Title: Change
Rating: NC-17
Length: 1780
Summary: Apparently he's changed a lot since she last spoke to him.
Warning: Sex.
A/N: Some spoilers for Iron Man 2.
---
In the last months she barely spoke to him. She had been busy and half of her wanted to kill him for what he had done to her. Killing intentions aside, her birthday was approaching really fast and she hadn't planned anything yet.
It was the end of January in Los Angeles and the weather was getting colder and colder every day. She watched the people in the parking lot and saw two lovers embracing. She sighed and quickly turned away to her computer. The 326 emails waiting in her inbox wouldn't disappear on their own.
When she finally stopped answering emails she took a sip from her mug. She was surprised to see that it wasn't coffee and that it was warm cocoa. She wondered if her assistant did that on purpose, not knowing that it was Pepper's favorite drink this time of the year.
Another hour passed in silence while she drank her cocoa and looked outside the large windows. Los Angeles was beautiful at night. All those lights illuminating through the darkness reminded her that it was late and that she had to go home. She quickly signed off her Yahoo Messenger, closed her computer and walked outside with confident steps.
---
She was greeted on her birthday by a large group of females, all of them working at SI. She was actually surprised because no one, except Tony and her PA knew when her birthday was. You know what? Scratch that part where it says that Tony knows when it's my birthday.
He doesn't. He's a man, for god's sake. Men don't remember important dates, at least not many of them do.
Thomas Jeffery remembered this year. She laughed at first when she'd spotted him through the female group, but she was really disappointed that Tony wasn't there. How could he be, anyway? She asked herself. If he didn't remember it a year ago, why would he remember it now?
Her chest hurt a lot, but she was happy. For the first time in six months she was happy.
They did wish her a sincerely happy birthday, but Pepper didn't smile like she usually did. Her mind was somewhere else. It was the same day he got kidnapped a year ago, but the probability of him being kidnapped once again didn't appeal that much.
It's going to be all right. No one is going to take him away, again. I've got to stop worrying like that.
"Thank you all for your kind words. I'm really surprised because I didn't know you guys knew when my birthday was."
There was a pause then someone spoke.
"Well, you'll have to thank me."
Seriously now. What is he doing here?
"What are you doing here?" She sounded more like that night when he'd surprised her by saying 'You look fantastic – I didn't recognize you'.
He smiled devilishly and showed his white teeth at her.
"It's your birthday, remember?" He told her with a tone of laughter in his voice.
Pepper pressed the heel of her hand into her forehead and turned away from him.
"Hey now—" Tony said and grabbed her wrist.
She shrugged her wrist from his grip firmly and swallowed hard, tears threatening to spill over.
"Am I not allowed to do even that?" She stopped whatever she was going to do and stared at him. His broken voice told her everything.
I'm hurting him, dammit.
"Yes you are." She replied back in a gentler tone.
"Right… Uh… Happy Birthday!" He smiled at her and shoved his hands into his pockets sheepishly.
"Thank you, Tony." She couldn't believe that for once he remembered her birthday.
"See you tonight, yeah?"
"Okay."
She closed her eyes in bliss and smiled, but didn't expect the sudden kiss placed on her cheek.
---
The party had been a huge success. Pepper couldn't remember one time when so many people attended her b-day party, but she was determined not to ask. Of course that now – with the big promotion everyone wanted to come. It surprised her a little because when she printed out the guest list she saw that there were a hundred more than she'd expected.
People started to arrive a couple of minutes after everything was ready. The SI headquarters were a good place for these parties because there was a lot of space which could be used.
"Don't tell me I've bought this one as well." A familiar hand on the bare skin of her back made her tremble.
Tony smiled at her and shook his head lightly.
"This party is so boring, Potts."
Pepper smirked because she knew what he meant anyway.
"Oh, and I forgot your gift at home." He passed a hand over his face, dramatically then he added. "Care to come with me back home? Because I've seen you and you don't seem to be enjoying yourself."
Pepper eyed him suspiciously before moving closer to him in the semi-darkness.
"Sure."
"I've been expecting more from you, Miss Potts." He murmured lightly while he squeezed her hand tenderly.
---
The road was relatively short due to the fact that Tony was driving. It took them sixteen minutes till they passed the gates of his mansion. When he pulled the car into the garage he quickly got out before her and helped her out of the car.
"The gift's in my bedroom." He said with a smirk and tugged at her hand.
Pepper raised her eyebrow at him, but followed him nonetheless.
His bedroom was low lit and Pepper preferred to stay outside until he got her present.
"Come on," He insisted. "Are you scared that I might do something illegal?"
Pepper laughed faintly and went after him.
On his bed-stand there was a small gift wrapped with a tiny red bow. Pepper closed her eyes and sighed softly while he handed it to her with a smile.
In the box there was a gold necklace with three small diamonds adorning it. She couldn't take her eyes off it.
Instead he leaned over and kissed her softly, bringing her out of her reverie. She gasped sharply and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Put that on for me, will you?" She asked with a sweet smile.
He didn't say any word as his fingers peeled the necklace from its place and fastened it around her neck with agile fingers.
She touched it gently where it lay between her breasts and swallowed hard as he wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her against him. She shivered as she felt the solid heat radiating from him in waves, especially his arousal.
"We can be late a few minutes." She whispered when he pressed a kiss on her neck.
"Half an hour – " He replied back and gently pushed her against the cotton sheets. "An hour, maybe."
He kneeled between her legs and grabbed one of her legs and hoisted it over his shoulder. He began by slowly moving his hands up and down that marvelous skin of hers and slowly dragging his lips over the sensitive skin of her thigh.
After a few minutes of exploring her delicate skin he conceived an open-lipped kiss to her hand which lay in his thick hair. He quickly raised her dress above her waist and wasted no time before he kissed her intimately, moving his tongue around her clit with precision.
She trembled as he wound her tighter and tighter until she couldn't take it anymore. He held her hips in his strong hands as she came harder than ever, her nails scratching his skull lightly.
After she stopped trembling he sat up, undid his fly to relieve some of the pressure and stood on the edge of the bed. He almost jumped out of stress when he felt her hands trying to take off his jacket and tie.
He felt her mouth on his, a soft but insistent touch of a woman he'd wanted to kiss since he couldn't remember when.
Pepper managed to wrestle him out of his jacket and now she was unbuttoning his light blue shirt with trembling fingers. He helped her by bringing his hands up to hers. Their kisses were a bit messy, but he knew better than accusing. He pressed his lips back to hers while she straddled his hips and brought her hands in his hair as they continued kissing.
It was then when he decided he needed to be inside of her immediately. So, he wrapped one of her legs around his waist as he thrust into her. He was barely inside of her when their mouths parted, a long, deep moan coming out of his throat.
Her green dress hung up beautifully around her waist as he rocked into her gently, their slow moans echoing through the room. She bit her nails into his dress shirt and she wrapped one hand beneath his arm, trying to get as close as she could to his warm body.
His rough hand grabbed her one creamy globe of her ass and pulled her against him. She didn't feel his other hand sliding down one strap to reveal her breast. They changed their angle as he leaned in and licked her nipple with his wet tongue.
It felt so mind-blowingly good that she couldn't breathe. The sensation of his tongue sent her out of her mind and she screamed his name as she came. He held her still while she shivered and his head lulled back as his orgasm tore through him, leaving him breathless.
When they finished clutching at each other he let her go, but didn't stop touching her.
"Jarvis—" He called to the ceiling.
"Yes, sir?"
"Time, please."
"It's currently half past eight."
"Great!" He exclaimed. "We have plenty of time to get back before your cake arrives."
She shot him an exasperated look and looked him over – shirt unbuttoned and wrinkled, his pants undone and his belt sticking out, not to mention the other thing that was sticking out pretty obviously.
She tucked her breast back into her dress and looked him in the eye, her lower lip trembling.
"Are you all right?" He asked tenderly as his hand reached out to touch her face.
"I'm fine." She nodded and took his hand in hers. "But let's head back."
"Okay." He murmured and helped her sit up.
They kissed a few more times before they headed back to the party. No one asked what happened when they showed up holding hands.