Pepper walked into her office on Friday and sat at her desk. She took a sip of coffee and scanned over her calendar and nearly spit her drink all over the monitor. She called Tony's phone immediately and he answered sleepily.
"Hello" he said groggily.
"What is this mission you're going on?" she asked.
"I don't know. Fury needs me to come in, but he didn't give me direction yet," Tony lied.
"How long are you going to be gone?" Pepper asked worriedly.
"I don't know and aren't you always the one on my case about not getting enough sleep? It's 8:00 a.m." Tony complained.
"I'm sorry I woke you. I'm just worried. It seems like each time Fury calls you in the missions get longer and more dangerous," she said as she sipped her coffee.
"I have a good feeling about this one," he said.
"I'll see you at six then," she said as she hung up the phone.
Pepper felt uneasy. She didn't like Tony going on missions. She didn't like him being in danger.
She looked at her schedule and her interview and photo shoot with Glamour Magazine was in twenty minutes. They said they wanted to shoot at her office to see her in her element. She chose her most stylish work attire but she figured they might want to style her as well. She was nervous but it was an excited nervousness.
Before she knew it the entire team from Glamour was piling into her office and the stylist was having her try on different pieces while the makeup artist put cooling eye gels under her eyes and prepped her skin for makeup. An outfit was chosen and the hair and makeup stylist began to do their magic. The outfit was very much a combination of the high school Pepper who loved prints and patterns and edgy styles and the present day CEO Pepper who stuck to neutrals and safe professional attire. Pepper had on a berry colored below the knee length skirt and a floral top with an attached tie for around the neck. She wore a pair of nude Louboutins and a simple gold bangle. They curled her hair and put it up with loose pieces hanging all around and they gave her a classic red lip and some bronze and brown shadows. They did the photo shoot first and then she sat down for the interview. The woman interviewing her was stunning but shy. She could tell that she didn't think she was beautiful. She tucked her hair behind her ear and turned on her recorder.
"Congrats on your recent promotion to CEO of Stark Industries. Please tell me where you started in the company and how you've made it here today,"
"I started out in the finance department and there was a report with a mathematical error that would have cost Stark Industries millions. I brought this mistake up to my superiors and no one would listen to me, so I went to Mr. Stark directly and he was thankful and he offered me a job as his personal assistant and I worked for him for over ten years and now with Iron Man he is needed for other things so he gave me the company," she said quietly.
The girl was smiling at her weirdly and Pepper was getting a vibe from her but she wasn't sure what it was.
"What is the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?" she asked as she met eyes with Pepper and looked away shyly.
"Not quitting," Pepper said with a laugh.
The woman stared at her and looked confused.
"Mr. Stark was a handful back then. I promised myself I would stay for one year and then it got easier as time went on," she explained.
She jotted some notes down in addition to the recording and continued her questions.
"There was an article recently in buzz feed about your high school band The Kitchen Crew. Can you tell me about your time in the band? How did you get the name? Any chance for a reunion?"
"It was just a band we were in in high school. The name the kitchen crew was an idea we had because of our last names. Mine being Potts, and the others are Forks, Pan and Spooner. I haven't played in years and I doubt there will be a reunion. It was just for fun," Pepper said, really wanting to steer away from the topic.
"Can you please tell us your best power outfit?" the girl asked again as she grabbed a piece of lint off of Pepper's skirt and felt embarrassed by their hands brushing against each other.
It was at that moment that she felt that this girl might be attracted to her. Amanda popped into her mind and she thought about setting them up.
"One of the girls from my old band Amanda, she's in a new band called Halogen. They're playing tomorrow night at The Mint. You should check her out, I mean check them out. She's the only one of us who is still playing music. She plays the bass," she said handing her a flyer and hoping she would understand.
"Ummm your best power outfit?" the woman asked again, trying to hide her blush as she put the flyer in her pocket.
"Yes sorry I've gone off course a bit. I always wear my gray Valentino sheath dress and my black Louboutins with some sort of statement necklace," she said making the woman smile this time.
"Do you have any special beauty tips you want to share with us?" she asked.
"Nothing special, my most important tip would be don't go to sleep with makeup on,"
"Thanks so much for your time today. The outfit is yours to keep. It's a gift from the magazine," she said.
"Thank you for featuring me. It's an honor," Pepper said as she showed her the way out.
The rest of the day flew by and Pepper was increasingly nervous about Tony's mission. She got in the car and high-tailed it to the mansion. She let herself in and hurried down into the workshop. Everything was eerily quiet as she entered.
"Tony?" she called out.
"Hi," he said as he came out in a suit and tie.
"Tony what's going on? I thought you had a mission," Pepper asked confused.
"I do have a mission," he said smiling at her.
"Why are you wearing a suit and tie?" she asked.
"Because Vespertine has a dress code," he said with a smirk on his face.
"You look great by the way," he added.
Dum-E came over with a bag for Pepper.
Pepper opened it up and found the two dresses and she was confused. She was admiring the fabric and shape of the dresses. Tony knew her style so well and he had excellent taste.
"What do you mean Vespertine?"
"We have reservations. Pick a dress," he insisted motioning to the bag as he moved closer to her.
"You told me you had a mission. I was worried sick all day. You lied so we could have dinner?" she said angrily.
"Pepper, you are the mission," he said.
"What?"
"I want to be with you, that's the only mission I care about. I've done everything I can think of to be on my best behavior and try and impress you. Everything is different since Afghanistan and I think you feel it too. We can do this dance for another ten years or you can have dinner with me," he stated.
"Tony I don't know what to say," she said thoughtfully.
"Look if we're late they're going to get rid of our reservation. So pick a dress and we can talk about it on the way," he said with a smile.
Pepper chose the satin slip dress much to his pleasant surprise and went to she came down the stairs Tony's jaw dropped.
"You look beautiful," he said.
"Thanks and you look very handsome, but you know that,"
"But I've never heard you say it," he said as they walked to the car.
"I could never tell you how handsome you are. You're so smug you would never let me hear the end of it,"
"Come on I'm not that bad," he teased as he opened the door for her.
She got inside and waited for him to get inside as well.
"No, not anymore," she said as she smiled at him.
He was about to start the car when she grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"What's the matter?"
"I can't believe you scheduled this into my calendar and lied to get a date with me," she said.
"I was desperate after I saw you with that guy. I knew I had to make a move, but I'm not good with words you know. But numbers and science I'm your guy, words not so much," he said as he looked at her.
Pepper leaned in and grabbed his face and kissed his lips for a moment. He felt his entire body waking up but it was too quick. He vowed to get another one much longer at the end of the evening.
They got to Vespertine and ordered a bottle of silver oak Cabernet from Napa. Pepper enjoyed every sip. They ordered the Chateaubriand and asparagus with hollandaise. The food was as delectable as she expected it to be.
" How did you get a reservation so quickly?" she asked, amazed as she nibbled at her steak.
"I can be very persuasive when I want to be," he said, giving her an eyebrow wiggle.
Pepper smirked at him this time.
"How was your Glamour interview?" he asked as he reached for his glass of wine.
"It was fun. But the woman was flirting with me I think. I told her about Amanda's band. They are playing at The Mint tomorrow. Julia is going and Sam and her husband,"
"Do you wanna go? I mean unless you don't want me there and you want to be with your friends then I understand. If you're not ready to go public with our relationship that's ok too," he started rambling.
"Tony this is our first date," Pepper said trying to reel him in.
"Right? I'm sorry. I assumed because you're here with me that you felt the- that you wanted the same thing. Or if you're seeing that guy then I get it,"
"Of course I want the same thing. You're right. Nothing has been the same since Afghanistan and we should explore this thing between us. We should go tomorrow and my friends can know we're on a date, but maybe let's not rush and label anything," she said.
"I'm sorry. I'm greedy. It's just that when I've made up my mind on something-
"You can't stop until you get it. I know," she said, finishing his sentence.
"It's a beautiful night. We should take a walk on the beach," he suggested.
"I'd like that," she said as she went for another glass of wine.
"So while you're not mad at me I should confess something," he said.
"What did you do?"
"I scheduled an interview for you with all the magazines. Sports Illustrated, Forbes and Maxim too. Don't be mad," he said.
Pepper just sighed. Her silence was making him nervous.
"Why? Why didn't you listen to me?"
"Because I know you could do it. You're doubting yourself," he said.
"I'm not doubting myself I'm uncomfortable with the types of questions that might be asked and what on earth am I going to wear for a sports illustrated photo shoot?"
"A sexy bikini," he offered hoping she would smile.
"I'm sorry. I can cancel them if you want," he said.
"No, I'm not going to cancel," she said, finishing the last of the wine.
Tony paid the check and he offered her his hand as they walked out. She took it and laced her fingers in his. It was really hard to stay mad at him after the date he planned. They took a drive to the Santa Monica Pier and they got out to walk. It was a nice breezy night and Tony took his jacket off and draped it around Pepper's shoulders before she had a chance to shiver.
They walked to the end of the pier and looked out into the dark shiny ocean. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and snuggled into her neck.
"You know Pepper when we went away for the weekend and we were pretending to be a couple, I wasn't pretending. I wanted you so much. I was hoping that it would bring us close and that you might feel the same. And when we danced and we had that kiss I had a glimmer of hope and then when I caught you with your extremely endowed friend I was absolutely gutted but I got a second chance and I'm not going to let you go," he said.
Pepper turned to face him.
"Tony I was getting closer to you at the wedding. Why do you think I kept kissing you so much? It wasn't to make Brad jealous, that was only the excuse so I could kiss you more. And I really am very sorry that you had to see me and Mike. I've just been so pent up lately and being with you at the wedding made it worse. And honestly I was tired of my vibrator and I just needed to get off. I didn't expect anything to happen between us," she explained.
"You don't have to explain. I just wanted to tell you that no matter what is happening with you or me or Iron Man that I'm not going anywhere. I want you Pepper, more than you can understand. You're it for me. You're the mission," he said as he stroked her hair gently and grabbed her face with his hands.
Pepper grabbed him back and she leaned in to kiss him. Their lips were shocking each other awake and moving together like magnets. Pepper had her hands in his hair and she was kissing him deeper and pulling him closer. She wanted him badly as well but it was too soon. She broke the kiss and pulled away from him.
"I'm cold. Do you mind if we continue this somewhere warm?"
"Yeah you need to go back to get your car anyway so my place it is," Tony said as he headed to the mansion at a faster rate than ever before.
He pulled in and they went inside.
The minute the door closed they were kissing again and they went into the living room and sat on the couch. Pepper had her hands all over him and he couldn't help getting aroused which he was trying to avoid happening before the main event. He was so nervous. He felt like he was a teenager with a crush. He kissed Pepper before but this time was the real thing and they were alone. There was no audience and he was terrified of doing the wrong thing and sending her running. Pepper was kissing his neck and trying to unbutton his shirt. She was so confident and fearless and it was making him more nervous. He could always keep it cool in sexual situations but Pepper had him unraveling. He finally pulled away and sat up.
"What's wrong?" Pepper asked as she sat up also.
"I would like to be a gentlemen and not have sex tonight. I want to explore you slowly," he lied hoping it would hold up so he wouldn't have to explain that he was too nervous and unprepared.
"Who are you? And what have you done with Tony?" she teased.
"I'm definitely Tony. Look at me, one make out session and I'm a hot mess,"
Pepper smiled and kissed him softly.
"Goodnight Tony. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget Amanda's show at The Mint at 8 o'clock," she reminded him as she got up and put her shoes on.
Tony followed her to the door and stole one more kiss before she left.
Get it together Stark. Pepper wants to have sex and you need to deliver, he thought.