"Shit," Tony muttered as he came out the bathroom. He had just taken a shower and was now rushing into his closet to find something to wear. "JARVIS?"

"8:21. You should had left 38 minutes ago."

He rolled his eyes and glanced at the ceiling. "Shut up. You're not my mom."

JARVIS continued. "I tried to warn you of the time."

"Fine. It's my fault. You can stop bragging about it."

He looked through his clothes disappointed that he couldn't find anything to wear. Almost as if his AI knew, he spoke. "It's currently 65 degrees."

"Thanks." He put on a black bomber jacket and headed downstairs. Now all he had to do was figure out where he was going to take Pepper. He'd been bouncing ideas off JARVIS, but didn't get far. She said she didn't care where they went or what they did, but he did. He wanted to show her a good time and make a good impression.

"What about sushi?"

"I would consider rethinking that."

Tony bit back his response to the pretentious attitude he swore JARVIS was wearing.

"Might I suggest coffee?"

He waved the idea off and walked out the door. "Seriously? You're useless, you know that? Remind me to reprogram you once I get back. You need major work."

"Pepper, you haven't even touched your food," Victoria said as she came to a stop in front of her daughter at the kitchen table.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, pushing her plate forward. "Can I just go upstairs?"

"Is this about Robert?"

No, it's about Tony. It was 8:46 and he still hadn't shown up or even texted her he'd be running late. "No, it's not that, mom."

"I can't believe you guys broke up," her mother replied.

"I don't want to talk about it," Pepper responded. And she didn't. Robert was surprisingly understanding and said he wouldn't get in the way if this was what she wanted. They said their goodbyes at the airport, tears in their eyes, and told each other they'd keep in touch. Robert was one of her best friends and she couldn't let that go; neither did he. The only thing she looked forward to on this shit day was Tony. She was counting on him to make her forget about everything, but he had yet to make an appearance and her patience was already thin as is.

She had curled her hair, put make up on, and had picked out a black trench coat that ran mid-thigh and matched her black boots and white jeans. She had three minutes to spare and spent the time looking out her window anxious but excited for their date. She stopped a quarter past eight and gave up on the idea he was coming fifteen minutes after.

Victoria sighed and left the kitchen. She hated seeing her children like this, but it was the process of growing up - for them both. Her kids had to make their own decisions, right or wrong, and deal with the consequences.

"Look, I know I'm beyond late...but I have a good excuse."

She stared at the person in front of her. Tony Stark was on her doorstep. She'd prepared herself for this very situation, but everything conveniently disappeared.

"You're not Pepper."

"No," she agreed, slipping into her role. "I'm her mother. Is there something I can help you with?"

Tony straightened out his posture and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I...uh-"

"Mom, don't scare him."

He closed his eyes and thanked God for Pepper's perfect timing.

"I barely said anything."

He gulped when he was left alone with her mother again. Here we go, he thought as she walked out the door and closed it behind her.

"I won't pretend to like you because I don't. You're everything I don't want for my daughter, but she insists you're being entirely serious about this so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. Make me regret it and I'll never let you see her again."

"Okay," he said, looking her in the eyes. He wanted to elaborate, stick up for himself, but was cut off.

"I want her home by 11:30. And not a second later than that."

He nodded just as Pepper was walking out. As soon as they locked eyes, he smiled. "Hi."

Pepper smiled back and continued past them saying, "Let's go."

"Have fun," Victoria yelled. "And please don't stay out too late."

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'll be back before curfew." With that, Tony reversed his car and drove off.

"There," Tony said, pointing with his free hand and dragging Pepper with his other.

"Didn't you say you weren't good at these kind of games," she asked as they came to a stop in front of the basket toss.

"Yeah, but I want to get you that."

Pepper looked at the shelves atop the game and saw the oversized elephant she wanted several games ago. She tried winning one back at the balloon darts, but failed. The game was rigged. The darts were dull.

"I saw you playing for it when I was in line buying tickets," Tony smiled. He turned to the dealer and pointed to the stuffed animal. "What do I have to do to get that?"

"You gotta make all five of them in."

Pepper stood back and watched as his first attempt at the game failed. Two out of five. She kept quiet when he tried a second time. And the third...fourth...fifth. She finally had enough after that. "Tony, it's okay. I didn't really want it."

He glanced at her sideways and said nothing before starting for another game. He was determined to win this. It wasn't just about Pepper now. He wasn't going to let some stupid game beat him.

"Another," the woman behind the booth asked.

"Yeah. Keep it coming," Tony said as he tried again. It was easier to get the ball inside by throwing it along the edge of the basket. He couldn't hit the backboard. The ball would just retain its velocity and bounce out. He had let his frustration get to him, but once he calmed down and took a deep breath, that was when he got it. He made every single shot the next game and there was a gigantic smile on his face when he was handed his prize. He walked over to Pepper and grinned when he saw the way her eyes were lighting up. And she said she didn't want it.

"But I don't want to go on it," he complained as Pepper came to a stop in the line for the Ferris Wheel.

"But we have ten tickets left."

"Let's just go on the pirate ship again," Tony said instead. "That was fun. This..." He glanced up and frowned. "...isn't. We could get thrown into the ocean."

Pepper shook her head. "That can happen on that ride, too."

"Nope. Gravity will propel us forward."

"Come on, you're holding up the line."

Tony groaned and followed as she moved up. "You do remember I'm the one that got you the elephant you're holding, right?"

"I said I didn't want it."

"Then someone should have told your face that," he mumbled.

"It'll be fun," Pepper replied with a smile.

"Pep, come on." He looked nervously at the Ferris Wheel again. "Don't make me."

"You made me ride U.F.O. when I didn't want to."

"And that was the wrong thing to do. I shouldn't have done that."

"You can save the apologies for later." She came up to the front entrance and handed over their tickets before taking a seat in one of the gondolas, Tony trailing behind.

He sat next to Pepper and warily peeked over her shoulder. "I hate you," he simply said as he leaned back to rest his head. "Tell me when it's over." Once he felt the gears moving below him, he closed his eyes and tried to think of anything but his current situation.

He stayed in position until he felt her arm wrap loosely around his. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around. It wasn't so bad now that he thought about it. It was actually calming to a certain extent. He glanced at Pepper and scooted closer to her, wrapping the arm she'd been holding around her shoulder and looking out the window himself. The pier was lit up from the rides to the booths to the food stands. Then there was Malibu: the streets, freeways, buildings.

"That's my house."

Pepper glanced at him briefly before looking out the window again. "Where?"

"There," Tony said, pointing at it. "It's on that rocky cliff, and on the right of it is a building that's lit up in the shape of a triangle inside a rectangle."

"Oh, I see it," she responded seconds later.

He laughed at her excitement. Pepper returned to looking at the view and he was beginning to wonder why it was taking so long. He hated thinking it, but he was bored. Drumming his fingers against his pants, he came up with an idea. He brushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck. The contact was enough to elicit a response from her. She shifted and turned to face him.

"What are you doing," she asked, laughing softly.

He shrugged, an innocent expression on his face. "Why'd you put your hair down?"

"What? You don't like it?"

"No, I do," Tony quickly said. "It's just different. Kinda used to seeing it up and all," he gestured with his fingers.

Pepper hummed in acknowledgement and breathed in as his hand went to her hair and behind her neck. She leaned forward at his pull and closed her eyes. His kiss was soft, gentle...almost as if he was testing the water. He broke it off, but immediately kissed her again when she didn't object. He tugged her lip and used his hold on her to reel her in. A sensation coursed through her body as his tongue swept her bottom lip seeking entrance. She grabbed his shirt and leaned back against the glass window taking him with her and happily deepening the kiss.

She pulled away slowly to the sound of Tony groaning. It was getting a bit heated and out of hand for her liking. "You're gonna leave a mark."

"Just one more then."

He leaned in for another kiss but she was quick to dodge.

"You just want to make out," Pepper said bluntly. Then she smiled. "That's like for the sixth date."

Complete utter shock crossed Tony's face. "Sixth?"

She laughed at his expression. "No, I was kidding. Third."

"You honestly just gave me a heart attack."

She rolled her eyes at his overdramatic response and turned around to look out the gondola again.

"Just so you know," Pepper warned, turning to look at him. "If you decide to toss me into the water, you'll never get a third date." All the rides had closed for the night and he had brought up the beach. She objected, saying she wasn't in the right clothes, but he'd been adamant on coming down here.

"Pepper, I said I wouldn't."

"And I'm saying I don't believe you." Tony had been talking about getting revenge for making him go on the Ferris Wheel and she was certain he'd go through it. She bent down and picked a conch off the ocean floor. "And if they're as limited as you say they are, I don't think you would have gone down here with them on, so - ah," Pepper yelled, feeling cold water splash across her back. She turned and saw Tony there with a devilish smile on his face. "What the hell was that for?!"

He just shrugged as if he'd done nothing wrong.

"I can't believe I thought you were being nice by offering to hold my jacket," Pepper said, glaring at him. She watched as he bent down again. "Don't even think about it." Cautiously, she started making her way back to shore, eyes locked on him to make sure there'd be no sudden movements.

"You didn't say I couldn't do that."

"It's not funny," Pepper told him as he copied her every movement.

"But I want to show you something."

"Yeah, right."

"No, seriously, I found one of those hermit crabs. Come here."

She looked at him for a good thirty seconds before slowly deciding to walk over to where he was at. Two could play at this game and she was going to win.

"You have to come closer than that," Tony said as Pepper came to a stop inches from him.

"Fine." She walked to him and grabbed hold of his arm. She stood on her toes pretending to get a look at it and once she felt like Tony thought she was actively trying to find the "hermit crab," she quickly put both her hands on the bottom of his and pushed forward so his face came in contact with his palm.

He spit the water out and used his shirt to wipe away the sand stuck on his tongue. "I can't believe you did that," he said in shock. "There's sand in my mouth."

Pepper couldn't stop laughing as she watched his ministrations. It was definitely worth remembering; she took out her phone to capture it. "I told you not to do it. And a hermit crab? Really? It's dark out. How would you even find one?"

"At least I wasn't trying to be sneaky about it."

She shrugged her shoulders and innocently replied, "I don't know what you're talking about." She started walking up the beach towards the parking lot.

"Forget it," Tony said. Once she turned to look at him, he smiled.

"No, don't." She knew what he wanted to do. She didn't even have to ask.

"You're going down, Pep."

"I'll throw your shoes in the water."

"I can just get a new pair."

"I'm wearing white pants."

"Don't care." He teased her by walking up a bit, which made her take the same amount of steps back. "I'll be nice and give you a head start."

Taking that to her advantage, she ran off. He smiled and watched Pepper go. On ten, he ran after her down the water's edge. It took him thirty seconds to catch up and wrap his arms around her.

His hands skate across her stomach, causing laughter to fill the air. "Gotcha." She tried squirming her way out of his arms and he couldn't help but laugh at her failing. He held her in place, then scooped her up more than ready to follow through his ultimatum.

"Tony! Stop," she screamed just as he was about to drop her.

He tilted her even more and she responded by grabbing onto his shirt. "I'm not the one afraid to get wet, Pep."

Pepper let go in frustration and yelled out some more as he walked further into the water. But after teasing her awhile longer, he finally decided to let her go. She smiled triumphantly when he put her down. The instant her foot hit the ground, she took off. He shook her head and watched her go once again. Tonight turned out better than he could ever imagine.

Tony pulled his Audi onto her driveway and turned off the ignition. As much as he didn't want the night to end, he knew it had to. There was always a next time.

"So when is your curfew?"

"1:00," Pepper answered.

"1:00?"

She nodded. "That's why I was asking if you wanted to get something to eat. It's only eleven."

"Oh," he muttered. "You had a good time, right?"

"For the tenth time," Pepper said, turning to face him as they reached the front porch. "Yeah."

"I just want to be sure."

Pepper smiled. "I had lots of fun. I mean, you won me this," she said, pointing to her stuffed elephant. "You went on every ride I wanted to go on, we ate junk food, took pictures, went walking down the beach..." She trailed off and smiled. "Quit worrying."

He shook his head. "But I was still late. I should have texted you or something, but I completely forgot."

"You were spending time with your dad."

"Yeah." It surprised him more than anyone. He had come back from school and came across his father fixing up the roadster in the workshop. He remembered seeing the car as a kid and wanting to know more about it because of the flames decorated on the sides. "He was teaching me what certain parts were for and then he brought up school and how he felt about the accident." He paused for a minute and drifted his gaze thinking about what he'd just said. It was the first time in a long time he actually remembered having his dad caring and wanting to know about him.

"You could've cancelled. I wouldn't had minded."

"But I wanted you to know I'm serious about this. Bailing out on the first date kinda-"

"Shows the exact opposite. I get it," she replied.

"Yeah, and I really am sorry about that though."

She leaned in to give him a kiss and a warm smile crossed his lips when he pulled back. "I can't come in?"

"Wow, first date and you're already thinking about that."

"No, that's not what I meant," he quickly said. Even if sex was on his mind, he knew he couldn't jump that ahead. Pepper deserved to be treated differently. "I just thought you had to be back by midnight because of school and all."

"No. But my mom said you had to bring me back around eleven, didn't she?"

"11:30," Tony corrected. "She hates me, right?"

"She doesn't hate you. She's just not your biggest fan."

"Because I'm not what she wants for you," Tony said, repeating her mother's words.

Pepper nodded and sat down on the porch swing. "I wouldn't care too much about it. She didn't even like Robert at first."

"Why?"

"Because he asked her where he should take me on our first date."

Tony laughed, not believing what he'd just heard.

"Yeah. And that wasn't the worst of it. He ended up taking me to a coffee shop."

"So coffee's a bad idea," Tony slowly said. Knew it.

"It's not that it is, it's just that we're not like thirty. Why," Pepper asked, noticing the look on his face. "Did you think about taking me there?"

"JARVIS suggested it. He said it was number one in Dating for Dummies."

This time she was the one that couldn't stop laughing.

"Everything closed or was about to and I didn't want to just give up and take you to the movies, so I thought of the carnival."

Pepper smiled. "I'm glad you did."

Tony nodded, then shifted gears. "You don't have to answer this, but it's just been on my mind since I picked you up." He took a brief pause, then asked, "What happened with Robert?"

"Oh," Pepper quietly said. "Nothing," she answered. She still wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "He was ready to leave by the time I got home, so I drove him to the airport and he left. Don't worry about him. He's not coming back."

"You kinda sound sad about it."

She glared at him. "Kinda? Like I don't have a right to be?"

Tony squirmed in his seat. "Uh...no?" Oh, shit. He did not mean for it to come off like that.

"Sorry," Pepper apologized. "I just don't want to talk about it right now. It's difficult."

"Yeah, my bad. I won't ask ever again," he said, reassuring her. "But you have me, right?"

She cast her head down and smiled. Leave it to Tony to make everything about him again.

"I'm kidding." He repositioned his body and scooted closer until they were hip-to-hip; then he nudged her with his shoulder.

Pepper laughed at his action and playfully responded back. Even though she wanted to stay out here with him, she knew she had to go in and get ready for bed. "I'm gonna go in," she said, standing up. "It's getting late."

"Okay," he replied, rising to his feet. He kissed her on the cheek and walked down the steps to his car. Pepper stood by the door until he left. Once he was gone, she picked up her belongings and smiled.

After a shower, she was ready to call it a night. She made herself comfortable in bed and grabbed her phone to reply any last minute messages. She had a couple from Morgan asking about her date. She had one from Robert telling her he had arrived home safely. And she had one from Tony: Don't miss me too much :)

So did you guys enjoy date night? Was it what you imagined?