*smut warning!*

I've had this written since just before Christmas, but I just hadn't had the chance to put the finishing touches on it until now! Oh well. Life has a way of messing up your best laid plans sometimes, doesn't it? ;) :D

Anyway- you know the rule! Be of legal age or be gone! All others...you know what to do...

Happy Reading! And Happy New Year! :D

Pepper had rolled to her side slightly, and saw Tony's gobsmacked expression. They gazed at each other for what seemed like an eon, with her looking over her shoulder at him, and Tony staring at her from over the top of her back. Pepper felt like she was teetering on the edge of a knife, with Tony's eyes fixed on hers, completely speechlessly, his eyes wide, anxiously awaiting her answer.

Then, slowly but surely, she watched as a giddy grin eased itself across his lips. "Oh, please tell me this is for real," he finally pleaded eagerly.

Pepper smiled in relief, but then scrunched her face up in a wince. "Really?" she asked. "You...wouldn't be upset with me if...it was?" she asked cautiously.

Tony scoffed. "Upset with you?" he asked. "Pepper, hear me now, I would be willing to marry you if it was!" he replied.

Pepper spluttered, and started chuckling. "Wow," she crowed dramatically. "Those are some pretty strong words, there, Mr. Stark! You sure you want to take that risk?" she teased.

But Tony just smiled, and worked his jaw knowingly before he answered. "Who says marrying you would be risky?" he finally murmured, his eyes glittering with mischief.

Pepper's eyebrows raised, and she let out a soft, surprised gasp at his statement. Tony said nothing more, and instead just bit his bottom lip and then averted his eyes. He began smoothing his hand over her body again, leaving Pepper to ponder what he'd just admitted to her.

She then knit her brows, and bit her lips together, her cheeks flushing as both him hinting about his desire to marry her, and her impending confession was boiling up not only a giddy excitement, but also a sense of embarrassment in her gut. But she knew she had to do it, as it was apparent that confessing this to him now wouldn't have any unwanted repercussions.

"So?" Tony finally asked hopefully. "Is it true?"

Pepper pursed her lips, and winced as she slowly began to nod in confirmation. Tony gasped in surprise, bringing a closed fist to his mouth.

"Ho ho!" he hollered with delight. "Are you kidding me, Potts?! After all these years?!" he asked excitedly.

Pepper swallowed hard, and spoke again. "It's true. I swear," she finally admitted. "The last few times that you've been gone, I've left the office at the end of the day, and I've gone straight to your place. Then I..." But she suddenly stopped, the embarrassment over-taking her, and halting her words.

Tony gave her a questioning look. "You what, baby? Tell me. Don't stop now. I gotta know," he urged, his expression one of complete enthrallment.

Pepper chewed her lip. "But it's...embarrassing," she muttered sheepishly.

Tony lowered himself over her and nuzzled her hair before placing a tender kiss to her temple. Pepper smiled to herself at the sweet gesture.

"It's okay, Pep. I promise," he assured her softly. "You can tell me anything."

Pepper closed her eyes, his quiet voice sending a happy little shiver through her. Then she opened her eyes again, and gave him a slight nod, finding the gumption enough to go on. "I...take off my work clothes, and I find one of your dirty t-shirts in your hamper because they smell like you. I put it on, and then I..." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "...climb under the covers, pretend you're there with me, and I...touch myself," she revealed softly, but in rapid fire, before she lost her nerve to say the rest of the words. Then she swallowed hard, and awaited Tony's reaction.

He inhaled deeply, and rolled his eyes in dramatic fashion, groaning. "Ohhhhhhhfuuuuuuuck, that's so hot," he moaned, before he began thrusting deeply inside her again. This made Pepper start moaning, too, both out of enjoyment and in approval that the situation had turned out to be in her favor.

"Keep talking to me, Miss Potts. Spare no detail," Tony begged after a moment, his voice breathy and hoarse. "Do you make yourself cum? How many times?" he asked eagerly.

Pepper's pleasure was quickly building now, and she was having trouble concentrating on what he was asking of her. "Um...how many times each time? Or...uh!" she moaned, feeling a pre-orgasmic wave start to roll through her body. She gasped as her opening spasmed and Tony groaned again with delight as a result.

"Fuck, you're tight. You feel so goddamed good," he interjected breathlessly.

Pepper smiled and moaned in reply, and then took a deep breath and continued to try to complete her statement. "Or...how many times have I slept in your bed?" she finished by saying.

"Tell me all of it, honey," Tony reiterated. "I want to know everything."

"Okay," Pepper replied. "I've slept in your bed at least...4 times? And...oh God! Oh!" she exclaimed, as suddenly this time the next wave of ecstasy came quickly crashing down on her.

Tony quickly speed up his pace. "Yeah, Pepper! That's it! Keep going!" he exclaimed, nodding encouragingly, and feverishly pumping her from behind, now. He was working up quite a sweat. Little beads had formed on his chest, and were now rolling down his abdomen.

Pepper had started panting. "I...I...I usually make myself cum...uh! twice!" she cried, her voice a breathless rasp as she was officially submerged deep into another orgasm. She shook her head. "I can't help it! I can't stop thinking about you when you're gone!" she cried.

"Oh, Pepper!" Tony exclaimed in reply. They writhed and panted together for the next several moments as their collective climax worked toward its peak once more. Pepper arched her back as Tony sank down to lay over her body, undulating his hips so as to penetrate her even more deeply. As he worked, he took the opportunity to once again brush her hair to the side, and nuzzle her neck, placing tongue flicking kisses to her skin, which made her moan even louder, and goosebumps erupt all over her skin.

"You're so fucking beautiful. I love making you cum," he told her, his voice breathy and his tone that low-rumbly baritone that Pepper had always delighted in so much.

She was half-moaning, half-grunting as he continued to fuck her, and Tony kept going, not wanting to stop until she was clearly spent.

"Oh, ohhhhhhh, ohhhhhmyGaawwwwwwwd!" Pepper finally cried, as she came to the summit of her climax. She huffed, trying to catch her breath, her chest heaving. Then her head dropped, and Tony took that as a sign that she'd come to completion, so he stopped holding back his own urges and relaxed, giving in to the orgasmic spasms that had built up in his own body.

He thrusted hard a few more times, and grunted and groaned with each one. "Fuck, Pepper. Fuck! Fuuuuuuck! Ohyeeaahhhhhh!" he finally cried out, as his body jolted, and he came inside her, with two more spasms following directly after. Once he had finished, he slumped over her, and they were both left in a sweaty, panting heap.

After a moment, they both started giggling, and Tony raised his head to place a soft kiss on Pepper's shoulder once more. "So much for a slow burn, huh?" he commented, touching his forehead to the side of her head. This only made her giggle more.

She then felt him ease himself out of her, and he moved to the side of her body to lie down next to her, trying to catch is own breath. She turned her head to look at him, and then rolled to her side to face him. She smiled. "You know, I'm thinking a slow burn is going to be difficult for us to manage right now," she deduced.

He smiled back, and nodded in agreement, raising his forearm so that he could rest his head on the heel of his hand. He then draped his other arm over her waist, and laid his hand on the small of her back. "You know, I think you're right? Clearly, we're just far too hot for each other," he said, matter-of-fact, making her chuckle. Then he feigned a regretful look. "Just what oh what are we to do, Miss Potts? With all of this raw sexual need that's been bottled up between us for too long? It seems we can hardly contain it!"

Pepper grinned. "Why, Mr. Stark, I think the only logical solution to this predicament we've found ourselves in is to just keep having sex," she replied wantonly, but trying to feign a pragmatic tone.

Tony grinned back at her. "Yes, Miss Potts. Lots and lots of sex," he agreed, before leaning in for a tender kiss. Pepper obliged and moaned softly in approval.

"I've got something to confess to you, now, beautiful," he murmured to her, once the kiss had broken.

"Oh?" Pepper purred, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity.

Tony nodded. "During all of those trips, when I was away from you, I'd think about us, too," he said. "I can't tell you how many times I got hard thinking about it, in fact. Which left me having to...alleviate the situation myself, as well," he admitted awkwardly.

Pepper spluttered in surprise. "Really?" she asked. "I honestly had no idea!"

Tony nodded again. "Oh, yeah," he reaffirmed. "You get this gear head's motor running, make no mistake. You always have, if I'm being honest. I swear, all I wanted to do was to get home to you."

Pepper chuckled at the analogy, but then she gave him a questioning look. "So...why all of the other women, then?" she asked.

Tony spluttered. "Pepper, please," he said, scoffing. "I'm not good enough for you. Never in a million years did I think you'd actually want anything to do with me. So the next best thing was to find someone I could...pretend with. You know?"

Pepper furrowed her brow. "Pretend?" she asked. "I don't follow."

Tony teeter tottered his head back and forth. "Yeah, you know, like..." he stammered. "To use as a, uh..." he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Stand in," he finished by saying.

Pepper frowned even more. "As in...you were thinking about...us? Instead of you and...whomever? While you were...together?" she reasoned, trying to put the puzzled pieces together.

"Well," Tony began. He then shrugged and clear his throat again. "Yeah," he admitted softly.

Pepper just stared at him, blinking, trying to form her words. "Tony, I..." she stammered. She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what to say," she said finally.

He cocked the corner of his lips upward, and shrugged in surrender. "I'm just telling you the truth, Pep," he replied honestly. "I guess we've both had feelings for each other for a lot longer than we ever even knew."

Pepper nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess so," she concurred. Then a wide, almost amused smile spread over her lips at this sudden revelation, and she moved to get up on her hands and knees, moving her body so that she was braced over the top of Tony's. He rolled to his back when he saw what she was doing, and gave her a curious look as he raise his hands to gently brush the hair that had fallen forward back behind her ears, using the backs of the tips of his fingers to do it. "What? What's got you grinning?" he teased softly.

Pepper quietly chuckled, and shook her head as she gazed down lovingly at him. Then she shook her head. "It's just all so amazing," she said. "Until now, we've been so close to each other, yet so far away. You know what I mean?"

Tony nodded in understanding. "And now look at us," he replied.

They both chuckled, and Pepper nodded. "Yes, just look," she said, eyeing each of their bared bodies and grinning. "Screwing like rabbits in a cabin in a blizzard in the middle of nowhere," she joked. "Didn't see this one coming, that's for sure."

Tony chuckled, and then he moved to sit up. Pepper sat back, and he reached to pull her into his arms, causing her to straddle his lap as he wrapped his arms around her. Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck, and they smiled at each other once more. "I didn't either, but boy am I glad we're here now," he reiterated. "Like I said, I wouldn't trade this time with you for anything."

Pepper smiled. "You know? I was just thinking the same thing," she cooed. "What could have been a disaster has been..."

"Pure magic," Tony interjected, his voice soft with wonder.

"Yes," Pepper purred back. "That's exactly the right word."

"There we go finishing each other's sentences again," Tony teased, making Pepper giggle. Then he gave her a loving smile, his eyes positively glittering with adoration. He gave her an urging nod toward him. "Come here, baby," he murmured softly as he cupped her cheek. Pepper leaned in, and Tony gave her another deep and tender kiss, wrapping her protectively in his arms as they enjoyed the moment, their mutual admissions to each other making his heart swell with love for the woman he'd dreamed about being with for so long.

The fire crackled and popped in the fireplace next to them, and the glowing candles and lanterns continued to paint the room with glittery, dancing light as the radio softly hummed in the background with Christmas carols, making the whole ambience one of cozy comfort and romance as the snow began to fall again outside, each flake lazily floating down from the night sky and landing silently on the marshmellow-y drifts already covering the trees and the ground.

XxXxXxXxX

Rhodey's mind had become a whirlwind of worry and concern as he contemplated what to do next. He'd intermittently caught himself glancing at the screen of his phone during the whole day, subconsciously pleading with it to ring with the news that Tony and Pepper had been found. But, try as he might, it hadn't come to fruition. So he was left where he lay, or was sitting, as the case was at that moment- which was in his leather arm chair in his living room in front of his fireplace, on Christmas Eve, holding a half-drank bottle of beer, his modestly decorated mini Christmas tree he'd put up on the mantle being the only other light in the room.

In a word, he felt helpless at this point. He and Obie had been able to finally successfully file a missing person's report with the small town police department close to where Tony and Pepper were known to be last. However, all efforts to move along the process of finding them had been abruptly halted on account of the weather creating extremely dangerous road conditions with practically no visibility in the area. So that meant all they could do was wait. And hope that once the storm did lift enough for a search to begin, that it wouldn't be too late.

Honestly, Rhodey would've been happy to enjoy the holiday at any other time. In truth, he'd always loved this time of year. But, given the circumstances, it, combined with the weather, felt like nothing but an obstruction at the moment toward making sure that his best friend, and his assistant, were found save and sound.

"So, bah-humbug," Rhode scroogily grunted out loud to himself before bitterly raising his beer bottle to his lips and taking a long pull from it. It didn't help that, as a military man, he was trained to consider the worst case scenario, which wasn't helping to ease his mind in any fashion. The thought of Tony and Pepper some how being separated, on top of missing, and both stranded in a blizzard, sent a chill through his bones, and he took a deep breath to try to steady his already frayed nerves. Wherever they are, he thought to himself. I just hope they're together.