Near midnight, Tony pulled the car into the parking lot of a small villa, surrounded by miles and miles of vineyards. The moon shone brightly, illuminating Pepper's tired, but relaxed face. When she heard Tony turn off the engine of the Audi, she turned her head towards him and let out a soft laugh.
Tony held her eyes for a few long seconds before winking at her suggestively.
"See this villa?" He spoke up softly, eyes looking towards the building in front of them. "It's all ours for the weekend."
Pepper smiled in spite of her increased tiredness and opened the car door before climbing out of it, inhaling the strong scent of grapes and wine. She closed her eyes and threaded her fingers through her hair, enjoying the atmosphere.
"I'm going to get these bags upstairs and then, if you want, we can go for a quick walk before going to sleep." He trailed off, eyes looking at her expectantly, hoping that she would accept his proposal.
The redhead nodded and murmured a soft response, before taking a sip out of her bottle of water, moistening her lips and mouth. She felt goose bumps rise on her skin at the thought of being with him in such close proximity. Even after they became intimate, Pepper realized that these little things still had a funny effect on her heart. She wandered around the car for a while until Tony walked out of the villa with a goofy grin on his face.
"What's so amusing?" Pepper inquired and raised an eyebrow at him, shuddering when he reached down for her hand and tugged her along towards a stray path that lead to somewhere in the distance.
"Rhodey has been texting me for the past five minutes, asking how was he supposed to take a piss in the suit." He explained and burst out laughing, amusing Pepper as well. "I ignored him."
"That's rude." Pepper murmured and squeezed his warm hand, heart fluttering when he felt him squeeze hers in return.
"No, it's not. He stole my suit."
"That's not really accurate." She cut him off, shoulder brushing against his. "I'm pretty certain that Jarvis doesn't allow anyone to wear your suits without your permission."
Tony shot her a hurt look and sighed dramatically. "You really had to point that out, Potts?"
Pepper laughed and saw a bench just a few meters away. She nodded towards it and sat down, followed by Tony who groaned softly and let his head roll against the back of the bench.
"So…" He drawled off, eyes fixing on hers. "How was the sex?"
To be completely frank, that question didn't faze Pepper at all. She rolled her eyes and slid closer to him, placing her hand on his chest, right next to his arc reactor.
"Angry sex is always hot." She answered his question, looking at his lips. "But I prefer it slow, you know… sensual, mind-blowing…" She emphasized her words and felt his right arm sneak around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She felt his breath on her cheek and she slid her hand up his neck and into his hair, stroking it slowly.
"Mmm, is that so?" Tony murmured and stroked her spine, enjoying her warmth and closeness.
"Mhmm…" She replied and nuzzled her cheek against his, feeling his stubble scratch her skin lightly. She sighed involuntarily and pressed her cheek against his, leaning most of her weight against him. When she did that, she felt his other arm wrap around her and she whimpered quietly, millions of thoughts running inside her head. The moment felt perfect and she was afraid that she would ruin it, but the question had been tugging at her heart for a while now and she felt that it couldn't be ignored for much longer.
"Tony?" She whispered and brushed her lips against his ear.
He squeezed her waist in response and waited for whatever she was going to ask him.
"What you said in the car, on the way here…"
"Yeah…" He sighed, alarms buzzing inside of his head.
"I just wanted to say that I want this to work out more than anything, but I have to know if you want the same things as I do and that it's not just a phase, or, I don't know…"
"I'm not going to get bored of you, of us… if that's what you're implying." Tony stated firmly and pulled away to look her in the eyes. "And it's not a phase. Pep, listen to me…"
Pepper's heart melted when she heard him use a shortened version of her nickname and pursed her lips while allowing him to continue. When his hand reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes closed and she shuddered, fingers tightening against his t-shirt.
"I love you." He exhaled in a quick breath, feeling as surprised as her at the sudden admission. He watched her watch him in awe, forehead creasing in surprise. The awkward silence felt… awkward. But Tony knew that he had to explain himself before she jumped out of his arms. "And it's painfully obvious to me that it's going to take a really long while for you to learn to trust me and open yourself up to me. But that's okay—I mean… I'm not the guy you date. I'm the guy you fuck and leave the morning after because he didn't cuddle with you. I'm terrified of intimacy, Pepper. It's scaring the shit out of me and I just want to prove you that this is what I want. No, scratch that, it's what I need. And I've been needing you for a really, really long time. I just got stuck and I hope that you'll forgive me someday for not saying it sooner."
Pepper stared at him in shock, unable to comprehend how it could be possible. Her mind replayed the past year in a quick flashback and she gaped at him, mouth hanging open.
"You… you do?" She croaked out, emotion clearly audible in her voice.
"Um, yeah." Tony nodded slowly and looked away for a minute, clearly emotionally drained.
"Oh." That was the only reaction that Pepper could come up with at the moment. Everything was covered in a deep fog and words could not express the rainbow of emotions she felt.
Tony sighed deeply. Suffice to say, her neutral reaction rendered him a tad bit miserable. He'd expected her to reciprocate. He'd been so certain that she felt the same, he couldn't even phantom the disappointment he felt at her being silent in his arms.
"Time for bed." He ground out and sat up, masking away his disappointment by looking out in the distance.
Pepper swallowed thickly and sat up as well, feeling guilty at not having said something. Her tongue felt tied, though, and her heart swell in her chest with every breath she took. When she noticed that he'd begun walking towards the villa without her, she hurried and caught up with him, staying in silence until they reached the building. Tony opened the door for her and locked it up behind them, before following her upstairs. Once they got into the bedroom, Tony stripped down to his boxers and got out his Stark phone, tinkering away with it absently, sitting by the window.
Pepper took her time to freshen up in the bathroom, feeling more and more confused by the minute. His sudden admission had caught her off guard. How else was she supposed to feel? Relieved? Maybe a little bit, but truth be told, she was worried because she had no idea what would happen next.
When she got out of the bathroom, she found him facing away from her in the bed, seemingly asleep. The image of him sulking brought up a large bubble of guilt inside of her and she sighed deeply, before sliding in next to him. She pressed a soft kiss to his head and stared at his bare back for a long time until sleep finally claimed her.
Time. That's all she needed to sort out her feelings.
A/N: Will she have the courage to tell him she loves him back or not? Let me know what you think below!