Iron Man fic: Yes, No, Maybe
title: Yes, No, Maybe
author: crumpled_up
disclaimer: Iron Man belongs to Marvel. No profit is made from this, only love and flail.
rating: PG
word count: 3400
characters/pairing: Tony/Pepper
spoilers: IM 1 & 2
summary: Five times Tony Stark proposed to Pepper Potts
A/N: Thanks to my awesome cousin for looking this over. Also, my first posted IM fic. Please let me know if it turned out okay. Enjoy!
The first time Tony proposed, he was drunk out of his mind. He stumbled out of his bedroom trying to get down to his workshop and nearly slipped and cracked his head open on the stairs if Pepper didn't catch him in time. When he looked up at her, he blinked slowly and said, "You're my hero, Potts. Marry me."
She merely propped him upright, helped him into his workshop and deposited him on the couch. Then she went back upstairs to finish responding to urgent emails before taking out his latest conquest.
The second time he proposed, he wasn't nearly as drunk and there wasn't any trash to take out except for the empty Chinese food cartons. Rhodey was knocked out on the couch from exhaustion, drink and the overwhelming amount of food Tony ordered. This was Tony's way of celebrating his new breakthrough in building the Jericho missile. Pepper, who refused to drink, but was nearly comatose from the food, slowly gathered up the discarded cardboard boxes to toss.
"Potts, I'll marry you if you find a way to get this big lump home," Tony said, nudging Rhodey on the couch.
She didn't bother looking up as she packed away the leftovers. "Not on your life, Mr. Stark. He's your friend."
"It's not my fault he can't hold his own!" he whined, slouching on the couch. "I can't move. You're up."
Pepper finished cleaning up and put the leftovers in the fridge before picking up the throw blanket on the back of the couch and tossing it over the two men. "Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning. If you puke, I won't clean it up. Hear me, Mr. Stark?"
Tony frowned. "The last time Rhodey and I shared a bed, he nearly kicked me off it."
She raised an eyebrow in response.
"Uh... that didn't come out right. What I meant was--"
"Save it. Just sleep, Tony."
"How 'bout a goodnight story?" he said through a yawn, pulling the blanket to cover his entire body.
With a sigh, Pepper grabbed another blanket and placed that over Rhodey. By the time she came back, Tony was knocked out, jaw slack. She grinned because the rare times she actually found Tony asleep, he always managed to look like an adorable kid. She made sure he was fully covered before whispering a quiet 'Sleep well,' then left.
The third time there was no alcohol or food involved, but there was a lot of blood and yelps and whining.
"Jesus Christ, Pepper! What the hell is in that thing? It burns."
"I need to clean your wound, hold still."
He winced and jerked away from her touch, eyeing her warily. "Not with that industrial strength alcohol. Are you trying to kill me because I can go back out there and have the bad guys shoot me out of the sky to save you the trouble."
"Isn't that how you got these wounds?" she said dryly, pressing the alcohol pad against his forehead.
"No! Ow! Potts, do you have a secret desire to cause me pain? I didn't realize you had a vindictive streak when I hired you."
She pulled the pad away and waited for it to air dry before smearing on ointment. "I never want to see you hurt," she said softly. "But I'm willing to rethink that if you don't hold still. This is just ointment."
He held still long enough for her to tape gauze over the wound. "Are we done yet?"
"No," she replied harshly. "According to Jarvis, you have a few more wounds to patch up before I can let you sleep."
"But I'm tired, Pepper."
"And cranky." She shoved a sports drink under his nose. "Drink. Jarvis says you're dehydrated as well. When I'm done here, I'll make you a sandwich, okay?"
He grumpily raised the bottle up to his lips and sipped generously. She moved over to the other side and started working on another bleeding wound on his shoulder.
"Jarvis, are you sure this doesn't need to be looked at?" Pepper asked as she cleaned up the blood. "It looks deep enough to need stitches."
"I assure you, he does not."
She nodded and went back to nursing him. Fortunately, he didn't make a big fuss for the rest of his wounds and accepted the next bottle of Gatorade obediently, which spoke more about his state of exhaustion than anything.
"Do you think you can stay awake long enough to eat?"
He nodded slowly, eyelids drooping. "Yeah, anything for you, Potts."
She shook him a little harder than necessary and tilted his face up to hers. "Tony," she started, then sighed. "Maybe I should just take you upstairs."
"No, stay here. Food."
"Come on, up you go." She hauled him up and he grunted with effort as she wrapped an arm around his waist and let his arm fall across her shoulders, the dance familiar after so many missions. "Are you okay? Let's go."
She helped him to the elevator, then let him lean against the wall as she pushed the button for his floor. "I'll get you something to eat when you're settled in your room. Can you hold out that long?"
He looked at her through half-lidded eyes. "Have I told you how amazing you are, Potts?"
"Tell me that after you've had some food in you."
"No, seriously." He tried pushing off the wall, but wobbled and decided leaning against the cool metal frame was safer. "You're like the whole package."
The doors opened and Pepper assumed the position and helped him down the hall to his bedroom. "That's very flattering, Mr. Stark, but I think exhaustion is taking over."
"I'm trying to be nice here, Pepper. Can't you just let me do that?"
She really needed to get food into him before his crankiness made him say something he'll regret. Or both of them. "Come on, almost there."
When she spotted his room, she nearly sighed in relief. She pulled the sheets back and set him gently on the bed. "Sandwich or soup?"
"Um, either, don't care. Surprise me."
Pepper hurried out to the kitchen and decided that a sandwich would be quicker than waiting for the soup to heat up. Tony was fading fast and if she didn't get something in him now, he'd be unbearable when he woke up and starving. Then he'd order a ridiculous amount of unhealthy, greasy food and get back to working on the suit.
She'd found that out the hard way.
"Tony," she said softly, prodding his shoulder with the plate. He was dozing in a sitting position with his back against the headboard, head tilted at an awkward angle. "Hey, I got you a sandwich. Eat half at least."
He blearily opened his eyes and cracked his neck. "Oh. Thanks, Potts," he murmured and took a small bite.
She sat on the edge of his bed, watching him eat. He always complained how creepy that was, but she'd rather take creepy than find him face first in his food or accidentally choking on it. But he was uncharacteristically silent this time. He stared thoughtfully at her and she wondered if he was actually looking at her or off in his own thoughts and memories.
"You know," he said, munching on the second half of the sandwich, "I was serious. Before, I mean."
"Tony," she said, ready to rebut his next statement. But he put the sandwich down and pushed the plate away, grabbing her hand instead.
"I'm a lucky guy to have a loyal person like you in my life, Pepper."
"The paycheck helps," she joked, trying to steer them away from this conversation.
"Regardless, you're amazing. I mean that."
She closed her eyes and tried counting to three before opening them. And he still stared at her. Hopefully. Longingly. Her retort died on her lips and she quirked a smile at him instead. "Thank you. Are you finished with your food?"
He glanced at his remaining quarter of a sandwich left and nodded. "Thanks. You always make the best sandwiches."
Pepper leaned over and picked up the plate. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head over there? All your compliments are starting to scare me."
He slid down the bed so he could lie on his back and grinned sleepily up to her. "Marry me, Potts."
She froze and snapped her eyes back to his face, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. Tell me I imagined that.
"Ask me when you're not exhausted out of your mind," she said quietly, unable to resist brushing his bangs away.
"Hold you to that," he mumbled, rolling to his side.
Pepper stared at him, stunned. He was asleep. Right? He has no idea what's going on or what he's saying. She pulled the blankets up to his chin, then left his room to wash his plate, leaving Jarvis to darken the lights.
The fourth time... was really no better than all the times before that.
This time, Pepper was using the home office installed in Tony's mansion instead of going in today.
"I thought we made a deal," she told Tony when he walked in. "I get to work for at least four hours before we take off."
"Yeah, I know," he said, delicately placing two mugs of coffee on her desk. "I was just bringing you some much needed caffeine."
She looked away from her computer screen and found Tony grinning at her across the desk. "Thank you." She cautiously grabbed one of the mugs and sniffed. "You didn't drug this did you? Or alter it in some way?"
"Come on, Pepper. Who do you take me for? Two sugars, black, just how you like it. Right?" He took the other mug and drank deeply. "Besides, what good are you to me if I knock you out? We're going on vacation and we're going to have fun. I can't have fun if you're out."
Regardless, she took a small sip as she stared at him. True, they finally got their schedules to match long enough to go away for a few days, but she still wouldn't put it past him to drug her and drag her onto the plane so she wouldn't get any work done at all.
"Plus, if I don't let you work, you'll be absolutely unbearable when we're supposed to be having fun on the beach."
Pepper glared at him. "Is this supposed to make me feel better?"
"I'm just saying that I'm willing to play your way if -- never mind. Drink up."
She placed the mug down. "I thought we decided against the beach."
"Change of plans."
"Tony..." She used her most scathing tone, one that never failed, especially against Tony.
"Just kidding! Jeez, Pepper. Although..." He dug around in his pocket, then placed a small square box on the table. "I had this whole elaborate deal set up either on the plane or when we got there, but..." He ended with a shrug, trying to look deceptively casual and smug, but Pepper could see the anxiousness around his eyes, the tension in his shoulders.
"Tony..."
"Go ahead, open it."
With shaking hands, Pepper opened the box and found a diamond ring sparkling back at her. She bit her lip and looked back at him.
"I was going to do this whole thing with a mariachi band and some fine dining, but Jarvis and Rhodey vetoed that idea. So then I thought hey, what if I put it in a champagne glass or your morning coffee but I realized you could've easily choked on that. Then I thought--"
Pepper tried not to laugh at his rambling. Rambling was familiar at least, it meant he was nervous, probably more than she was at this moment.
"--So, what do you say, Pepper? Willing to be Mrs. Stark for the next decade or five?" he ended in a rush.
She stared at him. Honestly, that was all she could do. Because he wasnt drunk, he wasn't tired, he wasn't exhausted. He was dead serious about marriage. They never really talked about it before, but she knew he was interested in something long-term. She wasn't sure if he was ready to do permanent though. Not yet.
But apparently he was.
"Pepper?" he said anxiously. "Say something, please?"
He looked adorably scared, in her opinion. Maybe she shouldn't find this so amusing, but it was rare to see Tony Stark so vulnerable and so honest and she wanted to remember this moment forever.
"Tony--"
"I apologize for interrupting," Jarvis said. "But Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line and he says it's urgent."
"So is this!" Tony argued back, snapping out of his anxiety. "Tell him--"
"Mr. Stark," Coulson's voice crackled overhead. "We need you on this one. It involves some of your missing weapons and they're using human shields. Not even our best are having luck getting through."
"I'm tripling the fee for this," Tony growled. "Make that quadruple."
"Noted. Please hurry, Mr. Stark."
Tony sighed. "Looks like our plans are on hold. Again. I'm so sorry, Pepper."
She came around as Tony stood up. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. "One day, we'll get it right."
She followed him down to the workshop and waited until he was suited up before she stepped onto the platform. She pulled his head down for one last kiss, as was the custom since they became lovers, and whispered, "Be careful."
"I will. I need to hear your answer afterall." He wrapped an armored arm around her waist carefully and pulled her closer. "Think about it, Potts," he whispered in her ear, then stepped back to let the bots snap the helmet in place.
After he blasted off, Pepper went back up to her office and stared thoughtfully at the ring before snapping it shut and moving it aside. When he came back, she would tell him then. No point in dwelling on it now.
The fifth time...
He didn't ask again after the mission. In fact, he didn't bring it up at all as he healed and Pepper wondered if he was waiting for her to bring it up or if he simply forgot after getting hit over the head multiple times. She didn't entertain the thought of him taking it back. If he did... no, the ring was still on her desk the last time she checked. He could've taken it back any time he wanted.
And it wasn't because she was scared or she didn't want to marry him. She did. Except she couldn't find it in her to bring it up again.
Coward, her traitorous mind told her. You're a damn coward. He deserves better than that.
Privately, she agreed. And that made her feel all the more terrible.
Pepper stood in the kitchen pouring a fresh cup of coffee. She had been up for at least two hours dealing with more urgent issues at work and her guilty conscience. The latter kept her from going into the office.
She felt arms wrap around her from behind and a soft kiss land on the back of the neck. "Is that for me?" Tony murmured, hooking his chin on her shoulder.
"No."
She clutched the mug closer to her chest, which was a mistake she realized belatedly. Tony's large hand crawled it's way from around her waist to wrap around the mug and guide it to his mouth. She tilted her head to the side, glad she thought to put her hair up in a bun earlier.
"Don't get any on my dress."
He let go after draining half the cup and let her take it back, smacking his lips. "Too sweet."
"This coming from the man who used to live off of energy drinks by the case."
"Only when I hit a creativity streak," he defended, letting her go and grabbing his own mug to fill with coffee, black. "What're you doing up so early anyway? I thought you were going to sleep in today."
"International business apparently won't let me." She let him take her mug and refill it, then handed it back. "More specifically the Japan division." She rolled her eyes. "I won't bore you with details."
He grinned into his cup. "Sounds exciting."
"Sometimes I feel like they purposely do this because I'm a woman. Did you suffer from this when you were CEO?"
He actually laughed out loud. "Why do you think I hated being CEO?"
"And shoved it onto me, thanks," Pepper said dryly.
He set his mug down, then grabbed hers from her hands and placed it next to his and wrapped her up in a hug. "But you love me anyway." He kissed the side of her neck. "And I love you for taking on the job, and putting up with those idiots, and putting up with me on a daily basis."
She squirmed when he started tickling her with his beard and tried to push away only to have his arms tighten around her. "Tony!"
He kissed her one more time before pulling back to look at her, eyes solemn. "I do love you," he said in that firm and quiet tone that she knew meant business. "I know I probably don't tell you enough or show you enough, but I do."
"Tony..."
"May I finish, please, Pepper?"
She nodded, biting her lip.
"And I realized that when I first proposed to you, I kinda threw it in your face." He gave her his best chagrinned lost puppy look. "We hadn't talked about it or even come close to discussing it, and then I gave you a ring. I don't want to push you if you don't want it, Pepper. If you want to take your time to think about it, go ahead. Just... just let me know, okay? Whatever you want. But keep the ring, it's yours... to do whatever you want with it."
Pepper realized that the vulnerability she saw before was nothing compared to now. This was Tony at his absolute core. Seeing him so calm, even if she could feel slight tremors running throughout his body, and seeing him so clear and certain made the doubt and fear vanish. She needed to hear him say this to put them back on equal footing.
"Pepper?" he asked quietly, hesititantly. "Um..."
"Yes." The answer fell out of her mouth before she could catch it. They both stared at each other, stunned.
"Yes, you need more time? Or yes, you'll marry me?" His hands tightened around her hips. "Because if you need more time, that's okay. I'm--"
"Yes, I'm sure, Tony. I want to marry you."
"Because once you're mine, that's it. There's no going back."
She laughed and kissed him, letting her joy and happiness seep into him. Let him know that she wasn't going anywhere and that she truly did want this, no doubt about it. When they broke apart, she realized that they must look ridiculous in his giant kitchen. She was in her cream colored business dress, no heels, but had her stockings on. Tony had on a pair of gray sweats and a black sleeveless shirt he must've thrown on after waking up.
He chuckled, catching on. "We make quite a pair, don't we?"
"Yes, we do."
Then he pulled her in for another deep kiss.
"Five," she said when they surfaced.
He looked at her, confused. "Five what? You want five diamonds on your ring? Or you have an appointment at five? Or--"
"No," she said smiling. "You've proposed five times."
"What? No. At most three times."
"Five, Mr. Stark. You were drunk the first time, then you were drunk and in a food coma the second time--"
"I don't remember that."
"Of course not, you were drunk."
He frowned. "That can't be right."
"Believe it, Stark."
He tried recounting them in his mind, then shrugged. "Goes to show that you've always been the one for me."
"And persistent."
"I would've kept asking," he said earnestly. "At least until you gave me a definite answer."
"Even if it was no?"
"Then I'd resort to desperate measures." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "But I'm glad you said yes."
"Me too."
author: crumpled_up
disclaimer: Iron Man belongs to Marvel. No profit is made from this, only love and flail.
rating: PG
word count: 3400
characters/pairing: Tony/Pepper
spoilers: IM 1 & 2
summary: Five times Tony Stark proposed to Pepper Potts
A/N: Thanks to my awesome cousin for looking this over. Also, my first posted IM fic. Please let me know if it turned out okay. Enjoy!
The first time Tony proposed, he was drunk out of his mind. He stumbled out of his bedroom trying to get down to his workshop and nearly slipped and cracked his head open on the stairs if Pepper didn't catch him in time. When he looked up at her, he blinked slowly and said, "You're my hero, Potts. Marry me."
She merely propped him upright, helped him into his workshop and deposited him on the couch. Then she went back upstairs to finish responding to urgent emails before taking out his latest conquest.
The second time he proposed, he wasn't nearly as drunk and there wasn't any trash to take out except for the empty Chinese food cartons. Rhodey was knocked out on the couch from exhaustion, drink and the overwhelming amount of food Tony ordered. This was Tony's way of celebrating his new breakthrough in building the Jericho missile. Pepper, who refused to drink, but was nearly comatose from the food, slowly gathered up the discarded cardboard boxes to toss.
"Potts, I'll marry you if you find a way to get this big lump home," Tony said, nudging Rhodey on the couch.
She didn't bother looking up as she packed away the leftovers. "Not on your life, Mr. Stark. He's your friend."
"It's not my fault he can't hold his own!" he whined, slouching on the couch. "I can't move. You're up."
Pepper finished cleaning up and put the leftovers in the fridge before picking up the throw blanket on the back of the couch and tossing it over the two men. "Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning. If you puke, I won't clean it up. Hear me, Mr. Stark?"
Tony frowned. "The last time Rhodey and I shared a bed, he nearly kicked me off it."
She raised an eyebrow in response.
"Uh... that didn't come out right. What I meant was--"
"Save it. Just sleep, Tony."
"How 'bout a goodnight story?" he said through a yawn, pulling the blanket to cover his entire body.
With a sigh, Pepper grabbed another blanket and placed that over Rhodey. By the time she came back, Tony was knocked out, jaw slack. She grinned because the rare times she actually found Tony asleep, he always managed to look like an adorable kid. She made sure he was fully covered before whispering a quiet 'Sleep well,' then left.
The third time there was no alcohol or food involved, but there was a lot of blood and yelps and whining.
"Jesus Christ, Pepper! What the hell is in that thing? It burns."
"I need to clean your wound, hold still."
He winced and jerked away from her touch, eyeing her warily. "Not with that industrial strength alcohol. Are you trying to kill me because I can go back out there and have the bad guys shoot me out of the sky to save you the trouble."
"Isn't that how you got these wounds?" she said dryly, pressing the alcohol pad against his forehead.
"No! Ow! Potts, do you have a secret desire to cause me pain? I didn't realize you had a vindictive streak when I hired you."
She pulled the pad away and waited for it to air dry before smearing on ointment. "I never want to see you hurt," she said softly. "But I'm willing to rethink that if you don't hold still. This is just ointment."
He held still long enough for her to tape gauze over the wound. "Are we done yet?"
"No," she replied harshly. "According to Jarvis, you have a few more wounds to patch up before I can let you sleep."
"But I'm tired, Pepper."
"And cranky." She shoved a sports drink under his nose. "Drink. Jarvis says you're dehydrated as well. When I'm done here, I'll make you a sandwich, okay?"
He grumpily raised the bottle up to his lips and sipped generously. She moved over to the other side and started working on another bleeding wound on his shoulder.
"Jarvis, are you sure this doesn't need to be looked at?" Pepper asked as she cleaned up the blood. "It looks deep enough to need stitches."
"I assure you, he does not."
She nodded and went back to nursing him. Fortunately, he didn't make a big fuss for the rest of his wounds and accepted the next bottle of Gatorade obediently, which spoke more about his state of exhaustion than anything.
"Do you think you can stay awake long enough to eat?"
He nodded slowly, eyelids drooping. "Yeah, anything for you, Potts."
She shook him a little harder than necessary and tilted his face up to hers. "Tony," she started, then sighed. "Maybe I should just take you upstairs."
"No, stay here. Food."
"Come on, up you go." She hauled him up and he grunted with effort as she wrapped an arm around his waist and let his arm fall across her shoulders, the dance familiar after so many missions. "Are you okay? Let's go."
She helped him to the elevator, then let him lean against the wall as she pushed the button for his floor. "I'll get you something to eat when you're settled in your room. Can you hold out that long?"
He looked at her through half-lidded eyes. "Have I told you how amazing you are, Potts?"
"Tell me that after you've had some food in you."
"No, seriously." He tried pushing off the wall, but wobbled and decided leaning against the cool metal frame was safer. "You're like the whole package."
The doors opened and Pepper assumed the position and helped him down the hall to his bedroom. "That's very flattering, Mr. Stark, but I think exhaustion is taking over."
"I'm trying to be nice here, Pepper. Can't you just let me do that?"
She really needed to get food into him before his crankiness made him say something he'll regret. Or both of them. "Come on, almost there."
When she spotted his room, she nearly sighed in relief. She pulled the sheets back and set him gently on the bed. "Sandwich or soup?"
"Um, either, don't care. Surprise me."
Pepper hurried out to the kitchen and decided that a sandwich would be quicker than waiting for the soup to heat up. Tony was fading fast and if she didn't get something in him now, he'd be unbearable when he woke up and starving. Then he'd order a ridiculous amount of unhealthy, greasy food and get back to working on the suit.
She'd found that out the hard way.
"Tony," she said softly, prodding his shoulder with the plate. He was dozing in a sitting position with his back against the headboard, head tilted at an awkward angle. "Hey, I got you a sandwich. Eat half at least."
He blearily opened his eyes and cracked his neck. "Oh. Thanks, Potts," he murmured and took a small bite.
She sat on the edge of his bed, watching him eat. He always complained how creepy that was, but she'd rather take creepy than find him face first in his food or accidentally choking on it. But he was uncharacteristically silent this time. He stared thoughtfully at her and she wondered if he was actually looking at her or off in his own thoughts and memories.
"You know," he said, munching on the second half of the sandwich, "I was serious. Before, I mean."
"Tony," she said, ready to rebut his next statement. But he put the sandwich down and pushed the plate away, grabbing her hand instead.
"I'm a lucky guy to have a loyal person like you in my life, Pepper."
"The paycheck helps," she joked, trying to steer them away from this conversation.
"Regardless, you're amazing. I mean that."
She closed her eyes and tried counting to three before opening them. And he still stared at her. Hopefully. Longingly. Her retort died on her lips and she quirked a smile at him instead. "Thank you. Are you finished with your food?"
He glanced at his remaining quarter of a sandwich left and nodded. "Thanks. You always make the best sandwiches."
Pepper leaned over and picked up the plate. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head over there? All your compliments are starting to scare me."
He slid down the bed so he could lie on his back and grinned sleepily up to her. "Marry me, Potts."
She froze and snapped her eyes back to his face, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. Tell me I imagined that.
"Ask me when you're not exhausted out of your mind," she said quietly, unable to resist brushing his bangs away.
"Hold you to that," he mumbled, rolling to his side.
Pepper stared at him, stunned. He was asleep. Right? He has no idea what's going on or what he's saying. She pulled the blankets up to his chin, then left his room to wash his plate, leaving Jarvis to darken the lights.
The fourth time... was really no better than all the times before that.
This time, Pepper was using the home office installed in Tony's mansion instead of going in today.
"I thought we made a deal," she told Tony when he walked in. "I get to work for at least four hours before we take off."
"Yeah, I know," he said, delicately placing two mugs of coffee on her desk. "I was just bringing you some much needed caffeine."
She looked away from her computer screen and found Tony grinning at her across the desk. "Thank you." She cautiously grabbed one of the mugs and sniffed. "You didn't drug this did you? Or alter it in some way?"
"Come on, Pepper. Who do you take me for? Two sugars, black, just how you like it. Right?" He took the other mug and drank deeply. "Besides, what good are you to me if I knock you out? We're going on vacation and we're going to have fun. I can't have fun if you're out."
Regardless, she took a small sip as she stared at him. True, they finally got their schedules to match long enough to go away for a few days, but she still wouldn't put it past him to drug her and drag her onto the plane so she wouldn't get any work done at all.
"Plus, if I don't let you work, you'll be absolutely unbearable when we're supposed to be having fun on the beach."
Pepper glared at him. "Is this supposed to make me feel better?"
"I'm just saying that I'm willing to play your way if -- never mind. Drink up."
She placed the mug down. "I thought we decided against the beach."
"Change of plans."
"Tony..." She used her most scathing tone, one that never failed, especially against Tony.
"Just kidding! Jeez, Pepper. Although..." He dug around in his pocket, then placed a small square box on the table. "I had this whole elaborate deal set up either on the plane or when we got there, but..." He ended with a shrug, trying to look deceptively casual and smug, but Pepper could see the anxiousness around his eyes, the tension in his shoulders.
"Tony..."
"Go ahead, open it."
With shaking hands, Pepper opened the box and found a diamond ring sparkling back at her. She bit her lip and looked back at him.
"I was going to do this whole thing with a mariachi band and some fine dining, but Jarvis and Rhodey vetoed that idea. So then I thought hey, what if I put it in a champagne glass or your morning coffee but I realized you could've easily choked on that. Then I thought--"
Pepper tried not to laugh at his rambling. Rambling was familiar at least, it meant he was nervous, probably more than she was at this moment.
"--So, what do you say, Pepper? Willing to be Mrs. Stark for the next decade or five?" he ended in a rush.
She stared at him. Honestly, that was all she could do. Because he wasnt drunk, he wasn't tired, he wasn't exhausted. He was dead serious about marriage. They never really talked about it before, but she knew he was interested in something long-term. She wasn't sure if he was ready to do permanent though. Not yet.
But apparently he was.
"Pepper?" he said anxiously. "Say something, please?"
He looked adorably scared, in her opinion. Maybe she shouldn't find this so amusing, but it was rare to see Tony Stark so vulnerable and so honest and she wanted to remember this moment forever.
"Tony--"
"I apologize for interrupting," Jarvis said. "But Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line and he says it's urgent."
"So is this!" Tony argued back, snapping out of his anxiety. "Tell him--"
"Mr. Stark," Coulson's voice crackled overhead. "We need you on this one. It involves some of your missing weapons and they're using human shields. Not even our best are having luck getting through."
"I'm tripling the fee for this," Tony growled. "Make that quadruple."
"Noted. Please hurry, Mr. Stark."
Tony sighed. "Looks like our plans are on hold. Again. I'm so sorry, Pepper."
She came around as Tony stood up. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. "One day, we'll get it right."
She followed him down to the workshop and waited until he was suited up before she stepped onto the platform. She pulled his head down for one last kiss, as was the custom since they became lovers, and whispered, "Be careful."
"I will. I need to hear your answer afterall." He wrapped an armored arm around her waist carefully and pulled her closer. "Think about it, Potts," he whispered in her ear, then stepped back to let the bots snap the helmet in place.
After he blasted off, Pepper went back up to her office and stared thoughtfully at the ring before snapping it shut and moving it aside. When he came back, she would tell him then. No point in dwelling on it now.
The fifth time...
He didn't ask again after the mission. In fact, he didn't bring it up at all as he healed and Pepper wondered if he was waiting for her to bring it up or if he simply forgot after getting hit over the head multiple times. She didn't entertain the thought of him taking it back. If he did... no, the ring was still on her desk the last time she checked. He could've taken it back any time he wanted.
And it wasn't because she was scared or she didn't want to marry him. She did. Except she couldn't find it in her to bring it up again.
Coward, her traitorous mind told her. You're a damn coward. He deserves better than that.
Privately, she agreed. And that made her feel all the more terrible.
Pepper stood in the kitchen pouring a fresh cup of coffee. She had been up for at least two hours dealing with more urgent issues at work and her guilty conscience. The latter kept her from going into the office.
She felt arms wrap around her from behind and a soft kiss land on the back of the neck. "Is that for me?" Tony murmured, hooking his chin on her shoulder.
"No."
She clutched the mug closer to her chest, which was a mistake she realized belatedly. Tony's large hand crawled it's way from around her waist to wrap around the mug and guide it to his mouth. She tilted her head to the side, glad she thought to put her hair up in a bun earlier.
"Don't get any on my dress."
He let go after draining half the cup and let her take it back, smacking his lips. "Too sweet."
"This coming from the man who used to live off of energy drinks by the case."
"Only when I hit a creativity streak," he defended, letting her go and grabbing his own mug to fill with coffee, black. "What're you doing up so early anyway? I thought you were going to sleep in today."
"International business apparently won't let me." She let him take her mug and refill it, then handed it back. "More specifically the Japan division." She rolled her eyes. "I won't bore you with details."
He grinned into his cup. "Sounds exciting."
"Sometimes I feel like they purposely do this because I'm a woman. Did you suffer from this when you were CEO?"
He actually laughed out loud. "Why do you think I hated being CEO?"
"And shoved it onto me, thanks," Pepper said dryly.
He set his mug down, then grabbed hers from her hands and placed it next to his and wrapped her up in a hug. "But you love me anyway." He kissed the side of her neck. "And I love you for taking on the job, and putting up with those idiots, and putting up with me on a daily basis."
She squirmed when he started tickling her with his beard and tried to push away only to have his arms tighten around her. "Tony!"
He kissed her one more time before pulling back to look at her, eyes solemn. "I do love you," he said in that firm and quiet tone that she knew meant business. "I know I probably don't tell you enough or show you enough, but I do."
"Tony..."
"May I finish, please, Pepper?"
She nodded, biting her lip.
"And I realized that when I first proposed to you, I kinda threw it in your face." He gave her his best chagrinned lost puppy look. "We hadn't talked about it or even come close to discussing it, and then I gave you a ring. I don't want to push you if you don't want it, Pepper. If you want to take your time to think about it, go ahead. Just... just let me know, okay? Whatever you want. But keep the ring, it's yours... to do whatever you want with it."
Pepper realized that the vulnerability she saw before was nothing compared to now. This was Tony at his absolute core. Seeing him so calm, even if she could feel slight tremors running throughout his body, and seeing him so clear and certain made the doubt and fear vanish. She needed to hear him say this to put them back on equal footing.
"Pepper?" he asked quietly, hesititantly. "Um..."
"Yes." The answer fell out of her mouth before she could catch it. They both stared at each other, stunned.
"Yes, you need more time? Or yes, you'll marry me?" His hands tightened around her hips. "Because if you need more time, that's okay. I'm--"
"Yes, I'm sure, Tony. I want to marry you."
"Because once you're mine, that's it. There's no going back."
She laughed and kissed him, letting her joy and happiness seep into him. Let him know that she wasn't going anywhere and that she truly did want this, no doubt about it. When they broke apart, she realized that they must look ridiculous in his giant kitchen. She was in her cream colored business dress, no heels, but had her stockings on. Tony had on a pair of gray sweats and a black sleeveless shirt he must've thrown on after waking up.
He chuckled, catching on. "We make quite a pair, don't we?"
"Yes, we do."
Then he pulled her in for another deep kiss.
"Five," she said when they surfaced.
He looked at her, confused. "Five what? You want five diamonds on your ring? Or you have an appointment at five? Or--"
"No," she said smiling. "You've proposed five times."
"What? No. At most three times."
"Five, Mr. Stark. You were drunk the first time, then you were drunk and in a food coma the second time--"
"I don't remember that."
"Of course not, you were drunk."
He frowned. "That can't be right."
"Believe it, Stark."
He tried recounting them in his mind, then shrugged. "Goes to show that you've always been the one for me."
"And persistent."
"I would've kept asking," he said earnestly. "At least until you gave me a definite answer."
"Even if it was no?"
"Then I'd resort to desperate measures." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "But I'm glad you said yes."
"Me too."