Work Text:
2008
The summer sun was hot against her skin filling her with a soft delicious feeling. Half asleep on the fluffy cotton towel, Pepper tried to open her eyes, but even through her dark sunglasses the intense glow bothered her.
Suddenly she felt a large, callused hand on her abdomen, tracing soft circles in the form of caresses. She abandoned herself to the soft touch, delighted. Slowly the hand began to rise above her breasts, to her neck, spreading more caresses without haste, taking it's time. She thought it was a familiar touch, pleasant, intense.
And then soft, warm lips were on hers. A playful tongue made it's way into her mouth, and she allowed herself to be kissed. She didn't quite know why, but she did anyway. Timidly at first, passionately afterwards, she invited him to take over her mouth completely, matching his desire, letting his tongue run every inch inside her mouth and savouring her lips with delight.
It ended too soon and Pepper felt that it had been the best kiss she had been given in her entire life. Small quick kisses from those juicy lips against her own followed, as if they were never going to let her go from that embrace on the beach, over the sand.
Suddenly, her analytical brain took control and Pepper began to wonder who the hell was doing this to her and who was she with, so she subtly shifted into the arms of her mysterious companion.
"You are incredible, Potts. Always so tense. Not even able to relax when we are on vacaction. On a remote Caribbean Island. You and I. Alone."
Virginia flinched, and straightened up as fast as she could as she heard THAT unmistakable male voice in that sensual tone, in such a situation and addressed to her!
"What the hell, Tony! It's Dominica. The private beach of a five star hotel to be specific. And we are not alone, alone… You know that. We are here for a negotiation…"
He brushed off his sunglasses and opened his eyes wide with surprise.
"That went fairly well, yesterday. Today on the other hand is only ours to enjoy, my beloved friend."
Tony Stark, her boss, Stark Industries CEO and her worst nightmare.
"I'll never go on a vacation with YOU. If you are there it isn't leisure time." She retorted. "Proof being you already disturbed my peace"
"Okay Pep, that hurt…" He said feigning rejection.
She blushed hard remembering the kisses and his hands over her body.
"Yeah but that doesn't explain… Why did you kiss me and… And… You…"
She was nervous he could tell. Nearly angry but also excited. He simply stared intently at her, shrugged, threw at her his charming trademark smile and finally said in a disappointed tone:
"I just thought it would be a good idea to replay last night's reverie. I thought we had a good time and maybe being sober would be even better. It did not seem to be hard for you to keep up with my rythm." He raised his eyebrows, giving her a sexy wink.
"What?" She asked startled and getting as away from him as she could.
Pepper tried to clear up her mind about the surprising fact that Tony Stark had just blurted out to her that apparently they had slept together the night before and most surprisingly that he wanted to repeat the experience. She must have been totally wasted to allow such a thing. But what disturbed her the most was his raw determination to repeat it. He had never slept twice in a row with the same woman, for God's sake! She tried to calm down and take a deep breath as she gazed at him. She must be hallucinating all of this. There is no other logical explanation.
Suddenly, her gaze and his collided. His intoxicating appearance was making her very nervous. That muscular body, gilded by the sun, his bare torso, tonned muscles, leaving nothing to the imagination except what was covered by the bright red trunks.
Those intense brown eyes riveted on her. Pepper was very selfaware of her half-naked figure as she was wearing a simple light blue two-piece bikini.
She swallowed hard and turned away again, very angry with him for starting this nonsense and with herself. What the hell was wrong with him? She stood and started walking towards the seashore, feeling the cool breeze on her face, letting the soft sand crunch under her feet, tickling her as the water licked them back and forth, softly and quietly.
She stayed like this for minutes, staring at the beautiful calming landscape of transparent turquoise waters and white sand. Then a warm big hand was on her shoulder, the familiar touch unmistakable. Tony was finally beside her again. Pepper knew that she couldn't avoid him forever and that doing so wouldn't make things easier anyway. So she turned to face him.
"You already regret it" His voice was full of sadness, something that always worried her, because he was more fragile than he wanted the world to know. "Wow 12 hours and you are already hating me… I know we are both sober right now and… I don't know. I've been stupid for believing that you… It doesn't matter. I'm sorry Pepper. I truly am. Can we forget it and keep living our lives as if nothing happened?"
His mood had changed. He was truly in pain. Pepper could feel his dissapointment. She felt bad for not remembering anything about last night. Maybe something big happened between them? Could it be? She decided to ask him right away. He was her best friend after all, and she didn't want him to suffer.
"What happened last night? Something happened? Between us? Tony are you saying that? Why would we risk our great friendship and our profesional relationship like that? It doesn't sound like us at all…"
He breathed hard. This was going to be difficult to deal with.
"I don't know, honestly. You threw yourself at me. You had too many drinks, probably. I had too many drinks too. But that's no news." He paused embarrassed with himself. "I may get you some more daikiris if that's what it takes to get you all kissy and touchy with me again". He blinked jokingly at her, trying to soften the mood. "I thought maybe… It meant something…"
Pepper didn't laugh. She was completely taken aback.
"I don't remember. Anything." She honestly said.
"You don't even remember. Perfect. This is worst than I thought" He quietly whispered brushing his eyes with both hands. He was finding breathing hard.
"But I believe it was a foolishness and I assure you it won't happen again." Her voice slightly cracked "If you need it I can leave the job and resign tomorrow morning."
Tony stared at her for a long moment raising his arms into the air vehemently.
"Yeah, that would be great! Don't you see? It's not me regretting it and I don't think it was foolish, Pepper. And of course I don't want you to resign. I'll be totally lost without you." He smiled for the first time since he told her. "I could even act like it never happened, it wouldn't be the first time after all… But the truth is I don't want to."
And suddenly, without another word, he took her in his arms and brought her with him into the water. The contact with her sun-tanned skin was extremely cold, and Pepper shuddered, not entirely sure that it was only due to abrupt changes in temperature.
"Let me go! Tony… Don't… Don't!"
She felt bristling every inch of her skin, including a very specific place in her anatomy just beneath both triangles from the top of her tiny light blue bikini. Suddenly Tony released her, letting her fall on the turquoise water so that the sea would bathe her completely. Pepper found herself standing with the water at shoulder height. Once free, she began to splash and scream like a possessed woman as she attacked him with bursts of water in the midst of an improvised war.
"You are an idiot Stark! How you dare throwing me into the water withouth warning… It's cold and I'm gonna kill you!"
She couldn't finish the sentence because suddenly Tony was kissing her. When they parted, he smiled broadley at her.
"You're so funny when you get angry and flushed..." He only said, looking at her longingly.
Pepper was absolutely taken aback this time. She didn't know what to think anymore.
That was purely Tony behavior except for the kiss and that longing look. He would never cross that line while openly flirting with her. She knew that.
And then his warm hands where on her back, playing with the laces of her bikini and his lips on hers again, devouring her senseless. She thought about pushing him back but it was so good, it was warm, sweet and passionate… She didn't have the courage to stop him anymore. He was touching her everywhere now and her insides where slowly melting in flames. Pepper realized that she had secretly longed for his touch for so long, so she deepened the kiss and threw herself into his warm embrace, skin on skin. When they parted both were struggling to catch their breaths and were smiling imbued in a wave of inexplicable desire.
"You are incredible, Pep" Tony whispered in a muffled breath. "I always knew you'd be irresistible. That you'd feel amazing between my arms"
Pepper blinked fast trying to make sense of his lasts words that pounded in her mind.
"Wait, what?" She stared at him. "You lied to me, we did nothing last night!"
Tony moved his head affirmatively. He'd been caught. But to hell with everything. Now he knew for sure she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
"We didn't go further because you were too wasted. Maybe I'm a drunken idiot but I still respected you and our friendship and brought you to your bed. But you did initiate something" He explained. "I felt things when you slurry kissed me repeatedly last night. It was intense, I can't explain but I remember every detail. This morning I was so happy. I was glad it happened to be honest" He smiled. "I wanted it to happen again but this time we would both will be in control of our senses and remember it"
"Tony? But this is madness!" She exclaimed puzzled.
"No time for doubting yourself!" He added fearing her seconds thoughts about the situation they were getting into. Hell be damned.
So he kissed her again and roamed his hands caressing her back. Slowly, taking his time, he gently and expertly removed the top of the bikini, leaving it tied around her neck and resting on her back. With soft and unusual tenderness he kissed her neck, biting and sucking, slowly lighting her with desire. His hands undid the loop on the lower part of her bikini, letting it hang off her leg. Then her hands moved down, she undressed him and they were both naked, body against body. They made love slowly and gently in the water, between agitated sighs and content desire that exploded between them both like pure fireworks. Pepper sighed and whispered his name between gasps Tony, Tony, Tony until suddenly a strange hum buzzed briefly. In the midst of intense waves of pleasure the buzzing became even more intense.
"Do you hear that?" She asked intrigued, angry and bewildered.
"No…" He retorted and continued kissing her.
Suddenly, all the incredible sensations died in an agonizing second. Tony disappeared, everything was dark and only that clear buzzing was heard bipbipbipbip bipbipbipbip.
Suddenly, Virginia Potts understood everything.
It was the sound of the alarm. Her digital alarm clock. It was time to get up and go to work. Wrapped in her own sweat and still wildly aroused, she sat up on the bed in her small apartment in Malibu.
"Oh My God, Damned dream!"
Truth be told, the personal assistant wasn't entirely sure that it was a dream or a nightmare.
She stretched out arms and legs, opened her eyes slowly and heavily, turning her gaze to the digital alarm clock on the nightstand. 7 am. *Perfect, Tony's plane doesn't leave until 10* She sighed deeply, swung her legs out of the sheets and stood up, cursing her damn hormones for making her dream of such unrealistic situations. Pepper took off her two-piece pajamas and jumped into the shower. *Better cold water this morning* she thought. Surely Tony, the real one, and not that absurd romantic hallucination created by her own mind, would not even remember that today was her birthday. If it depended on him, he wouldn't even bother flying to the other side of the world for that presentation of weapons and missiles to the army in Afghanistan. But Stane had forced his hand and he had no choice.
Pepper bit her lower lip as she got out of the shower and started drying herself with the towel, she admitted in front of the mirror that she was going to miss him a little… He was her friend after all and the office always felt strangely quiet without him… Yeah she convinced herself it was totally normal as she was putting her underwear on.
Finally she buttoned up the white blouse, pulled up the navy blue tube skirt and picked up the matching jacket from the wardrobe. She slid it over her arms delicately as her thoughts wandered around what kind of gift with legs coming from a casino in "Las Vegas" would be waiting in the mansion this time lost, angry and fairly confused. She had to leave inmediately to make sure the clothes of the new bimbo were ironed in time. She hoped Tony just brought one home last night and sighed tiredly as she straightened her professional ponytail in front of the dresser mirror and smiled to her reflection. Yeah, perfectly polished and professional.
Pepper liked her job, even if it had its drawbacks, but sometimes Tony was simply maddening. Today she would have to lure him into signing some contracts and deal with several important issues before forcing him into his private jet meanwhile trying to get rid of the new girl he'd fucked.
That absurd nightmare had made her moody and cranky. She sighed. Lots of work was waiting for her, as always, and the day had only just began. Sitting on the bed, she bent down to put on the black Louboutins. She smiled gladly at the fact of having loaded her pretty and very expensive electric blue evening dress on her boss's credit card. It was ideal to wear at the charity party that she had marked on her agenda in three months. After all, Tony always forgets to get something for her on her birthday. Moreover, he had to compensate her somehow for getting into her dreams in such a torrid and ominous way. She picked up her bag from the hall, put her Blackberry inside as well as the apartment keys. Yep, she was ready to leave for the Malibu Mansion.
A faint smile of satisfaction crept to her lips as she left the house, bound for work like every morning.
But today it's her birthday and she has plans for the evening that doesn't involve Tony Stark.