Tony could swear that Fury was going to be a pain in the ass for him. After a long conversation, which consisted of Fury yelling at him over the phone for being an idiot, they both agreed that they would meet over a secret SHIELD hideout in Brooklyn the next day.
Until then, Tony figured out that he might as well get himself some food. Walking into the cafeteria, he was surprised to find Natasha chatting amicably with a forty-year old something employee, who was staring at her cleavage quite intensely. Clearing his throat as he approached them, Tony wrapped his arm around Natasha's waist and grinned down at her.
"Missed me?" Her eyes quickly darted over to his and he felt her muscles twitch under his touch.
"Definitely, Mr. Stark." She replied calmly and watched as the other man stammered an apology and left quickly. "Could you kindly remove your arm, unless, of course, you wouldn't mind me twisting it backwards?"
"Feisty. I like it." Tony smirked and removed his arm from her waist, slipping it in his back pocket. He raised his eyebrow when Natasha didn't start talking. "Still working undercover, I see."
"Well, someone has got to repair all the damage you've managed to create." She bit back and pulled out her phone, typing away. "I'll send in my resignation later today, if that's what you were wondering, Stark."
"You don't want to be my PA anymore?" Tony feigned a pained expression and pressed his hand to his heart in a dramatic way. "I'm deeply hurt."
Natasha threw him a glare and continued typing on her phone.
"By the way, Miss Potts has just entered the room. I suggest you keep my identity unknown to her. No one else must know about my job, Mr. Stark."
"Huh. Well, then you'd better tender your resignation, dear." He said and turned around, watching as Pepper eyed them with confusion. He noticed hurt flash in her eyes before she stared walking back towards her office. Tony swore under his breath and jogged to catch up with her in the hallway.
"I thought you were in a meeting." He breathed out, placing his hand on the small of her back. She didn't flinch away and that made Tony very happy.
"I was. What are you doing here?" She inquired and stepped into the office, pausing in her tracks as the door closed behind them.
Tony's heart rate picked up as soon as she stopped walking. He let his hand fall off her back and stared at her with soft eyes.
"I came to… apologize."
"Well, that's definitely weird." Pepper replied and looked into his eyes, longing for him to wrap his arms around her and kiss her again. Tony noticed her look and approached her slowly, placing both his hands on her hips and pressing his fingertips into the material of her skirt.
"Look, Pepper, I'm the biggest idiot in the world—"
"There's no point in arguing there." She cut him off, breath hitching in her throat as he wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her against his chest. She stood there frozen, not knowing how to react.
Tony sighed heavily and pressed his nose into her neck, hugging her more firmly. His legs felt like jell-o and he was pretty certain that she was feeling the same. He slid one of his hands to the back of her neck and tangled his fingers into her silky hair. Pepper shuddered when he dropped a small kiss to her collarbone and wrapped her arms around his neck, throat closing up at the realization of how close she had been to losing him again.
"Please forgive me." He whispered and held his breath. He could swear that the only thing he could hear was his racing heartbeat.
Pepper was taken aback by this side of him. She slid her hands into his hair and buried her face in his neck, holding him close too, too afraid of letting him go.
"Why did you hide this from me, Tony?" She asked softly into his ear and felt him massage her spine slowly.
She heard him sigh softly. "Because I thought that you'd freak out and I didn't want that. I tried to tell you countless times, but each time you'd do or say something that made me change my mind."
"I would have freaked out." She agreed with him and pulled back to look him in the eyes. "But I would have been there for you, no matter what."
"I know that, Pep, but I thought I didn't matter to you."
"How can you say that?" Hurt flashed again in her eyes. "I told you that I didn't have anyone but you, either. How could you even think that?"
Tony's heart stood still for a moment when he realized what she had just said. "I… I don't know. I'm a mess."
Upon hearing that, Pepper stroked his hair. "We all are, Tony."
"I don't want to be a mess anymore." He whispered and held her eyes. "Do you think you can help me with that?" He watched as she studied his expression carefully and thought of a proper answer.
"Hmm…" Pepper hummed and placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing lightly. "Sure."
Tony's lips turned upwards as he gave her a toothy grin. "That's good news, Miss Potts. I was starting to think you forgot about last night."
"What about last night?" Pepper asked playfully and giggled when he leaned towards her and gave her a deep kiss, hands massaging her back slowly. She hummed again and felt him smile against her lips, trembling from head to toe when he caught her lower lip between his and sucked gently.
"Mmm, Tony." She whispered and wrapped her arms around his neck, grateful that the armor wasn't standing in between them anymore and that she could feel his warm body against hers.
Tony pulled away slowly and nuzzled her nose tenderly before opening his eyes to look at her. He smiled and felt her fingers slide into his hair again.
"Not weird." He breathed out and adjusted his hips quickly, afraid that she'd notice his eagerness.
She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. God, this woman knows everything!
"I like you." Tony said and mentally slapped himself for letting that slip out.
Pepper laughed and looked over to her office, where her phone began to buzz.
"Well, I like you too, Stark." She grinned and pulled away from him, walking over to the desk. "But don't think that will make me forget what happened so easily."
"I don't." Tony reassured her and cleared his throat, sitting on the armchair. He let out a soft sigh and watched her talk over the phone, feeling extremely relieved at the turn of events. For once, everything turned out in his favor. He just hoped that he wouldn't screw things up again.
A/N: Well, there you go. Have some fluff. Can I get a review in exchange for updating so quickly?