Pepperony Week 2019:
↳ day 6: post-endgame · after snapping his fingers, tony spent about six months in hospital recovering from his injuries. he's left with half of his face scarred and a prosthetic arm, but at least he's alive and finally getting to go home to his girls.
Pepperony Week 2019:
↳ day 2: sharing a bed · this is set post-im2, not long after their kiss.
Read on AO3
For years, Pepper had been wondering what would happen if they ever kissed, how it would feel. But the thought of what would happen next, had never crossed her mind. Now that it had happened, and she had kissed Tony Stark, she was wondering about a lot of other things.
Would she spend the night with him? And if she did, what was it like to wake up by his side in the morning? Would she feel like one of his one-night stands, even if they didn’t sleep with each other tonight? Was he even capable of sleeping in the same bed with a woman and not having sex with her? Did she want to have sex with him? Of course she wanted to, just maybe not right away. Could she even resist him, though, if he tried to sweet-talk her into it?
She had seen Tony fully naked once, accidentally not intentionally. Back then, when she still thought he would never be more to her than just her self-centered, annoying boss. She had walked in on him, masturbating, and it had taken her quite a while to push that disgusting image to the far back of her mind. But things were so different now. She was not going to be disgusted by seeing him naked, she would be turned on by it—how could she not be. But it still felt strange to even think about it.
After all these years, it just seemed so surreal that she was finally going to have sex with him. That she could have sex with Tony if she wanted to, because they had kissed on the roof, and then they had eaten dinner together, chatting and laughing. And now he was doing this thing of playing with her fingers as he held her hand, tracing circles on her palm with his thumb while he stared deep into her eyes—a thing only people who were in love did. She had been waiting so long for this moment, it didn’t seem real.
“You’re, uh... You’re gonna stay the night?” He cleared his throat and felt suddenly flush as he shifted in his chair. “I mean I can take you home if you want… Or you can just go home by yourself. It’s fine. I was just thinking that, um, maybe you’d... like to stay here... with, uh... with...”
“I’d love to stay with you, Tony.”
Pepper bit her lip, her eyes widening as she realized the delight springing from the sound of her voice. He felt the kick of her pulse beneath his fingers. Smiled, as he laced his fingers through hers, intent on holding on for as long as she’d let him.
This wouldn’t be the first time Pepper spent the night. She had crashed at his place quite a few times. She had her own room, more or less, a bunch of extra clothes in the closet, as well as a whole drawer full of cosmetic products in the cabinet of the guest bathroom. But this was different.
Tony didn’t want her to sleep in the spare room, no matter how much she had made it her own. He wanted Pepper to sleep with him. Well, next to him. He wanted them to share a bed. Did she snore? Man, how adorable would that be? He couldn’t wait to find out.
“So, why don’t you go upstairs and, you know, do your... thing... get ready for bed, and I will clean up this mess and then when I’m done with my night routine, uh, we can...” He blushed deeply, smiling coyly.
“You really have a night routine?” Her smile twisted into a smirk. “Isn’t that a little boring to you? You know, doing things the same way every single night?”
Tony let out a silent breath. She was teasing him. Thank God. That meant he wasn’t doing anything wrong. One hour in a serious relationship and he was already scared to fuck it up. They were in a relationship now, weren’t they? Because everything that had happened after their kiss on the roof definitely felt like they were checking things off of a couples bucket list.
Thinking, Tony looked down at their intertwined linking, him still holding her hand. Spending this evening with her, talking to her, watching her laugh and smile at his words, was the kind of meaningful bonding he had always wanted them to do. It just had taken him an awful lot of time to realize and admit that. And that kiss... Kissing her had never felt weird. He had just been so worried that she regretted it. That’s why he’d said it. He’d wanted to give Pepper a way out. But then they had kissed again, and they could kiss even more now.
They could do so much of that lovey-dovey stuff that couples did which he hadn’t even thought of before; which he thought he didn’t even want to do. He had wondered, once or twice, what sharing a bed with Pepper would feel like, how it would feel to hold her in his arms while he drifted off to sleep.
But now he was thinking of how it would be to just watch her, stare at her sleeping beauty for hours. And with that thought, his heart started beating even faster, and he could not focus his thinking at all.
“Tony?” Pepper softly called out his name, and when he looked up at her, she was smiling shyly, her head tilted to one side—right, he still owed her an answer to her question.
“I really don’t... have a night routine,” he said with a chuckle, blushing. “It just sounded so, uh, normal to say that.”
“You’re not normal,” she replied, a little giggle escaping her mouth. “Far from it, actually, and you know it.”
Tony smirked, and then it hit him.
She really was the perfect match for him. He didn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t, like a playboy without a heart. He couldn’t. She knew him too well, and she would see right through his act. With Pepper, he could just be himself, and for the first time in his life he wasn’t afraid of that. Well, maybe a little. But she’d always seen the good in him. And if he could be even half the man she made him believe he could be then he would be one hell of a guy.
He let her hand go—he didn’t want to but how was she supposed to move upstairs if he didn’t—and rose from the chair. “Just let me know if you need anything,” he said, smiling. She nodded, as she got up, and then walked away.
When he was finished loading the dishwasher and cleaning the table and countertop, Tony realized the kitchen had never looked that clean. He was simply so nervous about this whole thing of sharing a bed with Pepper that he had spent an extra time of minutes procrastinating. He really wanted to be with her, especially to be with her like that, but she made him feel like a little school boy who didn’t know the first thing about women.
Distinctly conscious of every single step he took towards meeting the woman of his dreams in his bedroom, he went upstairs, thinking about how to act around Pepper and what to say to her. This had always been so easy for him, but only because there had never been anything at stake. He’d never cared about anyone the way he cared about her. Nothing had ever been more important to him than this night, a night he wanted her to remember forever as the beautiful beginning of countless other nights together.
Entering the master bedroom, the first thing Tony noticed was Pepper, occupying the right side of his bed.
“I didn’t know if you have a—“
“Favorite bedside?” he finished her sentence and smiled. “Just seeing you on any side of my bed is fine.” He shook his head. “I mean it’s amazing. No, it’s—I love getting to sleep with you. God, no, that came out wrong,” he continued stammering the words, his voice shaky. “I just... I love that you’re here... with me.”
Pepper’s cheeks flushed softly, the color rising past her freckles. She bit her lower lip and turned her head, but not before Tony saw the emotion reflected in her eyes.
Disappearing into the en-suite bathroom, he stared at himself in the mirror, his face flushed with embarrassment. “What the hell was that?” he mumbled. He wished the ground would open and swallow him up. He really needed to get his act together.
While Pepper waited for Tony to get back, a seemingly endless flood of thoughts and feelings swept over her. She was dressed in only a sleeping shirt and boxers, but her whole body seemed to be on fire, heat blazing inside her. The prospect of spending the night with him, as a couple, after all this time, warmed her blood and quickened her heartbeat. She knew he was nervous. Pepper knew him long enough to read his face, and find meaning behind Tony’s stammering, but she wondered if he felt the same—the little tingle of nerves, the flutter in his stomach. There really was no doubt that she loved him.
“Is this too... sexy?” he asked, and she tilted her head to see him stand in the door frame with just his briefs on, and the ghost of a smile on his face.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she responded. “I’ve seen you many times like this before.” She smirked. “I’ve got a track record of resisting temptation.”
Tony’s eyebrows arched up. “Oh, so you really were trying to resist me? Why didn’t you say so? Could’ve saved ourselves a lot of trouble, Pep.”
Grinning, Pepper flipped back the covers in invitation, and Tony crawled into bed next to her and wrapped his arms and legs around her, as if it was the most casual thing in the world for him. But his heart was actually beating so fast, he was sure she could hear it. He rested his cheek against her head and closed his eyes as she relaxed into him. Pepper’s body fit into his as perfectly as the glass slipper fit Cinderella’s feet. It was the best feeling in the world. He never wanted to let go of her ever again.
”You should’ve told me you were dying,” she whispered, sighing.
“I know. I’m sorry,” he responded just as quietly, feeling her clutch him more tightly, drawing him even closer.
She could’ve lost him not knowing why. He could have been taken from her before she could tell him how she really felt about him, before she could get to feel his lips on hers, and his arms around her body. Maybe they could have had this sooner had she known how serious his condition was. Pepper couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that they might have never ended up in his bed together, if things had gone just a little different.
She didn’t want to imagine losing him, even though she knew, with him being Iron Man, there was always the risk it could happen. He was living a life in danger, and she was now a bigger part of that life than she had ever been before. To finally allow herself to love Tony Stark, to love every single part of him, with all her heart and soul, was the hardest—and most incredible—thing she had ever done.
”I could lay like this for hours,” he said softly after a few minutes of silence, his words only a breath on her skin. “Just holding you.”
He sighed contentedly, as he reached out and caught her hand in his. Her fingers curled around his, and he turned her hand over before lifting it to place a kiss on her knuckles. Feeling the light tremor go through her as his lips lingered on her skin and her fingers tightened, Tony smiled. If he died now, right then and there in Pepper’s arms, he would die happy. The happiest he'd ever been. He loved her. He loved her so goddamn much.
Pepper’s hand came up, as she looked at him, and she wrapped her fingers around Tony’s cheek. Tony moaned softly and pushed his face into the hand that caressed it, closing his eyes to the feeling of her touch. She brushed her thumb across his lips, remembering the long-awaited moment of kissing them for the very first time. Slowly Pepper reached up and carefully pressed her mouth to his. The kiss was so light, a feather-like touch, and yet it gave her a giddy thrill.
For a brief instant, there was no response, and then Tony’s arms tightened around her. His hands slid up between her shoulder blades to pull her closer, and Pepper melted into him, welcoming the hot, slick slide of his tongue against hers. Tony bent her slightly back over his arm, and feasted on the sensitive skin of her throat. She took in big gulps of air and shivered with pleasure. Pulling his mouth away, he gazed deep into her eyes, almost gasping at what he saw in them. He had never seen anyone look at him like that.
“I—“
She touched a finger to his lips, took words from his mind with her steady, mesmerizing gaze, and whispered to him, “Just hold me, Tony.”
That would be enough right now. He didn’t need to speak and tell her he loved her, if that was what he truly wanted to say. She just wanted to feel him, to be close to him after all this time longing for him. And when he eased to her side before he collapsed on top of her, gathering her close and holding her to him, she knew he felt the same.
“For as long as you want,” he mumbled, leaning close to her throat.
Tony inhaled her scent deeper within himself until he could taste her and then he did, tasting Pepper’s skin with his lips. He gave a soft sigh, the thought of getting to do this now, whenever he wanted, making him smile. Kissing her, caressing her, holding her—he never wanted to stop expressing his love for her.
“That may be a while,” Pepper said with a chuckle, as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, closing her eyes.
She was rewarded by his boyish giggle, muffled against her neck. “I can hold you forever, Ms. Potts.”
Pepperony Week 2019:
↳ day 4: morgan · tony has been waiting impatiently to see morgan smile for the first time. thank god, pepper potts always knows what to do.
