Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! Many more to come!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.
The next morning, she finally showed up. She had been working, but from home because she didn't think she could face him. She was still not completely settled about what had transpired a few nights before, but clear-headed and professional as always, she would do her best to continue business as usual and be careful to avoid the subject coming up again.
"Good morning, Jarvis."
"Good morning, Miss Potts."
"Jarvis, where is Mr. Stark?"
"Asleep in the workshop. However, he has been seemingly distraught the past several days. He has spent the majority of the last 24 hours in the workshop and only recently succumbed to sleep at all."
"Shit," Pepper said under her breath, forgetting that the robot could hear her.
"Something wrong, Miss Potts?" Jarvis inquired.
"Jarvis, has Mr. Stark said anything?"
Before Jarvis could answer, Pepper was startled by Tony's sudden appearance.
"Good morning, Miss Potts."
As she turned to face him, she immediately could see how little sleep he'd gotten. With oil and grease still on his face and hands, she didn't need Jarvis to tell her that he had been working all night. "Oh, uh, good morning, Mr. Stark."
He looked terrible. As he sat down in the living room, he ran his hands through his hair and spoke softly, keeping his head down to avoid looking at her reaction. "Hey."
"Sir, you should probably shower and get dressed. We have to be at that board meeting in an hour and-"
He cut her off abruptly. If she wasn't going to bring up what had happened, what he had confessed to her, he would. He couldn't just go on as if nothing had happened. He wanted to wait for her to come to him but he couldn't; he had to know. "Pepper, we're not going to just pretend that Sunday night never happened, are we?" The look on his face was somehow defeated and desperate at the same time.
Pepper didn't move, not knowing what to say. Actually, she knew what she wanted to say, but she was terrified to actually admit to it. Ever since Afghanistan, she had realized that she had feelings for him, or rather, finally admitted them to herself. Feelings far beyond the standard employer-employee relationship, but she could never tell him…or could she? He had all but done so the night before so there'd be no fear of him not reciprocating.
"What do you want me to say, Mr. St-" cutting herself off, knowing he would correct her at her use of his formal name.
He picked his head up and looked directly at her. "What you feel," he said simply.
She stood still for a moment, thinking about how to proceed. He had put himself on the line last night at her house. She had to be honest with him; she owed him that at least. She walks over to him, maintaining a distance of a few feet. "Tony," she stopped and inhaled deeply before continuing. "This is hard…"
A glimmer of hope spread across his face as she continued, but he suppressed it quickly, not wanting to push her.
Her emotions battled with her rational, more logical side that told her admitting her feelings to him would ultimately thrust her life into chaos. It was one thing to love him from afar, but to admit it out loud unleashed a whole slew of complications. Still, her emotions won out; it had to be worth the risk.
"When you were taken, it felt like a part of me died. I'd never realized before how much you meant to me, how you really are all I have. I...I need you in my life just as much as you need me."
He stared at her hopefully. "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Miss Potts?"
She tilted her head at him a little in confusion.
He cleared his throat and continued. "If I were to, uh, ask you out, would you turn me down again?" he asked sheepishly, internally chiding himself for being so nervous. He had never seen this side of himself, so anxious and so self-conscious.
"That depends," she replied flatly, laughing inwardly at his choice of words. When she saw the doubt spread across his face, she smiled and continued. "On whether or not you actually ask me."
He returned her smile but shifted his head down, avoiding her eyes slightly. "Pepper Potts, will you go out with me?" he asked quietly.
She sighed, smiling at his uncharacteristically juvenile choice of words and nodded, beaming, and he walked over to her, raising her hand to kiss it gently. "Thank you, for everything," he said simply, hoping it could convey to her the things he was feeling but couldn't yet express.
She smiled at him as she straightened up. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"
"That will be all, Miss Potts. Wait, no. Were you ever planning on asking me how I broke into your house?" he asked with a smirk.
She shook her head and smiled. "I was, but it's not important. If you hadn't, who knows- we could have been at this game for years." Her smile widened as she walked away.
Later that evening, Pepper was typing away busily on her laptop. Tony was surprisingly sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee and pretending to look over paperwork. She knew him better than to think he was actually working, but what she didn't know was that he'd been sitting there for the better part of an hour just for the sake of watching her work, smiling to himself. She looked up from her computer, finally catching him staring and she smiled back. "Well, I should go home, it's getting late."
He looked at his watch and sighed as he sees that it's already past 6 o'clock. "So it is. Well, goodnight, Miss Potts."
"Goodnight, Mr. Stark. I'll see you in the morning," she replied and turned to leave with a smile on her face.
I thought about ending this here but...I'm glad I decided not to. More soon! Please read and review.