According to Plan chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Ironman, or anything associated with it

Pepper sat in stunned silence, not really concentrating on the various sounds of metal hitting metal as Tony continued to work on the suit. His words hadn't really set in; the fact that he would actually want to spend time with her family had her brain working overtime.

"Hey Pepper could you hand me the file behind you." Pepper jumped in surprise, allowing herself to take in her surroundings, and Tony's smooth voice… smooth voice? Pepper what the hell are you talking about! You don't think your boss's voice is smooth for goodness sake-

"Earth to Pepper." Tony's hand suddenly came into her line of vision; he was clicking his fingers in her face to get her attention. "File, please."

"Oh right, sorry." she said as she reached behind her to find the file. She watched his face turn into a frown as he inspected the file she had given him.

"This, Pepper," he stated, pointing at the piece of paper she had handed over, "is a restaurant menu. Are you ok?"

The concern lining his voice was what finally pushed her brain to actually think, to organise the hundreds of thoughts that were speeding round her head at lightning speed.

"You actually want to spend time with me and my family." It was supposed to come out as a question, but instead sounded more like a statement.

"You've worked with me for years Pepper, and you know pretty much everything there is to know about me, the good and the bad, and I finally realised that I don't really know anything about you… I mean I didn't even know you had a sister until a couple of hours ago…" He sounded almost guilty as he was saying this, but Tony was right; Pepper did know pretty much everything about him, from the number of suits that lined his closet to the number of times he has accidently stubbed his toe on the piano upstairs, that's how she knew that there was something else, some other reason as well as guilt which lead to his want to spend Christmas with her family…

Her silence seemed to unnerve him, as she could see him shift awkwardly on the floor, so she decided to leave questioning him to a later time.

Standing up, she gave Tony a reassuring smile which seemed to settle him slightly and she headed towards the stairs.

"So… I can actually go with you?" The sincerity and shyness of his voice made her smile; the infamous, playboy Tony Stark was actually unsure of himself, almost asking permission to go with her.

"Of course." she replied with equal sincerity, "You concentrate on fixing the suit and I'll concentrate on packing."


Pepper had just finished cramming the last of Tony's stuff into his suitcase when she heard the intercom next to her buzz to life with frightening clarity; it was almost as if Tony were in the room with her as he spoke, "Pepper! The suit's done! You call a cab and by the time it gets here, the snow should be cleared." and she couldn't help but notice how he slightly bragged about the last part.

Pepper pressed the button to speak back to him, but stopped mid-action as she heard the unmistakable sound of Tony's suit fly into the air.

She dialled a cab and asked for her and Tony to be dropped off at his own personal runway, assuming that he would prefer to fly in one of his state-of-the-art jets.

She had just put the phone down when three loud knocks came from the front door, and dragging all the luggage down the stairs toward the door she couldn't help but laugh at the sight she was met with once she had opened the door; the red and gold suit had a rather festive layer of snow covering it, as well as a Santa style hat on its head. Tony flipped up the visor and grinned, "Are you ok getting the bags in the cab while I change out of this quickly?"

Pepper could all but silently nod in agreement, not trusting her voice right then in fear that another howl of laughter would appear.


They had now been seated in the comfortable jet for about an hour now, chatting sociably about anything and everything that popped into their heads; including Pepper mentioning various meetings that Tony would have to attend after their 'holiday', only to be greeted by a frustrated sigh of acknowledgment from him in return.

As the conversation drifted into companionable silence, Pepper began to ponder her and Tony's relationship; it was clear that they were more than simply boss and employee, but exactly how much more? The line between professional association and intimate friend had long since blurred, so much so that she sometimes catches herself wondering if there was ever a line at all. She glanced subtly at Tony who was reclined in his chair sipping his scotch, seemingly content and she found that she was smiling to herself.

"It's rude to stare you know." Tony's mock accusation caught Pepper off guard and she flushed a deep red in embarrassment.

"I wasn't staring." she retorted briskly. "I just happened to notice that you seem… happy…" the end off her sentence quietened slightly as she seemed to shrink further into her seat.

He smiled briefly, a soft yet sad look in his eyes, "I guess so." He turned back to peering out the window and Pepper assumed that he wanted to end the discussion there, but she was stubborn, hell she had to be after working for Tony Stark all these years, she vowed to herself then that she would find the real reason behind Tony's sudden, if not rather sweet, interest in spending Christmas with herself and her family.

A/N I apologise for the shortness of this chapter, the poor quality of it and the extensive length of time it took for me to post it, I had a lot of things to do just after Christmas and still need to do a lot of work at the beginning of this new year, but I made myself make time for this story, so don't worry, I won't abandon it ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

Lenniiee xx