A/N: Disclaimer - I do not own Iron Man or any of its characters; all rights go to Marvel.
Anyone who drove by at that time would just see a tall, redheaded woman dressed in jeans and a grey sweatshirt looking down at a gravestone. They would see a normal woman paying respect to a normal person who had passed away out of her life. But it was so much more than that.
"Hey, Tony." Pepper wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and smiled weakly. She felt a light breeze from behind her, and a strand of her ginger hair fluttered across her face.
Her eyes moved over the words that were engraved in the headstone, even though she didn't have to read them to remember what they said: the hero who will forever live in our hearts. A part of her wished it said something different, something more meaningful; this simplistic phrase could never embody all that Tony was.
She crossed her arms tightly and choked back a sob as the memories from just over a year ago flooded her mind: the missile headed straight for Manhattan; Tony flying through the portal into outer space; his plummet back down to earth; the feeling of her heart stopping as she watched him fall. And her wordless screams of despair at the sight of him lying there on the ground, silent and unmoving, never to wake again.
Pepper shook her head, as if this would help clear it of the horrifying images that filled her mind.
With a shaky breath, she mentally steadied herself. She tried to stay strong, tried to find happiness in her life without him. But sometimes it was hard. She still woke up some mornings expecting him to be there beside her. Or made enough dinner for two, only to be hit hard by the realization that only one person would be eating it. Each little moment of her life seemed to highlight the fact that Tony was no longer there, and every time it was like someone was stabbing her in the heart with a knife. She wondered if she would ever get over him being gone.
Pepper continued talking out loud in order to stop the flood of depressing thoughts. "Reagan turned two months old yesterday," she said. Pepper smiled a little at the thought of her baby. Reagan was the one reason why she was still able to make it through every day. She was the only thing she had left. "She's so beautiful, Tony. So precious and... perfect. Our perfect little daughter. She has your eyes." She hesitated, and then added, "Let's just hope she doesn't grow up to have your ego." Pepper gave a small laugh, but it was laced with sadness. "I wish you could see her. I hold her in my arms every night, and I sing to her – that lullaby that you love. You told me I had a beautiful voice when I sang it, remember?"
Pepper paused, as if she was expecting an answer. For a moment, the only sound was the wind rustling the leaves of the trees around her.
"I miss you, Tony." This time her voice broke, and she did not try to stop the tears from streaming down her face. That one sentence held so much meaning. She missed the feel of his hand in hers, his kiss, the sound of his voice, his smile, the happiness he brought her. Even his sarcastic, arrogant personality. Especially his sarcastic, arrogant personality. It was so difficult living without his presence beside her, knowing she would never see him again. "I – I wish you were here," she whispered through her tears.
She knelt down in the soft grass in front of his grave. Somehow, sitting there made her feel closer to him. As she touched a hand to the ground in front of his headstone, Pepper thought she could hear Tony's voice in the wind, telling her that he loved her.