I hope you like this one. It's fluffy and sexy and playful and chock full of the dopey little coupl-ey things you do and say to each other when you're in love. And I figured our lovebirds could always use a good dose of that.
So happy reading... ;)
Soon, their hug separated, and Tony pulled back to smile at his wife. "Well, then" he said, glancing down at her feet, and then bringing his gaze back up to look at her again. "What's say you to getting some color on those toes?" he asked.
Pepper chuckled, and nodded. "I'd say let's have at it," she replied. "I can't wait to see this mysterious color you've picked out."
Tony nodded, and stood up off the bed to go to the nightstand, first retrieving from the pharmacy bag the foam rubber toe separator that he'd shown her earlier. And, again, he paused to examine it in his hand with intense curiosity. "What will they think up, next?" he muttered to himself.
Pepper giggled at his awe over the simple contraption, and then she watched as he eventually took his place again at the foot of the bed, and attempted to put it on her foot. He gingerly slid each piece between her toes then raised his head when he'd finished, smiling at her with great satisfaction that he'd been successful. "See? I'm already awesome at this," he said proudly. She smiled in approval, trying to stifle another giggle.
He then got back up to walk to the nightstand again. "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for," he teased. Pepper watched as he reached back inside the paper bag, and produced a bottle of nail polish. He then presented it over his forearm to her as if he were holding an expensive bottle of wine. "For your consideration, madam," he said with a playful smirk.
Pepper giggled at him and then her eyebrows went up in surprise when she look at the bottle, and she smiled and nodded at his choice- a very glossy, metallic red. "Oh, very nice," she replied. "And far more tame than I was expecting, I have to say."
Tony grinned. "I had a hunch you'd approve," he said. Then he swiveled back around to walk to the end of the bed again, where he took his seat once more. Pepper watched as he delicately unscrewed the cap and scraped off the excess enamel on the brush on the rim of the bottle. He looked around for somewhere safe to put it, and she offered to hold it for him, so he accepted, and handed it to her. Then, gently, he grasped the underside of her big toe between his thumb and forefinger of his other hand, and slowly stroked the brush in a downward motion over the middle of her nail. He then reloaded the brush and repeated the step two more times to each side. She was amazed at how precise he was being, noticing he got very little, if any, on the surrounding skin.
"You're pretty good at this," she said. "I'm surprised, actually."
"Why?" he said, keeping his eyes on his work as he moved to the next nail. "I solder wiring all the time. It's really not all that different. Both take a steady hand," he said.
Pepper smiled. "I suppose it would," she said. "And you're right again. You do have very steady hands."
"Well, that, and I've had lots of practice," Tony said. He spluttered once he realized the sound of his words, and glanced up at her. "Umm, with soldering! Not...not with this!" he quickly explained.
She laughed at him. "Oh, come on now! You've never painted a woman's toes before? In all of your previous escapades?" she teased.
Tony smiled at her ribbing him. "Nope," he said, proudly grinning. "Never, Potts. This would be a first for me."
"Well, I'm honored to be your first," she said, with a wry smirk.
Then she smiled and Tony smiled back as he softly blew on the two painted nails for a moment before he stopped to admire his work. "Perfect," he purred fondly.
"Yes, they're wonderful. But you still have eight others to do," Pepper reminded him. "Let's see if you can keep this up," she challenged.
"Oh I will," he replied, with a confident grin. "So you just sit back and relax, Potts. Good work takes time."
"Well, you know I'm not going anywhere," she joked. She cocked her head and watched him silently as he worked to finish the next three toes on that foot. She felt his breath on her skin again as he gently blew on each toe for a few moments to dry it before moving to the next. Then, when he'd finished with the pinky toe, he gently touched her big toe nail, feeling to see if it had dried. It had.
"Two coats, plus a clear coat, right?" he asked, glancing up at her for confirmation.
Pepper gave him a surprised smile, and an affirming nod. "And you say you've never done this before," she teased.
Tony shrugged. "I'm only guessing," he said. "You do a minimum of two and some gloss with cars. And sometimes machine parts, and stuff," he said. "So I wouldn't think it would be any different with toes. Only thing that's missing is the primer." Then his eyes went wide in realization. "Wait. Do they make primer for toe-nails?! Am I missing a step?!" he asked, eyes wide with alarm.
Pepper spluttered and giggled, and Tony looked at her in confusion. She waved a hand in dismissal. "They do. It's called a base coat. But don't worry. What you're doing will work just fine," she assured.
Tony gave her a skeptical look. "You're sure? Should I make a trip back to the pharmacy?" he offered.
Pepper shook her head. "No. I promise. It'll turn out well. You'll see," she told him with an encouraging smile.
Tony chewed his lip in thought for a moment, but then finally accepted her words by nodding in the affirmative before he resumed his work, carefully painting the second coat on her big toe. Then he blew on it to dry it, as well, just as before.
Pepper smiled. "Besides. How often does a woman get the privilege of being pampered in any form by the one and only Tony Stark? So, I'd hate for a little detail like that to spoil the experience," she teased, knowing Tony would eat up the stroking of his ego.
He beamed at her again, and nodded in agreement. "It was once a rare privilege, wasn't it?" he joked. "But since you and I got together, I've done a lot more in the pampering department, just so you're aware," he gloated.
"You see?" Pepper said, grinning at him bragging to her. "I am a lucky girl."
Tony smiled and winked at her before he returned to what he was doing, and she smiled back at him. She continued to watch as he moved on to applying the second coat of enamel to her other toes. She loved how gentle he was being. Of course, he had always been very considerate of how his touch felt to her since she'd awakened from her coma. It was one of the things that she had very much appreciated about him. She had always felt safe and respected in his arms. She admitted there was a time when she didn't believe he could ever be this way in the past. But Pepper knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she meant far more to Tony than any other woman ever had. He was attentive and loving. He doted on her, making her feel like a queen. And despite her lacking memory of what their relationship was prior to, she found she didn't want it to be any other way.
She watched as he put the other half of the toe-separator on her other foot. "Coat two complete on foot one," he murmured to himself. "Now, we're waiting for it to cure so we can apply the clear coat. Coat one on foot two, commencing."
"Who are you talking to?" she asked, amused.
Tony looked up. "This is very technical work, Pepper," he said. "It helps me to follow proper procedure if I talk it out."
"Uh-huh," she said, clucking her tongue and nodding slowly, trying to fully understand his need to take this so seriously. "Tony," she finally said. "You do realize it's just nail polish? There really isn't any proper procedure besides don't make a mess."
"No, Pep. It's me painting your toes. And if I intend for this to be the best paint job you've ever had, then you've gotta let me work the way I need to," he argued.
Pepper squinted, looking at him curiously. "Only you, Tony," she relented, shaking her head, and smirking.
Tony smirked back. "You mock, but you'll see," he said, as he began his work on her other big toe. "Best damn paint job ever," he mumbled. He knew he was being a bit neurotic about this, but he was enjoying himself. And why shouldn't I be the one to make my wife's toes look amazing for her big day, anyway?, he reasoned.
He worked his way down to her pinkie toe, and started again at the big toe with the second coat. He squinted and leaned forward as he applied the color, and then sat back to admire his work after each stroke. "Very nice," he'd mumble. "Hmmmm," he'd say other times, frowning, and carefully running his thumb nail around the edge of whatever nail he was working on to clean up any accidental polish on her skin. "There we go," he'd murmur, once the polish was removed. Then he'd blow gently on it for a few moments before moving on to the next. Pepper just silently watched, increasingly amazed to no end that he was so intent on getting it right.
Finally, he reached the pinky toe and applied the second coat. "There," he said when he'd finished. "Perfect." He grabbed the nail polish bottle from Pepper and screwed the cap back on, then handed it back to her to put on her nightstand. After which, he lightly touched the big toe nail of the first foot, and felt that it had dried. He then told her to hand him from the bag the clear coat he'd bought. She did, and he unscrewed the cap from it. "Clear coat, commencing," he mumbled to himself. He smirked and looked at her briefly to flirtatiously pump his eyebrows before he began. Pepper giggled, and rolled her eyes.
Pepper giggled. "You're such a good little engineer," she teased.
"You're damn right," he said, nodding. He smiled proudly, and she giggled.
Tony hunched back over and carefully applied the clear top coat to the first big toe. "Wow, how gorgeous is that?" he said to himself, once he had finished the nail. "Yes, ma'am. Even on toes, wet glossy paint is beautiful."
Pepper chuckled. "You have a thing for wet paint?" she asked, with an amused smirk.
Tony looked up and scoffed in jest. "Oh, yeah," he purred. "It's one of the best parts of a project, Pep."
"Really?" she asked. "Why is that?"
He sighed. "There's something about how the light bounces off of it. It's just...sexy," he mused, his voice dreamy. "Especially on your toes, " he added. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled slyly at Pepper. She smiled coyly back.
"I think I understand now why you've noticed what color my toes were painted in the past," she concluded.
"Painted toe-nails. My,my,my," Tony purred. "I can't resist 'em."
"Good to know," she cooed in reply. "Maybe I should let you do it all the time," she teased.
"That's my goal," he said, blowing gently on the toe he was finishing.
"And you know? As far as I can actually remember, you are the only guy who's ever painted my toe nails. So there is that," Pepper remarked playfully.
Tony scoffed. "Psssh. Well I should hope I am, Pep," he told her cockily.
She smiled. "Yeah. You are," she assured, and Tony gave her a satisfied smile and returned to his work.
She watched him for a moment, her lips slowly turning up in a mischievous smirk. "Wait! I forgot! There was that one time!" she pretended to recollect. Then, she waited a beat to watch Tony's reaction.
He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, and looked up at her, staring wide eyed. "What? What one time? With who? Who was it? Give me his name. I want it," he prattled, with a pouty frown.
Pepper stifled a chuckle at how obviously jealous she'd suddenly made him, but decided to continue the charade- only because she thought it was adorable to see his feathers get ruffled over her so easily. "Ummm," she said, pursing her lips and squinting her eyes as she feigned trying to recall some fake person from her past. "I... think his name was...Reynaldo? No. Ramone? Roberto? Anyway, it was something like that. And it was in...Venice? I believe?" she replied.
Tony gasped, the nail polish brush he had been holding still suspended in his hand. "Venice?!" he finally spluttered out. "Do you mean to tell me you remember a guy who supposedly painted your toenails in Venice?!"
Pepper gave him a dopey, reminiscent grin and shook her head, sighing. "He...painted my toes...and...did a few...other things," she mused, her voice heavy with innuendo.
By this time, Tony was paralyzed, his mind reeling. Memories of that trip rapidly clicked through in his head like slides in a projector. Even though they weren't a couple at the time, having her by his side during their time there made the whole place seem even more romantic and magical. And to his recollection, she had hardly left his presence. That's why he couldn't imagine when she would have had significant time alone with anyone else but him while they were there.
And besides that!, he thought, had all that sexual tension between us on that trip been for not? Could it be he had only imagined it? He couldn't accept that he'd been that far off. In fact, he had wanted her. Badly. Had she really found some cabana boy named Roberto to paint her toenails for her (and do God only knew what else to her!) instead of him?! No. It couldn't be. Not Pepper. Not his Pepper...
"Yeah, Venice...Or was it...Bern?" she teased, cocking her head questioningly.
"Swi-switzerland!" Tony choked out. He had to admit, he didn't remember much of that trip, on account that he'd spent the vast majority of it quite inebriated. But he still wracked his brain as to how on Earth she would've been able to sneak away with anyone long enough to...
He swallowed hard, bitterly pushing the next part of that conclusion out of his mind.
Pepper tried to hide a snicker by biting her lips together. "No, no. It wasn't Switzerland. It was Venice...I think," she corrected after a moment. She pursed her lips and went quiet, keeping her eyes on Tony, who was still staring wide-eyed at her, as she awaited his response. He was sitting in front of her, eyes wide, chest heaving with shallow breaths, and dead silent. But in his mind, as soon as he could unglue himself from where he sat, he felt sure he would run right out of the room to go jump in the suit, jetting off to Venice, or Switzerland, or...
Wherever the hell this guy was, find him, and kick his ass!, grumbled the voice in his head. How dare this mystery man get to see his wife in all of her naked glory years before he had, much less touch her feet! They were his feet to touch, and she was his to ravish. Not some douche bag Don Juan's, damn it!, he thought bitterly.
"Mmmm, yeah. Mmmm-hmmm. That was an amazing weekend," Pepper cooed wistfully, then she sighed in her phony reminiscence, and smiled knowingly at her husband.
Tony gasped and spluttered again, feeling mortally wounded now by the little poison-filled darts that had poked his jealous heart with every word she'd spoken. Invading visions of Pepper, naked and writhing in pleasure (with freshly painted toes, to boot!) under this allegedly womanizing Venetian or Swiss jerk were burning his imagination to a crisp.
Pepper was watching the gears in his head turn, and trying not to giggle, but she couldn't help it. After a moment, she broke her poker face and started laughing. Tony watched her in shock and confusion for a second before realizing she'd played him. "Oh, that's just mean," he muttered, his expression falling flat in defeat. "So, there was no Roberto. And no toe painting in Venice, and no...other stuff. Was there? You were messing with me," he concluded.
Pepper was still laughing, so she didn't verbally reply. But she nodded as she sat up, and leaned forward to kiss his lips. Tony sheepishly obliged and leaned in to meet her lips with his in a soft peck. "You know I love you, right?" she assured him afterward, still giggling.
Tony nodded, giving her a playful pout. Then he started chuckling at how easily she'd been able to get him worked up.
"And you know you're the only man to have ever painted my toes?" she reassured.
"Well, me and..." Tony cleared his throat. "Roberto," he griped, rolling his eyes. "From Venice."
Pepper giggled again. "No. No Roberto from Venice. Just Anthony. From Malibu," she cooed sweetly.
Tony cocked an eyebrow. "Just Anthony? You're sure?" he repeated.
Pepper nodded. "Mmmm Hmmmm," she purred. "I'm positive. So continue, Anthony," she instructed, as she laid back again.
Tony smiled softly, and did as she commanded. And Pepper kept wearing a very amused smirk as she watched.
After a moment, though, he grimaced in disdain. "Pssssh. Ro-berto," he muttered under his breath. "What kind of name is that? Like you'd ever go for a guy named Roberto."
"Uh-oh. I got under your skin with this, didn't I, Stark," Pepper observed.
"Yes. Yes, you did," Tony admitted, pouting again at her. He stopped and shook his head, a hint of hurt in his eyes.
Pepper saw this, and frowned, as she was a little taken aback at how much her little joke had actually affected him. "Hey. Are you okay? I was just teasing, I swear," she told him, raising her eyebrows in concern, and slowly sitting back up to look at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said sheepishly. "You definitely know what buttons to push with me, though, Potts."
She winced, because now he'd made her feel bad for her joke.
"Don't take this the wrong way. It's just...you're mine," he went on to say. "And I know you'd been with other guys before we ever even got together and all, but...to tell you the truth..." he said, shrugging sheepishly. "I hate having to even think about that."
"Even fake Roberto's from Venice?" she teased, giving him a playful smirk.
"Yes, even fake Roberto's from Venice," Tony replied, smiling bashfully. He shrugged again. "Maybe I'm just being stupid. But you're the only girl for me."
Pepper gave him a coy smile. "You promise?" she murmured, giving him a knowing smile.
Tony nodded once in the affirmative. "Yep. No matter what," he murmured back, smiling lovingly at her.
She smiled warmly back at him, and then reached for him, indicating she wanted him to come to her. He stopped what he was doing, and obliged, and she pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry. I was just teasing you," she murmured lovingly to him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "There was no Roberto. I swear."
Tony pulled back to look into her eyes, and she gave him an apologetic smile. "I know, Pep. I believe you," he said, smiling at her lovingly. "But I have to ask- when we actually do go to Venice again? And, say, you do happen to run into a devilishly handsome Venetian named Roberto?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "You...wouldn't be tempted to..." he started to inquire.
Pepper chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry. I'll promptly decline his invitation to an afternoon of wild sex and toe nail painting, I promise," she assured, raising three fingers in the air. "Scout's honor."
Tony sighed and chuckled. "Well, that's a relief," he said, smirking. He smiled. "I know you're my wife, and I know I'm being paranoid. But thanks for the reassurance anyway, huh?"
"No problem," Pepper said lovingly. "Because you're the only guy for me."
"You promise?" he teased, reiterating her earlier question to him.
Pepper smiled and nodded. "Yep. No matter what," she repeated back, with a loving smile.
Tony smiled warmly in return. Then he planted a sweet kiss to her forehead before he got up to go back to the end of the bed. Pepper sat back so he could finish her toes. He carefully finished the last of her toes with the clear coat. He screwed the brush back on and handed her the bottle. Then he grasped her foot in both hands, and blew on the last few wet nails for a moment before speaking again. "You know, it's funny you should mention Venice," he said. "Since I'd planned our wedding, you'd been charged with making the decision on where to go for our honeymoon. You'd actually said you'd wanted to go back to Venice, but we decided to wait until the spring flooding was done before we'd go."
"Ah. But the accident was in February, so..." Pepper deduced.
Tony nodded, affirming her conclusion. "Right," he said. "We never made it back."
Pepper winced in response to the assumed mutual disappointment. "Maybe one day, though. Right?" she mused hopefully.
Tony smiled and nodded. "Definitely," he cooed in reply. Then he narrowed his eyes. "Do...you remember our trip to Venice all those years ago? At all?" he asked her, his voice cautious, but hopeful.
Pepper pursed her lips in thought. But, eventually, and much to Tony's delight, she slowly began to nod in the affirmative. Then she gave him a bashful smile, her cheeks blushing.
Tony gasped. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed as he suddenly jumped up off the bed to stand in front of her. Pepper startled, but then giggled at his reaction.
"Why haven't you said so?!" he exclaimed. "I would've died to know this months ago!"
Pepper shrugged sheepishly, and shook her head. "All of our attention has been on what I don't remember. Not on what I do," she explained. "I guess I was just so busy trying to recall what's happened more recently, that I didn't think to bring it up!"
"Wow," Tony gasped in disbelief. "I thought something like that would definitely be gone from your memory banks!" he exclaimed. "This is amazing!"
Pepper smiled, and shrugged. "What can I say? I...guess that trip made quite the impact on me," she said, flirtatiously.
Tony chuckled, and then nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh. Me, too," he cooed in reply. "I've often thought about it over the years, in fact."
Pepper cocked her head. "You have? What about it, exactly?" she said, but she said it in a way that let Tony know she could guess what he'd been thinking about.
"Oh, you know," he purred back, with a knowing smile. "All of the romantic places we went, for starters. I mean, Venice is a hard city to not fall in love in," he reasoned.
Pepper furrowed her brows at his words. "Wait. Are you saying..." she began. She stopped, cautious of what to say next. "Tony..."
"You wanna know if I fell in love with you on that trip?" he guessed.
Pepper nodded, speechless.
He teeter-tottered his head from side to side for a moment, as he formed a response. "Let's just say, I...knew that there could be something between us, yes," he finally answered, walking back over to sit on the edge of the bed beside her.
Pepper swallowed hard. And then nodded. "Go on," she urged, her voice a murmur.
Tony smiled. "I found myself..." he began, pausing to properly word his thoughts. "Not wanting to spend a moment there without you," he admitted, feeling an sudden anxious pang of vulnerability toward her, as the ghosts of his past- the memory of the womanizing image he used to project to the outside world in those days- coursed through him. He looked at her for a brief second, wondering if she'd scoff at this revelation. But she didn't. Instead, she was wide eyed, and totally enthralled. So he felt it safe to continue. "That place was begging for us to get together, wasn't it? Remember the penthouse? That big veranda outside?" he asked.
Pepper smiled fondly. "Where we danced? Because we could hear the violinist playing for the couples in the restaurant below? It was so beautiful," she murmured, feeling that memory burn bright in her mind again.
"Yeah, it was," Tony agreed, his voice soft in reminiscence. "And you have no idea how much I wanted to kiss you that night," he told her, looking intently into her eyes.
Pepper smiled, and then nodded her head slowly. "Oh, believe me, I do," she confessed.
Tony's eyes suddenly went wide and he grinned. "You do?" he asked.
Pepper smiled and nodded again. "In fact, it was hard not for me to give in and let you," she admitted.
Tony chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. "I had no idea," he told her. "I didn't do it only because I thought you'd freak out! So I decided it was enough just to have you in my arms. I was willing to settle for that," he revealed.
Pepper chuckled in surprise, and then leaned further into him, giving him a flirty, smoldering look. "Well, believe me, I wanted you to kiss me," she murmured. "I only interrupted what was happening between us because I didn't want to risk you thinking I was just another girl," she explained.
Tony gazed intently back at her, and a corner of his mouth quirked upward. "Never," he purred, his voice that low, earth-shattering rumble she'd always been so fond of.
Pepper bit her lips together, but was unable to keep from smiling at the electric thrill it shot up her spine, and continued to speak. "But when we said good night to each other, and went to our separate bedrooms? I have to confess, I..." she began. But she hesitated, feeling the apprehension of revealing to him what her secret desires had been that night. However, she decided to press on, as she knew there was no turning back now. So she bit her lip, and continued. "...was tempted to come knock on your door," she told him softly.
Tony's eyes went wide again, and he drew back to look at her in disbelief. "No. Seriously?" he gasped, as the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward in delight.
Pepper saw this, and relaxed, grinning, and she nodded again. "Yes," she admitted, smiling bashfully. "I swear. I was this close," she said, raising her thumb and pointer finger in a gesture to demonstrate.
"Whoa," Tony gasped again. "Holy hell, Pepper! Do you mean to tell me that we could have...hooked up? Got down? In Venice?!" he exclaimed.
Pepper scoffed, and slapped his shoulder playfully. "Tony!" she said. "Honestly!"
Tony threw his hands up in surrender. "What? Really! If we both wanted each other so badly, why didn't we just go for it?" he asked.
Pepper grimaced, and shook her head. "Things were just too complicated then. I hadn't been working for you that long, for one, and..."
"Yeah, but the sexual tension was undeniable, Pep. I mean, come on..." he begged.
Pepper shrugged and chewed her lip, as he continued looking at her all wide-eyed. Then he exhaled sharply. "I can't believe this," he said, running a hand through his hair. Then he brought his gaze back to her. "First you tell me that you actually remember that trip, and then you tell me that you were just as hot for me that night as I was for you!" he stated.
Pepper just smiled sheepishly and nodded in acknowledgement. Tony just spluttered and grinned again in disbelief, shaking his head. "This is amazing, he reiterated. "And I still can't believe we haven't talked about this before!"
Pepper gave him a demure smile. "Well," she purred. "I am awfully glad that we're talking about it now," she told him.
All of this talk about the feelings they had had for each other those many years ago, and how easy it could have been for them to act on them was getting her undeniably aroused, her growing desire for him sending a spark through her core. She now was secretly wishing at that moment that they were somewhere else, so they could make good on those unrequited feelings they'd had from the past.
Tony took notice of this, and he cooed in approval, his eyes filling with smoldering arousal now, too. "So am I, baby. So am I," he rumbled in agreement, before he bent to kiss her lips soundly, eagerly deepening the kiss as she melted into his advances, his arms wrapping tightly around her body. Pepper moaned as her passion ignited. But suddenly, Tony broke the kiss, and swallowed hard, his chest heaving. "That's it. That's all there is to it," he said, breathlessly.
"What? What is it?" Pepper gasped, giving him a clueless look.
"The second we bust you outta here, remind me to remind you to book the jet for Venice as soon as we can possibly go," he said.
Pepper giggled, but looked at him with confusion. "Oh-kay. But...why do I have to book the jet, again?" she asked.
"Because I'm trying to recreate the memory, here, Pep! You were my assistant at the time, correct?" he remarked pointedly.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "Wow, how romantic of you," she deadpanned.
"Just...humor me, babe, okay? In the name of nostalgia? Besides, it's become a whole thing for me, now, so...Please? Pretty please?" he begged. "Besides, I'm just trying to see if we can't build on old memories, and somehow..." He paused, exhaling sharply. "Get other ones to come back," he revealed, understanding that this completely contradicted his previous statement he'd made about her recalling anymore memories.
Pepper gave him a curious look. "What happened to not caring if I never remember another thing?" she countered.
"I know. And I still stand by what I said," Tony argued. "But that was also before all of this happened! So why wouldn't we try to build on it, in hopes of what else we might unearth in the process?"
Pepper studied his face as she considered what he was proposing. And then, after a moment, she nodded in agreement. "Yes. Okay. I suppose you're right," she said. "We have to try."
Tony grinned. "There you go. That's my girl," he encouraged. He leaned in to peck her lips again, and then, after, he pulled back to look at her once more with a sly smirk. "You know? If we really wanted to get into the spirit of things, we could...do a little pretending," he offered.
Pepper spluttered out a giggle, and then cocked an eyebrow at him. "Um...Pretending?" she asked skeptically.
Tony pumped his eyebrows suggestively. "Mmmm hmmm," he purred in reply. "Don't worry. Nothing that kinky, honey. Just...something for old times sake."
Pepper still was looking at him skeptically, but the corners of her mouth had quirked up in amusement. "Okay, weirdo," she muttered, and Tony chuckled. "What is it you have in mind, exactly?"
Tony clucked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What is it you have in mind, Mr. Stark," he corrected.
Pepper rolled her eyes at his antics, and chuckled. "Okay. What is it you have in mind, Mr. Stark," she repeated.
But Tony ignored her reaction, and kept up the roleplaying. "Make a note to get a trip to Venice on the books, would you, Ms. Potts? Reservations at the Cipriani?" he asked, with a cocked eyebrow, and a playful smirk.
Pepper just looked at him blankly, so he huffed and he gave her an expectant look in return. "Come on. Now you," he urged, moving his hand in a rotating gesture to encourage her to speak.
She gasped in mock realization. "Oh, right. My turn. Um..." she said hurriedly. She cleared her throat, and then straightened her posture, and squared her shoulders. "Of course, Mr. Stark. Will that be all?" she purred in her sweetest, most professional sounding voice she could manage to muster, her eyes glittering with a playful twinkle.
Tony whimpered at the sound of her words, making her break character, and start giggling. His eyes sparkled in admiration of her being willing to be a good sport, and play a part in his efforts. Then he straightened his face, and cleared his throat. "Yes. That'll be all, Ms. Potts," he replied, trying to sound professional himself.
But Pepper laughed at him, and Tony chuckled as he broke character, too. He leaned in to kiss her lips, and Pepper wrapped her arms back around him, deepening the kiss once again. It carried on, as the memories they'd made in Venice so many years ago collectively danced in their minds with renewed life.