A/N: Short chapter :) Happy New Years!

Right after the, unexpected, 11 o'clock meeting, Pepper immediately went straight to work. Her laptop, purse, Blackberry and various papers were spread out on the coffee table. She was furiously at work, battling her cell phones stubbornness and laptop's sticky keys.

Tony came from his bedroom and noticed his PA sitting on the couch, working like the deadline is in two minutes. He quietly walked towards the kitchen and poured himself two mugs of coffee. He set the pot down before walking towards Pepper's busy form.

Out of the blue, Pepper hears something clink on top of the table, right next to her arm. She glances over and sees Tony sitting himself down with his own cup of coffee.

"Thanks." She breathed, taking the cup, and practically chugging down all of its contents.

Tony took a sip out of his. "So…"

Pepper began typing something on her Blackberry before noticing his eager expression. "Yes?"

"Coffee." He pointed out. "Want to talk about something?" His hand started to mindlessly rub the side of the mug in nervousness.

Suddenly, Pepper felt a rush of awkwardness. "Can't talk to JARVIS about it?"

"I'm not dating JARVIS." He mumbled, implying his real purpose.

"Huh?" She furrows her eyebrows at him.

Tony heavily signed. "Wow, this is harder than it sounds."

Pepper looked at his disappointed expression and then at their coffee mugs. "Oh." Her mouth gapped before her lips suddenly curled upwards. At least he's trying. "Trying to go by the book?—Wait, did you get a book?"

"I googled." He nodded. "Then I asked JARVIS, but sadly, I haven't upgraded him with a dating program yet." He glanced down at his cup. "Sorry if I didn't properly ask you out on a date."

"We have coffee." She reassured him. "And I could use a break."

"Yeah…" Tony felt his hands start to sweat. He shook off the feeling and abruptly barged through the moment. "Okay, this is weird."

"What's weird?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows at him.

"You have gotten me coffee plenty of times over the past ten years—and we've already gotten past the whole talking thing. It shouldn't be this hard for us," He motioned in the space between them. "to do this." He stared at the coffee for a few seconds.

"So…" Pepper suddenly became confused. "…do you want to skip the coffee or—"

"I want to do this right, Pepper." He looked up at her with an eager expression. His chocolate brown eyes became soft and glossy against the sky light that shined above them. Pepper's lips formed a small smile while her hand snaked towards his. Tony felt his hand being pulled down from his coffee mug. He glanced down at her gentle light peach hand, letting her guide him.

Pepper scooted next to him and led his hand towards her hip. Tony placed it there, eagerly waiting to pull her closer. She leaned forward, practically brushing her soft and glossy lips against his. She felt his goatee tickle her upper lip. She felt his breath warmly glide against her jaw. Slowly, their lips met, the day's tasks were forgotten, and the stress suddenly dissolved. Tony's hand almost dropped the cup of coffee, but something in the back of his head told him not to… for Pepper's sake.

He felt Pepper's arms snake up his chest. Her hands gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer. In a matter of milliseconds, they found their way to his neck. Her fingers ran through the short hairs on the lower back of his head. Just as she pulled away, she heard Tony groan in appeal. Pepper's smile widened. She opened her eyes and saw the playful grin on his face. He opened his eyes and immediately missed her lips.

"That's teasing." He whimpered.

"I told you I needed a break." She chuckled, feeling his hand slide down from her hip and seeing it grip the coffee cup that was still in his hand.

"A break is five minutes; not five seconds."

"A break is a break, Tony. Besides, the more work I get done, the faster we can resume." Pepper glanced at him with a grin.

"I guess I could scratch 'First Date' off the list—unless coffee and kissing doesn't count." Tony drummed his fingers against the mug before taking a sip from it.

"I'm pretty sure it counts." She lightly laughed.

"Well, just in case if it doesn't—" He scooted towards her and leaned in for a kiss but Pepper leaned away.

"You can't fool me that easily, Stark." Pepper chuckled.

Denied again. "C'mon," Tony pouted. "Just one more kiss for the road."

"You'll have to wait until tonight."

"What's tonight?" He curiously asked. "Iron Man lingerie, grapes and two cans of whip cream?" A small laugh escaped his lips just as one escaped Pepper's.

"Funny, Tony." She smiled. "I believe that's on date twenty. So, you've got a long ways to go."

Tony's expression abruptly went slack.

"I'm kidding." She couldn't stop getting his horrified look out of her head. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"You're seriously asking me that?" He slyly grinned.

"I don't usually have sex on the first date, Mr. Stark. So, you're out of luck on in that department." She gave him a quick smile.

"Ugh…" Tony groaned. "…Want to watch a movie?"

"Already jumping to the second date?"

"I'm trying to get to date twenty as quickly as possible." He half-joked.

"We can see a movie tomorrow." She promised him. "Tonight, I just want to stay in and relax."

"And that involves…?"

"Cuddling?"

Tony groaned again and sadness. He really didn't want to just cuddle with her. He wanted to show her how much he's missed, and how he can't stand to not see her every minute.

"It's either cuddling or nothing, Tony." She pressed her lips together and glared at him. "Pick."

"Okay, okay." He mentally raised his white flag. He got up and gestured towards the stairs that led to his workshop. "If you want to tease me some more, I'll be in my workshop."

Pepper nodded with a small smile. She watched him walk towards the stairs before getting back to work. Her Blackberry was already whipped out and ready to endure massive e-mail sending.

Tony stopped at the threshold of the staircase and turned around to embrace her presence once more before disappearing to his workshop. He took a minute to memorize and admire every feature she had; her creamy peach skin, the way her eyes were so fixated on her work, the way her smile always curled upwards at an adorable angle, the way her orange hair fell gently against her face, the way her hands typed so furiously on her phone yet they always felt as gentle as a rainforest, and the way she always tied her hair up… god, she was so perfect.

Tony's grin widened with happiness. That grin didn't disappear until he got to his work bench in the workshop.