As Tony awoke from his tent the next morning, he stretched and yawned and caught a whiff of himself.

"Ew, I reek." He commented.

"Join the party." Pepper commented.

"That's always attractive…" Tony commented, getting a look from Virgil. Tony swallowed nervously and sat down to crack open an egg over the fire for breakfast.

"So not that I'm not having fun, but how long does this camping last? I've lost track of time." Tony asked as Pepper sat down beside him.

"I think we're heading back either tomorrow or the next day. I'm not sure. Why?" Pepper explained.

"Oh, I'm just worried that something's going to happen and Iron Man won't be there to stop it." Tony said.

"Aw Tony, relax, Iron Man business has been slow this week. We'll be back in no time, I promise."

"Yeah, I know, I can't help being paranoid. Comes with being a superhero." Tony explained quietly enough so that Virgil wouldn't hear.

"So, what fun do we have in store today?" Tony asked louder.

"I don't believe we have anything planned but hanging around the campsite, but there are fireworks down the lake tonight so if you guys want we can go out to the end of the dock out there and watch them. I think there's a baseball park—local league, of course—down the lake and they have fireworks sometimes." Virgil explained. Tony nodded.

"And don't worry; we won't torture you by taking a swim this time. Maybe." Pepper added. Tony shrugged.

~…~

Later that night, after the sun had set, the four campers sat at the end of the dock, feet dangling off the edge and splashing in the water. Tony's feet could touch the water, so long as his torso did not.

As Tony and Pepper sat next to each other and looked out over the lake, the fireworks started. They were a bit of a ways down the lake, so they weren't that big, but they were still enjoyable.

"I love fireworks over the lake. It's so pretty." Pepper commented.

"Yeah. I used to watch them over the ocean with my parents when I was little and it was beautiful. I guess I didn't realize how much I missed the tradition." Tony explained.

"Well I'd be glad to make it feel more like when you were little. I'll even pinch your cheeks!" She giggled, proceeding to pinch his cheeks. Tony chuckled.

"Thanks, Pep, that really makes me feel better." He joked. Pepper giggled more.

"I know, I'm just that comforting."

As they watched the fireworks some more, and the finale to the presentation came, Tony set his hand atop Pepper's, which had been sitting in between the two.

"You know, I really did have fun this week." He said. Pepper smiled.

"I had fun too, Tony. Thank you, that means a lot." Pepper responded.

"Oh god, will you two kiss already?" Rhodey commented. The two retracted their hands immediately, heavy blushes decorating their cheeks.

"Aw, come on you two it's a harmless comment." Virgil added.

"I'd turn in for the night now if I were you. I think some alone time will solve this dilemma," Rhodey whispered. Virgil nodded and the two stood to go to bed.

"See you two tomorrow morning...goodnight," Rhodey said aloud to his two friends.

The two were drowned in an awkward silence as they tried to avoid looking each other in the eye, until Tony cleared his throat.

"So, uh, um...d-do you wanna, maybe, w-watch the 4th of July fireworks together next week?" He asked nervously. Pepper smiled.

"Sure, I'd like that." She responded, looking over to him to see a hopeful look in his eyes. Tony smiled in relief.

"Sweet," He whispered to himself. Pepper giggled at his excitement.

"A-and if it's not too much, maybe we could hang out a little more…you know, just us?" He asked. Pepper's smile widened.

"I'd love that."

"Awesome." He said, this time for her to hear. Pepper enjoyed his hopeful and overjoyed smile. It was as if the Tony she'd known this whole time had been replaced by a giddy little school boy with a school boy's crush. Or, at least she hoped it was a crush.

~…~

Virgil and Rhodey stood on the shore near their tents, watching the two from a distance. They didn't originally intend to spy, but Rhodey had glanced over his shoulder and saw Pepper giggling—flirtatiously. He had chuckled briefly, catching the attention of Virgil.

"I don't understand why he doesn't just tell her he likes her. It's way more than obvious now." Virgil said.

"I know, everyone sees that they like each other." Rhodey responded.

"Everyone?"

"As in, everyone in the entire city that has gotten the chance to see them together." Rhodey explained.

"Ah." Virgil nodded. "Well I'm sure he'll come around sometime." Virgil said with a shrug as he retreated to his tent to get to bed. They were leaving the next afternoon to go back to the city due to the fact that he had to get back to work; thanks to it being summer vacation, however, the three teens didn't need to worry about getting back to school for a while.

~…~

The next afternoon, it was time to go home, so the gang was packing up the tents and their belongings.

"So, did you three have fun this week?" Virgil asked.

"I did," Rhodey answered. "It was actually kind of fun to take a break from a computer screen."

"Yeah, I guess in a way I'll miss all the wide open space and liberation." Tony said. Pepper smiled at her friends.

"I'm so glad you two had fun! I had tons of fun too." Pepper said. They smiled and together, boarded the RV with all their camping supplies and started the hour-long trip home.

And as Rhodey sat down next to his two friends, he could've sworn he saw Tony grab Pepper's hand and whisper to her…

"As long as you're by my side, Pep, I'll always be happy."

Aw, that was so cute :3 and I just watched the newest episode, and OMG IS IT AWESOME! A HUGE development in the plot! OOOHH MY GOSHH if you haven't seen it YOU SHOULD! Cuz its awesome! ESPECIALLY the ending! Ooohhh mmmyyy goosssshhh I just want to SCREAM but then my parents would be like wtf o.O

Anyways, on to the story. Yeah, this wasn't meant to be some big story, it was kind of just a quickie and a shorty, to…oh, should I say experiment with the idea. I'll get working on the next chapter to Meeting Someone New either tonight or tomorrow, but most likely tomorrow since I'm probably going to spend the rest of the night watching and rewatching the new epi.

Sorry, I can't stop talking about the episode! It was just so awesome! I can't help myself, I wish I could watch it a million times over!

Oh, just review…