Warm sunlight snuck through the partially open and somewhat threadbare curtains on Sunday morning, rousing Pepper from what had been a surprisingly good night's sleep. Not choosing to move yet and still a little disoriented, Pepper turned her head to look at the bedside clock and saw that it was well after 8:30. Pepper was a little surprised since she rarely slept past six at home. As sleep almost threatened to claim her again, a sound that sounded familiar and alien all in the same breath hit her ears…snoring. At some point during the night, Tony had managed to flip from lying on his back to his stomach and his arm had violated the pillow barrier and draped itself over Pepper's waist. This in itself led to questions running at ninety miles an hour through Pepper's mind. Given the fact that she was a light sleeper and able to wake up with half a ring from her cell phone or alarm clock, how did Tony's arm over her not wake her up?
Now, since she was afraid to move as to not wake Tony just yet since he seemed to be sleeping peacefully, a rare occurrence, Pepper started looking a little more carefully at her employer. She had worked for Tony for the better part of a decade and had cared for him for nearly the same length of time though she always denied it. But after he came home from Afghanistan, it got harder to deny her feelings, especially right now as she lay next to him in bed and was watching him sleep.
Before Pepper realized it, a half an hour had gone by and Tony slowly started to stir next to her. At first, he just shifted position and rolled on to his side so his back was facing her and Pepper suddenly missed the warm weight and security of his arm over her. Then, giving up on going back to sleep, Tony rolled over so he was again facing Pepper.
"How long have you been watching me?" he asked through a yawn as he rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"Not that long and it's not the first time that I have." Pepper said as she sat up in bed.
"Are you saying you do this often?" Tony asked with a smirk as he slid off the bed.
"Every time you come back in less than perfect condition from a mission," Pepper countered honestly. Every time he came back banged up, injured or bleeding from his exploits, Pepper worried for him.
"You know, you're always welcome to join me. I'll make room for you," Tony said as he grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the bathroom. "How many other women get that invitation? Actually in my bedroom and not the 'date' room?" he called out as he stripped down and got under the hot water.
"None that I have had to escort out," Pepper sighed as she peeked in the open door. She did not know if Tony had stolen any glimpses while she was in the shower the night before but Pepper sure as hell did.
After both had gotten cleaned up, they headed down to the diner attached to the motel again for breakfast. Still showing his recent addiction for Southern home cooking, Tony managed to clean a five-stack of strawberry pancakes, hash browns, two eggs, toast, bacon and two cups of coffee. Pepper though managed something that was more fitting for human consumption and not a starving giant with a metabolism on overdrive. When the bill came, Tony had to pass it over to Pepper. He had given the motel clerk a heart attack when he paid with a fifty and if he paid a ten dollar bill with a hundred, the waitress would probably keel over dead.
"So, is there anything you want to do?" Pepper asked as she waited for her change.
"Is there anything to actually do in this little burg?" Tony countered.
"I saw signs for a Sunflower festival and there's always looking around the town for a bit." Pepper suggested.
"I think I'd rather fight with that antique of a TV in the room for a while," Tony said with a small cringe.
Pepper sighed. It was true that they were in a bad situation but she was trying to make the best of it. "Fine, go back to the room. I will be exploring the town."
"That will take all of five minutes," Tony scoffed as he got up and left the diner.
Relieved to have a break from Iron Man's crankiness for a little while, Pepper took a leisurely stroll down the street, met a few of the nice people that actually lived in this town and then wandered back into the general store. This time, she had a great deal more time to browse and didn't receive a dirty look from the girl at the cash register. Without Tony there, Pepper was able to find a jean skirt and a button down sleeveless blouse that fit her relatively well and a few other things that could still be worn when they got back to California.
Once he was back in the hotel room, it took Tony another forty-five minutes before he managed to get the TV to work again while resisting the urge to dismantle it with every fiber of his being. When the antique piece of junk decided to work, Tony settled on reruns of Gilligan's Island and I Dream of Jeannie but quickly got bored with only 60's sitcoms so he rummaged through the bag from the general store and found a small bag of brain puzzles which Pepper had undoubtedly picked up knowing that he would get bored. The Rubik's cube took Tony all of twenty seconds to complete. He was attacking some of the hand crafted wooden ones when a knock at the door distracted him.
"What do you want?" Tony snapped at the man and woman on the other side of the door, forgetting he wasn't in his workshop at home and had to deal with distractions.
"Housekeeping, sir," O'Reilly stated coolly. "You're going to have to leave."
"Fine," Tony spat as he turned off the TV, grabbed his sunglasses and pushed past Jackson and O'Reilly. "I thought there was supposed to be something called Southern hospitality." He added in as he walked out into the street to try and find Pepper.
When Tony stepped out into the afternoon sun, he was a bit surprised at what he saw. The night before, the town had been nearly entirely shut down when he and Pepper had arrived and now it was full of energy. The so-called Sunflower festival was going on full blast with rides, games, food...the works. He scanned the crowd quickly and soon found the tall redhead with great legs that he was looking for by a water gun game. Before going over to her though, Tony stopped at one of the vendors and bought Pepper a fiber optic light up sunflower with the some of the change he had from the fifty the night before but not really paying much attention to the vendor. His gaze was focused only on Pepper.
As Tony walked closer, he could see that Pepper was talking with some of the women of the town and seemingly having a good time before the race started. When the bell rang, he stayed back just a few steps to watch…to watch Pepper easily smoke the competition.
"A flower for the victor," Tony said suavely as he presented her the light up sunflower with a little flourish as he leaned against the counter.
"Thank you Tony," Pepper said with a slight blush as the operator handed her a small stuffed parrot.
"I felt I needed to apologize and flowers are usually a good way to go," Tony said with a smirk.
"Usually purple hyacinths mean I'm sorry," the woman next to Pepper said. "Sunflowers are a sign of devotion. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." She said before excusing herself.
Pepper smiled as she looked down at the light up sunflower that Tony had given her and its significance did stick in her mind after the woman had said it. "Devotion?"
"You are all I have. Why wouldn't I be devoted to you?" Tony stated with a small shrug.
"Are you willing to prove your devotion?" Pepper asked with a small smirk.
"Name the challenge and I shall win it in your honor." Tony said with a smile.
Pepper pointed to a large stuffed rabbit. "I want you to have to bring that bunny back on the jet for me."
"Consider it yours," Tony said with a smile as he walked up to the game. To his luck and a tribute to his work, Tony had a fair hand with a bb gun and with skillful ease shot the star clean away. "I guess being Iron Man has some benefits after all," he whispered to Pepper as the operator handed him the rabbit.
"You knew how to do that well before your extracurricular activities," Pepper said with a laugh as she gave him a kiss on the cheek as a reward for winning her the rabbit. "I am curious if you're daring enough to do one thing," Pepper asked as she eyed the rides out of the corner of her eye. One in particular was the Snowrush, a ride that Tony threw up on the last time he went on it.
Savoring the kiss, albeit small, Tony soon followed Pepper's gaze to the ride from hell and he sighed. "You won't go up with me but you'll go on that thing over and over again."
"Are you saying you can't do it, even now?" Pepper teased.
"If I throw up again because of it, I am so blaming you for it. And if I do get through with this, you are coming up with me at least once." He conceded as he paid for the tickets with the last of his free money and stepped on to the ride.
As the club music started playing, the ride took off going around in a circle, building speed until the cars started to lift to the side and then it reversed, going even faster. After six minutes of this, it finally came to a stop and both Tony and Pepper managed to get through it without throwing up.
As things were starting to close down for the evening, Tony and Pepper grabbed a few quick slices of pizza from one of the vendors and headed back to their motel room only to crash on the bed out of happy exhaustion.
As Pepper kicked off her shoes and relaxed back against the pillows for a moment, Tony went ahead to fight with the TV again to see if he could find something decent to watch. Luckily, it only took twenty minutes of fighting this time when Tony found Air America on one of the stations just starting.
"Oh, I love this movie," Pepper exclaimed as Tony joined her on the bed and she shifted over so she was resting her head on his shoulder. "I always thought that Mel Gibson was hot in this."
Quietly, Tony put his arm around Pepper's back without any protests but silently rolling his eyes at the comment about the hotness level of Mel Gibson. "What? Nothing about the other guy…what's his name there?"
"Robert Downey, Jr.?" Pepper asked. "He's cute enough but…"
"But what?" Tony asked. "You don't like him as well?"
"Well…" Pepper hesitated until she saw the person in question up close again and she gasped. He looked very much like Tony did when he was younger and she had to think quickly.
"Well what? You don't think he's as good looking as me? Tony pushed again.
"No way Tony, you are way better looking than he is but he does look a little bit like you." Pepper stated, unknowingly stroking an ego that did not need to be stroked.
"Believe me, I have been hearing it since this guy was in Chaplin." Tony said through a yawn as he got comfortable. "It only stopped when I grew the beard."
"And that made you ever so distinctly you," Pepper said tiredly as she snuggled a bit closer into Tony's shoulder and closed her eyes, missing the end of the movie.
The sun was decidedly absent Monday morning, having been replaced by the constant pattering of rain against the window and the occasional rumble of thunder. One of these rumbles wasn't so much of a rumble but more of an explosion, jolting Pepper awake with a jump and a shoved hand against Tony's chest.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Tony mumbled sleepily as his brain was forced to jumpstart into functioning.
Pepper blushed with slight embarrassment at waking Tony up so abruptly. "The thunder…I got startled."
"Rain is a perfect excuse to sleep in," Tony mumbled as he tried to pull Pepper back down to the spot on his chest that she was sleeping on. "Damn the thunder."
Giving into her heart and the warm comfort that Tony's arms were offering, Pepper allowed him to ease her back down to where she had fallen asleep, snuggling against his warmth for a few more moments since it seemed that Tony had quickly fallen back to sleep.
Tony had not been totally awake when Pepper bolted upright with the thunder but when he felt her snuggle against him, he certainly was then. He opened his eyes for a moment to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Pepper Potts was in his arms and sleeping on his chest, thus giving him one of the happiest moments he had ever had in his life. He closed his eyes again, not falling back to sleep because he was enjoying this way too much but savoring every single second he got to have her in his arms.
That lasted a whole half an hour when Tony's stomach decided to growl loudly, making him cringe with embarrassment.
Pepper stirs when she heard the loud echo of Tony's empty stomach. "How long have you been awake?" she questioned as she pushed herself up.
Tony didn't answer her exactly but the guilty look on his face with the small smirk said boat loads.
"Well, if I had known you were awake, we could have done something," Pepper said with a smirk as she gets up and heads off to take a shower.
"What do you mean we could have done something?" Tony asked as he was getting off the bed and nearly started to follow her into the bathroom since that sure sounded like an invitation to him.
"Well Tony, I guess you will never know now huh?" Pepper teased as she saw him start to follow her. She quickly held up her hand. "Stay." She told him, forcing Tony back down into a sitting position on the bed.
It was still raining after they had finished breakfast and many of the Sunflower Festival events had to be put off until the rain stopped. Many of the town's residents had taken refuge under the overhangs of the various businesses along the street. Underneath the general store, there were three tables with various board games set up on them. This was something that caught Tony's eye. He saw a pair of men at one table playing backgammon, a grandfather and granddaughter playing checkers at another and a middle aged man sitting at the chess table, looking for an opponent.
Pepper didn't need to say anything once she saw that look in Tony's eyes. "Go. I have a book I can read and if I get bored, I am sure I can find something to do."
"I have a reputation to upkeep here." Tony said as he gave Pepper a quick kiss on the cheek and sat down across from the man at the table with the chess board.
Three hours later and countless victories (and losses) in chess and backgammon, the rain finally stopped and the festival organizers quickly got the day on the way. The first event was a pie eating contest.
Tony and Pepper watched from the side at first as at least fifteen of the town's residents signed up for the contest.
"Tony, how many pieces of pie did you have on Saturday night?" Pepper asked.
"I think four, why?"
"Think you can take them?" Pepper hinted as her head ticked towards the table.
Tony sized up the competitors. "I can give it a fair shot." He shrugged as he joined the contest, despite the strange looks he got from the locals.
With their hands tied behind their backs, at the sound of the gun, seventeen people went face first into their pies. First one finished won. The whole thing took less than three minutes with the high school quarterback taking the trophy. Tony was impressed. He could easily put away five cheeseburgers in that time but pie was harder and he told the kid that as he shook his hand in congratulations.
As the rain started back up again, Tony went back to the room for a bit to lie down since scarfing down something that heavy was never easy on the stomach.
As evening started to fall and music and the smell of barbeque started to fill the air when the rain stopped again, Pepper went back up to the motel room to get Tony and to change into the skirt and blouse she had bought earlier. She quietly opened the door to find him still sound asleep on the bed.
"I guess someone needed a nap after consuming three quarters of a pie," Pepper said to herself as she crossed to the other side of the bed, sitting on the edge as she gently shook Tony's shoulder.
"Hi…what time is it?" Tony said sleepily as he stretched out and smiled.
"It's nearly dinner time…if you're feeling up to it." Pepper said with a smile before ducking into the bathroom to change. "Now that the rain has let up again, they have a barbeque set up in the tent with music, dancing and fireworks tonight."
"I'm game for that," Tony said as he finally sat up and stretched his back out once more.
"I didn't think you'd be hungry after all that pie," Pepper said as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Tony found himself nearly speechless when Pepper came out. He never knew a jean skirt and a sleeveless blouse could be so damn sexy. He swallowed hard as he admired the gorgeous site in front of him. "You underestimate me," he finally said as he stood up and took her hand. "I'm always hungry for something."
"Forgive me…I forgot," Pepper teased as she followed Tony to the tent outside.
Once they were in the tent, Tony's voracious appetite for the southern cooking took over once more as he polished off his fair share of ribs and was half tempted to buy the recipe off the grill master. After dinner, a band started to play some music that was halfway danceable. When something that sounded a little like a swing, Tony gave Pepper a wink and pulled her up despite her protests, which he fully expected. She kept saying that she didn't know what she was doing but she followed pretty damn well for someone who didn't know what they were doing. When Pepper finally managed to convince Tony to let her sit down since she did not have an endless supply of energy like he did, Tony grabbed a beer out of the cooler and really wished it was a twelve year old scotch instead but he would deal. As he watched Pepper sip at her iced tea, Tony realized that he was actually enjoying himself despite the really shitty beginning. He was only brought out of his revelry by the sound of explosions and Pepper grabbing his hand to see the fireworks.
"They're nice but I could probably make better," Tony teased only to get an elbow in the stomach from Pepper. "I'm just saying…my dad and I made our own for the fourth of July every year."
"Just hush, Tony and enjoy them," Pepper told him as she watched the brightly colored explosions in the sky.
After the finale sent off the last bang, Pepper started to turn back to the motel but Tony stopped her with a gentle touch to her hand.
"Come on, Potts. One last dance," he suggested as he led her back to the dance floor as the band started to play something slow by Chicago.
Pepper acquiesced to his request far easier than she ever had before. Unlike the swing from earlier or even the Firemen's Benefit, she relaxed this time, wrapping both her arms around Tony's neck as they moved.
The smile was unmistakable on Tony's lips when Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands slid around her waist and pulled her closer to him, feeling none of the tension that he had felt the last time.
"I knew you could relax around me," Tony said softly as he was looking into Pepper's eyes.
"I never said I couldn't." Pepper returned.
"You didn't need to say it…" Tony whispered. "And I believe I owe you something," Tony said as he brushed his fingers lightly against her cheek and closed his eyes as he leaned in…