It's Christmas Eve and I felt like writing some Pepperony. I'LL MAKE YOU MINE UPDATE IS COMING, DON'T WORRY MY DARLINGS.
Just keep in mind that I wrote this is about 45 minutes so it's pretty rough, if you have any suggestions to make it better please share :)
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas.
The First Year
The first Christmas was awkward to say the least.
"Merry Christmas Mr Stark." She handed him a small box, neatly presented with a perfectly symmetrical bow on the top.
He looked at her in confusion as he hesitantly took the gift. A pang of guilt riddled through him at the sudden realisation of his neglect to buy a present for his longest lasting assistant.
"Thank you Miss Potts." He bit his lip while smiling and she immediately knew that he had forgotten.
The Eighth Year
After working for him for eight years, she had understood that her boss never bought anyone a gift for Christmas.
It made sense however; the man had no family or loved ones. Despite his status and fame, Pepper had come to find that even in the season of giving, Tony never received.
Thus for the past eight years, Pepper had given him a gift. And for each of those eight years, she never received anything in return. It didn't bother her though; Mr Stark never remembered any significant dates without her constant reminder.
But this year was different. As she walked into his workshop to deliver his lunch, Pepper found it to be deserted. The only thing she saw was the large, brightly wrapped box with the gift tag saying: Pepper.
The Tenth Year
He had been missing for two weeks, and it was Christmas Eve. Countless news reports claimed that he was dead, but she refused to believe it.
Pepper Potts knew that somewhere in the world there was Tony Stark, alive but in an unknown condition, spending Christmas in hell.
All she wanted this Christmas was for him to come home.
The Eleventh Year
This year had been the craziest in her life, with her boss revealing to the world that he was Iron Man.
After a few pre-Christmas drinks at a Christmas Eve party that she would never like to recall, Pepper woke on Christmas day to the familiar buzz of her phone.
"Hello?" She groaned as the piercing bright light seeped through her curtains causing her vision to spin.
"Merry Christmas Pepper!" His voice rallied over the phone as she groggily rubbed her head.
She couldn't help but smirk at his bashfulness, "Why are you calling me Tony?"
"I just wanted to wish you season's greetings. I just thought that since you weren't working today that I wouldn't get to wish you a Merry Christmas."
"Well thank you, I guess." Pepper didn't mean to come off as so blunt, so she quickly added, "Merry Christmas to you too Tony."
"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow?" Was that a hint of desperation in his voice?
Pepper smiled, "Of course, have a good day."
"You too."
A silence followed between the two that was awkward but comfortable at the same time.
"I better go…" Pepper started.
"Me too, bye Pep!"
The phone rang dead and she fell back into her bed.
"That. Was. Weird." She said aloud with a grin on her face.
Yep, he had definitely changed… for the better.
The Twelfth Year
She walked into his mansion to find it completely dark and eerily quiet. It was just one week before Christmas, and Pepper couldn't hide her disappointment at the lack of festivities and decorations in the house.
"Tony?" She asked the emptiness as she kicked off her heels.
"Mr Stark requests that you join his presence in the workshop Miss Potts."
"Thanks Jarvis." Pepper smiled at the sound of the British AI.
This was their first Christmas together as a couple and it was an understatement to say that Pepper was excited. She hurried down the steps and found that the door to the workshop was wide open. Accepting this invitation, Pepper practically ran in and saw something that completely caught her off guard.
"Hey." Tony grinned as he ruffled his hair. Surrounding him were fountains of Christmas lights, decorations and a giant tree lying down on the ground.
"Is this?" She stuttered as she tried to stop the stupid grin escaping her lips.
"I thought we could decorate the house together, I know it's kinda late and all but…" Without hesitation, Pepper grasped onto Tony's shoulders and their lips collided in passion, interrupting Tony's babbling.
As they broke apart, her eyes glimmered in excitement, "This is amazing. Thank you."
"I'm glad I placed the mistletoe right here." He sheepishly grinned.
"This is going to be the best Christmas ever." Pepper smiled as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas Pepper."
"Merry Christmas Tony."
I'm pretty sure I got the years wrong but OH WELL IT'S CHRISTMAS!
Have a great holiday everyone and stay safe. I'll see you soon.