OHHHHHHHH my goodness, you guys! I've been writing my BRAINS out! Can I just tell you? Lemme just tell you...
I've got THREE other BIG chapters BESIDES this one for this fic I'm putting together right now (like, they're already written and now I'm editing them), PLUS I'm actively working on two other updates for two other stories that are multi-chaptered as well, AND I've got a HUGE to-do list involving a bunch of my other fics that I am systematically checking items off of in between all the other stuff! Not to mention all the drabbles I've scrawled out, and have kept tinkering with, since Infinity War! (That movie sent my herd of plot bunnies into a STAMPEDE!) CHAOS I tell you! It's CHAOS! But OHHHH so much fun! :D :D :D
But I was REALLY starting to feel guilty for not updating in a while, especially since I've got all of this going! SO I decided that, rather than wait until those other three chapters are done, PLUS any of the other stuff I mentioned, that I'd be nice and post an update. And HORS D'OEURVE, you could say, before the main feast! :D
I hope you like it! Happy Reading! And JUST KNOW! I love all of you guys! I honestly wouldn't be able to do this without your support! You mean the WORLD to me! :D :D :D
Tony took the elevator down to the ground level of the hospital where the pharmacy/gift shop was located. He strode inside, anxious to find what he was looking for, and to get back up to Pepper's room as soon as possible.
He'd found the personal care aisle, and was intent on looking through the items in the display when the woman minding the store walked up to him. "Anything I can help you find?" she offered. She was a woman who looked to be in her 50's, short and stocky in build, with a round face, blond pageboy hair, and wearing a white pharmacist's lab coat and hot pink reading glasses that sat on the top of her head. She smiled very pleasantly at him, her blue eyes sparkling with genuine joviality.
Tony glanced at her sidelong, and then back at the shelf in front of which he was standing. "Well, I think I know what I need, but maybe you can help," he said. "I mean, you are a woman, right? So..." he reasoned.
The lady gave him a peculiar look, but said nothing.
Tony was oblivious to her response, and went on, rubbing his hands together eagerly as he spoke. "Tell me- what do you have in the way of really..." He paused as he struggled to find the right words to describe what he was looking for. "Girly-smelling foot lotion?" he finally asked, turning to face her once he was convinced that what he was looking for wasn't on the shelf in front of him.
The woman gave him a wry smirk. "Girly-smelling?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
Tony shrugged. "Yeah. You know. Femininely-fragrant? Perfumed. Something a woman would find the odor of to be...pleasant," he clarified.
The woman's expression brightened. "Oh!" she said, holding up a pointer finger in her realization. "I know just the thing. Follow me," she said.
So he did as instructed, and they walked to the counter where a selection of thick body creams in tubes in an assortment of fragrances were lined up. "Any particular scent she'd prefer?" the woman asked.
Suddenly, a recollection flashed in Tony's mind-
Our trip to wine country.
He fondly remembered how he'd surprised Pepper a few years ago with a weekend getaway to a villa in Napa Valley. It was naturally a trip filled with loads of romance, including even a hot air balloon ride over the breathtaking scenery. But one of his most favorite memories included a very sensual massage he'd given her using jasmine scented oil. And a red satin blindfold he'd tied over her eyes during it, in order to help heighten her senses, and therefore, her experience. And heighten it, it CERTAINLY did, he happily recalled.
For a brief moment, his mind sparked with the hope that maybe, just maybe, something with this same scent would jog Pepper's memory of that trip. If this place had it, that was.
Tony brought himself back to the present, and winced with uncertainty at the woman. "Uh...Jasmine?" he replied hopefully.
The woman took the fluorescent pink glasses off her head, and put them on before she began scanning through the bottles, turning a few to read the labels. "Well, let's see here. Rose, gardenia,..." she muttered to herself. "Ah! Here we go! You're in luck!" she said, putting the glasses back on her head and attempting to hand Tony the bottle.
Tony raised a hand in dismissal of her offer to hand it to him, but then grinned in satisfaction. "Looks perfect," he purred. "Bag it up. I'll take it."
The woman gave him another peculiar look, and then shrugged and entered the amount into her cash register. "So! Is this for your wife? Girlfriend?" she inquired.
"My wife's a patient here, and I'm personally treating her to a foot massage," Tony answered proudly.
The woman gasped, and smiled adoringly at him, clasping a hand to her chest. "Oh, how sweet of you! Not to mention romantic," she cooed. Then she scoffed. "It's more than my husband would ever do! Can I give you his number, just to rub his nose in it for me?" she joked.
Tony chuckled. "Take some of this home. Maybe he'll get the hint," he joked, holding one of the body cream tubes up.
She rolled her eyes. "Not likely," she replied. Then she smiled again. "Your wife is a very lucky lady," she gushed.
Tony smiled. "Well, I'm a very lucky man," he replied fondly.
"Anything else I can help you find?" she asked, as she slipped the tube into a paper bag.
He narrowed his eyes, and pursed his lips in thought. "Actually, yeah..." he purred. "Nail polish, if you got it? And I know just the color I'm looking for."
XxXxXxXx
As promised, Tony returned to Pepper's room a short time later carrying a small white paper bag. Pepper had been watching television while he was gone, and smiled brightly at him when he entered the room. She quickly reached for the remote to turn it off, and then held up her arms to pull him into a welcoming hug as he approached her bed.
"Heyyyy, baby," he cooed lovingly, as he hugged her back after setting down his bag full of cosmetic goodies on her bedside table. Then he planted a quick kiss to the top of her head. "Miss me?" he asked, with a smirk when he pulled back to look at her.
Pepper chuckled. "Of course. But you made good on your promise, so it wasn't for long. Did you find everything you'll need?" she asked eagerly.
"And how," Tony replied. "Are you in for a treat."
Pepper cooed in approval. "Can't wait," she said.
"I got you..." Tony began, as he rummaged through the bag to find his first item. He pulled out the tube of cream the woman at the shop had suggested, and held it between the tips of his fingers to show it to her. "Extra thick, extra luxurious foot cream for those tootsies of yours. Jasmine scented, to be exact," he said with a dramatic flare.
"Ooo!" Pepper squealed playfully. "How fancy."
"That's right! Nothing's too good for my wife," Tony teased. Pepper giggled as he continued to rummage, and then he gasped. "Oh! And I got one of these thingies," he said, proudly producing a notched piece of foam rubber in his hand, and waggling it in the air to show it to her.
"You mean a...toe separator?" Pepper corrected, with an amused smirk.
Tony turned it over in his fingers, and looked at it with a puzzled look. "Yeah, I guess," he said, examining the object. Then he smiled back at Pepper, and shrugged. "The lady at the pharmacy said I'd need one if I expected to do this thing right. So I bought it. Figured she'd know," he explained. Pepper giggled again, finding his boyish innocence about the subject completely adorable.
He tossed the toe separator back into the bag, and brushed his hands together. "But, sorry, Potts! That's all you get to see for now, I'm afraid. I'm saving the piece de resistance, you might say, of this little project, for last," he told her.
"Oh?" she said. "And by that, I assume you're talking about the..."
"Nail polish. Yeah," he answered, nodding. "Because the color I've selected is...a surprise," he informed her, with a mischievous grin.
Pepper winced. "Oh God. Should I be afraid?" she asked, recoiling teasingly.
"No, no. You'll find it to be a perfectly acceptable hue, I assure you. In fact, you've worn something very similar before. And I gotta say, it's...one of my favorites," he fondly remembered.
Pepper recovered, and smiled to herself at the thought of him having noticing such a small detail about her. "Then it seems you're all set," she concluded, with a grin.
Tony grinned back. "It seems I am," he replied. "So let's get to it, shall we?"
Pepper smiled, and nodded in agreement. She watched as he grabbed the tube of foot cream, and moved to sit at the end of the bed. She was still wearing one sock, and he gently grasped the toe seam of it, but pulled this one slowly from her foot this time. Unexpectedly, the motion struck her as strangely sensual, and a spark of arousal suddenly coursed up her spine when he did this. She promptly bit her lips together to hide the subsequent spontaneous shiver of pleasure that followed. But the goosebumps that erupted across her skin gave her away, and she realized Tony had noticed this. Their eyes quickly locked, and he pumped his eyebrows once, smirking in acknowledgement of what had just happened. She quickly averted her eyes, and tried to hide a bashful smile, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment that such a small gesture could rouse such a strong reaction from her.
Tony proceeded to pop open the cap to the cream, and squirt a generous amount onto the tips of his fingers. By then, Pepper had raised her eyes back up, and was watching him intently again. He flicked his eyes back to hers, and they held each others gaze as he began rubbing his hands together to smear the cream over his palms, warming it in preparation for her skin. Then he gently reached for her foot, but Pepper suddenly gasped and jolted, reflexively pulling it back and out of his reach.
Tony's eyebrows raised, and he immediately halted, looking at her with trepidation and surprise. He held up his cream covered hands in surrender. "Pep?" he said cautiously. "Everything okay?"
Pepper then frowned in confusion. "I'm...sorry. I don't know what just came over me. I didn't mean to do that," she explained, shaking her head. "I...guess for a moment, my brain was trying to tell me that you're not my husband. That you're still my boss. And since you're about to...," She paused to swallow hard before she went on. "Do something that's very...intimate, it's..."
"Weirding you out," Tony deduced. He exhaled and nodded in defeat. "I get it. Maybe this was too much. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed you to..."
"No. Please," Pepper assured. "You didn't push me. I..." She paused to take a breath to calm herself before she continued. "I...want you to do this," she finished resolutely. She slowly laid her leg back down on the bed, and nodded toward it, to demonstrate that she really did want him to continue.
Tony glanced at her foot, and then back up at her questioningly. "You're sure," he asked to confirm.
Pepper bit her bottom lip, and nodded again. "Yes," she answered. "I need to let you do this for me. If for no other reason than to help retrain my brain to live in the present. As your wife. Not as your employee. Like we'd agreed we'd try to do."
Tony gave her a soft smile. "Well, that and I really do give amazing foot massages," he teased, trying to ease the tension.
Pepper smiled, relaxing. They both chuckled.
"Okay, then, Potts. Last chance! You ready?" Tony asked eagerly.
Pepper grinned. "Ready Freddy," she answered.
She watched intently as Tony gently picked up her foot, laid it on his thigh, and began to press the pads of his thumbs into the ball of her foot, rotating them slowly in methodical circles. Instantly, Pepper sank back in full relaxation against the bed, which was still raised from her sitting up to watch tv. She let out a heavy sigh. "Ohhhhhyeeeaahhh," she moaned.
Tony grinned at her in satisfaction that she was enjoying it so much. And Pepper smiled back, then watched him silently for a while, loving his attention. After a few more rotations, he took a moment to smooth the rest of the cream on his hands over her skin. And then he started to knead the bottom of her foot, working each thumb back and forth, side to side, all the way up from her heel to just below her toes. Pepper let out another breathy, very relaxed sigh. He smiled again.
"I take it I'm doing okay?" he teased.
"You're...it's...I'm...wow," she babbled dreamily.
Tony chuckled. "I...guess that means yes," he joked. And then they both chuckled. After that, they went quiet. Through increasingly drowsy eyes, Pepper was content to watch Tony continue to work. Once in a while, he'd stop to squeeze more cream onto his fingers, and then he'd immediately resume his motions, glancing over to give her a soft smile. And she'd smile back.
After repeating this process a few more times, Pepper spoke. "Did you used to do this for me a lot in past?" she asked.
Tony teeter tottered his head from side to side, and shrugged. "A fair amount. Yeah," he answered. He then moved his attention to her toes, working each digit between his thumb and forefinger individually.
"When was the last time? If you don't mind my asking?" she said.
Tony furrowed his brow in thought, and turned his eyes skyward as he tried to remember. "Uh...Christmas Eve?" he answered, bringing his eyes back to hers. "The...night I proposed to you?" Then he pursed his lips, and nodded once in affirmation. Then he smiled warmly.
Pepper's eyebrows raised in surprise, and she smiled back at him. "You...proposed on Christmas Eve? That sounds...very romantic," she admitted.
Tony gave her a bashful smile, and then looked at her curiously. "Yeah, I...thought I'd told you that at some point," he said. "No?"
Pepper shook her head, and smiled again. "You'd told me we got married on New Year's Eve," she explained. "But nothing about proposing on Christmas Eve! My, my! Sounds like so much happened so fast for us in that week," she observed.
Tony smiled, and nodded, though a painful pang struck his heart, as the memory of their excitement over discovering she was also pregnant the day after their wedding, and the subsequent loss of the baby as a result of the accident only a few weeks later flitted through his mind. He had found, now and again, that the grief of their loss was still hard for him to bear alone, even after all of this time. But he wasn't sure he wanted it any other way. She's suffered enough. I hope she never remembers anything about the accident OR losing the baby, he thought to himself.
"So tell me the story. I'm curious to know how you did it," Pepper urged.
"You...really want me to tell you?" Tony asked her hesitantly.
She nodded. "Yes. But remember- cliff notes," she warned.
He smiled. "Okay, well," he began. "We were in the penthouse in New York, and..."
"At the Waldorf Astoria?" she chimed in eagerly. "My favorite. I love it there. Such a great view."
But Tony gave her an awkward smile. "Uh...no. Not the, uh, the Waldorf. It was the...penthouse in...in the tower we had built in Manhattan a few years ago?" he stammered.
Pepper frowned. "Tower?" she asked simply, unable to rightly recall it.
"Yeah, it's one of our clean energy buildings I'd told you about? That you'd helped design?" he hinted.
"Oh. Right," Pepper replied, smiling sheepishly. Then she frowned. Tony could tell not remembering this detail was frustrating to her. So he quickly tried to downplay the situation. "You know what? Where I proposed isn't that important. Cliff notes, right? Isn't that what we're..."
Pepper just averted her eyes, and cleared her throat. "It's okay. Go on. Please," she quietly urged. "You were saying?"
Tony nodded in understanding, and began again. "Yeah, so...I'd put the ring box inside a slightly bigger box that I'd had wrapped, and put that one inside an even bigger box, and...so on and so forth. Like those dolls, you know? The Russian ones that stack inside each other? What are they called?" he asked, snapping his fingers, trying to recall their name.
"Mytryoska dolls?" Pepper offered, with a soft smile.
Tony pointed at her, and smiled graciously back. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Those are the ones."
"So...then what happened?" Pepper urged.
Tony gazed intently at his wife for a moment, with a knowing smile. "Well," he said softly, his eyes dancing with reminiscent sparkle. "Once you'd made it through all of the boxes, there was a tag on the last one that said 'Give me to Tony'..."
Pepper had slowly leaned forward as he'd been speaking, intently listening to the details of the story, and when he'd reached this part, her eyes went wide, and she softly gasped in anticipation. He smirked to himself, thoroughly enjoying the fact that she was listening to him with such rapt attention. Especially since he knew what was coming next. "So I took it from you, opened it, and...showed you a..."
"A ring. It was my ring," Pepper interjected in a breathless, expectant whisper, her eyes wide.
"A...beautiful new pair of Tiffany tear-drop shaped diamond earrings, actually," he replied, matter-of-fact.
Pepper huffed and her eyes narrowed in dismay. "What? Earrings?!" she cried.
"Yeah, I totally psyched you out. Needless to say, you weren't thrilled," he deadpanned. Pepper reached out to smack him on the shoulder.
Tony flinched in response to her smacking him, and started giggling. "Hey, come on! It was funny!" he argued.
Pepper tried, but was unable to fully hide the corners of her mouth quirking upward in amusement. So she folded her arms, and huffed again, feigning indignation. "Not at that moment! Is everything a joke to you, Tony Stark? Unbelievable!" she asked, trying to sound totally disgusted with him.
Tony just grinned to himself knowingly, and then stopped what he was doing to ease himself from his position at the foot of the bed toward the head, coming finally to a seated position beside her. He propped his upper body on his straightened arms, his palms planted on each side of her thighs, and looked at her squarely. Pepper just gave him a droll look when he did this, still trying to hold the corners of her mouth down. They just stared at each other for a few moments, with a smirk spreading slowly across his lips. "No," he finally said, looking intently into her eyes. "Everything is not a joke to me. But I just thought I'd interject a little humor, for the moment's sake. I wouldn't be me if I didn't, Pep. You know that."
Pepper stayed silent, and studied his face for a moment, her expression gradually softening. "Oh, I suppose," she said, finally conceding. She closed her eyes briefly as she relented, but then brought her gaze back to his with a smirk as she spoke again. Tony just grinned in triumph. "So, when did you finally get around to proposing to me?" she asked wryly.
"Directly after," he answered. "I had another box that had your actual engagement ring in it."
"What? No necklace to go with the earrings?" Pepper jabbed sardonically.
Tony chuckled, and shook his head. "Nope. This one was for real, this time," he replied. He sat back on his haunches. "So I opened it, got down on one knee, and said..." He paused to grasp her left hand in his, just as he had that night. Pepper watched him do this, and smiled to herself. A fond smile ghosted over his lips, and they raised their eyes back to each others. "That I never could've made it through everything without you. That I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you..."
Pepper gasped at the sentiment in his words. "Oh, Tony," she murmured, as tears began to well in her eyes. She swiped at a few that had started rolling down her cheeks, and gave him a bashful smile as he spoke.
He smiled lovingly, and continued. "And that I hoped you'd be my wife, so we could be together for whatever came our way," he went on to say, though his voice cracked with emotion at the last moment. He took a few seconds to get his composure back, and began again. "...for the rest of our lives. 'So, Pepper Potts? Will you marry me?' "
Pepper's chest began heaving, and as he observed her reaction to his words, he suddenly felt like he'd been transported back to that blissful, anxious moment with her on Christmas Eve all those months ago. "And you said..." he murmured hoarsely after a moment.
"Yes!" Pepper immediately blurted out, her voice weak with emotion and her breath immediately catching in her throat as new tears brimmed in her eyes. She nodded, and gave Tony a loving smile. "I mean...I said yes," she reiterated. "Obviously," she added, chuckling sheepishly. He beamed back at her. Then she reached for him, and he leaned forward as she pulled him to her, bringing her lips to his and kissing him soundly. He cupped her cheek, and slid closer to her to deepen the kiss. He realized that he was continuing to feel much the same elated flutter of emotion he had felt the night she'd accepted his proposal as he was now, just telling her the story of it. And this both surprised and delighted him, as it felt, on some level, like she was agreeing to marry him all over again.
After a moment, the kiss slowed to a stop, but Pepper rested her forehead against his when it had finished, and then popped her eyes open to look at him, smiling. He smiled back as he lovingly rubbed his hands up and down her sides.
"I love you, Tony Stark," Pepper whispered.
Tony smiled, and closed his eyes again, reveling in her words. "Say it again," he urged softly.
Pepper smiled, and then raised her head to look at him. "I. Love you," she repeated, with a loving smile. Then she raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Want me to say it a third time?" she teased.
Tony smiled. "I could listen to you tell me you love me a million times, and I'd never get tired of it," he told her.
Pepper grinned in reply. "Then, I love you a million times infinity," she countered.
Tony chuckled, then narrowed his eyes. "Better make it plus one, Potts. Then I might get my fill," he joked. Pepper giggled, and then he bent to kiss her lips once more. When it was done, he affectionately brushed the tips of their noses together, and then patted her side before he started to pull away. Pepper watched as he moved back down toward the end of the bed to resume his seat, and her massage. She bit her lip, and gave him a coy smile as he did this. He grinned, and winked playfully at her, taking a moment to put more foot cream on his hands before he grasped her other foot, and started again. She moaned in approval once more, and quickly settled back in to enjoy his touch.
"You were right. Your hands are very strong," she said after a moment, and he smiled. "I think I might've said yes to your proposal on the sheer principle I'd get this kind of treatment for the rest of my life. This is amazing," she teased.
Tony chuckled. And then he shook his head. "No, I needed to do a lot more for you than this to earn your love," he said, nodding toward his work.
Pepper cocked an eyebrow. "Worth it?" she asked simply.
Tony gave her an assured smile. "Oh, in spades," he purred. "Best decision of my life."
She smiled, and continued to watch him massage her foot, enjoying his firm but gentle pressure, which was working to make all of the worry and tension of what was coming the next day melt away. But after a few minutes, Tony noticed Pepper's expression gradually change from one of relaxation to something far more deep in thought. Pretty soon, it hardly seemed she was in the moment at all.
"Pep?" he finally said. "You okay? You seem...a little zoned out."
She raised her eyes to his, her brow unfurrowing. "I'm sorry, but...do I have a lot of jasmine scented lotions at home? Or a perfume I wear often, perhaps?" she asked.
Tony's eyebrows raised, and his heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Was she remembering their trip? "Uh...no. Not...particularly, " he replied cautiously. "Why do you ask?" he said, trying to sound purely curious.
"Hmmm," she said to herself, pursing her lips. Then she shook her head. "I don't know. There's...something about that scent that I...just can't put my finger on. But it is...familiar. Like it's something I've worn before. Or...have used before? Funny, I don't remember being a giant fan of jasmine, though it's a perfectly lovely scent, don't get me wrong. But..."
Suddenly, she stopped talking, and Tony watched her intently as it appeared she was trying to work through something in her mind. Her eyes moved about as if she was mentally trying to put puzzle pieces together. Then she closed her eyes, and Tony watched her intently.
Come on, Pep! You can do it. I KNOW you can remember!, he urged her in his mind.
Then she opened her eyes once more, frowning at him. "For some reason, I keep picturing a...a vineyard, with one of those stucco, Tuscan-style villas on the hill above it?" she explained. "I mean, what does jasmine have to do with any of that? Does that make any sense at all?" she asked.
Tony's eyes widened, and his hands instantly stopped massaging, as his nervously skipping heartbeat began thundering in his ears with anxious excitement. His chest began to heave, and started huffing and spluttering in disbelief, unable to form words until he just couldn't contain his excitement anymore. "Yes! It makes perfect sense!" he finally cried. "Holy shit! You're remembering, baby!"
Pepper frowned, and shook her head in confusion. "Remembering what?! What are you talking about?" she begged.
But Tony just chuckled knowingly. "I knew it," he murmured to himself in amazement. "I knew Jasmine was the way to go."
Pepper pursed her lips. "Tony, what do you mean? Are you saying you bought this lotion because you thought it...would make me remember something?" she guessed, her voice tinged with annoyance that he wasn't giving her all the of the details of what he was thinking.
Tony shook his head, and raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, it was worth a shot, Pep!" he defended. "And you're so close! You're right there, honey, I swear! So try to think," he urged.
Pepper just frowned, but then reluctantly obliged, and closed her eyes as he'd requested, letting out a small exasperated sigh. "There's a villa," she repeated. "Like I said it's...on a hill. Overlooking a vineyard," she explained. Then she let out an exasperated sigh, and popped her eyes open to look at him. "Tony, that could be any villa, and any vineyard!" she argued.
"No, it's the one," he assured, nodding. "I just know it. So keep going, baby. What else do you see?"
Pepper closed her eyes again. "I...see..." she began. Her brow furrowed in concentration, and she bit her lips together. Tony watched silently, totally enthralled, praying the memory would come back to her when...
Pepper suddenly inhaled sharply through her teeth, and brought her finger tips to her forehead. "Oh! Ow! Ow ow ow!" she whimpered.
He quickly stood up and rushed to her side. "Pepper?! What's wrong? What's going on?" he asked, panicked.
"My head. It really hurts," she explained tearfully.
Tony raised a hand to stroke her hair, and he bent down to plant a kiss on her head. "Ok. Alright. You want me to call the doctor?" he asked.
Pepper just shook her head.
"Ok. Then that's enough for tonight, huh? Let's let you rest," he urged, working to adjust the pillows behind her so she could lie back comfortably.
She smiled weakly and thanked him before she closed her eyes, and took some slow, deep breaths.
Tony was leaning over the top of her, worriedly watching her. He grasped her hand in his, and brought it to his chest as he stroked her hair with his other hand.
"I...just need...a minute," she told him, her voice tired and weak. "Then I can try again. I want to try again."
But Tony shook his head. "No way, kiddo. That's it for now. This round of the memory game is done," he replied. "I'll tell what, though. I am thrilled that you were able to recall what you did," he told her proudly.
Pepper opened her eyes to a squint, and gave him a warm smile. "Me, too. I just wish I could remember the rest of it," she said.
Tony smiled and nodded. "So do I," he told her. "Because right now I am so tempted just to spill it to you! It was one amazing trip, baby."
Pepper chuckled at his eagerness, and then nodded. "Then how about the cliff notes, instead," she murmured. And Tony smiled.
"Right. Ok, then. Cliff notes. Um..." he began. "Well, I...whisked you away for the weekend to the villa in Napa Valley that you're remembering," he explained. "It was actually our very first trip together as a couple."
Pepper's eyebrows raised, and she smiled adoringly at him. "That does sound amazing," she replied. "And? What about the jasmine?" she inquired.
Tony grinned. "And," he replied, lowering his voice to a sultry rumble. "Jasmine happens to be the scent of the..." he paused, working his jaw as he fondly recalled the memory again. "Massage oil I used to give you a very...sensual, full-body..."
Pepper's breath caught in her chest as she hung on his every syllable. Tony's eyes flicked from hers to her lips and back again. He smirked, and licked his lips hungrily, before he went on. "...Massage, complete with..."
Pepper gave him an expectant look. He noticed this and continued. "A...red blindfold..." he murmured.
She gasped.
Tony smiled at her reaction, and went on. "With which to cover your eyes so as to...heighten the sensation...as I..."
But Pepper didn't let him finish. She swiftly engulfed his lips with her own and kissed him soundly. Tony let out a muffled, "Oaf!" in surprised, and then melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her upper body, and holding her tightly to him. They eagerly kissed for several moments, and as it wound down, Pepper lovingly cupped his cheek as she laid her head back on her pillow. Tony grasped the hand at his cheek, and brought it to his lips to place a tender kiss in her palm. Pepper smiled when he did this, and he winked, and grinned back.
"So much for letting you rest," he remarked, and Pepper softly chuckled.
"I agree. Just from what you've said, that sounds it was quite a weekend," she remarked softly.
Tony nodded. "Yep," he agreed, gazing lovingly into her eyes. "And if you decide you want to know more, you know where to find me," he teased.
Pepper chuckled again, and nodded. "Yes. You are very easy to find most days," she teased. Then she furrowed her brow in thought, and bit her lips together. "I hope this is a sign," she said. "That I'm going to start remembering more now."
Tony nodded. "Me, too. Although, I have to be honest, baby," he said. "If you don't remember another thing from this moment forward, I'd be okay with that."
Pepper gave him a curious look. "Really?" she asked. "But it sounds like there's so much I don't remember! You...wouldn't mind if that...all never came back?" she asked skeptically.
Tony gave her a reluctant smile, and shrugged, his mind flashing through all of the times of heartache and turmoil they'd had. Especially since I became Iron Man, he thought. "I...guess I'd be okay with starting from scratch if we had to," he explained. "I'm just happy you're still alive, and I have you back in my life, Pep."
Pepper gave him a sympathetic smile, and reached to pull him into a hug. He obliged, and moved into her arms, wrapping his tightly around her in return. He turned his face to kiss the side of her head, and then turned back again, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to ignore the feeling of the pit growing in his stomach about when the day would come that he'd have to show her, in all it's war-torn glory and mayhem, just what he'd gotten himself into when he'd built the suit. But that's not happening today, he told himself. TODAY is another day we've been given to just focus on her and I.
HEY! It's me again! IF you wanna read about that trip they took, check out "The Inbetween", chapters 25-31. And YES! That one's gonna get an update in the near future, too! :D