What's left afterwards

(i)

They were all exhausted. She still couldn't believe she had let Tony talk her into leaving cleanup for everyone else. It really wasn't like her but once he had finally agreed to let Tony take her down from that roof because there wasn't another way he had quietly told her that he was incredibly tired. The way he had said the words, how is voice had sounded had instantly alerted her and her mind quickly repeated the conversation between Natasha and Tony she had overheard. And while she had always been professional and usually did everything the right way there was something that was more important to her than anything else and that was her eccentric boss Tony Stark.

Besides that she had quickly decided that she could handle everything from afar via emails and calls anyway and Tony wasn't stinky rich for nothing. Therefore she had told him to take them wherever he wanted and that she'd take care of anything else all the while she tried not to throw up because flying really was not her thing.

Now, as she stood in the kitchen of his Malibu home which was still partly destroyed, she was glad that she had let him get them home a few hours ago. She had barely slept because she was still feeling all kinds of fired up and had spent the few hours since their arrival on the phone with her laptop on her knees. She had instantly sent Tony to bed and had not seen him since.

Preparing herself a cup of coffee, Pepper's mind went back to the moment on the roof. In retrospective she could say that the almost shy way in which he had kissed her last night on that roof, right after he had saved her from an exploding robot, had been something entirely unexpected for him. As long as she'd known him Tony Stark had never been one to be shy and unsure around a woman. In all those years he had bedded so many of them that she wasn't able to count anymore. Of course he tried to get her into his bed many times as well, but Pepper, always the professional one, rejected him every single time and reminded him to stay appropriate around her and miraculously, someday his hitting on her had mostly stopped.

What Pepper never counted on was her own feelings and how they would betray her own attitude someday. Somewhere between caring for him, organizing his public and private life, Pepper fell in love with her eccentric, entirely too self-absorbed boss, who took her for much too granted. When he came back from Afghanistan, things changed. She still loved him very much, but somehow there were less women and he seemed more focused on the really important things.

After the last week, in which she'd run Stark Industries, he fell right back into his old habits, behaved like his old self again and even though things between them hadn't really changed, it still hurt to see him like that. But seeing how easily he had Natasha replace her had hurt more than anything else. So after all this pain and stress and finding out about him almost dying from some kind of poisoning last night, Pepper really couldn't believe how gently, caringly and shyly he had kissed her.

Pepper wondered what that meant, if it meant anything at all. It was why she had instantly started explaining herself when Rhodey had interrupted them but curiously enough Tony had not seemed to be making a big deal out of Rhodey's witnessing which could either mean that he simply didn't care or that he was actually comfortable. Considering how he had taken her hands into his metal clad once afterwards and had smiled sweetly at her Pepper almost tended to think the moment had meant something to him as well which was a dangerous thought.

"Care to make it two?"

Tony's rough, sleepy voice startled her out of her thoughts and she whirled around to face him.

"Hey," she greeted.

He was only wearing flannel pants, his chest bare and purple with bruises. Apparently he hadn't had the strength to clean himself up and had gone straight to bed. Pepper gasped as she took in the dark lines all around his arc reactor.

"It looks worse than it actually is," he said gently and smiled disarmingly at her. "I swear I'm fine."

She nodded and averted her eyes, swallowing against the lump in her throat. How close had she actually come to losing him? He could have died and the last thing she would have said to him-

"Pepper, breathe."

Her eyes jumped to his because he was suddenly right in front of her. His hands had found her shoulders and gently forced her out of her own mind. She swallowed and gasped and took a few shuddering breathes.

When he was sure she was alright again, Tony let his hands run down her arms only to entwine his fingers with hers.

Her heart started beating faster and she nervously bit her lips as she gazed at him. Since they were both barefoot they were pretty much eye to eye level.

"Are you sure you really are going to be okay?", she asked quietly, trying not to ruin the moment.

He nodded, his eyes still meeting hers, letting her see the truth. "I invented a new element the reactor can run with which doesn't kill me," he explained, letting go of her left hand to touch the glowing triangle in his chest. "I promise I'm gonna be alright."

With a grin and a wink he added, "I'm a genius, Pep. I know what I'm doing."

She couldn't help but grin in response and snorted a little. "Right."

He pouted indignantly, but smiled after another moment and gently pulled a strand of her strawberry red hair behind her left her. Self-consciously, Pepper dropped her gaze and unconsciously leaned forward to rest her head against his chin which made Tony wrap his arms around her in a hug. They had embraced before but this was different. It was warm, sweet and comforting and she knew he enjoyed the closeness just as much as she did. Slowly, she wrapped her own arms around his back and moved her head a little so it could rest against his warm neck instead, causing him to tighten his embrace. He smelled like sweat, metal and grime and yet, Pepper couldn't find herself to care one bit.

"God, I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and with it the fist that had been twisting her gut for weeks now but especially intense the last twenty four hours, finally let loose.

"Likewise," Tony muttered against her the top of her head, his lips almost caressing. Her fingers dug a little into the skin of his back in her attempt to pull him still closer.

"I feel the need to inform you that I am pleased to see you and Miss Potts to be well too, Mr. Stark, sir," Jarvis suddenly piped up, making Pepper chuckle and Tony let out a groan. With one last squeeze Pepper finally moved out of his arms and smiled at him.

"You should take a shower and then let me tend to your wounds," she suggested.

He smirked. "Can't wait to get your hands on me, can you, Potts?"

She swatted him with a roll of her eyes and moved away from him but before she was entirely out of his reach, Tony stopped her with his hand on her waist. And then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips against hers, his mouth smiling.

Pepper's eyes instantly fell shut and she felt her mind blank for a moment, taking in the feeling of his full lips and his goatee tickling her face. It felt just as good as last night, maybe even a little better because now there wasn't the imminent danger of death in the back of their heads. Instead, they seemed to have all the time in the world. There was no rush in the way he kissed her, just a slow burning that intensified and seemed to make every nerve ending in her stand up.

A loud gasp, followed by a shocked cough made them tear apart and they turned around to come to face with Happy, who despite his name didn't look happy at all.

Pepper flushed a deep bright red while Tony merely grinned at him, his hand still around her waist.

"Hey Hogan, late for work again?"