Enough – An IronMan FanFic

Pairing: Tony/Pepper (TS/PP)

Rating: M (Language/Brief Sexuality)

Disclaimer: My first piece ... be gentle! If I owned the Iron Man franchise, I wouldn't be posing on , now would I? Everything belongs to Mr. Stan Lee and the boys at Marvel; I'm just taking Pepper and Tony out for a spin. "You Raise Me Up" doesn't belong to me either; that one goes to Josh Groban/Reprise Records. Hmmmm, what else … RDJ is a genius!!

Movie-Verse: Set in Tony's garage directly after the aftershocks of the press-conference; my version of what happened. Keep in mind, this is a completely TS/PP one-shot that is probably rather mushy and soppy. If this isn't your cup of tea, don't bother reading.

Summary: Pepper's POV. Pepper and Tony share another memorable "Operation" moment to replace his old reactor with another new version. But Tony has a surprise in store for the unsuspecting Pepper …

A/N: I would like to dedicate my first story to the incredible Miss Button Madder (aka my life-saver). Brandi, you are the best and this piece would not have been possible without you. You rock!!

"No. Absolutely not."

"Please. This time I'm serious. I'm not going to screw around with you."

"No, I told you last time and I still mean it: never again." I exhaled a heated breath.

"Pepper, please … I need you. I promise you will never have to touch the damn thing again unless it's an absolute emergency." Tony pleaded, his brown eyes widening plaintively.

I glanced up to make eye contact, and the moment I did, I knew my case was lost. Tony was reclining in the chair, sensors attached to his bare chest, with his lower lip stuck out in a pitiful pout and his chocolate eyes bearing an almost uncanny resemblance to my Golden Retriever puppy.

I threw my hands in the air and heaved a defeated sigh from my corner by the door: "Goddamnit, you win." I huffed, stalking over to him and gingerly picking up the latest model of the arc reactor from his workshop table on my way.

"Now this time, try not to shock the living crap out of me, alright?" Tony grinned as I narrowed my piercing blue eyes.

"You get what you pay for, Mr. Stark. Be happy with it." I growled, flinching slightly as my fingers once again came into contact with the refuse leaking from the device within his chest.

"Ewwww … why does this have to be so disgusting?" I complained, gingerly extracting the old model before carefully inserting his latest design.

"Because you're a pansy." Tony quipped.

In response to his remark, I "accidentally" inserted the lead into the base with a bit too much vigor, soundly shocking him.

"Ahhhowwww!" Tony yelped, starting violently.

"Who's the pansy now?" I smirked victoriously as I gently screwed the plate back into place.

Tony simply glowered at me for a moment before swinging his legs over the side of his chair and rising to his feet.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" I replied, choosing to ignore his impossibly attractive torso by turning to climb the stairwell as he leisurely pulled on a snug-fitting black top.

"Not quite." Tony replied.

The low, slightly husky tone of his voice prompted me to turn around and meet his gaze. He was looking at me as an archeologist examines a priceless artifact; wonder, apprehension, and possessiveness were all present in his features.

"Tony? Is everything alright?" I asked, cautiously taking a step or two in his direction.

"I believe Mr. Stark may be experiencing the classic symptom of irrepressible nerves when encountering the woman – "

"Jarvis! I'll thank you not to go broadcasting my personal info to the entire population of Malibu!" Tony effectively snapped out of his trance and cut off the AI system.

"My apologies … sir." Jarvis responded cheekily.

For a moment, I could only stare at him: "What was that about?" I questioned.

"That was Jarvis being a prick, Pepper." Tony replied, narrowing his chocolate eyes at the ceiling.

"I heard that." Jarvis snapped irritably.

"And you very well should have, you nosy gossip-monger." Tony snapped back, gesturing for me to follow him out of the garage.

I quirked an eyebrow in his direction, but obediently followed my boss.

Finally, we ended up on his veranda, facing the aquamarine Southern California coast.

"First of all, I hope you're not pissed at me for my little outburst. And second of all, this is not how I imagined this conversation to begin." Tony said, staring out to sea, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

"Tony, I'm not mad. I'm just confused … what are you trying to tell me?" I asked, approaching him slowly.

The moment my hand touched his shoulder, he turned and gripped it within his larger, calloused one.

"Pepper, you've been at my side for the past 7 years. You've stood by me through everything, and yet I haven't had the brains to give you and your feelings a second thought. I had the naive notion in my head that no matter what I did, or how badly I fucked up, you'd always be right there to put everything back in order. This past week, this past month, has opened my eyes in ways I never though possible. Could you find it possible to forgive my rather selfish and callous self?" He asked, gazing earnestly into my wide eyes.

Unable to force a coherent thought past my constricted airway, I simply nodded, a smile quirking my lips.

"Dear God, I am so lucky to have you." Tony murmured, returning my smile ten-fold.

Then, he leaned slightly to his left and flicked a switch on the small CD player that was sitting on the small table on the veranda.

"Now, don't laugh. I've prepared a little something to show you just how important you are to me. And that I actually can stick to the cards." He said with a wink and roguish grin.

A moment later, the strains of "You Raise Me Up" began filling the veranda. Unbidden, hot tears of suppressed happiness began to blur the edges of my vision, so I quickly pressed a hand to my lips, fighting back a half-strangled laugh of joy. Then, Tony broke into song, his rocky tenor soothing my currently rather unstable nerves. As he reached the climax of the lyrics, his voice rose in a melodious crescendo:

"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains! You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas! I am strong, when I am on your shoulders! You raise me up, to more than I can be." Then, it quieted to a soft pianissimo.

Then, he reached out and took my hands within his: "You raise me up, to more than I can beeeeeee." He murmured, gazing straight into my eyes.

"Tony, that … that was beautiful." I managed before enveloping him in a tight embrace, burying my face in the crook of his neck and shoulder.

Tony gently rubbed my back as I reigned in my runaway emotions and a wide grin parted his lips when I finally lifted my head to meet his gaze.

"I guess it's safe to say you feel the same about me." He quipped, grinning as he nuzzled my cheek.

"You guessed right, Mr. Stark." I replied smartly.

"And to think it took me this long to realize how much I really need you." He whispered, running his fingers through my auburn locks.

"As I always say; there's no time like the present." I whispered back.

"Right you are, Miss Potts, right you are." Tony murmured before capturing my lips in a gentle kiss.

For a moment, there was silence. Then … Nirvana. I had never felt anything like it before, and I'm inclined to say it might never feel quite the same again. This is what a real first kiss should feel like. As long as Tony's lips were on mine, no one and nothing else existed in the world … except for us.

And for the moment … that was enough.