I feel your heartbeat ♥ All the time

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It's been a year since... everything. Since their house blew up, since Extremis. Since Toni had officially lost her mind. She likes to think she's doing better, but there's no true litmus for something like that. She goes to her therapist once a week, as promised. It's still a struggle, but it's getting easier. Sometimes Pepper sits in with her and sometimes she's alone. Depending on the week, one or the other could be harder. Sometimes she doesn't talk the whole hour. Sometimes she doesn't let the doctor have a word in edgewise. Sometimes she cries -- that's the hardest for her, showing weakness in front of an authority figure; allowing herself to be helped. Maybe it's not making any difference, but she knows Pepper appreciates the effort.

There are two shiny suits in the lab, as promised, too. One that she's repairing now as the other stands idly by. She's working with the Avengers again, sort of. It's kind of on-again-off-again. And her remodeling efforts had been for naught, of course none of them wanted to stay here, what was she thinking? Except Bruce, when he bothers to come back from whatever third-world shithole he's in at any given time. Sometimes she gets along with Steve, but usually not. Things are tumultuous, but it's her version of normal and she feels like her head is at least above water again.

Pepper is back to work, solving world hunger and light fare like that. He does so much better at the helm than Toni ever did. It makes her proud, but with the tiniest bit of niggling jealousy she can't ever seem to shake. He seems happy -- fulfilled. She hears his oh-so familiar footfalls predictably right on time. Or really, five minutes early. It's their scheduled "reconnection" time, and she feels her heart speed up from his proximity alone, finding a stopping point as soon as she can so she can give him a look over. Handsome as ever, of course. And her in a threadbare Pinkfloyd tanktop and holey jeans, grease smeared across her cheek and safety goggles pinning her hair back that had fallen out of her bun. What a pair they make, as ever. Yin and yang.

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It would be a lie to say it's been easy, this past year (and over), but Pepper would like to think it's been worth it. Slowly but surely, things are patching up -- as much as they can be. Everything still isn't perfect, but mostly those are things they cannot directly influence as much. But they're finally on the same page with Toni, which is all he ever wanted. He's happy, and he thinks Toni is, too. At least most of the time. In fact, he's been so happy that those not-conversations from a year back about proposals and weddings have come back to haunt him recently; he finds himself thinking about them more and more, his thoughts drifting over whenever he's not preoccupied with business. But he hasn't brought any of it up to Toni... not yet.

He has a bottle of wine under one arm as he appears in the lab, fingers curled about the neck. His free hand is casually shoved into the pocket of his slacks, still dressed in his office wear of the day. He smiles fondly and shakes his head a little at the sight of Toni, who is a mess as always. "I seem to remember I have one more appointment today. Also, this bottle of very fancy, very expensive wine-- but these two things are actually coincidental. Happily, though."

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Her eyes flash on the wine, and she wonders if she's forgotten some occasion. It definitely wouldn't be the first time, but she's confident at least that it isn't Pepper's birthday. It's nearing Christmas, and those diamond ads are back in full force... She'd be lying to herself if she said it didn't get her mind going all over again.

"Do you really believe in coincidences that serendipitous?" she teases, lips quirking up on one side as she spins her chair around to face him. She's learned how to compartmentalize. When it's Pepper time, she puts everything down now. It's helping them a lot, she thinks. Especially when Pepper does the same. No work emails are answered this time of night, no phone calls answered. It does a good deal towards easing her mind, and she knows his as well. Reading the label, she unconsciously licks her lips. It's been a long time since she drank, especially something that expensive. She wonders what she did to deserve such a treat.

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"Are you really questioning something that so obviously works to your advantage?" he throws back, tsking and shaking his head as he wanders closer. "You really have been out of the corporate world for too long, Ms. Stark."

He sets the bottle down on the workbench next to Toni, leaning his backside against the edge of it and crossing his arm loosely, a playful smile on his lips. "Besides, I wasn't lying. The wine was a shameless bribe from that French pharmacology lab rep we've been in talks with."

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She doesn't exactly have a rebuttal for that -- she hasn't been in that situation in a long time now. Not since the board meeting that turned everything over to Pepper officially. She doesn't miss it, though the power suits were nice. They look better on him, though. Toni cranes her neck a bit so she can look at him from this new vantage point, shaking her head at the sordid tale.

"I would have thought you were more ethical than to take a bribe, Mr. Potts." But it's kind of sexy, in a weird way. In the same weird way she finds most innocuous things he does sexy, honestly.

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"It was a kind gift in honor of our impending partnership and the approaching holidays," he clarifies with a little sniff of hauteur, playing it up -- yeah no, it was totally a bribe. A bit of a smirks tugs at the corner of his lips again. "Should I have offended mademoiselle Marchand by refusing? That would've been horribly rude."

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"So this is basically a re-gift from your side chick." She smiles sweetly, taking the wine bottle from the bench and holding it up to the light. He wasn't kidding, this is an expensive bottle alright. "I'll take it."

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"See, I namedropped her specifically so that you'd get horribly jealous over me. You're doing this all wrong, Toni." He sighs, shaking his head in faux-resignation.

"I actually think I'm far too old for her. Lady had her eye on the account manager's assistant who's barely in his twenties." He shrugs. French people!!

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"...Is it weird that that kind of offends me?" She really is doing this wrong. Tony's free hand roams over his knee since it's conveniently right in front of her, squeezing his thigh suggestively before turning her attention back to the wine. "If you make me stare at this any longer I'm going to find something sharp to cut it open with. Shouldn't we drink the fancy wine out of golden goblets? Shouldn't that be like, a free gift with purchase?"

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"Which part?" Pepper cracks with a chuckle, jumping a little at the grope. Huffing a breath, he straightens up and plucks the bottle from her hand. "Uh-uh, first things first. Please go wash the engine oil from your face and maybe find clothing with no tears and holes in them." It was date night, after all! He doesn't think that's too much to ask.

"I'll go set up dinner while you do, I'm sure you haven't eaten anything since morning." Gently, he pushes back the safety goggles still sitting on top of her head and sets them aside. "And then we'll have our grossly expensive French bribe. Deal?"

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"Pick one," she quips back easily, sighing as though put-upon for the rest. In all honesty, she likes getting ready for him. It makes everything feel more romantic somehow; official like. "Make sure you air it out. Mom gave us that aerator, remember." Toni moves to stand up, bringing her eye level with Pepper for a second. She leans in a little closer, like she's going for a kiss, but instead dodges at the last second and kisses the tip of his nose.

"Carry me?" she requests softly, even though she's nowhere near as exhausted as she had been in the past to warrant the help. Now she just wants the closeness.

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"Yes, dear," he says obediently, smiling fondly. She's cute, acting like he's never opened a bottle of wine before!! It's also cute and endearing as hell how she's calling his mother Mom. Though he'd known Elaine would more or less adopt Toni the moment they met, and surprise surprise, he'd been right. His lips pull into a fuller smile as she leans in to kiss his nose, his free hand resting lightly against her side.

"You're such a lazybones," he accuses just as softly, affection lacing the words. Pressing the wine into her hands, he drops a kiss to her forehead and scoops her up carefully into a princess carry, heading to the stairs.

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"Nuh-uh," she protests without any substance, grasping the bottle as he's swept into his arms. Toni lets out a shrill noise that lends itself into a laugh of delight. He had said this wouldn't become a "thing" the first time, but of course she had to go and prove him wrong. "I just prefer when you walk for the both of us." So what's lazy about that??? She trusts him completely not to drop her, of course, even with her hands occupied keeping their precious bounty safe. She tucks her face into his throat and just enjoys the ride.

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Yeah, he's a total pushover for her when it comes to innocent things like these. It was bound to happen. "Uh-huh. Sure, that's totally different. My mistake," he says wryly, taking the steps one at a time. Once on the main floor, he carefully sets Toni to her feet.

"Off you go, princess." Relieving her off the wine bottle, he swats Toni playfully on the butt with his free hand, grinning. "Dinner in thirty. Mush, mush."

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She bites into her lips against a grin at the petname, letting out an indignant squeak anyway when he swats at her. "Wow, don't rush me. To think, I was going to get pretty for you." Toni rolls her eyes good-naturedly and spins on her heel to leave him to it. That familiar nervous/exhilirated combo is starting to beat under her chest in the way of her own racing heart. Slipping away from him and up the stairs as quickly as possible is almost a relief so she can try and rein herself in.

When she gets to the master bedroom, JARVIS has already started the shower and she drops her wrecked clothes in a trail to the ensuite bathroom, pulling out her hairtye and letting it bounce across the tile before climbing inside. It's a sweet relief, being enveloped in slightly too hot water, just enough to make her flesh pink from it. She rushes through cursorily washing so she can take a bit of time to shave her legs, feeling strangely self-conscious all of the sudden. She hisses in pain as she accidentally nicks a spot on her knee, sighing as red washes down the drain.

Moving right along and having no time to wash her hair, she sweeps some conditioner through it instead, not bothering to rinse it all the way out so it might tame her wild curls some. She slams the control to turn the showerhead off and leaves a wet trail on her way to her towel, wishing she could stave off the anxiety pulling up under her skin. It's very distracting, and she's already wasted enough time -- she has no idea what to wear.

Rubbing herself dry enough to safely reenter the bedroom, she shivers a bit at the sudden blast of cold air, but braves through it to the walk-in closet. To her appreciative surprise, she finds an outfit already hung up for her behind the door. "Bless you, Pepper Potts," she murmurs to herself as she grabs the clothes, dumping them on the bed before tearing into her lingerie drawer. Even though she's usually not one to go for this stuff, she could honestly use the confidence booster tonight, and she finds it in the form of black lace bootie shorts and a black cotton bra with lace inserts and silk red ribbon joining the two. There's also a tiny red bow on the front of the panties. In a way she can't explain, it makes her feel instantly better to don them and she takes a moment to appreciate herself in the mirror before rushing to don the rest of her clothes.

She runs back into the bathroom and wipes a spot off in the mirror there to get a closer look at her face. The dark troughs under her eyes are a dead giveaway, and she sighs again, quickly washing her face and brushing her teeth; and somehow getting even more water on the floor. Could she be any more of a mess? Toni towels off her face and wraps her still drying hair so it falls over one shoulder, out of her way for the moment as she searches through drawers for her tiny makeup stash. She's bringing out the big guns tonight, in the way of undereye concealer and mascara anyway. Deciding that didn't do enough, she puts on a bit of blush and instantly regrets it. Was that too much? She tries to tone it down with powder and ends up letting out a noise in frustration. She's probably already so late.

Not wanting to leave Pepper waiting any longer, she tears down the stairs as-is, forgetting to do anything with her hair and with her tunic hanging mostly off of one shoulder. Frazzled and wide-eyed as always, she makes her haphazard, clumsy entrance, regretting the heels on these boots too.

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"You don't need half hour to be pretty," he calls sweetly after her, smiling to himself as he wanders into the kitchen to open the wine and set it to breathe. Pulling out a few items in preparation for dinner and setting the oven on to preheat, he gets to work.

Toni does run late, but he'd expected that. It's actually a good thing today, because it gives him time to make a slight, impromptu adjustment to their dinner plans, setting it up before returning to cooking. He loves cooking from the scratch, though he doesn't always have time for it; tonight, he's enjoying pulling out all the stops. By the time Toni clomps downstairs, he's standing over the sink draining the pasta, glancing over his shoulder with a warm smile. He's discarded his jacket and loosened his tie a little, the sleeves of his blue dress shirt rolled up to his elbows.

"Hey, there," he greets, setting the pasta pot aside on the stove and turning off the oven before coming over. "Beautiful as always," he smiles with a sigh, trailing his palms down her arms and leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Hungry?"

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A stubborn flush climbs up her throat and over her face, and she thinks with the blush she'd overapplied she probably looks like a tomato about now. Still, she leans into his embrace for the moment she has it, taking a deep breath of his scent.

"Depends... what's for dinner?" Toni pulls back enough to look up through her eyelashes at him, completely oblivious to what's going on in the kitchen at large -- she can scarcely see past him. Can they just skip food right to the making out? Her thoughts are written all over her face, as usual.

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"Chicken parmesan. Come on, you need to eat." He grabs her hand to tug her along, giving her a playfully stern look -- he knows what she's doing and he isn't going to fall for it!! But he tugs her gently out of the kitchen and into the cavernous lounge, where he's set them a table by the enormous picture windows overlooking the ocean. A lone candle is lit on the table, the gentle light glinting off the silverware and the crystal glasses that keep company to the wine.

"Ta da. Here, sit," he urges, pulling out Toni's chair for her. When she does, Pepper drops another kiss into her sweet-smelling hair. "Have some wine. I'll bring our plates over."

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She pouts a little at his nag, though it's unserious. Chicken parmesan does sound great actually. Toni nods and follows him easily into the next room, taking in a little breath at the candlelit scene. It's such a simple thing, but it still warms her heart, and the way he pulls out her chair is very princely. Her heart is pounding all over again, though she can't explain why. Something just feels... different tonight.

Not needing his suggestion in the least to go for the wine, she's already reaching for it before he's left the room, swirling it in her glass and taking a long appreciative sip and closing her eyes. Damn, that's good.

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Pepper returns to the kitchen to assemble their meals, taking only a couple of minutes before toting over a plate in each hand. He sets Toni's plate in front of her, first; breaded and cheese-covered chicken cutlet over wholegrain spaghetti and tomato sauce, with a side of steamed veggies.

"Bon appetit," he smirks, taking his seat across the small table and spreading his napkin across his lap. "I hope you like it," he goes on a bit more bashfully. Cooking for Toni was not just something he loved to do, but another way to take care of her. She deserves every good thing he can offer her, especially after this last year.

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"Thanks," she says, so softly it almost can't be heard. She sets her wine down and lays her own napkin in her lap, offering him a nervous little smile as she goes for her fork. This feels like a first date, her stomach is full of butterflies and she's so anxious she feels like her skin is buzzing off.

"Of course I'll like it." She always likes his cooking, no matter how simple or how complicated. In this case, comfort food is just what the doctor ordered. Before getting onto the good stuff, she takes a few bites of her greens to appease Pepper and then swiftly begins forking apart her chicken. The second it hits her tongue she can't help the small noise of appreciation that slips out.

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It does feel like a first date, a little. Pepper pours himself a glass of the wine too; surely that will help the odd nerves. He can't help but smile, pleased, at how evidently Toni seems to enjoy the food. Happily, he tucks into his own meal, realizing suddenly how hungry he is. It had been another busy day, he'd barely managed a few protein bars and coffee for lunch.

"Damn. That is good wine," he comments with amusement after taking his first sip. "Totally worth being unethical."

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She nearly chokes on her food at his comment, gently tapping his ankle with the toe of her bootie under the table. "Don't ruin it for me," she warns, taking back up her own wine and easily finishing the glass. It might be the best wine she's ever had, no matter how it was acquired.

"I missed you today," she says suddenly as she pours another glass for herself and immediately takes a sip. "...Not that I don't always miss you. But, extra." She shrugs her bare shoulder before reaching over to drag up that side of her shirt, only just now noticing it had been like that the whole time.

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"You brought it up in the first place," Pepper accuses on a little laugh, nudging her foot right back. Her sudden changes of tacs no longer surprises him, but this particular one brings a small smile to his lips. "Did you?"

His eyes are drawn over to her bare shoulder with the shrug, his throat going a little dry just watching that patch of skin over the rim of his glass. He sips some wine to rectify the matter, feeling a small pang of disappointment when Toni fixes her shirt. Setting down his glass, he rolls some pasta around his fork and spears a bit of chicken with it.

"And extra, even?" he picks up the line of questioning a bit belatedly, smiling playfully. "Don't I feel special, now." He takes a beat to chew and swallow before supplying, "Probably a good thing then that I missed you, too. Extra."

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"Yeah, but this wine is really good." It doesn't even make sense as a rebuttal, but that's never stopped her before.

She starts digging into her meal again, focusing on the pasta now and trying to stave off another flush threatening to take over her face. She wants to hate it when he puts her on the spot like that, but in this case she really did start it so she can't even be (fake) mad.

"What did you miss about me?" she implores innocently, chewing while she watches him, her belly tingling in a way that has nothing to do with the food -- though it really is delicious.

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Pepper focuses on his plate, cutting what's left of his chicken neatly with his knife and fork. Ostensibly his attention is on the task, but his lips pull into a sideways smile at the question and its supposedly innocent nature, feeling her eyes on him.

"There isn't a single thing about you that I don't miss. Ever," he replies sweetly, matching Toni's innocent tone, finally glancing up with a playful gleam in his eyes as he pops a piece of chicken in his mouth.