Pepper entered Tony's private office, only to have him say "if you're here to give me more of your press cards, as spectacular as they may be, I don't want them."

Pepper sighed and set a cup of coffee next to the chair in which he sat; sitting down on a couch beside him. He rolled his head against the back of the chair to look at Pepper with a lazy grin; "you are the one who said 'I am Iron Man,'" Pepper sighed as she flipped through a few pages on her clipboard.

She handed both a pen and the clipboard to Tony, motioning for him to sign the spots she marked. He did so while saying "C'mon Potts, you know they don't really care about this stuff," Tony pointed to the small stack of note cards she had placed on the table between them.

"The public knows what Iron Man does, but they still want to know why," Pepper murmured as she gathered the clipboard once again and handed her stack of note cards to Tony. "Please try to touch at least three of them."

He looked at a selection of the note cards, then chucked them to the floor in a flutter at his feet. Pepper bent down to pick them up; this was how Tony acted lately. Either he was blunt and arrogant enough to make the skin between her shoulder blades itch, or he was immensely critical; just all around a bigger asshole than usual.

She sighed as she sat back on the couch with her small stack of note cards, saying to Tony "you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. The public, and well everyone, just want to know you. I made sure Afghanistan is off limits to discussion." Tony seemed to relax at hearing this, the muscles in his jawline looking more relieved.

It was, afterall, an all inclusive, exclusive, complete interview with Tony about his first year back in power; and it just so happened to be on the anniversary of his kidnapping. Pepper assumed this to be the reason why Tony was acting so off lately, but she couldn't be sure. The producer of the show Tony was going on argued that the public needed to know why Iron Man does what he does, as a way to almost feel closer to Tony. Pepper had noted the fact, but warned him that if anyone other than Tony brought it up during the show, she would pull the plug. She wasn't sure if the Producer knew that she was serious, but he would without a doubt realize.

Tony looked at Pepper with clouded eyes; "thank you, Pepper." She nods, and a moment of silence passed before Tony snapped his fingers and asked to see the note cards once more. Before Pepper could act upon his request, her phone jingled with a text message and she pressed a button to pull the new message to the screen.

Happy Birthday. Dinner later?

Pepper stared at the text for a moment, until the sound of Tony's voice brought her back to Earth.

"You got something better to do, Potts?" He said with a hint of curiosity in his voice. She looks up from her phone and quickly stashes it in her pocket.

"Of course not," she said as she handed him the note cards.

///

Pepper sat in Tony's living room staring at her laptop screen, or more specifically, the time. She noticed it was almost 2am, and closes her laptop firmly. She set it on the couch beside her and got up to look out the window at the night sky. The interview had stuck to her conditions and had overall, gone quite well, but that didn't remove the fact that she had a long day. With her nose pressed to the window in Tony's living room, she looked up at the moon and just so happened to see a shooting star. She closed her eyes and made a wish; just as she thought she heard the intercom beep. Her ears listened for the sound of Tony's voice, but heard nothing.

She wondered if she should even let Tony know she was leaving. He had disappeared into his shop the moment they returned from the interview, only pausing at the top of the stairs to frown and say, "I've been a dick lately." It seemed as though he was both recognizing the fact and apologizing for it, because he didn't know how to do either. Pepper thought that their meeting before the interview had gone positively, but obviously had not made things completely magical between the two. He barely said a word to her the rest of the day, but not after charming his way through the interview and all other engagements with ease.

Pepper sighed and returned to sit on the couch, "Jarvis," she began, "will you p-" The intercom cut her off; "Pepper, I need you please." Just her luck. She sighed and walked towards the stairs leading to Tony's shop.

///

Typical Tony. They'd been back at his house for hours, but he hadn't changed into more casual clothing, just removed his jacket and loosened his tie. His shirt had been unbuttoned enough to notice the top of the arc reactor, and his right sleeve was rolled up. He was sitting in front of the computer, and didn't look up from the screen as he said, "I need you to take care of something, it's in that drawer."

There are two drawers in the table he indicated, so she opened both. In the first, a mess of broken tools, tangled wire, and other items which she hadn't an idea what they were. In the second, a small box which was neatly gift wrapped with purple paper, and an overlarge shimmering pink ribbon. She smiled to herself at Tony's interesting color combination, but was once again interrupted by his voice.

"You thought I forgot," he murmured. Pepper looked up, only to see him standing a step away with his hands in his pockets.

"Well there have been previous reasons for why I might have thought that."

"Yeah, okay, whatever. You gonna open it or not?"

Pepper set the box down on the table and carefully began to remove the ribbon and peel away the wrapping paper; as Tony said "Dear God Potts, just open it already."

She scowled at him as she opened the final product, to find a twist of gold on an elegant chain nestled inside the tissue paper. "Tony, it's beautiful."

"Expensive, too."

Pepper laid it in her palm, only to realize that the charm on the necklace had a shape. A heart; heavily stylized, but unmistakably on a right angle.

"You don't like it."

His tone of voice made her wonder what he saw in her face at the moment.

"No, Tony. I really do, but it's just not what I would expect from you."

Tony sighed and took the necklace from her, motioning for her to lift her hair and turn around. "The thing is," he began, "what does one get for the woman who works for the man that has everything?" She frowned in confusion as he pulled the necklace around her neck, bringing his hands to the back.

"So," he continued as he clasped the chain, "I thought I should take your birthday as an opportunity to repay an old debt which I owe to you." He turned Pepper to face him.

"Once upon a time, long, long ago, you gave me proof that I have a heart. I'm giving you proof that it's yours," Tony said with a lopsided grin.

"Tony Stark. I thought you weren't nostalgic?"

"I'm not, but maybe I am just a little bit sentimental."

He leaned in; his beard tickling her skin as he planted a sweet, shy, kiss to her cheek, and after a moment's hesitation another to the corner of her mouth.

"Happy Birthday, Pepper."

Pepper looked up at him, not noticing that she had placed her hand on his chest, directly over the reactor. His hand curled over the back of hers, holding it against him.

"I apologized for being a dick, right?"

"Well, in the strange way you do.."

"I am sorry. I just want you to know that. I'm sorry. Please tell me you know that."

She looks up at his face, and can almost see the slight pain in his eyes that he is trying so hard not to show.

"I know, Tony."

"Good," He rocks back on his heels, dropping their hands from his chest and leaving a small area of space between them. Pepper can now see his face and notice the details; the lines that weren't there before, and scars that have never actually faded away.

"So, good birthday?"

Pepper studies his expression, and somehow knows that this man, Anthony Edward Stark, will one day break her heart. Or perhaps he already had. She smiled at him.

"The best."

///

A/N: First Iron Man fic! Don't know how to feel about it.. But I hope you like it. Reviews would be appreciated, even if they're telling me it's crap.