A Safe Place

Tony Stark zoomed around the skies of New York blasting at every one of Ultron's sentinels that reared its ugly head. He had no idea how long he'd been fighting. He completely lost track of time. All he knew was he was tired, bone-tired, but, he couldn't stop, not until the immediate danger was over. "J.A.R.V.I.S., give me a damage report."

"Moderate damage overall. Substantial damage to three leg panels, minimal to the mask."

"How about the power and flight systems?"

"Fully operational."

"Navigational still online?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good to know. Set the flight plan for home. As soon as we get finished here..."

"Stark," Natasha Romanoff's voice interrupted. "I'm sending you a set of coordinates."

"I'm kinda busy here, Agent Romanoff," he said, doing a barrel roll and blasting another robot. "Call Rogers or Barton. Maybe they can break off and go. Where's Banner? Send him."

"Program them into your nav system," she continued.

"I told you. I'm busy."

"The threats have been neutralized in the other areas. Yours is the last one still active. Take out these last few then fly to those coordinates."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Stark." With that, the conversation ended.

"Sir, I have received the message from Agent Romanoff," J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "Shall I program the coordinates like she suggested?"

"Yeah," he replied reluctantly. "Might as well see what's going on." Tony fired his repulsor one last time and scanned the skies. "That's all of them," he told his A.I. "Take us to wherever we are supposed to go."

"Right away, sir."

Tony let the navigation system take over, but he didn't relax. He couldn't relax. J.A.R.V.I.S. he trusted. What he didn't trust was the secrecy. He didn't like the idea of flying blind into a situation where he didn't have a clue as to what to expect. After a while (he still had no idea what time it was), the suit began to slow.

"We seem to be near the destination Agent Romanoff sent."

Tony saw a lone farmhouse sitting in the middle of nowhere. There were no vehicles or other people visible, nothing to show that anyone else was around. "J.A.R.V.I.S., when we land, stay close. I don't know exactly what I'm getting into here and I may need to make a quick exit."

"Very well, sir. I shall run diagnostics and prepare for an emergency flight if necessary."

"Switch to manual controls." Tony guided the suit to the ground. Still watching his surroundings, he lifted the faceplate and walked up the porch steps. The front door was open. The screen door creaked when he opened it and cautiously stepped over the threshold. Once inside, he pressed a button, opening the suit. Tony put a hand to his ear, making sure the communication earpiece was secure. He walked through the front hall and into the living room. "So far, so good," he mumbled under his breath.

"Took you long enough," a familiar voice said somewhere to his left. Tony spun and found himself looking at Nick Fury. "Don't be so jumpy, Stark."

"Pardon me, but it's not every day that I come face-to-face with a dead man." Tony crossed the room and sat on the sofa, not once taking his eyes off of the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director. "What do you want?"

"It's nice to see you, too," Fury replied dryly.

"What is this place?"

"A safe-house. One S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't even know about."

"While your concern for my well-being is touching, why am I here?"

"You don't appreciate the gesture?"

"I'm moved," Tony deadpanned. He looked around the room. "Why am I here?"

"Maybe we should've just left you buzzing around the city."

"We?"

"We, Mr. Stark." Phil Coulson stepped into from an adjoining room.

This could not be happening. Phil Coulson was dead. He had seen the scene of the crime...the stains on the wall, the pool that spread out on floor of the hellicarrier, the bloody smears all over the trading cards. Still, Tony decided to play it cool. "Isn't anyone really dead anymore? Who's gonna come walking out next? Elvis?"

"Always with the wise cracks," Fury said.

"It's a gift," Tony said. "What do you want?"

"I think the more important question is, what do you want? Or, more importantly, who?"

"What are you getting at, Fury?" Tony was careful to school his features, but a cold knot formed in his stomach.

"While you're an obnoxious pain in the butt, for all your faults, there is someone you care about more than yourself, someone who you would want as far away from all of this as possible."

Immediately, Tony stiffened. The cold knot gave way to a slow, simmering burn. Anger rose hot and steady inside him. He rose to his feet. "What have you done?" He was almost seething. "Where is she?" Agent Coulson stepped aside and a very familiar form filled the doorway. He blinked hard to make sure of what he saw. Without saying anything, he started across the room. Pepper met him in the middle. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed but the woman in his arms. "You're okay?" he asked finally, still holding her close.

"I'm fine." Pepper ran her hands along his shoulders and back. She felt his tense muscles relax some.

For a moment, Tony considered calling his armor, snatching up Pepper, and flying away. He didn't care where. He didn't care what else might happen. Let Rogers fight Ultron. He thought he was such a mighty leader, let him lead. He would take Pepper and go somewhere no one would ever find them. Screw Fury and the Avengers and flying robots and anything else that posed a threat. He would take Pepper away from it all.

"When the first reports came, I sent Agent Coulson to get Miss Potts," Fury said, breaking Tony's train of thought.

"So...you brought her all the way across the country, closer to the danger. Yeah, that makes perfect sense."

"It was my idea," Pepper confessed.

"What?" Tony pulled back enough to see Pepper's face while still holding her.

"Miss Potts refused to go anywhere until she knew you were okay," Phil explained.

"Oh. You don't have to worry. I'm taking care of myself."

Pepper rubbed her thumbs across the dark smudges under Tony's eyes. "Uh-huh. I can tell."

"Really. I'm...I'm okay. Just tired."

"I can't stay long," Pepper told him, " but I told Phil I had to see you, even if it was just for a minute."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"And I'm afraid we can't tell you either, Mr. Stark," Phil informed him. "The fewer people who know, the better."

"It's best this way," Pepper said. She put her arms around his neck and played with his hair. "If you feel sorry for anyone, feel sorry for Phil. He's going to be stuck in a confined space with me while I'm making wedding plans."

"Ouch," he replied, trying his best to put on a happy face. "I would say better him than me, but..."

"I know. Trust me...I know."

"It's time, Stark," Nick Fury said. "We can't move Miss Potts until you're gone. Agent Romanoff will send you the location where you will rendezvous with the rest of the team once you are in the air. After you are a safe distance away, Miss Potts will be taken to an undisclosed location for the remainder of the fight."

If he'd been anyone else, Tony would have cried. Iron Man didn't cry. Inwardly, he sighed. Iron Man may not cry, but Tony Stark did. Iron Man was practically indestructible, indefatigable, and didn't need anything except his Arc Reactor. Tony Stark was sore, tired, and very much needed the woman he held. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on Pepper. She responded by resting her forehead on his.

"You better go."

"I don't want to."

"And I don't want you to, but...you have to."

For not the first time, Tony wondered how he'd gotten so lucky. She may not like it, but Pepper understood. He traced the outline of her face with his finger from her temple to her chin, committing every detail to memory. He placed a soft, almost reverent kiss on her lips. "I love you."

"I love you more," she replied, struggling to talk around the lump in her throat.

"Not a chance," he said, flashing her a reassuring smile. He pulled her to him and held on extra-tight for a minute before releasing her. Tony kissed the end of her nose. Pepper, in turn, placed a feather-light kiss on his cheek. "Coulson," he called over his shoulder, "if anything happens to her, you will wish Loki had killed you on that hellicarrier. There won't be enough of you left to bother with burying."

Reluctantly, Tony turned his back and walked away. He couldn't bring himself to look back. If he did, he wasn't sure he would be able to leave. He went directly to where he left the suit, opened it up, and stepped inside.

"Did I detect Miss Potts' voice?" J.A.R.V.I.S. questioned as Tony walked off the porch.

"You did." Tony lowered the faceplate with a frustrated slam.

"Is she not..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Understood, sir."

Somehow, Tony thought he just might. "There will be a message from Natasha coming when we're airborne. Program in whatever she sends to the flight plan." He engaged the repulsors and was soon in the sky. He circled over the farmhouse. Somewhere below, Pepper was preparing to leave. She was right. He didn't want to go, but he had to...and he would. He would go and eliminate whatever enemies lay out there, not just because it would make the world a safer, but because when he did, he could return to his safe place. That place was wherever Pepper Potts was.

Author's Note: As a birthday gift for my Pepperony buddy, nancyozz, this story was born. We were discussing the need of a Pepperony moment in AGE OF ULTRON. This was my attempt to give it to her. :) Let me know what you think. I don't know what AoU holds, so I may be WAAAAY off-base. Either way, if we don't, I kinda like to think it would have been a little bit like this. Reviews are wanted and welcome, so, leave one. :)