Pepper Potts exited her bathroom wearing only a towel and she found a rose standing over her bed. Delighted, she forgot for a couple of seconds about her problems and picked up the delicate rose in her petite hands. She heard a small sound behind her and turned around, expecting to see her boyfriend standing there with a smirk on his lips, but she saw nothing.

Tony wouldn't recognize to anyone that just after he placed that small flower he ran as fast as he could out of her house. Also, he wouldn't admit that he'd been scared shitless about that 'dumping' thing. He waited for a couple of minutes outside her door and looked up at the starry sky. He wondered briefly how many people were enjoying this beautiful night with their loved ones, wondered why he couldn't say he was enjoying it. Perhaps there were too many problems which didn't let him enjoy things like this.

He cursed himself for leaving her bedroom. He should have stayed there, wait for her and tell her personally that he was sorry. But no. He was scared – scared shitless, like previously mentioned. Tony didn't want a face-to-face conversation with Pepper because he didn't know how to say 'sorry'. He wasn't used to say that word. He was Tony Stark, for crying out loud.

He was… in love with her.

Suddenly the door opened and Tony was caught off-guard. He recovered quickly and smiled at his girlfriend.

"Were you going to stay here much longer?" She asked him with a small smile.

"Until you opened the door." He replied and stuck his hands into his pockets.

Pepper stared at him for a couple of seconds, shocked. His hair was muffled and his eyes were bloodshot. The clothes looked okay, but the sigh coming from him didn't warm her heart like it usually did.

"Come in." Pepper said and took a few steps back to allow him in.

Tony clenched his hands into the pockets of his jeans and ducked inside.

"Hey, Pep?" He asked hesitantly while his back was still facing her.

Pepper didn't like the way he sounded, but she needed to know what's up with him. "Hm?"

"Can you uh… forgive me? For uh… being an idiot today." He stuttered for a second before he turned towards her.

Pepper bit her lip and tried not to laugh. It was the first time since they've started dating that he's apologized. The first time he's actually serious about them.

"Do you like the rose? I mean, I never asked you 'bout flowers, but since I'm not all that stupid about relationships and things I think I got it right… right?"

"The rose is beautiful, Tony. You outdid yourself." Pepper murmured and looked at him with soft blue eyes.

Tony adored that look.

"So yeah, can we get back to… kissing??"

Pepper adored him when he babbled. She nodded gently and let him take her in his strong, muscular arms. She loved the way his lips yielded to hers and the way his tongue stroked hers, making her shiver.

After he ended the kiss his hands started to tug at her clothes and she reluctantly let him. She burried her face in the crook of his neck where she could smell his perfume and his aftershave. She slowly pressed her lips to the pulse point in his neck and sighed when she heard him swallow hard.

And so she let him take them both to her bedroom where he made love to her with a slow intensity. They still looked intently in each others eyes, but when they hit the climax point, they both closed their eyes and held tightly to each other.

After their lovemaking session – Pepper still called it sex because it was Tony Stark she slept with, but Tony called it lovemaking just because he felt things he's never felt before when he made love to this woman – they separated from each other, and occupied their sides of the bed.

The separation felt weird. It felt… cold.

Tony waited for ten or so minutes before he moved closer to Pepper. He reached out his hand and wrapped around her waist, and pushed his knee between hers. This feeling wasn't completely different from the previous one, but this time it felt good – good as in being where he belonged to. Holding her in his arms felt good.

"Can I stay here tonight?" He mumbled with his lips pressed against the skin on her shoulder.

"You don't even have to ask." Pepper smiled into the pillow, and they both fell into a dreamless sleep till the morning.