Day 15 - That night…

Rating: R

A/N: A little angsty but it'll pass if I get more comments!

While I ascend the stairs to my bedroom I think about what Pepper told me earlier. That and the hot kiss session.

Is it wrong if I try to protect Pepper from the russian spy? I don't think so – she's in danger and if she hadn't told me that the damn traitor threatened her – since my birthday party maybe she would have hurt her. What a frigid bitch!

I stride the last few steps till my room in seconds and open the door lightly. Pepper is standing with her back at me, looking at the ocean. Even though it's almost eleven it seems that I'm not tired at all. Is it maybe that she's wearing like… nothing?

No, no, no. Of course she's not naked – my god. I think I would have jumped her in a second if she was.

I blink a few times and adjust to the low lit atmosphere in the bedroom and look once again at Pepper. This time I can most definitely see that she's clad in her white lace bra and matching panties.

I grith my teeth and try to suppress a very aroused growl. I'm hungry to touch her by simply looking at her!

Suddenly she turns and looks at me, her expression a very amused one. I raise my eyebrows in sign of innocence as I take off my abused shirt.

It wouldn't be that difficult to get a hard-on once again, I muse and look thoughtfully at the crotch of my pants, feeling the little – or big in this case, prick harden again. How I wish it would stop doing this so quickly! I suppose that from now on every single time I'm going to see her I'm going to get a hard-on.

"Is this what it's all about?" She asks me while she cups the front of my pants in her palm.

"No." I assure her by grabbing her hand and put it on the arc reactor. "This is what it's all about." I murmur softly and look at her.

"I believe you." She says against my lips while her hand shifts in my hold so she can entwine her fingers with mine.

I squeeze her fingers and kiss her tenderly, my tongue slipping out to taste her lips.

"So…" I start asking and take her in my arms. "You – me… together?"

Pepper stops kissing me and for a brief moment I think she might give up. Along that I can feel my erection soften a bit when she looks at me like I've just asked her the impossible. It's not the impossible. I can prove to the world – to her that I can really make this work. I really, really want this to work.

I mean if it doesn't then I won't be able to love another woman. Who am I kidding? I've never loved a woman, or a girl for that matter. Hell, I didn't even knew that 'love' was even real.

"I need more time…" She murmurs and looks at me, unsure. "But it's not a no, Tony." She says when she sees the look on my face.

"Oh." I blurt out disappointed. It's exactly like the thing before the press conference and I don't like it one bit.

"Does that mean eight months?" I ask and I feel my chest tighten painfully. The scenario is repeating again.

Suddenly I back off a good step from her that we're not touching anymore. This is ridiculous – damn ridiculous. One moment she's kissing me and the other one she says that she needs more time.

I raise my eyebrow and look at her with steel eyes. She hesitates. Actually hesitates! My heart breaks even more then.

"You don't trust me?" I ask, my voice quivering. I have to clench my jaw tightly because I don't wanna show her I'm weak. I am but I don't want her to know that.

"I-I…" She babbles and fidgets with her hands. Thing she does when she's nervous.

Well, she has reasons to be nervous because I'm not the one standing in front of the biggest man whore on the planet almost naked. I'm freaking out right now, by the way!

"Great…" I mutter under my breath as my eyes glaze over. "You'll be very very lucky if I'm going to be alive until you finally decide to BE with me!" I shout and slam the door behind me as I speed down the stairs.

Patience isn't my strong point. I know that.

I don't look back, even though I know she's following me downstairs to my workshop. First thing I want to do is to lock her out of the workshop. I think better of it and I figure that if she truly wants to cancel my orders she'll tell Jarvis to override the security protocol.

I don't even have to punch my code in because Jarvis has the door opened for me and I look up as I enter the workshop with quick steps.

"The suit." I mutter and take off my pants and socks and put on the black neoprene suit.

I glance over at the door and see Pepper dressed in my robe. She looks like she's about to cry and I can't do anything – except that I want so badly to take her in my arms and make passionate love to her until she forgets everything and everyone except me.

Instead I decide to let the robots assembly the parts of the suit on my body. I don't want to turn to her because I know what expression she has on her face. She'll say that I'm acting like a child and I know that, because I cannot deal with anymore rejection from her anymore.

My own expression changes. I feel a huge smirk spreading over to my ears as the robots finish the assembly and Butterfingers hands me the helmet with a chirp.

"There's no mission tonight." She whispers shakily behind me.

From her tone I can tell that she's mentally willing herself not to cry in front of me - and I respect that. I respect that she has her sanity intact because I'm afraid mine is just a minute from exploding right here.

I don't even bother to give her an answer as I put on the helmet and walk to the place where I can take off. Make a note, I wanna tell her to make the hole in the ceiling a little bigger when I'll be back. Assuming she'll still be here.

"Please don't go." She pleads but I huff, irritated.

I don't even look back as I take off, but I can hear her muffled 'Tony!'.

---

Six days after I get a call inside the suit while I'm flying over the Indian Ocean. I didn't go back to the mansion. I couldn't and I still can't. From ten to ten minutes the ringtone I used when Pepper called rang. She calls for hours…

But this time is Rhodey's ringtone.

"What the hell do you need?" I ask and make sure there are no planes in the area where I was flying.

"Where are you, Tony?" He asks me, avoiding my question. His tone is soft but demanding.

"Doesn't matter." I mutter and close my eyes for a weird moment.

The "trip" got me really, really tired but I don't know where I should go without creating a mass-media scandal.

"She came to me sobbing." Rhodey whispers, his tone full of emotion.

I choke back an own sob as he tells me that.

"She's there?" I ask unable to stop the tears running down my cheeks.

"She's asleep. Please come back home."

"Why?"

I don't even know why I asked that question. Dumb. Dumb. Fucking dumbass.

"She thought she had lost you, again." He sighs and continues. "Please come here to see her and you decide if you'll want to do this anytime soon."

I swallow the large lump in my throat and turn my direction towards home.