Winky wonky this is a bit naughty. 

lmao jkjkjk i just felt like saying that, hehe

but for real, this is more risque than most of my other oneshots, but I got the idea and couldn't help myself. Don't worry, it's still only pg 13, and it doesn't go beyond kissing. It's just tony being tony and pepper being pepper.......................... also, set between the first two Iron Mans, so no spoilers.  

eNjOy

~~~~~

To say that Pepper Potts was overwhelmed, would be a complete understatement. To say that she was a panicked, stressed, total mess wouldn't even begin to describe the pounding in her chest or the shaking of her hands as she frantically finished her last email, that was addressed to Hammer Industries. 

In the weeks - no - months following Tony's unplanned declaration that he was Iron Man, Pepper's inbox had virtually exploded. She couldn't even begin to count the number of emails she had to respond to, and Pepper, being - well, Pepper - forced herself to read each and every one of them before she responded to each and every one of them. 

So yeah, it was straining, and it had sucked up most of her time lately. Said time included missing out on several more press conferences in follow up of the announcement, none of which she was particularly fond of anyhow. All she wanted to do was go back to her apartment, and sleep the days away, which was unusual for the otherwise control-freak work-crazy business woman she realized she had become. 

What she hadn't expected, though, was for Tony to take notice to all the time she'd 'wasted' (in his opinion) dealing with the public and managing so many emails from tech companies across the globe. Really, whether she was sad to admit it or not, she didn't  expect the billionaire to relatively care about what she was doing with her life, and she wasn't sure if she was happy to admit that she'd been wrong in assuming something like that. 

No matter what, though, the workaholic continued to work into the wee hours of the morning, failing to realize that in doing so part of herself was becoming like Tony. 

Currently, the assistant was seated in the downstairs living room of Tony's mansion, typing away on her laptop despite the screaming of her head and the subtle ache in her fingers. Her headache was making it hard to see straight, and soon enough the words on the screen began to swirl together in a sort of hazy fuzz. 

Pepper shook her head a multitude of times, attempting to deter the annoyingly painful feeling from her head. Much to her disappointment, nothing was working and she eventually forced herself to slam the laptop shut and take a breather. 

She allowed her head to tilt back on the expensive sofa, closing her eyes and taking in a much needed breath. She would read over the letter tomorrow, after she got a good night's sleep. After all, it was well past one in the morning and she knew she was better off heading home to her own bed and her cozy PJ's. 

The blonde didn't know where Tony was at the moment, which was probably why she was surprised when she heard his voice ring out from across the open room, instantly startling her out of her daze as she sat up straight, smoothing out her pencil skirt and crossing her legs. 

"Long day?" Her blue eyes caught sight of Stark, in all his disheveled, grease-stained glory, his hair looking similar to a rat's nest and his clothes covered in gunk and oil. And he still manages to look attractive. 

Pepper was quick to shake off the thought as she shuffled around some papers next to her, arranging them accordingly as she readied to go, encouraged by Tony's presence. "Yeah, just . . . I've got a lot of unfinished paperwork, and the new stuff is constantly piling in. It's just a lot of work."

"Looks like it," he responded, gesturing to the sea of papers around her. He paced over to the couches, stuffing his hands casually in his jean pockets as he took a seat on the sofa adjacent to hers. 

"Yeah. I better get going, I'll need some rest and all, even if it's only a few hours." 

"You could always stay here, you know," he cut her off mid-sentence, leaving her open-mouthed in shock. 

"Excuse me?" she repeated, stunned. 

"Calm down, not like that," he added. "I have seven spare bedrooms, five of which I've never actually stepped foot in. I'm just saying it'd be much more convenient, so you don't have to run back and forth." 

Pepper stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. He had a point, but there was still something about spending the night at Tony's that made her uneasy. She didn't really think it was professional, even if they were floors apart from one another. "It's fine, I think I'll just head home." 

"Pepper, c'mon. This is practically your home already, with the amount of time you've spent here. Besides, you've stayed this long already." 

Sighing, she eyed him warily. "No, I'm better off heading home."

As she stood up, she was rather surprised to notice that Tony made no attempt to stop her from gathering her things. He remained silent as he sat on the couch, his eyes burning holes in her back.

He was watching her every move, and it was only when Pepper started to move from the living room did Tony speak up again.

"Are you trying to avoid me, Potts?"

Pepper froze, her feet suddenly glued in place as she spun around to meet his dark eyes. "No, why would you think that?"

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but ever since my little announcement, you've been avoiding me like I'm the bubonic plague."

Pepper shivered. He wasn't wrong. Even though she had piles and piles of work to attend to, she preferred to take care of it in a place where Tony either couldn't reach her, or would never go.

She wasn't entirely sure why, but ever since they danced and shared quite an intimate moment on the rooftop a few months back, things had been oddly different between them. Pepper found it a whole lot more difficult to focus on much of anything if Tony was in the room, and there had been several occasions that he'd caught her staring directly at him, which ended in Stark winking and Pepper turning the other way to conceal her flushed face.

Because of the fact that some awkward tension had settled between them, Potts had chosen to distance herself from the billionaire at almost all costs, using work as an excuse to avoid uncomfortable situations. Perhaps she wasn't as elusive as she thought she was, because Tony had definatley noticed, and they were right back to square one.

So, she used the most logical excuse she could come up with. "No, that's not so. But ever since said press conference, I've been slammed with work that's sometimes more important than hanging around with you."

Okay, so that came out much harsher than intended.

"Ouch," he replied, frowning at her. She immediately tried to cover her tail, which was a stupid mistake on her part. She eventually ended up becoming a stuttering mess as she attempted to dig herself out of the situation.

"I'm sorry . . . I, I didn't mean it like that . . . I enjoy your company and all, I really do, so don't take it that way but, there's a lot of paperwork . . . and then all the emails, and-"

"You enjoy my company?" he grinned, rising from the couch and taking a stride towards her.

She instinctively took a step backwards, unsure of what to say. "Well . . . yeah, you're not as bad as . . . people think . . . sometimes."

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and shot her a playful look. "If I wasn't mistaken I'd say you just complimented me."

Pepper couldn't help but giggle lightly, as she readjusted her hold on her brief case. Before she could stop herself, she was speaking again, very much against her own will. "You're tolerable half of the time, Mr. Stark."

Tony wiggled his eyebrows, tilting his head at her. "And the other half of the time?"

"I can't stand you," she exhaled. Pepper was frozen as she watched Tony take another step towards her. She found herself getting lost in those damned chestnut eyes. They were darker than normal, and he had bags underneath them, but she was still able to find them mesmerizing.

"Really?" he was saying, within arms length of her, now. "Then why are you avoiding me more than half of the time?"

Pepper gulped, feeling butterflies begin to stir from the pits of her stomach. Suddenly, she wasn't tired anymore as every nerve awoke in her body. This was exactly why she had been avoiding him lately - She needed to focus on work, and how could she be expected to do that when things like this kept happening?

Get out of the situation, Pepper. Start talking, change the subject, whatever you do, don't answer . . .

But her voice had other ideas as she spoke again, unable to escape his overpowering gaze. "I- . . .  I have work . . . and you make it hard to focus." No! That's not how you meant it! DAMMIT Pepper!

Stark was instantly smirking, daring to take another step towards her. He was testing the waters, seeing how she would react. And so far, she must've been doing exactly what he wanted her to.

"I'm distracting, huh?" He was speaking again, although it took Pepper a moment to register the words as he said them.

She didn't dare speak this time, though, as she felt her heart begin to pick up speed and her breaths becoming shortened. 

"Use your words, Pepper," he spoke on a breath of air, inching even closer to her.

All she could manage to do, though, was nod her head. She felt herself starting to slip as Tony's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him as their noses nearly touched. She could feel his breath against her lips, and it send trails of goosebumps down her arms and spine. The fact that he was messy and smelled of oil and metal did nothing but encourage her further. Stop it, Pepper. Pull away!

As they leaned against one another, their eyes locked and breathing uneven, Pepper was brought back to their moment on the rooftop, and how they'd come so close to kissing that she remembered just exactly how it had felt.

Only this time, they were alone. There were no prying eyes, no paparazzi, it was just them; and in the moment, she was shameless to admit just how badly she wanted to know what kissing him felt like, just how badly she longed to feel his touch. Even accidental physical contact - such as brushing hands or accidently bumping into one another - set her skin aflame but this - this . . .

She knew it was bad, but she couldn't bring herself to stop as her brief case slipped from her hands and clattered on the ground.

Pepper was so tense in his arms that she felt like a statue; that was until Tony's arms snaked up her back, pulling her even closer, as if humanly possible. They were so close now, that their lips were ghosting each other's, and they were sharing the same breath.

"Pepper."

When he whispered her name so softly yet so intimately, it threw her over the edge as she collapsed in his arms, her hands reaching the back of his neck and slamming his lips to hers.

Instantly, Tony was kissing back with such fervor and - relief - that it did nothing but encourage her further. 

She no longer cared about work, or stupid emails and annoying businesses as their lips mashed together in every way she'd imagined. 

Pepper couldn't believe that this was finally happening . . . so many emotions were flashing across her brain that she couldn't keep up with them all, and it was hard to focus on much of anything as she felt Tony's lips moving against hers.

All she knew, was that every fantasy, every dream and hopeless devotion was at last coming true; and by god, he far exceeded expectations.

They were all hands as they released every ounce of tension that had been building for years now, although they'd only realized it a few months ago. Maybe Pepper was done keeping her feelings pent up . . . she knew now, that after this, it was going to be very hard to resent any attraction. 

Tony deepened the kiss, his powerful arms wrapped tightly around her frame, desperation obvious in the way his hands grabbed at the fabric of her shirt. Pepper gasped into the kiss, feeling sparks flying and electricity being poured from her to heart to his, and vice versa. Their bodies fit perfectly together, making it increasingly harder for Pepper to pull away. 

They were continuously ignoring the call for oxygen, unable to get enough of the way their lips moulded perfectly together.

She couldn't stop . . . she wasn't getting enough; Pepper's entire body was on fire, her nerves tingling wherever Tony's hands made contact with her skin, the sensation sending waves of chilling goosebumps down her spine, creating an increasingly intensifying desire that rose from her belly.

When they finally tore apart from one another, they were both gasping for air, their pants filling the open-concept living room.

After seconds of recovery, Pepper was leaning in again, only this time Tony met her halfway, his lips taking control of the kiss before he was attached to her neck.

Pepper melted, lost in the feeling of his lips moving up her neck before hovering just over her left ear, his warm breath tickling that spot right behind her ear. "Jump," he was whispering to her, and she shifted her weight to do so, and . . .

Pepper jolted awake, sitting up straight in bed, a panting mess as she gasped for air. Her heart was pounding in her ears, heat radiating in waves across her skin as she struggled to steady her breathing.

A hot mess, she flung the comforter off her body and welcomed the chilling air with a series of heavy sighs.

When she was finally able to calm down, reality set in like a slap to the face.

She had just dreamed about kissing Tony.

Tony Stark. Her boss. Her colleague. Her friend. Tony. Stark.

This couldn't possibly have happened!  No. She refused to believe it; she refused to take in the fact that she had dreamed about heavily making out with her boss. She tried not to think about what would've happened had she not woken up.

This . . . this was insane . . . insanely unprofessional. But no matter how hard she tried to shake the image from her head, she knew she'd never forget the way his lips had felt . . .

The way he made her feel; how euphoric the whole experience had been, and just how desperate she was that her dream would became reality.

But the logistical part of her brain was completely distraught and utterly horrified that something like that had just happened.

Her head fell into her hands, as she was unable to cope with the thoughts cramming into her head.

Pepper didn't know what she should do. Half of her was treating the situation as if she had committed some unforgivable sin, and that she should be ashamed and upset.

Yet, the other half of her told her to go back to sleep and wish herself back into the dream; and dare it be said, there was a tiny sliver of her that wanted to storm out of her apartment, erupt into Tony's house, and not have to dream about it any longer.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, she couldn't tell, since her judgment was askew), her mind outweighed her heart in this moment, and while she was deeply conflicted, she found herself blaming the outlandish fantasy on her sleep deprivation.

So, she settled on distracting herself by working on some paperwork, and avoiding anything and everything Tony related for the time being.

Needless to say, Pepper never fell back asleep that night. In the days that followed, she couldn't be within ten feet of Tony without blushing like crazy, and the worst part, was that Stark knew something was up, and he found it hilarious.

What scared her the most, though, was that the dream wasn't a one time thing - now, every other night she would find herself tangled in Tony's embrace, and each night felt more realistic than the last.

Little did she know, that she wasn't the only one who was wrapped up in wishful fantasies.

Let's just be thankful that she didn't have to be inside Tony's head every night.