A/N: I know, I've been absent for quite some time, but another fanfiction demanded my attention and I simply had no inspiration for finishing this piece. Now, as my mind has been temporarily freed from detectives or crimes, I chose to finish it, as I was in a sufficiently sappy mood for it. I hope its not too sappy, but I'm weird anyway, so how would I know? It at least made me feel all mushy and good inside... This was inspired by a soundtrack piece for the movie Armageddon. I recommend listening to the piano version of "Don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith while reading this, it only heightens the whole experience!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ironman, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts or anything in contact with those. I do wish I could have Jarvis though, he's just too awesome! I also don't make any money from this, wish I did, but I don't! So you no sue!

Warnings: One mentioning of consentual nudity, but I kept it fairly benign, so mild in fact I wouldn't even need a warning. But I'm paranoid, so here's your warning!

Summary: Tony's thoughts on a moonlit night about the woman in his arms... And we all know there's only one woman he'd have deeper thoughts about^^

Now that thats said and done, enjoy! And review at the end of it! I'm a review-craving girl!But be nice, English is my second language!

Don't want to fall asleep

There was nothing comparable to this, nothing that came even remotely close. Nothing that could fill him with greater joy than this. Nothing within the history of the entire cosmos could possibly be any better. Nothing that could ever feel better than her skin.

Of that much Tony Stark was entirely certain. He had craved for that feeling without knowing it. Had waited for this moment without realizing it. And now, as he had realized he craved and needed it, and had received it; he wished for nothing more than to stay like this for the rest of eternity. Right where he was, lying in his kingsize bed with this woman in his arms.

Pepper Potts in his arms, sleeping peacefully.

He himself was tired, but refused sleep, almost fearful that he could miss something. Miss the feeling of her (admittedly there wasn't much to begin with) weight on his shoulder, her hand as she subconsciously drew circles around the reactor, the way her legs were entangled with his, how each breath ghosted over his skin. And that ethereal way the moonlight gleamed on her pale and perfect skin, how it cast reflections in her auburn hair. With the light cast through unshaded windows, he could almost count the freckles that covered her body from head to toe. Those freckles had always been extremely interesting to him. They were pale, did not prodruce in such stark contrast to her white skin, but still they were visible. Each time he saw them, he had the strongest urge to lean closer and start counting. For some strange reason even he could not fathom, he wanted to know exactly how much freckles Pepper sported.

But as she lay so close to him and moving would wake her, he saved that urge for another night. And he dearly hoped there would be another night. And many more to follow. If he was completely honest with himself, he could very easily get used to this. Having Pepper next to him filled him with a sense of serenity and peace that he was growing used to having at an alarmingly fast rate.

Looking at her, his focus started to waver and he was dimly aware that he started to twist one strand of hair with his fingers. Tony marvelled at how perfect even that felt, almost as if he could discern every single hair he held and felt it down to his very bones. If he concentrated hard enough he could feel her heart beating in her chest, that soft pounding against his ribcage that told of her proximity. Breathing in, he could smell the scent of her shampoo wafting over him, burying him under a cascade of feelings and he felt his lips curve upwards.

She was so damn beautiful. Not that she wasn't stunning on a normal everyday-basis, yet now she was arguably the most gorgeous being on this world. And possibly a whole number of other worlds. And even better, he was there to bear witness to such beauty. Was there to look at her, to feel her skin resting on his, feel her heart pounding ever so softly beneath her skin. Carefully he moved his arms, pulled her even closer to him, feeling her sigh and shift slightly, her body causing the most delightful friction between them. His eyes focused on her face, relaxed in blissful sleep. Her eyes were closed, her lashes cast long dark shadows over perfect cheekbones, tender and soft lips smiling as Pepper nuzzled closer to him. Looking at her, Tony felt his sense of time dissappear. Nothing in this world existed anymore, nothing mattered anymore, nothing. Only Pepper. Right here and now, possibly for the remainder of his life.

Realizing for the upteenth time since he had returned from Afghanistan, what a blind idiot he had been and hoping that she would not leave him come morning, he simply looked at her. Just took in everything that was her, that was Pepper Potts in his arms. He had no idea how long he had already stared at her, but somewhere in his mind he settled for doing just this for as long as he could. His thoughts quieted, the engine that was his brain slowed and stuttered to a standstill, while Pepper alone took up residence in his mind.

And then she opened her eyes. Just a little bit, her brain too fogged with sleep to really know what happened. Her pupils were dilated with fatigue and for a long moment she simply looked back. And then she blinked and opened her eyes a bit further, allowing her vision to clear and her brain to start firing sensations at her. Tony watched her, did not wish to miss even one nano-second of her, while she looked into his eyes as if she was gazing right into his soul. Perhaps she was, who knew?

And as she looked and her gaze cleared completely, a sliver of moonlight shone upon her face and into her eyes, glinting off ice-blue irises and she turned their gaze onto him.

"Why are you watching me, Tony?" she whispered, those lips moving to form words in the quietest of voices, as if she was afraid to even ask something and break the stillness of the world around them. Maybe she worried that he might get up and leave her, but Tony seriously doubted anything could possibly wrench him from this spot now. Smiling right at her he took a moment to trail his fingers up and down her spine, delighting in the shudder he elicted.

As minutes passed with him being silent, simply staring at her, he saw her brow crease first in confusion and then in worry. She scooted closer, and leaned over him, her red hair falling down her shoulders with the edges trailing his skin.

"What's wrong, Tony?" she asked, still so quiet and he could no longer restrain himself. His hands moved on their own accord as he smoothed her hair back and cupped her cheeks, simply admiring her beauty in the moonlight. Her face seemed so small compared to his roughened hands, her skin so delicate, so vulnerable. Her eyes bored through him, demanding and pleading at the same time to answer her. He wanted to tell her all that he saw, all that she meant to him, not just right now, but in general. He wanted to assure her that he wasn't going to leave her, wasn't going to go down to his workshop and tinker away, hoping she'd be gone in the morning.

Wanted to tell her that she was different.

That she was unique.

That he never wanted this moment to end.

But even though his mind screamed the words, his lips could not form them. So he opted for simplicity.

"You're beautiful, you knew that?" he asked her back, his voice lowered to a whisper; he worried the moment with her here would end and he would be alone again. But her gentle smile negated that possibility and she bent down slightly, her mouth mere milimeters away from his, resting her forehead against his.

That simple gesture almost broke him to pieces, dared to shatter his compose while he wished with all he was that she would never leave him. He wasn't sure he could survive it if she left him. Certainly her departure would leave him merely existing, as life without Pepper suddenly seemed incomprehensible. He could not bear to think of living without her, didn't even want to consider the possibility.

He'd never felt anything even remotely close to this. Everything else paled to the burning urge to be where she was, to lie in this bed with her, to hold her like this every night, to feel her lips on his over and over again. He wondered if the urge to kiss her would ever leave him, but he wouldn't mind if it didn't. He never wanted to stop kissing her.

Most prominent of all was the desire for her to stay.

Opening his eyes once more he looked right at her, through the gleaming spheres that were her eyes and perceived the emotions she hid from him. There was hesitation, confusion, but deep down underneath it all, there was fear. And if there was something he could not take seeing in Pepper's eyes, it was fear. No matter the reason.

So he made a decision, quick and precise, calculated and safe. And still, he worried what her response might be, worried that she was the variable he could not calculate, that the unpredictability of Pepper Potts would throw his calculations overboard and negate his math. After all, she had been the only one to ever point an error in his math out.

Trying to ignore his scared heartbeat, he took the plunge and prepared for impact, whatever that impact might be.

"Are you going to stay with me?" he asked and for a moment it felt, as if it hadn't been him that had spoken. His voice had suddenly drained of all the confidence that he possessed and had whispered in a desperate plea. He realized that this was the moment that could make or break him. If she left him now, after he had realized that he needed her to survive, to really live, he might as well simply jump off the nearest cliff. What a coincidence that his mansion perched on one. Jumping off his balcony was sure to kill him if it really came down to it.

His eyes locked onto hers and all of a sudden all his thoughts dissappeared when he saw that fear recede, being replaced by something he couldn't categorize.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked back, maneuvering the ball neatly back into his court. For a split second he felt himself hesitate, but his heart (whatever remained of it) had already answered that question, put forward with such a quiet voice that he scarcely heard it. Something deep within him cracked and broke, melted into his very core and drenched him in a feeling of absolute peace and serenity, as he smiled at her again.

"Yeah, I want you to stay, Pepper." he answered her and could have shouted in happiness as the fear vanished and was completely replaced by that uncategorized emotion that overtook her.

Tony felt his hands and arms move on their own accord, drawing her into a soft embrace, inhaling her scent and rested his head atop hers, his cheek carefully nuzzling the hair that crowned her being. Her body relaxed again and she returned the awkward embrace, pressing her body to his, moulding into him really.

"Then I'll stay, Tony." was her simply answer.

And it really was that. It was simple. She was there with him and as long as he wanted her to, she would stay with him. Pepper would stay.

That was all that really mattered, all it boiled down to, all there was.

Relishing in that feeling, that peaceful emotion that settled over him, he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep, drawn into nothingness by the feel of her skin, the scent of her hair and the beating of her heart. Descended into a dream of moonlight illuminating her porcelain skin, while the world continued to turn and she remained as she was, a fixture instead of a variable, something that would always be there, that could never be chanced.

That could never be taken from him again.

FIN

Okay, there you go! I do hope you have listened to the soundtrack piece I mentioned above, since I wrote this while listening to it. Anyways, thank you very much for reading my stories and I hope you enjoy the ones coming in the future!

Regards, Callie