It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life...for our POOR SWEET OTP! And BOY, do they deserve it!

GOD, it's been a long year, hasn't it? Aren't you tired of hurting for these two? (Of COURSE you are. You aren't a true shipperony if you haven't. That's just the truth.) Officially as of July 7th, we will no longer be in this Marvel-god forsaken famine! It will be raining Pepperony once again! :D (ya' see what I did there?)

And I know one other thing. This writer's definitely back in the saddle, and ready to ride! Lots of love to those of you faithfuls who are still hanging on! Let's do this, shall we? :D

Happy Pepperony Reunion, and Happy Reading...

Tony was about to tell Pepper about what happened next with Fury and Natasha, and the revelation that his father had left behind the makings for creating a new element, which stopped the palladium poisoning from the arc. But he was cut short by the entrance of a nurse, who looked startled as soon as she walked in, realizing she was interrupting what seemed to be a very enthralling conversation.

"I...I'm sorry," she stuttered. "But I was just coming in to check your vitals, Mrs. Stark, if that's alright?"

Pepper smiled kindly, and waved a welcoming hand to the woman. Tony smiled in admiration at her inherent grace- just one of those things he'd always found special about her. "It's perfectly fine, " Pepper stated, pulling up her hospital gown sleeve. "They mentioned you'd be in every hour."

The nurse giggled awkwardly and nodded in the affirmative, putting the blood pressure cuff on her upper arm, and pumping it tightly around it. Next, she put the head of her stethoscope at the base of the cuff, in the crook of Pepper's arm, and they all waited patiently as she listened and watched the gauge tick down. After a moment, she ripped open the velcro on the cuff and gave the both of them a smile. "Everything is looking good," she commented. "Now, I'll get out of your hair."

They both nodded and watched as the nurse left the room, and Tony sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Now," he said intently. "Where was I?"

But Pepper held her hands up to halt him, her face pained. "Actually, do you mind if we...take a break? I'm...not sure I'm up to..." she began.

"No, that's...it's fine. It can wait," Tony answered hurriedly back. He then took his wife's left hand in his, and she smiled as she watched him fiddle with her rings, righting the large diamond of her engagement ring to face upward. Then he looked up at her. "I'm probably giving you too much info right now, anyway," he confessed.

Pepper quickly dismissed it. "No, it's not that. It's just...I need a little bit of the 'here and now' for a while. Does that sound strange?" she asked.

Tony shook his head. "Not at all," he answered. "You tell me when you're ready for more, Pep. I'm at your command."

She chuckled and nodded. "I'll remember that," she joked.

Tony just chuckled back.

XxXxXxXxXx

A couple of days had gone by, and Tony was a bit concerned that Pepper hadn't expressed any more interest in learning about the past. The argument could be made that her rehabilitation at the hospital had kept them both busy in that there was a lot of physical therapy to be done and still more tests to be run, but there were the few quiet moments between them in the evenings and early mornings when the subject could've been broached, but wasn't.

Tony knew he couldn't be in any hurry to tell her the rest of the past few years' events. But all the same, it seemed that she didn't have much interest in hearing about them now. He wondered if she, too, was just being patient with her injuries, and hoping her memory would come back enough to fill in the rest. He truly hoped that's the only reason why she'd be holding out, and not that she was reconsidering her previous concern that there wasn't any place for her in his life. Or worse, that she had started to believe again that she wasn't going to be what he wanted any longer.

So, by the second evening, he decided he couldn't wait anymore. He had to know what she was thinking. She was set to come back from a late afternoon therapy appointment, and he knew she'd be tired. So he'd make it short and sweet, but get right to the point of asking why she didn't seem to want to know anymore than he'd already told her.

When they wheeled her into the room, the nurses moved to shift her to the bed from the wheelchair, but Tony intervened. "Let me handle that, if you don't mind," he told them with a smirk, as he scooped her up in his arms. Pepper squealed in surprise, then blushed and giggled at the chivalrous gesture, and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck as he gently laid her back in bed, making the nurses positively swoon. But the two lovebirds barely noticed, gazing lovingly into each others' eyes. Tony grinned at his wife. "Comfortable?" he asked, as he moved to tuck her blankets back up around her legs.

Pepper nodded. "Yes," she murmured. "Very. Thank you."

He bent to peck her lips, and then brushed her cheek with his thumb. "Good," he replied. He then stood up, straightening himself, and turned around to find two starry-eyed nurses wearing dopey grins, gawking at them.

One of them sighed wistfully. "You guys are just the best couple on Earth," she gushed, her voice dreamy.

Tony shrugged, trying to seem humble, but a proud smirk spread across his lips. "Yeah, well, what can I say?" he asked. He turned around to look at Pepper, and smiled in adoration. She smiled lovingly back. "That's what happens when you find the right one," he mused.

One of the nurses came out of her daze of admiration, and tapped the other on the shoulder. "Come on," she said. "Let's leave them alone for the night."

The other agreed and they made their way to the door. "Goodnight, you two," they both cooed in unison.

Pepper blushed and started giggling, and Tony jutted a thumb in their direction, and looked at her curiously. "You believe this? All googly- eyed over us," he commented. Then he shrugged, and walked back over to sit down on the edge of Pepper's bed. "Well, can't say I blame them. I mean, we are a pretty great..."

His words were suddenly cut off by Pepper's lips, as she'd leaned in while he was speaking to swiftly kiss him. When the kiss broke, she pulled back to look at him, and saw he was bit dazed. "Couple," he finished.

Pepper giggled again, and Tony pretended to shake himself out of the spell she'd put him under, which only made her laugh more. "Oh, come on," she prodded, teasing him. "You can't be that weak-kneed anymore when I suddenly kiss you."

Tony spluttered in objection. "You wanna bet?" he challenged. "You are the only girl who can do that to me. And I'd hope," he said, pausing to lean back in and softly peck her lips. Pepper kissed him back, closing her eyes and savoring the kiss even after he pulled away. "I still do that to you, in return," he finished.

Pepper smiled, and slowly opened her eyes. "Mmmm hmmm," she purred. "There's no doubt about that."

Tony grinned, but then his grin was replaced by a pensive look. "Uh, on that note, Pep," he began. She gave him a look of concern. "I...can't help but notice that we've...never picked back up the conversation we were having the other day about..."

"Tony," Pepper warned. But he went on.

"Is it because...you're not interested? Or...is it all just too much? I guess I don't..." he started to say, but she stopped him, laying a hand on his chest. He looked down at it, and then back up to her, his expression drenched in worry.

"It's definitely not that I'm not interested," she assured.

"Then...what is it?" Tony begged, fearing the worst.

Pepper sighed. "It's that I...want to know certain things, but frankly I'm..." she began. Then she sighed. "I'm...embarrassed to ask about them," she admitted.

Tony frowned, and then a wide grin broke out across his face. He leaned in. "Like...what?" he murmured, trying to appear suspicious. "Like...how's the sex, or something?" he offered, giving her the eagle eye.

Pepper gasped and her eyes went wide, her cheeks going a deep crimson as she started to giggle in embarrassment, and Tony's eyes went wide as he took that as confirmation. "That's it, isn't it?! You wanna know how good we are at getting down, don't you?!" he blurted out. Then he gave her a cocky smirk, and quirked up an eyebrow. "Well, honey, let me just say that we are a..." he took a minute to find the words, and Pepper gave him a wry smirk. "Force to be reckoned with," he finished proudly. "So..." he said, pausing to cock an eyebrow, and give her nod. "Yeah," he finished.

Pepper tried to stifle a giggle at his display of machismo, and shook her head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not what I was wondering," she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact.

Tony was still grinning, but his face fell at her reply. "Huh? Oh," he said, deflated.

Pepper bit her lips together, trying her hardest to keep the giggles down, and then went on. "Now that that's been cleared up, though, I guess I don't mind telling you that..." she paused in caution, chewing her lip. "I...am curious about... our wedding." She exhaled. "There. I said it."

Tony frowned at her in confusion. "What's the big deal about that?" he asked.

Pepper looked at him in surprise. "About our wedding?!" she replied.

Tony startled, realizing the misunderstanding. "No!" he assured her. "I mean asking me about it," he corrected. "Why didn't you want to ask me?"

Pepper blushed and averted her eyes in embarrassment. "I...just..." she began.

"You just..." Tony urged.

Pepper sighed again. "I just...didn't want it to seem like I was...being too adolescent in asking. Like some silly little girl with fairy tale visions in my head, that's all."

A moment passed as Tony worked his jaw in thought. "Well, do you?" he finally asked.

Pepper looked at him blankly. "Do I what?" she replied.

"Have fairy tale visions of our wedding in your head?" he asked.

Pepper spluttered. "What?! I'm not going to tell you that! I..."

"Because you do, or?..."

"I don't, Tony! I just didn't want it to look like I..."

"It would be okay if you did, Pep. I mean, yeah, it's really girly and I'd have to laugh at you for maybe just a smidgen of time before I..."

"Now, see?! That's exactly why I didn't..." Pepper interjected.

"Tell you the truth about the completely amazing wedding we had. That I coordinated in its entirety, you should know. Well, me and a few of our closest friends. And it was exactly like a fairly tale in every way," Tony finished, ignoring her, and giving her a proud smirk.

Pepper had stopped trying to argue with him, and ceased talking, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "It...was?" she said finally, a pleasantly surprised smiled creeping across her lips. "And...you did?"

Tony smiled softly, and nodded once in the affirmative. "Yep. Right down to the kiss at midnight."

Pepper swallowed hard and nodded. "On New Year's Eve. I remember you'd said that's when we got married," she said hopefully.

Tony nodded again. "Sure did. Again, my idea. You were thinking June, but the way that work was going for you, June looked like a lost cause so..."

"Was my mother there?" she asked anxiously, interrupting.

Tony smiled, and took his wife's hand in his. "Honey," he said, gazing intently into her eyes. "Who do you think gave you away?"

Pepper's breath caught in her chest, and clapped a hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes. It looked to Tony like these were tears of joy, and he smiled widely, reaching to rub her upper arm lovingly, until he saw her squeeze her eyes shut and her shoulders begin to shake.

"Pep?" he asked, his smile being quickly replaced with concern. "You okay?"

Pepper shook her head, her hand still over her mouth. She began to lean in toward Tony, and he quickly pulled her into his arms, wrapping her tightly as she began to sob on his shoulder.

Several moments passed between them like this, and he was growing more and more confused by the second. He was about to ask why this had upset her so much, when Pepper spoke again.

"Oh God, I wish I could remember!" she exclaimed breathlessly. She pulled back to look at her husband, her eyes bloodshot and cheeks tear stained. She weakly swiped at her eyes, and sat back. Tony was at a loss, and just looked at her in concerned silence.

"It's so frustrating! You don't know how badly I want to!" she told him.

"Oh I know you do, Baby. Believe me. I know," he assured.

Pepper went on. "I'm sure it was lovely. And I'm sure it was everything I can imagine it would be. But that's just it! I can only imagine, right now! What if..." a sob interrupted her speech, and she swiftly brought the back of her hand to her lips to compose herself. "What if I can't ever remember what it was like? What if all I can do is imagine my own wedding day? With our friends. And my mother, and..."

"The dress?" Tony offered, then wincing, immediately regretting his interjection.

Pepper gasped. "Oh God! My dress!" she exclaimed, bursting into a sobbing flood of tears. Tony quickly reached for her again, and pulled her back into his embrace.

"Hey, hey, hey," he told her. "Don't do this to yourself. You'll remember, Pepper. I know you will." Then something suddenly dawned on him, and he pulled back, looking at her with the wide eyes of a sudden realization.

Pepper frowned. "What? What's wrong?!" she defensively.

Tony grinned at her. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" he cried. "I know how to fix this! I know how to do better than you just imagining our wedding!" he announced. He scrambled off the bed, and dug for his car keys out of his pocket. Pepper watched him in confusion.

"Tony, what are you doing? What's going on?" she demanded.

He just kept beaming at her. He lunged eagerly toward her, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Just trust me, okay?" he said, pulling back to look at her intently. "I've got something to show you. And I'm hoping it might even help to jog your memory!"

He ran to the door. "I'll be back soon, I promise!" he told her.

"Oh-" Pepper started to say, but Tony was quickly out the door, and shutting it behind him before she could finish.

"-Kay?" she said softly, trying to make sense of what he could possibly be talking about that got him so excited.

Whatever it is, I'm just praying it helps!, she thought to herself.