Still Counting Her Tears

Love n'Lies

An: HEY READERS! I'M SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER ISN'T THE BEST. I WAS RUSHING IT A BIT. I KEPT CHANGING THE PLOT 4 THIS CHAPTER AND SO I DON'T THINK I HAD ENOUGH TIME TO THKNK. BUT ANYWAY, IT TURNED OUT OKAY. HOPE Y'ALL LIKE IT!

Tony:

I was starting regret letting everything come to this. Don't get me wrong, I love Pepper with all of my heart. I don't ever wanna let her go. But in that second, it was so awkward talking to her after the battle of New York. There was so much to tell her, but I didn't want to tell her any of it at the same time. I was trying to keep my usual composure. The pain in my chest was starting to get on my nerves, only adding to my list of regrets.

"Okay, so I cancelled the press conferences that I scheduled. And, I sent Rhodey to get Chipotle." Pepper looked up at me.

"Oh, thanks. I'm starving, but about the press. I think I might as well get that over with as soon as possible." I tried to keep things from going in the wrong direction.

"Director Furry asked me to cancel them. I got a call from him on the way here."

"Oh." Of course Furry would. He doesn't trust me anyway. I could tell that Pepper was getting tired of this conversation fast. I'd have to switch subjects quick. Unfortunately, I was too late.

Pepper turned herself on the bed and took my hands in hers. "Anthony, I know you're hiding things from me. I can see pain in your face, in the way you move...," Pepper paused. "I don't like seeing you like this. Please, just tell me what's going on." She let out a sigh.

I couldn't believe my ears. Ugh, she called me by my real name. "Who told you?"

"Tony..." Pepper gave me a warning look.

"Fine. I just twisted my ankle, and lost a little bit of blood from 2 small cuts, okay? It's not a big deal."

"Tony, stop lying," she looking at me sternly.

I couldn't help laughing at her expression. "Honey, I'm telling the truth. Seriously."

Pepper studied my face, looking for any signs of lying. "Fine, then, I believe you." I was so glad she hadn't picked up the part about the 'cuts'. I let a sigh of relief. I didn't want to fight with Pepper then. It was too early.

"I love you, Pepper," I managed.

She smiled and moved her body closer to mine. I flinched when she put her hand on my cheek and lightly brushed her thumb against the bruise on my face. "I love you too, Tony."

I leaned in closer till our lips brushed against each others. When she pressed her lips against mine,I could taste her minty lip gloss. Not bad, I thought to myself. Pepper fell back on the bed and I positioned myself over her. She let out small sighs as I planted kisses along her neck. But then...

"Sir!" JARVIS just had to butt in. If he had a neck, I would've strangled him.

"What JARVIS?!" I sat up in frustration.

"Col. James Rhodes has arrived and is on his way up," JARVIS stated as mechanically as possible. I abruptly stood up, and turned back to pull Pepper to her feet. I rebuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and fixed her collar.

Pepper giggled at me. I couldn't understand why until she said, "You've got a little lip stick there." Smiling, she reached up and tried to wipe away the gloss from my face. Tired of her fruitless efforts, I gently grabbed her hand away from my face and pressed my lips against hers. We kept it going for a couple of seconds, but the elevator doors opened and Pepper broke away.

"Rhodey! Did you find the place?" Pepper greeted, walking in Rhodey's direction. I tagged behind her.

"Of course. The place was empty, no customers. People are too scared of aliens to go out and get Mexican food," Rhodey observed, smiling.

"Well, I'm going to go see what you brought," Pepper said, walking into the elevator.

"Okay, we'll be down in a second," I reassured her.

"Don't stay long," she warned. "I can't stop those guys down there from taking your food!"

The elevator doors slowly closed, leaving Rhodeyand I in silence. "So?" he asked expectantly. "What happened to her?"

"Huh?" Rhodes was being confusing, beating around the bush.

"How'd you change her attitude? She was crying buckets full of tears in the car. For you."

Crying? Wait, what? "In that case, I'll get those workers to go clean out your car." Scratching the back of my head, I got serious. "I don't know anything about that," I said, mentally slapping myself. "I just told her what happened and we made up."

Rhodey questioned my words. "Made up or made out?"

Red filled my cheeks. "A little bit of both, I guess."

"Rhodey smiled. "So...?"

"I think it's gona be blue skies from here on out," I said, regaining all confidence in myself. If only I knew how wrong I would be...