It was halfway through dessert when Tony finally asked her. "So what's the story behind that dress?"

She finished her bite of caramel coffee ice cream and looked up. "Why does there have to be a story?"

He scoffed when she accompanied her question with an intentional smile.

"I told you," Pepper continued, setting her spoon down. "I thought you'd like it, which you did. And just a little word of advice, please try not to get a boner in front of my mother the next time you visit."

"It's still there," Tony smiled triumphantly. "You could do something about that."

She shook her head and stated, "You do know being inappropriate is not going to get you any further than a make out session tonight."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, which it's not. Besides, I'll change your mind."

This time she scoffed. "In your dreams."

"Well, in my dreams, we've already had sex like four times already, so I'm good."

"You disgust me," Pepper replied, biting back a smile.

"You disgust me, too," he retorted. "Which is great, we'll be disgusting together."

She laughed at his lame comeback and proceeded to swat his spoon away with her hand when he tried to reach in for a taste of her ice cream. "No way. You don't share with me, I don't share with you."

"Come on," he pouted.

"It's a two way street."

He pushed his banana cream pie towards her. "Here."

The dessert was more than finished, all that was left was the crust, but, overall, she was just teasing around. "Are you serious," Pepper asked in an offended fashion. She wanted to give him a hard time.

"The crust is the best part. Did nobody tell you that?"

"That's for pizza," she corrected.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't apply to pies, too. Stop being so narrow minded."

She put her spoon in her mouth and licked off what was left on the utensil with a nonverbal response. She hummed and pretended to think about it for a second before pushing her plate closer to him. "I guess I can let you have some."

Tony cheered and smiled. "Yay!"

"Don't like the crust," she asked. She noticed Tony hadn't touched it at all.

"Not this kind. It's kinda funky."

Pepper tore off a piece and tried it herself. He had taken her to an Asian restaurant and it only made sense that their desserts had a flair to it. She tasted the funky flavor he'd been talking about and she had a feeling it was lemongrass.

"That's disgusting," he mentioned, causing her to look at him.

"What?"

"There."

She glanced over to where he nodded his head at and saw a couple making out in one of the booths.

"I mean get a room."

She had to admit, it made her cringe. She didn't mind public displays of affection, but certain couples took it too far. "I think he gave an engagement ring to the hostess just before they sat down to eat."

"That is so cliché," he retorted.

"You don't think it's romantic?"

"No. Cause what if she didn't want to, but feels obligated just because he asked on Valentine's Day?"

"I never thought about it like that," she realized a couple seconds later.

"I just think if you decide to propose to somebody it should be original."

"So does that mean I can expect that from you if we make it that far?"

"Okay, how about this? If we do, it'll be this date."

She drew her brows in confusion. "This date? You mean tonight? You-"

"Hold on," he interrupted, stopping her. He grabbed the bill holder and opened it to see its amount. "Whatever the first three numbers are is what...there." He closed it shut and put it out of her reach. "I have a date set." He smiled when she stared at him in honest curiosity.

"Can I see," Pepper finally asked.

"That sort of defeats the purpose of it being a surprise," Tony explained.

"But the year will still be a mystery and that is enough for me," Pepper argued. She scooted closer to him at the rounded booth in their seat and laid her hands on his thigh. "Please?"

"You can't flirt your way into this." And there was no way he'd let her. He let out a tiny laugh when he felt her hand slide further up. "Do whatever you want, Pep, my lips are sealed."

With the check paid, the both of them were now walking down the cold streets of Los Angeles. He quickly noticed Pepper was shivering and instead of rubbing it in her face, he shrugged off his jacket and waited until she was in front of him to put it on her shoulders.

His mom would have his head if he wasn't a gentleman, so he did what was right...even if it meant he'd be the one freezing his ass off.

"Where is this place at," she asked him.

"Just around the corner," he responded.

"You couldn't get it beforehand?"

"Wasn't done until this morning," Tony explained as he felt her link her arm around his. "Just wait here, I don't want you to see it yet."

"You're gonna leave me in the cold," she pouted.

"Uh..." He fidgeted where he stood and bit his lip.

She let him think about it a minute longer before shooting him a smile. "I'm joking. Go. Idiot."

"It'll just be a second," he said to her, leaning in to give her a quick kiss before heading inside the jewelry store. He had gotten something custom made for Pepper and hadn't had the chance to pick it up.

Pepper dug her hands inside the pockets and looked around. The atmosphere felt so romantic and couples everywhere were walking down the streets holding hands or snuggling against each other in the restaurants.

"Got it," he announced.

She whipped her head back around. "What's inside?"

Tony tucked the box into his jean pocket. "Later." He fished out his keys and unlocked his Audi. "You bought comfy clothes, right? Because you can't do what we're about to do with what you're wearing."

"Of course."

"Awesome."

"Do I get a hint," she asked as she got inside the car.

He smiled. "Nope. You'll find out when we get there."

"Your big surprise is inside your house," Pepper asked as he pulled into the driveway of his house. She followed Tony out the car and smiled to herself when he grabbed her bag so she could put his jacket on again.

"My house is full of surprises. You haven't even seen a third of it." He gestured her to one of the downstairs bathrooms. "You can change while I make sure everything's ready."

She nodded and grabbed her bag.

"JARVIS," he said into the empty atmosphere. Tony took a big plop onto the sofa and sighed. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the small jewelry box out to twirl in his hands. "Everything's set up?"

"As you wished."

He opened the box that held the pair of diamond earrings he'd gotten for Pepper and stared at it in thought. He hoped she liked it as much as he did.

"Is this alright?"

He quickly snapped shut and shoved the box into his jeans once again before she noticed anything. He looked at her and saw she had on ankle sweats and a white v-neck from Victoria's Secret. "Perfect."

"I can't believe you have an elevator in your home," Pepper said as she walked inside it.

"Really? What if I said this house has eight stories?"

Her jaw hung open. She turned to him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"Well, if you exclude the sub-levels and the pool and the theatre, then three." The doors opened and he stepped inside his father's workshop, Pepper behind him as he headed for the far end of the room.

She looked around in awe. The place literally felt like a vintage car museum. "I thought you had a lot of cars."

"That's just the ones he keeps here." He stopped midway and pointed to his dad's 1962 Corvette. "You see that dent? Whenever my mom was out of town, my dad would watch me and he'd always give me messed up circuit boards to figure out. I guess one time I needed an internal resistor and he was asleep on the couch so I couldn't ask him. I go and grab a crowbar and try to pop the hood to get the ignition coil and I can't. My mom says she was watching the entire thing until I decided to show it how I felt."

Pepper chuckled. "Even if you did open it, you couldn't see inside it. You were too short."

"I would've gotten a step stool. I'm smart like that."

"How old were you," she ask curiously.

"Uh, around three?"

She grinned. "That's adorable." She could imagine him as a toddler and being determined to get something fully functional again without thinking things through. A trait he still had. "Little Tony at work."

"I think my mom has it saved somewhere on tape."

"Really? Where," she exclaimed, full of excitement.

"Wow, don't get excited all at once," he sarcastically retorted. He put his hand on the computerized grid JARVIS had pulled up to scan for recognition.

"I can't help it! I can just imagine you with your tongue out."

He shook his head at her uncontainable excitement. He wasn't even going to ask why she knew that. "Okay. I'll let my mom dig it up for you then."

"Thank you." She smiled as she gave him a kiss on the cheek before following him into a large, and for the most part, empty room. She saw a table that spanned the length of the room a couple steps in, which prevented them from crossing any further than where they stood.

"I kind of feel like I'm being held captive," she said.

Tony glanced at her and quirked his brow. "Afraid?"

"Curious."

"Pep, relax, it'll be worth it." A numeric keypad popped up and he punched in the code, hearing Pepper gasp not a second later when the surface of the table slid open to reveal what was hidden interiorly.

"Oh my god, is that what I-" She stared at all the weapons in front of her, her train of thought lost.

"I'm guessing you've never used one," Tony asked.

"I'm gonna get to shoot stuff?" It was as if once her initial shock wore off, she couldn't be more eager to start.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, but safety first, remember?" He picked up a standard weapon and checked if the gun was loaded before giving her instructions. "So you're gonna use your dominant hand to hold it. Your index finger should be extended out and not on the trigger and the rest of your fingers should be curled right below it." He took an unloaded gun out and handed it to her so she could learn. "You're holding it too tight." He leaned over and helped her out a bit. "There. You're not gonna get an accurate shot if you hold it too tight. And your other hand is gonna support the weight. Your fingers have to be underneath the trigger, but it doesn't matter where you set it, just as long as its comfortable. And make sure you're clear of the slide."

"So like this?" She positioned her hands on the gun similiar to his and watched as he checked her. She was glad her crime shows paid off.

"Yeah, then you just..." Moving targets made themselves visible and he shot them all down.

She jumped at the loudness and raised her hands to cover her ears.

"Oops, forgot." He handed her a pair of earmuffs and protective glasses and shrugged at her.

"You are way too good at this."

"You just need to practice and I've got the perfect targets for you." He watched her face as they were revealed.

Pepper had to admit, it was perfect. "Kermit?"

"Thought they'd make you more determined."

"I already wanna shoot them."

"Go ahead." He stepped back and stood behind her. "Your elbow needs to be straight so it lines up with the gun and points at the target, and your other hand should..." He flexed her non-dominant elbow at an angle and told her she was ready to go.

She fired her first shot. And missed. No surprise there.

"You released before the gun fired. That's why you missed, Pep." Other than that, he was amazed at close she had been. Another couple tries and she'd get it.

She frowned.

"Keep trying."

She raised her gun again and fired rapidly, and with those eleven shots, she hit her target. "Oh my God, did you see that?!" She placed the gun on the table and glanced at Tony in amazement. "I did it!" She looked at her work, filled with happiness.

"You did good." That was all he wanted out of tonight. For her to have a good time. The smile on her face was definitely worth it.

"Can we go another? I want to be as good as you are."

"Um, as good as me? Are you serious?" He came up next to her, picked his gun up to slide the lock back, and gave her a smirk. "You will never be as good as me, but it's adorable that you think you can."

"I can! Just wait and see."

"I'm sure," Tony retorted.

She stuck her tongue out at him and before they knew it two hours passed, and it was soon ten o'clock.

"I can't believe we ran out of bullets," she complained.

"Your fault, Pep. You're the one who used all of them."

"Still! You should've been more prepared!"

"We went through 50 rounds. You do the math, that-"

"Is not enough," she interrupted.

"I didn't know you'd enjoy it that much," Tony replied.

She huffed as she followed him into the living room without another word. He was right, she had used most of the bullets, but what'd he expect her to do when she was having that much fun?

"Besides, I'm pretty sure you'll like what comes next."

"Of course," Pepper smiled. He had suggested that they exchange gifts and be done for the night. She picked up her bag from the floor and searched inside as he pulled out the box from his jeans pocket.

He sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. He was suddenly nervous again.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll love it," she assured.

He tried to give her his own reassuring smile when he heard her, but it didn't do much good.

"Tony, it's jewelry, there's no way I won't."

"But in case you don't, just tell me and I'll have it swapped out for something else."

"Can I just have it," Pepper asked. It wasn't that she didn't want to calm his fears anymore, she just thought getting it over with would give him some peace of mind.

"Okay." He handed the box to her and bit his lip.

She opened the velvet covered box slowly and inside it sat a pair of sparkling Euro-wire back morganite heart-shaped earrings. The stone was outlined with diamonds and was resting in a metal base with prongs. "It's beautiful." She echoed her statement earlier, she loved it.

"I'm thinking they'll go well with your blue hair."

"And now you ruined the moment." She snapped shut the box and gave Tony a small glare.

"Hey, I won fair and square. Two minutes early."

"But does it need to be blue? There is so much-"

"Nah, mind's made up. Say goodbye to red hair."

"I really thought I was going to win."

"But I promised. I always keep them," Tony said.

She smiled. "You do. And here." She picked up her little gift bag and handed it to her. "I wasn't sure what to get a boyfriend who practically has everything, so I just picked up things here and there."

Tony took away the tissue paper and pulled out a card and smiled. The girl was holding the guy's face and he was blushing. On the side of the stick figures read: I like your face. He'd read the inside of it later. He pulled out a keychain next. It held a soccer ball and next to it was a bar attached to it that had their initials and the day they met engraved on it.

"Oh, this one's my favorite," she said as he pulled out a small wrapped gift.

He stared at her in confusion and opened it. "You didn't." He couldn't believe what she had gotten her. It was an apology notepad. On the notes were dates and options for infraction and beneath it was a check all, or some, selection for the reason of behaviors. And finally at the bottom was a signed statement of him signing if he would or would not do it again in the future. "This is awesome. I'm using it."

"I knew you would."

"Thanks, Pep, and for these." He pulled out a pair of boxers she'd gotten him and smiled. They were a bit girlish, with the small and large hearts and arrows and all, but it was from her so it didn't matter.

"I had a lot of fun tonight. It's different than what I'm used to."

"Different?" Did that mean he didn't do as good as he thought?

She nodded. "This felt like a date because you didn't make a grand thing out of it all like people think you should and I'm fine with that. I mean, I like the romance and everything, but it's not necessary."

That was nice to hear. "Oh, almost forgot. I have another surprise in my room," he said with a smile.

She laughed. "Is that code for sex?"

"No," he questioned. "Wait...what?"

Pepper raised her brow in a questionable nature.

"I just realized how that sounded, but no...wait, yes, no, wait, yeah, no, eventually, but just not yet. I'm gonna stop talking before I confuse myself."

Pepper laughed again. "I like it when you're flustered. It's cute."

He sighed. "Just come up with me."

She relented and followed him to the second story of his house.

"JARVIS, can you remind me where I put it," Tony asked as they entered his room.

"Underneath the mess of homework you call tidiness," the AI retorted with a tone.

"Hey, don't be jealous that you can't understand my madness."

She shook her head as she listened to Tony and JARVIS banter. "Your room is so clean and then you see your desk and it's like what the hell is that?"

"Fine, take his side."

"That's not what I was doing."

"Okay, what were you doing?"

"I was-" Pepper let out a huff.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said, not bothering to hide the superiority laced in his words. "Here we go." He dropped his stack of papers on top of more stacked paper and handed her another jewelry encased box. "I wanted to get you something to go with your earrings and I couldn't find anything right that matched so I brought a bunch of gems and garnet and made something that went along with it. I'm confident you'll love it."

"You made it," she asked, shocked at what she had just heard.

"Yeah, here," he answered with a small smile. "Take it already."

She sat down on the sofa that was next to her with the box in her hand.

"I got to tell you to open it too," he teased as he took a seat next to her.

She couldn't believe Tony went through all the trouble do this. "Don't rush me. It's not a nice thing to do."

"I'm not good at waiting. You still haven't realized that," he quipped. Three seconds later and he realized himself that he had just let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

She nodded. Suspended on the necklace was an oval Raspberry garnet embraced in swirls of Chocolate Quartz. The design took the shape of a heart in Strawberry Gold and gave it a beautiful touch.

As if the look on her face didn't give it away already, Pepper loved it.

"Tony, this is very thoughtful."

"Look, I chose that gem because it's red and-"

"That's your favorite color, I know." She smiled at him and her nose wrinkled a little as she leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. She loved these kinds of kisses, the soft and gentle ones that made her feel warm inside.

"You want me to take you home?"

She watched as he stood up in front of her and before she could give him her response, he said something.

"You know so I can spend the night keeping you warm."

Three seconds ago she'd been worried he had wanted to end their night, but now she wanted to slap him.

"You've been cold the entire night. I need to be a good boyfriend and make sure you don't get sick, Potts."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason."

"Really," he asked, keeping their banter alive.

"Well, I'm just wondering why you would rather keep me warm in my bed when yours is nicer and bigger."

"You mean that one?" He used his thumb and pointed over his shoulder. "What are you suggesting, Pep?"

"Put it together, Sherlock."

Pepper stood up and placed her hands on his chest just to push him onto the couch. She watched as he looked up at her, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"What are you..." He couldn't form a coherent sentence, being so incredibly turned on with the girl in front of him. "Is this because of the gift because I-"

She straddled him and moved her hands up his chest to rest them on his shoulders as she kissed him. He was surprised by the suddenness of her actions but hastily recovered and kissed her back just as hard. The both of them knew what was about to happen and as much as Tony would like to take the reigns, he couldn't pass up the opportunity of having her in charge. In control.

He switched positions and brought her with him as he laid down on the couch, his head on the arm of the sofa, and her on top of him. Their kisses were more passionate this time around and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when he felt her loosen his tie.

"Wait," Tony mumbled in between kisses. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Her lips smiled in return. He was right. It was a Happy Valentine's.

Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was a lot of fluff, wasn't it? If you're curious about Pepper's gifts, you can search them up on Google using the description in the text and they should pop right up, and, of course, I don't own them.