I'm learning the publishing system here slowly. It took a strangely long time for me to figure out how to add a new chapter! Thanks for reading :)

Several hours later...

"I just got debriefed! Why do I have to meet Fury tomorrow?" Tony, now out of the Iron Man suit, argued to Natasha.

"Director Fury wants to speak with you," she said, offering no more information. "I'll have Jarvis put it in your calendar."

"You're still fired," Tony said, as he exited the car. As soon as he was away from SHIELD, and entering the building, the weariness finally hit him. The modest-sized, sleek building was owned by Stark Industries and used to house executives visiting New York for long-term projects. Tony reserved the penthouse for his personal use. It was 2:30 in the morning, and he doubted Pepper would still be up.

"Jarvis, is Pepper still up?" Tony asked the AI when he entered his private elevator.

"Indeed, Miss Potts is still awake, sir," came the smooth, British-accented reply. Tony's spirits lifted and when the elevator doors opened, he heard bare feet rushing over to him and smiled at the sight of Pepper, hair in a ponytail, and wearing a t-shirt and yoga pants.

"Oof," he said as Pepper threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "What's that for?"

He ignored the bruises and wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes. She smelled of citrus, flowers, and sugar. Pepper always smelled good and now that they've stepped over that work-relationship-becomes-kinda-romantic line, it's no longer creepy that he notices this.

"I couldn't really hug you when you were in the suit," Pepper explained. Then she punched him in the arm.

"OW! What was THAT for?" Tony yelled.

"You! Not telling me you were dying!" she said, turning around and heading for the living room.

"I will formally apologize for that now," Tony said, walking slowly after her.

"What's wrong with you?" Pepper said, noticing the way he was walking.

"Oh, I rediscovered a new element, plugged it into my chest, then flew across the country in record time, battled my best friend and a fleet of robots and their insane maker, and then was scared out of my mind when I thought you might get blown up," Tony said.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Pepper asked, looking over him, still wearing his black flight suit.

"Nah, just some bruises, probably," Tony said.

"Go shower, and I'll patch up anything that needs patching," Pepper said, used to the routine of caring for Tony after he returned from a mission. "If you're hungry, Happy and I stopped to pick up pizza from Ray's."

Tony turned for his bedroom and stopped. "No, I have to get this done first." Pepper gave him an exasperated look. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I was dying. I tried, but couldn't get the words to come out, and you didn't exactly make it easy for me."

"Me? You've been making my job nearly impossible for the last ten years!" she fired back.

"Let me finish," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You matter to me, and I couldn't stand the idea of making you upset or worry more about me. All I could do was give you what mattered to me: the company, my family's legacy. And I came to your office the other day to tell you that I finally realized that I need you Pepper. You're the only one for me."

"Tony," Pepper said softly, stepping closer to him to reach up and lace her fingers behind his neck.

"You've taken care of me all these years, and I told you on that rooftop hours ago that you deserve better than me. I'm going to be selfish though, and ask that you settle for me, and I will try to be better for you," he said.

"Tony, I can't leave you, no matter how much you drive me crazy," Pepper said, resting her face against his RT. "Remember? You're all I have."

He lifted her face up from his chest and kissed her with all the feelings he had for her over the years and was still stunned to find how right it felt to be holding Pepper Potts. Several moments later, a prettily flushed Pepper pulled away to push Tony to take that shower, rebuffing his smarmy advances to have her join him.

Her heart flipped and she smiled as he went into the bedroom and said, "You complete me, even though you won't shower with the guy who saved your life."

"Maybe if you hadn't given away our modern art collection, I would have," she responded.

She didn't shower with him. She did patch up his wounds and kissed them when he asked (although he was asking it with a smirk). And she did let him hold her while they went to sleep, the room never completely dark due to the blue glow from his RT.