Tony's party was set to be a small gathering of his closest friends, held in the pool area. The guest list was short, and despite Tony assuring it would be something simple, Pepper was still wary of what that might mean, considering it was Anthony Stark after all. However, that morning she was pleasantly surprised upon arriving at the garden. The decorations were indeed simple: elegant without being extravagant. There were two tents set up for shade and a few tables with food, drinks, cutlery, and chairs for everyone to sit. The party started around 11 a.m. with lunch and extended until a bit past 8 p.m. with dinner. Some of the guests were unfamiliar to Pepper, including a few Avengers and company employees, but it wasn't hard to strike up a conversation with them. Everyone seemed like great people, and she felt grateful for Tony having them in his life.

The twins were also thrilled to meet their father's friends and the superheroes. In fact, the girls were loving being the center of attention, as everyone there wanted to know more about them. And to be honest, Pepper was melting as she noticed the proud look Tony had while sharing stories about their daughters with the guests. Around 5 p.m., the redhead was chatting with Rhodes' wife while playing with their son, who had turned one about three months ago. Stark was watching her discreetly, or so he thought.

"Enjoying the view?" Rhodes asked, approaching his friend with a drink in hand.

"I've always liked my godson," Tony replied with a shrug.

"Are you thinking about suggesting you have another kid, Tony?" Bruce questioned, understanding where his colleague was going with this.

"Where did you get such an absurd idea? Have you been drinking that much?"

"No, but this drool you're letting out here suggests otherwise," the scientist said, pretending to wipe the corner of his friend's mouth.

"Why do you get so defensive if it's such an absurd idea?" James asked while following him.

"Unless it's not," Banner continued. "I'd love a new Stark to put against you."

"And you still owe me a kid to baptize."

"If you two don't shut up right now, I won't mind letting your kid grow up fatherless or your girlfriend single," Tony said seriously, glaring at the two men beside him.

"With the way you were drooling over Pepper today, I didn't think the idea of expanding the family would upset you so much."

"You're definitely not acting like yourself. What happened?" Bruce pressed.

"Nothing happened," Tony said, stopping at the small bar that had been set up in the garden and pouring himself another shot of whiskey.

"What? Is Pepper dating someone?" Rhodes asked.

"Are you dating someone?" Banner tried another angle.

"Far from it," Stark replied, sighing before taking a sip of the amber-colored drink.

"So, what then? Are you two together?" James asked, laughing, but stopped immediately when he noticed his friend's jaw clench.

"What? When? How?" Bruce asked quickly. He was completely surprised; just days ago, all he knew was that there was no atmosphere between them that suggested a relationship.

Tony sighed. "I have no idea what we have."

"I'm a bit confused. Are you together or not?" Rhodes insisted.

"That's the problem. I don't know," he responded, frustrated.

"How can you not know?" Bruce started, but stopped mid-sentence. "Wow."

" Wow what?" Rhodes asked, feeling lost in the conversation.

"We slept together last night."

"You what?" James asked a bit louder than he should have, but no one seemed to be paying attention to their conversation. "That's... wow."

"Exactly what I said," Banner commented.

"That's why you were all starry-eyed watching her with Dean," Rhodes realized, then looked seriously at his friend. "Tony, tell me you didn't get her pregnant again."

"Of course not... I mean... I don't know," he paused. "Things happened too fast. I didn't think about a condom. When we were together, she was on the pill."

"And it was very effective," Bruce said sarcastically.

"We didn't think about any of that. We just wanted to enjoy the moment," Stark sighed. "I have no idea what to do. I want to be with Pepper, I want a serious relationship with her, but I don't want her to think it's because of the girls or last night. I... I don't know. She can't be pregnant, right? Having a child now would be crazy."

"You need to talk to Pepper," Rhodes stated the obvious.

"A pregnancy changes everything, and even if she's not pregnant, you still need to talk about it. You can't let a lack of communication mess things up between you two again," Bruce continued.

"I know...," Tony admitted. He wanted to talk to Pepper about their situation. He was ready to do it that night, but the plans ended up changing.

After putting their daughters to sleep and being alone once again, they went to Tony's room to enjoy the rest of his birthday. When the woman mentioned they didn't need a condom because of the pill, he assumed she had also taken it the previous night, so the topic died down.

The next morning, Tony was the first to wake up. After almost being caught by the twins the previous day, they remembered to take a shower and get dressed before going to bed, so he didn't worry about watching Pepper sleep. The sun had just risen in New York, and the golden rays entering the room made the atmosphere even more serene. One of the open windows allowed a light cool breeze to enter the room, which caused the redhead to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the brightness. After a few seconds, she turned her head on the pillow and found the brown eyes of the man watching her.

"I can't believe that even after all these years, you still do that weird thing of watching me sleep."

"Some things never change," he smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Potts replied before kissing him.

For a few minutes, they just stayed like that, enjoying the moment. After the kiss, Tony put his hand around Pepper's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Are you going to run away?" she asked.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"I know you want to ask me the same question. I just asked first."

"Pep, I know I hurt you in an inexplicable way, but I promise this time it will be different. I won't run away. You don't need to worry about that ever again. No matter what happens, I will always stay by your side."

The redhead smiled. "Good, because it's not in my plans to let you go... And, Tony? I'm not saying it will be easy, but I promise this time there will be no more secrets. No withholding feelings."

"I can definitely promise you the same thing."

"So it wasn't just a one-night thing?"

"We had sex for two nights," he corrected.

"You know what I meant," she said, rolling her eyes.

Tony laughed. "No. It wasn't just a one-night thing. It wasn't eight years ago and it isn't now," he replied, looking into her big blue eyes, then kissed her again. As they pulled away for air, they still remained as close as before.

"Have dinner with me tonight?"

"What?"

"Have dinner with me tonight?" he asked again. "We need a real first date. We didn't even have one the other time."

"I know, and believe me, I wish we could, but our situation doesn't allow it. It's exactly like last time."

"I know you don't want our photos in the newspapers..."

"At the very least, Erin and Iris deserve to find out in a decent way. I don't want our daughters to discover we're together like this."

"I don't either. That's why I guarantee it'll be something discreet."

"Tony, there's no way it can be discreet in New York."

"That's where you're wrong, Miss Potts. I know the perfect place."

"How did you find it? Taking one of your flings you wanted to hide from the press?" Pepper didn't want to, but sarcasm followed her as soon as she opened her mouth.

"You need to give me a bit more credit. Do you really think I'd take you to a place where I've been with someone who meant nothing?"

"How many women have been to your room?"

"After we separated? None of them."

"But I bet several other rooms... " She knew it wasn't fair, it wasn't like she'd been celibate, but how could she not feel jealous?

"We're not discussing that. The point is: the restaurant is a super nice and discreet place. The owner is a friend of Rhodes, so we won't have anything to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, then I accept."

"Great," he said, getting out of bed and grabbing his phone. "I'll make our reservation."

"And I'll take a shower."

"Was that an invitation?"

"I said shower, not sex."

"I can keep you company either way."

"I think you should take care of the reservation." Pepper said, getting out of bed and, to provoke him, started taking off her clothes while walking to the en suite bathroom. She got there completely naked.

"I can't believe you're leaving me hanging... I hate you, Virginia." Pepper heard Tony say, but she just laughed and filled the bathtub.

The rest of the day passed quickly. The adults devoted all their attention to the twins, and as evening approached, they dropped them off at Rhodes' house to get ready for dinner. The redhead chose a light pink dress with 3/4 sleeves, just above the knee, and darker high-heeled shoes. She pinned her hair to the side and applied light makeup. Meanwhile, the dark-haired man opted for a black blazer, matching shirt, and dress shoes, skipping the tie.

About 30 minutes after driving through the bustling city, they arrived at the restaurant. The place had been built underground in an old pedestrian tunnel. Its facade had a touch of antiquity yet was appealing. After identifying themselves with the receptionist, she led them inside. The ambiance was stylish and quite different from what Potts had imagined. She guided them upstairs, where there was little activity and only two tables were occupied. The receptionist pointed out their table, waited for them to sit down, signaled for the waiter to approach, and then left them.

Tony and Pepper placed their orders, and once the waiter departed, they began conversing like they hadn't in a long time. At that moment, it was just the two of them, without tensions, demands, or worries.

The dinner was wonderful. They couldn't stop smiling at each other, holding hands across the table and exchanging kisses. They left the restaurant nearly two hours later. While waiting for the valet to bring Tony's car, he pulled her closer and kissed her cheek.

"So, was it what you expected?" Stark asked.

"Better," she replied, smiling. "Thank you for this."

"You know you don't have to thank me, Pep," he said. "So, what do you want to do now? Go somewhere else or head home?"

"Home," the redhead answered, smiling as she realized they both referred to his place as their home now.

"Then home it is," Tony agreed, taking the valet's key and opening the car door for her.

The ride home was peaceful. Both felt lighter, and knowing they would have the space to themselves since the twins would be sleeping at Rhodes' house, the couple enjoyed their privacy in the best possible way. It was good to be home.