Pepper loved Tony.

There was really no doubt about that. She did. She absolutely adored him.

That's why she was currently letting him drool into her hair. She was too comfortable to move, anyway.

Smiling with her eyes closed, Pepper reached down beneath the sheets and placed her hand over his forearm, which was resting around her waist casually. She let her nails scratch the hairs on his arm as she sighed contentedly.

Last night, after a long dinner and some chaste kisses, they went to bed together. As soon as she settled comfortably against her pillow, Tony spooned behind her, asked her if she thought it was okay, then wrapped himself around her, sniffing her hair like a dog.

This is why, when she woke up, she felt his wet mouth on the back of her neck.

"Tony…" She whispered softly and turned into his arms, her heart nearly bursting with joy at the sight of him, all curled up looking relaxed and deep in sleep. She threaded a hand through his hair and marveled at its softness. She wondered how it was possible for them to end up like this, after everything that had happened during the past year.

Pepper leaned closer to his face and watched him sleep for a couple of minutes, inhaling in his scent and smiling every time his arm wrapped itself tighter around her waist. She almost jumped out of her skin when the alarm began buzzing on the nightstand.

She felt him begin to stir next to her as she reached out and pushed the off button with a little yawn.

"Morning." She heard him mumble under his breath as he opened his eyes and smiled at her. It wasn't a typical Tony smile. This time it was a simple, yet shy expression that rendered Pepper breathless for a moment. She brushedthe hair out of her face and slid out of the bed effortlessly, ignoring Tony's groan of protest.

"Hey, you can't do that. You can't just walk away like that without at least giving me a kiss."

"I'm not. I'm just taking a shower. And—" She glanced over at Tony and couldn't help the sly grin that appeared on her lips. "You're not going to get a chance to shower with me unless you get back my art collection."

She walked into the master bathroom of the New York penthouse and began to strip when she heard him laugh from the other room.

"And it's our collection, no offense!" She yelled and stepped into the shower.

Half an hour later, she emerged out of the bathroom, all ready for another long day at the office, where she'd have to face another rough round of conferences and meetings. When she walked into the kitchen, she spotted Tony sitting at the counter with a large cup of coffee in his hand, reading away on his tablet. She walked over to him and looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading about. Apparently, he was reading an article over what a marvelous job she'd done with the clean-up at the Expo.

Snorting, Pepper poured herself a cup of coffee and took a bite out of a cheese bagel.

"I'm glad they're finally accepting you as CEO." Tony pointed out and reached out to pull her closer to him. Pepper obligingly granted his wish and felt him press his cheek into her shoulder. "Do you want me to get the jet ready for tonight?"

"Um, actually, I was just thinking about that. With the lawsuit against Hammer, I really have to get back to LA and talk to our lawyers."

"Responsible, as always." Tony smiled and looked up at her, placing the tablet on the counter. "I'll see you on the tarmac, then?"

Pepper nodded and finished off her coffee before placing the cup in the sink. She grabbed her purse and stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that Tony was watching her intently, probably waiting for her to kiss him goodbye. But honestly, she didn't know what to do. As much as she had enjoyed sleeping with him, in the same bed, they hadn't actually talked about how their current affair would change their relationship.

She turned towards him and looked into his eyes, wordlessly begging him to sit up and be the one to kiss her goodbye, but he didn't move one inch. When the silence became awkward, Pepper waved at him and walked out of the penthouse, leaving him sit there with pursed lips.

"Hmm?" Tony hummed and blinked slowly, trying to figure out why they hadn't kissed goodbye. Sitting up, he made his way to the couch, from where he picked up his phone and dialed Natasha's number, eager to find out what Fury had planned for him.

A/N: Do you want more kisses? A review would be really appreciated!