Just a little bit of news

part 4

"Miss Potts has just arrived, sir."

"Oh, good," Tony said. He put a cover on the engine he was working on and rose. He picked a rag on his way to the door, his eyes on the stairs all along.

He smiled when he realized he was doing this.

"You know, it's funny," he said, "Back in the old days I'd sneak a look at her legs when she came down the stairs, then look away and pretend I never noticed them."

"I noticed, sir."

"And now that I can openly look, she's away half the time."

"It's your fault, sir."

"Well -"

"If you had kept your relationship strictly professional at the office -"

"I know, I know -"

"-you wouldn't have been forced to go to work on alternate days."

"We're not being forced," Tony replied testily. "We decided it would be in the company's best interest if we were not at the office together at the same time. Together…" he said, a faraway look in his eyes. "Alone…"

"Engaging in sexual intercourse during office hours was highly unprofessional sir."

"I know that," Tony said with a glare.

"And the new schedule has worked to your advantage. By dividing your tasks equally with Miss Potts, you can now devote plenty of time to your Iron Man duties without having to fret over the Company."

"Yeah, I know," Tony said, but he didn't sound very convinced. He was silent for a moment, then, "There's one thing that pisses me off, though; Pepper's perfectly happy with her new schedule. She doesn't seem to miss me one bit."

"She is rather busy these days, sir. Not only is she learning her new duties at Stark Industries, she is also coming to terms with her new condition. She is, after all, three-months pregnant."

Tony grimaced.

"Damn. That word still makes me wanna puke."

"Mr. Stark!"

"But in a good way," Tony added hastily.

"I don't understand you, sir. First you told Cnel. Rhodes said how proud you were that your boys were swimming so well -you were bragging, in fact," JARVIS added, voice heavy with disapproval.

Tony shrugged. "It's a guy thing, JARVIS."

"And then you told Miss Potts how thrilled you were that she was pregnant."

"I am thrilled. But the word still makes me wanna puke." He sighed, "You wouldn't understand."

"And until you can explain it to me, I advice you not to mention any of this to Miss Potts. I doubt she would understand it either."

"I hear ya. Hey, there she is," Tony added, perking up at the sight of her long legs descending the stairs.

He smiled when he saw the high-heels. Pepper had already started shopping for more comfortable shoes, but she was obviously going to hold on to these for as long as she could.

He opened the door and leant out.

"Hey, Potts," he said. "How was your -" How was your day, he was going to ask, just like he always did. He was also going to kiss her, (a little peck on the lips) and then he was going to offer her a drink or something –again, just like he always did), but he never had the chance. One look at her, and he knew something was off. Pepper was looking at him as if… well, as if she was ravenous and he was a juicy lamb chop.

It didn't help that she was looming over him thanks to those crazy-ass heels and the fact that he was barefoot.

She looked menacing.

"Potts? You ok?"

"Tony," she said breathlessly, and then she unceremoniously grabbed him by the front of his sweatshirt and started kissing him. Before he could protest, she tore off the clothes off his body, then pushed him to the couch.

Assaulted in my own basement.

That was Tony's first thought after he woke up. He was lying flat on his back, trapped under Pepper' half-naked body.

Bemused, he glanced sideways at her. She'd fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder –her favorite resting position, be it on a bed or a couch, like now.

She looked like an innocent angel.

Ha. Innocent, my foot, Tony thought. He could hardly believe what had just happened. Not that he was complaining. He was wowed, actually. Who would have thought prim Miss Pepper Potts, business partner/personal assistant/love-of-his-life/confidante, would one day treat him like a piece of meat?

He chuckled, and Pepper, extremely sensitive to sound and movement, shifted in his arms, half-awake.

He knew she would simply go back to sleep if he let her…

He only hesitated for a few seconds.

"So, Potts," he said casually. "Bad day at the office?"

She mumbled something unintelligible, then, "Rotten." She raised her head and squinted at him. "Missed you."

He was pleased, but wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily. "Yeah, well, what you did wasn't quite legal, you know."

"Sue me."

"I will," he said with mock seriousness. "Breaking and entering is a serious offense. Not to mention the abuse you subjected me to."

She held back a smirk. "I didn't break in, Mr. Stark; you opened the door for me. And you said I felt good –over and over. And over -"

"Oh, so now you're blaming the victim."

"Uh, huh," she said, openly smiling. "Shame on me."

Tony lazily rubbed her shoulders.

"You did feel good," he said. "There's something to be said for unsafe sex, huh?"

"No pesky latex between us -"

"Just you and me."

Actually, there was something between them, so to speak; a tiny bulge, barely noticeable except to him, especially when she was lying on top like now: Their unborn child.

Tony's smile faltered. He would never admit it out loud, (not to Pepper, anyway), but he still had mixed feelings about becoming a father –hence the 'puke' comment he'd made to JARVIS. What the hell did he know about taking care of a child? It was one thing to be there as he (or she) was being born; it was quite another to raise her (him). That's what JARVIS could not understand; that no matter how many documentaries you saw, you were never really prepared for it.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone in this. He had Pepper.

And she was looking sexy as hell right now.

"I love it when you look like this," he said gleefully, "All flushed and sweaty, your hair all messed up -"

"Oh, no," she moaned, hiding her face into his neck.

"Come on," he said, laughing, "You look great."

"No, I don't. I'm not like you. You look good even when you're rumpled and sweaty."

"Really?" he asked, perking up. "You think I look good?"

She looked up. "Oh, God. You're so vain."

"I'm not vain. Why does everybody keep saying that?"

She smiled indulgently. "Well, to begin with, you dye every hair on your body."

"Not every hair!" Pause. "Just a little on the sides."

"Right."

"Hey, excuse me for not wanting to look old before my time. You should be thanking me."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. You look great right now, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. I wish I could have a picture."

"I can ask JARVIS to take one," Tony said humorously.

"If Miss Potts would only move to her left, sir, I'd be happy to oblige."

Pepper jumped –or would have, if Tony hadn't quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"Now, calm down -"

"Eeeeew, Tony! JARVIS was watching?"

"Well, you didn't give me a chance to turn him off!" Tony was trying not to laugh out loud. Pepper was desperately pulling her blouse down, but the fabric didn't quite cover her butt. "Relax, will you? It's not like this is our kid walking in on us."

"No, this is like my father walking in on us! Oh, my God-" She hid her face in her hands. "This is so embarrassing -"

"Miss Potts, there is no reason to be embarrassed; your body is perfectly acceptable. I can vouch for the fact that Mr. Stark has never been more smitten. In fact, the last time he brought a young lady here, his reaction was less than -"

"MUTE!" Tony called out quickly. He smiled innocently at Pepper. "In my defense, that was months ago."

Placated, Pepper smiled.

"So, you are smitten with me."

"Oh, yes. Very." He touched her cheek. "You're… You're just so…" His mind was coming up with all these great things to say, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to say them. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds; gave himself a pep-talk -You're Iron Man, for crying out loud! You can do this! -and then tried again.

Wonderful, his mind said. "You're so wonderful," he mumbled at last. Beautiful. "And beautiful," he added, more confidently. I'm so glad we're together. "I'm so glad we're together." I love you. "I…" He gulped. "I…eh..."

"Go on," she said mischievously, as if she knew exactly what it was that Tony wanted but couldn't say.

She didn't press him; instead, she whispered, "Me, too," in his ear, and started kissing his neck.

Tony was silent for a couple of seconds. His mind had gone suddenly blank, which may account for what he blurted out next.

"Pepper? D'you wanna get married?"

She looked up sharply.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

It was her turn to get flustered.

"Tony, I… Eh…" Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes. "Has JARVIS been talking to you?"

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, JARVIS. He's been dropping all sorts of hints to me." She lowered her voice. "I'm afraid the research he did for us gave him the wrong idea, Tony. The couples in those documentaries got married first and then -"

"Oh, yeah," Tony said, "Those documentaries. Did you see the one with Mavis and Ed?"

"Ah, yes. The dick."

"I promise you I won't get fat like that guy."

"Oh, that's so sweet, Tony." She was going to kiss him, but he stopped her.

"You haven't answered me."

She took a deep breath.

"I'd like to say yes," she said. "But, hum, I don't want to push my luck."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm happy with the way things are."

"But things are going to change. You're pregnant; you're moving in with me. You are, aren't you?"

"I am. Just not yet. Right now I'm enjoying being your girlfriend. And…" she hesitated. "I don't know how to say this, but… I don't want you to change, Tony. I don't want you to be like Ed, or Jimmy, or Sam. They got married and then -" she let the word trail off. "The magic was gone."

"I get it," Tony said slowly. "Sort of." He studied her for a moment. "You keep surprising me, Miss Potts. I mean," and he smiled mischievously. "Aren't you afraid I might go astray or something?"

"Oh, I doubt you'll have the energy to go astray," she said, and she unceremoniously slipped a hand between their bodies and grabbed him.

Tony gasped. "Jesus! Careful, Potts; it's not a toy, you know."

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun with it -"

"Yeah, so am I, but –Oh, God!" he closed his eyes and gave in to her.

Much later, they were still lying on the couch, talking in whispers.

"So JARVIS thinks we should get married?"

"Uh, huh," Pepper said. "He keeps talking about flower arrangements and bridesmaid dresses." She lowered her voice even further. "It's like having my own gay consultant."

"Really? That bad?"

"Really. I think it's time to give him a new assignment."

"Right. Hey, JARVIS?"

"Sir?"

"The baby research is over. No more daytime TV, understood?"

"But sir… There are some issues we still ought to discuss! You and Miss Potts have not legalized your -"

"We're not getting married, JARVIS. Not yet, anyway."

"But I found a documentary on the subject," JARVIS pleaded, "It's lively and entertaining, and it has great ratings -"

"Oh, really."

"It's called 'Bradzillas', sir."

TBC