The longest chapter I've ever written and yet it still doesn't look like much. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Tony woke up the following morning, groaning as the rain pounded on the windows. He rolled over, covering his ears with the pillow, and gasped quietly as he saw what, or more so who, was lying next to him. He smiled at the sight. Her eyes were still closed and her breathing was even, which proved to him she was still asleep. Her copper coloured hair was sprawled out on the pillow, and he moved forward slightly to brush a bit from her face. The cover was pulled all the way up to her neck, but he could tell she was still shivering slightly. He decided to be brave and moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. To his surprise and delight, she wrapped her arms around him as well and laid her head on his chest. As he lay there, playing with her hair, he replayed the events of the night before in his head. He sighed as he looked down to her, cursing himself for causing her so much trouble. He knew he had to make it up to her somehow, but how would he? That was the question. As he felt the body next to him begin to stir, a small smile played on his lips. He watched as she rubbed her eyes gently, before moaning and turning her head so her face was buried in his chest. He felt her freeze in his hold as she realised she wasn't lying on a mattress. She looked up at him slowly, her eyes wide. His smile disappeared as he looked into her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him looking at her innocently, and she closed her eyes again, laying her head back on his chest. He kissed the top of her head, and smiled when he heard her sigh contentedly.

"Morning." He mumbled into her hair. All he got was a groan in return, causing him to laugh slightly. He carried on playing with her hair as they lay there in a comfortable silence. After around 10 minutes, Tony sat up, causing her to grab onto his shirt tightly and look up at him with a sad expression.

"Where are you going?" She asked, and his heart melted at the sight.

"I'm just gonna go make some pancakes. You stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes." He kissed her forehead as she smiled at him before burying her face in the pillow.

As he made his way downstairs, he started to think of an idea to repay her. He walked through to the kitchen and turned on the cooker before getting out the ingredients to start making the pancakes.

"JARVIS," He said, as he started to mix the ingredients together. "I need you to do me a favour."

"Yes, sir. How can I help?" JARVIS replied, sounding as cold and metallic as ever.

"I need you to buy me a few things for Pepper." He said, pouring some of the mixture into a frying pan. As he reeled off a list of items he needed JARVIS to order him for the evening, she lay up in his bed, burying her face into his pillow and inhaling the scent. His scent. She smiled slightly, wondering what it would feel like to wake up like this every day. She didn't move when she heard him coming into the room. She still didn't move when he called her name. She heard him put something down on the bedside cabinet before feeling the bed dip next to her. She smiled again as she felt his hand running up and down her back. As she turned her head, she was met by two beautiful brown eyes staring straight at her.

"Hungry?" He asked her with a small smile. She nodded in return and sat up, stretching slightly. He swallowed when he saw her top raise up to reveal her perfectly toned abdomen. He sat up next to her and took the tray from the cabinet next to him, putting it in front of them both. He handed her a glass of orange and she gratefully accepted it with a small 'thank you' before taking a sip. He sat watching her as she put the glass on the bed in front of her, still holding it with one hand, and running a finger from the other around the brim a few times.

"Pancakes?" He asked, suddenly, causing her to jump slightly. "Sorry." He mumbled, trying to hold back a laugh as he saw her jump. She nodded as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. He handed her a plate with a couple of pancakes on, as well as a knife and fork.

"Thank you." She smiled, but her smile quickly disappeared as she asked her next question. "Tony, can we talk about what happened?" The sudden question caused Tony to choke on his juice and look at her with wide eyes.

"Why?" He asked, not wanting to get into it. She shrugged in reply. "What's there to talk about?"

"Well, I-" She quickly stopped and took a breath before carrying on. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react the way I did." He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand and he quickly shut it again. She stood from the bed, putting her plate and glass back on the tray before turning to look out of the window. "It's just, I'm scared to do this, Tony. You have such a reputation and I just don't want to be another play thing. I've never been in a serious relationship before and I don't want to get my hopes up just to have my heart broken again." She didn't realise he was standing behind her until she felt him carefully put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and, as soon as she did, he saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'd never do that to you, Pep." He said, putting a hand on her cheek and gently rubbing his thumb across her smooth skin. "I lo- I care too much about you to even think about hurting you, in any concept." She smiled slightly and nodded, looking at the floor and tucking another piece of hair behind her ear. He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head slightly, leaning in and softly pressing his lips to hers. He expected her to push him away, but she did the complete opposite. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He smiled through the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. She was the one to pull back, moving her head slightly to lay on his shoulder as his hold on her tightened.

"We'll make this work, Pep. I promise." He whispered into her ear. He believed they could because he believed in them.

…

The day went relatively quickly, which he was pleased about as it meant the evening would come quicker. At around 7:30 Jarvis informed Tony that Pepper was leaving her office and would be at his in around half an hour. Tony sprung into action, sorting everything out, putting everything where it needed to be. When he was satisfied, he quickly went up to the bedroom and changed into a suit before going to sit in the garden to wait for Pepper to get there.

When she pulled into the drive, she let out a long sigh, happy to have another long day finally over. She climbed out of the car and locked it behind her before walking to the door. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a post-it note stuck the door. She pulled it off and read it. There's a surprise for you upstairs. She frowned, hoping it wouldn't be something dirty. She opened the door and walked into the house. All the lights were off, which made her even more suspicious. She made her way upstairs and into the bedroom, looking to see if Tony was there, but he wasn't. Just as she was about to leave, she saw something hanging on the bathroom door. She walked over to it and saw another post-it note stuck to the hanger of a short, sleeveless, purple dress. She ran her fingers along the fabric of the dress before taking it off the door so she could read the note. Once you've changed into this, there's another surprise for you in the closet. She stuck both post-it notes on the door before taking off her heels and suit dress. She admired the dress once more before taking it off the hanger and putting it on. She checked herself over in the mirror, smiling at how well the dress fitted. She pulled her hair out of the hair band she'd had in so her hair hung loosely at her shoulders in waves of copper. She walked into the closet and looked around, noticing a box on a chair in the corner. She walked over to it and took the post-it note off the top. Put these on and then go to the garden where you have two more surprises waiting for you. She frowned again. The garden? She shook her head and opened the box, amazed at the shoes she saw inside. They were a pair of black Christian Louboutins with 5 inch heels. She took them out of the box and put them on before walking down the stairs and towards the garden. She smiled as she saw Tony standing outside, his back to the door. She opened it and he instantly turned around, his eyes widening as he looked at her.

"Wow," He said, walking over to her and taking her hand, spinning her round slowly. "You look better than I imagined." She blushed at his comment.

"I understand there were 2 surprises for me out here." She said with a smirk. He smiled at her before pulling a long box out of his pocket and held it out to her. She gratefully took it and opened it carefully. She smiled at was inside. She fingered the simple chain with a heart pendant before looking up at him and smiling. He took the necklace from the box and walked behind her, placing the necklace on her neck and doing it up. He stood in front of her again and smiled at how beautiful she looked.

"It's platinum, by the way." He said suddenly. "Because I know how much you hate gold." She put the box on the table next to them before wrapping her arms around him tightly. She smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her waist in return.

"What is all this for?" She asked, not letting go.

"You'll find out later." He smirked, pulling back to look at her. "But, for now, you and I are going out." He held his hand out for her, and she gratefully accepted it. After telling JARVIS to lock the doors behind them, he led her out to his Audi and held the door for her as she climbed in before closing it and jogging round to the driver's side. Once he was in, he reached into his pocket and held up a piece of material.
"Put this on." He said, earning a confused look from her. "Trust me." She took it from his hands and covered her eyes with it, tying it up at the back of her head. When he was sure she couldn't see, he began to drive to their destination.

…

When they arrived, he helped her climb out before leading her up a hill. When he stopped her from going any further he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Ready?" She nodded in return. He took the blindfold off of her eyes and smiled as he heard her gasp. They were in the middle of nowhere. No one was around apart from them and a couple of waiters. There was a small table in the middle, under a tree, and a flower in the middle of the table. There were a few candles dotted around so they would have a bit of light. As she turned to look at him, he saw the tears welling in her eyes.

"I can't believe you did this." She smiled, wrapping her arms around him once again. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead before leading her over to the table. As soon as they sat down, they were both handed a glass of wine and a plate of food. They sat in a comfortable silence as they ate, both enjoying their food very much. Tony finished eating first. He sat and watched Pepper finish her food, smiling the whole time. When she'd finished, one of the waiters took their plates and left them to sit there in silence again. Tony placed his hand on top of the one Pepper had put on the table, and she smiled up at him, lacing their fingers together. He pulled her hand lightly and she stood up, walking round to where he was sitting. He pulled her down so she was sat in his lap. She buried her face in his shoulder, making him smile as he began to run his fingers through her soft hair. A few minutes later, a waiter brought them over a bowl of ice cream and handed them both a spoon. They both ate it, still sitting in silence until he heard her giggle quietly. "What?" He asked, looking at her in confusion.

"You err, have a bit of ice cream on your lip." She giggled again, watching as he tried to lick it off. In the end, she wiped it off for him. He smiled at her and looked into her eyes, a silent thank you. She slowly leaned down, closing her eyes, and pressed her lips softly to his. He smiled against her lips and deepened the kiss, running his tongue along her bottom lip as if to ask for permission to enter. She opened her mouth and their tongues quickly found each other. Tony pulled back as he heard music begin to play. The familiar sound of UB40's Can't Help Falling In Love filled the air and they both stood up. Tony held his hand out to Pepper.

"May I have this dance?" He asked. She smiled and took his hand. He led her away from the table before pulling her into his arms. They began to sway together, both happy to be in each other's arms. Pepper looked up at him and questioned "So, what was this all for?" He spun her round before pulling her against his chest. He looked straight into her eyes and answered.

"This is to say sorry for everything I've put you through." He whispered, sighing. She hugged him tightly, which was her way of forgiving him. He hugged her back and kissed her temple before pulling away to look into her eyes again.

"I love you, Pepper Potts." He whispered, causing tears to well in her eyes again.

"I love you too, Tony Stark." She replied before crashing her lips onto his once again.

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-Leanne xx