#pepperonyau

"What’s wrong with the pie?" Peter asked confused.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Peter," Pepper assured him. "I'm just—"

"She's allergic to strawberries."

"Dad, how did you even know that?" Peter narrowed his eyes as realization dawned on him. He looked from Tony to Pepper then back to Tony again. "Why are you talking like you know each other? Do you two know each other? Before SI?"

"Um..." Tony hesitated, "We kind of did know each other, a long time ago."

"Know each other how?"

"We were a couple... for five, almost six years before she moved to L.A."

"You were together? Before Mom? Dad, you have a lot of explaining to do."

Tony and Pepper broke up 15 years ago - he had a kid, she moved away - but now she's back as his company's new CEO.

He's going to try to win her back. It won't be easy, he did hurt her pretty bad after all, but he's also about to find out she has her fair share of secrets, secrets she should not have kept from him.

Then Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark sets them up, not knowing about their history, that they know each other from way back.

Currently at 23 chapters and 244,978 words. I have to admit, this is my baby.

“So, are you leaving me?”

“Again, why would you think that?”

“I don’t know. You met your ex-fiancé before flying to LA, a title, which, apparently I will never earn, by the way.”

“You want the title of being my ex-fiancé?” she asked him looking so amused and Tony honestly could not find the humor behind it.

“You know what I mean. So are you moving back to LA with him?”

“You think I met Aldrich to discuss moving back to LA with him, while I’m pregnant with your baby? And while I’m at it, I decided that I’m taking Peter with me, Peter who’s your son?”

“Yours and mine.”

He caught the quick small smile she made at his correction before sighing tiredly. Still, she regarded him kindly. “Do you realize how ridiculous your theory sounds?”

He met her gaze then and even if she looked tired, she was still as patient as she had been the very first time that he met her.

“So you’re not leaving me?”

“Would you like me to? Ask me again one more time, Tony, and I just might.”

“Pep…” he whined just as he couldn’t help but grin. He had missed this, he had missed them.

She rolled her eyes at him before patting the space on the bed beside her. “Come here.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, keeping his place by the door.

“I called you because there’s something I have to tell you and you decided you’re just going to stand there by the door?”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged sheepishly. “Well, I wanted to show you how I’m letting you have all the space you need.”

“This is space?” She nodded towards the literal space between the bed and the doorway.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m all the way over here, being all space-giving… and charming.”

She shook her head and Tony was pleased to note that even at 42, his charm still worked. 

Chapter 24 of Fifteen Years in the Making is up.

“...Pepper was being Pepper again, just like when he'd first spoken to her in kindergarten, asserting her way and demanding what she deserved. So Tony tried to compensate for that by kissing her...”- Secret Feelings by @madisnoo-8