Pepper drove home that evening in great anticipation of what Tony would have waiting for her. She had left the office at 5:30 that evening, not happy that her promise to make it home around "five-ish" would be more like "six-ish", but none-the-less, she was grateful she was able to come home at that time, and not later, like usual.

She walked in the front door at twenty-five to six, to the smells of clams and linguine in the kitchen and the soft sounds of mellow jazz playing from the living room. "Hey! There's my beautiful bride," Tony boomed jovially, walked briskly to her, with a dish towel slung over his shoulder, to hug her around the waist, and kiss her cheek in greeting. He looked at his watch. "And she's home at more like six-ish, but whatever," he teased.

"Hey, it was still five-ish when I left," Pepper defended, pecking his lips. She sniffed in the air, and then looked at Tony suspiciously. "Now, I know you didn't cook," she said skeptically.

"Why? On the account that it actually smells edible, and not like toxic waste?" he teased.

She giggled. "Something like that," she said.

"I only wish I could take credit, Pep. But no. La Cucina De Rosa's saved my bacon, yet again," Tony replied.

Pepper smiled and pecked her husband's lips again before she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly before Pepper pulled back to look at him lovingly. "Well, thank you. It smells divine," she said.

Tony's eyebrows raised. "Really?" he said. "Has the appetite returned? I was a little afraid the smell would repulse you. So I ordered you a back up dinner salad just in case."

Pepper shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "No! It's fine, surprisingly. And yes! I guess I am finally getting my appetite back. It's about time I start eating like a normal person again."

"Great," Tony said, in relief, planting a kiss on her lips. He patted her side, and left her presence to finish plating up their dinner. Pepper walked over and sat down on the living room sofa, removing her heels and rubbing her aching feet for a moment before she padded into the kitchen to join Tony.

He was just finishing dishing up her plate when she entered. "Voila," Tony said, laying the plate on the dining room table with a flourish, and smirking. "Clams and Linguine, ala Stark. And Rosa," he joked.

Pepper giggled and kissed Tony again before taking her seat, and digging in. Tony gingerly sat a glass of what appeared to be champagne next to her plate, and she frowned at him. "That can't be for me," she said. "I thought it was common knowledge that you can't drink when you're pregnant."

"It is," Tony said. He pointed at her glass. "And that's not. Alcohol, I mean. It's sparkling white grape juice. For you," he said. He grabbed his plate, and his glass off the counter and sat down across from her. "And for me," he said. "I'm strictly NA for the next seven months. This is supposed to be a team effort, right?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her as he took a big bite of the chicken carbonara off his own plate.

Pepper chuckled and took a sip from her glass. "Team Stark?" she asked.

Tony nodded. "Team Stark. Damn right," he agreed.

She raised her fork and Tony clanked his with hers in the air. They smiled happily at each other, before both of them returned back to their food.

Pepper hungrily mowed through half her plate before talking a breather. She sat back, and sighed, resting a hand on her belly as she sipped more from her glass.

Tony looked up to see her plate half cleared in the time he could only get through a quarter of his. "Holy hell, Pep. Junior a clam fan, too, or something?" he teased. "You're outpacing me by a long shot."

Pepper smiled and shrugged. "Well, I am growing a Stark, right?" she teased back.

Tony chuckled at her using his previous remarks to her on him. "That's right. He must be mine."

"Or she," Pepper corrected. "Still with the 'he's', this one," she said to herself.

"Fine. He or she has a killer appetite," he said. "Just be sure to save room for dessert."

Pepper sat forward, and took up her fork again. "Can't wait to see what's planned for that," before eating another forkful of noodles and clams.

"It's an old familiar," Tony replied. "But always a favorite in this household."

Pepper stopped eating and looked at Tony with wide eyes. "You didn't," she warned.

Tony smirked at her, and cocked an eyebrow knowingly, but stayed silent.

"Tony Stark, what did you do?" Pepper said. She sat her fork down and looked at him sternly, her lips pursed and her eyebrows raised. "Go on. Spill it. What mess did you make this time?"

Tony chuckled. "No mess," he said.

"No mess," Pepper repeated.

"No! I promise, Pep. Honest!" Tony said, raising his hands in surrender. "This is purely out of wanting to pamper my wife."

"You promise?" Pepper said, skeptically.

"I promise," Tony assured. "It's been a while since we had one of these, and you deserved a treat. That's it."

"Mmmmkay," Pepper said, cautiously, returning to her dinner.

Tony just grinned.

Pepper took a few more bites and then spoke again. "So, I was thinking..." she started.

"Uh-oh," Tony muttered under his breath. Pepper glowered at him, and he back-peddled. "I mean, yes, dear?" he said. Pepper rolled her eyes, and Tony smirked.

She continued. "I was thinking about when we'd be able to go to Venice," she said. "By all counts, I can't see it happening until...April?" she said, pursing her lips and grimacing.

"April. Yeah," Tony said, thinking. "And what's wrong with going right away, again?"

Pepper frowned and shook her head. "We couldn't possibly," she said. "The Board is going to call their emergency meeting any day now. I also have that tech conference in San Francisco to get ready for. That's only in a few more weeks! The second week in February. Plus, it's flood season in Venice right now until the end of March. It wouldn't be any good to go until April, anyway."

Tony nodded. "And it has to be Venice, right?" he asked.

Pepper shrugged. "I guess it doesn't have to be," she said quietly. "But I want it to be," she said hopefully.

Tony smiled. "Then Venice it is," he said. "And we'll wait."

"For April," Pepper said.

"For April," Tony repeated. "Now finish you're clams. I'm dying to dish up dessert."

Pepper did as she was told, as she watched Tony walk back into the kitchen.

"Am I being stubborn?" she asked, as Tony brought a very familiar looking box out of the refrigerator.

"With what?" he asked.

"With Venice?" Pepper asked, sipping the last of her sparkling grape juice.

"Not at all," Tony said. "If it's where you want to go, then it's where we'll go. End of story," he said. He returned to the table with dessert, and Pepper's eyes lit up. He'd bought her favorite dessert- New York style chocolate cheesecake with raspberry compote.

"Oh you had to have done something wrong," she teased.

Tony laughed. "I told you I'm innocent!" he insisted. "Consider it a way to celebrate you getting your appetite back," he said.

Pepper gave him a guilty smile and then eagerly dug in. She closed her eyes in ecstasy and smiled. "Oh my God! That never gets old," she purred.

Tony smiled proudly, loving the fact he'd made his wife so happy. "Well, the fun doesn't end here," he said.

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Really," she cooed.

"Nope," Tony confirmed. "I have big plans for us this evening, Mrs. Stark. Big plans," he assured, smirking.

Pepper eyed him curiously, and pursed her lips. "Do tell," she urged.

Tony grinned. "Well, I know how stressed out you've been, so how about we..." he said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Spend a little alone time together?"

"Sex?" Pepper said, very nonplussed. "That's your big plan?"

Tony drew back and scoffed. "Gee, thanks, Pep. Didn't know you were already bored with our sex life," he retorted sarcastically.

Pepper shook her head. "I'm not," she assured. "And I love our sex life, by the way. But Tony. We have sex all the time. What makes tonight different?"

Tony's face went from insulted to mischievous. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he purred.

XxXxXxXxXx

Pepper finished her cheesecake and Tony led her into the bedroom. Pepper watched as he flipped the light switch to the overhead light. But it wasn't the usual incandescent light coming from the fixture. This time, it was black light.

Pepper cooed. "Hmmmmm," she said. "What are you up to, Stark?" she asked.

Tony looked at her and grinned, his teeth glowing. "In my travels today, I found some stuff I think you and I will have a very good time playing with," he said. "It'll be a little messy, but a lot of fun, and definitely a good stress reliever."

Pepper grinned, this time her teeth glowing in the light just before Tony kissed her. He continued to kiss her as he slowly worked to disrobe her, each of them working together to get naked in the quickest way possible. They eventually shed all of their clothing, and Pepper's pale skin glowed a little brighter than Tony's on account of her paleness. "Heh heh," Tony chuckled. "Even in black light, I can see you're freckles," he teased.

"Stop it," she said bashfully, and he kissed her again, walking them back toward the bed. They both climbed onto it, and Pepper stopped. "Plastic?" she asked, feeling the crunch of a plastic dropcloth underneath their knees.
"You'll see," Tony said. He left her presence for a moment to get something out of the nightstand drawer. He returned to produce three long tubes of something.

"What are those?" she asked.

"These," Tony said. "Are our new toys for tonight." Pepper watched intently as he unscrewed the cap of one tube and squirted some of the contents onto the tip of his middle finger. It glowed pink, and Pepper gasped.

"Body paint," she murmured.

"Edible, water-soluble, body paint," Tony corrected. Pepper watched as he drew a heart right over her own heart. It glowed bright pink in the black light, and Pepper smiled widely. And Tony chuckled.

"My turn. Give me some. Let me try," she demanded. Tony handed her a tube. Pepper unscrewed the cap and squeezed some onto her finger. Her color was blue. She raised her finger to his chest, but hesitated. Tony watched her cautiously, wondering if he was correctly guessing what she was going to draw on him. But his suspicions were put to rest when Pepper, too, traced a heart over his own, covering the arc reactor scar with blue paint.

"No arc?" he asked. "I thought for sure you'd..." he started.

"Nope," Pepper interjected. "It's not there anymore, is it?" she asked, looking into his eyes and smiling.

Tony shook his head and smiled. "Nope," he said. "Just a regular old heart, now. Like everybody else," he said.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Pepper argued. She took Tony's tube of paint from him, and put some on her finger. Tony watched as she wrote Pepper's over the top of the heart in pink paint. They both smiled.

"You're right. It's not just a regular old heart," Tony agreed.

Pepper shook her head and kissed his lips. Tony kissed her back, and simultaneously grabbed the blue paint. He continued to kiss Pepper's lips as he squirted a glob into his palms and rubbed them together. Firmly, he planted both hands over the tops of her breasts, which made Pepper squeal and pull away from the kiss to look down at what he was doing. Tony released his hands and chuckled. Two big hand prints were right over the top of each boob.

"Tony!" Pepper scolded, trying not to laugh.

"Hey, you claimed a part of me. Now, it's my turn," he argued. He frowned at his work. "Wait, I'm not done," he said. He unscrewed the cap off the third tube and squirted some onto the tip of his pointer-finger. This time the color was neon green. He proceeded to write Tony's over the top of her chest. When he was finished, he chuckled. "Mmmm, now that's what I call art," he purred.

Pepper giggled and rolled her eyes. Tony laughed, and Pepper demanded he hand over the paint. "At least one color, I don't care which," she said.

Tony looked at her suspiciously, and handed over a tube of paint daintily. She grabbed it and put a glob of it in the palm of her hand. The color was pink, and she rubbed her hands together before them up to show him.

"Oh, God, I gave you pink," Tony moaned. "I have a feeling I'll regret this."

Pepper chuckled slyly. "Come here," she said.

Tony slowly scooted close to her, so they were almost nose to nose. Pepper bit her bottom lip, and suddenly clapped both hands on each cheek of his behind, pressing her hands firmly against him. Tony jerked and inhaled sharply through his teeth. Pepper laughed, and slowly removed her hands.

"Turn around," she demanded.

Tony shook his head. "No," he said.

"Yes," Pepper commanded. "Turn around. Let me see my work."

Tony exhaled sharply. "Fii-eennne," he whined. He slowly turned away from her on his knees, and Pepper burst out laughing.

"Yeah, Potts! Yuck it up! Pink hand prints on my ass. Hilarious," Tony pouted. But he couldn't hide his smile. He started to laugh, too, and turned back around to face her. He kissed her lips, and she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, and being careful with her pink painty hands.

Tony broke the kiss and brought one of her hands around to his mouth. He gingerly sucked the tip of her pointer-finger. "Mmmm. That's actually not bad," he said.

"What is it?" Pepper asked.

"Cherry," he answered. "Here," he said, offering her a blue pointer-finger of his.

Pepper sucked the tip of it. Tony raised his eyebrows, waiting for the result. "Blue raspberry, I think," she said.

Tony chuckled mischievously. "I can think of something else of mine you could put this stuff on," he said.

Pepper spluttered. "Tony!" she said.

"Yeah, I'll even let you pick the flavor," he teased. Pepper smacked him playfully on the shoulder, leaving a faint pink hand print, which made them both laugh.

"Okay, maybe later," Tony relented, shrugging. He suddenly furrowed his brow in thought. Pepper watched him silently as he picked up the tube of green. "I have an idea," he said. "Hold still."

Pepper did as instructed. She watched as Tony squirted some green paint on his finger and drew a large circle around her abdomen. He squirted a little more on his finger, and drew a tiny stick figure at the bottom of the circle, in a semi lying-down position with limbs raised as if they were floating. He got some more paint on his finger and wrote our baby over the top of the figure. He smiled proudly, sitting back to look at his work. "There," he said, proudly, bringing his eyes to Pepper's. "Come here, I want to show you," he said.

He offered her his hand as he climbed off the bed, and Pepper carefully stepped to the floor. He led her to the full length mirror behind the bedroom door, where she could see what he'd done. He stepped behind her and put his hands on her hips, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Our baby," she read. She smiled lovingly at him. "Very nice," she said.

"Yep," Tony agreed softly.

"And green? Not blue?" she teased.

Tony chuckled. "Green, for now, Pep," he replied. "Maybe blue in the future, huh?"
"Or pink," she reminded him.

"Right. Or pink," he agreed, smiling. "Gives us an excuse to do this again in the near future, anyway, right? Once we find out what it is?"

Pepper giggled and nodded. "And speaking of pink," she said, moving so she could turn him around. She started laughing at the bright pink hand prints she'd left on his behind.

"Oh, man! She got me," Tony whined, laughing as he examined his behind in the mirror. "Wow, that's...embarrassing."
Pepper kept laughing as they made their way back over to the bed again. "I'm sure you'll think of some way to get me back," she said.

"Oh, I already have," Tony cooed. He handed her the green paint. "See what flavor this one is, Pep," he said. "Because you going to want to like it. A lot."

Pepper smirked at him wryly. "Revisiting the other body parts idea again, are we?" she said.

"You know me too well," Tony replied.

She smiled slyly. "Hardly a punishment, Stark," she purred. "Good thing I enjoy that kind of thing."

"Mmmm hmmm," Tony purred back. "And you're really good at it, too. Why do you think I suggested it?"

"Why do I think that this was your master plan all along?" Pepper asked.

Tony grinned. "Hey, you scratch my back," he murmured, his voice low with a smoky rumble. "And, I'll scratch yours."