Next chapter! I'm sorry that you had to wait so long, but I've been very busy in the past weeks, learning for an exam. And the next one will follow soon, but I'll try to write more before I've got to learn that much again. Thank you very much for your reviews, it makes me happy to see that you like my story! And please let me know what you think of this chapter as well!

I don't own the characters or places!

The next morning, Tony was waiting with Pepper for Happy. Pepper had to go to work at SI and Tony wanted to deal with the police to get rid off the whole Wilshaw business. And while he was doing that, he also wanted to stop by at the reactor and see if everything was alright there. And he had to make sure that an incident like that wouldn't happen again. He had already invented a new software that just had to be installed. He would do that on the main reactor at Stark Industries as well. And no, he didn't just want to do it because he could visit Pepper at work. He had to make sure that his company was safe while he was saving the world with the Avengers.

When Happy finally showed up and drove Pepper to SI, Tony also walked to his car slowly. The day was uneventful. The police took his statement and told him that he'd be informed about the next step against Wilshaw. At the reactor, everything was peaceful and Brian Wilbur, the new leader of the facility, was everything Tony could hope for. Friendly, capably, and most importantly, he was married. There was a photo of his husband on Wilbur's desk, Tony thought that he looked nice.

At Stark Industries, he earned many surprised glances, maybe because this was the second time in a few days that Tony showed up at his company by himself. It was late when he arrived, Pepper would be ready to leave soon. However, Tony couldn't be there earlier. There was something he had to get first, for the charity event. After all, Tony Stark couldn't just show up there in an old suit. Not when Pepper had already bought a new dress for the occasion. The only thing he'd been able to find out was the colour, so they could wear matching clothes.

When they finally reached the house in Malibu again, Pepper was still telling him stories about the meeting where she'd announced that she would go to New York for a few weeks. Apparently, some other members of SI hadn't been too happy about it. Not because she would be gone, visiting the buildings in the other cities had been on their to-do list for some time by now. No, they weren't happy with it because they had to speak with Pepper on the phone or over a computer. The oldest members in the council always hadn't been too open to technic. Tony never understood why.

To their surprise, Rhodey's car was standing in front of the house. "Did you know that he wanted to come for a visit? I thought he would be gone for weeks and wanted to meet you in New York." Pepper asked and Tony shook his head.

"Nope. Didn't tell me anything. But I'm sure the others will have kept him busy while we were gone." He took Pepper's hand and together, they entered the building. They heard voices in the living room and when they saw who was sitting there, both Tony and Pepper grinned. Apparently, Steve was telling Rhodey old stories about his time in the war. And Rhodey asked many questions, about the tactics they used back then and more stuff, Tony didn't really listen. They were so concentrated on their conversation that they didn't even notice Tony and Pepper standing there. Natasha and Bruce were in the kitchen, playing chess. Tony didn't know where they got that game, he'd never seen anything like this in his house. Natasha smiled at them, while Bruce looked a little uncomfortable that they had company now.

"Where did you get that game?" Tony asked and leaned on the doorframe. He would go and interrupt Steve and Rhodey soon. Apparently, Nat and Bruce wanted some privacy and he wasn't going to disturb them.

Natasha looked at him in surprise. "JARVIS told us where we could find it."

Tony frowned. "I own a chess set?"

Next to him, Pepper rolled her eyes. "Yes, you do." She muttered.

"It has been a present from Colonel Rhodes." JARVIS informed him.

Tony still couldn't remember it. "When did I get a chess set? And why on earth did Rhodey give something like that to me as a present?"

"It was a present to your birthday. He thought that maybe it would calm you down. He admitted himself that it had been a stupid idea." Pepper explained. She smiled at Natasha and Bruce. "It's good to see that you like it."

Tony turned to Pepper. "When did he get me a chess set?" He repeated his question.

"It was a present to your birthday last year, Sir." JARVIS threw in.

"I don't remember that." Tony admitted after a few moments of silence.

Pepper smiled slightly. "Of course you don't. Didn't you say that something like this is a waste of time for you and an offense to your mind? And then you threw it into the drawer in the living room."

"And that's where we found it. Thank you, by the way. We could use something like this in New York too." Natasha said and smiled at Bruce again. However, Bruce was looking at Tony with raised eyebrows.

"You forgot what your best friend gave you as a gift on your birthday last year?"

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "It's been a tough year. So yes, maybe I forgot it." He shrugged. "Why don't you take it with you to New York?" He glanced at Pepper. "Or does anyone use it here?"

She shook her head. "I've never been a fan of chess. And Rhodey doesn't like to play it as well."

Now Tony looked at her suspiciously. "And why did he give it to me then?"

"Honestly?" A voice behind them asked. "I didn't know what to get you since it's very difficult. And you already forgot the present from the previous year. Wants to say that it was likely you would forget this present as well. The chess set was there, I didn't need it and well…" Rhodey shrugged, grinning widely. "You forgot it."

Tony shook his head. "Rhodey…" He muttered. "This is very unexpected for you. Could have been my idea." Then he grinned at his friend, who started to laugh.

"I had the best teacher." Now Tony had to laugh too.

"You guys are crazy, you know that?" Steve asked. When Tony and Rhodey didn't stop laughing, Steve exchanged a look with Pepper.

"They've been always like this." Pepper said simply, which made Tony wrap his arms around her.

"You love me." He whispered and she sighed.

"I still don't know why." She muttered.

"Don't you?" Tony touched her cheek softly and leaned closer so that their lips were nearly touching.

"If you start making out there, I'll throw this chess set at you!" Natasha announced loudly, which made Tony turn his head to look at her with raised eyebrows. He scanned the chess set quickly.

"Just because Bruce's winning."

This really made Natasha frown. She looked at the game in front of her. "I thought you didn't know chess."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Just because I don't like it, it doesn't mean that I don't understand it." He took Pepper's hand. "Let's go to the living room, we'll leave you alone again."

The rest of the evening was uneventful, Rhodey wanted to talk to them some more since he had to leave again the next morning because of a new mission. He was only here for one night, as a layover on his way to South America. However, he didn't tell them why he had to go there. Steve stayed with them, saying he didn't want to join Clint and Thor, who were watching action movies downstairs, in the new cinema room next to Tony's lab. Tony didn't have the chance to use that room before, but he was happy that his friends seemed to like it. Natasha and Bruce didn't leave the kitchen the entire evening, playing chess and talking.

"They like each other." Pepper whispered later, when they were lying in bed together.

"Hm?" Tony asked, opening his eyes slowly.

"Natasha and Bruce." Pepper explained. "Did you see the way they look at each other?"

He nodded. "I've seen if before, back in New York. Seems like they're tired of hiding."

"Hiding?"

"Nat always keeps a distance to people emotionally. Even to Clint who's her best friend. And Bruce is also careful when it comes to others. And the two of them together… It's nothing I expected." He shrugged and wrapped his arms around Pepper even tighter.

"I think it could work. Somehow, it fits." Tony could hear how tired she was and he chuckled.

"It does, right?" He kissed Pepper on the forehead. "Now sleep, Pep. I love you."

"Love you too." She muttered and Tony smiled in the darkness. Soon after, sleep overtook him as well.

Pepper looked at herself in the mirror again. "No, it doesn't work like this." She muttered. "It looks stupid, doesn't it?"

"Pepper, you're looking beautiful. Stunning, even. I bet everyone on that event will just have eyes for you." Natasha tried to calm her down. They would have to leave soon, it was already late afternoon. Natasha had offered to help Pepper to get ready and she had happily accepted. It was so good to have another woman in the house, even if it was just for a short time.

She looked at herself in the mirror critically. Her long dress was dark green (she'd chosen this colour because Tony once said that he liked it on her very much) with golden patterns on it. Pepper thought that she'd never before worn something more elegant. Natasha had braided her hair and now most of it was pinned up, just a few curls were falling onto her shoulders. Her makeup matched the colour of the dress and around her neck, she was wearing a necklace she'd gotten from Tony as a Christmas gift once.

Pepper looked at Natasha. "You really think I can go like this?"

She nodded immediately, a mischievous smile on her lips. "Just wait for Tony's reaction, I bet he'll even consider keeping you to himself when you look like this."

Pepper laughed, but it sounded breathless. When had she been this nervous before? Well, except for the day Tony had turned up in Malibu with the Avengers, most of them wounded… She shook her head, trying to keep those thoughts away. She would never forget it, when Tony had walked into the living room, still wearing his suit and his face covered in blood… And Natasha's pale face, barely conscious in Thor's arms.

"It will be great, I'm sure of that." Nat took Pepper's hands and squeezed them, a reassuring smile on her lips. Somehow, she seemed to notice Pepper's nervousness. On the other hand, it shouldn't surprise Pepper that she did. It was Natasha, after all.

"I just don't want to ruin anything." Pepper sighed. "When I'm around him everything seems so easy. You know Tony, it's hard to stay mad at him. And then I remember the events of the previous months and how terrible that time has been and I'm getting nervous. And of course he notices it, which makes everything even worse. Because it hurts him, to think of all those things."

Now Natasha's smile was gone and she nodded, looking serious. "I know, it's hard for both of you. And maybe you should just try to forget everything."

"I'm already trying. It's not that easy."

Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Isn't it? Or don't you just make things difficult for yourself?"

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came closer and someone knocked on the door. Nat took a step back and looked at Pepper once more. Then she nodded, a satisfied expression on her face. "You look great." Then she turned to the door. "Come in!"

Pepper's heart began to race when the door opened slowly and she saw Tony standing there, smiling widely.

"I'll leave you two alone. Have fun." Natasha smiled at them once more before she left. Tony was leaning on the doorframe casually and smiled at Pepper. Now her heart was racing even more. He looked beautiful. His suit was black, his shirt white and the tie a dark green with golden patterns, matching her dress perfectly. She wondered how he knew this, but then she pushed the thought aside. It wouldn't have been difficult for Tony to find out what her dress looked like. His hair was styled and she was glad that he finally didn't look that tired anymore. The dark rings under his eyes were also vanishing, but Pepper knew that they weren't completely gone by now. However, she didn't blame him for hiding that. She did that too.

Nevertheless, all those things didn't make her smile widely at him. It was the look on his face, the face she knew so well and which could still surprise her. The look it showed now was one of pure love and awe. Slowly, Tony stepped closer to her. "Pepper, you look beautiful. No, beautiful is not enough. Perfect, you look perfect, Mrs. Potts." He took her hand and kissed it, which made her chuckle. She had never seen him like this before. The great Tony Stark, looking for the right words!

"And you look stunning, Mr. Stark." She whispered and was surprised that her voice sounded calm. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Kissing Tony was also something she couldn't get tired of. And once they started, it was always so difficult to stop…

"But there is one thing that's still missing on you." Tony said suddenly and she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh?" She asked and he grinned. Suddenly, he was holding a small box in his hands.

"This is for you." He gave her the box with a smile, she knew that he was nervous. In the box, she found the most beautiful pair of earrings she'd ever seen. They were small, made of gold. In the middle of each earring, there was a small stone in a dark green. Just like the dress.

"Tony…" She whispered, not sure what to say. She didn't expect him to get something for her today. After all, they were just back together for a few days…

"Don't." Tony said, stopping her thoughts. "You've overthinking it. Just accept it, they will look beautiful on you." At the last words, his tone became soft again. "I love you, Pepper."

"And I love you, Tony. They're wonderful, thank you." She kissed him deeply.

When she looked at Tony and herself in the mirror, Tony's arms wrapped around her waist, she smiled widely. "You look beautiful." Tony whispered into her ear again.

"You too, Tony."

"Handsome, you mean." He muttered immediately and she laughed.

"Shall we go then?" She raised her eyebrows and he nodded.

"Don't want to be late, do we?" He held out his hand and she took it. When they saw the Avengers waiting for them in the living room, they both laughed. "We just wanted to see you before you go to your party. You look very good. And have fun!" Steve said with a grin and the others nodded.

"We will." Tony said and led her to the door, where Happy was already waiting for them.