Fluff fluff fluff :) Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Please review and marshmallows for everyone.

The song is 'Bound To You' from 'Burlesque,' I love it :)

The night Tony Stark returned from Afghanistan, Pepper couldn't sleep.

She tried, she tossed and turned all night, moaning in frustration as sleep continued to elude her.

He was back, the impossible had happened and the man she thought dead had returned from the grave. Pepper couldn't recall all the different times she'd slept on his sofa, in his bed. She couldn't recall all the different times she'd sought out his scent from his pillow and his worn MIT sweatshirt. She couldn't recall them because there were too many occasions. She'd bribed JARVIS to erase the security footage.

A week after Tony had gone missing, Obadiah Stane had urged the board to allow him to take over the running of the company and to appoint him CEO of Stark Industries.

Pepper wasn't surprised that the vote came back as a very clear 'No.' Sure, Tony was reckless, unorganised and almost impossible to work with, but he was good, he was kind, and most importantly- he cared.

Pepper remembered many an occasion when a staff member had gone behind Stane's back to speak to their CEO because their child was ill, a relative had just died, a family member needed them, the examples went on and on but Tony was always thoughtful and reassuring in response, promising his employees that whatever they had to do, they would be supported.

Stane on the other hand would have politely but firmly told them that their responsibilities to the company were more important, in which case they would have taken it to the higher level, usually via Pepper who showed the same compassion that Tony did, especially when it came to personal emergencies.

So no, it wasn't surprising that the board didn't want Stane in charge, and Pepper was glad they'd point blank refused his request.

Pepper glanced at the clock, 03.20 am and she wasn't even a little bit sleepy.

May as well get some work done, she thought to herself, winching in anticipation of the ridiculous amount of emails she was going to receive.

The house was dark and quiet as Pepper padded softly through it. She scrutinised the gift she'd got Tony the day Rhodey had phoned and told her they'd found him. It was only a silly thing, a mug she'd found online which said 'World's Best Boss', she tried to convince herself that she'd only bought it because it was on offer, but she wasn't kidding anyone. Next to the mug was a drawing her little niece had done for him. It wasn't that flattering, but considering she was only six that was easily overlooked. It featured him standing underneath the Stark Industries logo, which little Kirsty had painstakingly coloured in and outlined with glitter. There was a little message inside which Kirsty had carefully printed in her best handwriting. 'To Mr Stark, I hope you like the drawing, it took me ages. I'm glad you're back and please don't do it again because Auntie Pepper was worried. Lots of love, Kirsty xxx' At least, that's what Pepper thought it said, she wasn't sure, even in her best handwriting the fact remained that Kirsty was only six and didn't have that strong a grasp on the English language.

Pepper stretched and turned the coffee machine on, already anticipating the sweet taste of it on her tongue. She glanced at the phone, no red light indicating any new voicemails or any missed calls, only darkness. Pepper told herself off crossly as she poured herself a cup of coffee, adding a few teaspoons of sugar. Why would he call you? He's got more important things to do, like sleeping for example. He better be sleeping. Pepper stole one last look at the phone, then marched into her bedroom, coffee cup in one hand, on a mission. She wasn't sleeping, that much was clear, so she might as well put her time to good use. Tony wasn't just her boss, he was her friend, and friends took care of each other, even when one of them was an arrogant, condescending ass on occasion.

Pepper dove into her wardrobe and scrutinised her clothes, noticing sadly that her work clothes took up at least 75% of the space, and let's not even start on the shoes.

Pepper carefully selected a simple, yet elegant, black dress. She knew it was one of Tony's favourites on her because she'd caught him staring at her ass on occasion when she wore it, not that that was the reason she'd chosen it, and she'd deny everything if asked. Pepper selected a stylish pair of black heels and tugged off her clothes, stepping into the shower and turning the temperature up hot, using slightly more vanilla bodywash than she usually did.

Once she was done, Pepper blow-dried her hair with more attention than she usually did and carefully styled it into a soft bun that sat comfortably on the top of her head, a few strands escaping and curling on her cheeks. She paid more attention to her make-up as well, first coating her skin in moisturizer, then carefully applying a light coat of foundation and powder, using a small amount of eyeliner and mascara to frame her eyes, and finally applying a pale rose lipstick, not pale enough to drain her face, yet not bright enough to give her a tarty appearance. She sprayed a small amount of the perfume he'd bought her as a 'sorry for driving you nuts and nearly giving you a heart attack every day' present on her wrists and neck, massaging it into her skin. Pepper gave herself a long look in the mirror and nodded at her reflection, perfect. She popped in the small pearl studs she'd bought one birthday with Tony's money and stepped out her towel, carefully pulling her clothes on and fastening the shoes on her feet. She gave herself a once over in the mirror and grinned, satisfied with her appearance. Professional, but pretty. Maybe Tony would notice, maybe he wouldn't.

Pepper picked up her handbag, car keys and Tony's present and made her way out of the house. It was still dark outside, and the clock on her dashboard read 04:45 am. The streets were silent as Pepper made her way up the long, sloping road that led to her boss' cliff-side mansion. As she stepped inside the foyer, Pepper was suddenly aware of how loud her heels were on the tiled floor in the darkness, so she slipped them off and padded, barefoot, across the floor. JARVIS sensed her presence and adjusted the lights so she could see. Not too bright, but not too dark either.

'How is he?' Pepper asked, setting her bag down on the coffee table.

'He keeps experiencing recurrent nightmares,' JARVIS said softly.

Pepper frowned, nightmares weren't Tony's thing. He twitched, snored, spoke and (occasionally) swore in his sleep, but Pepper had never once seen him suffering from nightmares.

'He he asleep now?' Pepper asked.

'Yes, Miss Potts. However he is restless and seems to be in distress,' the AI replied.

Pepper padded across the floor and made her way up the stairs. Officially, she was off the clock, and it sounded like Tony could do with a friend right now.

His bedroom was dark, but the circular disk in his bare chest was illuminating the room with a soft blue glow. Pepper gazed at it for a moment. Rhodey had mentioned it, but she hadn't seen it with her own eyes till now. Pepper promised herself a good gawp at it later, right now, it was clear her friend needed calming down.

Tony was curled on his side in the foetal position, one hand clutching at the Arc in his chest, shivering from head to foot and covered in a thin layer of sweat. His eyes were flickering distractedly underneath their lids and Pepper heard him mumble something that sounded like 'stick to the plan' and 'I refuse.' Not understanding what either of those phrases meant but not liking the sound of them, Pepper gently sat on the edge of the bed and placed a soothing hand on his forehead, pushing his sweaty hair out of the way.

'Sssh,' she said soothingly, running her fingers through his hair the way she always did when Kirsty had a nightmare.

It took about a minute of hair stroking and gentle murmurs that he was safe now, but eventually Tony calmed down and stopped shaking, his entire body relaxing as it succumbed to a deep and dreamless sleep. His skin was cold to the touch, and Pepper pulled the duvet around him, tucking him in like he was a little child. She was about to stand up and leave the room, when he suddenly turned onto his side to face her and wrapped his arms around her waist, laying his head on her legs.

Pepper froze, unsure what to do now she had a deeply asleep Tony Stark on her lap. She really didn't want to wake him up, a) because she couldn't really explain why she was there and why he was cuddled up against her, and b) because she wanted him to get as much sleep as he could and if latching onto her meant he stayed asleep then fine.

Pepper propped a pillow up behind her to lean back on and continued her hair stroking, running her hand lazily through his hair and across his shoulder. Tony sighed like a contented kitten and Pepper wasn't sure, but it sounded like he may have just said 'my Pepper,' in a sleepy, completely out of it, voice.

Pepper smiled happily and continued stroking his hair and watching him sleep until the sun came up and he slowly but gradually released his hold on her, allowing her to slip away back downstairs.

XxXxXxX

Tony decided not to mention he'd woken up on her lap and had been too comfy to move, knowing if he said something, she'd probably leave, and he really didn't want to be on his own right now. Plus, her lap was really comfy and that faint scent of her perfume was calming him down. Eventually though he must have actually fallen asleep because a few hours later she was gone, leaving behind a mug and a picture.

He came downstairs when he woke up, not wanting to try sleeping without someone to reassure him he was still alive, the sun was up anyway so it was probably about time to get out of bed. Pepper was in the kitchen frying bacon, and she jumped slightly when he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder.

'Thanks,' he mumbled into her collarbone.

'For what?' Pepper asked, scooping the bacon onto a plate, and trying to calm herself down, he might not have noticed her presence in his room last night, he'd been asleep, right?

'For the mug,' Tony said, reluctantly letting go of her and making himself a cup of coffee in it.

'Oh,' Pepper said, she smiled at him her first proper smile since she'd found out he was missing. She fixed him a bacon sandwich, covering it in ketchup in exactly the way she knew he liked, that is to say, loads of it. 'Thank you for not leaving me widowed so young,' she smirked.

Tony chuckled and disappeared from the room, bacon sandwich in one hand, mug in the other, giving Pepper an excellent view of his ass in those tight pair of pyjama bottoms.

She also noticed he'd stuck Kirsty's picture in pride of place on the fridge.

XxXxXxX

Pepper managed to convincingly act like she'd never seen the Arc before and hadn't spent a few hours staring at it in the early hours of the morning.

Tony was impressed.

Feed the author! It's raining and I'm hungry :(