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Three weeks into their new relationship, Tony and Pepper had worked out a good schedule. Mondays were set aside for relaxing nights in, Wednesdays were date nights (because hump day, it was funny), and part of either Saturday or Sunday was spent doing something fun out of the house. This being a Thursday, there was nothing remarkable going on, so the two of them were squared away in Tony’s workshop, enjoying their evening together while they did their own things. Pepper was finally reading a book she’d been looking forward to, and Tony was catching up on some minor upgrades and repairs. It had been quiet for awhile, both of them comfortably absorbed in their own little worlds while time passed peacefully in each other’s company.
Finishing up a tricky bit of soldering, Tony set his supplies aside and sat up straight, stretching the muscles in his back. Gradually coming out of his workshop daze enough to become aware of his surroundings again, Tony first noted that he could smell something good, he was feeling a little warm, and… he was, um, up. In his jeans. And while a science boner was not unusual, it typically happened when he was doing something a little more exciting. Coming up with an awesome new idea, for example, or when things finally started coming together in a complicated project. Writing code updates and soldering some fiddly bits in one of his iron man boots wasn’t exactly what got his motor running in that particular way.
Glancing around, he tried to find the source of whatever it was that got his nether regions hopping. Nothing was out of the ordinary, his sex playlist wasn’t on, the bots were in their charging stations sleeping, and Pepper was curled up on the couch reading a book. Although, as Tony took a closer look at her (because he could do that now, he was allowed, and he thrilled at it every time, it was still so new and fresh) he could see a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead and her cheeks were flushed. Like she was too hot (in actual temperature, not looks, which were always off the chart), but she wasn’t even reading a spicy romance novel.
As he took a slow, deep breath, only just becoming aware that he’d been doing so for awhile, Tony also finally paid attention to the lush, sweet scent on the air, and the answer hit him like a ton of bricks.
Pepper was going into heat.
“Potts,” Tony rasped, his whole body flaring now that he’d made the realization. “Pepper.”
She looked up, distracted and a little dazed, clearly just as clueless to the situation as he’d been. “Hmm? You okay?” Her brow furrowed in concern as she looked him over, then rose sharply as she notice the situation going on in his pants.
“Pepper, you’re going into heat.”
For one second, she looked bemused, then her whole body tensed as her mind snapped to attention. Tony imagined her taking stock of what her body was doing, just like he had, and coming to the same conclusion. She looked at him, her wide blue eyes filled with worry and that instinctual edge of panic that Tony forced himself not to take to heart.
“What do you want me to do?” He asked, clenching his hands on the armrests of his chair to keep himself still.
She didn’t say anything, just continued to look as scared and unprepared as he felt.
“Do you want me to leave?” He prompted, wanting to give her all the options. “I can get a hotel room for the next few days and you can stay here. Or you can take one of the cars, or I could have JARVIS lock me in a suit and I can fly you home, he won’t let me out until I get back here. I can have Happy get you whatever supplies you need, or arrange a delivery.”
He was talking too fast, words coming out the moment they hit his brain. And Pepper just stared at him, unmoving, and Tony felt something clench in his chest. He forced himself to take a deep breath, to calm down just a little.
“I’m not doing anything unless you tell me to, honey. I promise. You just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll make it happen.”
Thankfully, that finally seemed to break through, and a tremulous smile came over her face. “It came early. I wasn’t expecting it until next week.”
“Must be our new… thing we’ve got going on.” It wasn’t uncommon, heats and ruts cycling earlier and syncing up when a couple got together.
“I don’t even have supplies yet, I usually wait until a few days before.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay, I’ll make sure you have everything you need. Anything you want.”
Pepper’s smile went soft as she looked at him, the panic and fear having receded completely from her eyes. “I have been thinking about it, though.”
A spike of heat shot through him at that, and he swallowed hard. “You have?”
“Mm hmm. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do.”
“And?” The word came out of his suddenly dry throat as a croak.
“If it’s okay with you, and if we are safe… I’d like to spend it with you.”
Suddenly Tony couldn’t breathe. There was no air in the room, no air in the world, and his heart was fluttering in his throat. “In what way?”
Pepper still smiled at him, and it went a little sweeter, more knowing. “With me, Tony. In exactly the way you’re hoping.”
“I’m trying real hard not to hope for one single thing except for you to feel safe and happy right now, honey.” His fingers tightened on the armrests, knuckles going white.
“And I love you for it. But I still want you with me.”
With a wheezy gasp, he blurted, “You don’t have to.”
Even despite his rather intense state of overwhelm, Tony couldn’t miss the way Pepper looked at him, kind of adoring. “I know. Which is part of why I want to.”
He was still struggling to breathe, struggling to think, struggling to do anything but stare at her and hope. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Yes I’m sure.”
“Okay. Okay. JARVIS?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Do I have a rut suppressant in the house?” If he took one within the first few hours of being around an omega in heat, it would tone down his reaction, let him be able to think more reasonably. And he’d need all the help he could get, if this all went how he imagined it would.
“You have several left over from your last prescribed refill. They should be sufficient to last for several days, and I can put in an order for more.”
“Do that, yes. Might as well be prepared.” Turning his eyes to Pepper again, he almost lost his train of thought because she looked so beautiful. Flushed and glowing and looking at him like he was someone worth loving. He couldn’t wait to take her to bed, to love on her in all the ways he’d already discovered they both loved, but now with that edge that heat and rut brought to it. The hint of desperation, neediness, the urge to be as close as possible for as long as possible. It was enough to make him light-headed just thinking about it.
“What do you need?” he asked, refocusing. “What can I get for you?”
“Just a few heat supplies. I have some in my purse, and I can give JARVIS a list for the rest.”
“I can arrange for a delivery within an hour, Miss Potts.”
“And what about until then?” Tony asked, practically vibrating with nerves.
Pepper set her book aside and got up, her scent getting stronger, vanilla and sun-warmed berries, caramelized sugar and the slight tang of mint. “I think I’m gonna take a bath first. I like getting cleaned up before things really get going, and a bath always feels nice. Helps me relax.”
“Okay,” Tony nodded like a bobble head. “That’s great.”
“And while I do that… how abut you start setting up in my room?”
Pepper had her own room in the mansion, a guest room that had been made hers over the years. She had been sleeping in Tony’s room lately though, even her clothes and shoes and other belongings had been making their way over. Her room could probably use some freshening up now before they camped out in there for a few days.
“Okay. I can do that. Do you like lots of pillows and blankets, or just the sheets?”
“Just the sheets to start with, but I’ll want the rest later.”
“Okay,” Tony nodded again, already making plans to scavenge pillows from every room in the house. “Food, what kinds of food and snacks and stuff do you like best?”
“Sweet stuff. I like pastries and ginger ale and really cold water. Nearer the end I’ll start craving things with protein and salt, so I usually have things on hand that are easy to make or heat up or eat as is. Sandwiches or eggs and bacon, that kind of thing.”
Omelets were a go, then, provided he didn’t try to make them himself. “JARVIS, you making a list?”
“Yes, sir. I have also arranged for a mini fridge and bottled water to be delivered to Miss Potts’ room.”
Tony smiled at Pepper a little. “I think that AI likes you.”
Grinning, she leaned down for a kiss. “I’ll tell him the rest of what I need while I take a bath.”
“Use mine, it’s got the good jacuzzi. You need anything in there? I know you’ve got your basic stuff, is there anything you need from your bathroom?”
“No, I should be good to go.” Pepper paused, looking at him tenderly. “Tony, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being even more amazing with this than I thought you’d be.”
He was definitely not blushing, absolutely not, it was just warm in here. “I’m glad you had high hopes for me.”
“I’ve always had high hopes for you, Tony Stark. Sometimes you just surprise me with how good a man you really are when you’d like for the world to believe otherwise.”
Feeling the hot flush seep across his face and down his neck, Tony opened his mouth to argue, though he had no idea what to even say. Before he could stammer anything out, Pepper kissed him again.
“I’ll see you in a little while, okay?”
“Okay.”
She started heading towards the stairs, and Tony watched her go for a moment before calling out, “Pepper!”
She turned, looking at him.
He swallowed thickly. “You sure about this? Really?”
She smiled softly. “Yes. I’m sure.”
“And just to be clear, this is a sex thing, right?”
Her laugh was just the best thing in the world. “Yes, Tony, it’s a sex thing.”
“Okay. Didn’t want to get out the condoms unless we were really clear on that.”
“Good idea,” she replied, giggling.
“Because that would have been really awkward. Not that I would hate being strictly your alpha cuddly buddy for the next few days, I just didn’t want to create an unrealistic set of expectations.”
“Tony, despite the fact that you are an entire bundle of unrealistic expectations, in this situation you’ve already exceeded my wildest expectations. Now go get everything ready.” She smirked, her eyes going just a little dark. “I’m gonna go get naked and wet.”
A groan came up out of his very soul as his head thunked back against the headrest. “Pepper, that was mean.”
She just laughed again as she left the workshop and started up the stairs, “I have a feeling you’ll forgive me.”
“Oh, I’ll show you a feeling alright, Miss Potts,” he grumbled to himself. “Just you wait.”
“Looking forward to it!”
Taking a deep breath, Tony jumped up, clapping his hands together. “Okay. JARVIS, you’re ready with that list as soon as Pepper gives you the rest of it?”
“I am already arranging for a delivery.”
“Perfect. Make sure there’s a lot of what she said, but throw in a little of everything else too. Just in case she has cravings. And condoms. Definitely more condoms.”
“I also have an order for omelets from Stacy’s on standby, and SI is aware you will both be taking a few days off.”
“JARVIS, you are a very good AI, with very handsome code. Supercomputers the world over would drop their panties for you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Okay, now I’m gonna go get the bed ready.” His stomach flipped in the good way, skin tightening, nerves started to turn into excited anticipation of what the next few days would bring. “Pill first though. Definitely that first. Have I forgotten anything, J?”
“Just take a deep breath, sir. Everything will be fine.”
Tony let out a heavy exhale. “Thanks, J. Feel free to remind me of that whenever I need it. Just maybe not when I’m… with Pepper.”
“Potts Privacy Mode has been activated. I will signal you with the established light system if anything urgent arises.”
“Perfect. Okay. First heat with my new girlfriend. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
“I have added cake to the delivery list, sir.”
Tony huffed out a laugh and grinned, following Pepper’s intoxicating scent trail out of the workshop and up the stairs. “Thanks, JARVIS.”
“Good luck, sir.”