A/N: Just to say that I skipped out Surprise Appearance by Tony Stark because I already wrote a piece about that scene in my other fic, "Bits and Pieces". Anyway, hope you enjoy this one :)

x x x

Chapter 5: Iron Man Thanks Pepper Potts for Ten Years

"Oh, for God's sake …"

Pepper sighed as Tony suddenly broke free of her grip and lunged for the car again.

"Let's go for a swim, Pep," he slurred.

"A sw – what are you talking about-"

"Maybe we could skinny dip."

"Get back here."

"C'mon, the beach'll be quiet now-"

"No-one's skinny anything, we're going to bed-"

"Come and catch me then-"

"And of course it's quiet, it's four thirty in the morning!"

"We're going to bed?"

"Just get back here and shut up."

Luckily he lost his balance and wound up sprawled on the concrete, which saved her from the difficult task of running after him in her heels. She strode over and looked down at him. He smirked back up at her and said, "I can see up your skirt."

"I'm wearing pants."

"Well, I'm imagining-"

"Just get up," she interrupted tiredly, trying and failing to suppress a yawn.

"God, that sounds like so much effort."

He closed his eyes.

"Oh, no!" she snapped crossly. "No, you're not falling asleep there!"

She reached down and tugged on his arm.

All in all, she almost wished she had offered her resignation earlier that night, up on stage. That she hadn't been joking around as Tony presented her with the stupid Iron Man key ring that was currently still sitting in her purse. Because that would mean that she wouldn't be the one having to drag him (quite literally) to bed.

Although, of course, she didn't truly have any desire to leave him.

She had been quite startled at his announcement that it had been ten years to the day since they had met. There she had been, hovering in the periphery of the party, only half paying attention to Tony's self-indulgent bragging, when all of a sudden all the focus had shifted to her. She had been dragged up on stage in front of what she knew to be hundreds of people, all so that Tony could tell the world how much he relied on her.

There is not enough credit in the world to give Ms Potts for putting up with me for a full decade.

And so that he could tell her to her face, more explicitly than he ever had.

I wouldn't want anyone else. Thank you for standing by me, Ms Potts.

She remembered how her heart had leapt and wriggled at the dark sincere shade of his eyes as he stared directly at her. How her throat had constricted in response to the tenderness in his smile. And how she had been unable to speak as he had embraced her with such warmth. She had barely had the emotional room in her heart to be touched at the crowd's enthusiastic applause.

And part of her reaction, she knew, had been influenced by how he had started his speech.

Every superhero needs a girl.

A direct reference to that time right before he had announced himself as Iron Man. It was almost as if he were implying …

It had taken a considerable amount of annoyance at Tony's later drunken antics to calm her emotions back down to the level of day to day reality.

She had been even more startled when she had realised he had been completely accurate regarding the date. Even though she suspected this accuracy was Jarvis's doing, she couldn't help but be flattered that Tony had bothered to note it at all. Not that she thought of him as uncaring … He just didn't pay much attention to dates and such. That was her job.

Ten years … It felt like forever. Like it had been all her life and not just a mere decade. Even now, as she wrestled him back to his feet after a night of considerable drinking and argued the merits of drunken swimming in the early hours of the morning, she still felt at home. As though she wasn't supposed to be anywhere else.

"I'll come inside if you gimme a smooch."

"If you come inside, I'll think about it."

He brightened.

She heartily hoped he was drunk enough that he would forget this misguided comment by the time she got him upstairs.

It took twenty minutes for her to get him into bed, an impressively long time considering the process didn't involve a shower or changing into pyjamas. He was far too drunk and hyped up to concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds and she had to head him off several detours on the way to his bedroom. Once there, the majority of the problem was getting him to take off his shoes, belt and jacket.

When at last he stood in front of her in his socks, his crumpled shirt untucked, his hair ruffled and a cheery grin on his face, all she wanted was to shove him backwards onto the covers and storm off. She was exhausted from all the last minute party organising and now she hadn't slept in twenty four hours.

"Well? Don't just stand there … get into bed."

"Where's my kiss?"

Rats.

"What kiss?"

"Don't play coy with me, Potts," he said, advancing on her and smirking. "You said you'd give me a smooch if I came inside."

"I said I'd think about it," she retorted, staring him down as he approached. He paused when he got close enough that she could feel his breath on her face.

"You stink," she told him.

He reached up and stroked her elbows for a moment and just for that moment, she almost wanted to lean in … Almost felt like this was normal. But then he suddenly turned away, heading for his bed. She gave her head a quick shake, and blamed her confusion on sleep deprivation.

"One day you'll cave," he announced, attempting to climb into bed. Somehow he got tangled in the covers and she walked forward to help him. Putting him to bed after a night of partying had never been her favourite task. Luckily, he usually had some skinny blonde to do it for her, so it wasn't an inordinately common occurrence. But all the same, it still felt like it happened far too often.

Finally settled down, his head on the pillow, he whispered, "Hey, you wanna know something?"

She crouched down to hear him better.

His eyes were drifting shut, but he opened them as her face came level with his.

"What?" she asked.

"I meant all the stuff I said."

She gave him a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I know."

"Good," he mumbled. There was another pause as he blinked sleepily. "Wanna know something else?"

"Okay."

"These have been the best ten years of my life."

And with that last admission, his eyes closed properly and he let out a tiny sigh as he fell asleep.

She stared at him lying there, looking almost normal now that he wasn't staggering around and slurring, and felt a familiar rush of affection take hold of her.

"Me too," she murmured.

And then she leaned forward and, ever so hesitantly, placed a very tiny kiss on his temple.

She pulled back, half expecting him to smirk and make another "smooching" comment, but he continued to sleep. She let out a sigh.

"There."

She stood up and rubbed her eyes. She would have to be awake in two hours at the latest and she was exhausted. She wished she could just flop into bed beside him and it took a lot of fighting her fuzzy brain to stop herself. Instead, she headed out the door and towards the guest room she most often used. Once she had changed into a set of pyjamas she kept there, she dug in her purse for her cell phone so that she could set her alarm.

Her fingers closed around the key ring and she pulled it out.

She stared blankly at it and suddenly realised that it wasn't one of the normal Iron Man key rings that circulated the population, but was much heavier. And as she peered more closely, she realised the exquisite detail. It looked like an actual tiny replica of the real suit. She turned it over in her hands, still staring at it, and a gentle suspicion made itself known.

That Tony had, in fact, produced this particular little Iron Man just for her.

It made a soft klinking sound as she set it on the glass bedside table.

And as she lay down, the last thing she saw before she drifted off was the little Iron Man staring back at her.

x x x

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading!