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Have fun reading chapter 4 and if you like it, I would be happy about a review. :)
Tony was lying on the futon and when he opened his eyes, he could see Pepper sitting next to him, a worried look on her face. She was frowning and her eyes didn't sparkle like Tony was used to. He stared up at her and needed a while to focus.
"Pepper...", he mumbled and stifled a cough, his throat felt sore as hell.
"Tony, what's wrong with you?", Pepper asked and Tony frowned; he had never seen her this serious.
"Mrs. Miokos Sister is a Nurse, she took a look at you and said it's probably the heat, jetlag and a lack of sleep."
Tony could just nod, he didn't want to tell Pepper the truth.
Pepper looked in his eyes, nearly getting lost in the deep brown and she had to hold herself together not to throw herself at him right here.
As Tony sat up, he groaned and pressed his palm against his forehead, before he smiled at her lovingly. He laid his hands on her shoulders and Pepper looked up at him, fighting back the tears. Sometimes Tony just made her go nuts.
"Pepper, I'm okay. Don't worry...", he talked to her insistently.
"I do worry! I have worried for years, Tony!", she snapped back and stood up furiously. "Since you've become Iron Man everything is different... You disappear for weeks and when you come back you hide in the lab so I won't see how hurt you are.."
She looked at him angrily, but as soon as she saw his shocked face, her expression grew softer and she kneeled back down in front of him.
"I thought we were friends...", she mumbled and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Tony raised his hand and brushed it away softly before he answered:
"We are Pepper... We really are."
Pepper looked up at him and tried to smile, but Tony recognized that it didn't reach her eyes. He took all his courage and pulled Pepper close, wrapping his arms around her hip to hold her as strong as he could.
First, Pepper was startled, but hugged him back and sighed happily. The warm feeling in her belly came back and she wished Tony would never let her go again.
Tony buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath. Would it really be that wrong to tell her how he felt? What could happen?
It would destroy everything Tony... You know that.
She would quit and you would never see her again.
But what if she loves you back?
Even though Tony didn't want to leave her presence, he pulled back slowly. Pepper looked at him confused and Tony whispered:
"You know how much you mean to me, Pep..."
He remembered the last missed chance, but he ignored it and slowly drew closer to her again. His hands were back on her hip and Pepper closed her eyes. Her body shivered and she asked herself if Tony could feel it, but actually she didn't care. She also did no longer think about if it was the right decision to kiss him, she finally needed him...
Just as Tony nearly reached her and she could feel his hot breath on her face, the door flew open and Mrs. Mioko stood there with a young Japanese woman. Tony backed away and Pepper blushed helplessly. For the first time Tony noticed how cute she looked that way.
"Good morning, my name is Yuki", the young woman introduced herself in English. "I'm a good friend of your host family and will do the translation. We'll have breakfast now and then have a trip to the famous volcano island 'Sakurajima'. Are you feeling better, Mr. Stark?"
Tony wanted to scream at her, because she had crushed his moment with Pepper, but he forced himself to smile and answered:
"Yes... Thank you very much. We are coming."
Yuki nodded and bowed before she left the room.
Tony tried to grin at Pepper, but she avoided his gaze. He sighed and said:
"Come on, let's get breakfast."
After breakfast they got into the car to drive to Kagoshima City. Actually, Tony wanted to get closer to Pepper on this trip again, but Yuki thwarted his plans by talking the whole time. When they arrived at the ferry, which would bring them to the island, Pepper and Tony knew that the volcano erupted a little ash around ten times a day, but wasn't dangerous. The ferry started to move just as they reached the top deck.
"We need 20 minutes - shall we meet up at the car?", Yuki asked and Tony nodded, took advantage of the moment and took Pepper's hand to pull her with him to the bow of the ship.
As they reached it, Tony leaned against the railing and grinned at her mischievously. But Pepper didn't smile back, instead she sighed and turned away. Tony took a deep breath, why did she make it so hard for him? He watched her, she had fished her camera out of her bag and took pictures of the volcano, which was impressively visible on the other side of the bay. Pepper was startled when Tony suddenly spoke up:
"I'm sorry that you're feeling uncomfortable, Pepper..."
"What makes you think I'm uncomfortable?" she asked ruefully and just hoped he would stop talking to her.
After the night and two messed up chances to finally kiss him she was really embarrassed. She didn't know what he planned and even less if she could cope with it. Pepper wasn't like all those women and she was afraid she wouldn't be good enough for him. Furthermore, she was afraid that he only wanted to sleep with her. On the other hand he had cuddled with her that night - Tony Stark never cuddled.
Tony's words tore her out of her thoughts.
"Pepper I have known you for 10 years, I notice when you're feeling down."
"You never cared about someone else's feelings...", she snapped back and just realized afterwards that she had hurt him. "I'm sorry, Tony", she added quickly. "I didn't mean to..."
Tony turned away and watched the volcano coming closer.
"You're right...", he mumbled. "But you're different.", he sighed, scarcely audible.
Pepper sighed and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Tony..."
He turned around and bitterly said:
"Come on, we have to get back to the car."
Pepper sighed sadly, but her heart jumped when Tony took her hand again and pulled her with him.
He didn't know what to do. Pepper's hand was soft and warm in his own and when he was honest with himself, all he wanted was to pull her close and kiss her, finishing what he had already started twice. But even if he didn't want it to be true, he felt that Pepper didn't feel comfortable with him. He didn't wonder, Pepper knew him for 10 years and knew how he used to be with women. Tony didn't want her to think she was just a woman he wanted in his bed. She had been always so much more.
They reached the car when their host family wasn't back yet. Tony had just took the courage to lean over to Pepper and finally kiss her, but at the same moment he saw Mr. Mioko coming. Quickly, he kissed Pepper's cheek and let go of her hand.
"Well, let's just enjoy the day."
Pepper blushed and nodded. The feel of his lips on her cheek and the pleasant, scratching sensation of his beard was still prominent. It felt like there were thousands of butterflies in her stomach and she tried to calm down. Why did she still try to convince herself that she wasn't in love with him, if a single kiss on her cheek made her that excited?
Maybe he really responded to her feelings.
