My job is taking up almost all my free time, so sorry for the shorter update than normal. This is something I neglected to address in the last chapter since Tony mentions love. Did you ever notice how Tony and Pepper aren't a couple that says "I love you"?
Pepper thinks Tony's inability to cook an omelette comes from the lack of complicated equipment involved. As it'll be difficult to have a secret second meal if he's staying with her, she decides to throw a quick dinner together, for the sake of their hunger. She wonders if he'd be nuts for grilling like most men, but then visions of flaming burgers and Dummy wielding a fire extinguisher flash before her eyes, and she decides to keep the idea to herself.
"So you're in love with me?" she asks. They've just finished dinner and she's sitting at the end of the couch. Tony has decided he likes lying on the couch so he's using her lap as a pillow. He's working using his glass phone, making notes on the tower. She's reading what Tony calls her last romance novel while playing with his hair. He was magnanimous enough to allow her to finish the one she was in the middle of reading.
He glances up at her in reaction to the question and goes back to looking at the glass display. "I don't see how there is any question about that," he answers.
"I suppose I knew," she says. "It's just nice to know it isn't just in my head."
It's not that she was insecure. Tony was the insecure one in their relationship, while most people would think that it's the other way around. She knows that loving him will never be conventional and it is beyond the understanding of most people.
"Pep, the word 'love' isn't enough for me," he says. He's still staring at the glass in his hand, but he's not actually doing anything. It's something for his eyes to focus on while he verbalizes the feelings he's never had to explain. "Everyone else loves. What we have is more than that. When I say you complete me, and that I need you, I mean it. Literally."
She's kind of glad he's not looking at her because her eyes are tearing up. Tony doesn't open up often about his feelings this honestly, even for her. She doesn't want the tears to make him change the subject.
"I'll always need you and I'm incomplete without you. There's no point to all that I do if you're not there," he says, completely serious.
"I love you too," she responds, placing a hand on his chest, over his RT. "And I need you too."
"You do?" he finally looks up at her. She sees that vulnerability in his brown eyes, knowing that she's the only person who can put it there. He knows that if he weren't around anymore, she could go on. She doesn't need an Iron Man suit to be the strongest person he knows. It's viscerally fulfilling for him to know that this woman needs him too.
"Why else did I stick around all those years?" she says, flicking her fingers against his forehead. "The times I thought about quitting, I couldn't bring myself to follow through with it."
"It's because you knew I needed the last eight digits of my social security number," he says. "And you can't get enough of my butt."
"It is pretty spectacular," she agrees. It is spectacular, after all.
The next morning, she's awakened by faint noise in her kitchen. She figures Tony is continuing on his quest to cook an omelette and heads to the bathroom to get ready for work. When she's dressed, she heads to the kitchen, where Tony is standing with his back to her, barefoot. He's wearing his jeans, with his shirt thrown over one shoulder. When he hears her, he turns around, handing her a cup of coffee. The sight of him like this in her kitchen makes her blush. It's not like she'd never imagined it before. He grins, as though he can read her mind.
"Good morning, Miss Potts," he says softly, with that smile he only smiles when he's with her, and their eyes meet as she takes a sip. He doesn't have to say anything else to show her how much he loves her.
In response to some readers - Yes, Timothy will be reappearing soon.