Just so you know, I don't own any of the characters here. Marvel owns them. Also, the ring is actually from the story 'Platinum' by Arcane Legacy.

The Proposal

By Marie Nomad

Pepper could sense something was in the air. It was one of those things that she had learned from her years with Tony. Tony was being evasive again and the last time he had been this evasive, he had been dying. The time before that, he was building a robot suit to fight terrorists. She didn't know how much longer she could take.

Finally, she marched down the workshop to see Tony quickly covering something up. "What is going on?" She demanded.

"I... I don't know what you are talking about." Tony denied.

It bothered her when he keeps secrets. Once upon a time, he didn't keep secrets from her. When he does things, he does things way out in the open. He gets drunk. He gets women in at all hours. He had even been naked around her, mostly because he was too plastered to care. Then, he ended up being captured in Afghanistan and he changed.

"Tony, please, I thought we agreed, no more secrets." She learned and adapted. If she wanted to get Tony to speak to her, she needed to be soft, gentle to lure him out of his shell.

"Oh." Tony looked down at the sheet. "What the hell. It's a secret project I've been working on. If it works, it will change everything."

Pepper had to take a stab at it. Deep down, Tony loves the guessing game. "An upgrade to the suit?"

"Bigger."

"You are finished with the latest models of your energy power plants?"

"Much bigger."

Pepper pondered. "The 100% fool proof way of having sex without getting diseases or pregnancy?"

Tony opened his mouth and then shrugged. "Well... maybe not that big. Maybe, I should show you this." He put his hand under the sheet and slowly got out a box. "This might change everything or nothing." He opened the box.

That was when that she saw it. It was a beautiful diamond ring with a pair of sapphires on the side on a platinum band. Tony have never given her a ring. Rings meant commitment. Diamond rings meant only one thing.

"Marry me."

She didn't know what to say. Two years ago, if Tony had asked her to marry him, she would have laughed. Now, it felt very real, serious. He was right, it was huge. Normally, she would ask for time to sort it out logically. Yet, she held out her hand and nodded. Tony took the ring out of the box and gently slipped it on her left ring finger.

"Oh my God." Pepper stared at the ring.

"Yeah."

"Oh my God."

"I warned you it was big."

"Oh my God..."

Tony put his hand on her forehead and looked into her hair. "Did I accidentally break you or can you say something else?"

"No. I'm fine. It's just..." Pepper stared at the ring again. "I didn't think you would actually want to get married."

"Of course I do. I want us to be together and normally that involves marriage and/or babies. I want the baby thing to come after the marriage."

"Ohhh..." Pepper just stared at the ring. "It's beautiful." She gazed at the ring and studied it. "When I dream about this, I usually dreamt that it would be as big as my head."

"Of course not... okay, I was thinking of something bigger but I brought Rhodey to help me be less ostentatious. He... " Tony scratched his head embarrassedly, "was the one who actually picked out the ring."

"He has good tastes." Pepper admired and then saw Tony looking a little sour. One of the things that Tony hate being told is that he was wrong. "Okay, what would you have given me?"

"Jarvis, can you show the design?" Tony asked.

"Of course, and Ms. Potts, may I first congratulate you on the upcoming marriage?"

"Thank you, Jarvis." Pepper smiled again. Her smile promptly fell when she saw the details of what Tony was going for. "That's the ring you were getting?" She could not believe it. It looked like it could be seen from space. Her slender fingers couldn't handle such huge rocks. Didn't Tony actually pay attention to what she wears?

"You didn't like it?" Tony pouted.

"It's... not me. I can't stand wearing large pieces of jewelry and besides, that's not important. I am going to be your wife."

"You are going to be my... wife." Tony tasted the word. "Wife... wow. Yeah, you're right."

"And the fact that you actually followed Rhodey's advice for a change proved that you grew up." Pepper hugged Tony. "Not only that but you asked me without a big production. Thank you." Pepper was not a big fan of being the center of anything. She loved being invisible most of the time.

"Oh yeah... absolutely. I'm aiming for subtle." Tony grinned in a fake sort of way. He was clearly lying.

"You were not planning a big production to propose, were you?" Pepper asked suspiciously.

"Maybe a little." Tony said as he held up his thumb and forefinger.

"Jarvis?" Pepper asked.

"I cannot tell you of the original plans but since you are engaged. I can tell you the elements; a five star restaurant..."

"Classy." So far everything sounded normal.

"Fireworks."

"Creative." A little show off but she had seen it on TV once so that was okay.

"Kris Angel, the illusionist."

Pepper's jaw dropped.

"Mr. Stark was also working on an arrangement to rent the Eiffel Tow -"

"MUTE!" Tony yelled out and Pepper glared at him. She didn't know how Tony will rent an national monument and she didn't want to know. "I will make some cancellations."

"Yes, you do that." Pepper came up to him and kissed him. "I love you." She literally bounced up the stairs.

"I love you too." Tony sighed. "Wife... wow."

The End