on missions. Some of them took just a couple of hours, but they seemed like months. Her imagination didn't make the waiting easier. The woman kept thinking about all the possible things that could go wrong and get Tony hurt…or worse.

She went to the kitchen and put the kettle on. The water was boiling and boiling and boiling. As if it would never stop and as if Tony would never return. Another nervous glance at the clock told her that he had been gone for seven hours and ten minutes. She had already calculated it all inside her head, reaching a conclusion that if everything went according to Tony's plans, the assignment would take him exactly seven hours and fifteen minutes. The kettle popped, signaling to her that the water was ready. At the same, she heard a loud bang, which could mean only one thing. Tony was back. And he forgot to use the door again.

Pepper put the coffee down. She felt relieved, but a bit annoyed at the same time. She could bear Tony smashing roofs, but she would have to admit to him that she was wrong about being so worried. And being wrong she hated. Tony would shoot her this smug grin of his and give her a hug. And then they would have the whole evening for themselves. She couldn't wait, so she headed straight down the stairs to Tony's workshop.

As she typed in her access code and entered the room, she saw bits of the Ironman suit lying all around the room. Jarvis had just finished helping Tony out of its remains and Pepper started getting gradually more and more worried, as she walked towards her boyfriend.

'Dear God, are you all right? You look horrible? What is all this mess?' she couldn't stop the flow of questions.

'Horrible? Well you look amazing, as always. It's a long story, but I'm fine. See?' he smiled at her and outstretched his arms towards her, waiting for an embrace. 'It's just a couple of bruises, nothing more.' Pepper knew there was no point in arguing, so she continued walking towards Tony, doing her best to avoid tripping over a piece of the armour. As she got closer to him, she thought that he looked extremely pale and 'a couple of bruises' was a couple more than usually. But she wouldn't complain for now. She just wanted to enjoy his presence.

They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed delicately. Tony looked Pepper in the eyes, and tried to smile, but surprisingly, didn't succeed. He just puller Pepper closer to himself.

She wrapped her arms around his waist even tighter and heard a quiet hiss coming from him. Something was wrong, she realized her hands were now dripping with something. She let go of Tony and realized that the 'something' was blood.

Tony had just enough time to register the terrified expression on Pepper's face. Then he couldn't control anything anymore. His knees buckled under his weight and as he hit the floor, everything turned black.

That's it FOR NOW. Please review. This is my first couple fanfic, as I'm not the most romantic person there is. But Tony and Pepper are just sooooo awesome, I couldn't resist giving it a go. As it's my first time writing sth like that, I especially need YOUR FEEDBACK, so please spare me a minute and do leave a comment ;)