Another one shot, set during the battle of New York and the shawarma post credit scene. Pepperony.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or any part of the Marvel/Iron Man universe...though I do wish I lived in it. Excuse me if I miss a few details...this is my attempt to get back into writing after about a year break. Please read and review!
Pepper gripped her skirt, almost breaking through the thin fabric, as she clenched her hands in fear and anxiety. The entire plane was watching, listening to the news announcer narrate the hell they were seeing; not only was New York, where they were now being rerouted to, being over run by an alien species, but as they had put it, 'Tony Stark's Iron Man suit' was now carrying a nuclear weapon through the buildings. Pepper couldn't breathe. She was motionless, holding onto whatever was in reach for dear life. Surely, he had a plan...he had to. If he did something this reckless without a way out...well, then she'd assure he felt every little bit of pain and suffering he was currently putting her through.
To be completely honest, every brief moment of her life with him was currently flashing before her eyes and it was making her feel much too feint. They had just gotten together, officially, not too long ago. They had barely managed to reach a happy place without the judgement of the paparazzi or the news stations. They had more time. They had to have more time. Hell, she still hadn't told him she loved him, which worried her more; it had to be obvious at this point, or she would've walked out ages ago.
"Come on, Tony..." she whispered, not realizing the words were coming from her mouth.
Everything around her was silence. Her ears were ringing and she could see spots, but she was not about to look anywhere but the small TV screen.
"Can someone please turn it up?!" she shouted suddenly, her heart beat irregular.
One of the crew accepted the order and reached to hit the volume button a few times, while another, a female and closest to Pepper on board, rested her hand on the red head's shoulder from across the aisle.
"Miss Potts..." she spoke carefully. "Perhaps you'd like to lie down for a moment..."
Pepper shrugged her hand off of her, whipping her head to glare at the blond's direction for only a second. "Tony is carrying a nuke through Manhattan, and you want me to take a nap?!"
"Well, maybe not a nap, but-"
Pepper silenced her by turning back to the TV, but suddenly, everything was getting fuzzier. Her skin felt a hot chill creep through as she realized what that small second had cost her. The wormhole was still there, but all of the cameras were focused on it, and...where was Tony?
"Where is he?!" she shouted, blindly tapping a button to her side. "Jarvis, connect Mr Stark!" she demanded, using the feature Stark had put in to make sure the suit was always connected to anything Stark Industries.
Nothing came.
"Jarvis!" she hissed, the reality settling in.
The cabin was quiet, full of hesitation by the crew who didn't know what to do or say. They had seen it; he had flown the nuke into the space portal. New York was safe. As for Iron Man...there was nothing more reported.
Pepper patted behind her, keeping her gaze on the TV, as she searched for her phone. If Jarvis was down, he still may be running on backup power and could still - potentially - receive her calls. Finally, she felt it and grabbed it, pulling it in front of her face. Her eyes dropped down, looking at the screen which lit up when she pressed the home button, and her heart instantly sank. Displayed was the worst thing she could have imagined: 1 missed call, Tony Stark.
She didn't realize her hands were shaking until she tried to unlock the screen and press call back. She fumbled a few times, but eventually managed and held the phone to her ear with both hands...she wasn't sure if it was to stable herself or to make sure she wouldn't miss the chance to be assured Tony was okay.
I'm sorry, the call you are trying to make could not be completed.
Pepper held the phone there for longer than she should have, even though the familiar beep of the call canceling went off and brought the home screen back up. She swallowed uncomfortably, her blue eyes shifting back to the TV, waiting for something...anything.
"Miss Potts," the woman finally spoke up again, breaking the stillness of the cabin. "I'm so sor-"
"Tony!" she gasped, letting the phone drop as she gracefully slid off the seat and to fell to her knees on the floor of the jet; the relief was obvious in her voice.
On the screen, the cameras were focusing in on the Iron Man suit, now falling at an alarming rate back down to Earth.
"Why isn't he stopping?!" she yelled, panic returning. "Jarvis... Jarvis!" She was tapping the button again repeatedly, even knowing the AI was not responding. "Someone do something!"
After a few more alarming seconds, the screen showed the Hulk climbing the buildings of the New York skyscrapers to reach Stark. Iron Man was caught, letting her release the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Then, they blacked out, unable to see what happened after; the news stations were not able to see into the pile of rubble Tony had landed in from their point in the sky.
"Someone get me down there now!" Pepper shouted, not caring what she had to do to make it happen.
"Contacting for clearance, ma'am," the man at the front called to her, picking up the phone to call in a favor.
Pepper continued jabbing at the call button to try to connect to Tony's suit, not caring how many failed attempts she got in return. She would find out if he was okay.
About a half an hour later, they were cleared for landing and Pepper had not moved from her spot on the floor. What would she do if Tony was...no. She couldn't think that way. She had to keep herself motivated, and her heart did not tell her that Tony was gone. Every bit of her knew he was still alive.
She had a security detail helicopter her into the destruction zone with authority from the White House; she knew Tony had connections thanks to Rhodey, so she called in a favor to him. He assured her he was working on tracking the suit, using War Machine to the best of his abilities, and right before they were about to enter city limits with the chopper, her phone went off with a tracker on the unit. Her heart fluttered a little with the hopes that everything was okay, until she noted that it was were it should be; at the coordinates of Stark Tower.
Shit... she thought to herself, not knowing if it was a good or a bad sign.
If Jarvis was up and running, she could run an analysis on the hall in Tony's workshop, but without the AI, she wouldn't know unless she went there herself. She ordered the chopper to set down on the top of the building, using the balcony as a landing pad. From there, she would make her way down to the workshop and hope all was well.
"Palmer and Gunn will accompany you, Miss Potts," the blond woman who flew alongside her told him, nodding to the two men in the back that served as Pepper's security detail when Happy wasn't around.
"No, that's okay," she answered shortly as she lifted a hand to keep them settled. "I'll give you a call if I need help."
She nodded slowly, accepting her boss's reply. "Let us know if you need anything," she confirmed.
Pepper stepped carefully away from the helicopter and navigated successfully through the broken glass of the windows that lead to the same living room she and Tony had held their interrupted celebration of Stark Tower in. She frowned, remembering how proud he was of her work on it; now, they'd have to start from scratch.
Potts wasn't about to chance the elevator; who knows what kind of damage that suffered. So, she blocked out the memories and headed for the door to the staircase; it would be a long way down, but maybe she could jump start Jarvis and figure out if Tony was somewhere in the building if the suit really was in the workshop.
Breathless, Pepper flew down the stairs, nearly jumping the steps and landing softly in her heels; she didn't care how ungraceful she looked - she needed to find him and soon. Her heart beat rapidly as she pushed on, even though her legs were getting sore by the time she made ten floors down...only about twelve more to go, she reminded herself.
Focusing on the task at hand, she eventually landed on the third floor. Tony had left this level clear for his lab, issuing a second storage up top for the suit that he used regularly...in anticipation of flying out casually...and for emergencies. She noted that this needed to change in the future...it was too confusing in times like this.
Stumbling to the door, Pepper held her palm to the code reader, waiting to be allowed in. Nothing scanned, frustrating her, but she was quickly interrupted when her phone started to buzz in her free hand. Her eyes widened as she took in the caller ID; even though it wasn't Tony, it was still someone who could tell her what was going on.
"Nat!" she gasped, answering the call. "Nat, where is he?! What's going on?"
The connection wasn't clear, but she placed her on speaker phone and used the Stark Industries tech Tony had installed on her phone to track the incoming call; thankfully, it was Nat's personal number.
"Pepper," Natasha began, breaking up slightly. "Tony's...meet us...food."
Food? Pepper repeated internally. Did she just say they were getting food? Who in their right mind would be open after something like this? Were they even still on the island of Manhattan?
"Nat, I'm losing you," she informed, but shortly after, the call dropped and ended on her end.
"Damnit," Pepper swore loudly as she waited for a trace on the call.
She didn't like to curse, but she couldn't care less about what she did right now. She was in the middle of a destroyed city; a war zone. Aliens were actually lying on the streets outside. She had to have special clearance from the US government just to land their plane next to the city...getting clearance from them to go into the city was a different battle.
Thankfully, the call picked up a signal, only a few blocks down the road. She knew the place well; it was the same building Tony had always mentioned on the way to work; the apartment building with the small shawarma place below. He was fascinated by it, for whatever reason, though she never did find a time to get takeout for them.
As Pepper made her round down the next few flights of stairs and exited the building, she made a note of how dead the city really was. There was dust and crushed cars and bricks to buildings in the streets. She didn't find a single other person; she knew Captain America had issued an evacuation, but usually there was someone who felt it necessary to stay behind. That wasn't the case here.
As she walked, she sped up, nearing the building she had traced Natasha to. She grimaced as she stepped over a piece of metal attached to an alien's arm, making her feel nauseous. The world was bound to change now that they knew other life forms really did exist...
Slowing as she approached the door, Pepper felt the familiar hot chill run through her veins. In just a few moments, she would know if Tony was okay or not. Her life could be changed forever if it was the latter. She had almost lost him once, when he was captured in Afghanistan, and that was hell enough. But seeing him free fall from the sky? Not knowing if he'd even make it back by the time the portal was closed? That did things to her and tore her apart inside.
A shiver went down her spine but she forced herself to inhale sharply and push through the doors. She kept her gaze on her feet, watching what she was stepping over, until the small ding of the shop's bell alerted her that there were, in fact, still people working inside.
"Natasha...?" she asked quietly, bringing her gaze back up slowly.
But, she froze as her eyes locked on someone else.
"Tony..." she whispered, catching his chocolate brown eyes as they wearily made contact with hers.
"Pepper," he responded carefully, dropping the napkin he was using to wipe his hands back on his dish.
She looked him over as if time stood still; he wore a usual black band shirt and his face was a wreck, like it always was after an Iron Man battle. He looked tired. And...lost. Defeated in all senses of the word. But in his eyes was so much more. She couldn't handle it...the fear, the sadness, the pure happiness to see her.
Natasha spoke her name quietly and stood, and the sound of her chair creaking on the tile floor reminded her that this was real life. She had found him and he was standing there in front of her, alive and...for the most part, well.
Sighing, Pepper let her shoulders droop and she found herself urgently racing around the table and to his side. She felt flush. She felt like crying or screaming or laughing...she didn't know what. But she never felt this kind of contentment that was flowing through her before in her life, which made her an entirely different person in front of the team; so much for making a good first impression.
"Tony!" she breathed again as she made it to him.
Stark instantly stood to meet her as she collided into him with full force, wrapping an arm around his waist and using the other to pin her head against his shoulder. He kissed the side of her head into her soft, blazing hair and breathed in sharply, holding her as if he was never going to let her go again.
Pepper closed her eyes and trembled in his grasp, feeling weak in the knees. Then, she bit back the fiery feeling of tears in the back of her throat and pushed back so she could grab his face with both of her hands. She held onto his cheeks and planted a hard kiss on his lips, quickly grazing her tongue across his bottom lip so he would grant her access. He did, and soon, she was pouring as much passion and relief as she could into him.
When they finally broke, she was peppering quick kisses in between words on him, frantic and needy. She didn't care how desperate she looked, she was just happy to hold him again and feel the metal of his arc reactor press in between them, humming in the quietness of the shop.
"I thought," she breathed before another kiss. "You were," kiss, "dead" kiss.
Then, she stared him straight in the eyes, her palms still on his face.
"How could you do that?!" she scolded, fury and anger suddenly raging through her. "How could you just throw your life away like that?! Did you even think about the consequences?! About..."
And as quickly as her rage had come, it subsided, leaving her in a mess of sudden tears and blurry vision as she struggled to keep a straight face.
"I'm so sorry, Tony," she told him quietly, pulling him in for another strong hug. "I didn't hear my phone, and..."
He chuckled lightly in her ear, confused as hell by the sudden mood swings, but embracing her once more with care as his hands found her back. He stroked her shoulders soothingly, realizing both of them had been through a lot int he past few hours.
"Pepper," he whispered, kissing her cheek again.
"I promise I'll answer every single call from now on. I'll even have Jarvis program an auto pick up...just in case..."
"Hey," he interrupted again, pulling her off him to look at her. "Pepper, relax. I'm here. I'm okay. I'm alive."
"You're..." she began, stuttering. "Relax?"
"Banner had my back," he answered, glancing quickly at Bruce, who smiled at Pepper in return when she followed Tony's eyes. "We can talk about it later. Trust me. I don't think I'm gonna want to move for days. We have all the time in the world."
She choked on her tears at his last comment as she thought about how quickly that could have been wrong. "I-"
He shut her up before she could start, placing his lips back on hers in a delicate, caring kiss that she rarely got from him. He wasn't good at showing emotion, she knew that, but she still missed this kind of interest from him. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck again, preparing to pull him back into another hug once he let her go.
She did just that when he pulled away, feeling his arms tighten around her in return. He kissed her neck lightly a few times, then closed his eyes as he felt the adrenaline slowly seep from his veins as the damage from the battle replaced it with pain and weakness. Then, he realized how much he worried about never seeing her again, and the words just slipped from his mouth.
"I love you, Pep," he whispered into her ear.
He waited for a response of any type from her, but she didn't speak; instead, she held onto him tighter as if he would disappear any second and softly cried into his shoulder, trying to contain all of the feelings running through her body. He hated that he put her through so much, but he couldn't change that now. He would work his ass off to change things moving forward...he didn't deserve her at all.
"Pepper?" he asked quietly. "Honey?"
"I love you too..." she finally answered as she picked up her head.
Stark dried her tears, giving her a soft, kind smile as he did so.
"So," he spoke slowly, trying to lighten the mood. "You'll answer every call? Even the ones you usually ignore when I'm bored in a meeting? Or when Capsicle over here-"
Steve cleared his throat, reminding Tony that he was still present.
"I don't care," Pepper giggled. "Every call, Stark. I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
A smirk crawled onto Tony's face as his eyes softened. He wanted to tease Pepper, oh so badly. That's just what he was good at. But despite how Tony Stark usually was, he wanted nothing more than to love his girlfriend, and keep her safely in his arms. Things may be different for them coming up, but right now, the wave of relief that hit both of them was too overpowering for anything else.
Wiping away the last of her tears, Pepper glanced around the room, which had just witnessed the show of a lifetime. She knew the group by face and names on paper, but she hadn't met any of them outside of Natasha. She blushed fiercely, wishing she hadn't gone so soft in front of them, but they had to understand the situation.
"So, uh..." Tony mumbled, scratching his head and gesturing to the group at the table. "You know Nat...and I'm sure you've heard of Cap over there."
Steve extended a hand and greeted Pepper. "Pleasure to meet you."
She smiled kindly in return before Tony continued.
"This...ungodly electrifying being here is Thor..." He honestly didn't have the energy for names. "This is Bruce Banner...and that's..."
"Clint," the archer informed her, shooting a look at Tony that challenged his memory.
Stark shrugged with a sheepish grin, knowing he couldn't go that soft on the team; teasing Barton was the easiest form of goading he could go with right that moment.
"Everyone, this is my girlfriend...Pepper Potts."
"The man of iron has successfully courted a woman?" Thor teased, making Tony narrow his eyes.
"Tony, did you make these poor people cook for you?" Pepper asked softly after grinning at Thor's comment and waving a hello to the team.
"Well, uh..." he began, sitting back down. "They didn't exactly have any other customers, so..." He patted his lap, inviting her to join him. "Sit."
She hesitated for a moment, but then realized there was no other place she'd rather be and joined him, wrapping an arm around his neck so she could easily pick at what was left in his basket while still being very much reminded that Tony Stark was alive and well and within her grasp.