#23 – Last Kiss

"Pepper, don't go."

"I have to." Pepper sat her bag by the door.

"No. No you don't." Tony took the bag and moved it. "What will I do without you?"

"You have Rhodey," she informed him. "You will be fine."

"I won't," Tony replied stubbornly.

"Yes, you will. Give me my bag."

"No."

"Tony…" He did nothing, just looked at her defiantly. Pepper decided she could be just as obstinate as he could. "Fine then. I have more clothes and more suitcases," she said. "I will just pack another one because I am leaving." With a lift of her chin, she made her way past him.

"Alright," he relented when he saw she was serious. "Take it." He held the handle loosely in his hand.

"Thank you," Pepper said, taking it from him.

"I don't like this. I don't like it one bit."

"No one said you had to like it."

"It's….unnecessary," he countered.

"Unnecessary?" Pepper repeated. "Do you remember what tomorrow is?"

"Saturday?" His attempt at humor completely failed and an agitated Pepper turned to leave. "Wait…I was joking," Tony said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Yes. I remember what tomorrow is. It is the day you will make an honest man out of me. I couldn't forget that." He gave her his most sincere puppy-dog eyes. "I've been trying to do my part to make sure this wedding comes off as smoothly as possible."

"I know you have and I appreciate it very much. You also know what comes after the wedding tomorrow, right?"

"The honeymoon." Tony didn't try to stop the huge smile or the glimmer in his eye at the mere mention of this topic. "The work-free two weeks in Venice…just you and me."

"Yep. To get those 'work-free' weeks, I have about 3 dozen things that I have to do before then."

"But, tonight?"

"Tony, I will not be working up to the last minute on my wedding day."

He placed his hands on her hips. "I don't see why you can't work here."

"Too many…distractions."

"I promise I will be good."

"I'm sure you would."

"Our luggage is packed and loaded on the jet. My tux is already here. Rhodey has the rings. My stuff is all taken care of. I could help you get finished." He pulled her closer and began rubbing small circles on her hips with his thumbs.

"Thanks, but, no thanks." She gently removed his hands and kissed them before letting go. "I need to get this done and I need to be somewhere I can work without interruptions...however pleasant they may be. Besides, it's tradition."

"Abandoning the man you love?"

"Being separate the night before the wedding."

"It's a stupid tradition," Tony pouted. "Who started it?"

"I don't know."

"Obviously, whoever it was didn't have a virile, sexy fiancé like you."

"Uh-huh. Don't you know it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?"

"Oh, I know. Something horrible could happen like I get kidnapped and held in a foreign country or there's an alien invasion or our home gets destroyed by a madman who wants to experiment with biological weapons," was his sarcastic reply. "C'mon, Pepper. We've made it through all of that. What else…"

She quieted him with a finger on his lips. "Don't say it. Let's not tempt fate." Pepper moved the strap of her overnight bag to her shoulder. "I promise to call you when I get to the hotel. Don't stay up too late. You will need your energy for tomorrow, especially tomorrow night," she reminded him with a wicked grin. She kissed him, long and soundly.

"Hard to believe that was our last kiss."

"You don't have to be so dramatic."

"I'm not," he assured her. "It is. That was the last time I will ever kiss Pepper Potts. Tomorrow, after the ceremony and for the rest of our lives, I will be kissing Mrs. Anthony Stark."

"I like the sound of that."

Tony picked up her purse from the hall table and gave it to her. "So, I guess you could ask me so I can say it one last time."

Pepper knew exactly what he meant. She put on as serious of a face as she could muster to go with her smile. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts."

Author's notes: Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Real life and a nasty cold has kinda bogged me down. That being said...I got this idea yesterday driving home from work, started it last night, and finished it this morning. I knew I *was not* doing a break-up and I thought this was a creative way around that for the "last kiss." I'm still having fun with this because I'm not stressing over the detail. I'm just writing as it comes. I would LOVE to hear what you think. The response so far has been great and really encouraging. You guys are amazing. Let me know how you like it. Happy reading and PEPPERONY FOREVER!