quigonejinn

And it's not that she looks at him from under her eyelashes or out of the corner of her eye - because Tony's seen that before: there was this time when she walked in and found him passed out and tangled between the sheets with three blond Swedish gymnasts (Katrina, Teresia, and a slim guy named whose name might have been Sven), or the time with the dark haired woman who may have been a relative of a European princess (though Tony doesn't remember what country). He can grin at those looks, recline and spread his arms out along the back of the Learjet's couch and feel, on some level, satisfied with himself. He'll watch her shift and smooth the side of her skirt for the four hours, jiggle her heel up and down.

It's that Pepper doesn't look at him at all. Tony thinks that maybe he's finally done something terrible (though what, exactly, he's not sure - just that it is) when Pepper Potts finishes a crossword puzzle for the first time in her entire life. After they land, as they ride home in the car, Tony rubs his knees absently and stares out the window with the road melting away behind his right shoulder. He makes a bet with himself and loses when, the next day, Pepper is there in the morning still asking him to sign things.