Affairs of the Heart

Tony & Pepper, Ironman

November 29th 2018

Tony and Pepper have finally admitted to and acted on their feelings for one another. Their ensuing pursuit of happiness is filled with the twists and turns one would expect for a couple as prolific as they are. The in-between story we missed as they built their relationship together from IM2 to The Avengers.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Ironman and/or Marvel. I just enjoy playing with them.

Chapter Eight

Warning: This chapter doesn't really live up to an M rating, but just wanted to forewarn anyone who might care that things go further than I've gone in this story so far.

"You solemnly swore to me this would be done by you."

The rest of Pepper's day had gone relatively smoothly after Tony had left, finally giving her the stretch of uninterrupted time she needed to concentrate. Somehow she'd gotten everything that was truly pressing done before leaving and on her drive to the mansion, she allowed herself to relax and shut her mind off of work matters as much as she could. Of course, that hadn't lasted – the stack of very familiar and, more importantly, untouched paperwork she immediately spied on the kitchen counter had sent her into a fury.

"I mean, I said I would complete it without specifying when," Tony joked, snapping his mouth shut when he noticed his humour was not well received. "By the end of the night, I swear."

She breathed in deeply through her nose, closing her eyes in defeat. She'd stalked down to the basement to give him a piece of her frazzled mind and wasn't at all shocked to see him fiddling around with a suit. She was even less surprised that he thought her ire was funny. "Tony, I really need you to take more of an interest in your own company. I'm not the CEO anymore, but you're acting like I am."

"I meant it when I said we should be co-CEO's, you know."

"I know you did, but-"

"Pepper." Tony's warm hands closing around her shoulders silenced her and she arched a brow at him. "Co-CEO's. I will do my fair share of the work, effective immediately, but I can't do it by myself anymore. I have too many other responsibilites now. And the company never ran as smoothly as it did under you." He rushed to add when she opened her mouth to protest.

"Tony-"

"The board has already approved it."

"What!? Tony!"

"Why do you think I went into work? You don't actually think I went in to sit at my desk, do you?"

Pepper sighed, sinking down onto one of the couches – too luxurious to be in a room he frequently blew up, to be sure – resting her face in her hands. "You have to start talking to me, Tony. I know work is work, but we're never going to have a successful relationship if you don't share the things you're doing with me. Especially something like this that really affects my life!"

He flopped down beside her, snaking his hand out to grab hers. "I know. I know you work too hard and I'm going to keep my word about doing my fair share of it."

"It's not about working too hard, Tony. I love my job, but what if I didn't want to have the responsibility of being CEO again?"

"You don't?" She almost laughed at the look on his face, his disbelief evident across his features. "You were so happy the last time I told you."

"Just tell me next time, before you call a board meeting, about any plans you make that might affect me."

"So you'll do it?"

"How did the board meeting not show up on my calendar?" Their calendars were directly linked so that she always knew where he was and vice versa, but she'd never seen any mention of an emergency board meeting today. "And how did you get approval without me even being there? Not to mention your press release the other day."

He shrugged as though everything she had just said was irrelevant. "It's my company. Bribery goes a long way. I've also known most of them since I was just a little Iron Baby."

"You bribed the board members," she deadpanned, sounding more unimpressed than she actually was; there were men and women on that board who were not easily swayed and that was phrasing it diplomatically.

"I mean, trust me when I say they were pleased. I think the thought of Tony Stark running his own company alone is their worst nightmare."

They both quieted for a minute and Pepper let herself enjoy the warmth of his thigh against hers, leaning slightly into him. He hadn't let go of her hand through their entire conversation, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles across her skin. The adrenaline of her anger was ebbing, slowly being replaced by a feeling of... contentment. She was a little shocked at the feeling, but this was just their normal life; crazy, a little ridiculous, but completely normal. She was secretly glad that this part of their relationship hadn't changed in light of their involvement.

"What did you want to show me?" She finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Jarvis, bring up the design plans, would you?" Tony asked and he grinned when a series of holographic drawings appeared directly in front of them. "May I introduce you to Stark Tower? Our first of many renewable energy powered company sites, maybe starting with New York?"

"New York?"

"It's a central hub."

"On the other side of the country, sure."

"I want you to be directly involved in this project. You'll have input on everything from design, to the recruitment, to it's location and everything else you can think of."

She stared at him, her brain struggling to catch up with what she could have sworn she'd just heard come straight from his mouth. "Design? Tony, you've never let anyone have any input in the designs of your personal projects."

"Yeah, well. I wasn't in love then."

Pepper was positive her brain had short circuited now. In love? In love? She knew she was gaping like a fish and she so badly wanted to compose herself, but her body was betraying her. Had she heard him correctly? What were the chances that her hearing had gone in the last two minutes? He was looking directly at her, that stupid grin tugging his lips upward and a rush of desire swept through her body with a strength she'd never experienced before. Her breath caught in her throat and she barely managed a breathy "what" before he was pressing on.

"You didn't know? I've tried to make it obvious, you know, ever since I came back from Afghanistan." He sidled closer to her and she was hyperaware of him, her heart hammering in her chest. "My life has really been put into perspective over the last couple of years. I don't want to waste any more time. I don't want to waste more of my life." His other hand was on her thigh now, gripping tight, the only indication of his nervousness. "I've been trying to do anything and everything I can to be the man you deserve."

He was so close, she could feel his breath ghosting her cheeks. She leaned in, closing the distance between them and his moan of relief sent a surge of arousal through her. God, she had wanted this for so long and the sincerity of his words sent her spinning. She pressed closer to him, if that was even possible, deepening the kiss with a desperation that might have made her embarrassed if it were anyone else, if she wasn't one hundred percent certain he felt the exact same way. The way he was holding her, like he was scared she was going to jump up and away at any minute made her heart break.

"Let's go upstairs," she whispered against his lips and not a second later she was cradled against him as he crossed the room to the stairwell. A nervous giggle escaped her as she wrapped her arm around his neck, leaning her head against his chest. She was surprised when he took her to the guest room she usually stayed in rather than his own room, laying her down gently on the bed before requesting that Jarvis shut down all security video and audio of the room. Once he'd complied, he was on all fours above her, hovering just shy of her body as he began trailing his lips down the side of her neck, one of his hands tangling with her hair.

"Pepper, are you sure you want to do this?" He murmured quietly against her skin, not once stalling in his path down her neck to her shoulder and she shivered with delight and anticipation, raking her hand through his own hair to pull him down closer.

"I'm really sure."

He leaned back to slowly undo the buttons of her dress shirt, keeping his dark lust-filled eyes on hers as he did so and her heart was in her throat. When he brushed his hands under the material to smooth it away from her, baring her bra covered torso to his view, she broke eye contact, feeling a shyness bubble up in her. His hand was on her cheek immediately, guiding her back to look at him.

"You have nothing to be shy about," he reassured, voice thick with desire. "You're beautiful."

"Ditto," she replied quietly, reaching for the hem of his shirt. His hand clamped down on her wrist, pushing it away gently and she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"The reactor," he supplied, as if that answered her question at all.

"What about it, Tony? Take your shirt off."

"It's... Well..." He stumbled over his words and it dawned on her that he was self-conscious about it.

"Tony, it's a part of you. It keeps you alive. I want all of you or nothing." She could see the disbelief in his eyes and decided right then and there that she was going to take action, rising up and pushing him backwards onto the bed. He went without a struggle and she straddled his lap, feeling a thrill rush through her at the sexy smirk that had taken the place of his uneasiness.

"I like a woman in charge," he murmued, running his calloused hands up her stomach to cup her breast. "Show me what you've got, Potts."

They never left the bedroom that night.

AN: Oops. Sorry for the delay, I have not in fact forgotten this story! I hate when you are so into a ship and then suddenly you are soooo much more enthralled in another (Romangers). I'm no smut writer as it is and I didn't want to start with this story so I'm sorry if the end of this is... abrupt. I'm no longer sure where I'm taking this story, but I don't feel like I'm anywhere close to done yet so we shall see!