Title: Reunion

Author: the-writer1988

Rating: T, could raise to M

Summary: In Civil War, Tony and Pepper are on a break… yet the events of Siberia may just bring them back together and towards a future Tony had wanted for them ever since 2008.

Characters: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters.

Notes: Civil War left a lot of questions as to the status of Tony and Pepper's relationship. They were on a break doesn't mean the end of their relationship. It's clear to me they must have split up just before Tony went to MIT for his presentation to the students, which was a month before Lagos happened. It seems they probably reunited very quickly after the conclusion of Civil War, probably within a hours/days.

This story will show their reunion and then proceed up until the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming. I may, possibly, go further than that but we will see how this fic plans out. I decided to post this in the Avengers section as there is the possibility I may expand this as more information about Infinity War becomes available, as I intend to take this fic into that film.

Chapter One

He hadn't been expecting to see her. He had thought they were over, finished. He'd been expecting her to resign as CEO of Stark Industries within days of her telling him that she needed a break; that they couldn't continue along the path they were on due to his destructive behaviour. When the Accords had come along quite suddenly he had hoped she might have reconnected with him but he'd had no word.

Until now.

He stood in the lounge of the apartment, surprised when he had exited the shower, for FRIDAY to tell him he had a visitor. Tony had been expecting someone different, perhaps Happy, but not Pepper.

She sat on the sofa, looking apprehensive but still as beautiful as ever. She was still in her work clothes, the usual immaculate top and skirt hugged her figure, and her hair was tied behind her back, but it was her face that told him all. She looked glad to see him, despite the apprehensiveness in her gaze.

"Pepper… What…." He didn't know what to say. This was a surprise. They'd only been separated for just over a month and a lot had happened in that time. He had kept his distance, not contacting her, as the thought of her ignoring him would have hurt him too much. Finally he swallowed. "What are you doing here?"

She hesitated, unsure of what to say.

He didn't push her, just waited until she could form an articulate answer.

"I saw what happened at Leipzig… What happened to Rhodey… And then… FRIDAY told me she had lost contact with you in Siberia."

Oh, Tony hadn't realised his A.I had notified Pepper. But of course, he hadn't changed her protocols since Pepper had left. If something was to ever happen to the suit, if it was to ever go offline and there was no way for Tony to return home, FRIDAY's protocols stated for her to contact two people: Rhodey and Pepper. Rhodey was still recovering from a batch of surgery he'd had to have due to his spinal injury and wouldn't have been able to act on the information that quickly, whereas Pepper would have been able to initialise a rescue team.

The team that had come to rescue him from Siberia hadn't said who had sent them; Tony had just assumed FRIDAY had raised the alarm but now it made sense why they came so quickly. FRIDAY had gone straight to Pepper and hadn't had to go through the proper channels to bring him aid.

Pepper had saved him, brought him home.

"I sent the medical team out to you…When they returned and informed me of your condition I knew I had to come and see you. These last few months have been hard for the both of us." Pepper fiddled with her hands. She really did look nervous.

"You didn't have to…" replied Tony. "I'm fine." Though he wasn't fine, and he suspected Pepper wouldn't be fooled by his assertion that he was.

She wasn't. "You're not fine, Tony." She motioned for him to sit down.

Tony did, well aware that Pepper was telling him what to do in his own apartment, but right now, he didn't really care. She was here.

She didn't reach for his hands but she moved closer to him as he sat down, leaning back against the couch.

"Tony… I know you supported the Accords and Steve didn't…"

He closed his eyes, swallowed, and then opened them again, looking deep into her eyes. She was one of the only few people he could tell this to. Trust didn't come easy to him but he knew he could always rely on Pepper. She was his rock, his whole world. He loved her so much that the last few months had been the hardest time of his life, outside of Afghanistan of course.

"It was a mess, Pep. Before we decided to take a break, we both knew that the Accords were coming. They had been in the works since Sokovia… but they came to the forefront because of the teams actions in Lagos. They were pushed forward and… everything went to hell. I thought the team would realise that it was in our best interests to sign it. We cannot keep going on and ignoring the consequences of our actions. I supported them because I knew I had to take accountability. Ultron was my fault… I messed up… For me the Accords represented the chance for me to change… I know you had your reasons for leaving, but I hoped the Accords could be a midway point we could meet…" He didn't give her the chance to answer and instead changed the subject very quickly back to the events of Siberia. "After Rogers and Barnes escaped, I went to the Raft. Sam told me where they were heading… So I followed them. I had information that would free Barnes from the newest crimes levelled against him. When I got there…" He almost broke down.

"Tony?" Pepper urged him quietly.

"Zemo was waiting for us… Somehow he knew we would both be there. He wanted us to tear each other apart. He played a video…" Tony shuddered. He still hated thinking about it. He was slowly coming to terms with it but it would take him along time to forgive and forget the images he had seen in the video. "It showed Barnes in 1991. He killed my parents. It wasn't a car accident… It was murder, orchestrated by Hydra."

"Tony…" Pepper shifted forward and immediately pulled Tony into a hug.

He held her tight, his head resting against her shoulder as he kept his eyes shut. He murmured into her clothes. "I… I lost it. Rogers knew… He knew they'd been murdered and he kept it to himself."

Pepper didn't respond, merely hugged him harder.

His shoulder shook. "I tried to kill Barnes. I wasn't thinking… the shock that Rogers knew…"

"Tony, you acted exactly the way any person would have done in that situation," said Pepper, stroking his hair. "If Steve expected you to forgive and forget then he is an idiot. The Winter Soldier killed your parents. You saw him doing it. You didn't see him as Bucky Barnes, and you cannot blame yourself for trying to hurt him." Pepper gently lifted Tony's face up so his brown eyes were looking into her own. "Do you believe you would have killed him?"

Tony took a few seconds to answer. "I don't know. I was angry…. I just wanted to hurt him. Rogers made me angrier by trying to protect Barnes… I like to think I would have stopped once I had hit him enough times…" But he had been in the suit. "But… I can't be sure. And now things are a huge mess… The Avengers are split; the Accords are not what they could have been and… I've lost you."

"You haven't lost me," replied Pepper. "I'm here now."

"You're not coming back to me… Not the way we once were," admitted Tony. He turned away from her, not wanting to see the rejection in her eyes.

But she did something that he had not expected.

She made him look at her and then she moved forward…

…And kissed him deeply on the lips.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

This story is also being posted on A03. The second chapter will be added in the next few days.

Until then,

the-writer1988