Pepper sat there at her desk in her black business dress shirt and black pencil skirt. Her strawberry colored hair was tied up. She pressed her lips together while looking through the contracts on her desk. She wasn't too happy what people were asking Stark Industries to agree upon. It was ultimate Tony and the board's decision but she knew Tony wouldn't look over them at all. It was her job to look over them, find any loopholes, and decide the next step. The board would always ask Tony's opinion, and she would always respond by stating her opinion as a replacement for his. She never thought she would be working for a careless boss, but it was the Tony Stark.
She couldn't blame him, though. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, or at least that's what it felt like. Even though he's suspended for another month, it was hard to see him sitting around the workshop with practically nothing to do.
Pepper placed one of the three contracts that sat in front of her inside the out box, the rest of the contracts on top of an already started pile of contracts.
"Miss Potts." Kelly said her name through the intercom on Pepper's desk.
Pepper pressed the red button. "Yes?" She replied.
"Mr. Stark is here. He says he wanted to see you."
What is Tony doing here? He's supposed to be home, resting. "Did he state his reasons?"
"Nope." Kelly glanced up at Tony, whom was leaning over the desk with a smug smile on his face.
"Send him in." Pepper huffed.
Within a few seconds, Tony's scent filled the room. Pepper looked up from her desk and saw him stroll through the glass door. As the door closed behind him, he flashed a small smile.
"Hi." He greeted her, walking up to her desk.
"Hi." She replied, with a suspicious tone. "What are you—"
"Doing here?" He finished her sentence. "I'm here to visit you. I hope that's okay." He sat down in the chair that was professionally placed in front of her desk.
"You should be home, resting, Tony." She pressed her lips together and disappointedly looked at him.
"Can't I visit my girlfriend at her work place?" He pouted, obviously weakening the raging walls that hid her feelings.
"You have a girlfriend, Mr. Stark?" She questioned him quizzically, trying to imply where they were.
"You don't have to pretend in here, Pep. My father built this place. I know where surveillance cameras are, and aren't, placed." He reassured her and brought his hand up to lay on top of hers. She looked down at their adjoined hands; her lips formed a small smile.
"Charming, Tony, but I'd still like to be a little more careful around Stark Industries." She slowly tugged her hands away.
He frowned and began to pout with his bottom lip sticking out. "Okay then… I'll just… I'll just wait… at home… cause… yeah…" He spun around in his chair, preparing to get up.
Pepper frowned. His guilt trip worked. She didn't necessarily feel bad about what she said, because she didn't want their relationship to flash across billions of screens at once during every news hour. She had to deal with Tony and Iron Man. Another subject would overkill her. "Tony…" She breathed. "… Come back."
Tony stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her; he was still pouting.
"You know how much I care about you. I just don't want people to—"
"Spill the beans about us, to the press?" He finished her sentence. He looked down at the floor before looking back up at her. He forgot how worried she was about people finding out about their personal relationship.
She tilted her head to the side and heavily sighed. "Did you want something?"
"What makes you think I wanted something?" The corner of his mouth curved upwards, portraying his pleased and curious feelings.
Pepper started to sarcastically grin at him. "Mr. Stark only pays people a visit when he wants something."
He was taken aback by the hurtful truth and immediately ignored it. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight." He shrugged and looked away. "Nothing fancy. Just you, me, a table, some food, and the moonlight."
"Sounds great but I don't get off work until later." Pepper looked down at the papers in front of her and got back to work.
"When is later?" He frowned, looking up at her.
"8 o'clock at the least."
"That's okay. I can get the food delivered to us." He reassured her, trying his best to make his plans work.
"Delivered?" She raised an eyebrow, curious to know what kind of food he was going to bring home. "Pizza?"
"Nah. I was thinking more along the lines of Reggie's."
Pepper widened her eyes in shock. "Reggie's is a very expensive restaurant, Tony. Your Iron Man suit could probably pay for half of our meal." It was truly expensive. The restaurant only served five star food and the chefs weren't hired on a whim. Being a chef at that restaurant would get you fame in an instant.
"Please." He rolled his eyes while his ego skyrocketed. "I'm Tony Stark. I get a fifty percent discount."
Pepper shifted in her chair and pressed her lips together. "I'll try to get home before 9 o'clock."
"Great." He widened his smile and began to get up from his seat. "I'm guessing you want the roasted chicken smothered in red wine sauce, with a side of elegant juicy mushrooms, and some black truffle french fries."
She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "How did you—?"
"I'm your boyfriend." He smirked, walking towards the glass door. "I'm supposed to know."
Pepper couldn't help but speechlessly smile. She got up from her desk and walked towards him with an endearing smile spread across her face. "Tony."
A second after he turned around to face her, her lips were already crashing against his. He wrapped his free arm around her waist to press her body against his whilst being careful of his injured arm. She cupped his cheeks with both of her hands and deepened the kiss for a short second before pulling away. They were merely centimeters away from each other.
Pepper grinned; she glanced down at his lips before staring up into his soft brown eyes. "That was very sweet of you." She murmured.
"What was?" He smiled softly.
"Tell me something." She paused with a slow and seductive voice. "Did JARVIS tell you what I like to eat?"
"He…" Tony looked up at the ceiling for a moment, avoiding eye contact. "…may have said… something…"
"You're cute, Mr. Stark." She laughed, shaking her head at him. Pepper peeled herself away from him and started to walk back to her desk.
"I get points for trying, right?" He grinned at her, scanning her up and down as her back was turned to him.
She rounded her desk and noticed his staring. With a sly smile, she glared at him, "You get a point."
"Are there prizes I could redeem for these points?" He hinted, watching her squirm in her seat.
"This isn't a Chuck-e-Cheese, Tony." She huffed, obviously trying to get out of whatever game he was trying to play.
"You know how adorably cute you are when you're frustrated with me?" He told her with a smirk before walking towards the glass door.
"Then I must be 'adorably cute' all the time." She responded in a heart beat – more like out of habit. When she thought she was going to get a snarky reply, she didn't. Pepper looked up and noticed that Tony already walked through the door and towards Kelly's desk. It was an odd feeling, to say the least. For as long as she could remember, whenever he strolled into her office, the first thought that came to mind was to shoo him out of there as fast as possible so she could get back to work. But whenever he actually left, she missed his presence. Of course it was odd when they were employee and employer. Now, they were boyfriend and girlfriend. A couple. A pair. Part of her wanted to tell him to come back and keep her company. Company… Stark Industries… Pepper reminded herself. You're here to work Virginia. Not dawdle with your boss slash boyfriend.
Night time soon fell. Pepper didn't even see the sun go down due to the massive amount of work she had to do at her office. Contracts, messages, and e-mails flooded her day pretty fast. When all was said and done, she waved good-bye to Kelly at the front desk in front of her office, and then to whomever passed by her. She drove home, carefully obeying the speed limit, and eventually began to drool over the thought of the meal that awaited her at Tony's house.
When she swiftly entered his house through the front door, JARVIS greeted her.
"Good evening, Miss Potts."
"Hi, JARVIS." She smiled, placing her belongings on the nearby table. "Where's Tony?"
"He is awaiting your presence in the kitchen." The AI responded.
"Thanks." Pepper curiously rounded the corner and noticed how elegantly set the table was. Tony was hunched over the oven bearing a bowl full of clams. She smirked, and couldn't help but laugh at the 'Kiss The Cook' apron he had on. He wore a black dress shirt and a pair of clean jeans. He looked absolutely handsome. The arc reactor was showing a bit, thanks to a few unbuttoned buttons.
"What?" He frowned, glancing over at her.
"You know how to use the oven?" She joked, watching him place the bowl onto the counter in front of him.
"Funny." He dryly responded with a small smile. His injured arm was tucked behind the apron with the blue sling showing.
"How'd you tie your apron?" She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Dummy." He simply said, and pointed at his back. "Think you could help me?"
Pepper smiled endearingly and walked over to him to help. She untied the apron carefully and gently raised it over his head to take it off. Tony turned around and quickly kissed her on the cheek.
"Thanks." He grabbed the bowl of clams, and walked out of the kitchen, towards the dining table. "Ready to eat?"
Pepper folded the apron neatly and placed it on the counter. A part of her started to warm up, while a few butterflies were flying around in her stomach. Just thinking of a romantic evening with Tony got her nervous. Yes, they've had movie nights, plenty of times, but it was a real date, so to speak. It was a romantic and expensive dinner, and the were candles lit.
Pepper walked towards the dining table and saw her plate of nicely cooked chicken sitting at her seat. She widened her smile and immediately sat down. "It looks very delicious."
"That's cause I didn't cook it." He joked, smiling up at her. Tony sat down in front of her and gestured towards the bowl of clams. "Want some?"
"I think I'll enjoy my delicious chicken in peace." She smirked, cutting the juicy meat with ease.
"Suit yourself." He grabbed the bowl and dumped most of the clams onto his plate. "The restaurant was actually pretty nice. They don't deliver, and I didn't want to drive. So, I bribed them to deliver it here."
"Only you would do that, Tony." She rolled her eyes at him, obviously too indulged in her meal. "God, this chicken is so delicious. You want some?"
"I'm surprised you even asked me." He chuckled.
If he wasn't sitting so far away, she would've whacked him on his shoulder. But the chicken was calling her, and the expensive meal was only a once in a lifetime sort of thing.
The couple enjoyed their meal together quite peacefully. Fury didn't interrupt them, and neither did JARVIS. It was a perfect dinner with the perfect meal—everything was so far, perfect. After they cleared the table, they decided to enjoy their time on the couch, in front of the TV. Tony sat there with his arm draped across Pepper's shoulders, pressing her body against his.
"Thanks, Tony. That was really good." She told him with a grin, ignoring the TV.
"You're supposed to say that after we have sex. Not before." He joked, and just when he thought he got away with it, he felt a slap against his arm.
"Food coma." She murmured, before heavily sighing.
Tony kissed the top of her head. "I hope you don't intend on sleeping here, on this couch. This beast has wronged my back a few times."
"Your bedroom isn't that far from here, Tony. Why would you sleep on the couch?" She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing up at him.
"Simple." He responded quickly. "I couldn't make it to my bedroom." This made her shake her head at him. "But, there was always this woman that would move me to my bedroom in the morning. I just couldn't pass that opportunity up."
She scooted away and glared up at him. "Are you serious?"
"C'mon, Potts. You really think I didn't do that on purpose?" He grinned, nudging her side, gently. "Well, actually, most of the time it was on accident."
"Tony Stark tries wooing his personal assistant by passing out on the couch. Classic." She rolled her eyes at him.
"Can't say I didn't try." He grinned, and tried to lean in for a kiss.
"You could've done other stuff." She stared down at his lips, almost intently.
"Like…?" He leaned in closer. He could feel her breath weave through the hairs of his goatee.
"You could send flowers, or a… puppy." She said before feeling his lips brush against hers. Tony took that extra step and pressed his lips against hers. It was a slow, sweet, and sensual kiss. Pepper leaned back a little, making sure to give his injured arm some room. "Mm, your… arm."
"Forget it." He murmured, and continued to kiss her. Pepper wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. They could practically keep it together. Pepper's mind was going crazy, and Tony just wanted it to happen. While her hands were roaming around his black dress shirt, his hand was starting to play with the waistband of her skirt. He pulled away, almost instantly, and stared down at her.
She looked up at him and saw the question in his eyes. Pepper widened her smile at him, "It's okay, Tony." She pulled him down, on top of her, and continued to kiss him sensually. His hand was still fiddling with the waistband of her skirt while her hands were already unbuttoning his dress shirt. He couldn't be anymore happier to be spending a romantic evening with Pepper. It was what he wanted for so long. Forget date twenty—forget Iron Man lingerie and whip cream.
Oh god, tonight is the night. Pepper and I are going to… Suddenly, almost abruptly, Tony stopped kissing her. He pulled away, slowly, and stared down at her. Pepper looked up at him and saw his face turn a different shade of color. She furrowed her eyebrows, curiosity overflowing her, almost turning into worry.
"Tony, are you—"
"Oh god." He immediately sprang up off her and ran to the bathroom.
Pepper laid there, on the couch, with her mouth gapping, feeling confused and worried. After hearing the bathroom door slam into the wall with a thud, she heard him retching, probably into the toilet.