DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN/HAVE MADE IRON MAN OR ANY AFFILIATED CHARACTERS. They belong to Marvel and Marvel alone. Story belongs to me.
The sound of happy snoring drifted from his bedroom and into the rest of the house, as he slept. Pepper smiled unconsciously to herself, while tapping away at a laptop that she had hidden from Tony. Jarvis reminded her a little loudly,
"Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark has given me clear orders to keep you from working. He sincerely wants…" Pepper sighed and saved a few files before shutting off the laptop.
"Yes, I know Jarvis. You don't need to remind me." Pepper tried to occupy herself by sorting out the different magazines on the table. She tried three different ways before realizing that she was going to go completely crazy. She begged Jarvis,
"Please, Jarvis! Can I at least go outside if I can't work? He won't even know I'm gone. I'll bring back some food or something for him." He replied stiffly,
"Ms. Potts, I cannot let you do that." Knowing that she was probably going to work a little bit out of the house anyways, she gave up. She let out a huge breath of air, running her fingers through her hair. She supposed that it was because he was trying to keep her relaxed, but this was far from relaxing. The AI piped up again,
"Although Ms. Potts. I can allow you to walk outside until you reach the gates. Further than that, and I shall tell Mr. Stark." Pepper mumbled to herself,
"And I'll be in deep trouble." She went for the door and began strapping her shoes on,
"If he wakes up, tell him I'm outside like you said I could." Jarvis responded,
"As you wish, Ms. Potts." She opened the door widely, and the warm sun greeted her with comforting rays. Pepper breathed in the outside air and made her way down the long walkway, enjoying the sea breeze and the calm setting. Inside, Tony shot up, as he heard the door slam shut. He asked Jarvis, with slight worry and anger lining his tone,
"Where did she go? I thought I told you that she couldn't leave the house." Jarvis replied,
"Yes, but she's not leaving the house's premises." Tony growled and snapped at him,
"Why do you have to be such a…never mind." He changed as quickly as he possibly could and charged out the door. If Jarvis could laugh, he would've. The sight of him was comical. Hair flapping, shirt buttoned incorrectly, shoes untied…the only thing stable on his body were his pants, and that was completely necessary around Pepper. Pepper heard a faint voice yell,
"Pepper!" She inhaled sharply, and braced herself. She turned around and was immediately nearly knocked over by her boss.
"Whoa!" She screamed, until she realized that he was hugging her, extremely tightly for that matter. Pepper struggled to breathe,
"Tony…I can't really breathe…" He let go, panting profusely. She raised an eyebrow,
"Tony, what was that for? You nearly killed me." Tony instantly forgot most of his anger and began to smirk a little bit. He replied,
"I nearly had a heart attack knowing that my PA had distinctly disobeyed my commands." She put her hands on her hips, and that made Tony grin all the more. The, still shaken, woman wittily replied,
"Well, the only person who would have that much control over me would be a husband or boyfriend sort of a figure." Tony smirked at her reasoning.
"Really, Pepper? Did you have anyone in mind?" She sort of tossed her head in the wind and hid her smiles,
"No, not in particular." Tony took this as a little opportunity to make her blush again,
"Really, Ms. Potts? I would figure he'd be super good looking, have a super personality, have a super life…in fact…hmm…aren't those people called superheroes?" She blushed just like he thought she would. She shoved him slightly,
"Well, I don't know if I'm in to those types." He wiggled his eyebrows all too familiarly,
"I guess we'll just have to find out." Pepper held her head high,
"I guess we shall." She began to continue walking; he followed her like a little puppy. Pepper took another glance at him over her shoulder and began to recognize his messy outlook. She stopped him with a finger on his chest. He furrowed his eyebrows,
"What?" Pepper began to unbutton his shirt before clearly stating,
"Don't get too excited." Tony couldn't help but grin. She buttoned his shirt properly and whipped out a comb from her pocket. Her fast fingers fixed his hair. She quickly tied his shoes with the same speed before brushing off invisible dust from his shoulders and smiling at him slightly. He smirked,
"What was that for?" She felt the corners of her lips turn up,
"OCD." He smiled, before saying,
"Y'know, Pep…" She raised a charismatic eyebrow at her nickname. Tony continued without a second glance,
"If you really wanted to go out somewhere, we could arrange that." She shook her head,
"No, that's okay. I wasn't really thinking of going anywhere anyways. I just feel awkward not working at this time in the day." He shrugged,
"Well, you're technically working." She looked at him in disbelief and replied a little sarcastically,
"Oh really? My Blackberry's down, Jarvis made me stop using my laptop…" Tony shook his head and cut her off,
"Tsk, tsk, using your laptop for work while I was sleeping. I can't trust you, Pepper." He flashed a quick grin. She felt her face get a little hot.
"Besides, Pepper. You're technically taking care of me…"
"Which is a job all in itself." Pepper finished. The dark haired man grinned,
"Exactly." She smiled to herself, as they walked further and further down the hill. Tony proposed the little dinner break again,
"But in all seriousness, Ms. Potts, I'm sincerely, actually, technically…"
"Asking me out on a date…correct?" Her response surprised him. He saw her thin lips curving into a tiny smile before he too began to smirk,
"Sure, shall we call it that?" The woman next to him glanced up at him with glistening eyes filled with mischief,
"Even though it's supposed to be the other way around?" Tony bridled,
"What do you mean? No way! I'm sure plenty of guys ask girls out." Pepper giggled and slightly pushed him on the shoulder closest to her,
"Yes, and I'm sure that they were just as 'direct' and 'smooth' as you were." Tony mocked anger at her sarcastic words,
"Hmph, I think you would be grateful that I'm coming down to your level to ask you on a dinner break." Pepper shot back,
"Really? Thank you, but I'm thinking about declining…" She was only kidding, but Tony immediately went serious once again,
"But why? I could wear a suit if that's the problem…" Her laughter filled the air along with the crashing of the waves along the rocky coastline,
"There's no problem, Mr. Stark, but I think you'll have to persuade me better than that." Tony grumbled,
"Hey, I thought I was doing a pretty good job." She shook her head, in all smiles,
"Nope, I'm going to need more than that." A thinking look arose onto her boss's face,
"Hmm, well, we could go wherever you want." Pepper studied her fingernails, pretending to be un-amused and unimpressed. Tony continued,
"And, I think I basically owe you this in place of that party thing a while back." Pepper felt her heart sink at the memory. She didn't particularly like the topic. Especially since… Tony coughed, half in response to the silence, half because of his sickness. She sort of played with her fingers,
"Well that's not particularly necessary, Tony." Her voice was quieted and lined with bits of remorseful remembrance. Tony heard the slight tone in her statement and tried to lighten the mood.
"Well that, and I think I still owe you a kiss from that night as well, Ms. Potts." She instantly turned as bright reddish-orange as her hair.
"No, that isn't necessary either." He grinned,
"We'll see." She glanced away, keeping her eyes down, knowing that she'd blush even more the second she saw his wholesome grin. He asked her,
"Have I convinced you yet?" Pepper laughed,
"All you've made me do, Mr. Stark is blush and feel extremely embarrassed."
"Yep, that's what I was goin' for." She smiled sincerely at him,
"You know what? I think I'll take up that offer." He raised an eyebrow and replied,
"Oh really? Why the sudden change of heart, Pep?" She glanced over at him,
"Don't call me, Pep. And it's because I believe you've tried so hard that if I were to turn you down now…" Tony cut her off, and jokingly stated,
"Heh, I get it. Okay, okay, think what you want, and I'll think what I want." Pepper added,
"Well, I don't believe you'd stop bothering me if I turned you down anyways." That funny grin appeared on his face again,
"I guess we both figured that the same." She matter-of-factly responded,
"I guess so." They reached the gate all too quickly. The sun was lower in the sky than expected, and the warm hued colors accentuated the thin woman standing in front of him all too much more. The sunlight washing over her small frame, every piece of smooth hair clearly visible, and her eyes… He wanted to hold her, and touch her face. He wanted to tell her how wonderful she looked. He stood there, a bit dazed, and took in the perfect moment wishing he had a camera in hand. Pepper gave him a funny look,
"What are you staring at?" She cautiously questioned him. He shook his head slightly and quickly caught up to her,
"Nothing, nothing. I just thought the sun was really…um, nice…today…" She gave a small laugh,
"The sun is the same thing everyday, Tony." His dark hair fluttered in the sudden strong breeze,
"Well, I guess this is the first time I've really looked at it…and saw how beautiful it was…" Their eyes locked and for a moment, each person knew what the other was thinking. His darker eyes just as soft as her light, blue ones. Pepper looked away, and Tony almost literally felt his heart ache at the removal. She spoke a little softly with little ice lining her voice,
"I wonder why it took so long to notice it. It's always been there." His lungs felt like they were just rocks in his chest. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't respond. Pepper walked past him and straight back to the house. She could almost feel his shock but didn't say a word. As she walked faster and faster away from him, Tony felt the sun's warm rays slipping away from him, falling over the rocky seaside and into the swirling, deep sea below.
AN: Ooh, I can just feel the epic coldness at the end of this chapter. I hope you guys can too! Yea, sorry this ends on a sour note, but no worries! Tony's got a plan to change Pepper's mind, don't forget. They still have that date...;)
