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They kissed for a good few minutes in the hallway. Slowing the pace every now and then to savour the moment they didn't get to make the most of in the elevator. The next they sped the kiss and explored each other's bodies as much as they could. It felt weird for both of them to be able to do this without any consequences anymore. It didn't even register that they were still in the hotel hallway until a maid made her presence knowing by clearing her throat. Pepper turned bright red and buried her face in Tony's chest, whilst he pulled her closer to him so that the maid and her trolley could get past. He could feel Pepper laughing against his neck and he smiled at the sincerity of the moment.

Once the maid had gone and turned the corner Pepper peeled herself from Tony's body and smiled up at him. Tony's smile shone back at her. "So you didn't want Jake huh?"

"Nope. I wanted a hero." Pepper bit her lip and grinned. "A superhero to be exact."

Tony linked his hands at the base of her back and looked thoughtful. "You know it's funny you say that, because I happen to be the best superhero around."

"Oh really?" Pepper countered Tony's movement and linked her hands at the nape of his neck. she fiddled with the small hairs there. "Well i'm glad I came to your door then. Because I distinctly remember Tom Harding trying to convince me he was a better Iron Man than you at the bar earlier. And he's only four doors down."

"As in the head of marketing Tom Harding?" Pepper nodded, "Please don't make me laugh. He couldn't tell a screwdriver from a spanner."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy Mr. Stark?" Pepper angled her head towards Tony. She was finding it almost endearing how Tony was acting. He hadn't let go of her still.

"I could never be jealous of Tom Harding," Tony leant down closer to her lips again. "Unless he's talking to you when i'm not of course."

Just as Tony's lips were about to touch hers again, Pepper opened her mouth. "As much as i'm loving this. Right here," her hands slid down his chest and rested at the waistband of his shorts. "Right now. Shouldn't we really consider continuing this inside the hotel room? Unless you want another maid to come along and interrupt us again."

Tony grinned and pecked her lips before stepping back and giving Pepper room to walk in ahead of him. "After you."

/

They didn't have sex that night. Not saying they didn't do other things, but they both just felt content enough to be allowed to be kissing and touching and spending unprofessional time together. They talked and joked and discussed the possibility of a relationship. But they both eventually fell asleep on the bed, Pepper in her underwear and Tony in his shorts.

When Pepper woke up she tried to tiptoe around the room to not wake Tony whilst she put on her dress from the night before and tried to smarten herself out. She would have much rather stayed cuddled up to Tony, but their flight was soon and Pepper was in the wrong room. Tony did wake up briefly and mumbled to her from his position on the bed, face down on the bed and asked what she was doing. Pepper started to nag him telling him he had to meet her in the lobby in forty five minutes and left for her own room. But not before rolling him over and giving him a long, slow kiss. Just to remind him of what happened between them the night before.

An hour later, Tony made his way to the lobby in his jeans and polo shirt. He couldn't stop grinning at the way the night had turned out in his favour. They had practically had a date ending with a mind blowing kiss, then resulting in Pepper spending the night with him. Although for a short while Tony did think he had lost Pepper to Jake, things looked up eventually. He didn't have to wait for Pepper long, she turned up eventually in a slimming dress and waved him over to the front desk.

Tony jogged over and smiled sweetly, "Hey."

"Morning Tony," Pepper grinned back at him. "I need the company card to check out."

"Oh sure," Tony put down his bag and dug in his back pocket for his wallet. He got out the card and turned to the receptionist to check out himself. "Hi, can I check out the Stark Industries party please and cover any costs."

"Of course." The receptionist smiled. He took the card off of Tony and began clicking away on his computer. Thankfully he obviously wasn't fazed by Tony's status as it was a high class hotel and so he probably ran into celebrities all the time.

Pepper took Tony's attention away by nudging him in the arm. "You okay?"

Tony smiled at Pepper. She clearly wanted some attention from Tony. He put his hand on her waist to keep her a bit closer. "I'm great thank you. You okay?"

Pepper beamed back, "Fantastic."

"If you could enter your pin please Mr. Stark." The receptionist interrupted the moment. Tony did so and took his card back. "Right there you go sir. I hope you both had a pleasant stay, have a good day."

"I'm sure I will. You too buddy." And with that Tony and Pepper turned to walk off. Intending to go back to Tony's beach side house and relax. Their plans were momentarily stopped as they saw Jake Henderson exiting the elevator. He's eyes moved to Tony and Pepper hand in hand. "Oh great."

Tony looked at his side to see Pepper's cheeks growing a darker shade of pink. Jake looked at their hands then back up at their faces. He rolled his eyes and headed towards the reception himself. Pepper stepped away from Tony and explained how she wanted to talk to Jake quickly. Tony understood, but reluctantly let go of her hand.

"Jake," Pepper rushed over to him and stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder. "Jake, please don't be angry. You and I both know we went going anywhere." Pepper smiled sympathetically, trying to justify her actions.

"I'd flown out to see you Pepper. I really like you." Jake shook his head, "I really liked you."

Pepper looked at her feet and fidgeted. That sure made her feel like crap. "I'm really sorry. I just thought that there wasn't any harm in ending it now rather than later so that we haven't wasted all that time."

Jake nodded, "Well i'm glad you stopped me from wasting my time." He forced a swallow, "I thought we could have gone somewhere, but clearly I was mistaken." Jake looked Pepper in the eye for a long moment before walking in the opposite direction.

Pepper looked down at her feet. She felt awful. Jake obviously really liked her and thought that they maybe actually amount to something. However relationships are a two way thing and Pepper couldn't beat herself up about not giving Jake false hope. That's what Pepper told herself anyway. Especially as she turned around and saw Tony looking almost sombre all on his own. He was her best friend.

"Sorry about that," Pepper strolled back over to Tony and tried to act nonchalant. The feeling of guilt about Jake would ware off eventually she hoped. "Just needed some closure."

Tony studied her for a moment, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Pepper took his hand in hers and linked their fingers. So perfect. "Let's go home."

Proud of myself that this update didn't take a million months. Love to all!