A/N: To avoid any confusion, they've already cuddled the night away. This chapter is set in the day after—so tonight is their night for the Charity Ball and some movie date fun :). Hello, 2011, make yourself at home in my Robert Downey Jr 'infested' dorm room!

Tony sat down at his desk, in his workshop, and worked on some more weapon ideas for Iron Man. He had taken his jacket and shirt off, revealing his thin white wife beater. In his left hand was his screw driver and in his right hand was a small mechanical device. Jarvis' monitor, which sat on the edge of his desk, monitored the frequency and effectiveness of the small weapon.

He sat there for what seemed like a few hours, again, trying to find the right frequency and pitch levels for the device. If he tried the weapon out with the wrong levels and percentages, things would blow up—he would blow up.

"Fury is on line one, sir." JARVIS announced.

"Mm." Tony hummed, completely dissolving himself in his work.

All of the monitors in the workshop went black for a split second before showcasing Fury's head and upper body. Fury, the man with the eye patch, looked at Tony with a very displeasing face.

"Tony."

"Mm." He hummed again, completely unaware that he's there, on his monitors.

"Tony, eyes over here." He called to him again.

"JARVIS, frequency at two hundred RPMS. How's it look over there?"

Fury rolled his eyes and heavily sighed. "I swear, I'm too old for this kind of bullshit."

"Frequency is too high – now taking necessary precautions. Powering down the device for five minutes." The AI announced.

Tony watched as his device went from glowing bright red to a dim grey. With a heavy sigh, he put down his screwdriver and mechanical weapon. He pressed his lips and looked at Fury's displeasing… eye?

"Look what you made me do." Tony half-joked. "Now I have to wait for this thing to cool down."

"Not my device, not my problem." Fury spat back at him.

Tony reached for his water bottle that sat in between the two monitors at his desk. "What do you want, Fury? Pepper—"

"I know, I know. You kids don't have to tell me twice. Pepper has already 'excused' you from any kind of missions for the next two weeks." Fury cut him off.

"Actually, it's two weeks and a day – just enough time for me to fully recover." Tony flashed a gloating smile.

"Oh, shut up." Fury began to cross his arms. "The mention of a couple days off and you kids think alls well in the world. Well, sorry to tell you this, but the world can't take care of itself."

"Pepper scares you, huh?" Tony widened his grin.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Fury watched as Tony took a sip of water. "Which is why I'm going to tell you some information that you should not tell Pepper."

"Why shouldn't I tell Pepper?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Will you just let me finish?" Fury angrily asked him. "God, are all you kids impatient, and hormone induced fiends?"

"Isn't that what old people say all the time?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows at him, half-joking.

"Are you calling me old?" Fury widened his one eye at him with his hands resting on his hip.

Pause. "No." Tony cautiously looked at him, as if he had just gotten caught with a cookie before supper.

"Right now, I have the Black Widow investigating, but there's no telling what his purpose is, or what he wants to accomplish." Fury looked down at the information folder in front of him.

"You still haven't told me—"

"I'm getting there." Fury scolded him. He shifted his weight and looked at Tony with a very serious look. "This matter concerns both you and your lady friend."

"Actually, she's my girlfriend now so—"

"Oh, really?" Fury sarcastically asked. "The press doesn't say jack about your 'girlfriend', so for now, she's your lady friend."

"You could at least call her my personal assistant." Tony began to mumble, "Sounds a lot better than 'lady friend'."

"What was that?" Fury warned him.

Another pause. "Nothing." Tony looked away; his eyes wandered towards his device, which was still on the fritz, and then back up at Fury. "So, about this information…?"

"This concerns the double mission you were on, which you so eagerly asked for. And just to clear some confusion, your injuries are in no way my fault." Fury's seriousness took over again.

"Yeah, I know." Tony replied to his last comment. "The last mission almost got me sawed in half, but I destroyed all of the stolen weaponry, so—"

"He's still alive, Tony." Fury cut him off again.

Tony widened his eyes. "How?"

"I don't know. Captain America said he spotted him a few clicks east of the Pacific Ocean. This was a fifteen hours and three minutes after you called in your mission into the database." Fury suspiciously watched Tony's actions.

Tony ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "He stole my weapons twice, Fury. What's he doing in South America—wait, what's this got to do with Pepper?"

"According to Black Widow, Pepper is in danger."

"What kind of danger?" Tony perked up. His hands were already in a tight grip, out of anger, and fear.

"I don't know which is why I said earlier that she's investigating, even as we speak. I'm not going to get Thor, Captain America, or the Hulk in this mess – not until I know the fine details. For now, you, and Natasha, are on your own." Fury told him.

Tony hated it when bad news surrounded even more bad news. Okay, so there was a potential bad guy running around with his weapons. That he can handle, but when Pepper gets involved, it turns into something entirely different.

"What happens if more of my weapons blink on your little radar of truth and justice." Tony sarcastically, and seriously, asked.

"Then I will let someone take care of it—not you." Fury angrily said, pointing at him with his index finger. "Pepper is a scary woman, and I do not want to be scolded by her again."

Tony smirked at his comment.

"You will stay on suspension until you fully recover. In the mean time, Natasha will regularly visit you with vital information about this matter." Fury informed him. "If you so happen as to fly around in that little suit of yours, against my knowledge, and act as if you're saving the world by taking on a mission that wasn't yours to begin with, I will take that hot rod of yours, smash it into a bean bag, and display it in my living room."

"My hot rod?" Tony sadly mumbled with a frown.

"No flying, and no telling Pepper. Got it?" Fury angrily asked him.

"Yes…" Tony nodded. "…will you at least inform me if more of my weaponry pops up?"

Fury suddenly smiled. "Ha ha." That smile instantly turned into a frown. "No. Natasha will be visiting you tonight, so—"

"Tonight?" Tony cut him off with a frown. "Why tonight?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes. Pepper and I were supposed to have our movie date after the Charity Ball—" Tony complained. There's no way he would let something interrupt his movie night with his lady friend. Did I just think of Pepper as my lady friend?

"Well tough luck." Fury spat back. "Remember, no flying. I've got my eye on you." There was a close up of Fury's eye before all of the monitors went blank. They all blinked before displaying the frequencies and pitch levels again. Just as everything went back to normal, he saw the device in front of him go back to its bright red glow. Tony heavily sighed before running his hand through his hair again.

He buried his head in his hands and slid them down to cup his mouth.

"You okay?" Pepper asked, looking over at him. She had just entered her password into the glass door, and had silently snuck in, like a ninja.

When did she—? "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled weakly at her.

"I heard you talking to someone. Was it Fury?" She curiously asked him, walking towards him with a click of her heels in every step she took.

"Um, no. It was just some telemarketer." He lied, hoping she bought it.

"You know a telemarketer with one eye and a black eye patch?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at him, slapping a few files down on his desk, making him practically jump.

He looked down at the stacks, and then over at her waist where he spotted her hands. It was almost never a good thing to see Pepper's hands on her waist. It either meant that she was impatiently waiting for something, or that she was extremely pissed at a certain billionaire ex-play boy.

"Fury was just informing me about something." He confessed, slowly looking up at her. God, she was so beautiful. I must've thought about how perfectly beautiful she was dozens, millions—no, gazillions of times. Her hair was down this time – probably because she was in the middle of getting ready for the Charity Ball they had to attend in… an hour—Oh, crap… That's why she's down here.

"And that something is…?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Um… nothing." Tony smiled, "It's almost time to go to the charity thing, right?"

"Tony—" She tried to ask him again but he shot her down.

"I should get ready." He abruptly got up from his seat; their chests almost rubbed against each other. Pepper stepped out of his way and watched as he started willingly walking towards the glass door.

He turned around with a wide grin. "Got to look my best for my girlfriend, right?"

"You mean the CEO's of various major corporations?" She smiled back, completely unaware of what her real purpose was.

"If they're the most beautiful red heads I've ever seen, and that I'll be seeing them again tonight for a little movie date… then yes, I mean the CEO's of various major corporations." He flashed her his number one charm smile before fully exiting the workshop. Once the glass door closed shut, and he disappeared up the stairs, Pepper immediately glanced over at his desk. She had the choice to hack his computer, get JARVIS on her side, and figure out what he and Fury were talking about. But then that would be breaching their invisible trust contract that came with their relationship. She bit the bottom of her lip and casually walked away, leaving the stacks of papers on his desk, alone, on the cold metal table.

Tony had gotten ready in a matter of thirty minutes. He had quickly taken a shower, trimmed his goatee, and went to the bathroom. It was a breeze to get his suit on, but there was always one problem; his tie. He walked out of his room with the tie draped across his neck. He slid it one way, and then the next, before looking up at the figure in front of him.

Pepper had her back to him, and she looked amazingly wonderful. She was wearing a strapless black dress that began to frizzle at the bottom. Her orange hair was down, and the ends were curled lightly. She wore a tiny diamond hair pin that pinned some of her hair back. Tony widened his smile and silently approached her from behind. Pepper put down her black beaded clutch purse and was about to fix her hair pin, but ended up squealing in surprise.

He had wrapped his arms around her waist and dug his face in the crook of her neck. When she gasped in surprise, he giggled in excitement. Once she realized who it was, she reached up and gently stroked his face with her hand.

"Mm, you smell great." He whispered, rubbing his hands up and down her sides.

"And your cologne smells very manly." She smirked, turning around in his arms. He looked down at her and linked his hands behind her back, resting them on her upper buttocks.

She looked down at the unraveled tie around his neck and widened her smile. She took both sides of the tie with her small, gentle and creamy peachy skin, and began to go through the process. While she tied his tie, he admired every single motion her hands made. Just by watching her, he had already memorized how to tie his own tie, but watching her do it for him made it seem romantic. After she had finished tying his tie and tightening it to perfectly mold his neck, she felt his finger tilt her chin up, making her lips capture his. Her hands rested on his chest, surrounding the arc reactor, and his hands pulled her hips forward, thus deepening the kiss.

She couldn't stop kissing him—she didn't want to stop. His cologne drove her wild, and his hands drove her into a deeper insanity. She wasn't the one that pulled away this time. Tony gently pulled his lips away, and rested his forehead against hers, search for oxygen. He breathed a laugh and kissed her on the lips once more.

"Excited for movie night?" He curiously asked her.

"Depends on what movie." She teased.

"You get to pick." Tony widened his smile.

"If I pick, it's either going to be a chick flick, or a comedy." Pepper warned him.

Tony squeezed her hips. "Whatever you pick is fine with me."

"Really?"

"Really… just don't pick The Titanic, The Notebook, or A Walk to Remember. Those are too sappy for me."

"How's about I surprise you?" She said sexily, looking up at him with those soft blue eyes of hers.

"I like surprises."

"I know."

"Ahem." A cough came from the doorway. Happy stood there with a small smile on his face. "Are you kids ready to go?"

"Yes, Happy, we are." Pepper nodded and escaped from Tony's grasp. She grabbed her clutch purse from the counter and walked towards the door. Tony loosened his tie a little before trailing behind her. Happy walked out the door and headed to the car. Pepper closed the door and turned around to face him.

"Tony." She whispered.

"Yes?"

"The press doesn't know about our relationship."

"Yes." He nodded with a small smile. "I know."

"Until we're both ready to face the music, we can't have any sort of PDA, okay?"

"Aye Aye, Captain." He sarcastically told her.

"Tony, I mean it." She glared at him.

"Okay, okay. I get it. No PDA, kissing, holding hands, or any touching what so ever; not until we're ready…" He agreed with a nod.

"Thanks." She widened her smile. She went on her tippy toes to give him a small peck on the cheek. Tony began to flash a warm smile; one that always made her stomach melt. Pepper proceeded to open the door and walk towards the limo. Tony trailed behind her with his hand on the small of her back. The teenager in him already wished the Charity Ball was over so they could start cuddling on the couch with a warm blanket draped over them, a movie to watch, and a bowl of popcorn to munch on.