Pepperony Inventor-fic.

Pepper Potts' heels clicked over the floor of Tony Stark's cliff-side mansion, she was dressed precisely and flatteringly in professional attire.

"Friday? Is Tony still in the Workshop?" She put in a pair of discreet gold earrings.

"Yes Ms Potts." The voice said smoothly.

"Get him out."

"Yes Ms Potts."

Pepper trusted the sophistication of the AI more with every day. Sure enough, moments later she heard Tony's feet bounding up the stairs.

"Tony, we're going to be late." She called sternly.

"I know, I'm sorry." Tony Stark bounded up to her like a naughty puppy, tearing the dust mask down off his face. His hair was full of unnamed dusts that twinkled like glitter.

"I made you something" He smiled, radiating an intense enthusiasm that Pepper knew from experience was irrepressible.

Not breaking eye contact he placed a metal contraption in her hand and kissed her fingertips, closing her fingers over it. Pepper sighed, charmed, but determined to get him to focus.

"I need you at a meeting in half an hour. What...?" She held up her hand.

"Please, just a minute. I promise I'll be good after I show you this... good for me" He added, at her disbelieving look.

She finally took a good look at the complicated piece of metal in her hands. It looked like a music box "What is this?"

"Just a little something. Hold it like so" He curled the fingers of one hand onto the metal base plate "...and touch here." There was a tiny heart shaped metal pad.

"It looks like an electric circuit, it this going to zap me?" She asked, half fascinated, half worried. Tony had form, and there were wires.

"No.. well yes, but not so as you'd notice." His eyes looked at her imploringly.

"Tony." She said warningly.

"Please, I'm very proud of it."

"Well ok..." More puppy dog eyes. "Ok!" She smiled, in spite of herself.

Tony curled himself around behind her dexterously, swinging her into the morning sunlight like a dancer. "Now hold it up to the light, and close the circuit."

Pepper held it up, sunlight refracting through the crystal and splitting into a vivid rainbow.

"It's lovely." She said, with a little smile.

"Now touch that little heart." Tony enthused. She did. The machine came to life.

A tiny motor whirred, setting the whole contraption into motion. A spindle turned, holes in it flashing beams of the split sunlight upon tiny sensors. In time with the flashing, a little melodic hum of a sound came out of the tiny speaker.

"Oh Tony." Pepper gasped at the delicate sounds coming from the little machine as she recognised the tune.

The melody rising in a familiar progression, Pepper mentally sang the lyrics along with it, you are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

"Oh Tony, it's beautiful." She let it go to look at him. He closed her finger over it again, looking into her eyes.

You make me happy, when skies are grey...

"Did I say it's solar power? It's powered by that tiny little patch of solar film. I know how much you like solar power."

You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

"I do." She touched his cheek and gave his a sweet kiss.

Pepper smiled at the music box, bubbling with warm feelings of love and pride, then looked at Tony's excited face. "Tell me more as you get ready. Come on, time to shower."

Obviously pleased with her reaction, Tony started tech babbling in the most charming way as he walked backwards towards the shower, undressing as he went. "That film is a proof of concept for something new I'm working on." He tossed his safety goggles and dust mask aside.

"It uses multiple layers of sensitive material, each optimised for a different wavelength of sunlight..." He said, removing his shoes and socks.

".. Including green." His eyebrow cocked, bragging, as he jogged up the stairs playfully.

"With this film and a micro-bead coating, you can get conversion rates up around 35, maybe 40%. In a 2mm thick film..." His shirt dropped from his outstretched hand. Pepper followed, retrieving his abandoned clothing.

"It's about 200gsm and you can apply it to walls like it was a poster, put a weather coat on it and boom it's both wash and wear and plug and play."

His pants were kicked towards her with a little flourish.

"I'd go into more detailed specs, but it gets super technical. I'd prefer just to kiss you."

During the kiss Pepper managed to deftly manoeuvre him into the shower. He looked mock betrayed when she broke the kiss and turned the water on.

As he started scrubbing, she took a closer look at the tiny patch of solar film.

"Tony, this is a real breakthrough... This isn't just going to revolutionise Stark industries, this could power cities.."

"Yup. I impressed myself with this one." His voice echoed out to her.

"You've impressed me too. I'm not even annoyed how late we're going to be. So why did you go to the trouble of the little heart touch pad and that song, if it's just a proof of concept?"

"I told you, I made it for you. When you touch the base, and the heart... you carry the modulating current created by the clockwork spindle through your body." Splashing noises "Your skin changes the signal a little, so when it comes back to the machine and gets played as it's gentler, sweeter."

"It can't work without you. So I thought it would be romantic present on more than one level, because not only are you my sunshine, I need you to touch my heart to keep me grounded." He reached a hand out to touch the ribs over her heart.

"And you complete me..." He trailed off as he caught sight of her truly touched expression.

"Or, since completing me isn't the healthiest relationship sentiment, I could just say that you electrify me and modulate my genius to create things of true beauty." He smirked.

"Lose the egotism in that sentence, and it would be truly lovely compliment." She said sarcastically, laughing.

"See what I mean? I'm right aren't I?" Pepper pecked him on the cheek.

"You are. Now get dressed." She pushed him gently but firmly towards his closet.

"I love you." He called over his shoulder, meeting her eyes.

"I love you too."

"You're my sunshine too." She said quietly in absolute wonder, and touched the little button again, listening to the song play out.

I like techno-babble, so sue me ;).