A/N: Set after Spider-Man Homecoming. Spoilers possibly for Spider Man Gomecoming.

Pepper glanced at her watch as she closed her office door behind her. She had exactly 10 minutes get downstairs to her awaiting car. She glanced up juggling her briefcase and files and stopped dead in her tracks. Tony was sitting in one of the plush waiting area chairs.

"Uh, hi!" He said jumping up,looking around, not knowing what to do with his hands. Looking as good as he always had. Pepper sighed. Ever the impulsive one, Tony never ceased to pop up at the most unusual times, and places too.

Pepper readjusted her files and put them in her case. "Hi Tony"

"You got a minute?"

"Now? Well I was just on my way out. I have a meeting to get to." She replied motioning to the hall that led to the elevators.

"I know. At 3:15. With the Shimabukaru brothers."

Pepper just looked at him. "Ho-"

"I make it a point to know."

Pepper didn't know what to say. She inwardly sighed. She's been doing this a lot, especially in the last 10 seconds since Tony popped back into her life.

She opened her office door and gestured him inside.

He quickly scooted in. Instead of sitting in the chair across her desk, he walked around. Looking. At the walls, at the figures on her shelves. The art he had no interest nor taste in. She put her brief case on the desk, leaned against it and crossed her arms.

"I'm listening." She said.

"I-", he started, "um," he continued then paused. "I didn't bring you strawberries."

"That's good." Pepper replied as she slightly smiled.

"I saw Cap, and the rest of the team and everything's changed."

"I know. I saw the news."

"I don't like the Accords any more than the rest of them, but..."He shrugged then continued. "There was a cat."

"Uh, o-kaaayyy." Was all Pepper replied.

"I tried so hard to keep the team together, rather than spitting us apart. Rhodey's broken. Bruce is gone." Then he paused again, "You're gone." He said as he looked her. Then he gave an unamused laugh, "What was I thinking? I can't even keep us together."

Neither said anything for a very long time, but neither did either one take their eyes off the other.

"I saw it Pepper." Tony said in that serious voice that shows and hides all his emotions at the same time.

"Saw what, Tony?" She questioned. She was used to his stories bouncing, as he does, from one point to another, yet they always led to something. And this was something big.

"I saw the whole thing. Replaying. Right there. Right before my eyes." He looked off in the distance, but Pepper didn't miss the moisture forming in his eyes.

"I saw my parents murdered."

The next thing he knew she was in his arms. "Oh Tony, I'm so sorry. That must have been awful. Do you want to talk about it?"

"If I keep talking, does that mean you'll stay where you're at?"

"Yes."

"Ok." He sighed. "Um, yeah, uh, it was pretty awful. But the worst part, well, there were a lot of them, was all Dad wanted, as messed up as my family was, was he wanted help for Mom. Mom wasn't involved in the life but he dragged her in, but in the end, I guess he really did love her."

"Tony," Pepper said as she pulled away just enough to look at him, holding his head in her hands. "Tony, look at me, he loved you too."

Tony shrugged and made a non committal grunt as he looked away, rolling his eyes slightly. "Well, it seems in the Avengers divorce," Pepper moved back into her position in his arms. "I got Brody and Vision. Cap got everyone else. Pepper, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. Everything I've ever done, said, even the things I don't know that I did."

"Oh Tony. I'm sorry you've gone through so much, but you really have to let me in. You're doing a decent job right now."

"This is good, right? We could be good... again? Can't we? Pepper, I love you. I've tried, I-I-I've tried to do things right." He moved his hand up and down her back. "In the cave, with the original suit, I thought I was going to die. In New York, with the whole portal closing thing, I thought I was going to die. Before the world's fair, I thought I was going to die. Waiting for an elevator, standing next to a woman, for a split second, I thought I was going to die. In Germany, I could have died. But I didn't. Each time, I didn't. I...didn't ...Die. But Dad did. Mom did. And I didn't even tell him I loved him. I didn't say goodbye. I don't want to live with that regret. I'm done with regrets. I love you. I want you to be proud of me and I want you to think I'm responsible."

"Oh Tony. I do-" Pepper started but Tony continued.

"So Pepper, I got a kid"

Pepper immediately pulled away from him.

"What?"

He nodded. "I got a kid. That's what I came to tell you. Not about all that ... that other stuff, but it sort of just came out." He said as he waved his hand around.

Pepper took a step back, out of his reach.

"Wait, you said, ten seconds ago that if I talked to you, you'd stay. Right here." He pointed to the ground immediately next to him. "You're not here."

"You mean Harley?" She asked, still not moving.

"No! Not Harley." He scoffed.

"Wait Tony, what does that even mean? 'I got a kid.'? You don't exactly go to the store and purchase children."

"Don't be ridiculous. I found him dumpster diving in Queens."

"What?! Ok, Tony you're not making any sense. Now use that magnificent brain of yours to use your words explain exactly what you mean."

"I'm getting the feeling you're not happy. "

"I'm reserving my verdict until you finish."

"I thought you'd be happy. I got him and took him to Germany. He stole Cap's shield. I'm responsible. He's still alive."

"What?! Tony, Germany? Where you just told me you could have died, you took a kid? What were you thinking? How old is this kid? I love you Tony, I really do, but you drive me absolutely insane!"

"Well, I took him out of the battle once his surprise factor wore off."

"Tony, Rhodey was hurt so bad he might never walk on his own again and you took a kid?"

"When you say it like that...He's 15. And I made him a suit."

"Of course you did. Does this kid have a family?"

"An aunt. His parents are dead. Just like me. And he's pretty smart. He's going around the city looking for people to help. When I was his age, I had barely gotten out from under the eye of a nanny."

"So his aunt just let you take him to Germany, from Queens."

Tony didn't reply.

"Tony..." Pepper said in a tone as if he were a teenager trying her patience.

"I sort of told her I was taking him on an internship." He held up his hands, " It's not a lie, he's interning for me, of sorts. I got it covered. He's got great potential. I want to bring him on to the team."

"Tony, half the team is in hiding. Running from the law. They escaped prison. Wait, you didn't have anything to do with that one, did you?"

He scoffed again. "No!"

Pepper sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ok, Tony, I'm still here. I'm still listening. So tell me about this kid. He's obviously important enough to you that you want to bring him onto the Team."

"His name is Peter. He reminds me so much of me. He's trying to do good. All on his own. I got Happy keeping an eye on him. I tried telling him he did good. But then he didn't listen to me. I tried, I tried talking to him and he blew me off! I told him to stay close to the ground but did he listen? No, he just ran off thinking he was going to save the world."

"He's a kid that's what they do. Sounds a lot like someone I know, who's NOT a kid." Pepper commented, then waved her hand, "Continue."

"And there I was, he's telling me I don't care and I'm yelling at him telling him how foolish he was and..and.. I told him he didn't deserve the suit and I sounded like Dad. Then it hit me, I could very well become my father. I don't want that. I want you back in my life. So... I was thinking I'll invite him up to stay and maybe you can come too?" Tony stood there with his arms open. "Plenty of room at the compound, especially next to me."

Sighing she took a few steps toward him. "We'll take this one step at a time. Starting with my steps toward you."

She was back in his arms, where she belonged.