A/N This is a Pepperoney fanfic, as requested by CrazyTrombonist251. I don't know why he didn't just write one himself. So Pepper and Tony are married, and living in Tony's Malibu house which has been repaired since Iron Man Three. This takes place after Iron Man Three, so obviously after The Avengers, too, but there won't be any spoilers since CrazyTrombonist251 hasn't seen IM3 yet. Please review!

Prologue

Pepper watched her husband as he got ready for bed. She was worried about him. She has woken up alone three nights in a row. Tony had been having nightmares again, so he'd get up and go and mess around in the garage and leave her in bed. He'd always been back before sunrise, and she hadn't told him that she'd noticed until this morning. He'd promised not to leave tonight.

Tony wordlessly slid into bed next to her, breaking her out of her reverie. She smiled up at him, snuggled into his chest, and fell asleep to him stroking her hair.

Pepper had a nightmare of her own that night. She woke up alone.

~o0o~

Natasha awoke to a knocking on the front door. The knocking wasn't very loud, but of course it was enough for her to hear, even in the bedroom.

Disentangling herself from a very asleep Clint, she glanced at the clock. It was a little after one in the morning. Most dangerous people who would visit two master assassins at this time of night wouldn't be kind enough to knock. Still, she grabbed her gun from under the pillow (Clint slept on) as she went to open the door.

Pepper, a very hysterical Pepper, tumbled inside. "You're lucky I was half-sure it was you. Otherwise, you'd be dead," Nat told her friend as she led her to the couch. "Clint! Get your butt up! Now!" she yelled in the general direction of the bedroom. Nat's eyes took in her friend in an instant. The most noticeable (or significant, since you'd have to be a SHEILD level agent to notice it) was Pepper's lack of wedding ring. Natasha yelled for Clint again. If Pepper and Tony were having relationship trouble, she'd need back up.