Beware, this is an angst-y one. (:

Be nice too, please. This is my first Ironman fic. Grammar mistakes are all mine.

I don't own Ironman either. ):

"Why do you have to make things so damn complicated, Pepper?" he practically growled at her, jaw clenched in agitation, his face just inches from hers. But the moment he said them, he wished he could take them back as he watched Pepper's defeated, piercing blue eyes force themselves to look at the floor in embarrassment. A light streak of pink rose over her freckled cheeks.

He didn't want to hurt her, especially not when it wrote itself all over her flawless face, but he was frustrated with her. And not just sexually. They've been through this before and the funny thing is, it wasn't just about sex with him. It was about Pepper, herself. It was about something totally different. He was trying to prove himself and she wouldn't let him.

Tony sighed and leaned back farther into the couch, so they were no longer exchanging heat. His shaking hand brushed though the messy locks on top of his head, where Pepper's were just moments ago. Except they were tugging and pulling in pleasure and need, not just seeking for something to fidget with.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, her eyes still intent on staring at the carpet next to her feet. She wiggled her stocking toes.

"Look at me." he replied, turning his body towards hers in encouragement.

Pepper shook her head as tears blurred her vision, making the carpet swirl into one big mass of color. "Look at me, Pep." he insisted further. He wanted her to understand. Needed her to.

Wiping away a stray tear, she whipped her head her head up in irritation.

"This is unprofessional."

Tony chuckled at her statement, mostly because of the irony it held, and stoked his beard, the one that had left the tiny red spot just below her earlobe.

"So you keep saying."

She didn't reply, but instead began to straighten herself up, by pulling down her skirt and buttoning her blouse up in a hurried fury.

It always went like this. Every time. It never failed. "Stop, Pepper." he said gently as he placed his hand on her wrist. "Just stop for a moment, please?"

She froze and stared at the warm hand intruding her personal space once again.

"I know, alright? I know I'm your boss and you're my assistant." He began to trace light circles onto her pale, smooth skin. "But we both know you mean more to me than just some employee."

He brought his head up to hers and gazed at her lips before letting his brown orbs look into her blue ones.

"Do we?" she snapped, meeting his stare with her eyes squinted in apprehension.

He blinked in surprise and removed his hand from her petite wrist. He wasn't entirely unprepared by what she said. He knew something of the sort would leave her throat, it just left him speechless because of the pang that began in his gut. The familiar pang she left him with each time.

The couch squeaked because of the sudden loss of weight. The shadows cast his weary expression on the wall to his left and followed his movements when he continued to walk towards the workshop downstairs.

"Tony." she urged. "Wait."

Something in him snapped at the word. It was such a cliché. He stopped suddenly and turned his head to the side, along with his hands, which began to ball up into fists.

"Wait for what?" he asked angrily. "I've waited, Pepper. I've waited a long time. I care about you. More than anyone."

He paused and shook his head.

"You're not worried about how unprofessional our feelings for each other are or how it'll make you look. You doubt me. You doubt my abilities to be a proper man."

His back flexed and tensed in the moonlight.

"I am tired of this game you keep playing with me. This. . . wall you've put between us." His voice was frighteningly low, almost somber as he turned his body, fully, and looked at her. Really looked at her.

Her beautiful, red hair glistened in wavy patterns and fell perfectly across her shoulders, "Like a waterfall, Potts." he had once told her. The strands stopped abruptly just below her breasts, which were now moving up and down from the rapid breaths that escaped her swollen lips. She was absolutely stunning, even in her 'groped' state.

"I've made my mistakes, but I've changed. I'm sick of trying to prove that to you and everyone else." he gruffly explained. "Why can't you just let me love you?"

When no answer came, he turned and shuffled towards his shirt lying in an abandoned heap near the wall of the hallway leading to the kitchen. Truth be told, he didn't really expect an answer. Not an honest one, anyway.

After picking it up, Tony turned toward the stairs once again and started to descend them, his heart heavy and tired of the constant rejection.

But not before whispering the words "You're fired." in Pepper's direction.

And to both of their surprises, he didn't regret saying them.

Make it a series of one-shots?

Reviews?

They make me happy. (: