Pepper smiled, glad that Tony agreed to slow down and take another tack. "Now, then," she said, as she leaned back against her pillows. "Back to our first date."
"Ah, right," Tony said, settling back in. He rubbed his hands together, and gave her a smirk. "Well, we went to the Pier. My idea, I might add. I figured we couldn't go wrong with doing something a little on the traditional side."
"I agree," Pepper interjected with an approving smile. "Nice work."
Tony smiled proudly back, and then continued. "We walked the Boardwalk, got ice cream. I won you a Teddy Bear at the Duck Shoot, but only after you beat me at Water Pistols."
Pepper chuckled.
"I had to regain my honor, you see," Tony teased.
"Of course," she replied good-naturedly. "Then what?"
Tony cocked an eyebrow. "You want me to keep going?" he asked.
Pepper nodded eagerly. "Yes," she said. "Please."
Tony smiled, glad that she thought the story was okay thus far. "Okay," he said softly. He cleared his throat, and continued. "Uh, we rode the Ferris wheel. Again, in keeping with..."
"Old-fashioned notions?" Pepper said, finishing his thought. She gave him a smile laced with admiration.
"Right," Tony said, smiling back. "The height kinda freaked you out, so...you let me hold you," he told her, with fond remembrance. Then he shrugged. "After that, I...called you my girlfriend for the first time," he finished wistfully.
Pepper's cheeks blushed. She bit her lips together, and shifted her gaze downward for a moment before looking back up at him. Their eyes met once more, and they both softly chuckled. Pepper nodded. "Sounds nice," she admitted softly.
"It was," Tony replied, equally as soft.
Pepper sighed. "So...that was it? We ended the night with the ride on the Ferris wheel?" she asked curiously.
Tony chuckled awkwardly, and averted his eyes as he put a hand to the back of his neck. "Uh...not exactly," he said. "When the ride ended, it started to rain. Hard."
Pepper's eyebrows went up, but she stayed silent as she listened.
He continued. "We ran back to my car, with you holding the Teddy Bear over your head, and it not doing a heck of a whole lot to block the rain, by the way..." he teased.
Pepper laughed.
"And when we got there, we piled inside, and..." But then he stopped, reconsidering his next words. "Waited out the storm," he said plainly, wary to tell her about the steamy make-out session they'd had that followed.
Pepper frowned. "So...then the night ended?" she asked.
Tony worked his jaw, unsure if she was asking because she didn't want the story to end, or if she actually did want the story to end because she was afraid of what he would tell her otherwise. Unable to discern the meaning of her reaction, he frowned in frustration. But then just decided to come clean. "Uh, n-no," he stammered. "But before I go on, I gotta know- are you sure you want to know all of the details? I mean, are you...ready?" he asked with hesitation. He held up his hands in surrender. "I just don't wanna give you too much, here. I'm afraid I'm going to. And I don't want to if..."
Pepper smiled politely. "You're right," she agreed. "We probably should be careful."
Tony nodded his head in agreement, and stopped talking, albeit, secretly with a little regret at having to halt the fond recollection of that night.
But Pepper kept her eyes on him, and bit her lips in thought for a moment, clearly fighting the temptation to hear more. "Okay, maybe give me a few more details," she said, finally giving in. "But not everything, of course. Just...just the cliff notes?" she offered.
"Cliff notes. Got it," Tony said, nodding in the affirmative. "So, like I said, we...uh," he continued, briefly pausing to make air quotes with his fingers. " 'Waited out the storm together. In my car." He then gave her an awkward smile.
Pepper's eyes went a little wide. She swallowed hard. "Wait," she began. "You don't mean we..." She raised her fingers to make the same air quotes. "Right there?!" she asked, her voice in an alarmed whisper. "In the parking lot?!"
Tony spluttered, suddenly realizing the cause for her alarm. "What?! No. No-no. By 'waiting out the storm', I mean we...we," he stammered, struggling to explain.
"Yes?" Pepper asked urgently.
"Made out. A little," he finished, with a pained look from suddenly spilling the beans. "So much for cliff notes," he muttered to himself in defeat.
Pepper sighed heavily. "Oh," she said. She nodded in understanding, and slowly began to smile in amusement. Then she started to chuckle.
Tony look at her curiously. "What? What's so funny?" he asked.
She gave him an impish look. "Nothing. I just thought you were saying we...you know," she explained awkwardly. "For the whole world to see."
Tony scoffed. "Pssh, like you would have allowed that!" he replied. "You didn't even allow it after we went back to your place! It was headed that way, but..." Then he stopped, instantly back-peddling, realizing again he was delving into dangerous waters. "Uh, not that there was anything wrong with that, though. I was perfectly fine with everything we were doing. Or not doing, as the case may be... I..." He stopped. "Wow," he said. "I'm just digging myself a hole, here, aren't I?"
Pepper just bit her lip, again faced with the dilemma of temptation. "We...went back to my place?" she asked.
Tony smiled sheepishly. "Yep," he said softly. "You...want me to stop there?" he asked with caution.
Pepper bit her lip and frowned in thought, and then slowly shook her head. "No," she finally said, her tone decisive. "Continue."
Tony swallowed hard, and nodded in understanding. "Well...we both didn't want the night to end so we went back to your place and...continued...making out," he stated, his own cheeks reddening at their collective awkwardness. But then he threw up his hands again in surrender. "But, as I said before, that's where it ended. And then, we..."
Pepper just continued to watch him silently, with rapt attention.
"Cuddled on the couch," he said finally. "And watched a movie. Fell asleep watching the movie. Then we woke up, like, hours later, and you were still in my arms. It was..." he said, pausing for a moment. Pepper's eyebrows raised in anticipation of what he was going to say. "The best first date ever," he admitted, his voice fondly reminiscent.
She smiled in relief and chuckled. "For a second I thought you were going to say disappointing, "she replied. "Or worse, boring."
Tony frowned, and then chuckled in surprise. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "We could have spent the evening looking at your stamp collection, or something, and I still would've had the time of my life that night," he assured her.
Suddenly, Pepper grimaced. "I have a stamp collection?" she asked with disdain.
Tony burst out laughing at her taking his words so literally. "Uh, not to my knowledge, no," he stated, matter-of-fact.
Pepper then gave him a sheepish grin, and they laughed together. "Good," she cooed. "Because that might have been more alarming than what I thought we did in the parking lot at the Pier," she joked.
"Really?" Tony asked, cocking an eyebrow at her, and smirking.
"Okay, maybe not," she replied teasingly.
They chuckled again at each other. And then Tony gave her an inquisitive look. "You...still okay? With all of this, I mean?" he asked.
Pepper nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Sounds like we kept things...fairly innocent. Right?" she asked. She winced, her expression asking for his reassurance.
Tony nodded, and smiled proudly. "You were a perfect lady that night," he gushed. Then he shrugged. "Well, nearly perfect. Those make out sessions of ours? Wooo! Those kept me going for..."
"Uh, Tony?" Pepper interjected.
Tony stopped talking. "Yeah, Pep?" he asked.
"Cliff notes?" she reminded him regretfully.
Tony pursed his lips, and nodded firmly in understanding. "Right. Cliff notes. Sorry," he replied. He took a deep breath. "But seriously, Potts. I had the time of my life that night. Because I was with you," he said, with a loving smile.
Pepper smiled at him coyly in reply. "Thank you," she said softly.
Tony looked at her questioningly. "For what?" he asked.
"For your patience. With everything. I'm sure it can't be easy," she said.
Tony gave her a soft smile. "Well, I'd be lying if I said you were wrong," he admitted. "But even if it meant we'd get just one more day together, I'd still walk through hell for you, Pep."
Pepper smiled. "It kind of sounds like you already have," she remarked. "I just hope the pain will be worth it to you in the end."
"As far as I'm concerned?" Tony said. He smiled, his eyes sparkling with adoration. "It already is."
Pepper blushed and smiled at his words. They gazed at each other, the sincerity of his admission soaking into her skin. Tony scooted closer to her, and then slowly started leaning in, eyeing her lips. She watched him intently, her chest beginning to heave from the flutter of excited anticipation about what was going to happen next.
"Tony," she murmured softly, her eyes on his lips now as well.
"Pepper," he murmured back, leaning farther in still.
Their lips were millimeters apart now. She could sense, on an almost molecular level she was sure, the feel, the taste, of his impending kiss when there was a sudden knock on the door, and they both startled. "Mrs. Stark?" a man's voice said from the other side. "I'm here for your physical therapy?"
They broke apart, and smiled awkwardly, and a little apologetically, at each other.
"Uh, yes!" Pepper said, trying to hurriedly get back her composure. "Yes, I'm ready!"
The door opened, and a man in scrubs carrying a caddie full of simple exercise equipment entered the room. "Good morning!" he said, extending a hand to her in salutations. Pepper took it, and smiled warmly. "I'm Jeff Thompson, the resident physical therapist," he explained.
"Nice to meet you, Jeff," Pepper replied. To this point, Tony had just watched the interaction between them in silence. But then Pepper shifted her eyes, and gestured to him. "And this is my...,"she began. She paused for a moment. Tony looked at her with questioning in his eyes. Pepper took a small breath before continuing. "Husband, Tony," she finished, with definitive resolve. She and Tony shared a look, and a proud smile spread across Tony's lips at her introduction of him.
Pepper just gave him a sweet, accepting smile in return.
The man shook Tony's hand as well, and then brought his focus back to his patient. "They tell me we'll be working to get you back in fighting shape, correct?" he teased.
Pepper giggled and rolled her eyes. "Right now, I'll settle for being able to get out of this bed," she replied.
They all chuckled, and then Jeff went on to explain the regimen they'd follow in the coming days. Once questions had been answered, and everyone was of the same understanding, they began with doing some small stretching exercises to get Pepper's leg muscles moving and limbered up again. It was difficult, as expected, as the weakened muscles fatigued easily, and she had to take frequent breaks. But Tony stood by her side the whole time, holding her hand and uttering words of encouragement to her as she worked, even when she'd shed a few tears from the strain of her efforts. It was arduous, and painful at times. But once it was over, they were all very pleased with what had been done on her first day of rehabilitation. Tony and Pepper both thanked Jeff profusely for the productive session, and bid him goodbye until the next time.
When Jeff left the room, Tony turned his gaze back to his exhausted wife. "I'm proud of you, baby," he told her. "You're a fighter. You always have been."
Pepper had laid back against her pillows breathlessly as she recouped from the rigor. But she smiled in appreciation at him. "Well, I'm glad you're here," she murmured thankfully. "It makes it a little easier, I can tell you that."
Tony smiled, and leaned over to gently kiss her forehead. Then he pulled back to look into her eyes. "I'm glad you think so," he replied. But then his smile turned to a look of contemplation. "But Pep?" he said. "Don't feel like you have to call me your husband, okay? I mean, I know it's early yet. And I get it if you don't...I mean I'm thrilled, don't get me wrong, but..."
"I want to," Pepper interjected.
Tony stopped babbling, and swallowed hard. "You...do?" he asked sheepishly.
Pepper smiled and nodded. "I do," she admitted. "Because I figure, if I expect to get any of my memory back, I need to start with what's true in the present. And that means getting used to being called Mrs. Stark."
Tony grinned. "I think that's a terrific plan," he purred lovingly to her.
She smiled, and chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I thought you might," she replied, with a knowing smirk.
But then Tony furrowed his brow. "But, all the same, take your time," he cautioned. "You know what the doc said. Don't feel like you need to push yourself."
"I'll be careful, I promise," Pepper assured him. "I just feel like I should start retraining my brain to think that we're married." She shrugged. "Even if the idea does still take some getting used to," she admitted.
Tony chuckled. "I can only imagine the shock you felt when you were told you're married to this guy," he joked, jabbing a thumb toward his chest.
She smiled and shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, I was fully convinced it was some kind of joke, or you'd tricked me into doing it, or I must have been completely out of my mind at the time," she teased.
They laughed, and Tony nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, nobody's going to debate that marrying me is probably not in anybody's best interest," he teased back. Pepper laughed.
He then picked up her hand, and gazed lovingly at her engagement and wedding rings before her gently kissed the back of it, "But I'm sure glad you took the chance, anyway," he finished. He gave her an adoring smile, but it was one also soaked with heartache. Pepper smiled softly in response. Tony then bent to kiss her forehead once more, and Pepper closed her eyes, relishing his affection. She then reopened them to look at him again.
"I know we'll get through this," he whispered to her in reassurance.
Pepper smiled and nodded at him in agreement, and then inhaled deeply. She yawned and then sighed heavily.
Tony could see her eyelids were heavy. "Time to get some rest, huh?" he asked.
Pepper nodded, and then closed her eyes again. He stayed by her side, holding her hand and watching over her protectively as she slowly drifted off to sleep. His heart ached once more, reminding him of what once was. But at the same time, he also couldn't help a giddy smile from spreading across his lips at the fact that she was willing to acknowledge they were husband and wife, not just boss and employee. He was fine with her needing more time to fully accept it. He'd give her all the time in the world, if it was needed. But, in his mind, what had happened that day was another very welcome victory on the long road to her recovery.
Deets on that first date in Chapter 4 of "the Inbetween", if you wanna read it! (Just thought I'd mention it.) Love all the love and support! You guys are awesome! :D Much more to come!