A/N: Hello, all! My first Iron Man story (and my first story on this site in quite a few years). Continuity wise, it's after the first movie, but disregarding the second one entirely. Which is not to say that I dislike the second movie (I love it, in fact). I just liked the idea of exploring what happened after Tony and Pepper's little conversation at the end. Overall, I'm quite pleased with this, but I do have some reservations about it. Namely, I intended this to be a humorous piece, but I feel like the humor kind of got away from me as I continued to write it. That, and I think the prose gets a little too...obtuse, sometimes. But that might just be me habitual over-analyzing of my writing getting the better of me again. I suppose, ultimately, it's up to you, the readers, to decide. So enjoy!

Tony would never admit it, but he had absolutely hated it when Pepper went out on dates, back before Afghanistan. Of course, he had always been more than forthcoming in his feelings about her having any plans at all outside of work, but that was more about his general (and admittedly ridiculous) expectation that a PA should be at their boss' beck and call at any given moment. No, his discomfort over Pepper's love life had been something else entirely.

Even Tony's emotionally constipated nature (before Afghanistan—he liked to think he was much more…sensitive, nowadays) hadn't stopped him from figuring out why that was—he had a special thing for Pepper Potts. She held a place in his heart that no one else could ever hope to fill.

But Tony had never bothered to act on it: the idea of pursuing (much less actually having) something resembling a relationship had seemed quite scary and foreign to Tony Stark, playboy extraordinaire. Plus, with Pepper's (irritatingly) unshakable sense of propriety, a sexual escapade could have resulted in her resigning. And if Pepper had quit, Tony's life, and consequently the welfare of Stark Industries, would have been tossed into abject, all-consuming chaos. Or something of the sort.

So Tony had simply shoved his feelings to the wayside, preferring to have her and keep her as his ever-competent assistant. But always, always he had felt annoyed and petulant whenever Pepper had any sort of romantic engagement with someone that wasn't him. And he had always done his best to make her far too busy to pursue anything serious, for the vague and slightly irrational fear that she might one day leave him. And from what Tony could tell, she never managed to snag a serious boyfriend (Thank God). Luckily, what he was doing hadn't been very obvious, considering he had made her life unbelievably hectic anyway, because, well, he was Tony Stark.

The hypocrisy had not been lost on Tony, however. After all, as Pepper met and dated several men over the years, Tony had gone and bedded countless women in that same time span. Sex, after all, was like a drug to him. But whether it was an addiction or a lifestyle choice, what right had he had to be jealous of the men in her life? When he had been whoring himself out to anything that had nice breasts and a great ass? Not much, but that had hardly discouraged him from being jealous anyway. He had been a selfish bastard with a bloated sense of self-entitlement and an unstoppable libido—he could admit to that now.

But that was then. Things had changed upon his return from a hellish three months in captivity, where he had witnessed the horrific misuse of his own weapons at the hands of terrorists. He had come away from that time with a renewed purpose in life—to take up responsibility for his actions as a weapons manufacturer. That, of course, had entailed the creation of "Iron Man", the weapon he created to put an end to all of his other weapons (although, technically, the suit was more of a high-tech prosthesis). He had resolved to put an end to the violence he had so ignorantly stirred in the first place, and maybe take a crack at world peace too. He had become, in all seriousness, a superhero.

And a good superhero needed a loyal girlfriend. And who else but Pepper Potts? His long-held flame for her, kept at bay for so many years but never wavering, had at last come to the forefront upon his return. The time in captivity had opened his eyes to just how important Pepper was—not just from a professional standpoint, but a personal one. He knew that he needed to take their relationship further. What's more, random sex with random women had no longer held any interest to him…although he'd be lying if he said he didn't take a look every now and then.

Of course, he hadn't been able to really act on his narrowed interests at first due to the whirlwind that had been his return to the United States, but once he had time for his head to clear (and had witnessed her indescribable beauty in that alluringly backless blue dress at the third annual Fireman's Benefit), it had become something he couldn't stop thinking about.

Then the moment came. After the insanity of the showdown with Obadiah (the traitorous bastard), but before the debacle of Tony's "I am Iron Man" announcement, he had put himself out there. Had let her know that he wanted more from Pepper than a professional relationship—he wanted an actual, honest-to-God relationship of the romantic variety. He wanted someone to come home to after going out on missions as Iron Man—a superhero's girlfriend. It had been something that the old Tony would have balked at, but the new Tony wanted so very badly. And he knew she wanted it too, given the way she had nearly kissed him at the benefit.

However, Tony had foolishly assumed that she would just fall into his arms in a fit of passion. But, instead, she had pointedly reminded him of how he had left her waiting on the rooftop. Although it hadn't really been his fault, given what the impossibly self-righteous Christine Everheart had shown him right after he had left to get Pepper a drink. Her words had hurt, but Tony couldn't really blame her for feeling a little upset about it. Still, Tony hadn't let it get to him beyond the initial sense of rejection. She hadn't really turned him down so much as told him "Try harder". She was resistant and reluctant, but Tony had been able to tell that she still wanted it. She just need time to adjust.

He had also figured that, in the meantime, if he stopped bedding other women (which he did anyway, given that he was now singularly focused on Pepper), she too might start to stop seeing other people, in the interests of their own relationship.

Color him surprised when he had discovered, two weeks after his suggestion that they should get together, that she was going on a date with someone else.

He had, by sheer coincidence, overheard her speaking on the phone in the kitchen on Friday. Though he was a man who would have just sat in front of her and listened in, he had instead immediately hidden from her view when he saw her nervously craning her head around to make sure she was alone. Though some part of him had realized that he shouldn't have been eavesdropping, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. It had been like she was giving away Stark Industries secrets, but in a way it had actually been worse.

"Um, yeah, Arnold. Tomorrow at 7," Pepper had said to the bastard (Tony was sure that the guy wasn't better looking than he was. And he definitely wasn't a superhero like Tony was). "I've never actually been to Gianna's before, but I've been dying to go. I've heard great stuff about it. Yeah, I'll see you then."

Tony had considered, for a moment, of confronting her right then and there as she hung up, but he had instead covertly retreated into the workshop, trying to assess the situation.

He had first been, of course, indignant. His Pepper Potts was going on a date with some disgustingly lucky, non-superheroic jackass. Obviously it wasn't the first time she had dated someone else, but it was different than before. Before, they had never really gone past the boundaries of their unorthodox working relationship—they both did their own thing, regardless of how they felt about it, for fear of what would happen if something went wrong. But now Tony had actually been pursuing her romantically, had actually attempted to cross that line, because what they had was too important not to take advantage of. So finding her going on a date with someone else felt like an actual betrayal. "But why?" he had wondered. Why did she agree to see someone else when she clearly knew that he had proposed the start of a relationship?

For a panic-stricken moment, Tony had thought that Pepper didn't actually have any feelings for him; that he had miscalculated entirely. But he had quickly abandoned that thought—he knew with absolute certainty that Pepper reciprocated his feelings, even if she wouldn't admit it. The almost magnetic pull between them, the way it felt like the room was on fire whenever they looked at each other, and the general, unflappable feeling in his gut, was proof to Tony that she felt something for him. What they had was special.

He had then considered that Pepper might be trying to spite him for publicly declaring that he was Iron Man. After all, the press had gone absolutely nuts and it had been let to Pepper to deal with it. Shooting down accusations that Tony was actually part space android (though how any journalist that wasn't full-out crazy could think something like that was beyond anyone's guess) couldn't have been anything but migraine inducing. But Pepper wasn't vindictive, so that thought had been tossed aside.

Maybe she had thought it would make him jealous, just to see how he'd react? Maybe, God forbid, she was seriously interested in the man? Whatever it was, Tony had to intervene. At that point, he could no longer sit back and quietly sulk over her dates. He had to take serious action if he was going to get Pepper to be with him.

So, logically, that meant crashing her date.

Simply put, the shameless sabotage had gone incredibly well. He had shown up at the (decent, if a little too pedestrian by his standards) Italian restaurant, drawing the attention of everyone there, including a mortified Pepper, and her not nearly as handsome or as heroic date. He had zeroed in on their table ("Oh, Ms. Potts, what a crazy coincidence seeing you at this restaurant!"), unabashedly sat with them despite the fact that it was a two-person table, flashed them a winning smile, and had gotten to work. With a deft combination of outrageously rude questions and not-so-subtle implications that he would hunt him down in the Iron Man suit if he tried anything with Pepper, Tony had warded away Arnold the Jackass with obnoxious aplomb. In only an hour's time, he had left his part of the check and headed home. And though Pepper had been outraged beyond imagination, Tony felt like it had been a job well done.

But now, as Tony waited for Pepper to come in for work on Monday morning, he realized that he was going to face a woman's wrath the likes of which he has never seen. Big mistake.

Tony sat in the spacious living room of his Malibu mansion, waiting impatiently (but also a little apprehensively) for Pepper. Usually when he woke up he would be in his workshop, tinkering away on a car or on the suit, leaving Pepper to come down and provide him with the day's schedule and matters to attend to. But today he felt it was best to be ready to greet her immediately, and in his best-cut suit too. He even had a heart-shaped box of expensive chocolates next to him, a symbol of his apology as well as his affection. Cliché, perhaps, but anything was worth a try.

It was 7:59 A.M., which meant that Pepper would be arriving at precisely at 8 A.M., being her inhumanly punctual self. And that gave them 45 minutes before Happy would be arriving to take them to work. He wondered in rapid thought what Pepper might say to him when she arrived. She had barely said a word to him that night after Arnold the Jackass had left, besides telling him that she'd be seeing him Monday morning, before taking a cab home. It made him feel a little guilty for making her upset like that, but he couldn't say he wasn't glad to have gotten Arnold the Jackass out of his (and her) hair.

As soon as his watch hit 8 o'clock, Tony heard the rapid clicking of Pepper's heels coming from the hall that connected the living room and the main entrance. Perfectly on time as always. Tony stood up and nervously pulled at his tie, vaguely expecting Pepper to come in with flames shooting out of her mouth and nose (although he actually found that image kind of arousing). But no, Pepper arrived as she always did—dressed in proper business attire (today, a lovely but conservative black power suit), with her hair up in a demure bun. She held her leather briefcase in one hand, and her phone in the other. Her demeanor was steady, and her countenance was calm. But though, outwardly, nothing seemed different, Tony could tell that underneath her seemingly serene appearance, Pepper was infuriated.

Pepper immediately stopped when she caught sight of her boss standing in the living room. Not surprising, given that she'd never seen him waiting for her, much less already dressed. But once her initial shock passed, the quiet, simmering anger returned. Her jaw clamped shut, as if something horrible and vile would spill out from her mouth if she didn't keep it closed.

Tony nervously shuffled where he stood. Him. Tony Stark. Nervous. Shuffling. He had at bad for this woman.

"Mr. Stark, good morning," Pepper finally said, barely hiding her anger with a professional voice. It looks like she wasn't going to bring the whole mess up. Not yet anyway.

"Pepper," Tony greeted casually. "You look great, as always." He figured that flattery was worth a shot.

Pepper didn't bite. "This is new, you not being down in the workshop right now. And dressed too."

"Thought I'd try to make your life a little easier." Tony noted the irony.

Pepper's eyes narrowed and her nose twitched ever so slightly. Nonetheless, she walked towards the couch, setting down and unclasping her briefcase, and pulled out some notes. She didn't miss a beat. "You've got a meeting with Accounting today at 10 to discuss some budgeting issues. Then a meeting with Rhodey at 2 about the new infrastructure plans by the military for S.I. medical systems. And Sector 12 has been having trouble with the designs for the updated IntelliCrops, and they want you to provide input. It's kind of touch and go, so I'll keep you posted on that." She handed him a couple of files for reference.

Tony nodded slowly and took the papers, both awed and a little frightened that she was keeping her composure so well.

"Normally I'd be trying to convince you to stop working on the suit and get dressed, but since you're already done with that, I'll just go make you some coffee." With that, Pepper brusquely headed towards the kitchen.

It was time to take a dive. "Pepper, hold on a sec."

Pepper turned on her four inch heels (how she does it, Tony would never know), looking at him very carefully.

Tony stepped closer to her and took a long breath. This was going to get ugly. "About Saturday night…"

"What about Saturday night?" Pepper said, churning her words out through a disturbingly artificial smile.

"Look, I get that you're mad…"

That almost got her to say something that would undoubtedly have been loud and angry. Yet she kept her cool, her outrage knocking against the gates of her self-control now, but still (barely) in check. "What would I have to be mad about?"

Oh, she was good.

"I'm thinking that you'd be mad about how I kind of ruined your Saturday evening…plans."

Now, that definitely pushed some of her buttons. Her voice cracking, she hissed, "You mean you randomly showing up at my date? Sitting at our table? Bringing everyone's attention to us because you're you? Asking him absolutely ridiculous, not to mention just plain rude, questions? Implying you'd attack him with your Iron Man suit, for God's sake? Making him leave without even a goodbye and not return my calls?"

Tony made a meek shrug. "Pretty much."

Pepper's arm lurched for a fraction of a second, as if she were going to slap him. Tony preemptively winced, but nothing came of it. He bit back his sigh of relief. She seemed to be reigning herself back in again. "Well, I'm not, Mr. Stark. You doing ridiculous things whenever you feel like it is no longer a surprise to me. It comes with the job."

Tony started to wish that she would actually just yell at him. This repressed anger business was far too unsettling for his liking.

"C'mon, Pepper, you're angry. I unerstand. You don't have to act all professional in front of me."

Pepper's eye twitched.

Tony said nothing more, trying to reconfigure his approach. He pondered for a moment, and then remembered the box of chocolates on the couch, and moved to get them. He held the box out to her in a way that made it both a peace offering and a flimsy shield from Pepper's wrath.

"What is that?" Oddly enough, it didn't seem like a stupid question.

"Well, it's generally known as a box of chocolates. Expensive, delicious chocolates, I might add."

"And why are you giving me these?"

Tony eyed her warily. "To…say I'm sorry?"

Pepper made a noise that sounded a lot like a derisive snort. "Do you really think a box of chocolates is going to make me feel better, just like that?"

She was starting to open up. That was good. At least, Tony hoped that was good. "I guess not, but it's a start, isn't it?" Tony pushed the heart-shaped box closer towards her.

For a moment, Pepper analyzed the box with a shrewd gaze, apparently considering the idea taking it. But to Tony's disappointment, she just turned away and headed back towards the kitchen. Back to square one.

A little desperate, Tony threw the box back onto the couch and ran around Pepper to block her path. She stopped immediately to make sure she didn't run into him. The way their bodies nearly collided made Tony's nerves tingle.

"Mr. Stark," she started, her tone flat but her body a little stiff from their proximity. "Happy's going to be here in less than an hour and there I things I need to take care of before we leave. Starting with your coffee."

"Pepper, please, throw me a bone here. Despite what you may think, I actually am sorry. Really. Seriously." Tony's earnestness was showing on his face, and that seemed to mollify Pepper a little bit. But a good deal of anger was still lurking behind her eyes.

Now it was time for the hard part. Here went nothing.

"But Pepper, honestly, can you blame me?"

The answer came in the form of Pepper's comically incredulous expression.

"Okay, point taken. But, well, I've been putting myself out there for you for the past couple of weeks. And then I find out that you're going out with someone else? You can't hold it against me for being jealous."

The honesty of Tony's words seemed to send Pepper for a bit of a loop, because her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open a little. He fought the powerful urge to kiss her then and there.

After a couple of seconds, he realized that she wasn't going to say anything, so he continued. "Maybe crashing your date wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had, but I can't help it. It's, well, me. But I've also changed—for the better I'd like to think. Hell, I haven't so much as touched another woman ever since I got back. Y'know, to show you that I'm serious about us. "

Pepper blinked in a rapid and continuous manner. She still said nothing (though she now seemed to be breathing a little heavily), so Tony took it as a cue to press forward.

"Maybe I'm just crazy, but I thought that if I did that, then you'd stop seeing other people, like what's-his-face, too. As a show of good faith. Am I crazy for thinking that?"

The air around Pepper seemed to heat up, as she said, "No, that's not crazy." To Tony's private relief, her anger seemed to have been forgotten.

"Well, good."

Silence.

"Yeah, that's kind of my deal here," Tony said weakly. An anticlimax if there ever was one.

Pepper paid no mind to that. She just looked at him. Looked at him with something unreadable, something powerful. It practically made Tony's heart go into palpitations.

At last, she whispered, "Tony, I…". But she trailed off, at a loss for words. Tony, unable to help himself, leaned closer. He felt lightning running through his veins as the distance between them shrunk.

"Okay, tell me something then Pepper. This jackass, Arnold, do you…do you have feelings for him?" Just asking the question made his heart twist. He dreaded to think what her answer might be.

Pepper finally appeared to have found some form of cohesiveness. "First of all, he is not a jackass. It was only our first date—a mutual friend introduced us. Completely harmless. Which, by the way, doesn't excuse the fact that you ruined it. And…wait, I never realized, how did you even find out about my date in the first place?" She sounded very accusatory. "You didn't have Jarvis track me down, did you?"

Tony stepped back, appalled. "God, Pepper, I'm not that nosy. I just overheard you talking on the phone."

Pepper cursed under her breath, but she waved her hand as if she were brushing the matter aside. "Whatever. It's not like he was that great of a guy anyway."

Tony felt a surge of confidence, prompting him to step towards her again. That meant that there was no real threat for Pepper's affection. But that led to another problem. "So why, when I'm right here with open arms, did you go on a date with that jacka…er, Arnold?"

Pepper froze, clearly not comfortable being put on the spot about this. She looked very reluctant to answer, but Tony was all ears. He watched her with an expectant gaze. "Because well…well…" Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and Pepper looked like she was about to burst. "Okay, fine, I only went out with him to try to ignore what was happening between us. There, I said it." Pepper's cheeks were redder than her hair. She could no longer look him in the eye.

The admission didn't hurt Tony one bit. In fact, Tony was trying very hard to suppress any upward curving of his lips. But inwardly, he was celebrating like a madman. Pepper had actually, in an indirect and roundabout way, admitted that she had feelings for him. He was getting somewhere. Now all he had to do was push the matter a little bit more.

"Now that we've cleared the air on that, mind telling me why you're trying so hard to avoid this little issue of ours?" The playfulness in Tony's voice was obvious.

Pepper swallowed, observing her feet with unusual interest. After a moment, she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin to face him again. Her eyes were brimming with inner conflict. "Because, Tony. You're you, and I'm me."

Tony just looked blankly at her.

"What I mean is, you're my boss. I'm your employee. It just isn't, well, professional. Just us dancing at the benefit got a lot of people talking."

There was no helping the laugh Tony made. His response made Pepper look a little miffed, but he simply shook his head and dared to come even closer. Pepper stumbled a bit, taken aback by how they were now only less than an inch apart. Tony took pleasure in the fact that he had managed to obliterate her sense of composure entirely.

"Pepper, you and I both know that we've never had a very 'professional' relationship. Even before Afghanistan, before I was different, we've had something between us. Something really amazing."

The lightning was pumping through his system even harder now. It was now or never.

"Screw professionalism. Screw what other people say. You want this. I want this. Not just some random fling, but an actual, healthy relationship." Pepper's breath hitched. "We've been stupid to dance around it so long, to avoid it. Well, I've been. So now it's a matter of making up for lost time."

This time, it was Pepper who moved closer. Her resistance was on its last legs.

"And the girls, Tony?"

"All gone, I swear. Of course, I'm also banking on the hopes that you'll be willing to be monogamous too, but for all intents and purposes, there's only you. Like I said before, a superhero has to have a girlfriend."

In that instant, something about Pepper's expression—no, her whole demeanor, changed. There was a fire to her that had seemed to burst forth from her being, enveloping the two of them in a glorious, sensual wave, blocking out everything but the two of them. It overwhelmed his entire being, to be in her presence, to meet her hard gaze. At long last, she said, in the faintest whisper, "Good."

Then they leaned into each other, smashing mouths together in a hungry fit of passion. Tony enveloped his arms around her slim body, pulling her into him. At the same time, her hands came to cup his cheeks, setting his skin on fire where she touched him. It was a fierce but wonderful kiss, a full release of all their years of wanting and waiting and yearning. If anything, this kiss was quite possibly the greatest thing Tony had experienced in his entire life. He wanted it go on forever.

Unfortunately, they had to part for breath, though even as they did so they still held each other closely. They were panting heavily, but they both had exuberant smiles on their faces.

"Wow," they whispered in unison.

For a couple of seconds, they just took the time to bask in their embrace, catching their breaths and sharing a few small kisses. They leaned into each other, unable to get enough of one another. Eventually, Tony spoke up.

"Does this mean you agree to be my girlfriend?"

Pepper laughed. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Tony. First you have to take me on a date." If Pepper's tone weren't so obviously and wonderfully playful, Tony might have panicked a little. Instead, he held her even closer and gave her a cheeky grin.

"Hm, well, wasn't Saturday night technically our first date?"

"Don't push your luck, Tony." She smirked at him. Tony found it incredibly sexy.

"Okay, a date. Tonight?"

"Oh, uh, well…I dunno, it's a Monday night, Tony. There are lots of things to be done and…"

Tony attacked her with his most charming smile. It took only seconds for her to cave. "Okay, tonight. But then you and I actually do need to get things done today. And I need to start by making that coffee." Pepper, in a reluctant motion, pulled free from their embrace. Tony was already eager to get into it again. In fact, he was eager for a lot of things, now that he finally had Pepper.

Pepper, however, did not walk towards the kitchen, but back towards the couch. There, she picked up the box of chocolates and made her way back towards Tony. She smiled at him, holding the box to her. "And Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Apology accepted."

Tony broke out into a wild grin, and proceeded to kiss her again.