Happy pulled the town car in front of the old, stone, art-deco era building on 5th avenue and opened the car door for his boss to exit. Tony thanked him and walked inside. The clerk greeted him jovially, and with a little shock.

"Mr. Stark! What a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed.

Tony smiled and the clerk took his coat. Tony removed his gloves and held them with one hand as he took in the rich, warm-toned wood walls. The glimmer of the lights on all of the glass cases sparkled, and Tony felt a little flutter in his heart at the excitement of what he was about to do.

"What can I help you find today?" the clerk asked, almost excitedly. He knew that when Tony Stark entered the store, a large commission was coming his way. And not a moment too soon before Christmas!, he thought.

"I'm looking for..." Tony said, suddenly feeling the gravity of his next few words. He inhaled and exhaled sharply. "An... engagement ring?" Tony said, only meeting the clerk's gaze on the last word.

The clerk gasped, bringing his hand to his chest. It was hard not to hear about the love affairs of the super famous, and to have one superstar such as Tony Stark walk in looking for an engagement ring was beyond thrilling. "Oh, sir!" he said excitedly. "Right this way!"

Pepper was curled up on the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest, gazing out the window looking out over the New York City skyline. This is where she'd been since Tony had left. She was deep in thought, with her mouth resting on her fist. He left in such a hurry. He never buys parts this way. He didn't offer to take me along. Why did he need this "part" now? Why is he thinking about this stuff right now? I thought this time was going to be about us!, her mind played over and over like a worn out recording. Every so often, a tear would squeeze out and run slowly down her cheek, and she'd swipe at it hastily. She'd tried twice to get Tony on his phone in the last few minutes, but it just rang through to his voice mail. "Unbelievable," she muttered each time.

The sun was starting to go down and the lights of the city were slowly coming on. The penthouse was no longer full of daylight, and Pepper only suddenly noticed this. "JARVIS, ambient lighting, dim,"she requested upwardly to the A.I. He complied, turning on only a few of the overhead lights, and just enough to provide some visibility.

"Shall I turn on the fireplace, Madam?" JARVIS inquired.

"Sure," Pepper said flatly. The flames ignited and the glow from the light cast itself across the marble floor.

Pepper's stomach started to rumble, but she couldn't bring herself to tend to it. Her heart hurt right now. And her agitation with Tony only grew.

"Oh, this is stupid," she said to herself. She grabbed her phone off the coffee table and dialed Happy's number. "We'll get to the bottom of this right now," she muttered as it started to dial.

Happy heard the familiar buzz of his phone and looked at who would be calling him. The screen read Pepper Potts.

He grimaced. "Oh no, here it comes," he muttered. He answered. "Happy Hogan," he said, trying to sound upbeat.

"Happy, hi. Can I speak to Tony?" Pepper asked.

"Um..." Happy fidgeted, trying to quickly think of what to say. "N-no, not at the moment, Pepper. He's um...indisposed." Happy winced at how lame that sounded, even to his own ears.

There was a brief moment of silence. "Indisposed," he heard her say. He could feel her annoyance through the phone.

"Uh, yep. Yep. Sorry," he said, praying that by some miracle she would just accept that answer and agree to call back later.

"Happy, where's Tony?" she asked firmly.

"I...can't tell you that," he muttered. "He made me promise."

He could hear a small sob on the other end. "Oh God! It's worse that I thought!" she said. "Please don't tell me he's at some bar, or a club or something, Happy..."

"No! No-no-no! It's nothing like that!" Happy interjected. His heart twinged with regret for making her think the worst. "I promise! He's just somewhere...that he made me promise not to tell you. 'Cause it's a...surprise." Damn it!, Happy thought. I've already said too much!

He heard Pepper sniff. "A surprise?" she said weakly. "You mean he's not out looking for a part?"

Happy frowned. "Wow," he muttered, annoyed at himself."Yes. I mean, no. He's not. Like I said, it's a surprise," Happy said. "But I can't tell you any more than that! He made me promise not to say anything at all, actually. And I've already broken that promise. So I'm sorry. But I've been sworn to secrecy."

He heard Pepper sigh. "Oh, alright," she said with slight exasperation. "I guess I should've known he was up to something other than that lame excuse."

Happy chuckled to himself. "Yeah, he wanted me to play along on that one, but I figured you'd see right through it."

They both chuckled.

"I will say this, though," Happy said.

"Yes?"

"I may not be able to tell you exactly what he's doing, for sure, but all I know is you won't be disappointed."

He thought he could detect her smiling on the other end.

"You promise?" she said sweetly.

"I promise, Pepper," he said, reassuringly. "He's being very good, right now. Scout's honor."

"Happy?" Pepper asked.

"Yes?"
"Where you ever actually a scout?" she teased.

Happy smiled bashfully. "Not technically, no. So I guess, in my case, it's just an expression. But you can trust me just the same."
He heard her laugh softly. "I know, Happy. And thank you. You're a good friend."

Happy smiled. "You're welcome, Pepper."

"Oh, and Happy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell Tony I called, please? I don't want him to think I don't trust him. I do. It's just that he's really bad at hiding secret plans, and it made me worry. That's all."

"I understand," he said. "Rest easy, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "And Happy?"

"Yes?" he said.

"What are your plans for Christmas day?" she asked. "Tony and I are having dinner at home, and you're welcome to join us."

"Oh, don't worry about me," he said. "A few of my boxing buddies are in town. We're gettin' together at Frankie's house in Queens. His old lady is cooking. "

"How lovely," Pepper said.

"Yeah, it'll be good to see the guys again. Seems like I never get the chance when I'm here."

Pepper chuckled. "That wouldn't have something to do with your boss keeping your running all the time, would it?" she teased.

Happy chuckled. "I could say no, but then I'd be a liar," he replied.

They both laughed. Pepper sighed. "Thank you, again, Happy." She bid him goodbye and hung up.

Happy exhaled slowly. "Okay, we're good," he said. "I think."

Tony's mind was whirling. "Wow," he said, looking at all the choices there were in the case. He'd been there for the better part of an hour, trying to make a selection. And he was a little annoyed at himself for thinking this would be easier than it was. I'm only looking for THE perfect ring for THE perfect woman, after all, he thought.

"Mr. Stark, if I may," the clerk said. "It seems, from what you have described, your, eh, prospective fiance, is a very elegant woman. With simple, yet sophisticated tastes, correct?"

"Fiance, wow. That's...," Tony said, trailing off. The shock of Pepper's title changing from girlfriend to fiance filled his stomach with nervous butterflies. He bit his lip and nodded.

The clerk smiled, knowingly. "Have you considered a solitaire diamond, in the Tiffany setting?" he said, as he pulled out a large engagement ring with the classic Tiffany look.

Tony took the ring from him and held it up to the light. It sparkled and glinted brilliantly. "My only problem is...." Tony said, thoughtfully. "That a million women have a ring that looks like this. I need something very special. One of a kind."

"Of course," the clerk said, a little dejected.

Tony lowered the ring and looked back at the clerk. "But I like the diamond. It's gorgeous. So something of this size, but a little more...unique?"

Please don't think that I have anything against the traditional Tiffany diamond ring! I just think, true to form, that he'd want something that he would be assured no other woman would have! Now, he can't go too crazy because, after all, Pepper's taste are sophisticated, elegant, and refined, after all. So aren't you dying to see what he comes up with? Me, too! (Oh wait, I already have! And it'll be gorgeous, I promise!)

Thanks for following and reviewing! Loving it!