Instead of waking up to the naked body of his new bride lying in his arms, Tony was rudely awakened to the sounds of her upchucking in the bathroom. He groaned and climbed out of bed, staggering sleepily to the bathroom to see her on her knees, naked, and heaving, in front of the toilet. Tony grimaced and shook his head.
Pepper finished, and flushed, lying her head on an outstretched arm across the toilet seat, trying to catch her breath.
"Yeah, I don't know about this look, Pep," he joked.
Pepper sat back heavily on her haunches and grabbed some tissue to wipe her mouth,still looking a little faint and trying to catch her breath. "Shut up," she retorted. "And just go get the nausea pills out of my purse, please?" She exhaled sharply. "Hurry. Before this comes back."
Tony nodded affirmatively. "Got it," he said. He grabbed his long, black silk robe off the hook behind the bathroom door and slung it on, cinching it as he grabbed her purse off the floor by the closet. He flung it on the bed and yanked it open, finding a small rectangular box inside. He quickly read the label to determine it was what she was looking for, and walked briskly back into the bathroom to find Pepper standing in front of the sink in a long baby blue satin robe, filling a glass of water.
He handed her the pills and she popped two of them into her mouth, then downed half the glass of water. Tony waited, his brow furrowed, to see if she was okay. Pepper closed her eyes and sighed in satisfaction.
"Better?" Tony said, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes," Pepper said, nodding. She grabbed the mouthwash, swished and gargled some, and spat it into the sink.
Tony pursed his lips. "Still don't think you're pregnant, huh?" he asked skeptically.
Pepper shot his reflection in the vanity mirror a look of annoyance. "I'm not, Tony. The test said so. I told you that." She sighed in frustration. "But clearly, you don't believe me, so here," she said, setting down her glass and picking up the small trash can from beside the vanity. "Let me just show you the proof, hmmm?" she said, rifling through the trash. She retrieved the test, spun around, and handed it expectantly to Tony. He cocked an eyebrow and took it from her, grasping it in both hands. He exhaled, and slowly took his eyes from her face down to the test to examine it, frowning.
"There. You see?" Pepper gloated. "Negative."
Tony's face suddenly went from a frown to a look of shock. He swallowed hard. "Uh, Pep?" he said softly, flicking his eyes upward to look at her cautiously.
"Now, you have no reason to think that we're..." she rambled, ignoring him.
"Pepper?" Tony tried again, trying desperately to maintain his composure.
"...having a baby," she continued, still ignoring him. "So, we can just put that issue," she said sighing, "to bed," she said resolutely.
Tony just stood looking at her silently, blankly. She noticed the silence, and turned her gaze to him. She frowned. "What? What's the matter?" she asked.
"Uh..." Tony said, working his jaw, his eyes flicking back and forth from the stick in his hands to his wife's eyes. He chuckled to himself, and ran a hand over his goatee. He smiled, his eyes sparkling in amazement as he stared at what was in his finger tips. "You say you took this test last night. This one. Right?" he asked, smirking, point at it.
Pepper frowned, and shook her head in confusion. "Yes. Of course," she said. "Why? What are you suggesting?"
Tony chuckled again. "Well, I'm not suggesting anything," he stated. "This test, on the other hand says," he turned the stick over in his hand so she could see the display. "...that you're pregnant, baby," he said softly. He smirked, his eyes sparkling.
"What?!" Pepper exclaimed, grabbing the stick away from him and examining it. Sure enough, a plus sign had appeared in the second slot where there had only been one line before, confirming a positive pregnancy. Pepper gasped, and brought the tips of her fingers to her mouth in shock as she stared at the test. "Oh my God!" she whispered.
Tony chuckled happily as he wrapped an arm around her waist from the side, and placed a gentle hand on her lower abdomen as he planted a kiss to her temple. He rested his forehead on the side of her head, and looked back down at the test she held in complete bliss. Pepper turned to look at him. "We...we..." she stammered, her voice warbling from the onset of the happy tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She fell speechless, and could only stare, mouth agape, at the stick in her hand.
"Made a baby?" Tony said, grinning. He chuckled again, and Pepper nodded. They both chuckled gleefully as Tony pulled her into his arms and she laid her head on his shoulder, turning her head to look again at the test still held in her fingers.
"I don't believe it!" she said softly. "Pregnant? I'm pregnant?! This is..." she said, raising her head to look at him.
Tony smiled, and pulled back to look deeply into her eyes. "Amazing? Fantastic? Wonderful?" he offered.
All Pepper could do was nod, and chuckle through her tears. Tony chuckled too, as he swiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, his own eyes glassy from the threat of tears. "Yes," she murmured. "All of those things! Oh, Tony!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm so happy!" she whispered.
Tony pulled her even tighter to him, squeezing her tight. "Really, Pep? You're really happy about this?"
"Yes!" Pepper gasped. "Really!"
"And so am I, Pep. I couldn't be happier," he cooed.
Pepper pulled back to look at him, her face glowing as she beamed with happiness. Tony smiled adoringly at her. He bent to kiss her lips firmly and deeply, and Pepper squeaked out a high-pitched moan, his love sending happy little thrills through her body. The kiss slowly broke and Tony rested his forehead on hers, sighing blissfully.
"Well, at least we know the reason for all of the puking," Tony quipped. And Pepper chuckled, nodding in agreement.
"And what a wonderful reason to be sick every morning!" she joked back. Tony grinned and chuckled.
But suddenly Pepper's face changed. Tony raised his head and furrowed his brow. He could see a look of worry slowly replace Pepper's previously blissful expression.
"What, Pep? What's wrong?" he asked quietly, searching her face for an answer.
"What about all of the alcohol we drank at Christmas?" she said. "And I've been taking the pill everyday..."
"Well, not every day," Tony joked, smiling. Pepper frowned at him, and he stopped smiling.
"And I've slept on my stomach a few times! Oh God! That can't be good, right?! But I didn't know I was pregnant! What if I've done something awful and screwing this up already?! Tony?!" she exclaimed in breathless worry. "What about all the sex?!" she said, in hushed murmur. "We were so wild! What if we hurt the...the..." Pepper stammered.
"Pepper," Tony warned, lifting her chin to look up at him. "Look at me. I'm sure everything is fine, okay? But just the same, before you go into full on panic mode, you're forgetting one thing," he assured.
"What?" Pepper asked with alarm.
Tony smiled warmly. "You're forgetting that a few floors down we have our own infirmary, complete with all of the cutting edge diagnostic equipment you could ever need. After breakfast, we'll go down and do an ultrasound, and you'll see for yourself that everything is fine. Okay?" he said, shrugging.
Pepper smiled, her countenance changing back to one of joy. "Really? So we'll get to see our baby today?" she said hopefully.
Tony smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he said, the meaning of her words striking his ears. He exhaled sharply. "Wow. Our baby," Tony said. He shook his head in disbelief. Pepper chuckled happily. "Do you realize that over the course of one week, we got engaged, married, and found out we're having a baby? I mean, who does this?!" Tony exclaimed, grinning in amazement. "Is it me, or are we crazy?"
Pepper giggled. "It's just us, Tony," she said. "Like you told me on Christmas last year. I'm with you, so nothing will ever be normal," she teased. She raised her pointer finger to gently trace the circular scar on his chest.
Tony watched her finger move in silence for a few moments. "What a difference year makes, huh?" he murmured.
"Let alone a week," she said. She smiled warmly and Tony smiled back at her lovingly.
They both turned their heads to look again at the test. They giggled gleefully. Tony turned his head back to Pepper and kissed her temple again. After a few quiet moments, he raised his head and cocked an eyebrow. "So, Mrs. Stark?" he purred, smirking. He pulled her closer to him. Pepper giggled at the flutter she felt in her stomach again at the sound of him calling her by her new name. She wondered if that would ever go away. She secretly prayed that it wouldn't.
"Yes, Mr. Stark?" she purred back, looking at him sweetly.
Tony cleared his throat. "There is a matter of business we still need to discuss," he said, trying to sound official.
Pepper giggled. "And what is that, pray tell?" she cooed.
"Well, I'm only bringing this up because of our newly discovered, um, development? And, clearly," Tony said, trying to sound serious. "Time is now of the essence. So, before you get too big, and too uncomfortable, and too, shall we say, waddly? To be able to travel anywhere?" he asked.
Pepper laughed. "Waddly?" she asked.
"Yes, waddly," Tony joked, still trying to keep a straight face. "It a technical term, you know," he teased.
"Ahh," Pepper said, teasing him back.
"I move that we should make a real effort to go on our honeymoon within the next few weeks," he stated.
"Mmmmhmmm, I second that motion," Pepper agreed.
Tony smiled approvingly. "Good," he said. "Any ideas on where we should go?" he asked.
Pepper pursed her lips. "Well, since we've somehow switched roles in the planning of both the wedding and the honeymoon," she said.
Tony winced and shrugged. "This is true. I'm calling it an executive decision on my part, but I digress. Please! Go on," he said.
Pepper chuckled. "I have taken it upon myself to come up with an idea," she said.
Tony looked at her in surprise. "You have? Oh, well, then, lay it on me," he replied, smirking.
Pepper looked at her husband dreamily. She leaned in to whisper sweetly in his ear. "Remember Venice?" she asked softly.
THE END
WOOHOO! We made it! And I couldn't have had the motivation to keep going without all of you who faithfully read, reviewed, followed, and favorited! And I CAN NOT WAIT to share with you all of the twists and turns, and ups and downs that I have in store for these two in the sequel, "Remember Venice". I promise you another wild ride!
Thank you so much! :D