The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a coffee maker beeping, signaling that it was finished. I stretched out my arms and legs, then yawned and curled up in the blanket. I closed my eyes, trying to fall back asleep when I felt someone tap my leg. I covered my head with the blanket and mumbled.

"Wake up Tianna, the coffee is ready." Pepper said, now shaking my leg.

"I'm up!" I groaned. I sat up and sighed, looking around the room. I glanced at Pepper and she smiled. I hate morning people…

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"I guess so… In need of coffee though, otherwise you're going to see me fall back asleep." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and plopped back down. Pepper chuckled, left the living room and came back with a cup of coffee. She handed it to me and I sipped it as if it was the first drink I've had in years.

"Care to talk about what happened last night?"

"Not really. But thanks for clarifying that it actually happened. I was hoping it was just a bad dream." I shrugged and finished my coffee in silence.

2 hours later, I was now dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a pale blue tank-top. I had my hair in a bun with little makeup on. I was putting my extra pair of running shoes on when Pepper walked in. I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't going to let me leave until I talked to her about last night. I avoided her gaze and sighed.

"Cough it up." Pepper said and sat beside me on the couch.

"Tony told me he was Iron Man last night… I gave him a nice smack and left. Why would he do that to me after all Iron Man did for me? As if Tony could be Iron Man, I mean he's sweet and kind, I can trust him. But Tony… he's just arrogant and perverted."

"There's two sides to every person you know. It's possible that he could be Iron Man. So what's your plan?"

"Well, not see Tony Stark for as long as I can, that's for sure. But at the moment, I plan on going for a nice jog. Jogging helps me get my thoughts together." I got up off the couch and grabbed my keys.

"You can't avoid him Tianna. I would have thought you'd be more mature about this whole thing. You're acting like a teenage girl in high school who just found out her crush has a crush on her best friend…"

"I didn't ask for your opinion on how I'm acting." I glared at her and walked to the door, then turned to look at Pepper. "And in my case, I'm acting as if my crush lied to me about being something he's not, and my crush already dated my best friend. Look how well that turned out." I said and slammed the door shut once I went through it.

Pepper ran over to the desk in the dining room and picked up her cellphone. She dialed Tony's number quickly and sighed in relief when he answered.

"She's heading to the hill; she's in a horrible mood and went jogging. I hope my friendship with her didn't just end…" Pepper said.

"I'm sure it didn't. I'm going to get the suit and then I'll be on my way." Tony hung up.

*************************************************************************************

I was jogging for about half an hour when I realized I had jogged all the way from Pepper's condo, to the place where I first met Iron Man. I looked up from the bottom of the hill and sighed. I walked up the hill and looked over the view. I let my breathing slow down and closed my eyes. The slight fall breeze whisked by and it cooled my body. My senses heightened when I heard some leaves rustling behind me. I opened my eyes quickly and looked behind me. Iron Man was walking up the hill. I turned around, my heartbeat racing.

"Tianna?" Iron Man said. It was more of a statement than a question. I felt a cold metal hand on my shoulder and I shivered. "You should have brought a sweater."

"Yeah…"

"Are you alright?"

"Peachy…"

"What's wrong?" He was now standing beside me, gazing at the clouds and sky.

"I was lied to…" I shrugged.

"Why would someone lie to a gorgeous woman like yourself? Who was it?"

"This guy I'm falling for… well was."

"Ah… I'd be upset too if the woman I'm falling for lied to me. But she's not the type to lie if she doesn't have a good reason for it. In fact, she's almost always completely honest. Brutally at that…" Iron Man chuckled. I felt my lips curve into a small smile and got rid of it quickly.

"You're falling for someone?" I asked.

"It's definitely a shock, but a damned good one! She's very upset with me though…"

"Well, that puts her and me in the same boat. The one that's full of people upset with other people. Why is she upset with you?"

"She thinks I lied to her about being someone I'm not, when in fact, I told the truth. I would never give her a reason to doubt any of my words and actions. I suppose there's only one way to fix the problem." He said and stood in front of me. I gave him a puzzled look and raised my eyebrow. I watched as the face of his suit started to lift. It went up to its full extent and I gasped, stepping back when I realized who it was.

"No… No way. This is NOT happening to me!" I growled and stomped down the hill. I almost tripped and fell on my face about 3 times going down this stupid hill. I felt someone grab my arm and pull me back, spinning me around. I was going to spill out some foul language until I was face planted with a pair of lips. I looked up at Tony and glared, pushing him away but he didn't budge. "Get away from me!"

"No Tianna. It's about time you stop pushing people away from you and face your problems. You're going to accept the fact that I am Iron Man whether you want to or not." Tony said and gripped my arm harder so I couldn't get away.

"You can't tell me what to do, I'm a grown woman!" I snarled.

"Start acting like one and maybe I'll consider you as one. Now smarten up and face the facts dear." He loosened his grip and I yanked my arm away from him with a scoff.

"How dare you…"

"Listen to me; I know I should have told you when we first met. But I didn't want that to be the reason why you agreed to me being your client. I wanted to make sure you were different from the other women I've had in my life and you definitely proved it. Tianna, I even died on the inside when I thought I had lost you in that fire. I've never felt this way about any woman and I'm glad you're the first and hopefully the last. I've already almost lost you once and I'm not going to actually lose you this time. I'm not taking that chance." Tony looked at me with deep appreciation in his eyes. I was searching my mind for what to say, but found nothing. I didn't know if I should believe him or if I should stay mad. "Say something, please!"

"I… I… you… what are you trying to say?" I asked. Tony sighed, grabbing me again and pulled me close.

"I'm saying I love you!" he said and kissed me before I could reply.

The kiss was romantic and passionate, kind and gentle. Tony's arms wrapped around my waist as mine snaked around his neck. My eyes closed while I stood up on my toes, deepening the kiss as much as I could. When we pulled away from each other, we just stared in awe. I was still a bit confused but realized he was telling the truth.

"So what happens now?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"You accept my apology and then we go back to my place and make sweet love." Tony grinned. His smile got wider when I glared at him. "I'm kidding gorgeous."

"Good… I'm not going to accept your apology until you take me out on a date first." I said, a slight smirk creeping up.

"Done, anywhere specific?"

"Surprise me; you're usually good at that."

"I know a great place we could go, but our date will have to wait till tomorrow dear. They're not opened today." Tony hugged me close to him. The cold metal felt good on my warm skin.

"I have so many questions… I guess they can wait until our date. Oh crap! I was so rude to Pepper this morning… I'm going to have to apologize to her. Do you think she'll accept some flowers? Surely you can remember what her favorite flower is." I looked up at him from his chest.

"Red tulips and they'll make her more than happy. She was worried that your friendship was over actually. I'm sure she'll be glad to hear it's not."

"I would never end our friendship like that over a small fight. Pepper's my best friend and it'll take more than a fight to break us up. Though, I do have to ask her permission for something…"

"And what would that be darling?"

"Well, permission to date her ex. It's the number one rule in the book of friendship: Never date your friends ex." I said and Tony laughed.

"I'll make sure she makes an exception." Tony winked at me.