Thank you SO MUCH my sweet, sweet readers and reviewers! Love you guys for being willing to follow along on a Christmas story in "non-Christmas" times! LOL! The goal is to finish this one up around that time, so I figure I better get a head start. Anyway, much more to come on this one and my other fics-in-progress. Thanks, again! You guys are TERRIFIC!
"How about I stoke the fire?" Tony said, and they made their way into the living room.
Pepper took a seat on the sofa as Tony went to the fire place. "Sounds wonderful," she said, tucking her feet underneath her.
Tony balled up some more newspaper between the existing logs that were still smoldering. Weak little blue flames sprouted as a result and soon ignited the paper. He watched for a moment as the flames grew, and then grabbed a couple of logs to stack on top. Soon, the fire was once again roaring and he smiled in satisfaction before he joined Pepper on the couch- he at one end, and she at the other. "There," he said, gazing at her, as they both were once again awash in warm, orange light. Pepper smiled back at him in approval.
He then patted his lap. "Bring those feet back," he commanded. Pepper giggled and cocked a curious eyebrow at him, but did as he wished. She watched as he gently pulled her right sock off and flung it to the floor. Then he took her foot in his hands and gently began to massage it, which made her instantly melt. He smirked knowingly.
"OhmyGodyouknowthekeytomyheart," she blurted out in one sentence, as she rolled her eyes in ecstasy and sank down into the couch cushions.
Tony chuckled at her. "The key to your heart, huh?" he joked. "Funny, after all this time."
Pepper chuckled back at him sheepishly. "Yep. That's it. You've figured me out. Oooo," she purred, as he moved to work the ball of her foot. "Yeeeeahhhhh, that's the...mmmmhmmm," she babbled blissfully.
"It's no secret these tootsies take a beating everyday, Potts. And you just so happen to be in the presence of the leading expert in foot massages," he joked, smirking cockily.
Pepper giggled. "Oh, really?" she purred back. "And you've chosen to keep this information from me all these years? That's just cruel," she joked back.
They chuckled at each other. "Yeah, well, sometimes good things are worth waiting for," he cooed in replied, gazing at her knowingly.
Pepper smiled bashfully and went quiet.
Tony shifted his eyes back to her foot, and continued to rub. "You have very pretty feet," he commented. "For the record, I've always thought so."
Pepper scoffed. "Um...thank you?" she said questioningly, surprised at his admission. "Though, I need to get in for a pedicure. In fact, damn it. I had one scheduled for today, actually." She grimaced in regret at having had to miss it, and without any notice to her usual nail tech. Never had Pepper ever missed an appointment without some kind of notification and a prompt reschedule. One of many people that are probably wondering where the hell we are right now, she mused.
"Well, chipped polish and all, I still think you have beautiful feet," Tony assured her.
"Oh, they're beautiful, now, are they? They've been upgraded," Pepper joked.
Tony laughed at her teasing him. "They were always beautiful," he informed her, with a flirty smirk.
Pepper let out a bashful chuckle, but then frowned in thought. "Tony?" she began. "I want you to know, I..." she began. She then pursed her lips, trying to find the words to say. "The things that you say to me. I..."
"Yeah, Pep. I know," Tony said. "And, like I said before, I'm okay with you needing a little time. But now that the cat's out of the bag about how I feel about you? It's like all I want to do is..." he said. He stopped and studied her face for a moment.
Pepper's eyebrows raised in expectation, and Tony gave her an impish smile. "No. You know what?" he said, raising one hand in surrender as he back-tracked. "If what I'm saying makes you uncomfortable, then..."
"It's not that I'm uncomfortable, it's just..."
"It's awkward. I get it."
"No," Pepper argued. She shook her head. "It's just..." she began again. She then took a deep breath. "It's just...been a long time since I've actually been...anyone's..." she stammered.
Tony frowned. "Girlfriend?" he asked.
Pepper smiled politely. "Anyone's...anything," she corrected, her eyes saddened. "Let alone had anyone who fawned over me. I've gotta say I'm..."
"Hating it?" Tony offered, with a grimace.
"Mmmmm-no, not...hating it," Pepper said thoughtfully. "Just...trying my hardest to...get used to it," she explained.
Tony studied her face, detecting some very deep-seated hurt from the past. "I see," he murmured in understanding. "You...wanna talk about it?" he asked.
Pepper remained silent, studying his eyes for a moment. "It's...ancient history," she replied. "Very painful ancient history."
"Got it," Tony said, assuming she wanted to keep it that way. He was ready to move on to a new subject when Pepper began to speak again.
"Funny thing, though. It started out very similar to how this has," she said.
Tony's eyebrows went up. "Pepper, we don't have to..." he started to say in warning.
"No, it's okay," she replied. She shrugged. "I should talk about it. That's probably the healthiest thing to do, anyway."
Tony gazed at her silently for a moment, and then slowly nodded in agreement. "Whatever you want, honey," he urged quietly.
Pepper gave him a soft smile, and nodded back. "Well, as I said, it's been a few years since I've been involved with anyone exclusively," she began. "And, mind you, this all happened when I was young, and dumb, and I just didn't know that that wasn't how love was supposed to work," she explained.
Tony just stayed silent, listening.
"He was so charming. I instantly got swept off my feet. I thought, wow, how could I be so lucky?" she said, giving him a broken smile.
Tony gave her a look of sympathy back. "And then?" he said, knowingly.
"And then, slowly, that 'Prince Charming' facade wore off, and I was left with someone who..." she stopped, chewing her lip in though. "God, I was so stupid," she muttered with regret, and shaking her head.
"What happened, Pep?" Tony urged.
"Let's just say a lot of..." she said, struggling to find the right words. "Monster lived in that man," she finished reluctantly.
Tony narrowed his eyes, trying to understand the meaning of her words. "Monster," he murmured. He shook his head in confusion. "How do you mean?"
Pepper bit her lips together and stayed silent, waiting for him to come to the correct conclusion. She could see the gears turning in his mind. And soon, Tony's nostrils flared in anger as he started to realize what she was trying to tell him. He swallowed hard, and then gave her a cautious look. "Pepper, are you saying he...he...hit you?" he asked pointedly.
Pepper gave him an impish smile. "See?" she said very softly. She averted her eyes and shook her head at the thought of what she was telling him. "Hard to believe the woman you know today could be that stupid as to let someone treat her that way, right?" she said finally, bringing her eyes back to his again.
Tony shook his head in disbelief, but also in a disagreement. "No," he said emphatically, reaching for her. "No, Pepper. That doesn't make you stupid at all. It could happen to anyone," he assured her. Pepper let him pull her into his arms, and suddenly, her eyes teared up as an immense sense of relief washed over her at being able to share this pain with him. Tony wrapped his arms around her tightly, and held her as she softly cried again his shoulder.
"Who was this rat bastard?" he asked. "I want his name."
Pepper pulled back to look at him, her eyes reddened and her cheeks tear stained. She shook her head. "No, Tony," she said. "Please. I don't want to reopen old wounds anymore than I already have. I only told you this because I thought you deserved an explanation as to why I..."
Tony raised a hand to cup her cheek. He swiped a stray tear away with the pad of his thumb, and gazed intently into her eyes. "I didn't, Pep," he assured her. "I was fine with you telling me you needed to slow down, no matter what the reason. But, as painful as it was, thank you for giving it to me, anyway," he said.
Pepper smiled, and nodded. But then she bit her lip in thought. "We've come this far," she said, shrugging. "There's no point in keeping one key detail from you."
Tony cocked a questioning eyebrow at her, but waited for her to begin speaking again.
Pepper took a deep breath, and sat back on her haunches in front of him. "The man I was involved with," she said, taking a deep breath. "He was also my boss at the time," she revealed.
Tony's eyes widened in surprise. Then he frowned in confusion. "I thought you modeled before you came to work for me? For the company, I mean," he said.
Pepper nodded. "I did. He was the head of the agency I was contracted with. Besides being a full-time jackass," she said with disgust. But the she gave him an embarrassed look. "Why I ever got within ten feet of him, I honestly don't know. But like I said, I was young, and dumb, and he said all of the right things at the right time to get me in his grasp, and I guess I just..." her voice faltered. She looked away, and put a hand to mouth, fighting to keep her composure.
"You poor kid," Tony said, pulling her back to him, and wrapping his arms back around her protectively. He silently rubbed her back to try to comfort her for a few moments before he spoke again. "I get it, now, Pepper. You're afraid you'll make the same mistake twice, right?"
Pepper pulled back, and sniffed, nodding in the affirmative.
Tony looked into her eyes intently, cupping her face with both hands. "Pepper, that's not me. I would never..." he said, pausing to shake his head in disbelief that any man could want to harm her like that. Then a doubt popped into his mind, and he frowned. "You do know that, right? That I'm not," he began cautiously. He swallowed hard. "That way," he finished.
Pepper smiled, and gave him a reassuring nod. "Yes, Tony," she replied. "Of that I'm sure."
Tony smiled warmly back. "Good," he said in relief. "How anyone could want to hurt you like that, I just..." he stopped, working his jaw in thought. "Pepper, listen to me," he said, gazing deeply into her eyes.
Pepper gazed silently back at him.
"I will never hurt you," he promised.
But Pepper frowned. "You can't promise that," she replied.
Tony frowned back at her in confusion. "Why not?" he asked.
She chuckled to herself knowingly. "While I know you'd never try to physically hurt me, you can't promise you won't make any mistakes. That we won't hurt each other. Emotionally. That's not how relationships work," she said.
Tony stayed silent, a bit deflated, as he mulled over her words. "Well," he murmured softly. "Maybe that's true, as much as I hate to admit it. But I'm not that creep you were with before. I would never purposefully try to hurt you. You are..." he said, an adoring smile spreading across his lips.
It was infectious. Pepper, then, too, started to smile back at him.
"I am?" she urged, with a playful smirk.
Tony smiled even more, and then looked intently into her eyes again. "Precious," he cooed softly.
Pepper's eyebrows shot up, and she chuckled in surprise. "Oh, now it's precious!" she joked. "Another upgrade! Lucky me."
Tony laughed out loud at her, his cheeks reddening. "Alright, alright, Potts," he said. "I admit. Maybe my love-speak needs some work. But I'm hoping," he said, looking down to interlace their fingers on both hands. Pepper watched him, biting her lip coyly, secretly loving the tender gesture. "You'll be willing to keep me around long enough to help me improve it," he said, looking back up into her eyes.
Pepper had stayed kneeling on the couch cushion between his legs, and she moved to slowly wrap her arms around his neck. "Tony?" she purred softly, as she looked into his eyes.
"Yeah, Pep?" Tony replied.
Pepper smiled mischievously. "Kiss me," she whispered wantonly.
Tony smiled at her, and slowly raised his lips to hers, kissing her softly. Pepper let out a soft moan, and deepened the kiss. Tony palmed the back of her head, and wrapped the other arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They continued like that for several moments, until Pepper began to lean backwards. Tony took her cue and followed her, shifting so he could lay her on her back, and he could position himself between her legs.
After he was sure Pepper had accepted his advances, he ran a hand down her body and cupped her behind, giving it an affectionate squeeze. She let out a breathy squeak, and he raised his head to look at her. "This okay? You okay with what we're doing?" he asked breathlessly.
Pepper smiled, and nodded. Tony smiled in relief, and lovingly brushed the tips of their noses together before going back to kissing her lips. He then moved his hand down the back of her thigh, and lifted her leg to wrap it around his waist before ducking his head to be able to kiss her neck.
Pepper moaned in approval, and laced her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. She closed her eyes and arched her back, the same fiery need that she'd felt for him in the kitchen returning with a thunderous roar in body. She inhaled through her teeth, and then moaned happily.
Tony brought his mouth closer to her ear. "I love you, Pepper Potts," he purred softly, before nibbling her earlobe.
Pepper giggled at the sensation of his goatee tickling is neck, and nodded. "Mmmmmhmmm," she purred back in acknowledgement. She had to admit, she was more sure of his feelings for her now than she'd been that morning, as he'd made sure time and time again that she knew he wasn't just looking for a quick lay from her. But there were still some tiny seeds of doubt, of fear, that stayed rooted in her mind, as the ghosts of the past, both of Tony's behavior, and her past lover's, kept her from returning those three words back to him. No matter how much her desire, her heart, wanted her to.