Rewind
An Ironman Fic by Janina90
Tony/Pepper
Complete
A/N: I don't own anything.
Also, this could be a sequel to Return, but it doesn't have to.
Tony Stark smirked as the machines started taking off his Mark III suit. Not only had he taken out more terrorists that were apart of the Ten Rings, the same group that kidnapped him, he found a bunker stock piled with Stark weapons and destroyed it. Now the only thing Tony was thinking about was a scotch on the rocks and perhaps a grilled cheese sandwich. Only he didn't notice the red head that was simmering in the corner until she spoke up.
"So, Mr. Stark," she sneered, "How was Afghanistan?"
Tony quickly turned to see Pepper Potts sitting on the beat up couch wearing a black knee length skirt with high heels and a light blue button up shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a loose pony tail and fire was burning in her eyes.
"Very successful." Tony said, wondering why Pepper was so angry.
She stood up and smoothed out her wrinkle free skirt.
"That's wonderful to hear." She said, with sarcasm dripping off her words.
"Ok, Pepper, what's wrong?"
"Wrong? Something seems wrong?" She asked stepping closer to him.
"Uggh, yeah. You're acting like-"
"Like," Pepper interrupted, "I arrived at work with no idea where my boss was only to turn on the T.V. and see him being shot at in some ridiculous red and gold suit halfway across the world?!"
"Well… yeah." He said smartly.
"I can't believe you!" She shouted. "Gallivanting on the other side of the world and not even call me! Or even asking Jarvis to let me know where you were!"
"Pepper, calm down."
"I will clam down when I damn well feel like calming down!" She stopped advancing on his when she stood directly in front of him.
"… I get it. Were you worried?" He said, another smile stretching across his lips, "Well, you don't have to be anymore and if you want, I'll let you play nurse for me."
"You think this is a joke?"
Tony couldn't tell if it was a statement or question.
"You think putting your life in danger is funny? Have you stopped to think about the people around you?"
"No," Tony replied starting to feel angry himself. He was completely free from his suit, "I don't stop to think about them, because I'm too busy thinking about the people I save."
"You're going to kill yourself saving them!"
"I shouldn't even be alive!" He shouted at her then turned and started his way towards his liquor cabinet. "I should have died in the cave."
Pepper was right behind him. "But you didn't. And now you deliberately put yourself in danger, and for what? The glory?"
"I have to do something, those are my weapons." He turned to face her, "You have no idea what happened in that cave!"
"And you have no idea what happened when you were away!" Pepper had tears in her eyes, but she kept yelling and managed to stop them from sliding down her cheek. "Tony, they told me you were gone! They told me to prepare for the worst; that there would be no way you would be coming home! And by miracle, they were wrong! Now you go back there to what? Prove your point? Get even? I don't understand!"
Tony Stark couldn't remember being speechless before.
Pepper took his stunned silence to her advantage and walked out of the workshop leaving Tony with a bottle of scotch in his hand his face in an angry awe.
Tony turned back and poured some of the amber liquid into a glass and took a deep drink.
He sat himself down in front of his computer screen and held his drink against the light.
"Jarvis?"
"Yes, sir?" The computer animated voice asked.
"Could you pull up the video surveillance for the day I was kidnapped?"
"Yes, sir. But I should inform you that Miss Potts asked that this information would be kept in between me and her."
"Well, it's good that I'm the one who invented you and not her. And I could just as easily destroy your programming"
"Duly noted, sir."
A moment later a video of his living room dated the time of his kidnapping appeared on the large screen.
"Jarvis, a phone call must have come in from Rhodey. Fast foreword to the call.
Tony watched as Pepper, who had herself seated on the couch (shoes off, he noted) typed away on her laptop when he saw her reach for her cell phone. She set the computer aside and stood up to answer the phone. He saw her lips move.
"Jarvis, sound."
"What do you mean? … Oh, god … No, I'm fine. Just find him ... I don't care how impossible it is, just do it!" She then set the phone down. He watched as she walked to the kitchen and then back to the living room back and forth, back and forth.
She sat on the edge of the couch, breathing deep. Then, in a flash, she picked up her discarded shoes and threw them across the room. She stood and walked into the hallway, out of the line of the camera.
"Follow her, Jarvis."
The video cut to the hallway where his bed room was located. She walked past it and turned back towards the door. She stood outside of his, as if debating on whether to knock or not. She gave the door a good punch. Then he heard it. The hiccup in her breathing. The sound of the tears. She pulled her hand back and hit the door again.
Pepper stood in front of the door for another minute or two before she turned around and went back to the kitchen. This time, Tony didn't have to ask Jarvis to switch camera angles because a second later she was back with a bottle of vodka in her had. She opened the bottle and took a deep drink before coughing and resting her back against the door. She took another drink controlling her cough but she couldn't control her crying. She turned and lightly caressed the door handle. For a moment Tony thought she was going to turn the knob and go in his room. Instead she hit the door again before sliding down until she sat with her back against the door and took another drink.
"Rewind back 1.5 seconds." Tony said.
He watched again as she lightly touched the door handle.
"Again."
He watched the sobs shake her body.
"Again."
It wasn't until an hour later that Tony made his way back up the stairs. When he opened the door he had an odd sense of déjà. On the couch with her heels to the side, Pepper sat with her back slouched over and her head was in her hands. She looked up when she heard him advancing on her.
"Look, Tony-" She started only to be interrupted,
"No, don't do that. As hard as it for me to admit, you were right."
Pepper's eye brows moved upward in surprise.
"I wasn't apologizing." She said, sitting straight up on the couch.
"Oh."
"Tony, I respect what you're doing. And you were doing good and saving people and that's very admiral. But you have to remember. You're all I have too."
Tony nodded and made his way to sit down next to her on the couch. He put an arm around her shoulder and to his surprise, she didn't pull away. Instead she snuggled against him.
They sat in silence.
Pepper wondered what exactly had happened in that cave.
Tony pulled Pepper closer to him as he remembered watching her slowly caress the door knob.
A/N: Please review. Let me know what you thought about it. Was it in character? Believeable? Let me know so I can improve.