A/N: Special thanks to Marie Nomad for handing me the idea! :) I hope you guys like this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, haha.

Tony Stark sat at his desk with Dummy, his mechanical robot, sitting beside him. Dummy carefully watched as he inspected some of the interior mechanics of his Iron Man suit. Tony furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of something odd. There were dozens of fragments from the suit splayed on top of his desk. Most of which were planned to be remodeled into smaller versions, or upgraded.

"Dummy, can you focus?" He glanced at the robot.

Dummy moved his mechanical arm that held the magnifying glass and focused it a little more to the left, right in front of Tony's face.

"Thank-you." Tony flashed a small smile. "JARVIS, can you give me the specs on the C562-B16? It feels like it could be compressed."

"C562-B16 was marked a few months ago by you. You stated that you wanted to upgrade it using the modifications you used on the C522-J100." JARVIS stated. "The specs are displayed on your monitor in front of you."

Tony looked up and saw various diagrams and charts, and a summary. "Thanks for reminding me. I had almost forgotten about J100."

"Excuse me, but, Miss Potts is on line one. Would you like me to politely tell her that you're busy?"

He looked up at the ceiling with a confused look. Since when did Pepper call me in the middle of the day—and during office hours? He looked over at Dummy and waved his hand at him, gesturing him to go do something else in the mean time.

"Um… no, put her on the monitor." Tony looked at his desk. He tried to ignore the various thoughts of cleaning up that rushed through his head.

"Hey." A voice sounded throughout his workshop.

He looked up and saw his beautiful redheaded personal assistant's face displayed on his monitor. He quickly gave her a wide grin and greeted her back.

"Hi." He paused, and looked around his desk. "I was in the middle… of… something… actually Dummy and I were in the middle of going through the Iron Man suit. I think it's a tad bit outdated, don't you think?"

"Oh…" Pepper paused and furrowed her eyebrows, slightly. "…I guess so." She responded, feeling like she had just invaded his 'man' time. "Did you want me to call you later?"

"Um, nah." He shook his head, and glanced at the blue glowing digital clock on his monitor. "We actually have a meeting in an hour – I think – so I guess right now would be a good time to—"

"—Get dressed." She finished his sentence with a small smile.

"Yes. That." He smirked. "Is that why you called, 'cause you usually don't call me unless you want me to get my butt out of bed and into the shower."

"Actually, I wanted to discuss tonight's plans." She shifted in the chair she was sitting in. She wasn't driving or anything. She was still in her office, trying to take care of the last few files that were in her inbox. After Kelly had reminded her about her three o'clock meeting with the last remaining people of Leon Industries, she thought she could use a break.

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows, suddenly interested. "What kind of plans were you thinking about?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie, tonight."

"What kind of movie?" He leaned against his desk, resting his chin on his palm, whilst being careful of his other arm.

"It's a chick flick."

"Oh." Tony looked up at the monitor and saw her give him a curious smile. "C-Can't… Can't you pick… something else?"

Pepper rolled her eyes at him. "What happened to the Tony that said 'I don't care what kind of movie it is, as long as I get to spend time with you'?" She leaned against her desk and tilted her head to the side.

"He's…" Tony looked around his workshop. "…Somewhere."

Pepper laughed at him. She adored how cute he could be, even when he was in his sanctum of grease, sweat, and all things manly. He could honestly try his best to not impress her, but she would always find him adorable. The way he's always caring about her safety, and how she was doing. It was cute; just too cute. "I think you'll actually like this movie."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrow up at her, questioning her words. "Do they involve explosions and machines of destruction?"

"Explosions of a romantic comedy—oh, but there are machines of destruction." She tried to reassure him, but she wasn't sure it quite worked.

"Well… I chose our last movie, so I guess it's only fair that you get to choose tonight's." He grinned at her.

The butterflies in her stomach fluttered every which way. Never in her life had a man affected her like Tony did. It wasn't because of his handsome good looks, or his charming smile. It was because no one had seen Tony care so much about a woman. But she was front and center for him, and he tried not to hold back.

"And since you are choosing the movie, It's only appropriate that I get to choose what comes after the mov—" He was abruptly stopped by a flustered, and somewhat angry Pepper.

She raised an eyebrow at him and huffed, "No."

"Aw, c'mon, Pepper. What better way to get rid of the old office stress than to have—"

"No." She glared at him, trying not to smile at his failed attempts. "So, I'll see you in an hour?" She heard a knock on the glass door to her office, making her look up. Kelly stood there with her finger repeatedly tapping her wrist watch. Pepper looked at the time and immediately remembered her appointment.

"Yeah…" He solemnly pressed his lips together and looked around for his rag to wipe the grease off his fingers.

"Oh god, I have to go. I completely forgot I have a lunch appointment with the VP of Meg & Hart Enterprises." She began to look around for purse.

Tony's ears perked up; he furrowed his eyebrows at her through the monitor. "… a lunch date?" You can't blame Tony Stark for getting jealous - or the least bit worried. It's like hearing your friend ask you if he could see your teddy bear and abruptly stealing it away from you, causing you to chase him around the playground with tears rolling down your face. That was not a good day…

"It's a formal appointment that involves lunch – and don't worry, you're safe. He's not nearly as adorable as you are." She reached over her desk for her purse, giving Tony an excellent view.

He grinned at this sight whilst thinking about her compliment. "You think I'm adorable?"

She leaned back into her chair and heavily sighed. When she finally looked down at the monitor, she saw him grinning like a child in a candy store. Pepper couldn't help but form an endearing smile. "See you later, Tony."

"Bye." He kept his charming smile, even after she ended the video call.

There weren't nearly enough minutes in a day for Tony's attempts in wooing his girlfriend. Being his usual self, he wanted to continue to persuade, or pressure, her into finally joining him in the sack—Joining me in the sack? What the hell, Tony?— But for the past few months, she had rejected him—I'm pretty sure the time I had food poisoning didn't count as a rejection. Pepper had reassured him that it was going to happen, sooner or later. Although, I would much rather have it sooner than later.

He was sure there were going to be multiple times after the first—oh god, there definitely will be —however, executing the first time was always a predicament. He wanted it to be fast and exciting, but at the same time, he wanted it to be to her liking – memorable and passionate.

Tony spun in his chair, thinking of the multiple times of him and his other conquests. He furrowed his eyebrows at the blinding memories of fast, unmemorable, and easy sex. He didn't want it to be like that—Hell no, I don't! He really cared about Pepper. He didn't want it to be like his other times. He wanted it to be far better than that.

"Sir, you have less than forty minutes to get ready for your meeting." JARVIS reminded him, thus bringing him back down from his wandering state.

Tony blinked rapidly before looking up at the ceiling, and then back at his blank monitor that had the faintest outline of Pepper's beautiful face. "Thanks JARVIS." He murmured.

REPAIR; CHAPTER 26

"God, that meeting was awful—" Tony walked through the front door with his hand in his pocket. He heavily sighed before turning around to face Pepper. He was met with a glare from her beautiful redheaded face. "—ly exciting?"

"I cannot believe the excuse you gave them when they asked about your arm." She huffed, storming past him, with her purse around the crook of her elbow.

"What's wrong with saying that an unknown blast from one of my machines made me crash into the wall in an awkward position?" He furrowed his eyebrows, carefully watching her every move.

"Well, for one thing, the vice president of Leon Industries didn't see very convinced of your excuse. And what made matters worse was what they asked you." Pepper turned around with her arms across her chest.

"Mr. Stark, we understand that Greg Leon was at the Charity Ball Miss Potts and you attended. I know this is a business matter, but I was wondering if there was anything he said to you that you can recall that would make the company a target." Vice President, Dylan Trude, of Leon Industries asked him. He sat across the table with his hands folded together on top of a bunch of business papers. He wore a white and brown business suit that complimented his eyes, but certainly not his ego.

Pepper nudged Tony a little, making him spring back to life from his daydream. "Ah yes, I was there." He paused, extending his index finger in the air. "And I can fully tell you that he was an assertive jackass."

Pepper whipped her head around, with her mouth gapped, and stared at him. She almost thought of yelling at him right then and there, but decided to keep her cool and explain to them what he actually meant. "Um…" She turned to the agreeably shocked remaining members of Leon Industries. "What Mr. Stark is saying is that—"

"He was a dick to me." Tony interrupted her, moving his chair forward and sitting up. "He tried to tell me how I'm a hazard to everyone around me. If that guy was any more of a self intruding bastard I would've—"

Pepper immediately stepped on his foot with an angry force that shouldn't be reckoned with. He abruptly stopped talking and tried not to yelp in pain or ask her what that was for.

"Mr. Stark is truly sorry to hear about Greg Leon's death. We understand that the family was kind enough to invite us to his funeral but due to recent activities, I think it's best if we pay our respects to the man -after- the funeral." She pressed her lips together and smiled politely.

The vice president, assistant to the president, the secretary, and the chief of their engineering division sat there with their mouths gapped for a few moments. The secretary looked at Tony in an insulting way while the assistant to the president looked at Pepper with a furrowed look.

"Can you really blame me, Pepper?" Tony shrugged, following her into the kitchen. "The man was a complete asshole to me at that event."

"And you felt like it was appropriate to talk about the deceased like that—in front of his business partners—no less?" She glared at him again, trying to burn holes in his handsome black blazer.

"…" He thought about it for a second. "…Okay, I can understand it was wrong of me to say it to them like that - but I was acting myself, Pepper. And they kept intruding with their 'Hey, lets merge' and 'Mr. Stark, your arm! Are you okay?'." He tried to impersonate them. "I was getting tired of it."

"Yes, so was I, but at least learn to keep your words to yourself." She opened the fridge with ease and reached for a chilled open bottle of water. "I mean, the remaining board of Leon Industries was kind enough to ask us if we wanted any of their resources in exchange for a few connections to get their business back up again."

"I don't need their resources." He huffed, leaning against the counter, watching her take a swig from the bottle.

She handed him the bottle and stood there with her hands resting on her hip. "Yes, you said that multiple times during the meeting." She rolled her eyes at him.

"We have talked amongst ourselves for a period of time," Vice President, Dylan, started out, "And we have agreed to ask for your considerable option of giving us a few of your contacts. In doing so, we will grant you an abundant amount of our resources."

Pepper looked at him like he was crazy. Everybody, if anyone, knows that Stark Industries has already a massive amount of resources, much to Tony's knowledge. The company wouldn't need anything from Leon Industries.

"Nope." Tony shook his head. "I don't need them."

"Well, we're thinking about changing them-" Dylan asked him again.

"Don't need them." Tony said again.

"- if you would please consider-"

"I have enough resources. I don't need them." Tony looked away, and then stared at the space in the middle of the conference table.

"- any of our viable offers." Dylan huffed, and promptly looked at Pepper. He indicated some sort of intervene to actually get a chance to talk about his offers.

"I don't think Mr. Stark, or Stark Industries, needs any more resources than we already have—" Pepper tried to politely tell him, but Tony interrupted her, again.

"I could honestly get better resources at the local dump." He muttered under his breath, intended for Pepper, and maybe some of the other members, to hear. She rolled her eyes in impatience and simply carried on with her statement, but it didn't help their cause since Dylan completely backed out of that proposal.

"Look, I'm sorry." He tried to apologize for his actions. He placed the bottle on the counter and tugged at her wrist. Pepper crooked the corner of her mouth and pressed her lips together.

She was particularly happy with what he did, but then again, he was being himself—his egotistical, compulsive, and narcissistic self. She tried not to smile; she tried not to show him any signs of forgiveness. But then again, a part of her couldn't resist his charming smile and puppy dog pouting. She always wondered how he got his way – and she just figured out how.

She walked towards him disapprovingly and felt his arm wrap around her waist. He pulled her closer and tenderly kissed her cheek. Being her forgiving self, she unraveled her hands and agreeably set her hands on both sides of his chest.

"At least we got out of the funeral, right?" He smiled to himself before looking down at the woman in his arms. Pepper looked up at him and couldn't help but laugh. Only he would say that.

"Funerals aren't a bad thing." She rested her cheek against his chest and nudged him.

He began to furrow his eyebrows in consideration. "Well, yes, they are certainly not a bad thing, but I didn't want to stand there – at Greg Leon's funeral – and only think of how he was used, abused, and killed for his technology."

Pepper stood there while he rubbed her lower back and considered it for a moment. "Okay, you have a good point, but I'm still mad at you for what happened at that meeting."

"I said I was sorry…" He mumbled, trying not to argue.

"And for that, your punishment will be to watch that movie with me. The whole movie – and no dozing off." She glared up at him, while he responded with a small, and unsure, smile.

"You call that punishment?" He smirked. "You should've seen it when my father had to punish me. He took away my tool set." Tony began to pout. "Those were my favorite tools."

Pepper laughed at him and began to peel herself away from his grasp. "I'm going to go change."

"Want me to make popcorn?" He asked her, watching her walk out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

She paused and thought about it for a moment. "Do I want the LAPD and the fire department here? No thanks. I'll make it."

He stood there with a warm smile, and contently chased after her into his bedroom to change. Leave it to Pepper to insult in him such a way that could only make him smile. He could hardly remember when he truly got mad at her, much less stay mad at her, although he could recall multiple—no hundreds— of times when she was absolutely infuriated with him.

REPAIR; CHAPTER 26

Tony and Pepper sat there, on the white vanilla couch, together with a bowl of popcorn in between them. Tony had changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of blue sweats, while Pepper changed into a purple spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of blank shorts. She was lying against Tony's right side with his arm gingerly draped over her waist. There was a soft blue blanket draped over her lower half.

They sat there staring at the screen in front of them while Pepper repeatedly popped popcorn into her and Tony's mouth. He chewed slowly and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why is she so hell bent on saving the community building? It's not like this chump will actually save it." He paused. "What exactly are we watching?"

"Two Weeks Notice." Pepper responded. "How do you know this 'chump' won't save it? He seems like a really nice guy."

"Pepper, he's been with dozens of girls—oh, and lets not forget about the divorce. What kind of person would ever marry that womanizing CEO?" He sat there, accepting another kernel from Pepper.

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows and slowly looked up at him. Tony's eyes were glued to the screen. Wow, he's actually paying attention to this movie. She looked back at the screen and watched the couple. "You know, if you take away the accent, his attentiveness, and his actual care for his company, he kind of portrays a certain person."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "There is no way in hell that man could resemble me." He completely denied it. "I may have been a play boy and-and-and an ass, but there is no way I'd actually do that."

He effectively pointed to the screen right when the womanizing CEO had called his, what seems like, secretary slash chief counselor, at 2:15AM, asking for a chat.

"Now, see, I have never done that to you." He tried to argue, completely unaware of his past situations.

"Yes, you have." She argued, looking up at him and then back at the screen.

"What?..." He furrowed his eyebrows. "When?"

"Trust me, you have called me at the wee hours in the morning over a hundred times, and I'm pretty sure I could use Happy and Rhodey as witnesses—oh, and JARVIS." She pointedly said.

"What? No way." He huffed. "JARVIS—"

"You have called Miss Potts, after midnight, three hundred and forty-seven times in the last few years. Would you like me to calculate the total from when she was hired as your personal assistant?" The AI responded bluntly.

Tony gritted his teeth together and mumbled something incoherently. "Point made." He muttered under his breath.

Pepper smirked to herself and continued to watch the movie. She was sure how Tony would react to the end. She had watched it with her friends more than once, and each and every time, they would argue over the successfulness of the couple's relationship. Pepper didn't have a permanent opinion of the end, seeing as how she was experiencing it herself.

"Okay, now that I would never do." He gestured towards the screen. "I would never interrupt you – at a wedding no less – and ask you for your opinion on what suit I should wear."

"No, you wouldn't." She agreed. "But you really need to learn how to tie your own tie."

"I do know how to tie my own tie… I just like it when you do it for me." He grinned. "It gives me a chance to thank you."

Throughout most of the movie, Tony had compared himself to the womanizing CEO. There were a bit of times when Pepper agreed with his observations, but then again, there were more times when she argued with him over the similarities. Most of the time, JARVIS had to chime in with corrections just to make Pepper's point more considerable.

"Okay, see, that chump didn't keep his promise." Tony angrily spat.

"Tony, it's like you giving me the CEO position as a diversion from the fact that you were dying." She paused to look up at him. He was solemnly quiet after her comment. "He used his promise just so he could have a chief counselor."

"I did tell you I was dying, though."

"Yeah." She said bluntly. "After you weren't dying – not during."

Tony squeezed her waist with his hand and gently rubbed in circles. He wasn't particularly comfortable with having the same argument with her, and he definitely didn't want to make her anymore mad than she already was. He leaned to the side and carefully placed a kiss on the side of her head. Pepper understood his gesture and responded by endearingly nudging his side.

After the movie ended, Pepper gently removed herself from his side and sat to face him. "See, there were wrecking balls – machines of destruction – and an explosion of romantic comedy." She grinned at him.

"You know…" he smiled back, tugging the hem of her tank top; pulling her in. "…There are some similarities between our story and their story."

"Really, now?" She raised an eyebrow at him and began to chuckle at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his soft brown eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded, resting his hand against her waist. "We both got the girl."

She leaned in for a quick kissed. "True."

"We both started the relationship with a kiss." He felt Pepper plant another kiss on his lips.

"Mhm." She hummed, staring down at his lips for a brief second.

"I'm pretty sure she agreed to move in with him." He instantly noticed the change in her body language.

Pepper looked up at him in utter confusion. She furrowed her eyebrows, paused a bit, and tilted her head to the side; her smile soon turned into a frown. "What?" She couldn't quite grasp the words he asked her. Did she hear right? Well, she knew what he asked… I think. But she wasn't sure of her response. She didn't want to choose the wrong words and suddenly end up in a break-up.

"Do…" He pressed his lips together, unsure if it was the right time. "…Do you want to move in… with me?" He furrowed his eyebrows, and looked down at her.

"Tony…" She breathed, unraveling her arms from his neck, and leaned into the couch. Pepper turned her head and saw him scratch the back of his head.

With a heavy sigh and a playful laugh, "Too soon… I guess?" He glanced over at her.

"It's not that…" She paused momentarily. "It's not that I don't want to… It's… It's just that…" God, she felt awful.

"No… no…" He shook his head and abruptly got up from his spot. "It's… too… soon—listen, let's just forget I ever asked, and uh… let's just go to bed. Okay?" He looked down at her.

When she looked up at him, she didn't see the same soft brown eyes. They were a little darker, as if he couldn't bear the ongoing rejection that was happening. Pepper agreeably, and silently, nodded. She got up from her seat and took his hand in hers, weaving their fingers together.

Pepper had clung onto his arm and gently kissed his shoulder, as if she were trying to apologize.

It wasn't the happiest ending they've had, but it definitely wasn't the worst. Pepper wrapped her arm around his waist and apologetically rubbed her cheek into his side. He silently accepted it by wrapping his arm around her shoulder, just above her head; rubbing it gently. She accepted his attempt, but couldn't help but wonder if she had hurt his feelings on more ways than one. He acted like it didn't even happen, although he wasn't sure why she said no. If anything, he was sure to ring up Rhodey tomorrow, in search for answers.

A/N: I swear, those kids will be the death of me! Robert Downey Jr is so cute with his wife. I'm certainly jealous, but it's so cute to see them constantly in their honeymoon phase. My little cousin asked me why I like Robert Downey Jr, but like him with his wife. My answer: They're just too cute to break up. Following that, I told her: Of all the couples in Hollywood, I'm betting Robert and his wife will go to one hundred and five years old. Still married, and still very happy. :) Good night everyone (League of Legends time).