It was late. Late even for him, which was saying something. Tony always thought he made up for his absolute distaste of mornings with his love of the night. And, he would admit, his ability to function on little to no sleep may have been a large factor in his securing his playboy reputation.
Now, of course, that reputation had been pushed aside. Because across from him sat Pepper Potts his assistant and, much to his amazement, girlfriend. And boy, was she something.
Love had always been a foreign concept to him. Tony simply didn't understand the concept of dating, of wooing: women jumped at the chance to be with him, even for a night. And he relished it. But there had always been that lingering annoyance toward Pepper, for as much as he flirted and tried, she denied him. And Tony Stark wasn't used to being denied.
It wasn't until after Afghanistan that he found his gaze wandering toward Pepper Potts more and more. But instead of ogling her legs or gazing absentmindedly at her chest, he found himself wondering what kind of flowers she'd like, what gifts to give her. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and it scared the crap out of him.
But here they were. At long last, in his opinion.
Tony was just beginning to feel an inkling of exhaustion, glancing at the clock nonchalantly as to not alert her to the time. 1:32. Geez, he thought. She'd usually have gone home hours ago.
"Hey, Pep," Tony started softly, breaking her from her trance. Pepper looked up suddenly, an expression of surprise flashing across her face before her features settled into a soft, loving expression. "Want to go to bed?"
She immediately rolled her eyes, used to Tony's frequent suggestive remarks. But, try as she might, she couldn't quite suppress the grin that quirked at the corners of her mouth.
"No, no," he amended quickly, waving his hands vaguely. "Not like that. For once. I mean, I wouldn't mind that, of course." He cleared his throat, chuckling to himself. "No, I meant just sleep. I just want to know what it feels like to fall asleep next to you, wake up with you in my arms."
Surprised by this display of uncharacteristic romanticism, Pepper's freckled cheeks flushed deeply. She took a moment to ponder his proposition, although her mind was really already made up. "Okay," she murmured.
—-
Tony was woken up the next morning by the feel of someone's soft touch against his arm. His stomach dropped, dread filling his mind as he groggily sat up to see just who was in his bed. Pepper. The previous night came back to him; nothing had happened, then. Just the two of them, laying together. A small grin spread across his face as he examined her in a pair of his old pajamas. Truthfully, she looked much better than he did in them. He laid back down slowly, taking care not to wake her. And he couldn't help but think that this - just holding her here in his arms - was surely going to become a cherished memory. Later he'd look back on that peaceful moment as the one where he realized just what it felt like to be in love.