Pepper rushed out the front door as she stared at the figure on her lawn. If it weren't for the tree supporting him, she was sure he would have already fallen on his face. Tony looked like, for lack of a better word, shit. His cheeks were flushed; his hair was sticking up in places that didn't make sense. He had on a sweater, which seemed drenched in some sort of liquid, and dark blue jeans. She glanced around looking for whoever had brought him here, but came up empty handed.

"Tony," she called out, giving him a shove. "Hey, come on. Don't fall asleep." His head was tilt back on the trunk of the tree and his eyes were closed.

He groaned at the noise, but eventually opened his eyes. It took him another minute for his focus to clear. "Pepper? What are you doing here," he slurred.

"Tony, this is my house," she clarified, crouching down to where he was sitting.

He shook his head hard. "No. Can't be. Rhodey said I was done and told me to sit out." He looked around and smiled. "See, he's right there. Told you."

As soon as she turned around to see what he was pointing at, she laughed. "Um, that is a witch riding a broomstick."

"He's playing Quidditch? I wanna be a Chaser." His legs faltered as soon as he tried getting up. "Ouch," he groaned. "Maybe I'll help out the next one."

She found the entire situation amusing and wanted to capture it on camera. A world-reowned genius reduced to this? But as funny as it was, it was also serious, which was why she was trying her hardest to not laugh. Her parents were home. If they were pertinent to his current condition, she knew she'd be banned from seeing him.

She sighed and got up upon seeing Tony's car parked across the street. She made her way over and grabbed the note that was stuck to the windshield: Pepper, it's Rhodey. Tony's friend. Look, I hate to do this to you, but could you watch him tonight? We got a game early tomorrow and you've probably found out he's in no condition to drive. He'll calm down in an hour or so. Thanks. I owe you.

She crumbled the paper with her hands and threw it on the ground.

"Hey, no!" Once again, she shook him. "Don't close your eyes. Look, we'll go inside and you can sleep there."

"I am pretty tired," he replied, leaning on her shoulder and using it as support.

"Let's go then, alright?" To her surprise, Tony got up without protesting. He eventually learned to steady himself but staggered a couple steps later.

"Here," she said, wrapping an arm around him to help him out.

"Thanks. I think I drank too much." As if that isn't obvious, she thought as she heard him hiccup and grab his side. "I don't feel great either." His breathing was heavy and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. He let out varying degrees of a groan the entire way and only stopped when she sat him down at the table.

"Just stay here. Do not move at all."

Tony nodded, put his arm on the table, and laid his head in the crook of it hoping it'd keep the wave of nausea from squirming in.

"Okay," Pepper announced, coming out the back door. "My parents are in their room, but they're still awake so you need to be quiet. Do you understand?"

She helped him up once again and prayed everything would go according to plan. Using the walls as support, they were able to make it into the living room with no issues. Now came the daunting task: stairs.

"I can do it," Tony said as she tried to grab his arm. He fell face first the very next step; she winced. Good thing there was carpet.

"What was that about saying you could do it," Pepper asked, leaning against the railing and laughing once again. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and used the palm of his hand to rub the point of impact.

He looked at the stairs and pouted. "That's not nice."

Pepper shook her head, hiding her smile as she heard him chastise the stairs as if it were a child that had done something wrong.

"They were actually made for survival," he told Pepper, giving up upon crawling onto the sixth step. He waited until his breathing returned back to normal before continuing. She, herself, had decided to sit down next to him. "Because back then there was difficult terrain. If something bad happened, they needed shelter as soon as possible and this is what they made for that."

"Really?"

"Yep," he grinned. "Then they found out it was also made for religious purposes, connecting the Earth with the Sky and all that."

"Interesting. You think you can finish going up them?"

"Then we can jump on clouds," Tony told her excitedly.

"Yeah," Pepper said, matching his tone. "But if you're not fast enough you might lose your spot."

He mumbled something incoherent and struggled up the stairs. She opened her bedroom door once they reached the top and motioned for him to go in.

"Are you the one making that noise?"

Pepper froze at the voice and turned around to look at her father feigning innocence. "What are you talking about?"

"I swore I heard something."

"I think it might be Peter. He just got back and said he was gonna make food."

"He's past his curfew again." Richard sighed, closing the door behind him and making his way over to her to get to the stairs.

In that moment, her foot quickly went to Tony's behind, pushing him forward.

"See, I just heard it again. He's drunk, isn't he," her father asked, referring to the groan that had come out of Tony's mouth.

"No," Pepper quickly said. "He's fine, and I didn't mean Peter just came back. He's actually been here since midnight. He just wanted a burrito."

"Tell him to keep the noise down," Richard sternly said as he walked back into his room.

She closed the door behind her and let out a sigh of relief. Once inside, she found Tony face down on the carpet floor.

"What are you doing," she asked in amusement.

"My butt hurts. I think it's broken."

"You can't break your butt. It doesn't work that way," she told him as she turned on a nightlight.

"It feels like it though."

"Well, you probably fell on it enough to."

Tony groaned at the brightness; then looked at her. "Are you cheating on me?" His eyes had shifted into something serious.

"No, that was my dad. You're at my house, remember?"

"Oh," he realized. "Right." He sat up and smacked the side of his head.

She offered him water, but Tony pushed it away. "I don't need it," he mumbled before laying down on his side.

"It'll help you out."

Tony didn't answer. Instead he kicked off his shoes and sighed in relief.

"How much did you drink," Pepper asked as she sat down next to him.

"Not that much. Like ten?"

"Cans?"

"Shots."

"The entire night?"

"No, in two hours," he corrected. "But I'm fine."

"Right," she humored. "You're drunk. Whether you want to admit it or not."

"Okay, maybe a little." He stared at Pepper's shirt curiously and grabbed the bottom of it. "What are you wearing under this?" Before he had a chance to look up it, she stopped him.

"Don't even think about it."

He frowned when she pushed his hand away.

"Just take a nap."

"Okay," he mumbled.

With her help, they took off his jacket. As soon as he got up, she pushed him onto the bed.

"Hey, Snuffleupagus," he smiled, grabbing the stuffed animal.

"Tony, I said I wasn't gonna name him that."

"But look at his nose," he argued, shaking the elephant so its trunk swayed back and forth.

"He's not even brown."

"But look at his nose."

Pepper chuckled and set a hand on her hip. "Just go to sleep."

He wiggled his way up the bed until his head hit the pillow. Sighing in contentment, he closed his eyes. "Thanks, Pep. You're the best."

She hummed in response and grabbed the elephant out of his arm. He put up a useless struggle and whined when he lost. She was not going to risk him puking on her stuff. He's going to be out for awhile, she thought. Might as well shower. Thanks to him, her clothes had begun reeking alcohol.

An hour had gone by since Tony passed out. She had changed into a loose v-neck and yoga pants and was now standing by her bed staring at him. She couldn't make up her mind on whether to wake him or leave him be. In the sixty minutes he had fallen asleep, she had learned quite a few things. He snored, mumbled, and tossed and turned in his sleep. She thought he was having a bad dream for a second and was ready to wake him up, but it had disappeared as fast as it had appeared, so she left him be.

She had refrigerated some water and found some Advil. Having never been drunk herself, her ideas on hangover cures were limited. She carefully made her way onto the bed and smiled. He looked peaceful, quiet; the complete opposite of his personality. And although she enjoyed the view of what his risen up t-shirt gave her, she knew it had to be cold and decided to put a blanket over him, which was a bad idea.

"Mmm," he groaned, twitching his nose. His eyes opened, and judging from the look on his face, she could tell he had no idea where he was at. "What the hell?" His head was hurting, but it was nothing compared to his current situation. Like Pepper guessed, he had no idea where he was.

"Hey, you okay," he heard someone ask.

It took him a couple seconds to recognize the voice. "Pepper?" He pulled himself out of bed and sat up.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He had no memory of coming here, but then again, he had no recollection of leaving the party either. He turned his head and saw Pepper next to him holding a bottle of water. He grabbed and drank a good percentage of it, then wiped everything that had dripped off his mouth down his chest. "How did I get here?"

Tony's question made her wonder just how frequent something like this happened. "I think one of your friends drove you. He left a note on your car."

That he vaguely remembered. Rhodey didn't want him alone at the party, but he had said he could take care of himself; as usual Rhodey knew better.

"Good. I thought I-" He stopped himself mid-sentence. It was better to keep quiet.

"What? Screwed up?"

"Yeah," he responded sheepishly.

"Well, you didn't. But if you did..."

"We're over," he finished. "I understand." He looked at the clock on the nightstand and cleared his throat. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No," Pepper quickly said. "I didn't sneak you in for nothing."

Tony raised his brow. "You didn't."

"Yes, I did," she smiled. "For the record, lay off the burgers."

"What are you trying to tell me? I'm not fat, Pepper. I have a six pack," he said, lifting his shirt up and showing her.

She shrugged and stared at it in disinterest. "It needs work."

Tony gasped in shock. "Wow, Pep. You just hurt my feelings." His pout was evident as he laid back down and pulled the covers over his head. "I'm gonna sleep."

She let out an exasperated sigh and pulled the blanket off him as best she could.

"Hey," he yelled, yanking it back.

"Would you be quiet," she told Tony in a hushed tone. "My parents are sleeping."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes when he didn't respond. He was ignoring her; probably on purpose. "Tony." She moved up her bed and settled at the head of it. Lifting the covers off, she shook him.

"What," he grumbled.

"You know you're sleeping in my bed, right?"

He responded by rolling left.

His action made her lip quirk up, but she held her tone. "I meant if you're spending the night, you're spending it on the floor."

"Aw, come on," he whined, sitting up. "I'll be good."

She actually found his current persona to be quite adorable. He wasn't drunk anymore, but he wasn't the Tony she knew either. It was somewhere in between.

"I just realized I've never been in your room before," Tony said, breaking her thoughts. "It's so..." He trailed off when he saw a certain photograph on the wall. "You can't be serious."

"What," Pepper asked, unashamed.

He groaned in disgust. "Seriously?! You have the hots for the High School Musical guy?"

"What's wrong with that?"

He rolled his eyes at her and glared at the photo. "So what did he write at the bottom?"

Pepper repositioned herself next to him and nudged his shoulder. "Don't tell me you're jealous," she said in a playful manner.

"Of him? Yeah, right," Tony scoffed.

"Oh, come on. Like you don't have a list of girls you want to hook up with."

"Whatever."

"What? You're not gonna tell me?"

"Nope, because I don't have a list."

"Right."

"And if I did, you'd be the only one on it."

"Right."

"That's all you're gonna say," he asked, staring at her. "I don't know crap about relationships, but even I know that was supposed to make you all warm inside."

"Okay, sorry. That was very sweet, Tony."

"Now you're just mocking me." He took his eyes off Pepper and stared at the picture again. Zac Efron? He didn't understand.

She scooted closer to him until her body was against his. With her cheek resting on his shoulder, she linked her arm around his and intertwined their fingers. "I think you're cuter, even though he has nicer abs."

Tony could feel her grinning and opted for the high road, not falling for the intentional jab. He cleared his throat and looked at her. "So did I say anything stupid?"

She nodded. "Then you told why stairs were made."

"Oh, because back then people didn't know how to predict the weather so they needed something convenient to get them to higher ground."

"Yeah, I remember."

He could sense her disinterest. "I just know a lot of useless stuff. Like..." He paused, thinking about it. "If we removed all the space between our atoms, Earth's population would fit inside an apple."

"You're such a nerd," Pepper teased.

"What? You don't think that's cool? Okay, how about this? All polar bears are left handed."

"Really," she asked, trying hard not to laugh at how genuinely excited he was about telling her all these facts.

"Yep. And owls are the only birds that can see blue. I also found out that a pig's orgasm can last 30 minutes."

She lifted her head up and met his gaze. "That's gross."

"Not like I was looking it up or anything." Pepper raised her brow at him. "I wasn't! I read it in the Guinness World Record Book."

"Right."

"I really did." He smiled and in that second decided to lean down and kiss her. Pepper reciprocated and didn't object when he pushed her against the headboard.

They shouldn't be doing this, but the hand caressing her hip felt good. Great. Amazing. She gasped when he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down. Her head hit the pillow with a soft thud and she looked up at him. He smirked and kissed her again, his hands finding the edge of her shirt and reaching underneath it to massage her bare skin. The feeling made her shiver.

"We shouldn't do this."

"What," Tony asked, looking down at her with a raised brow. He knew they couldn't technically do this until the third date...but when had he ever followed rules? He could tell she was thinking as she played with the hairs on his arm and he wanted her to quit. "You think too much." He crashed their lips together in a fierce kiss. Pulling back, he swept his tongue across her bottom lip and gained entrance, battling for dominance and making her moan. He pulled back for oxygen; then quickly recovered and attacked her neck. He nibbled and found her pulse point, sucking on it. Craving contact, she wrapped her arm around his neck and brought him closer, opening her legs so he could fit between them. It was a perfect match and the feeling of their hips rocking together made him groan.

His breathing was ragged; his pants were constricting. He was ready, willing, and Pepper was not objecting. He pulled her onto his lap and grabbed the end of her shirt to lift it up out of the way. The sight of her black laced bra made him growl. He carelessly tossed the shirt behind him and laid her back down. His eyes roam over her and she blushed at his action.

"You have freckles everywhere," he grinned, his hand resting on her stomach and looking around. His fingers lightly grazed her side on his scavenger hunt and it made her squirm. "And you're ticklish."

She grabbed hold of Tony's fingers before they could wander elsewhere. "So you're just gonna stare at them now?" Not that she was complaining. His fascination with her freckles happened at just the right time. Their make out session had gotten a little out of control.

"Yeah," he replied, as if it was that was the only answer.

"Fine," Pepper responded.

"Good," he smiled.

She waited until his search had nearly re-begun. "I'm gonna go to sleep though."

He frowned as Pepper went inside the blankets and scratched the back of his neck confused. Did I say something wrong? "Did you want sex?" No response. Did I say something wrong? She said she was fine...fine...fine...FINE. "Oh," he muttered. "Pep, I just got enamored by them. I thought they were just on your arms."

"Did you just say enamored?" She peeked her head out of the covers and stared at him with a raised brow.

"Yeah," Tony cautiously replied. "I'm still kinda drunk, so just remember my brain is not at its full capacity."

"Of course it isn't. Would you hand me my shirt?"

"So that's a no to sex," he asked, giving her the article of clothing. Pepper rolled her eyes. "We were never gonna make it that far, huh?"

"Not even half pass second base."

"Oh." He looked down at his pants disappointingly; then he changed the subject. "But our third date is on Friday."

"What about it?"

"Nothing. I was just making sure I had the right date."

"Uh huh."

"Scoot over," Tony told her as he crawled his way over to her. "Are you scared of animals?"

"Why? What are you planning?"

"Zoo."

"Zoo," Pepper repeated.

"Yeah. I do volunteer work and feed the animals. I want to take you there."

A smile crossed her lips. "You do that?"

Tony nodded. "You're saying how you want me to open up and I thought this was a good step in that direction."

"It sounds like fun." She was suddenly excited at the idea of it. They'd been going out for almost a month; she was glad he had finally decided to open up to her. "Just don't take me to the dangerous ones."

"But those are the best. There's a lion that's probably eight weeks old and he'd gotten really sick to the point where his mom just didn't want to take care of him anymore. It was kinda sad, but helping him get better made it worth it. He loves me."

"Sounds like you're doing it for his attention," she teased.

"He practically jumps around his cell when he hears me coming, but I feel the same."

"Well, I can't wait to meet him then."

"You'll love him. He's really adorable."

Tony waited for her response, but got nothing. Turning to look at her, he found her fast asleep. He smiled and gently wiped the hair that had fallen on her face. It was 3:20am. Sighing, he got off her bed and grabbed the extra pillow near Pepper's head. This night turned out better than he knew it could; that thought stuck with him until he fell asleep.

Thanks to Adel Way for that idea. I'll use it sometime!