"What are you doing?"

"I'm brushing up on my skills," Maria replied, taking her eyes off the piano. "The gentleman we booked had to go into emergency surgery and I can't seem to get a hold of anyone this late at night so I thought I'd give it a shot."

"You haven't played in forever."

"Which is why I am practicing."

"But the benefit's tomorrow night. What if you screw up?"

"Excuse me," she asked, daring him to repeat what he just said.

"You'll do great," Tony quickly corrected, smiling of course.

He'd just gotten off the elevator when he heard a soft melody carry its way upstairs and down his hall. He remembered the piece, remembered when he was two that his mother had taught him that song to keep him out of trouble at Stark Industries - something about drawing on the walls with markers and sharp objects every time she was needed and trained professionals not being able to control him while she was gone. Apparently he hated coloring books and couldn't stay still.

He walked over to where his mother was at and sat next to her, eyeing the music sheet. "A Thousand Years?"

"Yep," she smiled. "I listened to it at work; it's a beautiful song. They tell me it's from a movie called Twilight."

"Yep. Don't tell me you watched it or something."

"God, no. The whole concept is ridiculous. Vampires falling in love? I don't understand it," Maria dismissed. "But the song was chosen by our guests of honor and I think it's the perfect instrumental closing to the benefit. Which reminds me, I need you waiting out front a quarter past five."

Tony nodded.

"So how are things with you and Pepper?"

He glanced at his mother, a quizzical look on his face. "What?"

"Pepper."

He stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "I know who she is."

"Then why the puzzled look on your face?"

"She's..." He trailed off pressing a few of the piano keys. "...how she always is. Do we have to talk about her?"

"Well, seeing how Pepper is your girlfriend, I think we do."

"How did you-"

"I'm your mother. I know everything."

His cheeks suddenly turn a slight red.

"That's right," Maria smiled, her voice laced with superiority. "So don't think I don't know what you do when you leave this house."

"I was gonna tell you," Tony started, but was cut off.

"Relax, I'm not upset. Pepper's a wonderful girl and I happen to like her a lot."

"Really," he surprisingly asked, turning to face her. He knew there was no reason for his mom to not like Pepper and he was glad to have it finally confirmed.

"Of course," Maria nodded. "I think you should tell Pepper to come tomorrow. It'll be fun. You'll have someone to spend time with and I'm sure she'll love it."

"Mom," he groaned out for as long as possible.

"What? You don't think so?"

"It's just dancing, eating, and talking. Only old..." He stopped himself, but it wasn't enough as his mother shot him the same look as earlier for his poor choice of words. "...adults like that kind of stuff. It's a waste of time to us. Don't girls need advanced notice for this kind of stuff?"

He was looking for the nearest exit route and she was not about to let it happen. "I'm sure my stylist can whip something up should Pepper decide to come."

"Fine," he relented, knowing he had no other choice.

"I want to invite Pepper over for dinner next month."

"What are you doing," Tony decided to ask, bluntly at that. "First you want Pepper at the benefit and now you want her over for dinner. What are you planning?"

"I just want to get to know her," Maria explained in the sincerest tone possible. "You really like her and I want to understand the reasoning behind it. Is that too much to ask? Because if it is then I'm sorry I asked."

"So you just want to ask her about her life and stuff," he asked just to be sure.

"Yes." Maria smiled and brushed his bangs to the side. She made a mental note to tell her team to cut his hair. It was getting too long. "I should have opened up with that instead. Is that a yes? I promise to not embarrass you."

"Do you honestly think you can promise me something like that?"

"Okay, you have a point. I promise to not intentionally embarrass you. Better?"

"A lot," he smiled.

"And now that you have a girlfriend, I think it's time we get a few things clear."

"Things like what," Tony asked.

"Things like sex and protection."

"Mom!"

"What? Do you want me to call your father down?"

"No, I get it," he said. "You do not have to do this."

"Good. But just know that no matter how old you think I am, I'm still not old enough to be a grandmother so you better watch where you're sticking your tool."

"Mom!" If he wasn't embarrassed before, he was now. He held his hands to his ears and blocked her out. All Maria did was laugh as she told him goodnight.

"I have no idea what to get Gabby for Christmas."

"Are you two dating?"

"Yep," Rhodey responded, a wide grin on his face.

"Why do you need to get her something? You just started the relationship."

"It's our first holiday together, kind of important."

"Sure," Tony said noncommittally. He never cared for the holidays and the thought hadn't even occurred to him to get Pepper something. Did he have to get her something? What if she was getting him something? What would he get her in return? He could feel himself starting to freak out.

"What are you getting Pepper," Rhodey inquired, putting salt to the wound.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I wasn't even thinking about it until you brought it up," he snapped, calling him a derogatory word under his breath.

"You need to get her something. It shouldn't be too hard, man."

"Says the guy who doesn't know what to get his own girlfriend."

"I just started dating her. You've been with Pepper for a month."

"You're just saying that as an excuse. I could get her something custom made," he thought out loud.

"You might wanna think of something more thoughtful. Not something you could just buy the day before at a store."

"I said custom made."

"That's not my point."

"You know what? Stick to your own problems," Tony told him before taking a bite of his cheeseburger.

"Are you gonna ask her to formal?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you," he asked, setting his food down. Now he had another thing to worry about. Formal? Was Pepper expecting them to go? What if she had a dress for the occasion picked out?

"What," Rhodey asked, oblivious to his dilemma. "Happy and I are going. We want to know if you are."

"Can I just eat my lunch without you talking about dances and presents? I already have enough stuff to deal with." He still hadn't asked Pepper to the benefit or to dinner at his house. "I swear, you're becoming a chick."

"Sorry I asked," Rhodey mumbled, going back to his fries.

Tony was about to take a bite of his burger when he noticed someone going for his fries. He was about to stop the culprit when he noticed strawberry blonde hair.

"I thought you went out for lunch."

"I did," Pepper replied.

He scooted over so she could sit down next to him.

"I'm gonna see if Gabby's back," Rhodey said, excusing himself.

"Look," he began, followed by a sigh. He set his burger down and shot her an apologetic smile. "I know we have a date tonight, but could we reschedule? There's this thing I have to go to and I can't get out of it."

"What thing," Pepper asked, trying not to be mad.

"Stark Industries is hosting a Christmas benefit. I completely forgot about it until two days ago." He would had forgotten it all together if not for JARVIS.

"Is that supposed to make me feel sorry for you?"

"My parents do it every year," he decided to explain. "It's for the soldiers in Afghanistan. Our way of saying thanks. Even mom wants you there tonight."

"What," she asked surprised.

"Yeah, I was trying to get to that. You don't have to go if you don't want to." He was jealous Pepper had the choice. "It's more of an adult thing. If you say no, I'd-"

"It's not that I don't wanna go. I-"

"Right? I told her the same thing," he automatically said, not realizing what she said until it registered in his mind. "Wait, what? You're telling me you want to?"

"You said your mom wants me to."

"Yeah, but why does that matter?"

"Well, I like her and it sounds fun."

"Seriously? It sounds fun," he repeated, questioning her idea of a good time. "What do you consider boring?"

"Sitting in my room and watching the time go by wondering when my boyfriend is gonna pick me up for our date," she automatically retorted with a false smile.

"Okay, I so deserved that."

"Yeah, you did," Pepper chuckled, stealing another one of his fries. "I don't think I have anything that formal to wear though."

"Not a problem," Tony smiled. "My mom has you covered. All you have to do is show up and let her stylist team do their jobs."

"Oh no. You're not going out there with that nest." Maria grabbed her son by the shoulders and pushed him back down on the chair. "Jenna, cut his hair for me."

"What? No," Tony yelled out. He tried to get up but his mom pushed him down again. "Mom!"

Pepper stifled her laugh as Tony tried to avoid Maria touching his hair and demonstrating to the barber what kind of style she wanted him to have.

"You look like you just woke up. I admit, it's adorable on you, but this isn't the place for that."

"This sucks," he frowned, sitting up as directed by the stylist.

"I can't believe your mom tells you how you should get your hair cut," Pepper told him as Maria left the room.

"She doesn't."

"Then what should I call what just happened?"

"Creative input," he smirked.

"So I've narrowed it down to three dresses based on your measurements," said Maria, entering the room. "Granted, they're more on the mature side but I think it'll be fine. You can pull it off. This one is the most conservative," she explained as the gown was made visible by her assistant. "It has jewels on the sleeves and waistline; the back is draped. I chose it because it matches your eye color."

Pepper opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't. She was in awe having never seen a selection this beautiful just for her to choose from.

"Okay, you think about it," Maria smiled, knowing all too well the thoughts going through Pepper's mind. She'd been in the same position. Howard had given her five dresses to choose from for her first charity event and she felt like a kid in a candy store...she wanted a little bit of everything.

"There's this one. It's a crystal laced halter dress. It's got a back slit and crossover bodice. The last one's more laid back, it's got a casual feeling to it," she smiled as the dress was made visible. "It's a chiffon gown and I love the designs."

Tony spoke up in the midst of silence. "I like the second one."

"Thanks for telling us, but no one was talking to you, honey."

"No one was talking period," he offhandedly responded. Pepper must have glanced between the dresses a million times since his mother stopped talking.

"Shut it," Maria said, giving him a warning look. "There's no need to rush, Pepper. We still have two hours to decide."

"Two hours? Seriously," Tony asked. "What am I even doing here?" He didn't understand. It took him five minutes tops to get into his suit.

Maria sighed and turned to the bodyguard. "I need him gone."

"Wait! Don't," he protested. "I'll be quiet. I won't say a thing."

"It's too late."

"But-" Tony only got a word in when she decided to interrupt.

"Don't even."

"I wanna see what Pepper-" He caught her glare mid-sentence and decided to shut up and do as told.

"Sometimes I wish I could put a sock in his mouth so he can't talk for an hour," Maria told Pepper as the door closed and they were left alone. "Tony's a handful."

Pepper laughed softly. "Yeah, I noticed."

"And you've known him about five months? Imagine how I feel. That kid's been giving me a hard time ever since I found out I was pregnant."

"Has he really," Pepper curiously asked.

Maria nodded. "I had the worst bouts of nausea when I was pregnant. I couldn't get anything done. I couldn't even read a budget report without him protesting. Six of my eight hours at Stark Industries were spent hunched over the toilet. The doctor said it was natural, I told him there was nothing natural about lying on the ground or in bed the entire day not able to move at all. Turned out I had a severe form of morning sickness and needed treatment because of high hormone activity. I thought he was being sympathetic when he said studies showed women in my case usually had intelligent babies; I laughed it off and karma got me back. When Tony was six months, I found crawling to the staircase and trying to go up them."

"He must have scared you."

"He did. He started standing up a few days later. I thought he was gonna take his first steps but he fell on his butt instead. He started wailing his little heart out. It was adorable. After an hour of calming him down, he finally fell asleep. I always appreciated that because it meant I'd have some peace and quiet. You'll know what I'm talking about when you're older, that is if you plan on having children, Pepper."

"Um..." Pepper was starting to get embarrassed and nervous to say the least. She didn't know their conversation would steer in this direction. "Yeah, sure. Just not yet, maybe in ten years or something."

Maria smiled. "Well, that's always good to hear." Ten years? She didn't see the harm in waiting that long.

Pepper took the bottle of water Maria offered and smiled. To keep the awkward silence away, she said, "Oh, I never got to thank you for inviting me."

"Nonsense, there's no need for that. I am glad you came." She sat across from Pepper as her team got started on her hair and makeup. She'd use this chance to ask her a couple questions knowing she had her staff's discretion. "So tell me how this came about. I know you didn't say yes when Tony first asked you out. He's not the kind-"

"Of guy I'd normally go out with," Pepper said, finishing off her sentence.

"I know girls like you," Maria told her in the most non-judgemental way possible. "And I know boys like mine. He's...let's just say, trouble."

"I said we had to take things slowly. It's been working out so far and I see how hard he tries at making us work; I'm glad I took a chance."

"I know how Tony is...he's gonna want to figure this relationship stuff out on his own. You can't let him. He'll hurt his brain."

"For a genius, he's really clueless about this kind of stuff," Pepper agreed.

Maria laughed. "Men are stupid. Let me tell you something. When I first met Howard, he asked me out on a date. I had no idea who he was, what he did, or that he owned a company, was rich...any of that. I thought he was handsome so I said yes and when it got serious he stopped the romantic overtures. He thought he finally had me for good but I proved him wrong. I called up a male friend of mine and had a photographer take candids of us to send Howard. We'd been together almost a year and you know what he did after he saw the picture? He thought it would be a good idea to propose so I'd stay with him. I slapped him. All he cared about was Stark Industries, he still does, but let me tell you, the man learned a lesson after that. Do not ignore me and do not think for one second you own me because I will pack up my things and go no matter how much I love you."

"God, you're my role model," said the woman doing Maria's hair. "No wonder he does everything you tell him."

"You have to keep them on their toes," Maria replied before going back to Pepper. "I know Tony is new to this, but don't cut him any slack. He'll never learn if you let things slide because you feel bad for him. He'll use it as an advantage."

"So if he forgets something we planned, I shouldn't let it slide once in a while even if he-" She cut herself off. She felt bad talking about Tony behind his back and to his mother no less. It was wrong, but she needed some insight; no one knew Tony better than her.

"Even if Tony didn't do it on purpose. He tends to forget things, I know, but you got to treat him like you would any other boyfriend. Believe me, it works."

Pepper opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a held up finger.

"But if you end up breaking his heart, just know I won't take it lightly. He's still my kid and I look out for him."

"Got it," Pepper nodded, a smile on her face.

"Alright, now that we're on the same page, let's try on the dresses and see which one will make his jaw drop."

Tony groaned in boredom as he lost at Flappy Bird. He had texted Pepper thirty minutes ago but she had yet to respond to the bounty of messages he left for her.

"Where's your mother," said a familiar voice.

He looked up and saw his father walking into the room. "Talking to staff."

Howard sighed in relief.

"Should you be drinking," Tony asked, watching Howard take out a hidden bottle of scotch.

"Certainly not this early."

"Can I try some of that?"

Howard thought about it for a second before giving in. "This never happened. Understand?"

"Got it," he nodded as he took the glass from his dad.

Howard scratched his forehead and sat down. He was avoiding Maria at the moment. She would always push him to make small talk with their business partners and he hated doing it alone so he had learned to make himself scarce twenty minutes prior public entry.

"Can I ask you something about mom," Tony asked after a period of silence. He and Howard were at a good place and he needed someone to talk to. His dad was also the only person he knew currently in a successful long term relationship with someone.

"Go ahead." His interest was peaked, he had no clue what this was about.

"Did you get mom anything the first time you spent Christmas together?"

"Sure." Howard remembered it clearly. "Then she decided to throw it into the Pacific Ocean."

Tony looked at his dad in shock. "What?"

"Just like that," Howard replied as he snapped his fingers. "Half a million."

"She didn't like it?" He didn't understand. Why would she do that to him?

"No, she did. She just told me it didn't come from the heart."

Tony closed his eyes and threw his head back on the arm of the sofa and groaned. He'd been afraid of that. What if his gift wasn't thought out enough? What if it was too extravagant? "What did you get her that cost so much," he curiously asked.

"A ring."

"A ring," he repeated, trying to fit the pieces together. "So..."

"I asked your mother to marry me." His interruption left Tony speechless and mouth agape. "It was a stupid decision and I did it out of pure panic. She was seen hanging around this billionaire. I found out about it in the tabloids and all I could think about in that second was if I didn't ask her to marry me, he might and I'd never see her again. The entire thing was orchestrated, she purposely flipped to that column of the paper that morning so I didn't miss it. I asked her Christmas; she stood there acting faked surprised until I showed her the ring. Then your mom slapped me and said I was the biggest dick she'd ever met and it'd be the last time I'd see her if I didn't get my head straight."

"That why you're afraid of mom?"

"Your mother does not scare me."

Tony scoffed as they made their way downstairs and into the ballroom.

"God, there she is. I'm gonna get some food and pretend I've been here the entire time talking to people."

As his dad blended himself into the crowd, Tony went to the bar and asked for water knowing he couldn't get away with asking for alcohol. He leaned against the bar and looked for Pepper. He couldn't find her. What if she left? He hurriedly scanned the room again until his vision got obscured.

"Tony," Obadiah excitedly greeted.

Everything the man was saying went in one ear and out the other. All he wanted was Pepper. He tried to look past the balding head and hand movements. Then she caught his eye. "Holy..." There was no way he could finish that thought. He pushed past Obadiah with one thing in his mind - he had to get to Pepper Potts.

Roma77 - yes. Thanks for noticing! But can you name the other artists?

Also, special thanks to those who always take the time out to leave a comment, it's much appreciated and makes writing worth it. I can't thank you guys enough! Thought I'd leave you guys with a Christmas gift by updating! I will do my best to not leave you guys hanging too long. R&R! I just might update sooner!