"It's not being selfish," Tony insisted, even as he knew he had absolutely no grounds for it. It was more a matter of precision in language than waving away a fault. "It's being possessive. But they're my possessions, so shouldn't I be possessive?" Thing was, he was possessive over a lot more than just inanimate objects, and he was fairly sure that's where he got in trouble.
"But then that's the last," he had to argue, "So it can't be the best. By definition." He was possessive, and he also didn't take things ending well: combine the two sentiments, and it explained much of what he was dancing around with Pepper.
He hadn't expected the weight of the first box, quickly compensating for it. "Are you giving me a lump of lead?" he had to ask as he set the cake aside to unwrap the hefty present. Not even close, he realized as he saw the sparkle, then had the crystal paperweight - not that he used papers, but it was the best word for it - in his hands, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Do you know my ego or what?" he said, because he had to be light and flippant or else he'd have to confront just how much it meant to have her understand him like this, know he'd want flashy and the armor and exclusive. "This is going on my desk. You can even throw it at the armor when you get really frustrated at me and probably make a dent. Which would suck," he admitted.
Gently setting it on the coffee table, admiring the flash and sparkle a moment before taking the second box. The pocket watch was initially met with raised eyebrows, but then Pepper scooted close and demonstrated that it was not his father's pocket watch, but something he could very readily accept as his. Though that might be as much because she was reaching around him to demonstrate.
"Hey, JARVIS," he said, glancing up from her briefly. "Scan and upload. What do you think?" As he waited for JARVIS to transfer himself to the new devise - none of his toys were complete without JARVIS interface - he looked back to Pepper, and raised a hand. "I solemnly swear I won't take it apart...for a week."