"I'll catch you!" The words seared through her mind, almost as fiery as the Extremis coursing through her veins. Tony's voice wreathed around her, comforting her, encouraging her. But then the twisted remnants of the building shook, dislodging her from where she lay trapped. She reached out to grab his hand, but felt her fingers slip through his. She saw the look of horror on his face, the scream escaping him, and the ragged tear of her own scream ripping through her throat. And then…. Falling.
Pepper awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright, her breaths coming in ragged pants. She tore the blankets off of her suddenly chilled body, and made her way to the bathroom. The face that greeted her in the mirror didn't surprise her; she'd met this disheveled stranger before. The wild, horror struck eyes, the tear streaked face; they were all old friends of hers. Not that she'd ever admit it to anyone. The dreams of falling had been haunting her since the day the actual event had occurred. And it was always the same. No matter how many times she had it, the dream always struck her through to the bone with fear. She'd never forget the rawness of what had happened. The feeling of the Extremis racing through her body. The crushing horror of watching Tony getting smaller and smaller as she fell into the fire raging below.
She liked to tell Tony that she wasn't very affected by what had happened, but that was more to comfort herself than him. Pepper knew that he blamed himself for her falling, and she told him again and again that it wasn't his fault, lightheartedly joking with him about it. And she knew that it wasn't his fault. But she wasn't as causal about it as she made it seem.
Splashing some cold water on her face, Pepper tried to clear her mind. She tried to push out the nightmarish thoughts, and replace them with kinder, gentler ones. Remember going shopping with Thor today, at the bookstore? That was fun! And then getting that beautiful Christmas ornament from Peter! The thoughts calmed her, and she crawled back into bed, curling her knees up to her chest under the covers. Quiet, calm, peaceful… Fire, burning, dying. She cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. Stop it, Pepper. Stop… Don't do this to yourself! Quiet….calm…peaceful…. Falling, screaming, BROKEN PROMISES!
A long, shrill scream echoed through the silent tower.