You guys are gonna kill me! I know! I know! I have a TON of writing to do on my other fics, and you're probably thinking I'm nuts for taking on another one. But I can't get this one out of my head. I REALLY wanted to write a fic about Tony and Pepper's life together on the farm he talks about building her at the end of AoU. And, plus, I needed a good fluffy fic to work on in between my angsty ones (oh, how I love the angsty ones! LOL!) So, without further ado, here is the follow up to "Reunion", in all its fluffy, Pepperony glory. (Smut included where necessary, might I add!) Don't worry! You'll get my customary smut warnings when the time comes!

(Author's Note: "Give Me the Simple Life" is one of my favorite jazz songs, and perfect for this situation, which is why I just had to call this fic by the same name. Ella Fitzgerald does a terrific version, if you care to listen to it.)

Happy reading! :D

"Ah, ah. No, no, no. Nope. Gimme that. Come on. Hand it over," Tony said, motioning to Pepper for her to give him the small but moderately heavy box she was carrying. She reluctantly did as instructed, and he took it from her, setting it down at the base of the staircase in the entry way of their new home, a two story, white-washed farmhouse just outside of where Pepper had grown up in Two Rivers, Kansas. It had been two months since they'd (or rather, Tony had) purchased it, and today was moving day. Pepper was just entering her fifth month of pregnancy, and, these days, he was treating her as if she were as delicate as a porcelain doll, or a priceless statue in a museum. She huffed and crossed her arms over her protruding pregnant belly, and scowled at him. "Tony, I'm pregnant. Not helpless. I think I can manage a ten pound box," she explained.

"Which that one is not," he retorted. He walked back to face her, turning the dark blue baseball cap he had backwards on his head to face forward. He wore a heather gray t-shirt and long khaki shorts with black Converse sneakers, and Pepper smiled to herself at how handsome he looked, even in something so casual. It made her think that quiet country life was already agreeing with him.

He ran his hands down her upper arms, looking into her eyes. "Besides, we have movers for this. Your job is to stand here, direct traffic, and look devastatingly beautiful doing it," he said, planting a soft kiss on her temple. He admired how she looked in her short denim shorts (modified with a stretchy panel in the front to accommodate her growing belly), and a white linen, embroidered and beaded peasant tunic and matching white mule-style canvas sneakers. She had a red handkerchief holding all of her hair back except for her bangs, and a couple of arrant strands of hair framing her face. She gave him a wry smile, and he smirked and winked at her.

Just then, two men in dark blue jumpsuits were coming in with an antique love seat Pepper had bought at an auction house before they'd left LA, and she watched them anxiously as the men worked it through the doorways into the living room, nervous that they would ding the finely carved legs, head and arm rests. But they made it through without a scuff, and she breathed a sigh of relief when they finally sat it down on the hardwood floor just adjacent to the fireplace. The upholstery was a finely woven red and gold damask pattern, the colors a big hit with Tony for obvious reasons, and she had fallen in love with the piece of furniture the second she'd laid eyes on it. It had heavy wooden legs carved ornately, and the wood work extending up the frame to the scrolled armrests, and then to the high back where it took the shape of a grape vine that peaked right above the center of the piece. She thought it would be perfect for their turn-of-the-century farm house, and it turned out, she was right. The love seat looked like it had been there since the house was built.

"Hey, guys? No matter what she says," Tony said to the movers, jabbing a thumb in Pepper's direction. "She's not to lift a finger today. Got it?" The two men both nodded in acknowledgement before they went back outside, and Pepper rested her hands on her belly and drummed her fingers, looking side long at Tony with mild annoyance as he watched the guys leave. He turned to face her, and smiled smugly at his wife. "There. Now you can't go over my head. They have their direct orders," he told her.

"So, am I to do nothing besides stand here, today?" she asked sternly.

Tony grimaced, sensing her obvious dissatisfaction. "Okay, Potts," he said, relenting. "Let me make you a deal."

"I'm listening," she said.

"I know you've been nesting like crazy..." he said.

Pepper gave him a smirk. "Someone's been reading the pregnancy books," she teased. "Show off," she muttered.

Tony smirked back at her cockily. "Anyway," he said. "I also know you haven't had a chance to do much of it lately, and you're probably just itching to tackle something, so the cleaning and organizing is your department. Fair enough?" he asked. "Just no lifting. You need something moved, you call me. Deal?"

"Deal," Pepper agreed. "You do know I wouldn't have settled for just standing here, anyway, right? I would have found something useful to do on my own," she replied.

Tony shrugged, and nodded knowingly. "I realize that, yes," he said, chuckling. "But I mean it. Don't over do it. Okay? Promise me? You get tired, you rest. Nobody said we had to get this all done in a day," he reminded, pointing his finger at her.

"Okay, I promise," she said, holding up a hand in defense. "I'll take my time."

Tony smiled, and wrapped his arms around her waist, which was quickly growing increasingly harder by the day. "Good," he purred. He pecked her lips, and rested his forehead on hers as the movers were coming in again with two dollies filled with boxes marked kitchen. "You still happy about this place? You glad we did this?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm ecstatic," Pepper said, grinning.

Tony grinned back, and kissed her lips again. Just then, he felt a hard tap-tap on his stomach coming from Pepper's protruding middle. The baby had just recently started kicking hard enough for him to feel on the exterior. He chuckled and stepped back, putting his hands on her baby bump, feeling another tap-tap-tap in response. They both chuckled this time, and Tony looked into Pepper's eyes mirthfully before glancing back to her stomach. "How's he been today?" he asked her.

She put her hands over his, and glanced at her belly before smiling into his eyes. "Active, as always. He seems as excited as we are," she said. Tony grinned and bent down to plant a tender kiss on her belly. He gave it a loving pat, and then pecked her lips before Pepper headed to the kitchen to begin her work.

XxXxXxXxXx

They'd both busied themselves for the last couple of hours, Tony directing the movers to the appropriate places while moving the odd boxes here and there, and Pepper starting with cleaning and organizing the kitchen cabinets. It didn't take long to unload the moving van, and once it was done and Tony saw the movers off, he walked in between the maze of boxes to find Pepper sitting cross-legged on the floor, just finishing up with the bottom cabinets. He went over to her and offered his hand to help pull her up off the floor. She smiled up at him, and accepted it, allowing him to help her to her feet. She took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh. "Well, the bottoms are done," she said. "Now it's time for the tops."

"How about break time? You're starting to look a little flushed," he said, noticed her reddened cheeks. "And I think that porch swing is calling our names, Pep."

Pepper smiled. "I would love that," she said.

Tony smiled and grasped her hand, leading his wife outside to the covered porch on the front of the house. There was a hanging bench swing attached, and it was lazily swaying in the cool afternoon breeze. Tony grabbed it, and held it steady as he sat down at one end, resting his arm along the back. Pepper eased herself down beside him, tucking her upper body against his side, and extending her legs to put her feet up along the length of the bench. They both sighed, and Tony pushed off softly with his feet, setting them to swing gently back and forth. They could hear the rustling of the branches of the trees around them, and the breeze gently blew the strands of hair around Pepper's face, playfully tickling her cheeks. She smiled and tucked them behind her ears. Then she tilted her head back against her husband's shoulder, and he planted a kiss on the top of her head as they swung. In the quiet of the afternoon shade, the swing lazily creaked as it moved them. Back. And forth. Back. And forth.

"I talked to my mom earlier. I called her to let her know we'd officially arrived," Pepper said dreamily, a few minutes later.

"I bet she was happy," Tony replied.

Pepper giggled. "Oh, happy doesn't begin to describe it. I had to hold the phone away from my ear when I told her," she joked.

They both chuckled. "Is she going to come over?" Tony asked.

"She said she'd be out later on. She's bringing dinner, she says," Pepper replied.

"Sounds great, although I hope she knows it'll have to be picnic style. The dining room table is buried, currently," he said.

"I told her. She said 'no problem'," Pepper said. "Besides wanting to see us, she's also excited to get a look at the house. She says she was in it several years ago when daddy did some work for the family that had it before. That tells you how long ago that was," she said. "She's interested to see how much it's changed."

"Or how little. There isn't much around this place that isn't original, from what I can tell, Pep," Tony said. "Was she still happy we bought it?"

"Thrilled," she said. "She thought it sounded perfect for us. And she also had the same idea I did of what, or who, we could put in the spare bedrooms," Pepper teased.

Tony chuckled. "She's into billiards?" he teased. "And she's welcome to use the gym anytime she wants. I mean, if she's into it, I guess..."

Pepper smacked his shoulder playfully, and Tony flinched, laughing. "She means grand babies, goofball," she replied.

Tony chuckled again. "Well, I will certainly do my level best to fulfill that wish," he purred. He sighed dramatically. "Hard work knocking you up, Pep. But if I guess if I must, I must," he teased.

Pepper giggled, and tilted her head back to peck his lips. He smiled at her, and kissed her back. They gazed lovingly at each other for a few moments before she rolled her head back up and against his shoulder again.

They continued to swing in blissful silence, enjoying the breeze. A few moments later, Tony moved his arm from the back of the swing down to Pepper's stomach, resting his hand squarely over her belly. He felt another little kick, and smiled. "He is active today, isn't he?" he remarked. But there was no answer. So he tilted his head to look at his wife, and realized that she'd dozed off. He smiled to himself, and kissed the top of her head again, not at all in a hurry to end this quiet moment in paradise.