penistower | ✵ the conversation stopped and i looked down at the ring ✵

This has the makings of every Tony Stark party to date, plus a few. It's loud, dark; and so totally nineties. It's his era, he can't help himself. Big yellow sunglasses accompany his light-colored suit, hair slicked back and a smile glued on his face. He's ready to make this an affair no one will ever forget.

Before making his way out, he stops to see her, hanging in the doorway as she pulls on her dress. "Did I get you that?" he asks, slowly slipping into the room to help her zip. It's been a few days since he's seen her -- they've barely spoken. Sometimes he gets up long before her and is in the lab long after she gets home. Though they sleep in the same bed, it's as if they lead entirely separate lives at times. He owes her so much more, this week especially, and this is his grand occasion to make up all his misgivings.

He smiles softly, thinking of their night under the stars. Eating diner burgers and garlic fries and looking over their life together. It was impossible to look forward so they had looked back, enjoyed the past for what it was. Though he had never accepted there wouldn't be a future for them, he had had to entertain the possibility that his father would let him down one last time. Fortunately for everyone, Howard had come through, and just in the nick of time.

Tony's forty today and it feels ancient. He's known Pepper for well over half his life and here they are. Once her dress is secure, he pulls her into his arms from behind, hands winding possessively around her waist. "I can tell everyone to go home." Maybe he really should have listened -- made this an intimate affair. But the wedding would be small -- quaint and New England in every way. The engagement had to be big. West Coast big. He sighs against the side of her face, unable to keep from grinning.

He is very, very drunk when he gets up on stage, but no one here expects anything less. He has a glass of champagne and he calls Pepper out of the crowd. This is it; their moment. The one his family's been pushing him for since the moment they'd met. "Damn," he says into the mic as she stands, whistling lowly and shaking his head. "What took me so long?"

It gets laughter, of course, but then it's quiet like a library. The New Haven library where they first met, even. No music, no nothing. When Pepper joins him , a walk that seems to take forever, he doesn't hesitate to get down on one knee, his glass left on the podium as he pulls a box out of his pocket.

"I know you wanted to keep this small, so naturally I did the exact opposite." He drops the microphone so he can pry open the box, a giant but tasteful vintage stone shining up at her. Tony swallows back his nerves, playing up the cheese for the crowd, tipping his head with a lopsided smile. "Now that I'm not dying, what do you say?"

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When she grabs his hand, a sly smile snakes across his face, knowing he has her. His fingers slow, but keep working her, wanting to feel her orgasm from all angles even as he watches her lose control in their reflection. "Fuck yes, Pepper. So hot, tell me how good it feels..." She doesn't have to say anything really, it's already all over her face. She's on another planet, lost in ecstasy. It's exactly what he'd wanted to see.

"Beautiful," he makes a point of telling her again, smoothing out her hair over the opposite shoulder and kissing her throat over the bite from earlier. His own release is slow-building, catches him under the ribs in a sharp gasp. He has to grab her thigh again, nails digging in as the last of his thrusts bring him over, shallowing until his balls draw up, spilling his seed deep inside her.

He wastes no time pulling both arms around her, supporting her and tipping them both forward to catch their breath against the vanity so they don't fall -- though it also serves to keeping his increasingly flacid cock inside her, whimpering softly at the sensation. "I love you," Tony huffs out, squeezing her gently and placing another gentle kiss against her cheek.

All she can manage are inarticulate whimpers of pleasure as she rides out the bliss of her orgasm, trembling against his warm, solid frame. She gasps at the bite of his nails into her thigh, feeling the tension in Tony's body as he thrusts his last, unable to hold in her moan at the feel of him coming inside her; few things are sexier to her than the tangible warmth of his seed coating her from within, something about the primal nature of it thrilling her deeply.

She offers no resistance, going easily where he guides them, her hips still rocking infinitesimally back into his in the wake of her release, pulsing weakly around his softening length as the aftershocks work their way through her. Attempting to catch her breath, she exhales a faint, happy laugh, turning her head to nuzzle him. "That was amazing. I love you," she croons, catching his lips in a soft, loving kiss.

His eyes flutter as he kisses her back, just as soft and just as loving in reply. With a throaty sound of loss, he lets himself slip out without breaking the contact of their lips, stroking the side of her face and angling himself so she won't have to crane her neck. "I love you more though," he protests again, giving her a vaguely challenging (albeit sleepy) look when he opens his eyes.

Pepper echoes his loss with a soft noise of her own, shivering a little at the sensation even as she kisses him, leaning into his gentle touches.

"Nu-uh. That's impossible," she retorts with a warm smile, rubbing her face against his and closing her eyes for a beat. Drowsiness is creeping in the wake of the satisfying orgasm, the partying prior to it taking its toll as well. She can tell Tony is doing no better. "Bed?"

He nods eagerly, spinning her away from the mirror and looking over the bedspread. "Please," he 's agreeing, nuzzling her back.

She leans in to peck his lips lightly, needing to take care of something first before snuggling up with him. "I'm gonna go clean up a bit first," she murmurs, feeling the thick evidence of his release slowly inching down her thigh. "I'll only be a minute. Warm up my spot for me?"

His nods is a little reluctant this time around, but he manages to unwind himself from her after leaning into the chaste kiss in a telltale way. He had always been needy, especially with her, but post-coital Tony is perhaps the neediest of all. Still, he forces himself to move away and get under the sheets to wait for her. It feels nice even without her there, groaning as the bed cradles his aching 40yo muscles.

She's no more keen to be apart than he is, hence why she doesn't dawdle once in the bathroom. She does, however, take a moment to properly admire the engagement ring in private, the weight of it on her finger still unfamiliar. Feeling the chill on her bare skin drives her back to the bedroom soon after though, eagerly slipping under the covers where he lies and snuggling against his side with a content sigh, her palm finding a place on his chest, over his heart.

"Hi there," she murmurs with a gentle smile, leaning in for a soft kiss.

"Hi yourself," he hums into the kiss, eyes fluttering but eventually coming back open. His arm settles around her, idly playing through her hair as he feels sleep already begin to tug at the corners of his vision. "The ring really... isn't too much? You like it?" He turns her hand in his to study it as he awaits her answer.

She lays her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh, closing her eyes for a moment in enjoyment at the feel of his fingers running through her hair. "Really, really," she smiles affectionately at this question, curling her fingers around his and squeezing gently. "You know I don't say things just to please you."

He issues a small noise of contentment at their closeness, hitching the quilt up around them and snuggling in further. "I do know that. Just like you know I'm a neurotic nutbag. Is it not enough? You're positive?" The questions come right on the heel of the assurances, kissing the side of her face soundly. "You know I have to ask, and not because I don't believe you." He just has to make sure everything's to her standard.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy, crazy man," she responds with a fond little breath of laughter, tipping her head up to kiss his jaw. She's the one who chose to marry him, though, so it's not like she can complain too much about it. "The ring is perfect, Tony. It's not too much and it's not too little. I love it."

He lets out a long breath of relief, unable to inhibit the dumb smile that encapsulates his face completely. "Good. I mean. I love that you love it." Since the moment they've met, he's wanted to give her the world, a feeling that's only intensified over time.

"You're cute," she dimples at his goofy smile, rubbing her nose against his oh so affectionately. "I love you."

"I know you are, but what am I?" he asks cheekily, kissing the tip of her nose as it comes near. "I know. I love you, too." Since he feels like he's already exhausted the whole 'love you more' option.

She hums a little in fond amusement, laying her head back on his shoulder and settling back in with a contented little sigh. "Nap time," she declares and closes her eyes, already sounding a bit sleepy.

✵ the conversation stopped and i looked down at the ring ✵

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