Just a little something I cooked up when I was bored. Tony POV

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Iron Man related. :/

"Sir, maybe the Mark V could do with some upgrading?" Jarvis tonelessly suggested.

I had been staring at the clock for what seemed like hours. Seriously, like at least five hours.

"It's been twenty minutes, sir." Ah, Jarvis the mind reader. "It will do well not to dwell on Miss Potts current situation."

"I'm not dwelling Jarvis, I'm sitting on this nice chair having a rest." I spread my arms out in a dramatic fashion and spun myself on my wheeled chair as if to emphasize the point, or to just act as petulant as I could.

"Who made you my mother?" I added in a snippy voice.

Silence.

And then, "Shall I call Colonel Rhodes?"

I sighed and got up from my chair with a frustrated huff. I have to admit this is bothering me a lot more than I thought it would.

"No, don't call mom," I responded sourly, beginning a second round of pacing. I'm sure I'll be seeing my chair again very soon. There's only so much pacing I can do. And it's only been twenty minutes…

"Might I suggest you tell Miss Potts about these feelings you-"

"Whoa! No, no feelings Jarvis. I don't remember making you my therapist." I stopped him in his tracks because his line of thinking was not something I particularly wanted to hear. It's actually something I've been trying to avoid thinking about for the past month.

"Your heart rate has been elevated for the past twenty-five minutes, sir. I am merely providing options that may give you some relief."

"What's the second option?" There was a hint of hope I let slip in my voice.

"A mild sedative."

I rolled my eyes. "Not exactly the best options there, genius."

"My apologies, sir." I swear I could hear a hint of irritation in his response. "Maybe a well placed phone call to Miss Potts could end her date promptly?"

And there it was. The source of my current predicament.

Pepper… on a date.

I'm Tony Stark. I'm a billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. I could have my pick of women that would throw themselves at me in hopes of being the first Mrs. Stark. Hell, I should be out right now in some club picking up the next 'missus'.

So why am I sitting in my shop in a pissed off mood that my assistant has a date?

I believe it was some idiot from my own accounting staff. I wasn't particularly listening to the details Jarvis gave me about him. I was still in shock from the actual announcement of her unavailability.

I walked over to my desk that was illuminated with holographic images and picked up a sturdy looking wrench I had placed there a while ago. I felt the heavy weight in my hands and could feel an evil smirk come on as I imagined smashing the blunt object over her date's head. So what if I would be down one accountant? There would be ten people lined up to replace him.

Unfortunately, my assistant would not be too pleased that I knocked her boyfriend out with a wrench.

God, that word left a terrible taste in my mouth. It was a bit of an exaggeration on my part since it was only the first date, but it still bothered me to no end.

"Call her." I've never had this kind of desperation overwhelm me. I should be stronger than this.

This unfamiliar territory was treacherous.

"Dialing, sir."

I waited as patiently as I could, thumbing the wrench that I still had in my possession. I resisted the urge to throw it across the room when the call went straight to voicemail.

Fuck.

"This is stupid," I muttered, setting the wrench down before I actually did some damage.

"Would you like me to try again?"

"No. I'm not that desperate." Except I really am, I just rather not show it. Even to an AI.

I wish I could pinpoint exactly when I started feeling this way. Maybe it would make things easier somehow? Or I could find a way to take it back to the way things used to be. I know I'm losing major cool points with all this pining I'm doing.

It was definitely after I announced myself as Iron Man. Although, there was no love lost between us when she was suddenly inundated with double the usual workload when I revealed my identity. She wouldn't even look my way the first two weeks.

Still, she stuck by my side. I wish I knew why she put up with all my bullshit. Any other sane person would have thrown in the towel eons ago.

Every time I came home from a mission, it would be to a worried Pepper gripping a first aid kit like her life depended on it. No matter what time it was, I could always expect her to be there. I suspect it was Jarvis that told her when I would always arrive. Maybe it was during one of those late-night, healing sessions that I finally fell for her?

Well, at least I can admit it to myself finally.

"Time, Jarvis?"

"Forty-five minutes, sir."

"Right… where was this date at again?"

"I'm not privy to that information," Jarvis replied unhelpfully.

"And her phone is off so you can't trace it," I added in as well, scratching my chin thoughtfully as I worked around the problem. I always got what I wanted and I don't see how this situation should be any different.

My pacing picked up a bit as I worked to find a solution. I picked up the glass of water that was next to the wrench on my desk and went to rehydrate myself before I collapsed from exhaustion.

"Might I suggest a quick check on the GPS you had installed on her vehicle?" Jarvis interrupted suddenly.

My eyes widened in surprise and I spit out the water I had tried to gulp down.

I wiped at my mouth and now soaked shirt. "I forgot about that!"

Yes, I had a GPS installed on her vehicle. Why? I'm not quite sure but it felt necessary at the time. It was after I let the world know about my extra-curricular activities as Iron Man. I felt I had painted a target on her back as well and justified my actions that way. She doesn't know, of course. I'm not about to let that secret out any time soon.

"If I know Pepper as well as I know I do, she would take her vehicle in case the idiot turned out to be a total creep. It's her escape plan. Track it, Jarvis."

I looked up at the screen in front of me as Jarvis narrowed down the vehicle's location. I let out a low whistle when her location put her at one of the more fancy restaurants in the area. This accountant was good. He was pulling out all the stops to woo her.

Well, it was time to put an end to all this nonsense.

"Call, Rhodey."

I listened as the line rang and waited for my best friend to pick up.

"Tony?"

A small smile spread across my face.

"Hey platypus, how do you feel about some dinner?"

Done! Reviews are like Lay's potato chips, you can't have just one. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Lay's potato chips either. :(