Ok, so I know that there are other stories I should be writing, but this popped into my head and I needed to put it down.

Also, I know that the chronology completely doesn't stick with that of the other two chapters, but I needed to put it somewhere and I didn't feel like starting a new story just for a one-shot.

I hope you enjoy!

'Tony, sweetheart. You look …handsome, like your father when he was younger.' Tony winced at the comparison, but ended up grinning anyway moments later, when his mother drew him into an embrace . He kissed her gently on the cheek as she was pulling back and offered her his arm, as they were walking down the stairs leading from his bedroom down to the richly decorated living room. Tables were already set up in preparation for the upcoming event and Maria's favourite song was playing somewhere in the background. Tony could never quite decipher how his father managed to hide all his gadgets, including the mysterious speakers, around the house. Still holding his mother's hand, Tony led her deeper into the room, until they reached its very centre, with space designated for guests to dance. He was only seventeen, but already much taller than his mother, and without thinking about it twice, he bent down slightly to lean his chin on her shoulder, as they moved gracefully in front of the fireplace, enjoying the rare moment they got to be mother and son, not Maria and Anthony Stark.

'I'm so proud of you Tony. And I…I love you so much honey,' she whispered in his ear, knowing he needed the reassurance more than anything, with a father like Howard. The boy smiled, unable to gather his thoughts for a moment. He was about to reply, to tell her mother that he loved her too, that he was so happy to be there with her, without the cameras flashing, without his father reprimanding him, when he felt something hit his side and…

Tony's eyes snapped open, and as Pepper was curled up against his side, he realised she must have hit him accidentally when she was moving. He wasn't quite sure what he was feeling at the moment, but it certainly wasn't this overwhelming joy that always made him feel high whenever he saw Pepper. It was different…unfamiliar, something akin to sadness, but maybe even verging on resentment and he hated it. He hated himself for feeling it and…he hated Pepper for waking him up. For taking this precious moment away from him.

He hated himself even more when he turned over without paying any attention to his red-haired angel, and buried his face in the pillow, on his side of the bed. He thought that the pillow must hate him too, because not only was he soaking it with tears, but he was also squeezing it so hard, he would bet that it was about to be torn in half. He didn't even know why he was crying. He was no longer a child, and the last time, the only time he grieved for his parents was twenty years ago, at their funeral. Why would the memories come to haunt him now, when he finally managed to find some relative peace?

He was so absorbed in his philosophical debate with himself, that he didn't realise that a sob was coming his way, until the moment he shook with the force of it, and Pepper stirred next to him. Please, don't wake up. Please, don't wake up. Please, don't…

'Tony?' Pepper's sleepy voice broke the silence that descended upon the room as soon as Tony realised what had just happened.

Shit. He tried to pretend that he was asleep, to avoid the trouble to Pepper and himself, but she knew better. She always did. Seconds later Pep was pulling at his shoulder, trying to turn him over onto his back, so that she could look down at his face, look sad herself and worry about him. And so that he could snap at her, make her cry and then beat himself up about it. Shit.

Eventually he gave in, because the next thing he would have to do to fend her off, would probably be attacking her, which would definitely have even nastier consequences. He dropped his gaze as soon as Pepper's eyes met his, knowing that in the dim moonlight she could still see the tears on his cheeks. She had to be getting used to it by now, he mused to himself. Stark, put yourself together. You're pathetic.

'What was the dream about?' Pepper asked immediately already familiar with the routine of Tony waking up either screaming or crying his soul out.

'My mother.'

'Was it a bad dream?'

'No.'

'Then why are you crying?'

He paused before replying.

'Because I woke up,' he spat out finally, barely preventing himself from saying 'because you woke me up'.

Pepper didn't say anything to this. She knew how bad Tony felt about his own vulnerability; he still hasn't realised that as clever and charming as he was, he was still only a mere human being. So she waited for a couple of minutes for him to fall back asleep. She waited for half an hour. She waited for forty five minutes. After an hour, Tony abruptly got up and was headed for the stairs leading down into the living room. Pepper followed him, hoping that he wasn't intending to lock himself down in his workshop again and caught up with him halfway through the undecorated staircase.

'Tony, come here,' she whispered, not wanting to startle him. Surprisingly, he obeyed and drew her in for an embrace, entangling her arm with his, but still coaxing her do go down into the living room. He slumped down on the sofa with a sigh and pulled Pepper into his lap. His eyes were still glassy with tears, and he was breathing faster than he should be, under normal circumstances. Pepper thought hard about what to do. She didn't want to corner him like a scared, but still proud animal, with meaningless words of comfort and gentle touches, but she knew that unless she did something to calm him quickly, they would both lose it and all hell would break lose.

'JARVIS, put on some nice music, would you? Maybe what you played to us last night?' Pepper said a bit louder, hoping that the AI would respond to her request. Seconds later, the room was engulfed by quiet, but soothing sounds, and Pepper nuzzled closer to Tony, who responded by tightening his grip on her. 'Believe it or not, but when I was little, I thought I would be a dancer. So whenever I was sad or scared, my dad would dance with me,' she whispered into Tony's ear, helping him to stand up from the sofa. She guided one of his hands to her waist and put hers delicately on his shoulder, smiling at the confused look on his face. She then caught his other hand in hers, pulled him close. 'He was a terrible dancer though, so I always needed to show him what to do, just like this,' she continued, caressing Tony's shoulder gently with her hand. She guided him confidently through all the steps, listening to the music intently and imagining how stupid they must look, dancing around the living room in their pyjamas.

They both remembered that night, when they danced at the charity event. Pepper's cheeks turned crimson when she thought about the backless dress and Tony stiffened a bit when he realised that the romantic moment was broken when he fled, leaving her outside on her own. Pepper felt him tense, and lovingly brushed her hand against Tony's cheek in encouragement. Minutes later the song had changed, but they were still pressed close to each other on the improvised dance floor, and Tony's head was blessedly resting on Pepper's shoulder. She never suspected that a simple dance could do such miracles and relax him so much.

'Pep,' he whispered hoarsely, finally being able to speak without the risk of choking on his own tears. 'I'm sorry, I'm being pathetic…'

She didn't move, but instinctively pulled him closer into the embrace and bent her head down to speak in his ear.

'Don't be silly Tony. I'm proud of you Tony, and I love you so, so much.'

The scientist felt his heart speed up and moisture return to his eyes; for a moment he felt as if he was back in New York, with his beloved mother. But then he knew that it was Pepper who was holding him close, and his heart sped up even more, because Pepper was alive, because Pepper wasn't scared of Howard and because he knew that Pepper would never leave him. Never. He wouldn't make a mistake this time, and he would never let her go.

The redhead felt her shoulder getting slightly wet again, and pulled Tony away from her, holding him at shoulder's length, and examining his face closely at the same time.

'I love you too Pepperpot. And I'm so happy that you're here and…did I say that I love you more than I love life itself. And more than coffee and Erwin Schrödinger* combined? That tells you a lot.' Before she knew it, his lips were on hers, searching for a more pronounced confirmation of the words just spoken. Not that she didn't see fit to give it to him. Neither of them knew when it happened, but suddenly they were cuddling on the sofa, still exploring each other's mouths and continuously whispering silent 'I love you's just to prove to each other that it was all real.

When Tony finally drew back, feeling the fatigue take over his body, he gave Pepper one of his trademark grins. He didn't care anymore, but he thought that he still had traces of tears on his cheeks, and with all the things going on in his head at once, he must have looked pretty thoughtful.

'Tony, what's the matter now?' Pepper asked in confusion, unable to reconcile the grin with the heart-wrenching tears. He buried his face in her shoulder, letting out a content sigh.

'I'm just so very happy, Pep. Because I'm awake. And you're alive.'

Pepper disagreed with one thing: she hated the fact that Tony was awake and wearing himself out again. She was glad he was happy, of course. But for tonight she had already heard enough; the fact that Tony loved anything more than coffee, that he loved her more than coffee was more than she could ever have expected from him.

Tony fell asleep as Pepper was gently playing with his dark locks. His mother was still in his head, but the memory would never again result in tears. Because he knew that even though she was gone, there was always someone to hold him. Because there was always someone to laugh at his jokes. Because he knew that there was someone to protect him from his nightmares.

Because no matter what happens in Tony's Stark's life, there's always Pepper.

*It's Schrodinger's birthday today, and since I'm a geek, I thought I could maybe celebrate with Tony :P

There. Cheesy, fluffy and out-of-character, but I did it and for once have no regrets (well, maybe aside from the fact that I haven't proof-read it).

I hope you like it. If you did, please REVIEW.

If you didn't, give me some constructive criticism as well, please. I'll take whatever you throw at me.