Basically, I've read too many stories already where Tony finally bears his heart to Pepper and tells her in a beautiful, eloquent way that he loves her more than anything in the world. While I do believe that that's true about Tony- that he loves her insanely- I don't believe he has that sort of romanticism in him. I really think he just can't do it. So here's my take on Pepperony. Hope you enjoy it.
The day after the would-be invasion, Pepper woke up fairly early, as always. Tony was beside her, sleeping like a log, still. One of the first challenges the couple had faced together was sharing a bed. Pepper slept so regularly- she went to sleep and woke up at nearly the exact same time every day, save for when some crazy Stark Industries or Iron Man issue kept her up (the latter often with worry). Tony, on the other hand, slept sporadically. This includes, but is not limited to, going to bed about the time Pepper wakes up, sleeping for only two hours then retreating into his lab in the middle of the night, sleeping for up to fourteen hours straight, not sleeping for days, and taking little naps all day to be awake virtually for weeks without a real rest. So it was with well-practiced care and ease that Pepper slipped out of bed and into day clothes without waking Tony.
She stopped to stare him for a moment. She'd almost lost him yesterday, and before she left him to catch up on his rest (God knows how long he'd sleep today) she needed to just confirm to herself that he was here, alive. She watched him breathe with new appreciation, and bent down to kiss his forehead. He let out a little 'hmm' when she did, though he hadn't woken up. Sometimes, she liked Tony better when he slept- there were no suggestive comments or unnecessary innuendos to ruin everything romantic she did. If there was one thing the man she loved was bad at, it was genuine romanticism.
The man I love, her brain repeated to her. The two had never said the words to each other, but there was no doubt in Pepper's mind that she loved Tony Stark.
Once she was out of the bedroom, she got her brain back on a more productive track and was almost immediately on her phone. She had to schedule press conferences, arrange meetings with the mayor of New York to discuss the cleanup and reconstruction, plan Stark Tower repairs, and file police, military, and SHIELD reports. Most of this revolved around Tony, though, so she decided to wait for him to get up to finish setting up everything. Instead, she went to the kitchen to start breakfast. Thankfully, only the living room had sustained any serious damage in the battle, and Pepper had no obstacles stopping her from scrambling up some eggs and toasting a bagel. She had barely started in the kitchen when she head familiar footsteps approaching the kitchen. Tony wandered tiredly into the kitchen area, still wearing an old pair of MIT sweats and a wife beater, through which his chest RT shone with a reassuring brightness.
"Hey Pep. Been up long?" He asked as he climbed into a stool at the kitchen's bar-like counter. Tony had refused on getting a proper dining room table for the Tower's penthouse. Pepper liked working at a dining room table sometimes, but Tony insisted that he hated the things, which was true. Pepper had never seen Tony actually eat at one, and as far as she knew, he only ever sat at the one in Malibu once in all the time he lived there. (It had been in the pre-Iron Man days, and Tony had only sat there to distract Pepper while she worked.)
"Not too long," Pepper answered, doubling the eggs she was planning to scramble and getting the bacon out of the fridge for Tony. "Made some phone calls, planned some meetings–"
"Not for me, I hope," he muttered.
Pepper rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, for you. You need to issue some official statements on yesterday."
Tony exhaled sharply with annoyance and made a face that closely resembled a frustrated two year old. "Isn't that what SHIELD is for?"
"Apparently not. Which reminds me, Director Fury says he expects you in Central Park today. He wouldn't say why."
"They're sending Loki and Thor back to Neverland," Tony explained in what Pepper assumed was a very paraphrased description of what was actually going on. "Also, Bruce might be staying with us for a while. I'm trying to talk him into it."
"Bruce?" Pepper asked.
"Yeah, y'know, Bruce Banner. The Doctor Jekyll side of the not-so-jolly green giant."
Pepper caught herself before she could start to worry. From what little Tony had already told her, Bruce Banner seemed to be a friend of his, a brilliant scientist, and a pivotal factor in saving New York and the world. And on top of all of that, even as the dangerous and volatile Hulk, he'd plucked Tony out of the sky and saved his life.
Tony picked up the silence, and jumped to justify. "Really, Bruce is great. He's gonna love the labs we've got downstairs, and he's insane about self control and everything so there's no reason to worry–"
"I know," Pepper cut him off. She turned off the stove now, and sorted their breakfast on to a couple of plates, then went to sit across from Tony on the other side of the bar. "I trust you." She planted a quick kiss on his lips before starting on her breakfast.
"Oh. Good." Tony seemed almost surprised. "I'm glad we put in that guest room."
"Glad I made you add it to the blueprint," Pepper corrected.
Tony smiled quickly, acknowledging that she was right without having to say the words.
He didn't speak for a while, which was out of character for Tony. Pepper noticed that he kept making his 'concentrated face,' as she called it. It was the expression he wore when he was struggling with some idea, or when he was trying to think of how to say something. Pepper wondered if he had more to say on the matter of Bruce Banner, and wondered if she should be worried about the Hulk staying in their guest room. Regardless, she waited as he prepared whatever statement he was about to make. Tony picked up his bagel, completely whole and untoasted, and stared at it for a second.
"Sorta reminds me of the arc reactor," he said, completely randomly.
Pepper laughed. "Isn't the arc reactor all about triangles now?"
"Yeah, but the old one. The palladium one," he stopped, his face fell, and then he went back to concentration face. Palladium: never a fun subject between the two of them. After Tony explained to her about the heavy metal poisoning, followed by the list of times he tried to tell her and how that makes it not his fault (she's come to accept that as the closest she'll ever get to an apology from Tony), they never really discussed his near-death again.
"I've been thinking," Tony started.
After a few second of not continuing, Pepper prompted, "I've noticed."
Tony looked surprised, but then smiled, silently saying 'of course you did.' Continuing to smile, he said, "Well, as you know, I'm Iron Man."
Pepper laughed a little. "Yes, I've noticed that too."
"And, well, being Iron Man, I encounter certain, umm, risks."
Just like that, the smiles and the joking were gone.
Tony looked away, took a deep breath and went on. "I mean, most of the time I'm just making things and science and stuff, but things come up and I play super hero and it's not always safe and I guess I just feel like I don't want to miss another chance, I mean, I tried to– but I don't know how things are gonna play out always and I just wanted to, well, I guess I just want–"
"Tony," Pepper said to stop his rambling. She put her hands on his, and he met her eyes again. He looked almost desperate. She knew Tony got tongue tied sometimes when he was really stressed about something, but him blathering on for hours wasn't going to help them. "Breathe."
He did. He closed his eyes and took an even deeper breath than the last one. When he opened his eyes, they had a renewed determination in them.
"Pepper, I love you," He stated seriously. He sighed, and his whole body seemed to relax. He hadn't even noticed how tensely he'd been holding himself. "Like, a lot," he continued. "So, yeah. Thought you ought to know." He gave her hands a little squeeze and then turned his attention back to breakfast, biting into his bagel and chewing studiously.
Pepper was stunned for a moment. Of all the things she was expecting Tony to say, that was not one of them. He stared at her, taking another bite of bagel, while she processed.
Finally, she smiled and shook her head in amusement. "I love you too," she said, looking up at him.
"Thank God you said something! I thought you were just going to leave me hanging like that. So what time am I supposed to be in the park? Did Fury say? I ought to get him a present for pulling us through all this… You think he'd like a monocle?" He looked pensive for a moment, then smiled. "Yup, I'm definitely getting him a monocle."
Pepper smiled. As far as romanticism goes, Tony Stark may be completely impaired, but she loved him anyway.
And he loved her.