A/n: This was based on a prompt given to me on tumblr. This is a one shot story of Pepper having a close call and Tony trying to contain himself.
They moved back to their LA mansion after the mess in NYC. It seemed wherever Tony went, destruction was sure to follow. And of course so was Pepper Potts, ready to clean up the mess he made. Of course this time, it was thanks to a select few others and a crazy demi god. Either way, the couple needed their space away from it all and decided to head back to Malibu while Tony worked on his newest improvements, otherwise known as "toys" in Pepper's view. It was a summery day and Pepper was up in her office doing some paper work regarding insurance while Tony was to be found in his workshop working on more gadgets and upgrades. The two had been steadily dating for quite some time and with each day, Pepper and Tony were greeted by their own astonishment.
Though to be fair, they had already been in a long lasting relationship way before it became official many months ago. So maybe they shouldn't be so surprised at how long it had been or how well they were together. Things were going great overall, the company was steadily improving and she and Tony were closer than ever. Pepper was just putting a folder together when she heard the door open. She was about to ask JARVIS what had happened when she heard the system shut down manually. She stood up and heard people marching down toward Tony's lab. Pepper wasn't really sure what to do, who was after Tony and why had they disabled the AI System?
Meanwhile on the ground level, Agent Coulson and a few other men dressed in black heavy armor headed down toward the workshop. "Mr. Stark we need you to come with us immediately." Coulson said.
"What? No wonderful hello? I'm a little busy sweetheart." Tony said, returning to his current activity of tweaking his armor's wires. "And what'd you do you JARVIS? I thought you two played nice after that mess in New York-" He was cut off by Coulson pulling him up from his stool and pulling him toward the exit."What is going on?" Tony huffed, obviously unaware of the situation.
"There is a missile on target for this location, we don't have much time."
"I can just suit up and blow it-"
"That won't work, Mr. Stark, it's designed for you, it's been made to be unstoppable. It knows what it's up against." He insisted as two larger men picked up Tony and began hurrying up the steps. "Your system hasn't detected it for that very reason, we just found out about it and we don't have any time to waste." Coulson said as they hurried out of the large house. Tony struggled and kicked, though it wasn't much use. Without his tech, he couldn't do too much to stop himself from being forcibly escorted out of his home."We need to drive to a safe distance and-"
"Pepper!" Tony exclaimed as he was pushed into a black SUV. "No, I have to get Pepper!" Tony insisted. "I'm not leaving without her!" He then went to lunge for the car door but was stopped by arms moving around him. "What the hell?!" He turned to see Steve, Clint and Natasha sitting in the back seat as Coulson began to drive off. "I need Pepper!" Tony yelled and tried to get out of the super solider's grasp.
"We can't risk it." Steve said.
"I can't risk losing her!"
"Stark…you're more important." Natasha said.
"No I'm not, I'm nothing…I'm nothing without her." Tony breathed as Coulson handed him a cell phone. "What's this?"
"Surely you know what a cell phone is Mr. Stark. Call her. Talk to her." Coulson said. Tony fumbled with the dialing and finally punched in her number as they drove a safe distance down the coast. It took a few rings for Pepper to pick up who was still back in the house. Pepper reached for the phone in her bag but didn't recognize the number. She picked it up as she slowly made her way out of her office, really confused.
"Hello? Pepper? Pepper?!"
"Tony?"
"Oh thank god." Tony sighed.
"What's going on? What happened?"
"I…I had to go…I really…" What could he say to her? His chest was filled with too much he needed to say. How could he tell her about a missile? "Didn't have a choice." He finished. Could he lie and pretend that everything would be alright? No, she would know he was lying and Pepper needed to know but he couldn't tell her. How could he? "Listen Pep, there's a…there's something coming for you. I need you to listen carefully. Go down into my workshop and turn on JARVIS' emergency power supply and get him to suit you up in anything, okay?" He asked her. "I need you to put it on auto pilot and just get out of there, just…don't…I can't lose you, not this way. Not ever…." He never thought he would pour his heart out over the phone, let alone in front of an audience. "Pepper, everything's going to be okay, listen to me and just-" The line went dead and the car stopped as a large fiery explosion lit up the day's sky.
Tony finally pushed Rogers off of him and opened the door and began running back toward where they had just come from. "Pepper! Pepper!" He yelled, as if she might magically appear with coffee or something, tell him he worried too much, just like her. Tears formed in his eyes as he stumbled to he knees and covered his eyes with his hands and then punched the asphalt underneath his trembling body. How could he not do anything to save her? "No…no no no. She was all I had." Tony cried. "She was all I needed, wanted and what…what could I do but let her take some goddamn missile meant for me?" He looked at the hand he had now surely broken. He didn't care about the broke hand, only his heart.
Clint, Natasha and Steve and Coulson hurried out and went over to the broken billionaire. Clint was about to reach out but Natasha grabbed his hand and pulled them away. The marksman saw the look in her eyes and pulled her into his arms unexpectedly while Phil and Steve exchanged looks. They had never seen Tony Stark cry, let alone express such sorrowful emotions. How could they comfort him when they indirectly sentenced his girlfriend, an innocent hard working woman, to death by evil mastermind?
"We're going to find who did this." Steve said.
What none of them knew was when Tony had been talking to Pepper, she had been rushing down to his workshop and doing just as he asked. She had managed to get into the Mark II in time and managed to fly down the coast, avoiding the debris and general explosion. Though she was having trouble with the controls as she tried to find out where she needed to go. As she flew along, she spotted people down below and maneuvered herself down to the ground and removed her helmet and saw Tony kneeling on the ground about twenty feet away. Natasha wiped her eyes and turned to see Pepper standing behind them in a suit. The Russian assassin let out a choked laugh as Clint kissed her head. Pepper slowly approached Tony who was still trying to stop crying.
"Are those tears for me or your cars or your house or-"
She was cut off by Tony getting to his feet and pulling her into a kiss.
"God I thought I lost you." Tony pulled back and looked at her, his hands resting on either side of her face. "You look good." He tried to joke, in attempt to distract from his tear stained face. "Really…really good, Pep."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Mr. Stark." Pepper whispered, finally letting it all hit her as she pressed her lips back to Tony's. The couple was left to hold one another and cry while the other Avengers headed off, ready to find whoever had it out for Tony. For now, Pepper and Tony needed their time together, fully aware of how it almost had been cut short.
"Took you long enough." Tony smiled to her.
"I got lost trying to work this thing. You make it look so easy." Pepper replied.
"Losing you isn't easy. I love you, Pepper."
"I love you too, Tony. I'm never leaving you."
And the two leaned in for another kiss while JARVIS made hotel reservations for them in Carmel. Maybe the two survivors could have some renewed alone time, a vacation away from work. Enjoy one another, and forget about how they almost died, lost one another. Because they were alive, together, closer than ever and Tony had at least one suit and one amazing girl and that's all he ever needed anyway.