Disappointment. Tony was accustomed to that feeling very well. He'd experienced it from his early childhood, whenever he'd create something from scrap and try to show it to his father, only to be ignored and yelled at. Oh, what a cruel fate. He'd never known how much his childhood would affect him as a grown-up. Every single thing he did after his parents died had a deep connection to his past and especially his teenage years. There are only two words that could describe Tony's teenage life: boarding school. Ambition, hard work, tears, lies, lack of affection, suicide thoughts – those were dominant back in the day, when he was wasting away his energy on something that was genetic. His genius didn't require polishing, he was a rough stone. The only thing that drove him nuts back then was the thought of not being fully appreciated by his own father. That thought still lingered, even now, whenever he'd have a breakthrough.

But no one had bothered to stop and ask how he felt. They imagined it was supposed to be like that – a genius' life is a tough life, there was no doubt. But despite it all, a human being needs affection, it needs love and protection, not ignorance and hatred.

Everything comes with a price, though. Tony thought sourly and exited through the front side of the villa, pondering on where he should go and hide away for a while until his racing heartbeat would calm down. Taking a look around himself, he realized that a vineyard would probably be having tons of places to explore, so he decided to follow the path that he and Pepper had gone on the previous night. He stuck his hands into his pockets and wandered around for a really long time, until he found an isolated spot, where he crashed with his back against a huge tree, protecting himself from the heat.

Pressing his face into the crook where his bicep met his forearm, Tony let out a shuddering sigh and raked his other hand through his hair, silently wishing that the previous night wouldn't have taken place. He couldn't believe how weak and vulnerable he truly was and that terrified him. What if she suddenly decided she didn't want to be with him anymore? What if she decided that she deserved better and left just like that?

Mentally torturing himself wouldn't help, Tony figured, so he pulled out his phone and dialed Pierre's number, asking him to deliver them three bottles of their finest wine by that night. Ignoring the dull ache in his chest, Tony pulled himself up from the ground and picked some grapes from the nearest branch before heading back towards the villa. When he got there he saw Pepper sitting on the lounge chair, laptop perched on her lap. Upon seeing him return, Pepper set the laptop aside and looked up at him, remorse clearly visible in her eyes.

"Where have you been?" She asked him softly and looked at him expectantly as he sat down at her feet, holding up the grape.

"Do you want to test that seals fighting over a grape theory?" Tony retorted with a smirk and, despite everything, he mentally pushed aside the emotional matter and focused on the physical one, figuring that it was what Pepper wanted.

Pepper stared at the grape for a moment and reached up, placing her hands on the lapels of his t-shirt, holding his eyes.

"You didn't answer." She stated with sad eyes, feeling his walls build themselves up again – this time higher than before.

"I brought you grapes. You're not allergic to them, are you?" He asked, panicking slightly.

"Tony."

"Pepper." He mimicked her expression and grabbed the laptop before throwing it on the ground with a loud bang. Pepper cringed and looked at him, startled and slightly afraid of him. She blinked at him quickly and swallowed hard, all senses going into overload when she felt him inch closer to her.

"You're saying no to the grape theory, then?" He asked and placed his hand on her thigh, squeezing lightly. "That's fine. I've got other theories to test. Like, how loud you can scream my name while I pound you."

Pepper gasped and closed her eyes, trembling. She didn't like this side of him. It terrified her, but at the same time, it also thrilled her in a weird way. Even though she was mostly against physical violence, deep down she knew that she craved it.

"Are you afraid, baby?" He purred in her ear, his nose nuzzling along her earlobe, eliciting a soft whimper from her. When she placed her hand on his shoulder, Tony grinned madly and slid his hand between her legs, thumb stroking her through her panties slowly. Pepper bit her lower lip, head spinning. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared up at him, pleasure clearly evident on every feature of her face.

"Is this what you want, Potts?" He murmured and licked his lips, trying his best to keep this intimate action between them a pure physical one. He didn't want to put any feelings in it, so he pushed her panties aside and thrust three fingers inside her wet core, breath hitching in his throat at how wet and responsive she was.

"Tony…" Pepper whimpered once again and tried to kiss him, eyes fixated on his. When Tony realized that, he turned his head sideways so that her lips landed on his jaw. No kisses. No intimacy. Just sex. He thought and thrust his fingers inside of her until she was the verge of coming. The moment he felt her start to flutter lightly against his fingers, he pulled his hand away and smirked down at her, his ego growing bigger at the groan of protest she uttered.

"You didn't tell me what you wanted." He pointed out with a sort of evil chuckle and disentangled himself from her embrace before sitting up.

"Tony!" She screeched and he saw her nostrils start flaring. Oh, oh, getting angry there, Potts.

He continued to smirk down at her even though his heart still hurt inside his chest. If sex was what she wanted, that's what he'd give her. But not before teasing her until she'd break. Lips curling upwards, Tony brought the hand that had been inside of her up to his nose and inhaled deeply before sucking on his fingers with a gusty sigh. Pepper's mouth dried up at the sight and she squirmed impatiently, eyes begging him to finish what he'd started.

"Hmm… I'm suddenly in the mood for some grapes." Tony said and licked his lips suggestively before heading back into the villa.

Game on. Tony 1, Pepper 0.

A/N: How's this side of Tony? Let me know below!