Kirsi: Chapter Eight Pepper and Tony
based on a challenge/prompt by Sheneya at "Avengers Fanfic Challenges and Recommended Reading"
Standard Fanfic Disclaimer that wouldn't last ten seconds in a court of law: Based on characters and situations created by somebody else (other than Kirsi Lokidottir, who's mine). All other characters {beyond minor NPCs} are from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and used without permission and without any hope or chance of financial profit. Just in case anybody has any doubts, I do not own the Avengers. (Wish I did.) To paraphrase Aggie2011, if I owned the Avengers, Joss Whedon and J. Michael Straczynski would be collaborating on the Hawkeye/Black Widow movie right now. Ten thousand thanks to Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joss Whedon, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Marvel Comics, Disney Studios, et al. This story is debuting as 'netfic and has not previously been printed in any fanzine or APA. Please don't sue. I'm too broke to pay attention, let alone legal fees. The title character is not in this chapter.
Kirsi
The Avengers
by Susan M. M.
Chapter 8: Pepper and Tony
"Hi, Tony." Pepper kicked off her high heels and walked across the living room of the penthouse in her stocking feet. He was sitting at the table, waiting for her. A pizza box from his favorite pizzeria lay on the table, along with china plates, a bottle of wine, two wine glasses, and a single red rose in a cut-crystal vase. "Is all this for me? What's the occasion?"
"Dinner with you is always an occasion," he told her.
She smiled at him.
"I am an egotistical, arrogant SOB. I don't know how you've put up with me as long as you have." Tony poured her a glass of wine. He rose, walked toward her, and handed it to her.
"There are days you don't make it easy," she admitted, "but you're worth the effort ... most of the time."
"Do you think you could tolerate me a little longer?" He filled his own glass and took a sip.
"Probably."
"What about forever?" Tony took another sip.
"Forever?"
Tony set his wine glass on the table and went down on one knee. "Would you be willing to spend the rest of your life putting up with me? Will you marry me?"
Pepper nearly spilled her wine. "Tony, I - I don't know what to say."
"Say yes. Please." He looked up at her, peering into her blue eyes. "I love you. You love me. Please, Pepper."
"Tony, are you sure?" Hope and doubt mingled in her voice.
"More sure than I've ever been of anything in my life," he told her. "Please, Pep, I'm not going to get up until you say yes. Besides, the pizza's getting cold."
She smiled at him. "Well, we can't let the pizza get cold." She reached down and hugged him. "Yes, you idiot. Yes, I'll marry you."
"Well, I'll drink to that." He released her, picked up his wine glass again, and toasted her with it. "To the future Mrs. Stark ... who has just made me the happiest man in the world. Pizza?"
"Pizza," Pepper agreed. She took a deep breath. She'd loved Tony Stark for years, but only in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined he'd ask her to marry him.
Tony opened the pizza box. He took out two slices of pepperoni-extra cheese deep dish pizza and put one on each porcelain plate. "Do you remember Sebastian Sekuza?"
"The computer programmer who left Stark Industries to open his own videogame company?" Pepper took a bite of pizza and nodded.
"His sister is a wedding planner at Walt Disney World." Tony took another sip of wine. "She had a cancellation. If you want to get married on the beach by the Polynesian Resort, there's an opening in three weeks."
"Three weeks? I can't plan a wedding in three weeks," Pepper said.
"Sophie Sekuza is a darned good wedding planner, and I have a lot of money. Between the two, I think we can manage. There's just one other thing. The cancelled wedding was a Disney Escape. Small, intimate."
"That sounds nice." She didn't want her wedding to be the usual Stark extravaganza.
"Disney Escape weddings are limited to twenty people. Bride, groom, eighteen guests. No more."
"What?" Pepper stared at her fiancé. "Three weeks to plan, and a guest list of eighteen or less?"
Tony nodded.
"Is it too late to change my mind?" Pepper asked.
"Much too late," Tony said quickly. "You promised to marry me, and you're not getting out of it." He took another bite of pizza and chewed. "If you don't want to take Sophie up on the cancellation, that's fine. We can have a bigger, fancier wedding than Prince Charles and Lady Di if that's what you want. We can elope to Vegas. We can get married in three years, after meticulous planning for a wedding with nineteen guests if that's what you want. We can do a Disney Wishes wedding, with three hundred guests, in a year or two. Your wedding - we can do whatever you want. But getting married at Walt Disney World, how cool is that? And normally there's a waiting list of a year or more." He gave her puppy dog eyes.
She sighed. Tony had puppy dog eyes down to a fine art.