Chapter 45! I can't wait to see what you think of this, I'm really excited! Please let me know! And thank you so much for the reviews!
I don't own the characters or places!
"So you really don't want to tell me where we're going?" Pepper asked for the third time in about twenty minutes.
Tony shook his head. "Nope, it's a surprise."
He knew that Pepper rolled her eyes, but he didn't look at her. He concentrated on the road. They had left New York two hours ago, it was Friday morning. To Tony's surprise, Pepper had taken the day off at work. She'd told him that there was nothing to do and secretly, he thought that she also couldn't wait for their trip as well. They really needed to leave this tower.
Having the others around was not a bad thing. But sometimes, it could be exhausting with the Avengers and parts of SI in one building. And Rhodey had been there as well the previous days. He'd left this morning, said he needed to get back to LA. Of course, before he'd left, he'd made Tony promise that they would call him as soon as they'd began to plan the trip to Alaska. And of course he wanted to know how the weekend turned out.
Tony had found the perfect place for their trip. It was a house on a lake. He'd found it by accident when he was looking for the piece of land for the new Avengers facility. It had looked beautiful, even if it needed to be renovated. Tony had bought it immediately, knowing that Pepper would love it. And he liked it too. However, it hadn't been easy to let it vanish in the documentations for SI. In the end, JARVIS had to hack some files and disguised it as an addition to the new facility. Luckily, Pepper didn't notice.
The renovation had taken place in the past weeks and now everything was ready there. Tony hadn't seen it yet, but he knew that it would be awesome. It was far away from other buildings, so no one would bother them. About ten minutes after they left the main road, they arrived at a gate.
Pepper looked at him questioningly and Tony grinned at her. "We're there." He announced. The gate opened and Tony was glad he'd chosen the automatic one. When the gate closed after them slowly, Tony continued to drive. The trees were shining in different colours, they would lose their leaves soon. Even though, it was a beautiful day.
"What's all this?" Pepper asked curiously. When Tony glanced at her, he noticed that she was looking out of the window wide-eyed. She was smiling.
"It's ours." Tony said simply and grinned when the house came into view.
"You bought all this?" Pepper asked slowly, but she didn't sound angry.
"Just for you and me." Tony nodded. "Found it some time ago, it wasn't in a good state. The renovation was finished a few weeks ago." They stopped in front of the house and got out of the car. Tony watched Pepper carefully, hoping that she'd like it. Because honestly? He loved it. The wooden house wasn't too big, nothing compared to the house in Malibu or the tower. With the lake in front of it and surrounded by trees, it looked peaceful.
"Do you like it?" Tony asked after a few moments. He couldn't stand Pepper's silence anymore.
Slowly, she turned around to look at him. She was smiling widely. "This is perfect, Tony." She whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad you like it." He whispered and kissed her.
"It's so beautiful." Pepper looked around again. "Why didn't we buy this sooner?"
He chuckled. "No one will bother us here. Not many people know that this house exists. And even if they do, they won't come through the gate."
"So no one will bother us." Pepper whispered and he nodded.
"The house is not connected to the internet yet. So our only connection to the world outside will be this." He held up his phone. "And I'll turn it off right now. Just emergency calls, JARVIS."
"Of course, Sir." JARVIS agreed immediately and the screen went black.
He took Pepper's hand and together, they entered the house. He'd already seen the plans a few times, so Tony knew where everything was. He showed Pepper around and couldn't stop himself from smiling widely. This house was even better than expected. And Pepper smiled as well.
"I just don't know what to say." She muttered and shook her head. They'd just finished their tour around the house. "Tony..."
He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, Pepper." He whispered and before she could say anything else, he kissed her. "Let's forget the world for a few days, alright? Just you and me."
She nodded. "That sounds good."
He took her hand and they went inside again.
"It's very beautiful here, Tony." Pepper said and smiled at him. They'd spent the day inside of their new house and in the evening, they decided to sit down outside. When she thought of their time inside, Pepper blushed and turned her face away from Tony quickly. It still surprised her that he could make her blush like a teenager sometimes. That had never happened, at least not before she met Tony Stark. Who'd been her boss, which had made everything even worse.
It was cold, but luckily Tony had taken a few blankets and now they were wrapped in them together. Tony had his arms wrapped around Pepper's shoulders and she leaned against him. It was strange, being with him like this. When no one bothered them and everything was peaceful. Normally, there was always something going on in their lives. One disadvantage of being with Iron Man. But Pepper would never want to miss it, the time together made up for all the chaos.
"Yes, it is." Tony muttered thoughtfully. When Pepper turned to him again, she noticed that he was still looking at the lake. There was a smile on his lips, but a slight frown on his face. Pepper would have loved to know what he was thinking.
Sometimes, she just knew what was going on in his mind. It was easy to look through the mask of Tony Stark, the self-obsessed billionaire. He wasn't like that at all, even if he said that not all of it was a mask. Well, alright, he was egocentric sometimes and also careless, but as soon as something important happened or problems were ahead, he was the most selfless person Pepper knew.
Nevertheless, there were also times when she couldn't see through him at all. Just like now, when he was silent and thoughtful. Or even sometimes when he was happy, then he tended to surprise her. It's always been like that, but Pepper loved that about him. Sometimes, she even thought that him playing Tony fuckin' Stark, as the other Avengers called it, was cute.
"What are you thinking?" Pepper asked quietly. She couldn't stand the silence between them anymore, knowing that Tony was thinking about something important.
"Nothing." Tony still wasn't looking at her.
"Yes, you are thinking of something. And since you won't tell me what it is, I assume that it's important." Pepper said simply. "Otherwise, you would tell me."
Now he turned to her, his eyebrows raised. "I tell you everything." He said immediately. "Well, except I promised not to tell you, like the thing with Steve and Bucky. But that was completely different. Normally, you're the first to know what's going on."
Now Pepper looked at him questioningly. "But there is something you're not telling me." She repeated slowly.
He ran a hand through his hair and smiled slightly. Pepper loved that smile, it made him look very handsome. And younger, the constant worry in the past years had left its mark on Tony's face. And of course the pain the arc reactor had caused him, even if they never spoke of that.
"Alright, you caught me." Tony admitted. "I tried to imagine what it would be like to live here. Like, not just coming here for a few days, but staying here all the time."
His words took Pepper by surprise. "But you love New York. And Malibu even more."
Tony nodded. "That's true." He muttered. "But there will also be a time when Iron Man won't be needed anymore, right? And you can't stay CEO of SI for all your life, Pep. Wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere else then, and not in the big cities where everyone knows you?"
Pepper thought about this for a few seconds, before she nodded. He couldn't mean that, could he? That he wanted to stay here with her someday, where no one would bother them anymore? And did he just say that he might leave Iron Man behind someday?
"A normal life?" She asked slowly, waiting for his reaction.
He laughed. "You know that it'll never be normal with me."
She smiled. "You're right, so not normal. Should I say more peaceful?"
He smiled widely. "We could try that someday."
"Sounds tempting." She leaned in and kissed him. "And until then, we could come here regularly?" She loved being alone with Tony and having him all for herself. Maybe it was selfish, but she didn't care. They'd spent so much time apart and worrying about each other. That had to end, Pepper hated it. But she knew that this hope wouldn't come true for many years. And probably never, if something happened to Tony on one of their missions…
"Of course we can. Making a habit of coming here sounds great. Maybe once a month, or every few months. There are many things that could prevent us from doing so, but we should find the time –" Tony stopped when he noticed the concern on her face. "Pepper? What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing, I was just thinking. About the future." She added the last sentence when she saw that he didn't believe her.
His expression softened. "It'll be alright, I'm sure of that." He muttered, but somehow, Pepper had the feeling that he wasn't completely convinced himself.
"I hope so." She said slowly.
They sat there for some time in silence. Pepper repeated the events of the previous weeks in her mind, all those times when she'd been worried for Tony. Didn't he tell her once that he had a bad feeling about the future? Just like she did now… It was strange, that they both had a bad feeling. But why? Hydra was dangerous, that was true. But the Avengers could deal with them. Maria Hill wasn't their problem anymore. She'd gotten the data she needed from Rhodey and now SHIELD would deal with her brother. And then there was Bucky.
Pepper decided not to think of that anymore. Worrying wouldn't do any good, it didn't change anything. Tony had promised her to be careful and Pepper knew that Steve and the others were also with him on missions. So he wouldn't have to deal with any of this alone.
"What are we going to do tomorrow?" She asked to lighten the mood.
Tony grinned at her. "I was told that there's a very beautiful path across our whole property. And in the evening, we'll have a picnic."
"A picnic?" Pepper repeated sceptically. Tony Stark and having a picnic? She couldn't imagine that.
Tony grinned. "You'll see."
Tony had been right, the walk around their property was beautiful. They didn't hurry, so it took them nearly all day. Sometimes, they just stopped and sat down somewhere to talk. Pepper loved it and wished that every day could be like this. Tony was so carefree out here, without any problems ahead. They could just forget the world.
They talked about everything and nothing at once. Sometimes, Pepper told him a few things he'd missed when they were apart, even though not much had happened back then. Or they talked about their friends, for example the relationship between Bruce and Natasha. They both thought that they'd be awesome together.
Tony told her about something that excited him very much. Apparently, he'd seen a man who jumped from skyscrapers some time agon. Well, rather a boy, according to Tony's researches. "His name's Peter Parker." Tony said, sounding excited. "And it's impressing what he can do. Even if he doesn't seem to be used to it." He told her everything he'd found out about the kid. And he wanted to visit him someday, offering his help. Probably even coaching him. It confused Pepper that he was so fascinated by the kid, but soon she understood why.
He wanted to help him. It was as simple as that. Back when Tony had decided to be Iron Man, no one had been around to help him. And his mentor had betrayed him. He wanted to make up for all the mistakes he'd made in his past. When Pepper mentioned her thoughts to him, he just chuckled, but didn't say anything. So she was right about this.
In the evening, they really had a picnic. Right on the lake, with view on the sunset. It was beautiful, with candles and everything. Tony had even managed to get roses for her, even if she didn't notice them before.
Nevertheless, something was different this evening. In the past two days, Tony had been so relaxed. Pepper hadn't seen him this happy in some time. And now he seemed to be tensed. It took her some time to figure out that he was nervous.
When they finished their meal, they sat there and watched the sunset, wrapped in each other's arms. Until Tony suddenly turned to her and smiled shyly. "Today's been perfect, Pep." He whispered and she smiled at him.
"It was a beautiful day." She agreed. "I wish every day could be like this."
He nodded. "That would be great." Suddenly, he smiled widely and took her hands. The tension from before seemed to be gone.
"Pepper." Tony began slowly and continued when she smiled back at him. "I love you. More than anything and I hope you know that. We've known each other for so long until I finally realized my feelings for you. And even longer until I acted on them. Because honestly? Why would someone as perfect as you like someone like me. An asshole, if I summarize what I've been back then. You made me realize lots of things in the past years. Most importantly, that I'm not alone. And that there's always something worth living and fighting for. That there's someone I can return to, no matter what happens. It still surprises me that you've chosen me too and I'm the happiest man in the world because of this. When you're with me, everything seems so easy. Then, I feel like I can solve all the problems in the world. And we can do that, together. You've made me a better man, Pepper. You've shown me a completely new side of the world since I met you. And I would never want to miss that again. You're my heart, and my soul, Pepper Potts. I'd do anything for you and I want to stay with you for the rest of my life." Tony took a deep breath and suddenly, Pepper noticed a small box in his hands. "Will you marry me, Pepper?"
Soon after he'd started his speech, Pepper had held her breath. And probably her heart wasn't beating anymore, she couldn't say. Her eyes filled with tears before she realized what was happening and she wrapped her arms around Tony. He made a surprised noise, but then he held her tightly. Pepper kissed him, everywhere she could reach. In the end, she caught his lips and he kissed her back immediately. "So this is a yes?" He asked breathlessly, now she could hear that he was nervous. How could he think that she'd say no?
She wiped away the tears and smiled at him widely. "Yes, I will marry you, Tony Stark." She whispered and now she could see that his eyes were filled with tears as well.
When she looked at the ring, her heart began to race. It was made of gold, and there were two stones, forming a heart. One was red, the other one blue. It fit on her finger perfectly and Pepper smiled at Tony. "It's beautiful. Thank you."
He kissed her again. "I love you so much, Pepper."
"I love you too. Always."
They didn't get much sleep that night. They were too consumed in each other. Tony told her that he loved her many times and Pepper noticed that he liked to call her Mrs-soon-to-be-Stark very much. And honestly, she loved it. She couldn't wait to marry him.
It was about five in the morning, when a sound woke them up. They'd just slept about two hours and it took Pepper a few seconds to realize that the sound was Tony's phone. He, on the other hand, was awake immediately.
"JARVIS, what's up?" He asked, already standing up. Pepper tried to reach for him and he stopped, smiling at her sadly.
"Captain Rogers is calling, Sir." JARVIS informed them. "It is urgent."
Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, let's hear what he wants."
"Tony?" Steve's voice sounded through the speakers. "I'm so sorry that I have to wake you and interrupt your weekend, but Sam called. They found Bucky."
At those words, Tony tensed and jumped out of bed. "Where are they?" While Steve named him coordinates and said that he was already in the jet, on his way, Tony nodded. "I'll catch you somewhere." He said simply and Pepper wondered how he wanted to do that.
Then the realization dawned to her that he had the new suit with him, the one that was in the reactor. She felt stupid for not thinking of this before. Of course he had to be prepared for possible emergencies.
"Sam's still watching them, they're not doing anything yet. When they don't control him, Bucky's dangerous for them as well."
"Good, gives us a chance. But I bet Hydra will have reinforcements there soon." Tony muttered while he was getting dressed. Pepper watched him wide-eyed, her heart was racing. Why had this to happen now?
"You can count on it. But we can deal with them." Steve sounded like Captain America now, not like the sweet and gentle man Pepper knew.
"Won't be a problem. I'll be on my way soon, see you in about thirty minutes, Cap. JARVIS' tracking you, so it won't be a problem to find you." Tony ended the call and Pepper noticed that the reactor was on his chest now.
She stood up slowly, not caring that Tony was completely dressed while she was still naked. She wrapped the blanket around herself. "I'm so incredibly sorry, Pepper." Tony whispered when he wrapped his arms around her.
"I understand that you have to go, it's important." Pepper whispered, knowing that it was not completely true. Why can't you stay? Just this one night? She wanted to ask, but she knew that it wasn't possible. "Just be careful?"
"I always am." Tony whispered and kissed her. "Will you go back to New York?"
She nodded. "We wanted to go back today either way."
Tony nodded. "I'll inform Happy that you're coming back earlier."
"I can do that myself." Pepper muttered, but he ignored her comment and kissed her again.
"I love you, Pep. And we'll be back soon, hopefully with Bucky." She could see the concern in his eyes. He wasn't as convinced as he pretended to be.
"I love you too." She whispered and kissed him again.
After the suit vanished between the trees, Pepper still looked at the sky for a long time.