This is what I've been working on for the past week. I seriously don't know why it took that long and why it ended up so long, but hooray for a long one-shot! :D Keep in mind while reading this, I don't know anything about dating. This story is coming from someone whose never dated anybody. Like ever.

Disclaimer: IMAA does not belong to me. Nope. Not happening.

The brisk, wintry breeze crept into the armory underneath the cracks of the doors. It sent shivers down her spine and across her limbs. The feeling of cold that seeped deep into her skin, practically to the bones, was not a pleasant one in her book. It made her question herself on why she decided that it was a good day to wear a short sleeve shirt without even a sweater. Which, saying that she's best friends with a genius, just made her situation all the more sad.

Speaking of her genius best friend, he was currently sitting only five feet away from her, working on the red and gold armor known as Iron Man. Every time she glanced back at him, taking her attention away from her homework, he had a new grease smudge on his face. She sighed each time too. He touched his face way too often while he worked. She wondered if he was even aware that his face was almost as filthy as his wash rag that he often used to wipe up after working.

At the moment, it was just the two of them alone. Their friend had left, as requested from his mom, to clean out his garage. Present time being around five o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday. They'd been in the armor for the past two hours doing pretty much the same thing as they were now, except that for the first 20 minutes, Tony had been working on his homework as well.

She rubbed the eraser of her pencil across her bottom lip as she tried to focus on the last problem of all her homework. Had her mind not been elsewhere and had actually been focusing on the problems before her like she should, she would have done with her homework more than an hour ago. Unfortunately for her, she was nowhere near focused. With a mixture of cold and silence, it was the perfect combination of a straying mind. Though, it might have had something to do with the fact that she alone with her blue-eyed best friend and was only five feet away from said teen. Of course, she'd never admit to that.

She hadn't realized that she had zoned out entirely, and nearly hit the ceiling when a hand was lightly pressed against her shoulder. "Tony!"

"Did I scare you?"

She glared at her blue-eyed friend as he removed his hand from her shoulder with a chuckle. She crossed her arms and looked away from his gaze. "No, I was just startled."

"Whatever you say, Pep," Tony said, nonchalantly.

With a heavy sigh, she convinced herself that it wasn't worth arguing about further. "Did you need something?"

She gradually turned her eyes to meet his eyes, only to find his own eyes avoiding her gaze. "Actually, I do need something."

Pepper raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

After a moment of pause, Tony's eyes finally met hers. "I need to ask you something. Something very important."

"Go on," Pepper encouraged him.

"I like you," Tony stated, pausing for a millisecond, "and I don't mean as a friend or as family. I like-like you. And I have ever since we first met on that roof. I just never knew how to say it until now. But I wanted to let you know how I felt before it was too late and someone else got you first. So, Pepper, will you go out with me?" Before she could answer, he added, "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

The answer was obvious. "Yes," she smiled brightly, feeling as if she was living a dream, "you didn't even need to ask!"

She threw her arms around his neck happily, forgetting about everything around her. The cold, her homework, and even the dirty grease that was now getting smeared onto her. In that moment, it was just her and Tony. Nothing else.

Reluctantly, she pulled back, her lips still stretched into a wide grin. "Okay, so first things first, where are we going for our date? When is our date? Should I wear a dress or just come as usual? Are you paying? Are you going to pick me up? Does Rhodey know you asked me? What about your dad?" Pepper suddenly gasps. "What about my dad?"

Pepper breathed in deeply, prepared to start ranting once more, but a finger was pressed to her lips. "Pepper!"

He didn't have to say anything else, she instantly stopped her ranting and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Her and her big fat mouth, she couldn't even tell herself to shut up. "I'm quiet."

Tony chuckled. "Don't worry about anything," he assured her, "I'll handle everything."

Pepper could only smile and restrain from breaking out in joyous squeals.

"Let's settle for Wednesday night, at six o'clock," Tony offered, which Pepper agreed to.

xXx

The following Monday, Pepper practically floated to school on a bunch of clouds. Ever since the previous night, her stomach had been the home of a million butterflies. They fluttered and swooped and dove circles in her stomach. Her heart felt like it was soaring through the sky, touching the misty cloud and reaching for the golden rays of light. She just wished that this feeling would never go away, because she was positive that in time, the feeling would fade away into nothing. They would dissipate and she'd get used to them and the feeling would no longer be something special.

She ignored the thoughts as she met up with Rhodey at school that morning. He raised an eyebrow towards her as they began walking into the school together. "What's got you so happy?"

"You wouldn't believe it! Last night…" her voice trailed off slowly as a thought popped into her mind. Did Rhodey already know? Did Tony want Rhodey to know? Would Tony want to be there when Rhodey found out? "…dad brought home some really good Chinese food! Rhodey, this food was amazing! You should've been there." She decided to wait until Tony was with her to share the news. "By the way, is Tony here yet?

Rhodey gave her a suspicious look, but let it drop. "No, Tony's not coming in today. He called me earlier. He said he had a cold."

Pepper's heart sunk just a little. She had been looking forward to seeing him today. Especially after the previous night, she wanted nothing more than to spend time with him and hug him and hold his hand. The kinds of things only couples did. Maybe she'd be able kiss him…She mentally shook her head. No, they weren't serious enough yet.

"I'm sure he's fine," Rhodey assured her, mistaking her loneliness for worry, "he's probably just skipping to work in the lab or something along those lines."

"I know," Pepper said, going along with it, "I'll just go visit him after school to see how he is."

Yeah, that's what she wanted to do. Then they could discuss their date and everything else together. With that thought in mind, she walked to her locker with Rhodey at her side.

Later, by the time school had ended, Pepper had changed her mind about her earlier decision to visit Tony after school and was currently waiting for Rhodey to finish yet another debate with the history teacher. At this time, she didn't think that visiting Tony and talking about their upcoming date would help. After all, she had a date to actually prepare for and just talking to Tony about it wasn't going to help her prepare. Which brought up some questions and concerns. She didn't even know what she was going to wear. What would Tony like? Should she buy him a present or was that too much for a first date? She wasn't a fan of makeup, but was Tony? It was plausible, saying that Tony had once dated Whitney…

She shook her head. Now she was just fretting over little things. Tony did say he was going to take care of things. So she should worry about it. But…that still didn't solve her dressing issue.

"Something on your mind?"

Pepper, for the second time in two days, leapt almost ten feet in the air. She spun around, the wind whipping across her face, to glare at the owner of the voice. "Rhodey! Don't do that!"

Rhodey rose his hands in surrender. "Sorry, you looked troubled. Worried about Tony? Pepper, he'll be fine. I know Tony as if he was my own brother, I'm sure that if he is sick, it's just a cold."

Pepper suddenly realized something. Rhodey's words gave her an idea. Rhodey was a teenager and a guy, obviously. Tony was also a teenager and a guy. Meaning, their likes and interests have to be at least somewhat similar. So if she found out what Rhodey liked to see in a girl, then she'd know what Tony would like. At least that was how she added everything up in her mind. Whether or not it was true.

"So," Pepper began, "you're a guy…" She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to bring up the fact that she now has a boyfriend and that it was Tony. Maybe if she chose her words carefully, he wouldn't notice it.

"I thought we already established this," Rhodey laughed, "I'm a boy and you're a girl."

Pepper shot him a glare. "Shut up! That's not what I meant!" Pepper held up a finger so she could continue speaking. "I was curious about something. As a guy, what kind of clothes do you like on a girl?"

Unsure whether or not he wanted to laugh at the sudden question, or demand answers on why Pepper wanted to know such a thing, Rhodey didn't say anything. He had to wonder if he had even heard the redhead correctly. He never thought of her as the one to care what a guy thinks about the way she dressed. Or was she just genuinely curious?

"I'm serious, Rhodey," Pepper continued when she received no response, "If you were to go on a date with a girl, what kind of clothes would you prefer her in? A dress? Jeans and a t-shirt? A skirt and tank top?"

"Um," Rhodey had to ponder the question for a moment. He honestly never thought about this. He normally decided if he liked the outfit on a girl he liked on the spot. He didn't necessarily have a preference. "I guess it would depend on the person. Some clothes work better for others, or something. Plus, it also depends on the guys. Some like revealing clothes and some like some that are more modest."

"No," Pepper shook her head, "I want to know what you would like to see a girl wear? Do you like shirts or dresses that show off the chest or bottom…or…" Pepper felt her face go red at the suggestion. That's what boys liked though, right? But If Rhodey said yes, did that mean she should wear a revealing shirt or dress? "Maybe something tighter like skinny jeans or a tight dress…"

By now she was just listing off the typical likes that guys seem to have in clothing. She did watch a ton of movies. Though this was nothing like the movies. But she did also hear things in the hallways of high school.

Rhodey laughed. "Wait, Pepper, are you dating someone?" Rhodey smirked knowingly. "This guy wouldn't happen to be Tony, would he?"

Pepper blushed and shook her head vigorously in frustration. "No! Just answer the question!"

"Personally, I'm in the middle," Rhodey finally responded, "I don't mind some chest or some legs, but not too revealing. But if we're talking about Tony…he'd probably like more."

Pepper blushed and punched Rhodey's arm out of instinct. She couldn't tell if he was joking or if he was serious, either way, Rhodey deserved that one. "I told you, it's not for Tony!"

Rhodey smirked playfully, "So you are dating someone! I knew it! So, who's the lucky guy this time if it's not Tony?"

Pepper groaned, still blushing madly. "Just forget I asked!"

xXx

As horribly as the first time around went, Pepper went to the next person she could think of to help her answer her questions. After all, her first question wasn't really answered. It was frustrating not getting the answers she both wanted and needed. Talking with Rhodey was like a talking to a rock. At least when it came to the subject of dating.

The first person that came to her mind to ask, was Roberta. She was the logical choice, saying that she is a married woman and to top it off, she was the legal guardian of Tony for almost two years. She had to have picked up his likes and dislikes at some point. Plus, she was a very trustworthy person. She didn't have to hide the fact that she was now dating Tony. Not that she had to hide it from Rhodey, but there was a chance that Tony would take ages to bring up the subject to the woman he once called his adoptive mother. She decided not to question her own logic.

"So you want advice for what to wear for a date with Tony?" Roberta double checked.

Pepper nodded, ready to earn the wisdom of dating from the lawyer.

"Well," Roberta began, adjusting herself on the sofa, "wear whatever you want. I'm sure Tony will like what you wear, no matter what. And if he doesn't, then so what? If he only wants to date you because of your looks then you shouldn't be dating."

Again, Pepper nodded, taking in the new information. She was grateful that she at least got an answer from Roberta. Why couldn't her son? She was going to have to remember to have some words with that boy another time.

"Where are you guys going?" Roberta asked.

Pepper shrugged. "I have no idea, he said he would deal with that. I think he wants to surprise me."

"Then dress nicely, but not too nicely," Roberta offered, "Then you'd be properly dressed no matter where you go."

"Thanks, Roberta," Pepper said, earnestly. "Oh and should I get him a present?"

"If you want to, then yes," Roberta answered, "I wouldn't think that it would be mandatory."

Pepper bit on her lip in habit as she thought. She was relieved to hear that it wasn't mandatory, but it was something she would have liked to do. But still, she couldn't quite figure out what she was supposed to buy for a rich genius.

"I suggest," Roberta spoke, noticing Pepper's troubled look, "that you cook or bake something for him. After all, we both know that Tony can't cook to save his life."

Pepper chuckled along with the lawyer, and nodded, taking an instant liking to Roberta's offer. "Okay, I'll do that. Thanks, Roberta!"

"No problem, Pepper," Roberta said, smiling. "Anything else?"

Pressing her lips together, Pepper took a moment to think. She now had a general idea of what to wear. Roberta had made a good point. Tony shouldn't care that much about what she wore. And she also had the basic idea of what to give him. She didn't need to worry about where they were going, because Tony was taking care of that, and she didn't need to worry about when either. She shook her head, unable to think of anything. "Not that I can think of."

Roberta nodded, "Okay, come to me if you can think of anything else. Good luck!"

Pepper stood up with a smile and a nod towards the woman. "Thanks again."

Pepper walked out of the Rhodes' home just in time to find Rhodey walking through the door, returning from the library. He looked at her in surprise. "Pepper? What are you doing here?"

Pepper blinked, unsure what she was supposed to say. "Um…I was asking your mom something."

"Asking her what?"

"Her recipe!" Pepper blurted. "For her amazing cookies!"

With that said and done, Pepper rushed out the door, nearly tripping in the process.

xXx

By now the sun was almost setting across the horizon. She had one more destination before she would head home and prepare for the following day. There was around 24 hours left before their date together, and she was already excessively nervous. What if she messed up and embarrassed herself? She'd be so humiliated! Or what if she forgot something? There was so many things that could go wrong, it wasn't even funny.

She shook her head with a frustrated sigh. Now wasn't the time to be fretting about such things. She had a plan. She was walking just down the block from the house that belonged to her blue-eyed boyfriend. It was going to be difficult, but she wanted to get a small conversation in with the boy's dad. She figured he'd know what kinds of food Tony liked best that wasn't store bought or from a vender machine. Or maybe he'd have a different idea for a present.

There was one problem with this idea. She'd have to somehow get inside Tony's house without being seen by Tony himself. She had already tried reaching his dad from his office at Stark International, but she was told that he'd already left for home. And she obviously didn't have his number, so she couldn't just call.

She was now standing before their door, wondering what to do. If she knocked or rang the doorbell, there was a chance that Tony would answer the door instead of his dad and that would ruin her plan completely. But what if Tony already knew she was here? He could have easily seen her out his window on the second floor. She tried not to think of it as she tried to devise a plan.

Out of curiosity, Pepper placed her hand on the cold, coppery door knob, and twisted. To her surprise, the door slid open easily. They don't lock their doors? She thought, appalled. After all, this was New York City. With a shake of her head, Pepper slipped inside and silently shut her door. Then a thought hit her. This was a house that belong to two geniuses. The door could have been rigged with a silent alarm or something that would alert them or the police of intruders. Maybe that was the idea of leaving the door unlocked…

She waited several moments, waiting to hear sirens in the distance or the two Stark's rushing towards the door to capture the intruder. But nothing happened. Not even after a few minutes had passed. She took a few cautious steps forward, trying to be as silent as possible. She knew that they were both up by the lights on outside, not to mention she knew the both of them liked to stay up late. At least from what Tony had told her.

She walked around a corner and into the living room. Most of the lights in the house were turned off and the room was only lit by the sunlight from the setting sun. She made her way through the house, nearly tripping on the rug at the top of the stairs. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she assumed Howard would be in his home office working on something. Since she was upstairs, she had to be extra quiet, because Tony's room was just down the hall from where she currently was.

She turned to knock lightly on the room at the end of the hall, but was stopped by a voice.

"Pepper, is that you?"

She turned to face the person she was looking for. She laughed nervously, her face blushing in embarrassment. "Yeah, um…Yeah it's me."

Howard raised his eyebrows. "Tony's room is right there, do you want me to get him?"

"No!" Pepper blurted loudly, before slapping a hand over her mouth. She almost forgot that she was trying to remain unnoticed by Tony at the moment. If he heard her voice, he would most likely come outside his room. Quieter this time, Pepper continued, "I mean, no thank you. I actually needed to ask you something."

"What do you need?" Howard asked.

Pepper fidgeted. "Advice…about something…"

"Advice from me?" Howard asked, surprised. "For what?"

"Tony," Pepper stated, blushing. "We have a…date tomorrow."

"What!?" Howard exclaimed loudly in shock.

"Shh!" Pepper hissed. "I don't want him to know I'm here. Can we talk downstairs?"

Confused, and still shocked, he nodded. He led the way to the living room downstairs and sat on the chair, leaving the sofa for her. "I didn't know you guys were dating. How long has this been going on?"

"Not long, he just asked me yesterday," Pepper replied. "You didn't know?"

"Not at all," Howard said, "he woke up this morning with a pretty high fever. He was pretty exhausted, so I'm sure he just hasn't thought about telling me. So, what advice do you need?"

"I wanted to get him a present," Pepper began, "and Roberta suggested I cook or bake him something. Would he like it if I baked him something?"

Howard nodded. "Of course, I'm sure he'd love that."

"Okay, then what would he like?"

"Cookies or pie, I think he'd enjoy. But he'll probably like anything as long as you made it." Howard said.

"Alright, I'll make cookies then," Pepper decided. "Thanks, Mr. Stark."

"Just call me Howard," he responded, "and no problem I'm glad I could help. Is that all you needed?"

Pepper nodded after a second of thought. "Yeah, that's all I needed. Oh, and don't tell Tony I was here! Or that I told you that we were dating. He probably wants to tell you himself."

Howard chuckled. "I would imagine so."

Pepper stood up and began to walk out. But Howard called her before she could leave. "Pepper? How did you get in the house?"

"The door was unlocked," she answered before rushing to leave the quiet home.

xXx

The following day, the day of their first date, Tony was absent once more from school. Pepper constantly complained about it all day, annoying Rhodey to no end. But he got her back by asking endless questions about her date. She was pretty sure that he still didn't know what it was with Tony and that night. But he was determined to get the answer out of her. In the end, he failed at getting her to even mention it.

As they were walking home—speed walking in Pepper's case—Rhodey was still persistent on figuring out the mystery. "I texted Tony to see if he knew anything about who the lucky guy was and he said he had no clue."

For a moment Pepper was surprised at hearing this. Because that would have meant that Tony had forgotten that it was him who asked her out. But she calmed down when she realized he was probably trying to keep it a secret. So she was going to keep it that way for his sake.

"Good," Pepper said, "That's how it should be."

"Come on, Pepper," Rhodey complained, "why can't you tell me?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Pepper promised, "How about that?"

Rhodey pouted, but relented. "Fine."

Pepper rushed home after that, wanted to get the cookies done before Tony came and picked her up. But before she could begin making the dough, she had to call Tony first. Because with him sick for two days in a row, she wasn't sure if he was well enough to even go on a date in the first place. Then the cookies would be made for no reason. Well, they could be used for when the rescheduled date is.

"Hello?" he had answered, his stuffy nose evident in his voice. "Pepper?"

"Hey Tony!" Pepper said, probably way too loudly for Tony's ears. She could tell by the noise of complaint coming from Tony. "Sorry."

"Try to speak softly, I have a really bad headache," Tony informed her.

"Okay," Pepper responded, "but I have a question."

"What is it?"

"About tonight," Pepper began, "are we still on?"

"What?"

The tone in his voice completely oblivious, Pepper couldn't help but feel annoyed. Had he been so sick he'd forgotten about their first date? She sighed. "Are we still on for tonight? Or are we rescheduling the date?"

"Date?" Tony asked, now sounding lost. "Pepper, what are you talking about? What date?"

"You already forgot?" Pepper asked angrily, "How could you forget our first date!? I mean, you only just asked me Sunday and you said that our date would be on Tuesday at six! Today is Tuesday, Tony!"

"When did I ask you this?" Tony questioned.

"Sunday afternoon in the armory," Pepper replied.

"Are you sure, Pepper?" Tony asked, letting out an audible yawn. "Because I don't remember ever being at the armory Sunday."

"What? Of course you were…?" Pepper's voice trailed off suddenly. She blinked and looked to the floor in thought. "Oh."

It suddenly came back to her. Sunday had been so boring and slow, she must have forgotten most of the day. She had gone to the armory in search for Tony, because he wasn't answering his cell phone and the armory was the first place she had thought of to look. Then she remembered why she thought she hadn't been alone in the armory. Rhodey had been there playing on Tony's computer while Tony wasn't there. They had hung out, doing nothing basically.

Then she had gone home and went straight to bed. It was that night when she had the best dream ever. It had been just her and Tony and a greasy red and gold suit of armor. It was cold and she had been stupid enough to wear short sleeves. It was also the same dream where Tony had asked her out on a date.

"Pepper?" Tony asked.

"Oh this is so embarrassing!" Pepper exclaimed, loudly. "I can't believe that was just a dream!"

"Ow, Pepper, quieter please," Tony reminded her.

"But Tony, I was so excited and now I feel stupid! I told Rhodey and Roberta and you dad!"

"You told my dad!?" Tony asked. "When was this?"

"Last night," Pepper commented, "but Tony they'll think I'm an idiot for making such a big deal out of a dream!"

"They won't think you're an idiot, Pep," Tony assured her.

"Yes they will," Pepper insisted. "I just know it."

"Not if they don't know it was a dream," Tony said.

"What?" Pepper asked. "How's that supposed to work?"

Tony laughed nervously, confusing Pepper. "I'm sorry, I should have said that better. They wouldn't think you're an idiot—which you aren't—if they didn't know that me asking you out was just a dream. They'll just know that we are now. End of story."

"Wait," Pepper started, "that leaves us still dating, but you never asked and you probably don't like me anyways."

"Well," Tony paused for a moment, "that was kind of me asking…or accepting, because technically you're asking me. Or offering it… I don't know."

"So…we're dating now?"

"I guess," Tony responded.

Pepper pouted. "Dream Tony is so much more romantic than you! Even when he's covered in grease!"

"Hey! Don't compare me to a dream!" Tony protested. "I just have a cold!"

Pepper sighed. "Tony, you aren't dating me because you feel bad, are you?"

"What would make you think that, Pepper? Of course not! I've been meaning to ask you earlier, but of course I'm too nervous and scared to actually say something. I really do like you, Pep."

Pepper smiled at hearing his words. "And I really like you!"

"Well, I sure hope you do if you're dreaming about me asking you out."

"Shut up! No more mentioning of that dream!" Pepper exclaimed.

Tony laughed, before breaking out into coughs. "Sorry, but the date can't be tonight. How about Friday?"

Pepper smiled. "Friday sounds good."

"I'll see you tomorrow hopefully," Tony said.

"See you then," Pepper replied.

When the conversation ended, Pepper suddenly felt as if she was on clouds once more. Sometimes dreams were best left as dreams, but in this case, her dream was best in reality.

So, did you guys like it? Was it worth while to read? I sure hope so, because I worked hard on writing this! Except, I forgot to add Pepper's dad...I feel bad. But you know what, it was long enough anyways. Whoops.

Fun Fact: I love listening to anime soundtracks while I write.

Some of you might know, but I've been throwing around the idea of making a winter/Christmas themed contest. And this time around, I want to try something new and make it so it does NOT have to be Pepperony. It can be any other pairing, or it doesn't even need to have a pairing. I'm not sure at this point, but I'll decide soon so keep an eye on the forums. And feel free to PM or tell me in the review if you would participate if I made it.

Hugs and tons of Love, SilverPedals! :D