Right i'm going to be honest - A lot of this was totally inspired/taken from the movie Romeo and Juliet, from the scene at the party. It was this part of the film that inspired the story in the first place.

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It had been the first night Pepper had gotten a good nights sleep since their stupid game had started. She had stood out in her hallway after he had left, taking in everything, from the feel of his hand on her cheek to the way he smelled. Eventually Emma had run from her bedroom to pull her back into the living room and grill her about every detail.

She rolled over in her haze as her phone began to ring, she didn't even bother to check who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby" James chirped on the other end of the phone. Pepper winced, she hadn't been expecting him.

"Oh..hey...you" She said, his voice gruff and thick with sleep.

"So are you all ready for tonight? What time am I picking you up? 7?" He asked. It took Pepper a moment to realised what on earth he was talking about.

"Tonight?"

"You know, the Charity fancy dress ball! You are still going?" Pepper groaned under her breath.

"Oh that! Yeah...7 is fine" She said deadpan but James didn't seem to notice.

"Great! I'll see you then baby"

Pepper groaned again as she hung up the phone. She hated it when he called her that, it sounded so fake and unnatural to her. Maybe he knew that there was something going on under the surface? That she didn't really like him as much as she was making out. Pepper had decided that tonight was the night it was all going to end.

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Tony hadn't slept a wink the entire night he had gotten back, and it wasn't for lack of trying. All he could think about was the look on her face, how bright her eyes were and how suddenly he felt a twinge of hope in his chest. However the brunette that was currently changing in his room did put a dull haze over things.

"Well what do you think? Tony? TONY!" Laura shouted, waving her hands in front of his face. He suddenly snapped out of his own thoughts and turned to her.

"Huh? Sorry...I was miles away" He muttered. She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. She was standing in front of him wearing a purple silk on shouldered dress that came to the floor. It had gold trims and a gold belt that sat under her bust. Her hair was in a bun with braids around it, the perfect Greek Goddess.

"I noticed, I asked what you thought" She said. Tony looked her up and down and smiled.

"You look great" He said with a small smile. Laura sighed lightly. There was something wrong with the man but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She checked the time on the bed side clock.

"Come on, we're going to be late! Get dressed!" She stressed, picking his costume (Black suit with red pinstripes) out of the wardrobe and handing it to him. He took it without any hesitation, a sudden excited pang in his chest when he thought about seeing Pepper there. He wondered what she would be wearing as he put his own suit on and when Laura stood in front of him to do his tie he didn't see her face, he saw Pepper.

The car ride over was silent and tense. Laura was looking out of her window and Tony was looking out of his but she was getting sick of the tension.

"Tony?" She said quietly.

"Yes?" he said turning to her innocently. She looked at him sadly.

"What are we doing here?" She said quietly. He shrugged and looked a little bit confused.

"Well we're going to a fancy dress benefit..."

"No Tony, I mean with us" The confusion fell from his face and he nodded.

"I...don't know..." He was being honest. He knew exactly how he felt about Pepper, all he was doing with Laura was stringing her along.

"Yes you do Tony" She said, her voice was a little harder than it usually was but her face was still soft, "You know exactly how you feel and how you feel it for" She said, a small smirk on her face. Tony tilted his head to the side with a curious smile.

"How do you..." His sentence was cut off by her light laughing.

"Oh please, it's written all over your face every time she steps into the room" she said. Tony blushed and looked away but turned back when he felt her grab his hand, "Listen, you're a great guy and I hope that things work out for you okay?"

"Thanks" he said quietly with a smile, "You know, not many women would be as understanding as you are" She shrugged.

"Not all women are hopeless romantics. Its a gift and a curse" she said with a laugh as the car drew to a stop outside the building. "Come on, we'll go in together" She said lightly. He grinned and nodded as the car door opened.

The inside of the ballroom was brightly coloured with rich colours. Gold, red and purple were all over the place, hanging on the walls, on the staff uniforms and on the tables. There were all kinds of different costumes. Knights, Romans, Superheros (They made Tony snicker), Cats and even a few famous movie characters were mingling. They made their way to the bar but neither Tony nor Laura could spy Pepper or even James among the hundreds of people.

"I don't even know what she's dressed as" Tony muttered, picking up his scotch. Laura patted his back lightly.

"Don't worry i'm sure you'll find her" She said gently. Tony just nodded and took another glug of his drink. There was a woman singing on stage and couples had began to fill the floor as the slow music began to fill the room. He downed his drink and turned to Laura.

"Give me a sec, i'm going to take a turn around the place" He muttered and she nodded, content to stand at the bar and talk to anyone that wanted to speak to her. He walked slowly around the place, smiling and greeting anyone who noticed him or greeted him in return but he didn't put anything into it. He was only looking for one person.

Pepper was bored. Despite the indulgent surroundings, the music, the lights and the very strong drink in her hand, Pepper was still horribly bored. James had asked if it was alright if he could dance with a woman that he knew from an old law firm and Pepper had happily agreed, wondering why the hell he'd feel the need to ask her permission in the first place but then she remembered they were still technically dating. She began to walk around the room, smiling politely at the people that she knew.

She almost sighed in relief as she found herself in a slightly more quiet area of the ball room, just near the doors that lead out to the balcony. In front of the two windows, on either side of the french doors, were two tall fish tanks. In each tank were lots of different tropical fish swimming around, each darting and drifting around the well placed coral and plants in the blue tinted water. With a small amused smile Pepper turned her gaze from James and the random woman on the dance floor to the fish. The woman was still singing on stage, on of Pepper's favorite songs from what she could hear.

She wondered if she was a bad person for not feeling a thing about James dancing with the other woman. The woman was pretty. If that had been any other man she would have been jealous. Who was she kidding, only if it had been one certain man would she have been jealous. She had been planning to talk to him, to apologise, to set everything right but there was one major flaw in her plan.

She couldn't find him.

Her wings moved as she did. They were real white feather and instead of sitting flush against her back they stuck out the smallest amount, making them seem real and matching in with her white halter neck dress. As she moved along the tank a little she noticed something that startled her. Through the arch of a piece of purple coral, another eye was looking at her. A very familiar eye.

They both shot upright at the same moment, their eyes locking, both of them startled. After trying to look for each other the whole night, they were now (Almost) face to face. Only a wall of glass, water and fish blocking them. Neither moved for a moment, both staring at each other, their images warped a little by the water. He smiled, moving his head a little along the tank to get a better look at her. He noticed that her hair was pulled from the front and twisted around in a loop sitting on her head, like a halo. He felt a pang in his chest that he was pretty sure was love when she smiled back, also moving her head to try and see him.

It was like a game. They ducked and weaved around, both smiling at each other, like they had just met for the very first time. He was taking in everything about her. Her glowing skin, her bright eyes, her amazing smile and how he couldn't imagine being with anyone else. Pepper in turn was almost taking a mental picture of Tony, remembering all the little things that made her fall for him in the first place. His eyes were deep but still shining at her and his smile was playful and sweet. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest and all thoughts of James were slowly melting away from her head. She watched with curiosity as he breathed on the glass, fogging it up. She held her breath as he raised his hand and wrote across the glass.

There imprinted on the glass in a vertical line was "I", a heart and "You". I love you. He was looking sheepish now, his hands jammed in his pockets and his gaze falling to his shoes, occasionally looking up back through the fish tank with a small smile, like a school boy who had just passed a note to a girl in class. She could feel tears pricking the back of her eyes. He loved her. It was written all over his face, not to mention the fish tank.

Just as she was about to reply she saw the smile slip from his face and twist into something that looked like disappointment. Then she felt someones hand on hers, it was James and he was pulling her towards the dance floor. She secretly was thankful he didn't see the message on the glass or Tony on the other side. This was something she'd have to break to him herself.

Tony watched as the image of Pepper was suddenly pulled from the tank and he walked quickly back into the room, following the couple and he watched as she was twirled onto the dance floor. He stopped just at the top of the small flight of stairs that looked over the floor, holding onto one of the golder pillars at the top for support. She didn't look comfortable in the other man's arms he noticed (He wasn't sure if he was right to be smug about it) and she kept trying to look for him at any turn she could.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his face a picture of concern. Pepper almost hated how much care he had in his eyes. It was making things a hundred times harder. She sucked in a deep breath and shook her head.

"Actually James...it's not" She said quietly as they slowed on the floor, "There's something I need to tell you..." She swallowed hard. He was looking at her like a confused, lost puppy. She would have screamed in frustration if she wasn't so damn scared.

"What is it?" He asked. Now or never, Pepper thought.

"I'm in love with someone else..." She started but paused when he smiled.

"I thought as much" He said softly with a gentle smile. Pepper frowned, for some reason she hoped that maybe her confession would have had a bit more of an impact. James turned his head towards the stairs that Tony was making his way down towards them, Pepper followed suit and then looked back to James who shrugged at her.

"It was obvious Pepper" He said quietly. She looked like she was about to cry once more.

"I'm really sorry..." She began, but he cut her off.

"Don't be...the heart wants what it wants" He said, letting go of her hands and taking a step back when a very familiar voice made its way into their conversation.

"May I cut in?" The voice said and a suddenly familiar hand took her own while the other went to her waist, pulling her close to him. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she hadn't felt so comfortable in a very long time. He leaned in close to her ear, his facial hair tickling her face.

"I love you" He whispered, his hot breath sending a wonderful shiver up her spine, "It's always been you Pep" She didn't know how to respond. What to say. So she settled for showing him. She pressed her lips against his in a gentle kiss, drawing on all the pent up frustration that she had been harbouring for the past month. It soon grew into something far more passionate as his tongue ran along hers and her teeth gently nipped at his bottom lip. She could feel him smile against her. Then she pulled away and they continued to dance as if nothing had happened, the only evidence was the slightly dazed expression on Tony Stark's face and the small smile on Pepper's face. He grinned as she leaned into his ear.

"I love you too"

"Hey again" Laura said to James. He had moved from the dance floor to the bar and hadn't noticed Laura standing there. He gave her a warm but sad smile.

"Oh hey, I didn't see you there" He said, moving over to stand by her, "So...I take it Tony told you then?"

"No no, I told him. He admitted it" She said with a giggle, "Honestly, you men sometimes!" They both looked back out to the dance floor where the new couple were kissing.

"They do look really happy though" She said lightly. James smiled at them then looked to Laura. He'd never noticed how pretty she was before, since at the time he'd been with Pepper.

"Hey...can I get you a drink?" He asked. She grinned at him.

"Sure"

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One more chapter to go!