Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.
"I love you," Tony says from out of nowhere.
Pepper is typing a statement in regards to what occurred in the Stark Expo two days ago when Tony says the three words, causing Pepper's fingers to hover above the keyboard. She looks away from the bright screen of her monitor to meet Tony's eyes.
Has he been watching her all this time? She thought he was working on the tech ball or some other upgrade but there he is sitting across from her in her office, marveling at her with his hands clasped together and resting on the table.
"I love you," Tony repeats again.
Pepper and Tony had just begun a romantic relationship two days ago and here's Tony already saying the words that aren't usually heard until about the 11th date… or in Pepper's experience, maybe a year into the relationship.
But this is Tony Stark. He breezed past his childhood milestones years ahead of children his age. Who knew how relationships go with geniuses? Maybe his I-Love-Yous are said early too.
Pepper gives a lopsided smirk, half-amused, half-touched. "I know. I heard you the first time." But the comment flies over Tony's head, almost like he didn't hear her.
"I really love you." He takes her hands. "I know I have a weird way of showing it, what with always taking you for granted, not telling you I was dying. But I do. I love you." His lips slowly widens to form a smile Pepper's never seen before. Usually he grins lazily or smirks cockily, but this one is different. Tony definitely never smiled at the other girls like this before.
Tony brings her hands to his lips and kisses them. "And I'm not going to hide it. I don't think we should hide this, Pep."
That startles her. "What?"
Tony leans closer, his hands still clutching hers. "I've been hiding my feelings for you for so long and from our conversation last night, you've been holding out on me too. I know you want to keep our relationship between us for now, but I can't. I can't, for the life of me, keep this a secret! You're not a secret! You're the woman I love and I won't let the gossip mill or haters dictate when and where I'm gonna hold your hand, touch you, or kiss you." And just because he can, he kisses her knuckles again and Pepper's stomach flutters either from the fact that he's said he loves her five times now or that he kissed her. She isn't too sure.
"I understand that you don't want people to think that you slept your way to the top, or that you're using me for the sex or the money. Hell, we haven't even sealed the deal yet so there's no way that you're using me for the sex." Tony lowers his voice and says, "which is mindblowing, by the way." He winks then speaks in a normal tone again. "But if we keep this a secret, we're just feeding their impression that we have something to hide. I say we just go out there and be ourselves. Prove to them that what we have is different."
Pepper remains contemplatively silent. Tony has a point. Of course she doesn't want the press' eye on them, but she also doesn't want the reporters to win, successfully keeping her locked in her own office or house. Her face hardens in resolve. She won't let them control this, not this.
Tony blanches, mistaking her expression for her disapproval. "Oh, no. I ruined this, didn't I? Damn it." He takes a few steadying breaths. "Okay. I can fix this. In my defense, it's my first time being in love."
Pepper laughs and to Tony's ears it's a beautiful melody that manages to dissolve his apprehension. He's always loved her laugh.
"No, you didn't ruin it," she whispers. "You're right. There's nothing to hide."
So, Pepper agrees. They will not keep it a secret.
In the days that come, they oversee the reconstruction of the Expo and hold hands all throughout their visits. They go on dates and exchange kisses in between conversations. When asked if they are together romantically, they confirm it with Tony adding that he's the happiest he's ever been. He wears that smile again when he says it, the smile where it feels like he's seeing the whole universe when he looks at her, prompting Pepper to blush scarlet.
They become the most talked about celebrity couple, the trending topic on twitter, and the cover of gossip magazines. Quotes are published from sources who are apparently "close" to the couple. They all range from "She's hoping to bag a place in the board before dumping Stark's ass," to "She's good for him. He's a changed man." Public opinion about them is divided and nothing is every truly cemented until Tony appears on Ellen to promote the Stark Expo.
Tony dances out onto Ellen DeGeneres' stage, his energetic smile and groovy moves radiating in waves to those present. He even takes the time to give a few guests some hi-fives. He's breathless when he finally sits down and he has to take a deep drink from the mug of water on the table between him and his host.
"Tony, first of all, I'd like to say congratulations," says Ellen. She turns to the audience to explain. "He's off the market."
The people break into cheers and Tony grins, pumping his fist. The talk show is to promote the Expo which is running the whole year round, but Tony finds that he has other plans—ones that entail swaying public opinion because he may not care about the rumors, but Pepper does even if she doesn't show it. "I love her, you know."
The audience awws, a natural response.
"Pepper is," Tony tries to say but the thought of his girlfriend makes him smile goofily. Instead of continuing, he gets down on one knee and hits the carpeted floor with his fist three times, trying to contain his building energy and emotions. Ellen laughs gleefully at the sight. Tony sits back down but his knees jiggle restlessly. "She's amazing," he finally manages.
"We can tell!" says Ellen. "Wait, wait. I know we're supposed to talk about the Expo. But this is more interesting. When did it all happen? Were you secretly in a relationship or is this a new development?"
"Well, I've always loved her," admits Tony. From the corner of his eye, he sees a woman touch a hand to her chest. "I just didn't know it because I'm an idiot who never saw what was in front of me. I mean, I used to live my life going from woman to woman when all this time there's this magnificent female," he smiles again, "standing by my side whom I've taken for granted!" He rests his elbows on his thighs as he says, "You know, when Pepper was my PA, she rejected me a total of 108 times." He fakes a grimace and the crowd laughs. "Yeah, I counted because she's the first one to say no to me. She refused all my advances to go out with her because, and I quote, it's inappropriate to be in a relationship with her boss. Can you believe it! 108 times."
"Was the 109th time the charm?" asks Ellen with a twinkle in her eye.
Tony laughs, shaking his head. "Naa. I eventually stopped asking her out but that didn't stop me from flirting with her. Which she just deflected like a professional badminton player."
"So, the rumors of you two ever being in a relationship during your years as CEO and PA were false?"
"Yes," Tony nods curtly. "And that's the reason why she worked for me for so long, the reason why I made her my CEO because she's bossy and frank and damn good at the job."
"But you two are together now," states Ellen, guiding him back to the point of the topic.
"Yeah." Tony sucks in a breath, steeling himself for what he is about to say next. "I was kidnapped, that's what happened." The room quickly turns quiet. This is only the second time Tony Stark's ever talked about his captivity. "I had my eyes opened. You know, when you're stuck in a cave with nothing but your mind and will to save you, you start to appreciate everything. And suddenly, all I wanted to do was go home. Not because home was better than the cave, although it was, but I just wanted to see her. To return to her…" He looks directly at the camera because he knows Pepper's watching, that everyone's watching and this was his chance to prove them all wrong. "Because I couldn't imagine dying without telling Pepper how much she means to me."
When Ellen speaks, the audience is again reminded of her presence. "When you were rescued, was admitting that to her the first thing that you did?"
Tony shakes his head and chuckles lazily. "The timing was never right. I had to work on the Iron Man suit and then go after terrorists…" he trails off. "But she almost died." Nobody has to ask to know who she is. The silence is deafening now.
"It was after the Expo and the Hammer drones were all rigged to blow. And I knew she would be in the thick of it, taking charge of everything because that's Pepper. Chances were she was going to take a hit. I remember flying so fast, trying to get to her… and I did." Tony lifts his arms to mimic carrying something and he says, "She was in my arms and we were flying away from the explosions. We landed on a roof and I… kissed her. She had told me that she wanted to quit, that she couldn't handle the stress of working with me because, you know, it's me." Laughter breaks the silence. "I couldn't really blame her. I'm a hot mess. But I just couldn't let her walk away. So I kissed her. And that was that." He breathes in some air and exhales it out. Then, he smiles that smile he reserves for her and that's when Tony becomes aware of something.
Laughter bubbles through him and he tries to stifle it, but he can't. Eventually, he calms down and says, "Sorry. It just dawned on me that I'm an idiot in love now. I never thought I'd be one of those." His body shakes with chuckles again and his host and the audience join him, finding the grown man adorably cute.
"That's beautiful," says Ellen.
"She's beautiful," corrects Tony and women in the audience explode with screams and squeals at the statement. The reverberating sounds give him one last shock of energy and he jumps up quickly, startling Ellen, and lands on the cushion of the armchair he was previously seated on.
It is well-known that love can turn any person crazy. And since Tony's sanity is already debatable, he figures he must be a level above crazy. He's acting from passion now and there's no stopping what he cries out next, "I LOVE PEPPER POTTS!"
The claps and shouts are thunderous. The Stark Expo is all forgotten and Ellen has to strain her voice to be heard. "Why don't we bring Pepper out here?" The audience roars their agreement. "She's here. She's backstage!" The host turns to one of her people and motions for them to go get Pepper. But Tony, with an excited cry of "I'll go get her!" leaps off the chair and dashes out.
A camera man follows him, filming as Tony dodges the crewmen and the equipment. He runs through a long hallway, not showing any sign of slowing down. He eventually reaches a room and finds Pepper shaking her head and moving away from him in embarrassment. But her giggles make it apparent that the red shade of her cheeks are not from humiliation or displeasure at Tony's actions.
Tony rounds her and grabs her hands, half-pushing her out of the room. Pepper knows there's no changing his mind when he's like this. When she watched him uncharacteristically bare his soul out on live television, she knew he was gone. His state is comparable to when he gets on one of his creative juices and proceeds to simply do instead of plan and think. In moments like these, Tony feels like he's on a high and there's no talking to him.
They finally stumble back out to the stage and Pepper reddens even deeper at the screams from the people in the audience. Ellen welcomes her with arms open and a hug. But it doesn't last long because Tony pulls Pepper right back to his side.
Pepper watches him gaze at her and she finally realizes what that smile is. It's too obvious, really. She wonders why she's never identified it before. He's spelled it out to her five times already. Well, seven, counting the ones he said during the show.
The smile on Tony's face tells Pepper that he's happy and he's in love—hopelessly, incandescently, vigorously in love. And she loves him too, she realizes before letting Tony breathlessly kiss her—a kiss that will be broadcasted to thousands of people, to journalists, and especially to the haters.
At this point, it doesn't matter what anybody thinks now. Pepper's on a high too and she doesn't want to come back down.
A/N: So, I was watching Hannah Montana which led me to watching Tom Cruise's famous outburst of lurve in Oprah which then inspired this. I hope you enjoyed it. I know some might say Tony would never recklessly endanger Pepper like this, but the tone I got from the movies is that they never hid they're relationship. And Tony's always been impulsive.