A little bit over two hours had passed by the time that Tony sat up from his chair, ready to crash in the jet's bedroom. The past few days had taken a toll on him and his body was most certainly asking for some decent rest – not just a few hours, but a full sleep cycle that would place him right back on track. During the time they'd been in the air, heading back towards Los Angeles, Tony had watched her type away on her phone for more than ten minutes, before deciding she would find it rather creepy, than protective or affectionate. Instead, he'd pulled out his own phone and wrote down a couple of ideas that he had come up with after the battle with Vanko.
When those ideas ran out, he stood up, straightening his back with a small groan of pain, immediately receiving Pepper's full attention. After he convinced her that he was fine, just a couple of bruises here and there, he gave her a small smile and said he was going to go to bed, whereas they still had five hours before they got home. When she took her seat back, he had to admit that he was disappointed a bit, because he was expecting her to follow him. In between the clean-up and the countless conferences and meetings, Tony was certain she hadn't slept more than he did in the past couple of days.
Having closed the door of the bedroom behind him, Tony sighed heavily and stripped down to his boxers. The arousal was still there, nonetheless, but this time he didn't feel like doing anything about it. He was sick of having to take care of it himself every single time that she said or did something that aroused him. He wanted her. Badly. But apparently these things took time while in a committed relationship. He wasn't going to comment on that. If Pepper wanted things to go slow, they would.
Despite his growing frustration.
Just when he was about to doze off, the door creaked open, letting in a small ray of light. Tony squinted his eyes towards the door and sat up a little, watching as Pepper made her way inside, murmuring a small apology.
"Were you asleep? I'm sorry." She whispered and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him stare at her in awe.
"Hey…" Tony murmured back. "Missed me, Potts?"
His heart leaped a bit when he heard her laugh and felt her slid in the bed next to him.
"Hmm?" He insisted and watched her press her cheek into her pillow, looking comfortable in a tank top and yoga pants.
"Did you want me to sleep on the couch?" Pepper asked, mildly amused by his giddy attitude.
"No, that's—no, of course not." Tony stammered and lay down back against the bed, passing a hand through his hair. "Mmm, hi." He smiled and pulled her to him, feeling her tuck her head under his chin. He could have sworn that his heart stopped for a moment when she did that, rendering him completely breathless.
"Hi." She whispered against his arc reactor and closed her eyes tightly, suddenly feeling extremely tired. Stiffling a yawn, Pepper nuzzled her nose against the cover of the reactor. "Goodnight, Tony."
Tony smiled against the top of her head and closed his eyes as well, hand stroking random patterns over her bare shoulder. "Sleep tight, Pep."
When he woke up, Tony realized they had already landed. He quickly checked his watch and saw that it was half past one in the morning. Yawning gently into his fist, he gazed down at Pepper who was sleeping peacefully against his chest. He brushed the hair out of her face with trembling fingers, still feeling unaccustomed to intimacy and how it all worked. Pulling away from her slowly, he realized that she wasn't going to wake up so easily, so he padded over to his pants and shirt, quickly putting them on and exiting the bedroom. Tony pulled out his phone and dialed Happy's number, knowing that he had probably gotten back to LA the day before and that he was probably waiting for them on the tarmac.
"Hey honey—" Tony murmured when Happy picked up. "Are you at the airport to pick us up?"
Tony heard Happy stifle a laugh and he smiled himself, suddenly feeling extremely ecstatic that he was finally home.
"Yes and I've been waiting for over an hour. I'm just outside the jet. I'll come pick up the luggage."
"Good boy." Tony said and hung up, walking back to the bedroom and quietly picking Pepper up in his arms. When she didn't bat one eyelash, he made his way out of the jet and into the waiting limo, where Happy was loading the luggage into the trunk. Nodding his head towards him, Tony slid in the backseat, and tucked Pepper against his side, wrapping his arms around her as she slept, cheek resting against his shoulder.
I'm such an asshole for making her work so hard.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise." He whispered against her forehead.
When Happy got into the car, Tony asked him to take them back to his mansion, momentarily forgetting about the mess he'd done while trying to create the new element. When they got there, Tony swallowed hard and thanked his ex-chauffeur and bodyguard before stepping out of the car with a sleeping Pepper in his arms. She was light like a feather, so Tony had no problem getting her into the bedroom without Happy's help.
After he carefully placed her on the bed, he pulled the duvet over her and asked Jarvis to turn up the temperature a few degrees. He debated on whether he should stay with her the rest of the night or try to clean up as much as he could, because he was certain that when she woke up she would probably start yelling at him and start calling him an asshole again. In the end, he decided on the latter.
Cleaning up the workshop would certainly drain all the energy he had left, but it was probably the right thing to do, unless he wanted her to make a scene and risk her breaking up with him. And that was a chance he wasn't willing to take.
A/N: Hmm… Will Pepper make a scene when she sees the state that the mansion is in, or try to help him re-decorate. State your choice through a review!