Quite a Pair (Iron Man, Tony/Pepper)

[hiyou9]

Hey y'all! So, I got the idea for this story in the middle of the night awhile ago. It just took me a bit to get it all written down. Just a few sick week moments in the Stark household. Enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quite a Pair

One

It was Monday, and the weather was grey and dreary—even for February standards. Tony was awake unusually early. It used to be that Pepper had to drag him out of bed even as late as one or two in the afternoon, but lately—things had been different. Less manic, less feverish, less destructive. It was nice—peaceful. (Not that Tony would ever admit it.)

Tony was in the kitchen—reading the business section of the Times while the coffee brewed—when Pepper stumbled in, still pajama-clad and tousle haired. Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise. While 9:00 is early for him, Pepper is usually up by six and at work by 7:30. “You going for the grunge look today, Pep?” Tony said dryly, “I like it. The ‘90’s are making a comeback.”

“Shut-up,” Pepper grumbled, “I’m sick.”

There was a familiar unpleasant squirm in Tony’s stomach at her admission. (Old habits do die hard, after all.) But, he did his best to shove his neuroses and phobias aside. He can be sensitive and caring when he wants to, contrary to what is extraordinarily popular belief. He set his paper down and wandered over to Pepper, “Oh, yeah?”

Pepper sniffled gently into the back of her hand, “Mhmm. My throat was kind of sore when I went to bed last night, but nothing awfuhhhh…hihh…hnt’nxt! Awful. Then, I wake up this morning, and I’m dying.”

“Dying, huh?” Tony teased gently, “That’s pretty serious. Have you at least finished all your paperwork?”

Pepper rolled her eyes, but still laughed hoarsely. She turned and buried her face in the soft fabric of Tony’s tee shirt. He stiffened involuntarily, which Pepper noticed. Her face flamed (she hoped she could just chalk it up to the fever), and she said as she pulled away, “Oh, God, Tony, I’m sorry—,”

But Tony shook his head, “No, hey, I’m sorry. I—it’s just—you know.”

He mentally punched himself for being so inarticulate. His usual glibness had completely evaded him, apparently. So, he just settled for gently pulling Pepper back into his arms. She resisted for a moment, unsure, but eventually leaned into his embrace.

They stayed like that for a few long, lovely moments. That is, until Pepper inhaled sharply and broke away, “Hih’kntxt! H’hcshh! Hit’chsh!”

“Bless you,” Tony said.

Pepper pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket, and blew her nose in response. Tony laid a hand on her forehead—warm and comforting in spite of the rough callouses, “You feel pretty feverish, Pep.”

Pepper nodded miserably, “Hundred-and-twohhh…hitchiew! Ahh’ktchiew!”

Tony brushed a few loose strands of hair back from Pepper’s forehead, “Alright, kid,” he said, “You should be in bed.”

Pepper stifled a cough in the crook of her arm, “I have too much work,” she protested, though it was a half-hearted attempt at best.

“I think I can manage to pick up the slack for one day, Pep.”

Pepper raised her eyebrows sardonically, “Oh, really?”

“Ouch. I’m hurt, Potts. You don’t trust me?”

Pepper just smiled and shook her head. Tony laughed and said, “I’ll take that as a no?”

“Definihhhh...hihhh...hih’nxt! Kt’nsh! Definitely a no,” Pepper answered.

“I don’t think you give me enough credit,” Tony said.

“I give credit where credit is due,” Pepper responded primly.

Tony laughed out loud, and Pepper couldn’t fight the grin that appeared on her face. Though, it quickly faded with the onset of more sneezes. She hastily grabbed the tissue back out of her pocket, “Heh...hhhh...nhsht! Ngkshh! Heh’nshhht!”

“Hey, Pep?”

“Yeah?”

“Bed. Now.”

Pepper sighed, “You got it, boss.”

Two

Monday afternoon: Tony tucked Pepper into bed with tea and cold medicine and handkerchiefs. He brought her everything she asked for, and he didn’t even complain when she accidentally sneezed on him. He only teased, “Man, you’re lucky you’re cute when you’re sick.”

Tuesday: They spent a lovely few hours playing a surprisingly competitive game of Scrabble. The winning word belonged to Pepper—flapjack. “I didn’t know you were such a Scrabble badass,” Tony commented. “I playhhh…hih…hit’chsh! K’tchiew! Played with my Dad a lot as a kid,” she answered, and Tony briefly wondered if they’d ever truly know each other. He decided no, and somehow—that was nice.

Wednesday: They watched You’ve Got Mail. It was her favorite to watch when she was under the weather, Pepper told Tony. “Plus,” she added, “Tom Hanks is pretty cute, too.”

Thursday: Her fever was down to an almost normal 99.7, and so Pepper migrated from her tissue strewn bedroom into what passed for their family room. Tony made stir fry for dinner and cracked Pepper up with stories of his childhood. “You know,” she said, “You’re kind of a dohhh…hahh…hah’nxt! Hah’chshh! Hat’chieew! Dork.” Tony grinned and shrugged, “Maybe, but I’m a dork you’re stuck with.”

Three

On the fifth day, Pepper finally, finally felt human again. At least, human enough to get dressed in something that wasn’t Christmas ornament pajamas, and get some work done.

So, it was quite the unpleasant surprise when Pepper padded into the kitchen and found a worse-for-wear Tony at the table—nursing a cup of tea. She paused in the doorway and sighed. “Oh, Tony,” she said softly, “I got you sick.”

Tony looked up and half-grinned a little ruefully, “I always knew there was a reason I was a germaphobe.”

Pepper laughed sympathetically and joined him at the table, “You were so sweet this whole week, and I went and passed on this awful flu to you,” she said, “I’m so sorry.”

Tony waved her apology away, “Nah, don’t worry about it. Not the end of the world. I’ve been through muhhh…huh… huh'ISSCHoo! Much worse.”

Pepper’s heart twanged uncomfortably at that admission. It was true, he had been through worse, they both had. But that didn’t mean she liked being reminded of it. She looked at Tony—who was pale and rumpled and somehow smaller than usual—and her throat swelled in a sudden rush of affection. Love, Pepper realized, but instead she said, “You know, I’m still pretty under the weather, too. Why don’t we just…call it a sick day? For both of us.”

Tony covered his mouth in mock surprise, “Do my ears deceive me? You? Pepper Potts, the infamous workaholic, suggesting a day of laziness?”

Pepper swatted him lightly on the arm, “You need to take a day, at least. Though, to be quite honest, if you’ve caught what I have, you’re going to need a lot more than that. It’s terrible.”

Her voice rising on the last syllable, Pepper turned away from the table and stifled four sneezes in quick succession, “Hhht’knxt! Hahh’chshh! Nxt! Hih’chishhh!”

“Well,” Tony said, sniffling, “We do certainly make quite the paihhh...heh’extchoo! ‘KtchOOOoo! Pair.”

“That we do,” Pepper agreed, “Come on, you. We’re getting into bed.”

“Well, when you put it that way…how could I possibly say no?”

[curliecatlover]

Oh my gosh! This was adorable!! Love it!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Adorable<3

[Meala]

Love pure absolute love ) <3

[sneezysammy345]

Awwww. Pepper and Tony Stark. Adorable couple. I love the idea of Pepper in Christmas Ornament Pajamas. That's funny.

[Naraya]

Yey!!! I wandered on to here with the hope of finding some Iron Man 3 loveliness (in all that snow in just a tshirt... The mind boggles...) however this will do nicely, very nicely indeed. Thank Yuuuuu!!!!! xxxx

[matilda3948]

Aww...this is awesome!! Thank you so much! I love me some Tony/Pepper sneeziness.

[Ignis]

Mmm, I love this <3 Keep it up~!

[Winged]

This was super cute! I love the little calendar-style insertion -- it was very clever and precious. I also loved the way you wrote Pepper

[beatlelover22]

Awww that is so sweet! I loved how he tried to ignore his aversion towards sickness... Oh, Tony!!

[sapphiremint]

totally agree with the previous posts!! very cute and sweet, it's nice to see tony's softer, caring side on display