AN: This felt like it had to be written. I keep going over it in my head, and I keep thinking- Tony is the owner of his own fate. He will not die, but he will step aside and let others lead. I hope that this is somewhat how it plays out. I think he's ready to slow down and live life with Pepper beside him. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

Enjoy this short one.

Silence.

A cold and dreadful draft circled around them despite the more-than-accurate temperature control Tony had installed throughout the headquarters.

Staring at the photo in his hands brought a film of tears to his eyes, and it made it even more difficult to put to words what he felt he needed to say.

Pepper, bless her, didn't push him to speak despite her own desire to hear him let loose all that weighed him down. And after everything they had been through, she was just grateful he was alive and breathing across from her. Speaking or not.

Tony swallowed and placed the frame back on the mantle before sighing heavily. He bought himself some more time as he studied a non-existent scuff on the glossy floor beneath his feet before he looked up. "We're going to get him back." He said it more for himself than for her, though he knew Peter held a place in Pepper's heart.

Pepper supplied him with an encouraging smile, yet not successfully without a hint of her own grief.

Another sigh. "I can't do this anymore." He shook his head as he examined the nearly empty room before locking eyes with hers. Her questioning glance didn't give away her sudden panic. This could be so many things. "There's one last fight, but then that's it."

Suddenly Pepper understood without a doubt and exhaled. She allowed herself the freedom to survey his expressions quietly before she responded in earnest. "No, it won't be." She smiled sadly up at him and wasn't surprised by his lack of rebuttal. "You can't walk away." She clarified.

This time Tony did respond, and his body language spoke volumes of his sincere determination, however driven by loss it may have been. "I can't keep doing this, Pepper." He walked closer to where she sat, wishing there was enough room for two on the ottoman.

"What do you mean, Tony?" Pepper pried with genuine curiosity.

"I can't keep fighting this fight. I can't keep fighting for everything…for everyone…and leave us behind. I don't want to keep fighting if the price is watching...the people I care about die, and I'm tired of nearly dying myself." He took a moment to look at her. "I can't lose you."

Blue eyes went wide with concern, and Pepper felt the sudden need to reassure him of what he already knew. "I'm not going anywhere." She shook her head. "You are not quitting for me. I won't let you." She paused to swallow the thorns of regret that invaded her mouth. "I remember what pushing you towards that did to us last time."

He appreciated her words, even needed them a bit, but the mea culpa he waved away dismissively, because he didn't need her believing all of that had been her doing. It was in the past. Much like everything else.

"I became Iron Man because I felt I owed it to everyone. To myself. Righting wrongs, cleaning up the messes, picking up the pieces…that kind of stuff." He knelt to be eye to eye with his redhead. "But that was then." Pepper swallowed the lump of emotions in her throat before grasping for his hands at her knees. "I was convinced my only purpose was redemption, but I now know that it isn't."

Near tears, because she suspected she knew where he was going, Pepper asked, "What is your purpose?"

"To live." He answered almost immediately. "To live and make it worthwhile." The epiphany hit him like a ton of bricks. It had taken him this long to comprehend, to truly decipher what Yinsen's words in the cave had been urging him to do so many years ago. He had misconstrued them, perhaps deliberately, to justify his sudden dependence on the armor and his ever-consuming search to pacify all he had aggrieved, and correct everything the Stark name had negatively influenced.

"Iron Man is worth it." The redhead retorted with an honest but heartbreaking smile.

"Iron Man will live on." He offered. "All of my suits, the tech, that can be passed on to worthy hands, but I only have one shot at this." He used a hand to gesticulate between them, and in true Tony Stark fashion, he flashed her a grin. "Call me selfish, but I want that kid with you. I'll never get to do that if I keep marching on as an Avenger." Pepper bit her lip and held at bay the teary laugh that threatened to escape her mouth. "There are bigger people than me in this now. I'm just…"

"A man in a can." She finished for him and smiled when he nodded gratefully. "You're so much more than that, Tony."

"I know. That's what I'm saying." He stammered.

"But you were just saying that there were bigger people than you." Pepper knitted her brows, the familiar sense of satisfaction that accompanied their back and forth banter began to manifest. She was more than grateful that she could forever feel that again. She came so close to losing him, again.

Tony rocked on his feet and pursed his lips together in thought. "In a sense." He replied. "Literally?" He added unsure. "In the sense that I am literally not the biggest Avenger, but also bigger where it counts." Pepper eyed him with a playful glare. "My heart. I meant my heart."

It was Pepper's turn to sigh. Her eyes roamed his appearance while she took in their conversation. The years of stress and loss had begun to show on his face. Worry lines decorated his once smooth skin and dark circles colored the pale skin under his eyes, but he never looked more handsome to her.

That's when she realized that it had been hours since their reunion and they had yet to share more than an embrace. They had spent most of their time meeting with what was left of their tattered group, discussing, strategizing…mourning. This had been the longest they had been alone since their run in Central Park. "I missed you." She mouthed almost reflexively, she even wondered if she had said it out load.

Tony nodded in utter understanding. "I'm sorry I got on that ship." He looked down at their joined hands and smiled at the sight of her ring when he felt Pepper's fingers caress his face. Reveling in her touch, he closed his eyes and exhaled softly.

"I understand why you went."

"I had so much time to think about dying- it turns out suffocation is a slow and painful death." Somehow Pepper knew this had been the underlying subject of their discussion. "Every breath I took could be the last, and one less possibility of ever seeing you again. I searched for everything that could help me cope with the idea of dying in space…alone." He paused to swallow a lump of familiar terror. "Of leaving you down here, wondering if I'd ever return, or if you would ever get closure. I couldn't come up with a single thing." He recalled the message he recorded for her on his helmet. Every word had been a struggle, but even though it physically hurt to voice them, he did so for her. To ease her pain when she found this time he hadn't been so lucky.

"You don't have to anymore." Pepper voiced as she moved his head so she could look into his tired eyes.

He nodded, glad that she spoke the truth. "I love you."

"I love you."

"One last stand. No promises needed this time." He moved towards her to kiss her softly. The needles and pins he felt radiating from his feet made him smile against her lips, but he was damned if he was going to cut their kiss short. If he had been granted a few more seconds, he could have deepened it, but the redhead had more to say.

She licked her lips and recovered enough to look at him seriously. "I'm coming with you."

Tony stood immediately with a distraught look plastered on his face. "Absolutely not."

"I wasn't asking for permission." She smiled despite her firm tone.

He shook his head. "The Rescue suit is for emergencies only."

"If this doesn't constitute an emergency what does?" She argued, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Rescuing kittens from trees, helping little old ladies cross the street…"

"Saving you from danger." She added with raised brows and a smirk.

"Yes." He paused to reflect. "No."

"Yes."

"Pepper…" It was difficult for him to stand in place while his adrenaline and overwhelming desire to protect his lifeline made him anxious. "Did you miss the beginning of my emotional unloading?"

"You've got no argument, Tony. You're down more than one person, and you could use the help." Her heels clicked as she neared him slowly as if to not spook him. "There is no way you're going off to god-knows-where for a third time. Not without me."

His eyes searched hers, begging her to stand down and abandon her quest. When she did not budge, he sighed dejectedly. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?" His voice broke enough for her to notice, but even then she shook her head.

"Not a chance." There was a pause as they shared the air between them. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be careful."

He exhaled and swallowed the sarcastic laugh that bubbled in his chest. "I asked for this. This is payback for all of the hell I've put you through." He shook his head and stared up at the ceiling in frustration.

"Maybe." Pepper joked as she laced her fingers through his.

They stared at one another in silence, wanting to seal their banter with another kiss, but knowing the circumstances for celebration were not in order.

"Tony, we're headed out." Steve announced after knocking on the door frame to Peter's study room. "Are you ready?" He looked apologetically at Pepper for intruding upon their moment.

"We're ready." Pepper responded before pulling a prideful yet wary Tony along to follow the Captain.

…

Iron Man and Rescue, yes please. Please take care of them Marvel gods.