Tony froze in response to her words, his only movement being the heaving of his chest from his suddenly ragged breath. All he could do was stare at her with wide eyes. Blankly.
Pepper looked at him with increasing concern, her own chest beginning to mimic the movement of his. "Tony?" she said. Her chin began to quiver. "Please! Say something! I can't take the..."
Suddenly, her speech was halted by him muttering, "Come here," before crashing their lips together. Pepper squeaked in surprise, and then instantly melted into the embrace, with Tony's hands cupping both sides of her face at first and then sliding down to envelop her in a tight, protective hug. The kiss deepened, and the two of them moaned in relief from their collective tension being released.
Eventually, the kiss eased in momentum, and they slowed to a stop. They simultaneously opened their eyes, their foreheads resting on one another's. Pepper grinned in surprise at his unexpected, seemingly thrilled reaction.
"Really? You're pregnant?" he purred, followed by a giddy grin. "You're sure?"
Pepper chuckled. "Yes," she purred back. "As the day is long."
Tony then raised his head to look at her squarely, and cocked an eyebrow. "So does the father know?" he quipped, giving her an inquisitive look. Pepper giggled, and gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.
"Um, in my telling you this, it's safe for you to assume that you're the father? So..." she teased, playing along.
Tony eyes went wide as he feigned surprise. "Oh, I am!" he said, pointing to himself. "Oh-kay, then! Now we've got something to celebrate!" he joked. They both giggled. He then leaned in to give her lips another lingering peck.
When the kiss broke, Pepper raised her head to look into his eyes, and he smiled adoringly back, the sparkle that had left all those weeks ago quickly returning en force.
"I take it you're happy about this?" Pepper commented, giving him a wry, knowing smirk.
"Nope, not happy,"Tony countered, making her look at him curiously. "I'm ecstatic."
Pepper giggled again at him teasing her. "Good," she cooed, leaning in for another kiss. Tony kissed her back, and then they grinned at each other. "But you can understand, though, why I'd have some reservations about breaking the news to you?" she asked, reaching up to absent-mindedly fiddle with a button on his dress shirt.
"Yeah, I get it. And if it were any other girl, I'd be hightailing it to Mexico, right now," he joked, making her laugh out loud. "But it's you, honey. It's us. Just more proof that we're..." he took a moment to find the words. "Meant to be," he said finally, gazing intently into her eyes.
Pepper smiled lovingly back at him, as new tears threatened her eyes. "I love you so much," she murmured.
Tony smiled, and took a moment to raise a thumb to her cheek to wipe away an arrant tear before answering. "I love you, too," he replied. "And, God, I've missed you."
They shared a quiet, loving gaze for a few moments, before Tony couldn't fight the urge any longer to speak what was rushing to the forefront of his mind. He set his jaw, and looked deeply into her eyes. "Marry me," he said.
Pepper pulled back, and looked at him with a curious smile. "What?" she asked.
"Marry me," he said again. "Isn't that what feels right right now? We're having a baby, so let's..." he paused, and exhaled. "Do this the right way, huh?"
"Tony, people can have babies without getting married," Pepper explained wryly. "Don't feel like you have to rush into anything just because we're..."
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I know that. And I'm not," he replied. "I just...I want to do right by you. By..." he paused to point at her belly, which made her smile. "Junior, there. So...whad'ya say, Pep?" he asked. He gave her a smolder, and she rolled her eyes and giggled. "Wanna make it official? Take this guy off the market for good? Put me out to pasture? Retire my jersey?"
Pepper held up a hand in objection. "Alright, that's quite enough of that," she answered, with a smirk. "And might I say, in the way of romantic proposals, you're not exactly batting a thousand, currently."
Tony nodded, and clucked his tongue, letting her loose from his embrace. "Got it. I'm forgetting a couple of things, here, aren't I?"
Pepper chuckled. "You could say that, yes," she answered with a smirk. She watched as he then slowly got down on one knee in front of her, and she bit her lips together to keep the sudden flutter of butterflies in her stomach from causing a massive dopey, girly grin to be plastered across her face.
He raised his eyebrows for approval. "Better?" he asked.
Pepper chuckled. "You're getting there," she told him, with a wry smirk.
Tony then furrowed his brow, and cleared his throat, taking her left hand in the both of his and looking up at her, trying to keep a straight face. "Pepper?" he said. "Marry me."
She didn't answer directly, but waited a moment. But soon, realizing he apparently thought he was finished, she cocked an eyebrow. "That's it? That's all your gonna..."
"Well, I'm trying to keep it short and sweet, here, baby. Get right to business," he argued.
"Uh-huh," she replied. "So no bothering with sentiment. You're just passing go and collecting your $200..."
"Well, I haven't exactly had a lot of time to plan anything more flowery. So, yeah. I'm kinda going off the cuff..." he explained.
"Okay? I suppose? But aren't you still forgetting one itty-bitty, yet pretty important detail?" she asked.
Tony frowned. "Uh..." he said, looking around cluelessly, and then narrowed his eyes. "What, like...a string quartet or something? Help me out here, honey."
Pepper raised her left hand in front of him, and wiggled her ring finger, wincing.
Tony's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers in realization. "A ring! Right! I knew that," he quickly defended.
Pepper chuckled. "Did you now?" she quipped back. "Not much of a proposal without one, Tony. Guess our engagement will just have to be put on hold until you can find me one," she teased.
Tony scoffed as he stood back up to face her. "Oh, I've got a ring," he said, with a smug smirk.
Pepper frowned in confusion. "What?! No, you don't. How could you?! We've only just now..."
"What makes you think I haven't thought about marrying you before tonight?" he challenged, looking at her with a mischievous smile.
Pepper gasped, and then smiled in delight. "What are you saying? That you've had one for...a while?"
He teeter-tottered his from side to side. "Yeah, a 'while' is a fair description. Circa..." he shrugged. "1990? Somewhere around there?"
Pepper frowned again as she tried to work out what he was talking about. "Wait," she said. "Are you talking about the ring you used to keep in the safe in the old house all of those years ago? Your mother's engagement ring?"
Tony just pumped his eyebrows and grinned.
Pepper looked at him in surprise. "I'd forgotten all about it! I haven't seen it in ages!" she informed him.
Tony nodded in the affirmative. "And there's a reason for that," he told her.
Pepper chuckled and shook her head. "It's...huge, Tony! It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but it's..."
"Hard to miss. I know," he agreed, chuckling. "But it's a family heirloom. Ma gave it to me to someday give to the woman I want to spend my life with," he told her, taking her around the waist again, and pulling her to him. "And let's just say that yes. I've known for a while that that's you."
Pepper grinned at him with a dreamy, teary-eyed look. "Oh, Tony!" she cooed, her voice warbling with the onset of new tears.
Tony grinned back at her, and bent to capture a kiss. Pepper swiftly kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and instantly deepening it. They both moaned blissfully.
When the kiss broke, they were both a little breathless, and Pepper chuckled at how eager they both were. She was still in his arms, and Tony gave her an affectionate squeeze. She laid her hands on his chest, and looked into his eyes. "So?" she asked, her voice giddy, "Are we really doing this? Are we making it official tonight?"
Tony hesitated and then winced, inhaling sharply through his teeth. "Uh, yeah. I would, but..."
Pepper pulled back. "Don't tell me you've already got cold feet!" she said, trying to maintain a joking tone, but unable to keep a lilt of worry out of her voice.
Tony spluttered and shook his head. "No. Definitely not," he assured her. "I'm going to propose. It's just...Problem is...I don't currently have the ring," he replied reluctantly.
She frowned at him, confused. "Then who does?" she asked.
Tony winced again, hesitating. "Yeah, let's just back up here," he said. "I told you I wanted to do this right, and I meant it. I mean, there's gotta be some element of spontaneity to this, right?"
"Me coming here out of the blue to tell you we're having a baby, and you suddenly deciding to propose isn't spontaneous enough for you?" Pepper countered.
Tony held up a hand in objection. "Hey! Like I said! There's nothing sudden about my wanting to ask you to marry me, okay? Believe me," he argued, rolling his eyes at the thought of just how long he really had waited. "But this isn't what I pictured this moment being, Pep. I just want it to be perfect. It needs to be...an occasion, don't you think? Something we'll both remember for the rest of our lives."
Pepper gave him an apprehensive look. "Oh, God," she muttered.
Tony smirked, and gave her a loving squeeze around the waist. "Noooo, come on," he urged. "It'll be great. Trust me. You'll see."
"Uh-huh," Pepper replied skeptically. "How many times have I heard that before?"
He chuckled. "I know, but I promise. I'll make it worth the wait," he assured her. But then he quickly recanted. "But not too long of a wait," he said, looking down and nodding in the direction of her stomach. "We want this to happen before people become aware you're carrying Mini-me, right?" he asked.
Pepper giggled and shook her head. "Again with this?" she said. "It's the twenty-first century, Tony! People have babies out of wedlock all the time. And why am I suddenly the progressive one? Since when do you have a taste for tradition?" she teased.
"All the same. You know how these things go. We wait too long and people, one way or the other, will get wind that you're pregnant. And then they'll say I knocked up my CEO, so now that means we'll have a 'shot gun wedding'," Tony pointed out.
"And I care what people say, why?" Pepper contented.
"You don't. But in this instance, I do, okay? Just take it as I'm just trying to show some responsibility with this. Out with the old and in with the new. I want you, and our baby, to get the respect you both deserve," he told her.
Pepper relented, and an admiring smile crept over her lips. "Well, look who's grown up," she mused.
Tony gave her a proud grin, followed promptly by a cocky smirk. "That's right, baby. I'm an upgraded unit. Better get used to it," he quipped.
Pepper rolled her eyes, and giggled again. "Mmmmm, shop talk. Such a turn on," she purred dramatically, teasing him.
Tony chuckled back. "I know, right? Gets me going every time," he replied, making her laugh out loud.