OH, how she waited.

1. Welcome Home

She loved him. There was no denying that, she couldn't deny it even if she wanted to. All Virginia 'Pepper' Potts knew was that the night before, when she got the call that he was coming home, she broke. For three months she had stayed strong about his kidnap, attending meetings he would have attended and sorting through the files that were long outdated, but still it wasn't long before she found herself with nothing to do. So she waited. She would often find herself sitting in his room, surrounded by his subtle scent of coconut and vanilla, once she even woke up to hear JARVIS' usual time and weather report from under the covers of his bed.

But even so, Pepper stood there at the end of the runway staring at the plane with one thought; Mr. Tony Stark was coming home. The plane touched the earth with a small 'screech', Peppers heart was in her throat, beating harder and faster than ever before in her life, how hurt was he? Can he walk? Was he so close to death that he didn't make it through the flight? Painful questions kept whirring around her head like a never stopping wheel,

'Stand by!' A man called, she was immediately snapped out of her hysteria. The gate on the plane was slowly lowering; Peppers blood was pumping in her ears now, making her feel dizzy to the point she felt she might pass out. Mr. Stark was there, getting up from a wheelchair, clinging on to Rhodey for support. He was okay...He was safe now, he was okay. A smile broke out across her face, tears threatened to spill out over her eyes. She swallowed it down, knowing it still wouldn't hide the fact that she had been crying.

"Hm..." He inhaled, loudly, analysing her face with a look of, what she would like to consider, deepest concern, "Your eyes are red."

Damn, She thought, He noticed.

"A Few tears for your long lost boss?" He asked, his usual hint of sarcasm echoing in his voice. Quick, think of something fast!

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting!" She laughed, real tears of joy beginning to tip over the edge, but for different reasons,

"Yeah, well, Vacations over..." He walked off to the car. Is that what he had thought she had been doing over the last three months? Vacationing? She followed Mr. Stark to the car.

The doors shut with a 'thud'. "Where to sir?" Happy asked,

"To the hospital...please..." Pepper interrupted,

"No! I hate hospitals. Home, just home." Stark winced in pain as he pulled out his mobile, he dialled a number, "Hi, yeah, I would like to order a cheese burger and fries," He covered the mouth piece, "Pepper, do you want anything?" Pepper shook her head gently, "Yeah, no that would be all," He nodded a couple of times "Stark Mansion, Malibu. "Kay, Thanks, see ya." He hung up. Pepper looked at him with a puzzled look. "I've spent three months captive, in a dark cave. All I want is an American cheeseburger." It went silent.

The Ride from the military airport to Stark Mansion was too short. Before Pepper had even had the chance to brief Stark on the goings on in the business he was already stuffing his face with the cheeseburger. Stark entered his Malibu mansion, greeted almost immediately by JARVIS;

"Welcome Home, Mr. Stark. I trust you are well, now you are home? The time in Malibu is 3:24pm and it is 79˚F, a fine summer day." The AI repeated the time and weather whenever somebody entered the house.

"it's summer already?" Stark asked, expecting no answer. He stomped downstairs to his workshop, leaving Pepper alone in the hall.

"I guess that's that then..." She muttered, retreating to her office.

Later on, nearing 8 o'clock, she gave up. Her mind wasn't on the speech for the press conference in a few days time, it was on Mr. Stark and how she hadn't seen him in five and a half hours.

"Jarvis, Where is Mr. Stark?" She asked the air,

"He is downstairs, Miss. Potts" JARVIS replied in his crisp British accent.

Pepper headed down the stairs to Mr. Starks' Basement/Workshop, with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Gently entering the code, she walked into the room.

"Mr. Stark? Are you in here?" She called. After a cluttering of what sounded like pans, Tony Stark appeared, his button-up shirt unbuttoned revealing a rather defined chest, but that wasn't what shocked Pepper, She had seen him shirtless many times before. It was the glowing blue disc in the centre of his chest.

"Tony..." Pepper only ever used his first name when she was genuinely worried, "What is that?"

He sat her down, poured her a glass of champagne and sat opposite her.

"You still haven't answered my question..." she whispered, staring at the floor. This was one of the few things that scared her. This and losing the people she loved.

Stark Sighed, He wasn't going to get out of this question, especially when it was Pepper asking it. "It's an arc reactor" Noticing the puzzled look on Peppers face, he added "An electromagnet. It's keeping the shrapnel away from my heart,"

"What Shrapnel?"

"The Shrapnel that lodged itself in my bloodstream the day I was kidnapped." Stark Sighed again, "We were driving along the road, when suddenly the car in front of us blows up. The three Soldiers got out of the truck and were all shot dead. I figured I'd better get out too or I'll get blown up like the others were. I got out of the truck and ran, I hid behind a rock and tried to call Rhodey, but a grenade was thrown right next to me...It was one of mine...It was a Stark Industry grenade, used against me.

I was taken to their base. A man there somehow removed most of the shrapnel and hooked me up to a car battery and that kept the shrapnel away from my heart. They wanted me to create a missile launcher for them, I told them I would. But instead I built this" He tapped on the disc in his chest, "and a iron suit out of the materials they gave me, it helped me escape but it was destroyed in the process" Stark downed his champagne in one and looked at Pepper, this time expecting an answer.

"I don't know what to say..." She whispered, still staring at the floor.

"Then say nothing. I will no longer make weapons...They're going to people who intend to use it against me and my country, so I'll just stop all together."

"Fine...But the important thing is, you're home now...You're safe," She placed her half-full champagne on the table, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" He nodded, deep in thought. Pepper got up and made her way to the door,

"I missed you, Mr. Stark," She said before leaving,

"I missed you too, Miss Potts," He replied, But she had left.