Disclaimer: I hate wasting words on telling you that I don't own them. I think by now we all know you and I do not own them. Anyway, they are not mine. I just borrow them to fulfill our fantasies.

AN: MATURE CONTENT BELOW. You have been warned. This chapter is intended for grown-ups only. If you are not of age, turn back and enjoy the previous chapters only.

When In Your Presence

He elected not to call Pepper while he made his way to China. She would likely ask a million questions, and worry about him in spite of the fact that he was alright.

Tony was not too sure he was ready for that.

More than anything though, he was anxious to hear her voice in person.

He ached for the next time he heard her speak to be a mere distance from his physical form. While he loved to hear her on their usual calls, and she provided him with much needed comfort, having her near him was the ultimate form of serenity.

Only Pepper.

It still amazed him how she was the only woman who could put out any fire that threatened to consume him, yet ignite a new one altogether. One that only burned for her.

Only Pepper.

He smiled to himself as he touched down on the landing pad of their overseas loft and stepped out of the suit.

The windows were just as grand as theirs back in New York, but the hard angles of the building and the floor plan itself, made it hard for him to spot her and her him.

Quietly he walked towards the glass doors and pulled them open to go in search of his redhead.

"Pepper?" He waited patiently for her response.

It did not take long for the sound of stilettos to echo in the space. "Tony?" Like heaven to his ears.

He did not miss the fact that her voice was laced both with relief and surprise.

Once he spotted her red waves coming around a corner, he smiled wide for her. "Hey baby." He wanted to walk to her, but his body made no attempt to budge. His heart pounded with anticipation. "Wait." He held his hand in gesture to stop her from advancing.

Her confused look elicited a small chuckle from deep in his chest. "What's going on, Tony?" She stopped in her tracks with knitted brows.

"I just wanted a second to look at you." He finally managed to speak after a few moments of silence. "God I missed you." He finally walked towards her and grinned at her soft smile.

"I missed you, too." She smiled as she waited for him where she stood.

He felt the short steps it took to come face to face with her took hours; he could never get close to her fast enough.

Soon his hands were hers. One framed her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. The other tangled happily in her hair as it brought her lips closer to his.

"Kiss me already." He smiled when he heard how impatient she was.

He wanted to kiss her already, too. But the truth was that this time he wanted to take his time. He had been craving everything about her since the Ultron mess began, and now that he had her in his arms he wanted to savor every moment.

Tony could only guess he wanted to make up for lost time.

"Do I detect a bit of impatient yearning, Ms. Potts?" He teased as he rubbed her nose with his.

"You have five seconds or I'm going back to my office." She teased him right back, and he loved her even more for it.

"You got it." While he enjoyed the banter, he did finally close the remaining distance to kiss her.

Reunion kisses were some of his favorites. They often started off slow and quickly escalated into full-blown wildfires.

Those fires she ignited in him.

His lips caressed her slowly, softly, firmly- no rush. Not yet.

Tony would have kept the pace were it not for her insisting he open up to her. Her tongue traced his bottom lip, eventually gaining access to where he knew she wanted to explore.

Who was he to deny her that?

So he did not.

Slowly his tongue journeyed along with hers as he sought out her mouth with equal fervor.

Yet nothing was sloppy.

Hungry yes.

Passionate definitely.

Not messy.

They both panted through their kiss. Breathing only when it was crucial for survival, and then only in between slight changes of angles and intensity.

"I missed this." He spoke in between pecks.

"The thoughts of this kept me going." She replied as she nipped at his bottom lip.

His heart raced and her bite only served to intensify the burning flames within.

Before either of them knew it, his hands were on her waist, squeezing gently as he did his best to keep their lips locked while he hoisted her up.

Pepper's legs wrapped around him, and somewhere in the distant recesses of his functioning brain he heard her heals drop behind him.

Not once did he break their kiss to see where he was taking them. He knew their destination, and in the event that he could not get them there, he mentally jotted down a backup plan.

He realized they would have to explore that venue at a later date, because soon he was kicking the door to their bedroom open while his hands tangled in her hair and worked slowly on her clothes.

Her hands were not idle. They worked expertly into his black hair, tugging, caressing, teasing, and earning her moans from his mouth.

They stood at the foot of the bed without a care in the world. For the first time in a long time Tony had nothing on his mind except her…them.

It was not until Tony moved his hands back down to her waist that Pepper unwound her legs to plant her feet firmly on the ground. He ever so slowly finished unbuttoning the front of her business jacket. She, for the first time since they began their reunion session, moved her lips away from his mouth and to the pulse point on his neck. A guttural groan escaped Tony's throat, and he could not help but feel more excited at the sensation of her victory smile against his skin.

With some effort to keep his focus on her clothes instead of her mouth on his neck, he finally managed to slide the jacket off her shoulders.

"Pepper…" He groaned when she sucked on the same spot on his neck.

She laughed softly against him and pulled back to look at his flushed face. "Now who's impatient?"

She looked radiant. Her hair slightly a mess. Her lips full and warm. Her smile lovely as ever.

His breath caught in his throat. He loved her.

He shook his head with disbelief. How could he love someone this much? He had never loved anyone so entirely. Not that he doubted what they were, but at that moment, with their eyes searching each other, he knew for a fact that what he had with her he wanted to have forever.

"Marry me." Tony breathed out as he moved his hands up from her hips to frame her face.

All that could be heard was their rapid breathing.

"What?" She tilted her head a bit with confusion. Or doubt of what her ears had heard. He could not be certain.

Tony smiled. "I said…marry me." He repeated and waited patiently for the shock to wear off.

As soon as he saw her eyes water he worried she might say no, but her small smile helped to reassure him. "Do you have a concussion again?" Her slender fingers scanned his head for hidden injuries as a joke.

"I'm serious, Pep." Tony released her face to still her hands. Gracefully he brought them to rest on his chest. "I have never been more sure of anything." He shook his head. "Nobody could ever make me feel this way. I can't imagine what my life would be without you…the mess I would be. Only you could make me want to be this person I have become." He grinned at her while his lips came in contact with her knuckles. Her eyes brimmed with her unshed tears.

Pepper smiled back at him. "What brought this on?" She finally managed.

"That's not important right now." He shrugged. "I can explain later, just say yes."

Her nod came before she could give him words.

"Yes." She smiled again. This time the fight to hold back the tears was too much, and he soon witnessed small tracks of tears marking paths down her cheeks.

"Done deal." He flashed her his famous grin before pulling her in for a deep kiss. "I love you."

"I love you." She replied against his lips. "So can the next lease say Potts?" She smiled as he kissed her neck.

"We'll talk." He finalized as he pushed her back gently onto the bed behind her. Details would have to wait. His only mission now was to show her how much he loved her, and why they were perfect for each other.

Slowly they divested each other, never truly breaking contact with either their lips or their eyes.

Eventually Pepper took over as she straddled Tony. His fingers toyed with the curves of her hips.

Her fingertips danced on his skin, starting with his jaw, slowly…oh so torturously slowly down his chest. And though she left trails of burning passion, his mind and his body were at peace.

He inhaled deeply when she slid back along his member to allow her hands the journey they desired. Her own desire evident on his newly exposed and sensitive skin.

It was hard to fight the groan that escaped him so he opened his mouth to free it as his eyes closed. "Pep…" He warned.

"Shhh." Was all he heard as she teased him, never really touching him where he needed her to. Slowly she caressed her way down the trail of hair below his bellybutton, stopping only for a fraction of a second near his manhood.

Her lips quickly kissed his toned stomach, following where her fingers led. He could feel her smiles whenever his body twitched from the contact. Though he would never openly admit it to anyone, Pepper was aware of certain…weak spots. Places where any sort of attention would render him a useless puddle of skin and tissue.

Not that he was ticklish, but yes, he might be.

Only Pepper was privy to such delicate information.

And he loved that she used it to her advantage.

Tony could not remember where his hands landed after they fell from her hips, but as soon as he felt the satin of her palm on his skin, pain registered in his brain from how tightly he clutched the sheets beneath him.

"Pep…later." He gasped as he felt her rhythm quicken. He knew her hands could work him expertly, driving him over the edge in pure bliss, but this time he wanted nothing more than for them go over together. "I just want you right now." He managed to mouth through closed lids and tight lips.

Her grin was not missed by him when she kissed the tip of his length. She had no idea how close she was to making him change his mind.

"You drive me crazy, Ms. Potts." He groaned as he lifted his body enough to reach for her. It did not take much effort to pull her up with him, tangling his legs with hers before spinning them around to trap her body beneath him. He kissed her soundly.

"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Stark." Pepper laughed as he used a free hand to tickle her side.

"Good." He responded before kissing their…yes their…favorite spot on her neck. He wanted to adorn her body with every ounce of passion and tender love he possessed. So began to paint her body with butterfly kisses. Smiling every so often as he witnessed the goosebumps that erected on her porcelain skin time and time again.

"Tony…" Pepper moaned as he kissed near her center. "Please…"

He knew she was as anxious as he was to feel each other so he decided not to proceed with the teasing game.

Carefully he kissed his way up her stomach, only stopping briefly to dip his tongue in her bellybutton and nipping softly on her collarbone. He positioned himself in between her legs and kissed her nose in the most tender way possible. Neither body moved as he poised himself at her entrance. Their eyes locked. Her small fingers traced his jaw on either side of his face when he made to attempt to connect them. "Tony…" She lifted her head enough to kiss his chin. "I love you." She kissed his chin once again and his heart swelled. "I love you." She repeated.

He finally nodded. Not sure why he had suddenly stopped everything, he sighed. Sometimes he could get lost in her eyes. The peace inside those blue pools made him forget even himself. Finally in one smooth motion he entered her.

Gasps escaped them both as they engraved how they felt. Every time it was more than words could describe, and more than either could handle alone, so they held on tight together.

Almost immediately, Pepper wrapped her right leg over his hip, pulling him deeper as a result. He in turn held onto it with his left hand…almost like a lifeline as he gripped it tightly enough to steady him, but not enough to hurt her. Together they continued to meet with each thrust, echoing sighs and moans as they increased the friction.

"I don't know how you do it." Tony spoke in short one word gasps. "How you stick around." He kissed her neck and licked gently on her pulse point, tasting the saltiness of her sweat and not minding one bit. "To love me." He never faltered with their pace as he spoke. "To fix me…" He stopped mid-sentence as a sudden wave of pleasure tightened his lower body. "After everything." He sighed on her neck before moving to bite her shoulder.

Pepper scratched up his back lightly before weaving her hands in his matted hair. A shiver shot through him as he felt her lips on his ear. "You don't need fixing, Tony." She kissed his earlobe before moving to his temple when her hands angled his head for her. Her hips still in sync with the dance their bodies yearned for. "But I do it because it's you." She smiled onto his cheek. "Because there is nobody else I would rather do that for." She ended the conversation by kissing him deeply, taking advantage of his gasps for air by moving her tongue to battle with his.

Tony moaned into her mouth before moving to kiss her forehead. Using both palms of his hands now on either side of her, he braced his weight with his knees in order to move deeper and faster into her.

Pepper moaned at the sensation, and he nearly lost consciousness when he felt her inner walls pull him towards her.

Together they moved. Together they gasped. Together they moaned.

Eventually…together they called out their names as they fell over the edge.

Pepper brought Tony's face close to hers again and kissed him before spiking his sweaty hair off of his forehead. "Wow." He breathed before slipping out of her and falling on his back. Carefully and skillfully bringing her with him to lay in the warmth of his arms. Their bodies still glistening with a thin sheen of sweat. "Are you sure you're game for that for another sixty years or so?" He teased, which earned him a playful slap on his chest.

"Kind of assuming you can keep that up for that long aren't you?" She jested back.

"Ouch." He chuckled as he kissed her forehead. "You sure know how to wound me."

"Yeah well, years of practice have helped. Someone had to keep you grounded among all of those celebrities and models." She traced patters on his chest.

"Well I'm glad it was you."

The dimming light of the day dropped shadows around them in their post-coital silence. Their breathing almost back to normal.

Tony opened his heavy-lidded eyes when he remembered something. "Hey…" he began.

"Hmmm?" Pepper replied through her own blissful tiredness.

"I think I want to retire from…avenging." He smirked at the lack of more fitting words.

"What?" She lifted herself carefully on one elbow, staring seriously up at him.

"There's others now. Younger kids." He shrugged. "They can take it from here. They have Steve…he can lead them like nobody else can."

"And you would just…walk away?" She questioned with knitted brows. "That doesn't sound like you."

"Well…" He looked down to her and touched her cheek softly with his fingertips. "I can be a consultant…from afar." He smiled. "From our farm."

"Our what?" She laughed. "Did you say…farm?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "You know a farm. Where we can raise kids. Have some animals. And still have room to build a workshop for me. A farm." He nodded with finality.

"Why would we need a farm? And…kids….wow. We haven't even started to plan the wedding." She laughed. "Tony what the hell is going on in that brain of yours?"

He sighed. "It's a long story." He shook his head. "Let's just say I caught a glimpse of what our life could be like if we lived like normal people. A few kids. Outside of the city…on a farm."

"I know there's a story there." She smiled at him.

Tony nodded. "We'll talk about it later." He brought her knuckles to his lips and smiled against her skin. "I promise."

"I can't wait." She looked at his lips on her hand. "Now about that Social Security number…"

He flashed her a wide smile. "5." He responded.

"Oh boy." She laughed. "We have a long way to go with you."

"Luckily we have all of our lives to get it right." He grinned before he pulled her onto him, kissing her with a renewed hunger.

Nothing else on his mind except for her as their lips moved together.

Complete serenity.

Because she was his only source of comfort.

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed reading! I had a lot of fun with this one! We don't need Whedon to satisfy our Pepperony hearts…we are all we need! Thanks for reading!