Pepper opened the door to find Tony, in bed in a hospital gown, softly dozing. Upon hearing her enter, he raised his head, opening sleepy eyes to see her. "Hey!" he said, in a soft whisper. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
Pepper's breath caught in her chest as a soft sob came out of her throat. Realizing that trying to keep her composure was a futile exercise, she ran to him and crashed into his open arms, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, sobbing softly against his neck.
"Whoa! Hey, Pep! Hey, it's okay! I'm okay!" he said, smiling into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed soothing circles on her back for a few moments until she stopped sobbing. Tony turned his head to kiss her hair, and inhale her scent. Even in the few short hours since he'd been admitted, he'd missed her presence like he'd been away from her for days.
Slowly, she pulled back to sit on the edge of the bed. She looked at him with sorrowful eyes. He gently brushed her hair behind her ears, and smiled at her. She searched his eyes before she started to speak. "I thought I lost you!" she whispered finally, looking away sorrowfully.
Tony ducked his head to look into her eyes. "I know, baby," he said softly. "And I'm sorry that I scared you, okay? But the Doc says I'm fine," he said, trying to reassure her.
Pepper nodded. "Yeah, I know. And thank God," she said gratefully.
Tony nodded. "Yeah, we're good," he reassured. He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, and Pepper smiled through her tears.
"The Doctor says you need somewhere to pour your nervous tension into," she said.
Tony frowned, and recoiled a bit. "Pepper," he warned. "We've talked about this. And we agreed that I wouldn't..."
"No, you decided," she corrected, with a lilt of annoyance. "Tony," she said, exhaling sharply. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. She wanted to take a minute to make sure her words were clear, so she turned her back to him and slowly walked to the foot of the bed before turning around to face him, resting her hands on the foot of the hospital bed. "I...don't want you to stop working on your projects."
Tony cocked an eyebrow, but stayed silent.
"It's like you said, you're an engineer. Building and fixing things is what you do. And back in December, before the whole Mandarin situation, I never wanted you to stop entirely. I just wanted you to slow down. You were barely eating and you certainly weren't sleeping. We hardly saw each other, and we lived in the same house!"
Tony pursed his lips, and looked away shamefully.
"You needed to realize that there was more to life than just building and fixing. There's...there's us," she said.
"I know that, Pepper," Tony responded. "Why do you think I scrapped everything?"
"Yes, but," Pepper said. "I never thought you should scrap you."
Tony's face reflected the epiphany she'd just given him. He chuckled to himself, thunder-struck, his eyebrows raising in realization.
Pepper continued. "I know who I'm in love with, Tony. I'd be pretty dense if I hadn't figured that out in the last decade and a half."
Tony chuckled softly at her words, and smiled bashfully.
"And, because you are who you are, I have to respect that what you do is a part of you. We both do." Pepper slowly walked back around to the edge of the bed. She leaned into him and rested her hands on his shoulders. He raised his hands to stroke her forearms lovingly, looking up at her. "You know, I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but you said those same words to me that day in the basement when you finally came clean about everything that had been keeping you up at night."
Tony frowned, trying to recollect. His eyes brightened when he suddenly recalled the day she was talking about. "Oh, you mean the date night I ruined? Yeah, not my finest hour, Pep," he said, regretfully.
"No, it wasn't," Pepper agreed. "But you did say to me the same thing I'm saying to you now. Your projects, your inventions, your machines? They are a part of you. I get that now. I got it the night I used part of the suit to destroy Aldrich Killian."
Tony cocked an eyebrow. "So, what are you saying, Pep?" he murmured. "You'd rather have me the way I was before?"
Pepper shook her head emphatically. "No, not exactly," she said. "And I know that you don't honestly want that, either."
Tony shook his head.
Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned in to kiss his lips gently. When the kiss broke, she pulled back to look at him. "What I want is for you to be happy and healthy," she murmured. "And trying to deny yourself the ability to do what you were put on this earth to do isn't going to make you either of those."
Tony looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. He sighed a heavy sigh, and looked away. "Building things, working on things, working with my hands, that..." he said, nodding. "That does make me happy, actually," he said.
Pepper nodded. "I know," she said.
"But, so does something else," he said, bringing his gaze back to hers and smirking.
Pepper's eyes went wide. "Really, Tony?" she scoffed. "Even while sitting in a hospital bed, you still can't stop your libido?" She smiled in amazement.
Tony's eyes went wide. He laughed out loud. "You know me too well!" he replied in jest. "No, no," he said. "I'm talking about you. About us. I love you, Pepper Potts. And being with you is what makes me the happiest. I meant it when I said I can't live without you."
Pepper blushed, "Oh, Tony!" she said, squeezing his neck in another hug. After a few moments, Pepper pulled back to look at him. "The Doctor says you can go whenever you want. How do you feel? Are you ready to go?" she asked.
Tony nodded. "Yeah. Ready when you are," he said.
Pepper stood up, and searched for his clothes he came in with. She found them folded on a shelf in a small closet adjacent to the bed. Tony pulled off the hospital gown and got dressed. He winked at Pepper when he pulled his shirt over his head, and she smiled bashfully.
"All set?" she said, when he pulled on his sneakers.
"All set Pep," he said. "You know, I think the Doctor mentioned something about having a private in-home nurse," he teased.
"Oh, did he?" Pepper played along. "Funny, he didn't mention anything to me. Got anyone in mind?"
Tony pumped his eyebrows at her suggestively. "I know of a certain spunky red-head who would be very qualified for the job. In fact, she's had over a decade and a half of experience taking excellent care of me, already."
Pepper smiled. "Damn right, she has," she murmured.
Tony grinned at her proudly. "So, uh," Tony murmured, pulling her into his arms. "What's the word on finding you a nurse's outfit and making this official, Nurse Potts?" he asked, in a low suggestive rumble.
Pepper bit her lip. "Well, if you promise to stop playing appliance repair man and fixing things that aren't broken," she said. She raised up and nibbled his earlobe, flicking it with the very tip of her tongue. Tony let out a soft groan and closed his eyes helplessly. "We'll talk," she purred back, in a hot whisper into his ear.
Tony looked at her with giddy arousal. "Deal!" he exclaimed happily. "Although, the appliance repair man thing could work to our advantage, you know," he purred. He pumped his eyebrows and Pepper giggled, opening the door. Tony wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and squeezed her tightly as they walked down the corridor and out to the bank of elevators. Pepper looked sidelong at Tony as they stepped inside the elevator doors. He was smirking, and his eyes sparkled mischievously.
"What?" Pepper said finally, as the doors closed.
Tony chuckled, looking up at the digital display above the doors. "I was just thinking that I may have to go back in soon to have my heart checked again," he said, suddenly grimacing and rubbing his breast bone with the tips of his fingers.
"What?!" Pepper cried. She immediately laid a protective hand over his heart. "Why? What are you feeling? Are you okay? Tell me what hurts!" she said frantically, her face panicked.
"Mmmmm, I don't know Pep! Suddenly," he said, wincing and pursing his lips. "The thought of you in a nurse's uniform is giving me palpitations," he said, turning his grimace to a sly smirk.
Pepper slapped his shoulder. "Jerk!" she squeaked, trying not to smile at his antics. "That isn't funny!"
Tony flinched and giggled. "Ow!" he said, at her slap. He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Hey, that's not very nurse-like, Nurse Potts! You shouldn't slap around a heart patient!"
"Keep going, and you'll get more than that!" Pepper shot back. She huffed and pouted at him, folding her arms crossly.
"Oh, honey, come on," he coaxed. "I'm only doing what the doctor said to do. Find a hobby," he said innocently.
"He meant tinkering in your shop, not fantasizing about your girlfriend in a nurse's uniform," Pepper said.
"Well, if I can't fantasize about you, who am I supposed to fantasize about?" he asked. "You know as well as I do. My days of oogling strange women are over. I'm a one-woman-oogler now," he said proudly.
Pepper studied him for a moment and then relented, softening her stance, and giggling softly. He dipped his head, and slowly pressed her against the wall of the elevator, kissing her deeply.
Slowly, the kiss broke and Tony looked into her eyes, smiling softly. Pepper gazed up into his eyes and smiled back.
"I don't think you're supposed to kiss your private nurse like that," she said breathlessly, teasing him. "It's...unprofessional," she purred. She smirked at him playfully.
"Yeah, well," Tony said. "Who said I was stopping at a kiss?" he teased back.
"Well, in that case, as your nurse, I would first have to perform an intensive examination to make sure that you are fit for vigorous sexual activity," Pepper purred.
Tony smiled slyly and hummed in appreciation. "Sounds fantastic. I'm all yours," he purred. "When can we start?"
Pepper giggled as Tony went back to kissing her eagerly, all the way back up to the penthouse.