A/N: I meant for this to be a one-shot, but several people suggested I continue it and show his proposal. So here you go!

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Tony hadn't left her side. He knew every detail and intricacy of room now: how the floor had exactly 63 tiles, how the window overlooked the parking lot where four ambulances could usually be found, how the painting on the wall seemed to contain the same shades of baby blue as the walls themselves, and how the the only flash of color in the monotonous room was Pepper's beautiful red hair.

The doctors had tried to get him to leave several times. Surely Tony Stark had somewhere better to be, they'd claim. He'd retort by saying that without Pepper, he was lost. Then they had tried stating that hospital visiting hours ended quite a while ago. He felt slightly bad about doing it, but Tony reminded them of his billionaire status and the wing of the hospital that bore his name.

"And don't even try telling me I'm disturbing you, because she's just sleeping. I just want to be here when she wakes up."

So they let him stay, after he agreed to not cause any commotion. Their concern amused him; he wasn't going to suddenly pull out his suit and go around trashing the building. Unless he got too bored, that was.

Though, although Tony would never admit any weakness, he was starting to get rather tired of the food. Occasionally Happy would arrive with a cheeseburger or a pizza. But other than that.. He'd just say he had a lot of new respect for Pepper's cooking.

His eyes began to slip shut at last, the craziness of the day finally taking its toll on him.

"Tony?"

Her voice was softer than he'd ever heard it, barely audible. But his head snapped up right away.

"How are you? Does anything hurt? What can I do for you?

His questioning didn't even seem to register. "You're here."

Tony relaxed slightly; she seemed surprisingly lucid, normal. "Of course I'm here."

She didn't reply, though the small grin that graced her features was answer enough. Figuring that he might as well not waste any time, Tony continued, "Pep, I.. I wanted to ask you something. You've been working for me for, uh, I don't know, around eleven years? And-"

"Twelve and a half," she corrected him. "It's been twelve and a half."

Tony chuckled, tilting his head in acknowledgement. "I can't even remember what I did before you, Pepper. That time, when you helped me with the reactor, I told you I didn't have anyone else. I meant it. Without you, I'd probably either be dead or in jail by now." He paused, taking a moment to tuck a strand of hair behind her ears. "In Afghanistan, I was pretty sure that was it for me. And the thing that scared me most wasn't that. It wasn't that I was about to die, Pepper. It was that I never had the chance to say thank you to you. Not too long after that, I realized I was in love with you. And that scared the shit out of me. I was Tony Stark, playboy. I didn't fall in love." Her eyes were misty now, her lower lip bit; he just hoped that was a good sign. "You know, maybe I'm not as much of a genius as people think. Because it took me being adbucted and mortally wounded to realize I cared about you, and it took you being shot to realize that I can't live without you. So I'm going to stop being stupid now. We live dangerous lives; I couldn't live with myself knowing I never had the chance to ask you this."

With that, Tony stood from his chair, kneeling on one knee before the bed. "Will you, Pepper Potts, marry me?"

Her face contorted with shock; happiness clouded her gaze. And he knew, at that moment, that anything he could ever say to make her look like this was the right choice."Of course I'll marry you," Pepper responded without a second thought. Several tears slipped down her cheeks, and Tony lifted one hand to swipe them away. They spent a minute or so like this, her hand holding his to her cheek, gazes locked.

"Idiot," she chuckled, breaking the silence. His eyes widened in surprise, one eyebrow raised in an unasked question. "Only you would propose in a hospital."