"You know what's missing here?" Pepper mused to herself, stroking ad winding a silky, copper strand of her hair around her finger. In one hand she cupped a warm mug of coffee, and in the other, a musty smelling, crinkled book. Even in here pencil skirt she assumed a casual position in Tony's overstuffed chair.

Tony's dark amber eyes lifted to meet hers. Her serious tone somewhat perturbed him, but after sitting for two hours simply reading, he welcomed the dialogue.

"A bundle of joy." Pepper's tone turned dreamy. Tony froze. He was all for sex, but -

"A baby?" Tony's eyebrows did a jig. Pepper snapped the book shut, the old spine squeaking and crumpling in protest.

"A puppy, Tony!"

Tony stroked his fingertips lightly on the sleek, red cover of his electronics and vehicle book.

"...Yeah." Tony slowly nodded, taking a deep breath and reveling in a sweet waft of Pepper's spicy apple perfume. "Like a bulldog or Rottweiler puppy. Something that'll castrate reporters."

Pepper sent him a glare as sharp as a daggar.

"Okay." Tony regrouped. "A Shar Pei or maybe a german shepherd."

"I was thinking..." Pepper took a breath, the sweet oxygen whistling in her nostrils due to her nervousness. "Maybe a labradoodle."

Tony froze, and slowly his eyebrows met and knit in the middle.

"What the HELL is a labradoodle?" He shook his head in disbelief and, despite his surprise, took another sampling of the air to try to sift out Pepper's sweet scent.

She pursed her lips and shook but the flyaway strands of hair from her slightly reddened face.

"Tony. Lets be logical. All those...ahem...dogs you suggest are high maintenance breeds."

"Are not." Tony shot back between her sentences.

"A labradoodle would offer a nice disposition and a versatile dog that could be left alone."

"I don't think so. A great Dane would be great. Can we go with a -"

"No." Pepper snarled. Tony felt a warm blush curl up his neck. Pepper was set on a damn labradoodle. "Well..." she paused to calm herself. "Let's go to the pet shop and see what puppies they have."

"Fine."

X xxxxx X

The pet shop smelled like dirt and fur and sawdust. The whole room had a deafening effect; dogs yelled, puppies squeaked and yipped, kittens mewed and birds squawked.

When the geeky assistant saw Tony Stark walk in, his acne festooned jaw fell open. Tony removed his sunglasses and flashed him the peace sign, then turned to pull Pepper away from the cats.

"We're checking for doodle-abs or whatever, remember?" Tony grabbed her by the shoulders possessively.

"A labradoodle," Pepper's eyes smoldered, half from her anger from being peeled away from the cats and Tony's obvious disdain for her breed of choice. Pepper turned back to pimple boy, who was still gaping, and flashed him a killer smile.

"Do you have any labradoodle puppies?" she inquired.

Silence.

Acne lad was frozen. Finally his jaw snapped shut, he swallowed loudly, and let out a small squeak after many attempts to speak.

"Never mind, we'll take a look," Tony grinned and tugged on Pepper's elbow.

"Oh, Tony, chihuahuas!" Pepper fawned over the tiny puppies and finally took out the smallest, a pathetically tiny and bald brown and black one.

"There is not way I'm buying that rat," Tony shook his head in complete and utter denial. "Now, here's a real dog."

Tony lifted out a already large boxer puppy and petted it gently. "You'd be a good boy. A good boy. I'd name you Rambo. Or Butch."

"I don't think she'll appreciate those names," Pepper said sarcastically, crinkling up her nose and cuddling the pup closer. "We will name this little girl Daisy."

"No damn way!" Tony had reselected a boxer puppy, but instead, he had picked a boy. "I'm not owning a rat and naming it after a flower!"

Pepper was silent.

"No! No chihuahuas!" It was more said to assert he was NOT changing his mind.

Pepper's lip trembled a fraction and her eyes hardened.

"Not. Happening."

Tony Stark was a man of his word, and a man who would never own a chihuahua. A live one, at least! He would stuck to his guns and not move!

...

They ended up naming the little chihuahua Tulip.

Fin!

X xxxx X

My first ficlet! Let me know what you think, especially your favorite line or moment. Thanks for reading!

As always...ME LIKEY!

RomanceDoneWrite