Was absolutely ecstatic by the end of Spiderman: Homecoming. Who else can't wait for some Pepperony action in Infinity Wars?

Years. He didn't know how many exactly per se; Tony wasn't really great at keeping track of that kind of stuff. That's what he had her for after all. But many years. Many years had gone by since Tony Stark found the beautiful Virginia Potts. He really didn't know what the hell he did or how the hell he got by before she became his PA. Of course, now PA graduated to CEO and blah blah blah, but nowhere in the mix was there ever the personal relationship he'd always craved in the back of his mind. And no, it wasn't like when a particularly attractive girl in a short dress and high heels caught his attention from across the room at a casino or something. That kind of attraction always ended in a meaningless (and admittedly very hot) night to forget by the next day. No, Pepper Potts was never one of those girls.

It made sense then, why Tony never felt like he was getting anywhere close to convincing Pepper to open up to the idea of anything more than a business relationship. He could playboy his way into anything he didn't care about without lifting a finger, but it's what he did care about that he seemed to constantly royally fuck up. Plus, he was Tony Stark; irresponsible, reckless, narcissistic, and all around an irrevocable asshole 90% of the time. She was Pepper Potts; organized, strong-willed, caring, intelligent, gorgeous, a bad ass when she wanted to be… Sassy, overly stressed but in quite an amusingly cute way, secretly laid back and hilarious, and dare he say fun, yes Pepper Potts had the ability to be fun when she didn't have to continuously be picking up after his messes. The list went on and on.

Anyway, the point that he was getting at was that after all these years of the same relationship or lack thereof, this day changed everything. This day. This day that started with an ass-kicking hangover an even stronger ass-kicking poison by palladium and ended with a full-on droid attack, destroying acres and acres of him and his father's expo. This day where Pepper was nearly blown to pieces if Tony hadn't have gotten there right in time. This day where she quit on him (again) on top of some random New York rooftop. This day where he looked into her eyes and realized that he wasn't even expecting to live until this moment. Here they were though, both of them alive. He'd be stupid not to take the chance.

And that's why he finally kissed her. It was about damn time.

Stark smiled to himself and took a deep breath. His chest was tight but not at all in the same way it had been for the past couple of months when considering his impending death. It was a good tight, a happy tight. Not just happy… he was ecstatic. Pepper hadn't left his mind since they left the rooftop. Of course, she sent him straight off to the hospital via Happy and stayed behind to handle damage control, but in just one hour she'd be all his again. Jesus, this better be a quick hour.

"Mr. Stark!" the nurse snapped rather loud and rudely in his ear. Tony snapped out of it and turned is distracted, dark brown orbs to meet hers.

"Yes, dear?"

"Your arm," she said flatly, obviously not amused.

"Yes ma'am." he complied, rolling up his sleeve and holding out his arm so that the nurse could take his blood pressure.

"Can I ask you something…" Tony leaned over to look at the nurse's name tag. "Maria? Lovely name. Let's say you knew someone for years and years. I mean, you see them every day. Practically live with them. Then one day you save them from an exploding droid in your flying suit and kiss them on a rooftop and suddenly you're sort of, maybe an item."

The nurse opened her mouth to answer but Tony interrupted.

"But also she's pissed because you've been slowly dying for the past couple of months and didn't tell her. Then again, she's always mad at you."

The nurse sighed. "I-"

"Oh, she's also the CEO of your company so that kind of looks bad, then you worry about the inevitable threats that your bad-ass super-being life brings. But mostly your just worried about how to go from here without screwing the pooch so to speak."

Tony let his gaze drift as he thought about what he just said. He and Pepper would be okay, right? He glanced over at "Maria" who had stopped what she was doing altogether and was just staring at him.

"Asking for a friend."

~ X ~

Tony stumbled into his dark, mangled mansion. A breeze drifted into from the windows that he had not yet replaced, making him shiver. Stark winced as he made his way towards a hidden closet in the wall, pulling down a giant blanket and burrito-ing himself inside. Barely making it to the couch, Tony collapsed upon it. Everything ached and screamed in protest with every move and yet he hadn't felt this good in a long time. Tony wanted to call her, go to her, talk to her, kiss her… But for right now, sleep had another plan.

That is until the sound of a doorbell ripped him from slumber. Tony's reflexes kicked in and pounced off the couch, ready for battle. As fast as he shot up, however, he slammed right back down after his legs got wrapped up in his blanket. Tony yelped and hit the ground, groaning and lying there defeated.

"Sir. The front door requires your attention."

"Thanks, J."

Burying himself in the blanket all over again, Tony trudged to the door, groaning all the way. Almost to the door, he called out, his voice echoing against lonely walls.

"We're temporarily closed for…" Tony glanced back at his destroyed mansion. "Construction." He muttered. Stark opened the door and slumped against the frame for support.

"Oh." He said softly. An exhausted looked Pepper Potts gave him a lopsided grin. She held her high heels in one arm, the other wrapped around her body for warmth. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when he saw her. "Good evening, Miss Potts."

"Mr. Stark."

Tony turned his body and extended his arm.

"Please, come in."

Tony shuffled back to the couch and flopped down, barely keeping himself sitting up. Pepper dropped down next to him. They sat like that for a bit- silent, unmoving. Tony could see half of his reflection in a broken shard of mirror across the room. His hair was disheveled, his eyes sunken in, his body consumed by a massive mound of blanket. Not quite how he pictured his first moments with Pepper as… well, he didn't quite know what to call them now but you could get the gist.

"I suppose it wouldn't help much to say that I'm sorry, huh?" Stark's voice finally cut through the air. They remained gazing forward in a haze, neither moving to even look at each other.

"Not really, no."

Tony felt his heart fall just a bit, but what could he expect? He could be kind of an ass sometimes, yes. He ticked her off occasionally, yes. But the way he had acted in the past week or so was something that even he cringed to think about. His impulse, of course, was to blame it on the dying thing, but there was no excuse for the way things went down. Looking around the house and remembering his stupid birthday party, the way he treated her…

Stark nodded and looked down at the floor. Besides him, Pepper finally moved to take her hair down, letting it cascade over her shoulders and around her face. Tony watched out of the corner of his eye.

You're killin' me, Potts. He thought to himself. He never told her this, but it drove him crazy when she'd take her hair down in front of him. Maybe because it was so rare or maybe he liked the way it always fell over part of her left eye. Whatever the reason, it only caused his desire to sweep her up in his arms to skyrocket. To be honest though, he was terrified. Terrified to make a move. Terrified to mess this up. This wasn't him. This wasn't Tony Stark. What does she do to him to make him such a stumbling, nervous idiot?

Giving into his need to at least just touch her, Tony let his body go limp so that his head melted into her lap. This way his blanket was covering her too because he knew she got cold so easily. Stark fought the urge to tense up in anticipation as to whether or not she'd welcome the gesture. A soft hand that brushed locks of hair from his forehead was answer enough. He closed his eyes and relaxed, taking a satisfied deep breath.

"I- I didn't exactly make it easy for you to tell me either. I just assume anything that comes out of your mouth is something between an insensitive jab of sarcasm or-"

"Alright, alright. Message received."

"What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry I didn't listen."

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Just accept it, Tony."

Tony turned so he was on his back. His head still rested in Pepper's lap but now he was looking up into her eyes. The corner of his lips involuntarily twitched into a half smile just at the sight of her.

"See, we could be so good at this Pep."

She smiled too.

"Good at what?"

"Healthy problem-solving. Communication. Talking things out. You know, stable-ish relationship-y stuff."

"Stable-ish is right." She laughed, pushing his fingers further through his hair. Tony grinned further and closed his eyes happily once again. They went silent again for a while. Pepper played with his hair and he laid there with his heart swollen. He could get used to this.

"Should we um… should we talk about this?" Pepper finally asked.

"What?"

"Us or… whatever the hell is going on?"

Tony sighed and sat up.

"Yeah, I guess. But can we do that tomorrow? I think I've reached my emotional capacity for today."

"Agreed."

Suddenly Pepper stood up and stretched, grabbing her shoes and taking tired steps towards the door.

"Wait." Tony shot up, the blanket falling to the ground and he followed. Tony grabbed her hand and pulled it enough to spin her around right back flush against his body. Her face was just inches from his, her eyes staring expectantly at him. He was close enough to smell not only her perfume but her distinct natural scent that he had come to adore so much over the years. Tony felt her body move against his as she breathed; her warmth, her soft skin, her undoubtedly very expensive silk shirt.

"Stay." He breathed, holding his arm at her back to keep her against him. She didn't seem to mind.

"What? Are you going to have Natashalie show me out in the morning too?"

"Natashalie." He smirked and rolled his eyes. "No, no. No funny business. I-"

Tony took in a stuttering breath and looked around at his mess of a house. "I just don't want to be alone." He admitted. "I-"

Pepper looked at him and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for him to finish. Tony moved both of his arms around his astounding CEO and pressed his forehead to hers. "I don't want to be without you. Not tonight."

There's that Tony Stark charm. He commended himself. He knew it'd work on her, especially paired with those same puppy dog eyes that had gotten him out of quite a few pickles in the past with Pepper. Something that was great about starting a relationship with someone you've known forever- you know the ins and outs of what they'll respond to. For the most part, he thought they had each other down to a tee in that department.

"I know what you're doing." She said.

"Well is it working? Give me something." He prodded, smiling and running his hand gently down her back.

"Yes." She answered, rolling her eyes. "It's working." She finished in a lower tone, wrapping her own arms around his neck and pulling him in. Tony closed his eyes and allowed himself to kiss her for the third time that night.

Three out of many more to come. He thought happily, feeling and tasting her on his lips and trying to relish every moment of it.

They ended up sleeping on the couch. He would've carried her to his bed but he didn't want to scare her off with the pressure of sleeping in his bedroom already. Plus, he didn't know if he had the strength or endurance to even get that far at this point. Instead, Stark got her some of his clothes to wear that were much more suitable to sleep in than a pencil skirt, and then he swept her onto the couch in his arms.

They drifted off like that, tangled in the blanket and tangled in each other as the dull sounds of Bourne Ultimatum sounded on the television. The last thing Tony remembered from that night was the image of her waterfall of red hair splayed out on his chest, the feeling of her delicate hand wrapped in his own, and the sound of her steady breathing as she slipped away with him.

"Good night, Miss Potts." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Good night, Mr. Stark." He just barely heard her mumble. If this was a dream, he was okay with never waking.