Before and after Tony gets the arc removed.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Marvel or Iron Man related.

"Tony?" Pepper Potts called from the hallway of Stark Tower in New York, searching for her boyfriend. "Tony, come on! You have surgery at seven in the morning and-"

Potts rounded the corner and slid through the automatic doors of the lab he had designed for he and Bruce after the Avengers moved in. She had spent the night with Natasha upstairs at the bar, gossiping over drinks. It was the first time in a long while that she had girl time, despite not knowing the woman too well. They would get closer; she liked her the most out of Tony's super friends.

Whens he entered the lab, she found Stark poking Banner with his pen while the doctor simply ignored him and focused on the two pieces of metal he was screwing together; a project for S.H.I.E.L.D., Pepper assumed.

"Tony, you've got surgery in the morning in LA and that's at least a six hour flight," Pepper began instantly when the doors shut behind her.

Tony ignored her, continuously poking his friend, from what she guessed was another attempt at making him turn green as a joke.

"At some point, you'd think this would bother you," Stark commented, as interested as a child with a new toy.

"I've had to develop some experience with patience, in case you forgot," Banner's soft voice responded casually.

Pepper sighed, shaking her head as she pocketed her phone that she was focused on during her walk down. "Tony, the plane's waiting, and-"

"Maybe I'll poke you with something bigger then," Stark determined. "Nat's still got those batons she's been trying out, right?"

"Not gonna work," Banner muttered.

Tony's eyes glittered. "But it'll entertain me either way, so in the end, it's a win-win."

Banner glanced up at him from under his glasses. "It's only a win-win if you achieve your goal."

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but Pepper grabbed the pen from his hand and set it down on the table, making him switch his focus to his girlfriend instead.

"Hey, honey," he mumbled, his eyes dulling a little.

It wasn't her, she knew; it was the fact that she was the one to cart him away in the end, to the hospital, to the place he dreaded the most since destroying the suits and fixing her Extremis issue. He had worked on her for a couple of months until he finally found a cure, but then he was left without a project, and without a reason to keep the arc. They decided, together, to find a doctor who could help...with Stark's money, it wouldn't be an issue to find someone good, but the idea of mending a huge hole in Tony's chest was quite a feat, even for the best ones, and he wasn't looking forward to it even in the slightest.

"Happy's waiting with a car downstairs," she told him kindly, giving him a warm smile to help persuade him to leave with her.

He groaned and stood with a dramatic roll of the eyes. "You know, I think Brucey needs my help here-"

"Nope," Banner answered instantly. "All good."

Tony scowled at him, making Pepper smirk.

"If we leave now, we'll have time to..." she told him under her breath before whispering the rest in his ear.

He perked up instantly. "Got plans tonight, don't think I can help."

"I didn't...okay," Banner mumbled after receiving an apologetic look from Pepper.

She took Stark's hands and pulled him toward the door instead, making sure he wouldn't change his mind before they made they boarded the plane.

The plane ride to LA left Pepper reading by herself in the main cabin, as well as sharing the occasional word with Happy before he dozed off in his chair. Tony instantly retired to the bedroom, claiming he wanted to get some sleep before he and Pepper got to the dirty deeds she promised him, but she didn't believe that. She knew him well enough to know he was panicking; it was something he didn't do often, but since New York, things had been different.

As he was working on Extremis, it became obvious he was suffering from anxiety attacks. Eventually, he filled her in on Harvey and the Mandarin and everything he had gone through, including those few times he had to stop everything and gasp for air while he struggled to calm himself down. She couldn't blame him - the idea of aliens alone had her squirming still, but being in that portal must have been a whole different experience.

About an hour before landing, Pepper decided the silence was boring her and she carefully padded to the other side of the wall to see if Tony was actually sleeping. He wasn't. It didn't surprise her. He was seated against the wall of the plane on the small couch-like cushion alongside of the bed. His back was hunched over and his face was in his hands. He was muttering under his breath, apparently trying to make sense of everything. She had sat down next to him and pulled him into a hug, slowly moving her hand up and down his back until they landed in hopes of steadying his heart rate.

That worked until they got to the car. From there, he was silent and stared out the window. She knew he was probably getting a little weary; he wasn't allowed to eat for so long before the surgery, and it must have been a few hours since he had his last meal of the day.

Finally, they made it to the Stark Industries building, utilizing the suite in the upper parts of the tower until their home was rebuilt or they figured out a better plan for their stays in Malibu. She knew he missed the place; she missed it. But it was last on their list of priorities, so they hadn't decided if they would build or sell yet.

Tony had her pinned up against the wall the second they stepped into the suite, his mouth on her and his hands roaming her body. She smiled against his kiss, loving the feeling of their closeness. For so long after the events on the oil rig, she was afraid if they romped around in the bedroom, she might burn him, or worse. But now, they were both healthy and able...at least for the night.

"Tony," she breathed once he moved onto her neck, teasing her with feathery touches. "You really need to get some sleep."

"Later," he had insisted.

Then, she was over his shoulder and squealing in amusement and anticipation as he carried her to their bed.

An hour or so and a shower later, they had fallen asleep peacefully, or so she thought. Next she knew, it was three AM, and she rolled over sleepily to an empty bed. It was cold, an obvious sign that Tony had been gone for a while. Carefully, she pulled on his shirt and padded to the light illuminating from the crack in the bathroom door and peeked through.

"Get it together, Stark..." he was mumbling, staring at himself in the mirror before looking down at the arc reactor glowing in his chest. "It's not the worst thing in the world. It's artificial. It isn't you. And there's no need for it now that the suits are gone. And the shrapnel will be gone, too. You won't be afraid of dying every other day."

He paused, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"But, how else will you know you're alive? No one can see if your heart stops, but they can see if the light dims. And there's no hope for Iron Man anymore...even if Pepper ever allowed it."

He groaned, thinking about his girlfriend.

"Pepper. She's used to you being there."

Now, he was talking to the arc.

"You go away and then what am I? Nothing but the same playboy Tony Stark everyone knew before the suits. Or, worse, I go away with you. Who the hell knows if they can even fix me, anyway. This could be your last night. The weapons, the suits, the portal, the Mandarin...all of that and for what? I finally have my life somewhat together and this could be it. Guess I deserve this."

Pepper felt her heart stop at his words, realizing how scared he really was. She couldn't risk him putting these negative thoughts in his head so close to the big moment.

"Tony?" she asked in a whisper, careful not to startle him as she pushed the door open.

He glanced up, forcing a smile to cover up his anxiety. "Did I wake you?"

"No," she lied.

He shook his head and pushed himself off the the counter. "Couldn't sleep..."

She snaked an arm around his waist and kissed his shoulder before giving him a soft hug. "Dr Cho is the best doctor in the country, Tony. You've seen her work. She's incredible."

"Yeah," he agreed without enthusiasm.

"It'll be okay. I promise."

He snapped his head up to meet her gaze through the mirror. "But what if it isn't?!"

Pepper frowned, hating how negative he was being. She didn't think it phased him this much; they had talked about getting the arc removed before. He hadn't spoken up about it then.

"What if I..." he spoke, calmer this time. "What if it doesn't work, Pep? It's not like filling a hole in someone's chest is an every day occurrence for them, even if they are the best money can buy."

"Tony..."

But she didn't know how to respond. She could hit him with numbers again, sure, but they had gone over them for weeks before deciding to go through with it.

"Pepper, listen," he sighed, tensing underneath her. "I know this thing is normal for me...for you, for us. It's just sort of always been there. And I know you know how I was before it, but... Pep, I swear, I'm still going to be me. I still want you, if you want me..."

"Of course I'll still want you!" she told him with a chuckle. "People change. You changed. Arc or not, life happened, and we've come so far since then."

He kissed her forehead, which was now lying on his shoulder as they looked at each other through the mirror.

"Happy's right. You're the best thing that ever happened to me." He paused. "Pepper, if this all works out alright...there's something I need to ask you."

She pulled her head up quickly, changing to look at him instead of the mirror.

"Tony, don't-"

He hushed her with a quick kiss. "I love you, Pep."

"You'll be fine, Tony," she promised again, even though they both knew there was always going to be a slight possibility of something happening mid surgery.

"But if I'm not," he continued, "I just need you to know how much I love you. I need you...and if you stick around..."

"Tony, I told you-"

"Stop!" he ordered, this time raising his voice and pushing away from her so he could move his arms wildly as he spoke. "I'm a freak, Pepper. Okay, normal people don't have this issue, but I don't know how to live without this thing. I'm scared Pep, and I'm not good at being scared. Tony Stark doesn't get scared. It's not in my blood."

He opened the drawer to his side where he kept his shaving equipment and pulled out a small box from the back. Sliding it down the counter, he gave her a moment to open it and look it over as he focused on the sink below him. Using both hands, he propped himself up over it, feeling sick.

Pepper swallowed but carefully opened the little velvet box, revealing the last thing she thought she'd ever see from Stark; an engagement ring. She gasped, admiring its beauty, and analyzed its sparkle. Then, it took everything in her to push it back to him instead of accepting it.

"No," she answered.

He felt sicker than before. The nerves were originally getting to him, but now her answer was rocking his world...and not in a good way. He had pictured so many scenarios. So many ways this would have happened, but in none of them had she said no.

"Right," he mumbled, moving to sit on the closed toilet seat so he could comfortably bury his face in his hands. "You can uh...just drop me off, I guess. Rhodey'll bring me home. Should give you enough time to get your stuff out."

To his surprise, though, she giggled. Absolutely not what he was anticipating, either.

"I'm not saying no," she informed him.

Stark snapped his head up and looked her over, the confusion clear on his face.

"I'm just saying..." Potts continued. "Not right now."

Tony only blinked in response, not sure where she was going with that. Was that a maybe? An 'I'm not sure'?

Thankfully, Pepper proceeded to approach him and run her hand through his hair before pulling his head to her chest to embrace him in a comforting hug.

"I'd love to marry you, Mr Stark," she teased. "But this is not happening this way. After the surgery, when you're healthy, we can try this again."

It was her way of ensuring them both of a safe outcome to the removal. They had something to look forward to...he had a reason to survive.

"And then you'll say yes?" He was hopeful.

Pepper kissed the top of his head. "I'll think about it."