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[Iron Man Fic] 5 Times Tony Stark Proposed and One He Didn't (Tony/Pepper) (3/5)
Title: Five Times Tony Stark Proposed and One He Didn't
Fandom: Iron Man I & II
Characters/Pairing: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Happy Hogan
Category: Humor, Angst, Romance, Drama
Rating: NC-17, eventually
Word count: 1,991
Summary: The fourth time Tony Stark proposed it was bittersweet.
Spoilers/Timeline: This one takes place after the second movie.
Disclaimer: All characters (Tony Stark, Pepper Potts blah blah etc.) and situations belong to Marvel Comics, Disney, etc. I'm not them. Also, Star Wars. Wtf?
Beta: Many thanks to infinitlight for taking a look at this for me. I was having a definite case of the new fandom jitters and her help and opinion was greatly appreciated. As was her fixing of all my commas. Commas hate me.
Author's Note: Early post, woo! I didn't think anyone would mind. Y'all don't mind right? Lol. Have a good weekend, y'all. I certainly will be. :D
Proposal 1 || Proposal 2 & 3
IV.
Tony leaned against the door frame. His arms were crossed over his chest and, even though it was after dusk, even though he was in his own home, he still wore his sunglasses. The only part of him that moved was his eyes as he watched Pepper dress.
Watching her dress wasn’t his favorite thing - he preferred undressing - but there was something fascinating about seeing her this way. She built herself up one layer at a time - first underwear and stockings, then her dress and makeup, finally her hair - until she looked completely professional and untouchable. It was her hair that distracted him most of all. Every time he watched her put it up, he had the urge to take it down and watch it fall across her shoulders. Preferably Pepper’s bare shoulders, but he wasn’t picky. Most of all he just wanted to run his fingers through it, bury his face against her neck and breathe her in.
And there was no way Pepper was going to let him do that right now. She had already warned him to stay away once. They had reservations and they were barely on time as it was. If he touched her...
One of Tony’s favorite things about loving Pepper Potts, about being in a relationship with her, was the discovery of how responsive Pepper was to his touch. Through the years she had worked for him, Pepper had raised shooting down his flirtatious and lewd comments to an art form. Tony had loved every moment of watching her work, even when it left his ego bruised and bleeding. Especially then. Her seeming-untouchable-ness was, in part, what had made their relationship possible. If she had caved at his first flirtatious overture, Pepper would have been gone just as quickly as his other conquests and Tony would have never had the chance to get to know her. He would never have grown to trust her and depend on her until she was the one irreplaceable thing in his world.
Tony hadn’t been able to help but wonder what it would be like to be in bed with the legendary Pepper Potts. He was just a man, and not a particularly saintly one at that. Would she be an ice queen in bed or warm up in his arms? The way that Pepper had responded to him from the moment that they had kissed up on the roof had still startled him though. She didn’t simply allow him to touch her; Pepper melted into his touch, whether it was a simple hand on her back or offering her his arm as they made their way through a crowd. More than that, Pepper often initiated contact with him. Little things, like the brush of a finger against the back of his hand, straightening his tie, tugging on the lapels of his jacket or best yet, pulling him down for a kiss that left him dazed and bemused.
In short, Tony hadn’t thought Pepper had it in her - and he had been oh-so-wrong. Pepper Potts was more than a match for him. That was why he needed to end this farce of an evening before it went any further. He couldn’t do it, not like this. Tony didn’t have many boundaries. His sense of right and wrong was way past shaky, but when it came to Pepper he wouldn’t take any chances.
“Stop.”
Pepper barely glanced up at him, used to his often imperious commands, and equally used to ignoring them. “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t go tonight.”
“Tony, you had me make these reservations a month ago.”
“I know. Sorry.” An afterthought. But he had gotten better, hadn’t he? There was some kind of thought now.
Now Pepper had straightened and was staring right back at him. “So tell me why can’t we go?” Something flickered over her face. Bemused irritation faded away to be replaced with worry. “Did Jarvis-”
Tony flicked his hand out to his side dismissively. “Nothing like that. Iron Man won’t be making an appearance tonight.”
“Then, what? Tony...” Pepper sighed.
“Did you really want to go that badly?” Tony asked, with an air of distraction. Pepper didn’t like the social scene; that was more his area. Most nights she would rather stay in and have pizza with him and the ‘bots, curled up on the couch, than face a mass of loud, pushy photographers all trying to catch a glimpse of Tony Stark, domesticated man, and the woman who had finally managed to tie him down. Metaphorically anyway. Mostly.
“Not really, but I would like to know why you suddenly changed your mind. Especially after I spent all this time getting dressed.”
Tony stepped forward, pushing himself away from the wall and strode over to Pepper. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close against him. “Having you to myself isn’t a good enough reason?” He brushed a strand of strawberry blonde hair back away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He let his lips ghost across her cheek until they were against her ear. “I want you.”
“Tony...” This time Pepper sounded breathless, not irritated. Her fingers tightened around his lapels.
Tony almost smiled. He would never have called her easy; Pepper was far more complicated than that. He was a genius though, and Pepper was his favorite obsession. He had dedicated himself to learning everything about her: what her favorite color was, what made her squirm when he touched her, and anything that made her smile. He had also put considerable effort into learning how to seduce her. The breathlessness in her voice was a sign that she was close to giving in.
One hand let go of his lapel and moved up to cup his cheek. Her thumb brushed across his chin, ruffling his goatee. Teasingly Tony nipped at her thumb. Pepper laughed and reached for his sunglasses, snagging them off his face and pulling them away before he could evade her.
“Hey, what was that for?” Tony demanded indignantly.
“I wanted to see your eyes.”
Tony met her gaze. It was suddenly hard to hold. “Yeah? What do you see?”
Pepper didn’t reply immediately, but took her time. The longer she studied him, the more he wanted to look away under the scrutiny. Under everything was always the fear that one day she would realize who he really was, that she deserved better, and that Pepper would walk away.
Her grip on his lapel tightened, pulling him towards her. This time Tony resisted, not hard enough to hurt her, but unwilling to fall into her. He knew he would be lost if - when - he did.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Lots of things, actually. There was that one time in Nice-”
Pepper didn’t laugh this time, just clamped her hand over his mouth to silence him. “Tony.”
There was so much in just the way she said his name. A reminder of who she was, of who they were together, and an exhortation to tell the truth. His usual bullshit and distraction wouldn’t work on her, not unless he succeeded in pissing her off way more than he wanted to this evening.
“I was going to propose to you tonight.”
Pepper seemed unfazed. Most of the women Tony had been with would have fallen apart at that, devastated at missing an opportunity that they had been gunning for since before they had met him. Pepper just looked nonplussed.
“That’s not what you’re hiding,” Pepper said after a moment.
“Right you are,” Tony agreed bitterly, wishing for a drink, but now was not the moment. He doubted Pepper would let go of him long enough anyway. Tony looked away. He couldn’t meet Pepper’s eye for this. “I wanted you to know I was serious. I had plans.”
Pepper’s eyes widened a little at that. “So what happened to your plans?”
Tony swallowed hard. “They had a major flaw.”
“Your math is never wrong,” Pepper said teasingly.
“It was this time,” Tony countered. “I was going to go see your parents. Do it right. Ask your old man for his blessing, get on your mom’s good side.”
Pepper didn’t gasp, but Tony heard her sudden sharp intake of breath. Her lips pressed into a firm line. “That would be a little difficult, even with your resources.”
“I didn’t realize you meant it. When you said I was all you had too.”
Pepper’s hand slipped up his chest and curled into the hair at the base of his skull. Her nails scraped against his skin and her grip on his hair was almost painfully tight. Tony didn’t complain as Pepper dropped her head to his shoulder and tried to curl around his body. She hung onto him for dear life and he held her back just as tightly. They were two survivors clinging to each other as if letting go meant drowning.
Eventually Tony heard Pepper sniff once, and then again, a signal that she was drawing herself back together again. He hadn’t realized how not together she was until then. He had only seen evidence of her tears once, when he’d come back from Afghanistan. He had never actually seen her cry. He felt her nose brush back and forth against his shoulder. Tony would have pushed away any other woman who had tried it. With Pepper, Tony decided that it was just adorable.
Pepper straightened, pushing back until she could meet Tony’s eyes. This time Tony didn’t try to look away. “My mother would have hated you.”
Tony laughed involuntarily. He couldn’t help it. It was the last thing he had expected Pepper to say. “Way to sugar coat it for me, Potts.”
“She would have thought you were too charming and crazy by half,” Pepper continued. “Not nearly good enough for me, and my father would have hated you on principle, some cocky playboy after his only daughter.” She ducked her head. “But they would have come around when they saw the way you look at me.”
“You do have fabulous legs.” It was habit more than anything that made Tony say it. He had to say something to ease the painful vice that was squeezing his heart.
“Not like that. The way you look at me and make me feel special, safe and loved.” Pink tinted Pepper’s cheeks. “Like I’m the only thing you can see.”
Tony touched her chin, tilted her face gently upwards. “I love you.”
“I know,” Pepper said simply.
“Good.” Tony held out a hand to her. “I have a proposition for you.” He saw the unease on her face immediately. Their conversation had been draining and as much as he knew she loved him, she didn’t want his proposal to come tonight. Not when the knowledge of her parents’ death was so fresh between them. “Not that one, Potts,” Tony whispered. “But don’t think I’m giving up, just delaying for a more appropriate time.”
Pepper squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Tony.”
“So my proposal is this,” Tony continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “Come to bed with me.”
Pepper laughed at the sudden change in tone and topic.
“Not like that,” Tony protested. “For now. I just want to hold you.” And not let you go.
Both had lost their parents at a young age. They knew all too well the transience of life and if they had forgotten, Tony’s time in Afghanistan - and far too close brush with Palladium poisoning - had reminded them. Tonight was about remembering, reveling in what they had and sharing the pain of what they had lost.
Fandom: Iron Man I & II
Characters/Pairing: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Happy Hogan
Category: Humor, Angst, Romance, Drama
Rating: NC-17, eventually
Word count: 1,991
Summary: The fourth time Tony Stark proposed it was bittersweet.
Spoilers/Timeline: This one takes place after the second movie.
Disclaimer: All characters (Tony Stark, Pepper Potts blah blah etc.) and situations belong to Marvel Comics, Disney, etc. I'm not them. Also, Star Wars. Wtf?
Beta: Many thanks to infinitlight for taking a look at this for me. I was having a definite case of the new fandom jitters and her help and opinion was greatly appreciated. As was her fixing of all my commas. Commas hate me.
Author's Note: Early post, woo! I didn't think anyone would mind. Y'all don't mind right? Lol. Have a good weekend, y'all. I certainly will be. :D
Proposal 1 || Proposal 2 & 3
IV.
Tony leaned against the door frame. His arms were crossed over his chest and, even though it was after dusk, even though he was in his own home, he still wore his sunglasses. The only part of him that moved was his eyes as he watched Pepper dress.
Watching her dress wasn’t his favorite thing - he preferred undressing - but there was something fascinating about seeing her this way. She built herself up one layer at a time - first underwear and stockings, then her dress and makeup, finally her hair - until she looked completely professional and untouchable. It was her hair that distracted him most of all. Every time he watched her put it up, he had the urge to take it down and watch it fall across her shoulders. Preferably Pepper’s bare shoulders, but he wasn’t picky. Most of all he just wanted to run his fingers through it, bury his face against her neck and breathe her in.
And there was no way Pepper was going to let him do that right now. She had already warned him to stay away once. They had reservations and they were barely on time as it was. If he touched her...
One of Tony’s favorite things about loving Pepper Potts, about being in a relationship with her, was the discovery of how responsive Pepper was to his touch. Through the years she had worked for him, Pepper had raised shooting down his flirtatious and lewd comments to an art form. Tony had loved every moment of watching her work, even when it left his ego bruised and bleeding. Especially then. Her seeming-untouchable-ness was, in part, what had made their relationship possible. If she had caved at his first flirtatious overture, Pepper would have been gone just as quickly as his other conquests and Tony would have never had the chance to get to know her. He would never have grown to trust her and depend on her until she was the one irreplaceable thing in his world.
Tony hadn’t been able to help but wonder what it would be like to be in bed with the legendary Pepper Potts. He was just a man, and not a particularly saintly one at that. Would she be an ice queen in bed or warm up in his arms? The way that Pepper had responded to him from the moment that they had kissed up on the roof had still startled him though. She didn’t simply allow him to touch her; Pepper melted into his touch, whether it was a simple hand on her back or offering her his arm as they made their way through a crowd. More than that, Pepper often initiated contact with him. Little things, like the brush of a finger against the back of his hand, straightening his tie, tugging on the lapels of his jacket or best yet, pulling him down for a kiss that left him dazed and bemused.
In short, Tony hadn’t thought Pepper had it in her - and he had been oh-so-wrong. Pepper Potts was more than a match for him. That was why he needed to end this farce of an evening before it went any further. He couldn’t do it, not like this. Tony didn’t have many boundaries. His sense of right and wrong was way past shaky, but when it came to Pepper he wouldn’t take any chances.
“Stop.”
Pepper barely glanced up at him, used to his often imperious commands, and equally used to ignoring them. “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t go tonight.”
“Tony, you had me make these reservations a month ago.”
“I know. Sorry.” An afterthought. But he had gotten better, hadn’t he? There was some kind of thought now.
Now Pepper had straightened and was staring right back at him. “So tell me why can’t we go?” Something flickered over her face. Bemused irritation faded away to be replaced with worry. “Did Jarvis-”
Tony flicked his hand out to his side dismissively. “Nothing like that. Iron Man won’t be making an appearance tonight.”
“Then, what? Tony...” Pepper sighed.
“Did you really want to go that badly?” Tony asked, with an air of distraction. Pepper didn’t like the social scene; that was more his area. Most nights she would rather stay in and have pizza with him and the ‘bots, curled up on the couch, than face a mass of loud, pushy photographers all trying to catch a glimpse of Tony Stark, domesticated man, and the woman who had finally managed to tie him down. Metaphorically anyway. Mostly.
“Not really, but I would like to know why you suddenly changed your mind. Especially after I spent all this time getting dressed.”
Tony stepped forward, pushing himself away from the wall and strode over to Pepper. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close against him. “Having you to myself isn’t a good enough reason?” He brushed a strand of strawberry blonde hair back away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He let his lips ghost across her cheek until they were against her ear. “I want you.”
“Tony...” This time Pepper sounded breathless, not irritated. Her fingers tightened around his lapels.
Tony almost smiled. He would never have called her easy; Pepper was far more complicated than that. He was a genius though, and Pepper was his favorite obsession. He had dedicated himself to learning everything about her: what her favorite color was, what made her squirm when he touched her, and anything that made her smile. He had also put considerable effort into learning how to seduce her. The breathlessness in her voice was a sign that she was close to giving in.
One hand let go of his lapel and moved up to cup his cheek. Her thumb brushed across his chin, ruffling his goatee. Teasingly Tony nipped at her thumb. Pepper laughed and reached for his sunglasses, snagging them off his face and pulling them away before he could evade her.
“Hey, what was that for?” Tony demanded indignantly.
“I wanted to see your eyes.”
Tony met her gaze. It was suddenly hard to hold. “Yeah? What do you see?”
Pepper didn’t reply immediately, but took her time. The longer she studied him, the more he wanted to look away under the scrutiny. Under everything was always the fear that one day she would realize who he really was, that she deserved better, and that Pepper would walk away.
Her grip on his lapel tightened, pulling him towards her. This time Tony resisted, not hard enough to hurt her, but unwilling to fall into her. He knew he would be lost if - when - he did.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Lots of things, actually. There was that one time in Nice-”
Pepper didn’t laugh this time, just clamped her hand over his mouth to silence him. “Tony.”
There was so much in just the way she said his name. A reminder of who she was, of who they were together, and an exhortation to tell the truth. His usual bullshit and distraction wouldn’t work on her, not unless he succeeded in pissing her off way more than he wanted to this evening.
“I was going to propose to you tonight.”
Pepper seemed unfazed. Most of the women Tony had been with would have fallen apart at that, devastated at missing an opportunity that they had been gunning for since before they had met him. Pepper just looked nonplussed.
“That’s not what you’re hiding,” Pepper said after a moment.
“Right you are,” Tony agreed bitterly, wishing for a drink, but now was not the moment. He doubted Pepper would let go of him long enough anyway. Tony looked away. He couldn’t meet Pepper’s eye for this. “I wanted you to know I was serious. I had plans.”
Pepper’s eyes widened a little at that. “So what happened to your plans?”
Tony swallowed hard. “They had a major flaw.”
“Your math is never wrong,” Pepper said teasingly.
“It was this time,” Tony countered. “I was going to go see your parents. Do it right. Ask your old man for his blessing, get on your mom’s good side.”
Pepper didn’t gasp, but Tony heard her sudden sharp intake of breath. Her lips pressed into a firm line. “That would be a little difficult, even with your resources.”
“I didn’t realize you meant it. When you said I was all you had too.”
Pepper’s hand slipped up his chest and curled into the hair at the base of his skull. Her nails scraped against his skin and her grip on his hair was almost painfully tight. Tony didn’t complain as Pepper dropped her head to his shoulder and tried to curl around his body. She hung onto him for dear life and he held her back just as tightly. They were two survivors clinging to each other as if letting go meant drowning.
Eventually Tony heard Pepper sniff once, and then again, a signal that she was drawing herself back together again. He hadn’t realized how not together she was until then. He had only seen evidence of her tears once, when he’d come back from Afghanistan. He had never actually seen her cry. He felt her nose brush back and forth against his shoulder. Tony would have pushed away any other woman who had tried it. With Pepper, Tony decided that it was just adorable.
Pepper straightened, pushing back until she could meet Tony’s eyes. This time Tony didn’t try to look away. “My mother would have hated you.”
Tony laughed involuntarily. He couldn’t help it. It was the last thing he had expected Pepper to say. “Way to sugar coat it for me, Potts.”
“She would have thought you were too charming and crazy by half,” Pepper continued. “Not nearly good enough for me, and my father would have hated you on principle, some cocky playboy after his only daughter.” She ducked her head. “But they would have come around when they saw the way you look at me.”
“You do have fabulous legs.” It was habit more than anything that made Tony say it. He had to say something to ease the painful vice that was squeezing his heart.
“Not like that. The way you look at me and make me feel special, safe and loved.” Pink tinted Pepper’s cheeks. “Like I’m the only thing you can see.”
Tony touched her chin, tilted her face gently upwards. “I love you.”
“I know,” Pepper said simply.
“Good.” Tony held out a hand to her. “I have a proposition for you.” He saw the unease on her face immediately. Their conversation had been draining and as much as he knew she loved him, she didn’t want his proposal to come tonight. Not when the knowledge of her parents’ death was so fresh between them. “Not that one, Potts,” Tony whispered. “But don’t think I’m giving up, just delaying for a more appropriate time.”
Pepper squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Tony.”
“So my proposal is this,” Tony continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “Come to bed with me.”
Pepper laughed at the sudden change in tone and topic.
“Not like that,” Tony protested. “For now. I just want to hold you.” And not let you go.
Both had lost their parents at a young age. They knew all too well the transience of life and if they had forgotten, Tony’s time in Afghanistan - and far too close brush with Palladium poisoning - had reminded them. Tonight was about remembering, reveling in what they had and sharing the pain of what they had lost.