DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Iron Man Trilogy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe or any of the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

oOo oOo oOo

CHAPTER TWO

Tony winced as he pushed himself into a standing position. His heart was racing with anticipation and it was causing twinges of pain around his still-tender chest wound. The slim fit suit he'd changed into on the plane ride home wasn't helping much either, but he never knew who was going to be waiting to snap a photo at the finish line and he wanted to look… himself. The sling that his arm was currently bound in was bad enough as it was.

He was told he had been gone for almost three months. It felt a lot longer than that, and he was certain there wasn't a single hour that passed while he was in that cave that he hadn't thought of her.

Pepper.

He missed her so much more than he ever thought he would. It actually… surprised him, a little. In the moments he would succumb to his exhaustion and allow himself some sleep, his dreams would be filled with images of her, with the sounds of her voice, with the idea of being able to touch her or hold her. And when he would wake he would wrestle with the gut-wrenching fear that he would never get to see her again.

His time away from his own life had been revolutionary, to say the least, and now the ramp of the military plane he'd arrived in was opening and he found himself actually nervous to see her again.

Tony was not an overly emotional person. Passionate, yes. Emotional? No; but the moment he felt the breeze wash over him and the light of day reach into that plane he was admittedly a little worked up.

There she was, like a beacon of light herself, smiling and looking directly at him.

And biting her lip…

Damn.

His urges were to run to her and kiss her breathless, but he was certain it wouldn't make sense to anyone but himself at that moment, and for possibly the first time in his life, he didn't want an audience.

Instead Tony walked calmly, with the help of his friend Col. Rhodes, down the ramp and onto the runway of the air base and immediately up to her. He did his best to stay cool, dismissing a gurney and fighting the smile that was threatening as he approached her and studied her eyes.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't encouraged by her reaction to his presence.

"Hm, your eyes are red. Shed a few tears for your long lost boss?"

"Tears of joy," she admitted. "I hate job hunting."

Tony appreciated her jab at the end; needed it, even. This was what he missed about her. He knew damn well that she had missed him, too. There was no way that she would stick around for all these years if she didn't care for him on some level. But she was quick on her feet to crack a joke because that's what he does, and she is always there to match him blow for blow.

He nodded at her and tried not to stare at her lips, wishing that they had more time to get reacquainted with each other, but he knew there were things he needed to do right away that had nothing to do with their personal relationship.

It was time to shock the hell out of Stark Industries, and the world.

"Yeah, vacations over, let's go."

oOo oOo oOo

Tony stepped into his bedroom and stopped. He looked around for a moment, sensing something was different but unable to put his finger on what it was. The bed was made, his things all appeared to be in order on his dresser. Nothing appeared to be missing, but it just… felt different somehow. As his eyes settled on his bed he decided it was probably delirium from not having slept on a proper bed in months.

Or not having really slept in months, period.

It has been a ridiculously long day, and looking at his wonderfully large bed he felt the exhaustion on his shoulders like a cross. He needed to rest himself up for a while. Three months straight of engineering and building in a darkened cave on next to no sleep tended to take a toll, and if he was going to spearhead all the changes he announced for Stark Industries he needed to be on his toes.

He loosened his tie enough that he could get it up and over his head, discarding it on the floor where he stood. He kicked off his shoes and untucked his shirt the best he could with one arm, and shrugged off his suit coat and left it in a heap on the floor. Finally, frustrated with the sling, he pulled that off too, wincing again as the weight of his own arm pulled at the bruised flesh.

"Hey, Pep?" he called out to her. He was unbuttoning his dress shirt with one hand, opening it and doing his best to shrug it off without straining his arm again. The issue now was the undershirt he had on beneath it all. He knew that if he really wanted he could get the shirt up and over his head on his own, but the idea of having her help excited him, and he was pouncing on any excuse for them to interact at this point.

After all, she opted to come inside with him rather than accept Happy's offer to take her home to own apartment. That had to count for something, right?

In the kitchen Pepper froze.

Shit.

Did he seriously already notice something? She had done her best in a very short period of time to clean her tracks but she was limited. She'd only gotten that call from Rhodey the night before last. She bit her lip and tried to think of an excuse- any excuse, as to why she would have stayed in his room when the guest room down the hall was where she would have otherwise slept.

She set her things down on the counter and smoothed out her pantsuit, walking down the hallway to his bedroom. "Yeah?"

Tony turned and looked at her, a soft and somewhat sheepish look on his face. "Can you give me a hand? I'm not as flexible at the moment as I usually am."

Peppers cheeks tinged with pink as she stepped into his bedroom and walked over to where he was standing. "What do you need me to do?"

Tony looked at her for e moment with the slightest of smirks on his face. The realm of things he'd like to try was infinite, but he'd been back in her presence for only a few hours. He thought it best to stay away from his trademark innuendo for at least a day. He cleared his throat. "Can you just…" he motioned to the shirt and then his shoulder and she seemed to understand what he was asking of her. "Help me?" he chuckled as he attempted to pull it up and winced immediately.

"Hang on, hang on," she said as she stopped him for a brief moment, grabbing hold of his wrist and carefully maneuvering his arm as she helped pull the thin fabric up over his head and gently over his shoulder and arm.

She did not miss the completely sensual way the offending piece of clothing revealed his skin to her like a tease. She did not miss how much more fit he looked than before he was kidnapped, and she imagined him being slaved to work in hot, dirty conditions and what he must have gone through for his body to change the way that it did. And she did not miss the little whimper that escaped his lips when he moved a certain way, and the tingle that shot through her body when she imagined him making that noise under different circumstances.

Tony sighed in relief once the shirt was off and closed his eyes as he breathed a "thank you," to Pepper, but when he opened his eyes and looked at her he felt a twinge of guilt.

Pepper was looking at his body but with sad eyes as she took inventory of his cuts and brises and burns. "Oh Tony."

She set the tank down over the dress shirt then circled him once, her eyes lingering on the arc reactor a little longer than the rest of the wounds. Her thoughts had very quickly gone from borderline pornographic to remorseful and concerned.

"You should be in the hospital," she whispered as she tentatively reached out and checked the gauze on his shoulder.

Tony saw her pained expression as she saw the red, irritated flesh underneath and she quickly had him thinking that she was probably right, but now that he was home and so close to his own bed, there was no way he was going back out.

His expression must have given away everything going through his mind because when Pepper finally raised her eyes to meet his, her expression softened. She supposed she should let him settle back in for a bit before she began to scold him for each and everything thing. She could at least give him a handful of free passes.

"Wait right here," she said as she stepped around him and made her way into his master bath.

He quirked an eyebrow as he listened to her rummaging through his things, wondering only briefly why she seemed to know what sorts of things he kept in his drawers and medicine cabinet before she emerged with a handful of supplies and a saddened smile.

Pepper took Tony by the hand and pulled him in the direction of his bed. He smirked in response and quirked a brow at her when she turned to face him at the foot of the bed.

"Taking me to bed, already, Pep? Can't a man get some sleep first, recharge the battery… so to speak," he joked.

Pepper stopped at the foot of his bed, turning and cocking a perfectly manicured brow at him, not finding his joke amusing at this exact moment. "Sit," she commanded as she tugged his arm enough to force him to step around her.

He studied her while his signature smirk never left his lips. "Did I ever tell you I dig a woman in charge?"

His comment was left ignored as he obeyed and sat down with a slight bounce.

"You refused to go to the hospital so you have to deal with me now. You should have gone when you had the chance."

Tony flinched as she turned and ripped the old gauze and bandage off without warning, giving him a stern look when he questioned her with his eyes.

"Ow! Geeze, point made, Pepper. Take it easy on me, will you?"

"Sorry," she muttered as she opened a tube of triple anti-biotic ointment and began squeezing a good amount out onto a waiting cotton swab. "…but you should have gone. What if you contracted something while you were in that cave? What if you get an infection?"

"I'm fine, Pep, I promise you. I was in good hands while I was in that cave. And ask Rhodey, I was in rough shape when they found me and look at me now," he said as he puffed out his chest and feigned a flex of his arms. Pepper smiled ever so slightly but shook her head at him. "I've been healing fast," he assured her as he stopped his argument and watched her dab at his scrapes with the cotton ball she was holding. "Once I get a little R&R I'll be good as new."

She looked at him through her lashes and pursed her lips as she finished applying the ointment before tearing open a new gauze square. She began to reapply where it had been previously, making sure they were adhered to him well, careful not to press too hard, but applying enough pressure that she could feel his muscles protest beneath her slim fingers.

She was very aware of the way he was watching her closely. It made her cheeks flush as she considered the position she had put them in. He was seated at the foot of his bed, she between his legs as she crouched on the floor to be at eye level with his wounds, most of which just happened to be on his bare chest. So many bad, dirty thoughts popped into her head then and she only had herself to blame.

Pepper didn't know what had gotten into her. Before he had left these thoughts of hers had not been an issue. Then he was gone and all she did was think about him and his… everything and now he's been back on American soil for less than twelve hours and her mind hadn't been able to shake him.

She was also acutely aware that he was staring down her shirt as she worked on him. With one small shift in she could make it stop. Instead, she moved her right arm over toward her left to his right side, successfully pushing her breasts together to create more cleavage for him to ogle.

She swore she heard him hum. Bad girl…

Pepper finished what she was doing and cleared her throat, standing up and smoothing out her pant suit once again.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

Tony looked at her pretty face for a long moment, trying to think of something clever and witty to say but coming up with nothing.

God, I really must be tired…

"I think so. Thank you for patching me up," he said quietly.

"Of course," she smiled, blushing even more as she stared down at him, shirtless and sleepy. He looked as if he was going to pass out in the upright position he currently held. Her heart went out to him. "Lay down and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be another long day, I'm sure."

Pepper moved away, picking up the gauze wrappers and extra cotton balls and holding them against her chest. "Is there a specific time you want me to get you up or?"

"Yeah," Tony said as he pulled off his socks and stood to finish undoing his belt. He smiled again when he saw that Pepper had noticed what he was doing and was actively working to not look in his direction. "Wake me up no later than nine, I don't want to sleep too long or it will become a habit."

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"You don't have to leave," he joked as he unabashedly let his trousers fall to the floor, leaving him in only his boxer briefs. "It would be much easier for you to wake me if you were already here…"

Pepper shook her head as she left the room, not letting him see the smile on her lips. "Goodnight, Tony."

Tony smiled after her, feeling relief as he pulled the blanket and sheet back and sat on the plush mattress. His accommodations while overseas and even on the plane were not great. He had an entirely new appreciation for his bed.

"Jarvis, lights," he said as he crawled into bed and rested his head against the pillow.

Jarvis dimmed the lights down as commanded and Tony shut his tired eyes, sighing in relief as his entire body relaxed for the first time since he'd been home again. His eyes had been closed but he felt a presence next to him again so he forced his eyes open to see what it was.

Pepper had slipped back into his room, barefoot this time to minimize the noise, he was sure, and was leaving him a glass of water and two aspirin on his nightstand.

"In case you wake up and need it," she whispered when she realized she'd been caught.

Tony reacted by reaching his arm out to grab her hand, surprising her as he squeezed it to convey his appreciation. "Thank you, Pepper," he said softly, sleep already taking him over as the words were leaving his mouth.

Peppers heart ached at the sincerity in his voice. God, she just wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him for the rest of the night; personal rule and job titles be damned.

Instead, she squeezed his hand back before tucking it up against him. She lingered for a moment, watching him and studying his face as if this was all her dream and she would wake up to find he was still missing. She waited until his breathing evened out and she knew for certain he was sleeping before she leaned over and pressed her lips ever so softly against his forehead.

What he didn't know wouldn't kill her.

"Welcome home, Tony."

TBC

Hello all! I just want to give you a heads up that I may change the title of this story at some point. I am not really happy with what I chose but I needed something in order to publish so if you come looking for this in the future and cannot find it - that may be the reason.

I hope to have another chapter up within the next couple of weeks. Thank you for reading!