A/N: Hello! This is a series of one-shots featuring my personal yearning for hurt/comfort Pepper and Tony moments. Hopefully, i'm not the only one out there that loves them.
Note: None of the chapters are connected.
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, or Iron Man. But what i do own is a Robert Downey Jr body pillow, iphone case, and blanket.
Read and enjoy!
Chapter 1
Pepper was on the phone with one of the board members. They were going back and forth, along with a lawyer, on drafting a contract for the next review meeting. She was sitting on the white leather couch in the living room of Tony's mansion.
Tony had been away on a mission for the past six hours. It was almost eight o'clock and all Pepper wanted to do was to get the contract over with. She scratched the side of her head in exasperation.
"What would be the benefits from that?" Pepper asked with her Blackberry pressed against her ear, and her laptop resting on her lap. She paused for a moment to listen to the man's rambling.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That seems highly unlikely."
The man mumbled something through the phone, and Pepper's response was very discontented. "If you want to do that, please, talk to the lawyer and draft the contract yourself. We've been at this for hours, and I'd rather not get into the details of how many times you've changed your mind."
She paused. The man asked her about Tony's whereabouts, making Pepper's remembrance about his current mission take a toll on her conscience. In annoyance, she spat back, "Yes, I realize that, but at the moment, Mr. Stark is unavailable. So, we're going to have to continue the contract with out him, or at least until I can get a hold of him."
The man asked her about her qualifications on the contract in irritation.
She let out a heavy sigh. "I've done this before, Mr. Burgs. My qualification is the last of your worries."
Just as she was about to respond to another of the man's ghastly questions, she heard something crash. Her ears rang when she heard the various clings and clangs of tools falling on the ground. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and worry.
"Talk to the lawyer about your priorities about this contract and let him draft it. I'll review it early tomorrow and get back to you. Good night, Mr. Burgs." She hung up on the man and immediately reoriented her laptop from her lap to the spot beside her on the couch.
"JARVIS?" She curiously and worriedly asked.
"Yes, Miss Potts?" The AI responded.
"Was that Tony?"
"Yes. Mister Stark has indeed arrived home." JARVIS casually replied.
"Is he alright?" She asked, getting up from the couch.
"He's inquired that he is 'fine', Miss Potts."
She rolled her eyes at JARVIS' statement and pressed her lips together. "I hardly believe that." She walked towards the staircase that led to his workshop. She opened up the glass door after pressing in her access code. When the seal popped, her eyes immediately scanned the room for the lovable oaf.
"Tony?" She worriedly hollered.
Tony came out from the back that was surrounded in various Iron Man scraps and tools. He wore the thin black under armor top and a pair of black slacks.
When Pepper turned her head to look at him, she saw numerous cuts on his face and a bruise on his neck. She could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like. She smirked to herself at the double meaning her words held.
"Hey." He said with a low gasp.
"You okay?" She anxiously asked him.
"Yeah." He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them intently, looking for a kiss as well. "Why wouldn't I be?" He grinned.
"Well, for one…" Pepper looked up at the big gaping hole in the middle of the ceiling. Tony followed her gaze and immediately waved it off.
"Oh, that." He hummed. "Don't worry about that. I can fix that tomorrow."
"It's not the repair I'm worrying about Tony." She eyed him suspiciously. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her hands wrapped around his waist and began pressing his sides for injuries.
He giggled in response and moved out of her reach. "Hey, that tickles."
She gave him a knowing expression. "Tony." She lowly growled.
"Peps." He grinned wildly. Her worried look made him quickly retaliate. "Don't worry. I'm fine. I could use a back rub though, or maybe a foot massage."
"Don't press your luck." She shook her head at him. Her eyes gazed at the cuts on his face. "Let me at least get the first aid kit."
Pepper grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom, and led Tony to the couch. He reluctantly sat down with a plop and knowingly eyed her movements. She said down next to him and shifted her body so that she could face his side.
She dabbed a cotton swab with anti-bacterial liquid and lightly dabbed the lines of dried blood that strewn across his face.
He winced a few times in pain, and even gently smacked her hand away. Pepper tried not to grin at his childish antics, but she found it hard to hide.
"Are you making fun of me?" He asked her hoarsely.
She looked at him wryly. "You're being such a big baby, Tony."
He began to pout; his hands gently grasped her waist to hold her closer. "Kiss me. It'll make me feel better."
She rolled her eyes at him and ignored his pleas with another dab from the cotton swab. He hissed in pain this time.
"Feeling better?" She smiled knowingly.
"Meany." He frowned and sniffed. Her vulnerability to his every adorable expression imaginable made her want to snuggle up to his side and comfort him, or at least give him a quick kiss.
She settled with tucking her arm underneath his, and lacing their fingers together. He couldn't help but smile when her hand affectionately squeezed his.
At the time, Pepper hadn't approved his various pleas of asking her to move in with him. She simply stated that it was too early. They had been in a romantic relationship for almost six months, and Tony argued that she had been living in his mansion for eleven years. Pepper could only roll her eyes at him in response, so each opportunity he got, he'd ask her the same exact question, and she would give him the same exact answer.
She threw the cotton swab into the trash and squeezed his hand in reassurance. She carefully eyed his face for any more injuries, and at the same time avoided his gaze for the sake of her concentration. When she was done surveying the damage, she held his gaze with a smile.
"What?" He asked her with an endearing grin.
He didn't give her the chance to answer him as his lips were immediately, and softly, pressed against hers. She sighed in content against his kiss, and raised her hand up to his side. She squeezed the side of his stomach in affection and moved up.
Her hand rested against his ribs, slowly massaging them with tender.
That's when the passion increased. He kissed her again and began to lean into her hold. Her back was on the brink of laying against the armrest on the sofa until her hands passionately squeezed his ribs.
He let out a big yelp of pain and immediately cursed under his breath.
"Ow—Oh god, ow!" He pulled away from her with a groan.
Without a word, almost as if in routine, Pepper asked JARVIS to do a medical scan on Tony's body. She glared at him with a deathly look, and he could only pout like an adorable puppy that had just sprained its leg as he tenderly held his side.
"Indeed, Mr. Stark has two bruised ribs, both on his left side." The AI responded rather quickly.
"Okay, up to bed." She stood up and ushered him towards the staircase.
"What—" He frowned as her hands pressed against his back, guiding him through the glass door. "—But I was going to work on the suit, and upgrade JARVIS so that he can effectively lie to you next time." He glared up at the ceiling.
"My apologies, sir."
"Yeah, we'll see about that when I make Dummy dowse your CPU with the fire extinguisher." Tony angrily mumbled under his breath.
Pepper forcefully pushed him towards his bedroom, and ordered him to change out of his clothes and into something more comfortable. While Pepper went downstairs to grab some Asprin and an ice pack, Tony effectively changed into a pair of boxers and an old white cotton t-shirt. He reached for his Stark Phone on the nightstand and went through various schematics that were stored in his private sever.
The sound of Pepper's feet padding against the hard wood floor made him look up in curiosity. She walked over to his side of the bed and handed him the ice pack.
"Place it on your ribs under your shirt." She ordered him while she went into the bathroom to get a cup of water for the Asprin.
"But…" he frowned at the pack. "…It's cold."
She groaned. "Tony, stop making such a fuss."
He, too, groaned. "Pepperrrr." He drew out. "Help me." She was almost certain she heard a five year-old boy instead of his voice.
She walked out of the bathroom with a sigh and placed the cup of water and four tablets of Asprin on the nightstand. She rolled up his shirt, brushing her fingers along the smooth skin of his side, and gently placed the pack near his ribs.
"Gah, that's cold!" He exclaimed.
"There's a reason why it's called an ice pack, Tony." She joked.
"You know what would make it hotter?" His grin grew wildly with innuendo.
"No." She immediately stopped him from going further into detail. "Here, take some Asprin." She held her hand out.
He furrowed his eyebrows down at the medicine. "There are four, Pep. Are you trying to make me overdose on these things?"
She rolled her eyes. "Two for you, and two for me."
"For you?" He raised an eyebrow up at her.
"To you, it's Asprin. To me, it's 'Tony Stark pain the ass relief medication'." She joked with a sly grin.
He returned the smile. "Let's just agree that without my antics, you'd be bored as all get out. Right, Potts?"
She handed him his Asprin. "Sure." She said in a sarcastic tone.
After they had both taken their medication, Pepper had gallivanted to the bathroom for a bit. When she came out, still wearing her casual attire, Tony was on his phone, trying not to fall asleep. His eye lids would fall every other second, and he'd bring them back up without a beat.
"You need to rest, Tony."
He looked up at her with sleepy eyes. "I will when a certain girlfriend of mine decides to cuddle with me."
She half-heartedly responded, "I can't stay tonight." She braced her ears for another round of Tony's award winning whining.
"But, Pepperrrrr." He childishly drew out again. "I'm injured." His bottom lip was drawn out in an effective, and adorable, pout.
She almost had to pry her eyes away from the sight. "I really have to get home."
"I don't get why you still have your apartment when—"
"Tony." She interjected. "I already know what you're going to say, and my answer is still no."
"Poop." He frowned. "At least stay for the night. I don't think I can handle the pain without you."
"You seem fine to me." She knowingly smiled at him.
"Stay…" He groaned in that irresistible and hoarse tone of his.
She turned her head to face him. He looked like he had just been smacked on the butt for being a bad puppy. His eyes were wide, his bottom lip was still drawn out, and the fake sniffling sounds instantly bounced in her ears.
She heavily sighed in response and finally agreed to stay for the night. She had changed out of her clothes and into one of his boxers and t-shirts. She dove underneath the sheets and snuggled up to his side. His arm wrapped around her shoulders once her head laid against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and sighed in utter content.
Pepper grinned against his affectionate actions and gently nuzzled her cheek against his chest.
In a matter of seconds, their breathing had evened out. Tony was softly snoring against Pepper's head, and Pepper was drooling against his side.
It was one thing to deal with a stubborn billionaire playboy on a regular basis, but it was another thing when it came to his needs after a painful mission. And his girlfriend was always at the top of his list.
A/N: Fishing for reviews :)