Guest Review Responses

Thank you for the favorites/follows: macrossboy.

Miss geek: OMG hahahahah I couldn't help it I was worried that pep would be insecure and sam would snatch tony but no of course not ...yet anyway ahhhh i love it ! Pls update soon ur amazing – LOL! But it's gonna be fun to watch Sam try to do that. Very. Very. Very. Fun.

Guest: OH MY GOSH this is just epic keep it up and more chapters please ! LOVE FROM ALLIE your biggest fan !xx I've been reading your stories since the last summer which was my life ! I would read it all the time your soooooo talented * X – Hi, Allie! How are you doing? :D Here's another chapter for my biggest fan ^_^ I think you're gonna love it!

Ellie: Awesome chap as usual ;) – Thank you! Get ready for some fluff here!

GiGi: Update pleaseeee – Sorry I'm taking forever! But here's a rather cute update! :)

Lightnnnn: Waiting for the next part ! – TADA! Next part is here!

Chapter 9

The Stark International building was one of the tallest structures in downtown Manhattan, rivaled only by perhaps the Empire State Building, which happened to be one spot above SI's headquarters in height. The roof of SI was not a location to be taken lightly; let alone a place someone would consider sitting on the edge of to watch the nightlife of the city that never slept, without fear or worry. Nevertheless, when this someone was none other than Tony Stark, and he was trying to impress his girlfriend, Pepper Potts, safety precautions were completely ignored and thrown by the wayside.

Who would tell Iron Man and Rescue that they could not hang out on the roof of his own darn building, anyway? At this height, no one could even tell that the twosome was wrapping up their date there. Besides, after having brunch together, walking through Central Park, going to the movies, to the arcade, and then having a candlelight dinner in the most expensive restaurant in the entire state, silent cuddling atop the inventor's home was just the way to bring their exciting day together to a close – despite how much neither of them wanted their date to end.

Freaking Albert Einstein and his relativity theory! He had to go and ruin it for everybody, and here was the proof. A day at school appeared to drag on forever. A day together, without school, seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.

Speaking of eyes…

"You're staring again," Pepper whispered, her eyes never moving away from admiring the neon lights of Times Square below them.

"I would say: I'm sorry…" Tony whispered back, his right hand laced with her left one, his eyes still on her.

"But you're not sorry."

"Not one bit."

Pepper chuckled at his response, shook her head, and then stared back at him with a melancholic sigh.

"I guess Sam was right: I need to dress up like this when we go out on dates."

Tony narrowed his eyes as his head recoiled.

"That's… Is that why you're dressed like this? Because of something your sister said?"

"Yeah," Pepper looked away from him and returned her gaze at the small-looking cars navigating the streets. "She said that if I didn't dress up, that… that-that… well… that you'd find someone else that did… in college."

"Huh," Tony shrugged, "That's odd."

"What is?"

"Didn't know Sam did drugs."

"What?" Pepper stared at him. "Drugs? Why would you think she does drugs?"

"'Cuz she has to be high to think that I'd dump you for a girl that dresses up."

It took the redhead a moment to make complete sense of Tony's response; but once she did, they both laughed aloud for an instant.

"OK, you got me there," the girl admitted.

"I sure did," he winked playfully at her and she stuck out her tongue to him in a rather childish manner.

"But seriously, Pepper," he continued, "Let's talk about this."

"About what?" Pepper surrounded the boy's right arm with both of hers, and then rested her head on his shoulder.

"About you taking whatever she says to heart," Tony held Pepper's left hand with both of his, and then alternated between staring at their hands and her face as he spoke. "I think I've told you this before, but I'll tell you again: I like you a lot, Pepper. Just the way you are. You… you don't have to change. At least not for me. I… I'm happy with who you are. I'm happy with what we have and… I'm happy… with you."

Pepper felt a light blush cover her cheeks as she hung her head. She then tightened her grip around Tony's arm and closed her eyes.

"I like you, too, Tony. And I'm happy. Very happy. Which means that you also didn't have to change clothes."

"I know," he one-side shrugged with his left side. "But I wanted to match up with you. You took the effort to look nice for our date. Least I could do was doing the same for you."

"It wasn't that much of an effort," Pepper pulled away from him and rolled her eyes playfully. "I just grabbed the first dress I saw and then rushed to match the rest."

"Well, you look great. I actually didn't even know you owned any dresses, Pep."

"I don't," she smirked. "I borrowed it from Sam's closet. And I may have also borrowed her shoes," the redhead wiggled her feet.

This time, it was Tony who took a second to process her response; but then their bouts of laughter were louder and lasted longer than before.

"Oh, that's priceless," Tony dried tears of laughter from his eyes.

"No kidding! I wonder how long it took her to realize that the dress and shoes are hers. And possibly this wallet, too," she waved the wallet in her hand before she tucked it back into Tony's pants pocket, seeing as she had no other decent places to carry her wallet with her.

"She's smart. So I'm gonna say it probably happened about five seconds after we left your place."

"Probably," Pepper scoffed. "Or maybe she was still wondering why I don't have a curfew and she does."

"Oh, yeah," Tony nodded in agreement. "The Rescue job really helped in no longer having to report back home at a reasonable hour, huh? Then again, if your dad knew what we do with your lack of curfew… especially at the Temple…"

"Tony!" Pepper slapped his knee.

"What?" Tony feigned pain on his leg. "I'm just saying!"

"Ugh," Pepper tried to keep an appalled look on her face, but she was unable to do so for long. "Fine! Yes! We do… stuff… And let's just hope that he really doesn't find out."

"Or that if he does, it happens when I'm already hiding on the other side of the world."

"That too. But, what if… Hey! Wait a minute! Did you just say that you hope it happens when you're on the other side of the planet?

"Yup."

"Just you?"

"Yes."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"You'd leave me here to face the music alone?"

"Self-preservation, Pep. I've got some."

"Well, that's good to know!"

"Write it down," he continued his jest, "You might forget it in the middle of being lectured about how you shouldn't be making out with your boyfriend in his room when you're supposed to be doing homework and nothing more."

"TONY!" Pepper's face was redder than he had ever seen it on her. "Would you stop that?!"

"But, I'm having fun!"

"I'm not!"

"Really?" Tony pretended to be surprised by her reply. "It's super fun from where I'm sitting."

"Ugh, shush, Stark!" Pepper tried to move away from him, but she did not get the chance to do so: Tony immediately stopped her with a sideways hug and then pressed her upper body against his chest.

"OK. OK, Pepper. I'm done..."

"For now," they both said in unison, knowing that Tony would never be done poking good-natured jabs at his girlfriend, before they laughed aloud for a third time.

Moments like these were so rare for them; they were in high demand but in low supply. Squeezing the life out of them while they were present was an opportunity they never let pass: the joy of simple peace and quiet. The chance of experiencing no worries and no doubts. Fearing no immediate danger. And just the two of them under the dark sky. There was nothing like this in the world for them. There was nowhere else where they would prefer to be at the moment; except maybe at a place with an even lower chance of being seen.

A long and comfortable silence fell between again; one in which Pepper focused on synchronizing her breathing with the inventor – and one in which Tony fought against himself to find the courage to ask and relay something very important to his redheaded best friend and girlfriend, once and for all. The current atmosphere was perfect. The topic could be easily breached. The timeframe was on point. All he needed to do was voice his thoughts. All he needed to do was make sure that there was no doubt in Pepper's mind of his commitment to her and only her.

"Just tell her straight up, Tony," Rhodey had recommended his mostly oblivious-about-girls friend. "Tell her how you feel and let nature and time do the rest."

"But what if I freak her out, Rhodey? What if she's not there yet? What if it's too soon?"

"Pepper's your friend before she's your girlfriend. She won't freak out. You won't mess it up. And if she's not there yet, all you gotta do is wait."

"Like you waited outside my bedroom's door and caught me practicing my lines to Pepper against the mirror?"

"Yup. Just like that. In fact, if you think about it, me catching you playing Romeo kinda proves my point: waiting works."

His friend did have a point: the passing of time did always solve everything and anything: either by healing you, killing you, or gracing you with more time. It had been time that had made his friendship with Pepper blossom and become stronger. It had been time that had allowed him to eventually come to terms with the fact that he was falling for her. And once more, it was time that would help her see that she had nothing to worry about – that, in his eyes, she was already exactly the kind of person with whom he wanted to be.

Yes. It was time; the perfect time. In fact, it perhaps was somewhat overdue.

"Hey, Pep?" he lightly rocked their bodies from side to side, if for no other reason than to calm his nerves.

"Uh-huh?" she closed her eyes again.

"I… I was wondering… I wanted to tell you that I… I-I…" he sighed. "D-do you want to go to Prom with me?"

It was not exactly what he had wanted to say, but it was a start.

Pepper pulled a few inches away from Tony and lifted her gaze to stare her boyfriend directly in the eye. She could tell that he was partly uncomfortable, perhaps even nervous, which made him that much more adorable to her at the moment.

"Didn't know you did drugs, Tony," Pepper's gaze returned to the neon signs, but she did not break the embrace.

"Drugs?" he asked, clearly failing to instantly recall his own joke of just a moment ago.

"Yeah. 'Cuz you have to be high to think that we're not going to Senior Prom together."

"Huh? I… What?" Tony furrowed his brow, pulled away from her to stare at her in confusion, and then realization showed on his face. "Oh! OH! Oh, yeah! I get it! Hahaha!"

"Oh, Tony!" Pepper giggled and pinched his right cheek with her hand, "You're so easy!"

"Yeah. Maybe I am," he smiled at her, not an ounce of displeasure with her words showing on his face.

Her pinching then turned into her palm tenderly resting on his face, a gesture that Tony returned by leaning closer to her face to press his lips against hers. Pepper eagerly kissed him back and grabbed onto the lapels of his tuxedo jacket to pull him closer to her. Next thing they knew, Tony had pulled Pepper to sit sideways across his lap; his left hand resting on her right hip, and his right hand cradling her neck. Pepper's arms then slid up from holding onto his clothes to surrounding his neck; her right hand massaging his scalp while her left one squeezed onto his shoulder.

Their personal record for the longest time of breathing hard through their nose to avoid stopping a savory kiss was more than just barely broken, only for their second kiss to then be cut short when Tony pulled away from her to stare at the redhead with an indecipherable look on his face. His breathing was as ragged as hers. His mouth was slightly ajar. His lips were partly swollen. But it was his electric blue orbs that almost gave away the prize: they silently spoke of an epic revelation that was en route.

"What's wrong, Tony?" the ginger queried, almost immediately missing the warmth that his touch always brought to her, but she was also slightly worried by the expression on his face.

"Pepper…"

She watched him open and close his mouth a couple of times; clearly struggling with whatever he had to say. He licked his lips a few times, swallowed hard some others, and then shuddered noticeably before he spoke once more.

"Pep: I…" he slowly ran his left hand down her face, halting when it almost reached her jawline and left it to rest there.

"What is it?" the ginger frowned and placed her right hand on his, leaving it between her face and her palm.

"I… Pepper, I l–"

"Warning! Warning! User intervention required!"

The sound of Tony's pod going off made him close his eyes, groan, run his right hand down his face, and then exhale loudly through his nostrils. Of course time was going to hit him in the groin at the worst possible opportunity. It was Time, after all: this was what it did.

"What's going on?" Pepper asked as she watched Tony take out his pod and read the message blinking on his screen.

"Attempt at unauthorized use of the Rescue armor detected," the blue-eyed boy said with narrowed eyes. "Evasive maneuvers completed. Return armor to base?"

"What?" Pepper pressed her face closer to Tony's to read the message herself. "Someone tried to use my suit?"

"Apparently."

"What are the evasive maneuvers?"

"Uhm…" Tony began sweating when it dawned on him who could have been near the armor to try to put it on – and in what condition they could be finding themselves at the moment.

"I think we should go back to your place, Pep. Right now."

"What? Why?" Pepper asked, for a second not understanding the reason for the rush, for why Tony had returned them both to the middle of the roof, for why he had just now set her feet down, or for why Tony was calling on his armor to suit up.

"To handle the issue with your suit."

"But the suit can handle itself," Pepper rolled her eyes. "Besides, who would be dumb enough to… to… oh… OH, NUTS!"

"Hold on to me," Tony, who was now suited up as Iron Man thanks to Extremis, told his girlfriend before he pulled her up into his arms.

"Think she'll be OK?" Pepper surrounded his shoulders with her arms.

"I'm more worried about your dad. He's gonna kill me."

"I'll hide the shotgun," Pepper jested, but she was not at all under the belief that her father would take it out on Tony because her sister was too curious for her own good.

Oh, well, Pepper internally sighed in deject once she felt the familiar rush of being carried by her armored hero. So much for trying to cash in on the bet tonight!