A/n: Hello! This is my first Iron Man fic, and naturally it had to be Pepperony! :D I have written chapter 2 of this, so if I get enough reviews, I will post it. Enjoy and please review!

The Key to my Heart

Tony's house. Just get to Tony's house. Pepper thought, as she was driving along. The memory of what just happened was still flashing in front of her eyes.

They were on the couch, watching a movie together, just like any other couple. Pepper was resting her head on John's shoulder, at peace with the world - well, as much as she could be. "Ginny..." John said, directing his gaze away from the television to her, "How do feel about taking our relationship a bit... further?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know how to say this but...um..."

"John dear, just say it!" Pepper replied, feeling a slight twinge of annoyance at her boyfriend. John took a deep breath, and said, at the speed of light "Ok well all my friends who aren't single have done, y'know, it. And when I told them that we haven't yet, they implied that we weren't serious in this relationship and other stuff... So Ginny what I'm trying to say love is... We should sleep together."

Silence.

"Ginny?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I said no." Pepper told him, her voice steady and calm, trying to digest her boyfriends unpleasant news.

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean, I'm not going to sleep with you. I've told you this a thousand times, I'm not ready."

John's eyes thinned as he stared at Pepper. She could tell he was annoyed.

"Now you listen here. I have put up with your crap for long enough, and now, you're going to have to put up with my needs."

"But-"

"No buts. Now, come with me." Pulling Pepper along, John started to walk towards the bedroom. Pepper was incredibly annoying sometimes. She was twisting and flailing, trying to squeeze out of his firm strong grip. Suddenly, she stopped. Confused, John turned to face her.

THWUMP.

Pepper half-jumped in surprise as her fist left John's face. She had punched him. She had punched him!

"AHH!" Pepper shrieked as she was thrown against the wall. Vision hazy, she tried to stand up, tried to get a grip on the wall.

THWUMP.

Now she was half-blind, little white lights popping in front of her eyes. Seeing John in the corner of her eye raising his fist to strike again, she sprinted for the door. Racing towards her car with her key in her hand, only one thought was in her head:

Get to Tony's house.

Tears still stinging in her eyes, she backed into Tony's drive. She didn't really understand why she was here, of all places she could be, but she knew here was right. Letting herself in, she tip-toed into the mansion. Now she was here, her breathing was starting to calm down, get back to it's slow steady rhythm. Still, she didn't think she could face Tony yet – not when her eyes were still puffy and red.

Maybe she should just make some tea and go to her office to work. Work always clears her head. Yeah, lets do that she thought.

Walking to the kitchen, she heard a sound which made her stop dead. It was a woman's laugh. A high-pitched, flirty laugh. Tony had a guest round. Shoot. Well this is awkward. How was she going to get around this? Maybe she should just go back home. Wait, no, John was there! She couldn't go back, especially since she had come all this way. No, Pepper would work around it, just like she had done all those other times.

Turning back around, she headed towards Tony's mini kitchen in his workshop. Greeted by the smell of sweat and alcohol (how much does the man drink, seriously!), Pepper made her way towards the high-tech kettle that was on the side of the counter, perching precariously there. Honestly, you would have thought the man would care a bit more about the piece of tech, they were, in his eyes, his children after all.

Having made the tea, she silently walked back upstairs. The sound of laughter and talk were only slightly quieter in the huge hallway, and she could hear Tony's low voice. Damn that voice. Just once tiny little phrase from it and she would be doing a number of things with him. She wished that the girl with him was her, and she wished that it was to her that he was talking so sexily to. No, Potts, what are you thinking! Stop it! She angrily told herself, He does think about you in that way, you know he never will! To him, your just his PA – that's all! Don't kid yourself!

Sighing, she felt her eyes begin to droop. What time was it? 11:47pm. Why was she this tired! It was very unusual for her to be tired at a time like this. But she was. Yet, she couldn't just sleep over at Tony's house – especially since he had a guest round! Besides, it would be incredibly unprofessional if he was to find her, asleep in his house.

However, she found her feet dragging her upstairs, towards Tony's many bedrooms. Maybe she could just sleep here? Tony wouldn't find out, he's fall asleep probably drunk out of his mind as usual, and then when he woke up he would find Pepper at work as usual, nothing would be out of place. Yeah, that would work.

So now to the more pressing question – where to sleep? She knew Tony wouldn't bring his guest into his own bedroom, but Pepper couldn't go in there! That was his BEDROOM for Christ sake! What kind of PA sleeps in HER BOSSES BEDROOM?! Well, all of his other assistant's probably did. But she wasn't just another assistant, she told herself. She was Virginia Anne Potts, and she was not going to be found sleeping in his bedroom, like some random desperate girl craving attention.

Where to sleep then? This was now becoming a very annoying question. So heading into the third guest bedroom along the corridor, she went inside, before her head could tell her otherwise.

The time: 1am. And she still wasn't asleep! Why? She knew why. She knew perfectly well why she couldn't get to sleep. It was because she was longing for a certain tech geek's arms to be wrapped around her, lulling her gently into a peaceful sleep. But he wasn't here. And all alone in the guest bedroom, Pepper let the silent tears fall - it was useless to try and prevent them. Maybe she should go into Tony's room. At least then she could at least fall asleep surrounded by his smell. Oh God that sounded bad. But she so desperately wanted it.

And so, at 1 o'clock in the morning, Pepper Potts was to be found creeping along the corridor towards Tony Stark's bedroom.

Entering it, she immediately was taken back by the room. There was hardly room to walk! Discarded Burger King bags littered the floor, along with empty bottles of Lord-knows-what. Yet, she was oddly comforted by it. It was here in this room that she could tell Tony felt comfortable. Directing her gaze towards the gigantic bed, she saw something that made her heart swell with love for Tony Stark. For on his bedroom counter was a picture. It was a picture of the day they met – she was holding out the report with that maths mistake to him, and he was looking at her, confused yet slightly amused. She, naturally, was a deep shade of crimson. Underneath the picture, which was framed in a simple wood design, were the words:

The Key To My Heart.

Heart fluttering, she sat down on the bed and picked up the picture. She didn't know how he had this moment pictured – probably JARVIS – or why he had it, but all she knew was that this picture made her realise what was always there, ever present in the back of her mind: She loved him. She loved him more than he could ever know.

Comforted and happy, she got off the bed, picked up his Black Sabbath t-shirt from the floor, took off all her clothes (except her underwear), pulled the t-shirt over her head and laid back down on his bed, finally feeling like she was capable of sleep.

Eventually, half an hour later, she drifted off to a peaceful sleep to the smell of Tony Stark, and staring at that beautiful picture that held so many memories.

Whoo hoped you like it! Please leave me a review, I will be eternally grateful! :) ~PhoenixFeather0198