Well howdy folks! I was trying to work on a new longer piece and this one kind of attacked me in the night. The more I thought about it, the more I had to write it down. Hope you like it!

~77

Disclaimer: Yeah, you guys know the drill. Hey... why do people even put these? We know it doesn't belong to them.

First Time Drunk

"Pep, how much can you drink?" A green beer bottle dangled itself between her face and laptop screen. She jumped and leaned back into her chair to put some distance between her and the unwelcome object. She tilted her head back and glared at the person holding the bottle. Tony smiled gently at her from above. He came around to sit with Pepper on the couch. He started tossing the glass between his hands nonchalantly.

"Er… what, now?"

"I said, how much can you drink?" Pepper was perplexed.

"Why?"

"Because Jarvis told me a six foot tall guy that weighs 160 pounds can take up to about 2.37 drinks an hour for eight hours before he passes out cold. I told him that was simple and I wanted to run an experiment." Pepper gave him a look.

"So… are you comparing me to a 160 pound man?" Tony smiled and nudged her playfully.

"You knew what I meant. Now… how much can you drink, Miss Potts?"

"Um… I don't know."

"Wanna test it out?"

"No! I er… don't drink much."

"… Come to think of it, Potts… I don't think I've ever seen you take a drink." Pepper scoffed and got off the couch. She strutted towards the kitchen to refill her coffee cup. Tony followed. "Potts, do you even drink… at all?" Pepper turned slightly pink.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"… why?"

"I've never really seen the point of it."

"You went to college, though. Right?"

"Of course I went to college. How else could I run your company on top of everything else I do?"

"Everyone drinks in college."

"My roommate was the partyer, not me." Tony grinned impishly. He tried to box her in while she was in front of the coffee machine.

"I just got this image of Cinderella studying her textbooks while her evil stepsisters are out at the frat party. The nerd glasses are a nice touch." Pepper moved his arm with her hip, thus freeing herself.

"I was NOT a nerd!" Tony crossed his arms and smiled patronizingly at her. She faltered. "Well, maybe a little… but look where it got me!"

"So… you've never drank before?" Pepper shook her head and sat back down in front of her laptop. Tony was still trying to wrap his head around this. Belatedly, something occurred to him. "What would you have done with that martini if I had actually brought it to you?" Pepper didn't need to ask him to clarify, he brought that night up often enough. She cleared her throat.

"I was just trying to relax. I would have taken my time and just took it slow. I would've been fine." A sly look came into Tony's eye.

"Haven't you ever wanted to try getting drunk? Just to see if you like it?"

"Honestly, the thought's never occurred to me."

"It's fuuuuuuuuun." Tony replied in a sing-song voice. Pepper chuckled.

"It must be, the amount of time you spend inebriated." Tony put his hand over his heart.

"You wound me, Potts."

"Sorry."

"You could just apologize by having a drink with me."

"Tony, that's entirely unprofessional. Besides, I don't want to."

"Please?"

"The last thing this world needs is for me to be drunk in your presence."

"Oh, come on! I wouldn't let you do anything stupid like… drive, or go bridge jumping, or… well, okay, I'd let you go bridge jumping, but only if I got to go too."

"So, you'd let me jump off a bridge drunk."

"The only way I'd let you jump off a bridge would be if the bungee cord was firmly in my hand. I don't trust those spikes or whatever they use to hold you down." Pepper seemed to be considering it. At least, she had stopped typing. "I'll take care of you, I promise." Pepper looked up, slightly startled.

"Just so we're clear, I'm agreeing to having… a few drinks with you, not bungee jumping, correct?" Tony nodded, not daring to breathe. Pepper closed her eyes and flexed her fingers over the keyboard a few times. Finally, she exhaled through her nose. "Fine. Just one drink. But it'll be on a night when we're not busy and when you don't have to get up early in the morning, alright?" Tony grinned and quickly agreed. This was more than he had hoped for. He had only wanted to run a fairly interesting experiment, now he got to drink with Pepper… and she trusted him to take care of her. He could hardly contain his glee. He quickly pecked her on the cheek and ran back downstairs, leaving a slightly shocked Pepper standing with her hand on her cheek. Pepper turned away from the stairs. A grin spread across her face. She quickly covered it with her hand so the cameras wouldn't see. Tony had promised to take care of her. While the circumstances weren't ideal, it was the first time he promised to do anything but cause havoc. Though she knew it was stupid and childish of her, she allowed herself a small silent scream that could rival any high-school girl asked out by their crush.

Back in the lab Tony pulled up a chair and sat back, feeling very pleased with himself. Jarvis interrupted his internal congratulatory party with a concerned voice.

"Sir, is something the matter with Miss Potts?" Tony looked up, slightly alarmed. She had been fine just a moment ago.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Sir, her shoulders are shaking and she appears to be holding her face." Tony dropped his wrench and wheeled around towards the stairs. He had half opened the door before he had the sense to ask,

"Is she hurt? What happened?"

"Sir... she appears to be..." Tony waved him off.

"Show me." Pepper's image appeared on the nearest terminal. She was holding her face and her shoulders were shaking. What was wrong. Tony's hand reached for his cell to call someone, when Pepper removed her hand from her face.

She was grinning.

She was happy. Ecstatic, even.

A small smile touched Tony's features. He didn't know what had made her so happy, but he was glad for it. She had been awfully uptight as of late.

And if it was himself that caused the happy grin... so be it.

Do you guys want the second half or should I ditch this one? Your call...