A quick shout-out to my best friend and unofficial beta, Katy Faraday. She puts up with sooo much of my craziness, and I wouldn't be writing today without her encouragement. Thanks, girl! :)

If you like Silence of the Lambs, I would check out her fic "Screams". Her profile is here: .net/u/2736770/Katy_Faraday

Here's a Pepperony one for you. I know a few people were freaked out that I killed Tony in the last chapter. I would apologize, but... sometimes I come up with an angsty plotbunny and it MUST be written. Well, this one is happy.

I own nothing. I do, however, own a necklace that very closely resembles an arc reactor. Yeah, it's awesome.

Pancakes

When Pepper awakes the next morning, the bed next to her is empty. Stupid, she thinks. You knew it wasn't going to work out. Tony could never be in a relationship for longer than one night.

Tony Stark is known for his womanizing tendencies. But Pepper had hoped that maybe, just maybe, for her he would stay. She should have known better.

The crushing grief invades her senses, and tears threaten to spill from her eyes. She knows she has to get out of there, leave this house, because she can't deal with him. Not now.

The clock reads 7:20. At this time, Tony is normally secluded in his workshop. If she hurries, she can sneak out the door before he comes up from the basement for breakfast. She does a quick search of the room for her clothes, but manages to find only her jeans. Sighing, she pulls them on. God knows where the rest of her clothes are; after last night, they could be anywhere. Pepper thinks for a moment, then reluctantly grabs Tony's t-shirt from the floor and slips it on. At this point, she doesn't care about her missing clothes. She just has to get out of here.

Pepper silently hurries down the stairs, through the hallway, and then-

She stops in front of the kitchen. Because in front of her is a sight she never thought she would see.

Tony Stark stands in front of the stove, skillfully using a spatula to turn golden-brown pancakes. The smell wafts to where Pepper stands in the doorway, and a small, surprised squeak escapes from her mouth. Tony, hearing the noise, turns and smiles at her. He is wearing only a pair of old sweatpants, and her eyes are immediately drawn to the arc reactor resting in his chest. The blue light evenly frames his muscular torso with a heavenly glow. It's distracting.

"How did you sleep?" he asks, his voice low and soft. Pepper reluctantly pulls her eyes away from his body to look at his face. There's a look in his dark brown eyes that Pepper has never seen before.

She still stands in the doorway, stunned. She had no idea that Tony could cook. Tony doesn't cook. But, then again, Tony is a master at everything, so she supposes that it shouldn't be such a surprise. "Excellent, thank you." Pepper manages to whisper.

His eyes drop to the t-shirt she is wearing, his t-shirt, and his grin widens, obviously pleased. He plops the pancakes onto a plate and makes his way over to her. "I made breakfast." He says, brandishing the plate.

She clears her throat. "So I see." Pepper takes the plate from him, glances at the pancakes, and then gently sets it on the granite counter.

Tony frowns. "What? You don't like them?"

Pepper grins at him. "No, I love pancakes."

The lines on his forehead make themselves apparent as his brilliant mind works to figure out what he's missing. "Then what is it?"

Pepper doesn't answer, but lunges forward, pressing her lips to his and pushing him up against the counter. He responds to this and wraps his hands around her slim hips, holding her to him.

And Pepper had thought that he had left the bed that morning because he didn't want something complicated, something long-term. She couldn't have been more wrong.

She is the only one he'll stay for.

So, read and review! And several more happy ones are on the way.