A/N: I shouldn't even be doing this. But I am. I wanted to try my hand at writing some Pepperony now, since I have such a good time with anything and everything Tony Stark... so here goes nothing! It's gonna end up being pretty short.

Spoilers: Nope

Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man and do profit by doing this. Anything recognizable is not mine. Except the plot of course!

Movieverse, takes place between Iron Man 2 and Avengers. Established Pepper/Tony.

Enjoy!

Pepper Potts could honestly say that, in all her years of working for Tony Stark, she'd never seen him quite like this. He was sitting across the way from her in a crowded conference room at a meeting that was teeming with angry foreigners. Pepper had practically had to drag him to this one, pleading with him that there was no chance she'd be able to smooth it over if the genius didn't show up this time. But she was starting to regret making him come. He looked dazed, worlds away, and frankly, ready to pass out. Not being able to speak to him from her position but with the perfect angle to eye him and try and deduce what the problem was, she studied him anxiously and discreetly. He was pale, which was unusual, and sweaty though the air conditioning was blasting inside the cramped conference room. His expression was vague and glassy, which Pepper wouldn't have noticed to be a problem if it weren't for how bloodshot they were and framed with dark circles of exhaustion, as Tony frequently took on that very expression during particularly boring meetings. However, there was something different about the look this time. It looked like he was in physical pain and actually struggling. He was fighting a losing battle within himself, it seemed, by the looks of panic or intense effort and concentration that crossed his face for several fleeting seconds before he was able to regain his self-control and bring back his blank expression.

Across the way, Tony was feeling – there was no better way to put it – absolutely miserable. He had told Pepper he didn't want to come, but she was persistent and so here he was. He was hot, too hot. The room was too loud and crowded. He had a headache the size of Detroit that he was fairly certain no amount of aspirin would kill, made worse each second thanks to the shouting and babbling in multiple languages that the translators were stubbornly refusing to translate for him. He was feeling lightheaded, as if he couldn't get enough air in his lungs, and it was making him dizzy. It was certainly good he was sitting down. The room was spinning around him, causing his stomach to lurch painfully, but still he powered through. He was feeling detached, only coming to his senses when he felt the urge to sneeze or cough. Those urges he fought off valiantly. He wasn't sick. He couldn't be sick. He didn't get sick. To be sick was to be weak and vulnerable, and Tony Stark was anything but.

He tried to concentrate, to master himself. Sitting in the same position was really causing him pain. He felt stiff and sore. All he really wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed to sleep this off, but there was work to be done and sleep was not an option right now. His head was heavy, and it felt like he was trying to think through a thousand pounds of cotton.

Pepper took control of the situation then, as she was well-accustomed to doing. She could tell just by looking that something was off with her boss and boyfriend, even though no one else in the room seemed to notice. They were all too angry about this or that, talking too fast and in languages Pepper did not know and had no desire to learn. She swept a few wayward hairs out of her face and stood up, addressing all the businessmen in the room.

"Gentlemen," she said, her natural poise, confidence, and politeness coming through. "Please, let's step away from the situation for a moment and come back when we're all a little calmer." The translators relayed this message feverishly, thanking her with their eyes as the din finally settled down. "Let's take a fifteen minute break and meet back here. I'm sure we will come to a solution that makes everybody happy." Once they received the message, they all nodded and stood, grumbling a little before disappearing out into the corridor. Tony was no exception. He filed out with the rest of them, not meeting Pepper's gaze. She had expected this, however, and left her belongings in the conference room, getting up and following him at a comfortable distance.

He rounded a few corners until he came upon a deserted corridor. He backed up against the wall, shrugging out of his suit jacket and loosening his tie. He undid the top two buttons of his shirt and slid down against the wall until he was sitting on the cold tile floors. He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his head on crossed wrists against his thighs. His chest was heaving and his shirt was soaked through with sweat. Pepper watched him for a little bit from behind the corner, giving him a few moments alone to compose himself before stepping away from the wall and going to stand beside him.

"Tony?" She asked, gently so as not to frighten him. At the sound of his name, he looked up at her. The reaction was almost immediate. He heard his name, and his head snapped up, regardless of how he was feeling. It always happened this way when she called. She had asked him about it a while ago. He had claimed it was a reflex that had come from his parents, but she secretly believed that the habit had actually come from her calling him so often.

"Hey, Pep," he said softly, and his voice was a bit hoarse. "Thanks for taking charge in there."

"Someone had to," she said dismissively, squatting down beside him. "Are you alright?" She asked. From this vantage point, he looked worse than she had previously thought. "You don't look well."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied. "It's probably just a hangover." A small smile played at her lips.

"A hangover?" She repeated. "Knowing how you are, that actually might have convinced me. You know, had we not fallen asleep cuddling on the couch last night while watching Disney movies. You definitely weren't drinking. I would know." That had been a feeble attempt to lie, especially for Tony who seemed to have perfected the trade over the years.

"I'm fine, Pep, really," he said, not wanting to seem so weak, in front of her especially. "It was just really hot in there. I'll be alright." She frowned, knowing he was totally full of it, and pressed her palm to his forehead. Involuntarily, he leaned into her cool touch.

"You're burning up," she murmured. "Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well? I wouldn't have made you come if I'd have known."

"You didn't ask," he pointed out. "And I'm feeling fine…." He broke off as a coughing fit decided to attack him by surprise at that exact moment. The coughs were wet and wrenching, jolting him forward with their force. Pepper patted him gently on the back until they finally stopped.

"It's really hot," he moaned, pulling on his shirtfront repeatedly, trying to generate a breeze.

"You need to be home," she said worriedly. "In bed. Here… wait here for just a second." As if he was going to go anywhere, he thought as she disappeared around the corner, only to return moments later with a wet paper towel. She knelt back down beside him and used it to gently mop the sweat off his brow and cool down his head and neck a little. He leaned toward the gentle caresses of the towel, silently begging for more.

"I wish I had brought my other purse," she said wistfully, almost to herself. "I have a thermometer in there."

"You keep a thermometer in your purse?" He asked, and she couldn't help but wince at how rough his voice sounded and how much his words were slurring together.

"Yes," she said defensively. "For situations such as these."

"Scout Pepper," he teased. "Always prepared." She blushed.

"Shut up," she said, standing and smoothing out her skirt. "Listen, I'm going to go back in there and let them know something came up and we'll have to reschedule. They're not going to be too happy, but there's no way I'm letting you go back in there." She delivered a gentle kiss to his brow. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

The businessmen noticed Tony's absence right away. Pepper tried to smooth it over with them, saying that something came up and that Tony would be happy to reschedule the meeting at their earliest convenience. After a little more angry babbling, it was agreed that they'd all meet again in a week. Pepper thanked them all. Ten minutes later, she stood on the curb with Tony by her side, trying to hail a taxi.

"I'd get Happy to drive," she explained, putting her arm down as one pulled up. "But you need to get home now." She opened the door and got in behind him before telling the cabbie, "Stark Tower please."

They were sitting close, ignoring seatbelts and basically everything else around them. Tony's right side was pressed up against Pepper's left, and his body was like a furnace, burning away. His head nuzzled against her cool neck and he kept his eyes closed, trying to head off the nausea that came from riding in the back of a car while sick. Pepper snaked her arm around the back of his neck and gently stroked his hair, silently willing the cab driver to go faster. She felt her skin becoming sticky and hot where he leaned against her, but she didn't care. Her mind was reeling and she just kept asking herself the same question: how had he gotten so sick so quickly?

Finally, after what felt like forever and a day but was really only a few minutes, the cab pulled up in front of Stark Tower. Pepper shoved a few bills at him and got out of the car. As the driver merged back into the crawling New York City traffic, Tony stumbled over the curb. Pepper instinctively reached out and caught his arm, gripping his bicep, feeling the muscle trembling slightly under her hand.

"Come on," she said. "Lean on me." He did so reluctantly, realizing in this state he had few other options, and they finally made it into the tower, albeit slowly. Pepper didn't even have to tell him and Tony was already off to his room to change. As soon as he removed his shirt, the cool air in the room caressed his bare skin and made him shiver violently. Worse, it was a shiver he couldn't get under control or stop. He quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and crawled under the thick covers, shaking with violent chills. As soon as his head hit the pillow, a little bit of the ache within it subsided and he realized just how tired he was. Although he was unable to get warm, he was almost asleep in the few seconds between climbing into bed and Pepper entering the room. She was carrying a water bottle, a bottle of Tylenol, and a thermometer from the bathroom.

"JARVIS, low lights please," she said. The AI responded by turning the bulbs up a little. In the dim lighting, Pepper went to Tony's bedside, setting the medicine and water down. "Tony, don't fall asleep on me just yet, okay?" She said worriedly, holding the thermometer out to him.

"Open," she said gently. Tony groaned.

"Pep, we already know I'm sick. Why do you have to-" but he was cut off by the cold metal of the thermometer being slipped under his unsuspecting tongue.

"Shush, you," Pepper chastised, pinching his lips shut with her slender fingers. "Just because you're sick doesn't mean you shouldn't have your temperature monitored. You definitely have a bad fever." He began to make muffled noises through his closed lips. Pepper sighed, and upon hearing the beep, released her hold on his mouth and plucked the device from under his tongue. She gasped aloud when she saw what the readout was. One hand flew protectively to Tony's shoulder.

"You could have just had JARVIS do the scan," he muttered, making strange faces for a second until the tingling sensation from her fingers left his lips. He noticed her concern then and looked up at her, straining to see her face from where he was lying. "What?"

"You're really sick," she mumbled, still staring at the little LED screen and willing it to say anything else.

"Yeah, I could have told you that," he groaned, shutting his eyes. Apparently he was well enough to still be snarky. "I was asking what my body temperature is since I currently feel like I'm sitting inside a fire."

"It's one hundred and three point five," she said softly, her hand moving distractedly to his face, where she pushed the sweaty bangs out of his eyes with tenderness. Her fingertips burned on contact with his skin. Tony moaned softly and involuntarily, her touch comforting him.

"Let's get some medicine into you," she said with one final caress. She took the bottle of Tylenol from the nightstand and uncapped it, shaking two into her upturned palm. She pressed the pills into his hand and uncapped the bottle of water, but Tony had already sat up in bed and dry swallowed them before she could hand it to him.

"Tony," she said, shaking her head. "Here, drink this." She handed him the bottle. "So impatient… I'm sure that didn't feel too good on your throat." He shrugged, sipping from the bottle gingerly and wincing as it went down.

"It's fine," he lied, feeling his throat burn as though he'd coated it in acid. The water also made him nauseas, his stomach lurching painfully. He handed her the bottle back and slid back down, his head hitting the pillow. He was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. Pepper set the bottle down and looked at him. His hair was like a dark stain on the pillow, his face white as a sheet and shiny with sweat. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes ringed by shadows. She gently touched his warm cheek.

"Rest," she said. "You'll feel better. Is there anything else you need?" He reached up, his eyes opening slightly, and caught her hand, holding it against his face.

"Yes," he murmured. "Stay with me?" She blushed, smiling.

"Sure," she said. "I wasn't going to leave anyway. I'm just going to grab something and I'll be right back." He nodded and released her hand. She stole silently from the room to the bathroom and ran a washcloth under the cold tap. She wrung it out when it was chilly enough and brought it back to his bedroom. He had scooted over to make room for her, and so she perched on the edge of his bed and pressed the cool cloth against his brow. The cold touch immediately caused his teeth to chatter audibly and his shivering to pick up in intensity.

"It's cold," he complained weakly.

"Shh," she said, the soothing sound coming out of her mouth before she had become fully aware of it. "It'll help you feel better. Just relax, Tony." And with that, she gently skimmed the sweat from his forehead and let the cloth rest there. He could feel the rag leeching the heat from his skin. She was right: it did make him feel marginally better. But that was nothing compared to what her presence in the room did for him. He found himself nodding off, feeling safe and comfortable in her care. Gentle hands explored his cheek in the form of soft caresses designed for the sole purpose of lulling him and calming him past the rage of fever.

Pepper was quiet and rhythmic with her caressing. A few low, rumbling coughs came from Tony, but past that, he too was quiet. She listened patiently as his breathing evened out and he finally dozed off, shivering slightly. She smiled. He looked so much younger when he slept, so much more peaceful. She watched him, feeling a little bit creepy for doing so. But it was such a beautiful sight. She smoothed the blankets around him to help warm him.

"JARVIS, lights out," she whispered. The AI was smart enough to not respond and simply did so, and Pepper lied down beside Tony and ran her fingers through his hair until she too was asleep.

A/N: So that's part one. Let me know if I should continue or if I shouldn't even bother. Reviews are lovely and wonderful and I appreciate them immensely. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

~PG22