"Pepper?" Tony called out into the empty penthouse. He looked in the bedroom, the living room, the bar, the kitchen, and the balcony. He smirked to himself and said, "Perfect". He took out three big brown bags of Christmas decorations. He placed them in the living room, walked towards the back, and came out with a ladder.
Pepper came out from the elevator five hours later and came out to a winter wonderland. She stopped in her tracks and her mouth gapped, surprised to see all of the Christmas decorations out in place. The stockings were hung above the fireplace, the tree was standing tall in the middle of the living room, decorated with various ornaments, garlands, and lights, and there were wreathes hung all around the rooms.
"Oh my god." She gasped, slowly walking into the festively decorated space. Red ribbons were hung everywhere, and a few presents were under the tree. She came up to the fireplace and touched the stockings. Her's and Tony's were in the middle, and Dummy's, U's, and JARVIS' were beside theirs. She smiled widely and almost shed a couple tears from the sight of their family.
"You like it?" She heard a voice behind her.
She turned and saw Tony, wearing a festive red and green Christmas sweater, jeans, and a red Santa hat. He looked absolutely adorable. The front of his hair stuck out from underneath the hat, and his big brown eyes locked onto her. He had his hands shyly shoved into his pockets.
"A little." She teased with a small smile. She looked back up at the tree and asked, "Did you do all of this?"
"Yeah." He nodded and walked up to her.
"You do realize it's not even Thanksgiving yet, right?" She chuckled.
He shrugged. "I guess I felt the holiday spirit a bit early." He wrapped his arm around her and brought her close. She felt the warmth swell within the pit of her stomach and wrapped her arms around him. He felt so warm and cozy – maybe it was the sweater, but he was always her personal heater. "But you like it, right?"
"Yes, Tony." She replied truthfully this time, and kissed his cheek. "I love it." She rest her head against him and hummed in delight. "You didn't have to do this. I thought we'd hang up the decorations together, like we did last year."
"Yeah…" He gave her a lopsided smile. "…I just felt bad for what happened last year." He held her closer. "I wanted to surprise you, hoping we can forget last year and mark this Christmas as the first of our relationship."
"Why, because my ex-boss tried to kill us, terrorize the world, and kill the President of the United States?"
"Yes."
"Tony, those things always happen, and I don't expect you to be able to see into the future and prevent it." She tried to tell him. "So don't feel like you have to apologize—unless it's for the bunny, because I'll always accept those."
"For the last time," he knew she was just teasing him. "I'm sorry for the bunny."
She laughed at the sound of his annoyed tone and hugged him. "As long as you take full responsibility for it."
"Hey, I thought it was the best present ever."
"Of course you did." She rolled her eyes.
"What?" He frowned. "Who doesn't like a good giant stuffed bunny?" He turned to her. "But in all seriousness, Pepper… I really am sorry for what happened last year." Her lips slowly turned into a smile. She didn't think he was going to apologize again, since he did it quite a number of times albeit subtly. "The bunny… Christmas… Killian… everything."
"Tony, stop. Stop apologizing."
"So, you're not mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad at you—other than for that stunt you pulled last week when you blew up my favorite pair of shoes."
He winced. "Fair enough." He deadpanned. "I just thought you'd be mad at me for ruining Christmas. I mean, we almost died—you, more than me—and Extremis… and my 'hobby' and… I… I guess I just wanted to make all of it up to you."
"Tony," She came up in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She locked eyes with him – her ocean blue ones looking directly into his chocolate brown ones – and felt his arms wrap around her middle with his hands rest on her lower back. "You have already done so much to make it up to me."
He let out a small sigh. "I want to make things right, though."
Pepper bit her bottom lip and smiled widely. "Make things right, huh?" As she leaned in, she glanced at his lips and then back up at his eyes. She pressed her lips to his and kissed him softly, admiring how warm and loving his lips felt, and how safe his arms around her made her feel. She pulled him to the couch and sat on his lap, continuing to kiss him and hold him close.
The elevator doors dinged, and out emerged a disgruntled and apologetic Agent Coulson. He started talking almost immediately, but he wasn't there for an assignment. He was there to apologize for not telling them he was alive.
"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I just wanted to—" He stopped when he saw them kissing on the couch. Their backs were to him, but he could still tell he was walking in on one of their many 'moments'. He pressed his lips together and nodded in embarrassment. "Um… Okay… I'll just... uh… come back… later." He hastily walked back into the elevator. "Some things really never change." He smiled at the couple, just before the elevator doors closed.
Tony moved from her lips to her neck and trailed a few light ones across her collarbone. He kissed at the shrapnel chained necklace that hung around her neck and came up for a breath of air, smiling widely at his girlfriend.
"I love you." He murmured.
She returned the smile. "I love you, too." She took his Santa hat and placed it on her head.
"Oh!" He reached into his pocket and held up a mistletoe. He raised his eyebrows at her and gestured, with his eyes, to the fake, ribbon wrapped, branch. He had this look of wonder and curiosity in his eyes; he almost looked childlike, as if he was asking his crush for a little kiss on the cheek. "Tis' the season, right?"
She rolled her eyes at him and brought her hand up to his face. She stroked his cheek with his thumb and tilted her head to the side, smiling endearingly at him. She pressed another kiss to his lips.
"Mm," He pulled away. "I should just hang a hundred of these up."
"I'm surprised you didn't do that last year."
"Mm… I was a bit 'preoccupied' last holiday season."
She pecked his lips. "So I noticed."
"Which I am still sorry for." He recovered.
"Shut up." She replied, pulling him in by his collar and crashing her lips on his.