Author's Note: Two chapters in one day. I am on a roll! I haven't written anything so quickly in a long time and I forgot how much of a rush it is. I'll just keep riding this wave, I suppose.

Glad to see that chapter 2 was well received and the sexual tension will continue on but not for too long. It's what happens when I write for a couple who would be paint peelingly hot together. I want to get them to the bedroom or kitchen counter or shower ASAP… damn, I'm perverted.

It's the only ailment I have that I like. LOL!

Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"

As Happy gunned it away from the building, Tony abruptly recovered from his shock. Virginia Potts, his Pepper, had just caused the best story in Hollywood since Bradgelina adopted child #80 from Backhairistan! It was surreal! It was out of left field! It was fucking hotter than hell!

I like me a woman with a backbone. Red Pepper even makes bitchy seem classy…

She sat next to him, vibrating with rage and he poured her a shot of scotch. She accepted it and pounded it back like a champ, extending the glass for more. With a small chuckle, he poured again and after she drank, she slumped back against her seat, her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry. You must be mortified but she …she made me so mad!" she snapped in a cracking voice.

Oh, god. She was going to cry again. He hated that. He hated that more than he hated brussel sprouts and that was saying something! Intercepting her breakdown, he pulled her into a tight hug and buried his face in her sweet mane of her hair. Her scent filled his nostrils and he smiled dreamily. She was always so warm and lush, a welcome change from the emaciated ice queens he was used to.

She drew in a ragged breath and rested his head on his shoulder, her hot breath tickling the fine hairs on the nape of his neck.

"Please don't cry, Virginia. I hate that."

She looked at him with shock and he asked worriedly, "I didn't say the wrong name, did I? Women hate when that happens. Believe me, I know."

She gave him a sad smile and replied, "No, you got the right name. I'm just used to you calling me Pepper. Anything else sounds weird."

"Weird good or weird bad?"

"Weird different but good…um, that went well. No better way to ring in a new SI era than to have my vindictive bitchy streak being immortalized in front of everyone in the world." she said sheepishly.

"Hey, now. You did better than me. I hurled on a reporter's jacket when I took my place." he comforted.

"Oh, I remember that. MTV played it on a loop for a week. You know that the little freak sold that jacket on eBay?" she dished.

Tony's face twisted in disgust and asked, "Seriously?!"

"Dead seriously. He got 25 grand."

"People are sick."

"You're telling me."

He reluctantly let off his lap and assured her, "I'm not mad. Hell, I'm impressed and …a little curious. Are you really that good?"

She was adorable when she blushed, he thought idly…and now he had even more confirmation that he was ass over heels. Adorable had not been a part of his vocabulary before her and the…feelings. If he were truly honest with himself (something that he was more often since his Great Afghani Enlightenment), then he could trace them back to day one. She had literally stormed into his life and become integral to it. He needed her more than anyone, even Platypus. Hell, he didn't even know his own social security number without her.

She had gotten him through the tough stuff, including Raza and his cronies.

Getting captured had given him a lot of time to think about his life, particularly his life with her. She had always been there. She had sacrificed her glory years to keep him in one piece. She was his rock. She was his sanity and his equal. No matter what (or who) he did, he'd never find another woman like Virginia Potts.

It was only logical that he fell in love with her.

The acknowledgement of his feelings had made him even more determined to get the hell out of that cave.

Dying without her knowing would've made him the ultimate pussy.

Of course, living without her knowing was just as bad.

"Well, my very few exes have referred to me a nympho hellcat trapped in a woman's body." she admitted shyly.

Oh great. More fodder for his cannon.

////////////

"So, what do I do?"

"Sir, I believe that the most logical course of action would be to simply tell Ms. Potts how you feel."

He was taking advice from a robot. A sentient AI of a robot but still a robot.

God, he was pathetic.

"Hey, I gotta go with Big Brother, here. You've been bullshitting with this long enough, man."

It was a sad day for mankind when Rhodey the Monk had to give him woman advice. Instead of crying or slitting his wrists, Tony took another swig of his beer, feeling a strong buzz. Since the arc had been salvaged, repaired and reinstalled, he had lost his taste for scotch and other hard liquor. Beer was the only thing he could handle without getting epically sick.

Normally, it didn't bother him (after all, flying the suit sober was hard but tanked? Not happening) but it was times like this that he longed to be able to swallow the worm in the bottom of a big bottle of Jose.

"What if she doesn't feel the same way?" he asked insecurely, looking out at the moonlit city below.

Lord above, he hadn't been this hesitant with a girl since his freshmen year of high school. Of course, the hesitation had only lasted a week before he tongue kissed the senior class' Queen Bee, causing a legend to be born.

But when it came to Pepper, all the boldness he had amounted to the Easter Bunny's dick…if he had a dick. Would he? He was a rabbit after all and rabbits… why was he thinking about that? He was either drunk or he had finally lost what little sanity he had and it was all Pepper's fault.

Damn it.

"Sir, the probability of Ms. Potts reciprocating is actually quite high. My calculations amount to an 89.952% chance of her heart belonging to you…in a metaphorical way, of course."

"And if you round up, that's an A. Tony, man, tell her. Tell her and get it over with and if she doesn't feel the same way…well, there's always Everheart." Rhodey advised with a shit eating smirk.

"You have no idea how much I regret plowing her field." Tony groaned.

"Why did you sleep with her, anyway?"

"'Cause she was hot.", Tony replied sheepishly.

"She's a bitch."

"A hot bitch. Keep in mind that it happened before my Great Afghani Enlightenment.", he said defensively.

"That what you call it now?"

"It's better than 'the time when my so called friend set me up to be killed by middle eastern radicals but it didn't work and I had to get a really fancy car battery put in my chest so I could live and become a reformed manwhore and superhero.' Great Afghani Enlightenment…it's short, sweet, and to the point…like Pepper. Damn it!"

He was supposed to be not dwelling on her! That's why he called this macho meeting in the first place!

Rhodey laughed and said, "I feel for you, man. Seriously, tell her. I could call her and you could do it now."

"No, it's 11: 30. She's asleep and I should be too. Never know when I have to go blow some kook to Kingdom Come. Let yourself out. Good night."

Tony went upstairs and Rhodey shook his head sadly.

"He's really got it bad."

"I concur. Unrequited love is most detrimental to a human's health. I believe that if something is not done soon, Anthony will lose what is left of his sanity, resulting in a breakdown of his body."

"We got to do something, JARVIS. Even though I give him hell, I care about the little jackass. I want him to be happy." Rhodey insisted.

"I… may have a plan. If it is to work, I will need assistance."

Curious, Rhodey set down his beer and said, "Talk to me."

As JARVIS' idea was revealed, Rhodey's face lit up in a grin as he looked towards the stairs.

Don't you worry, man. You'll have your lady soon enough.