Tony and Pepper were walking in the park on a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining, there was a breeze so slight that it accented the day's heat just perfectly. It was one of the first nice spring days since the brisk, cold, unforgiving winter had finally brought itself to an end, and the couple was cherishing it while it was here.

The two stopped at the pond and sat down on the park bench, watching as the mother ducks guided their newly hatched ducklings across the water, the father trailing behind at the end of the line. Pepper plucked a piece of bread off of the slice she had carried for the specific purpose of feeding the ducks, and threw it out onto the water. They watched as the ducks chased after it, quickly gobbling it up. Pepper giggled as she threw more to the ducks, which caused the corners of Tony's mouth to round upward. The thing he enjoyed most in the world was seeing her radiant, beautiful, happy smile, and he always did anything he could to make sure he saw it every day.

Tony wrapped his arm around Pepper's shoulders as she threw the last crumb of bread at the ducks and watched them go to town on it.

"Aren't they so cute? I just love baby animals!" Pepper said as she sat back on the bench, looking to Tony briefly before she watched the ducks again.

"Yeah." He said as he looked to the ducks. They were cute. "But you know what's cuter?" He asked.

Pepper smiled as she looked over to him curiously.

"What's that?" She asked happily.

"You, of course." He said with a wide smile as he poked her nose playfully.

Pepper giggled at his cheesy compliment. She did love it when he said cheesy things like that.

"Aw, aren't I though?" She said jokingly, smiling wider. Tony chuckled at the comment and moved in closer and kissed her for what was supposed to be a brief moment, but instead turned into a mini make out session on a park bench.

Tony sighed in happiness as the two sat back on the bench and observed the beautiful spring day. Life, lately, had been perfect for the young inventor. True, his father was still CEO of Stark International, but he was acting as a CEO-in-training, for Howard had admitted that he would only stay in the business a few more years before retiring. Tony and his friends had graduated from high school and his friends were nearly through college. And he was still Iron Man. Pepper was still Rescue. Rhodey was still War Machine. And they were all still a team, even if the trio wasn't always together to fight crime (only because of the distance between them: Rhodey's college was over an hour away and although Pepper attended a university in the city, she usually had a busy schedule and couldn't interrupt it).

Tony smiled and looked over to Pepper. Today, on their special day together (that Tony had planned all on his own) was Pepper's treat for her birthday, which he was going to make sure was the best day she's ever had.

So he grabbed her hand, stood up and headed for the beach.

"Tony, where are we going now?" Pepper asked with a giggle, smiling as she watched him eagerly drag her to God knows where.

"You'll see." Tony said, glancing back at her with the boyish smirk he was famous for; the same look that made Pepper swoon every time. She always hated when he did that to her. He deliberately flashed her that adorable smile when he was trying to be mysterious, and she knew he did it on purpose. She always knew he was up to something when she got a face like that, and she wasn't the biggest fan of surprises.

Tony and Pepper arrived at the beach, and before Pepper could see where they were, Tony covered her eyes with his hands.

"Come on, Tony, where are we?" She asked happily. She loved it when he was romantic.

"Just hang on a moment longer. I promise, you'll love it." Tony said excitedly.

Tony had remembered a story Pepper told him from when she was younger.

Tony remembered that day as if it were yesterday. He remembered seeing in her face that this story was hard for her to tell, and the fact that she was telling him meant that she trusted him very much. He remembered seeing an expression of half nostalgia and excitement, but half sadness and despair. He could tell from the beginning that it wasn't a happy tale.

He remembered how Pepper looked down to the floor and twiddled her fingers as she began her tale…

Flashbackkk…

"Back when I was little, like around 4 years old, my parents and I lived out in California. My dad was just getting serious with his career in the FBI, and went away a lot on 'business trips', and my mom was a paramedic, so she was always busy responding to emergencies and worked long days. So during the week I'd never see that much of them; maybe for an hour or two at night when they weren't busy they'd take the time to give me some dinner and put me to bed and tell me they loved me very much." She explained with a fading smile, looking to the floor the whole time; only raising her gaze to meet his with saddened eyes.

"But every Saturday they would have a day off, so they would dedicate it to spending time with me, and each other. We would go to the beach for the whole day, and we would make sand castles and stick our feet in the water, and just play forever. Even if it was a chilly day, we'd be there. I loved those beach days...just the three of us, no real world to get in our way. Those were the days I looked forward to. Those were my favorite days of the week." Pepper continued. She began this part with a smile, but when she paused, Tony could tell that it was going to fade quickly.

"But then my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and suddenly everything changed. My mom became depressed, and she was so down all the time. She was always sort of staring death in the face, knowing it was coming one way or another. She was always saying grim stuff like how everything was hopeless and her world was nothing but emptiness and despair..." She paused briefly.

"But then she'd have a moment where she'd be sitting in a chair in the middle of the kitchen, and she would grab me by my shoulders, look deep into my eyes and tell me about how much she loves me, and how much she hates having to leave me. I was too young to understand what she really meant, but I still remember it clear as crystal."

"When we went to the beach on Saturdays, the day wasn't the same. We used to be so happy and carefree on our special Saturdays, but after she knew she had cancer, she always just sat on the sand sadly and stare out over the water."

"After she died, that whole town just didn't feel the same to us anymore. So my dad opted for another FBI job so we could move and get a fresh start somewhere else. From that point on we moved around a lot. We'd only be in one place for a couple years, no more than five, before his job took him elsewhere. But to this day I still remember those happy days the three of us used to have and I miss them. I wish I could go to a beach again, but since Cali I never went to any. It would be too sad."

After finishing, there was a long, depressing silence between the two. Tony couldn't think of anything to say in response to that, so instead he just sat beside her and placed his hand in hers, letting her head rest on his shoulder as she recalled those memories.

"I know what that's like. What it's like to have somebody very close to you taken away. I also know what it's like to feel like the whole thing was my fault. What it's like to feel that way several times over, because so many people were being taken from me. What it's like to feel completely and utterly alone and empty inside. But eventually we all learn to overcome our burdens and our sadness and we dust ourselves off and rise above them. I did that through you and Rhodey, and the only way I could hope to try to thank you for that is to be there for you in return."

~…~

Tony dropped his arms to his sides to reveal their location: the beach.

"Tony what are we doing here? You know I don't like beaches." Pepper said, crossing her arms and adopting a nervous gaze.

"I'm here to have an awesome day with you. I love it when you're happy, and I know this is one place I can guarantee you'll be happier than I've ever seen you. And I've seen you pretty happy in the past." Tony explained. Pepper smiled and hugged Tony tightly.

"Oh Tony, you're so sweet! This is why I love you." She said. The two ventured out into the sand.

Pepper kicked off her shoes and stood barefoot in the sand, closing her eyes as she soaked in that wonderful feeling that she had missed. As she stood there, eyes closed, memories began to play out in her mind.

"Mommy, play with me!"

"No, Pepper, mommy's not in the mood."

Pepper opened her eyes. She saw the waves crashing into the shore, as well as hearing it. Suddenly the fun she thought she was going to have vanished. Pepper sat down on the sand, hugging her legs close to her body.

Tony, noticing this, sat down next to her.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"I-I can't do this. I thought I could do it, but I can't. Every time I come to a beach I think about my mother."

"Pep, when I was younger, I was having a really tough time too. After my mom died, my dad and I both realized that we were really alone. My dad was always working, and I had no friends. I hung out with a robot. But once I had a friend, it was a little easier to get through it." Tony explained. "What I'm trying to say is, let me help you. Because you'll feel a lot better for it. I learned that from you guys."

"Wow…who would've thought we'd impact your life so much that you're telling me that." Pepper said with a small smile.

"I know, right?" Tony responded. The two were silent for a moment before Tony got up.

"Now come on, let's have a fun day." He said, holding out his hand to her. Pepper looked out to the water, then back to Tony. She took his hand and stood up.

"But what if I start thinking about my mom again?" She asked.

"Then ignore that thought. Think about what makes you happy instead." Tony explained. Pepper smiled.

After that, the two spent all day on the beach, having fun and being carefree. At the end of the day, completely tuckered out, the two sat down to watch the sunset, and then walked home.

"Thank you so much, Tony, for doing this for me. I really had a lot of fun, and I didn't think I'd ever have fun like that again." Pepper said as the two walked.

"Hey, I just do what I can to make you happy." He said with a smile.

"No, really, this was awesome. It's like I got a piece of my life back. How do I ever thank you enough for this?" She said. Tony stopped and turned to her as they arrived at her front door, placing one hand on her cheek.

"I don't need one. Knowing that you're happy is all the thanks I need." He said with a smile. Pepper leaned in and kissed him, which (as usual) turned into a makeout session; which was only interrupted by the sound of someone on the other side of the door clearing his throat; Pepper's father. The two separated, both chuckling at Virgil Potts's strict parenting.

"Well, see you tomorrow I guess." Pepper said with a smile.

"Yeah. Goodnight." He said as he kissed her quickly once more before making his way home.

Ew. Extremely cheesy ending. But I wanted to write something for IM:AA since I haven't in a while…plus, Iron Man 3 is in theaters and I'm going to see it tonight, and I wanted to write something to celebrate that XD so this came out. But I dislike the ending very much :P But oh well. Off to other projects…review?