A/N: Not your typical Christmas Story, but I hope it's a good present for all of you, nonetheless. Not many chapters. All already written, just gonna slowly release them throughout the next few days… depends on how much interest I see for it! ;)

Summary: Pepper has a difficult time dealing with a personal situation, and she turns to Tony for help. Caught between what she has and what she wants, she ends up dragging Tony into the mess that is her head. A Christmas/ Kwanza/ Hanukah/ Etc… gift for my Faithful Readers.

The Little Things

Chapter 1: The Roof

He found her where he had met her, sitting almost exactly as he had seen her the first time ever: feet dangling from the edge of the water tower located high above the ground on the roof of the academy, sans meal in hand. Her gaze showed she was lost in her thoughts, her shoulders were sagged, and the look on her face was one of sheer hopelessness. He had seen her like this only a handful of times in the nearly two years he had known her, and each time it had been a cause for grave concern for him. She did tend to exaggerate the severity of simple situations and words, but when something truly rocked her entire world, she became an open book – fairly easy to decode.

She briefly acknowledged his presence by gracing him with an almost imperceptible smile as she tried to hide the fact that she had been crying by discretely wiping away her tears, but her red eyes and nose had betrayed her charade the instant he had laid eyes on her upon his arrival. She could probably blame the weather – bitter cold and unyielding – for her wrecked state, but the moment he climbed the structure to sit next to her and he rested his left hand on top of her right, glove-covered one, she knew nothing but the truth was going to be enough for him.

"Did she get any better?" He patiently waited for a response.

She shook her head curtly from side to side and the inevitable tears appeared almost instantly. Her lips quivered behind her left palm covering the lower half of her face, and when she closed her eyes, tears cascaded down her cheeks. The genius's heart broke along with hers, and not only because he personally identified with what she was going through, but also because he hated to see his redhead cry.

His redhead, the way in which he had for quite some time been referring to his friend, if just in his mind, ever since he had felt that first twinge of jealousy when he had seen her and Happy walk down the halls of the Tomorrow Academy, arms linked and sometimes even hand-in-hand. His redhead – what he hoped he could call her aloud one day if he found the courage to tell her how he felt for her now that she and the jock were no longer dating.

"I'm so sorry, Pep." He told her with utmost honesty while he linked the fingers on his left hand with her right ones. He clutched her hand tenderly and briefly, earning him an appreciative squeeze in return. His eyes then trekked from their laced hands to her distant stare, almost at a loss of what to do next. Thankfully for him, she took the lead on getting what she currently needed from the inventor, and he was more than ready to provide.

"I leave this Friday," she whispered after she added to their handhold the resting of her head on his left shoulder. She would have been happy with just that or even with a simple quick hug from him, but she was pleasantly surprised and felt even more emotionally supported by Tony when he adjusted his sitting position so that she could rest her face on his chest, and his arms went around her body to pull her closer to his and away from the bitter cold of December. And as if that had not been enough, he ventured the opportunity to press his unexpectedly warm lips on her forehead not once, but twice.

"Is your dad going with you?"

"Yeah," she replied and closed her eyes once more, the welcoming heat of his body slowly transferring to hers. "But he doesn't leave until Wednesday. Can't leave work any sooner than that."

"Why not?"

"Because she's not… she… she-she's still alive… for now."

Her broken, pain-filled words reminded him of a time when he had been informed of something similar about his own mother. They were words he had not wanted to hear, let alone utter himself, but at the end of the day the doctors' prophetic words had come true. Maria Stark had died of cancer – on a disgustingly beautiful summer Friday night, after countless months of battling her inevitable fate.

Now, here he was, years later, reliving the agony of losing a loved one, also a parent at that, through the eyes of one of his two best friends. And just as before, there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the relentless train of destiny; nothing to force the woman in question to be released from the grip of death. Not even for her – for his redhead – and he agonizingly wished he could, if just for a day.

The silence that followed her answer was not interrupted for a long while as words could not truly convey her pain and thoughts, and his could not ease the grim situation she was experiencing. They both knew they had at least an hour to sit there, alone during their off period, with no one to disturb their moment together, and based on their reluctance to move from where they presently were, it appeared as if it was A-OK with both of them.

Last year, around the same time, the ginger had been dragging Tony around the school to force him to participate in the campus-wide Christmas Scavenger Hunt game that the student council had organized. Even though they had not won, Tony had to concede that spending all day with Pepper, stealing candy canes from classmates, deceiving teachers into giving up the location of the hidden items of the search, and hearing and seeing her enjoyment of it all when yet another treasure was found, had been the highlight of the entire endeavor for him.

This time, however, she had hardly been able to concentrate in school – or at least for the last few weeks – following the announcement that her mother had suddenly fallen ill. He was still not sure what the woman suffered from, but it had been serious enough for the redhead to lose sleep over it and even almost fail all of the end-of-semester tests. That was when he had truly grasped the seriousness of the situation: when Pepper had indicated that she did not care if she did not complete the science project or even school – when she stopped caring about her grades.

There were only three more days left of school before the winter break started, and Tony had the slight suspicion that this year, spending Christmas and New Year with Pepper was not going to be in the cards. Last Christmas, he had had the time of his life, even if his father had not been around like he was now, and even if his family's company had been out of reach for him. Pepper had that effect on him, of making him see the silver lining in the worst case scenario, and he felt ashamed that he was not able to do the same for her in her current time of need.

Then again, what was he supposed to say other than the speculative expression of 'Maybe she'll get better' or the almost-insulting resignation phrase of 'At least she'll be in a better place now?' Neither socially-acceptable idiom was good enough for her and by default, neither was good enough for him either. Dealing with death and the grief that followed was something he was familiar with, but even a social convention inept such as he knew that everyone's pain was different. Everyone's coping mechanism with the passing of a loved one was unique. No one felt the same amount of ache and no one mourned similarly.

His strong yet gentle arms around her made her feel as if she was encapsulated in a protective bubble of combined soft cotton and hard steel, and if his strong hold on her could have been converted into any other form of energy, the redhead knew that nothing and no one would ever bring her harm if he had any say in the matter. It was always this way when she stole hugs from him, whether he reciprocated them or he did not. She still remembered the first time she had hugged him, purely out of joy that he was alive and well after the Maggia had kidnapped her, Gene and the genius. This had been before she had confirmed that Tony was Iron Man, and when her arms had surrounded his waist and her face had been pressed against his chest, he had just stood there, shocked by the fact that this girl he had just met was embracing him. He had thrown an arm around her shoulders eventually, and that had been the beginning of the unspoken yet mutually agreed upon physical aspect of their friendship.

And at this moment, right about now as he rocked her and rested his chin on the top of her head and he closed his eyes to inhale the scent of her shampoo coming from her hair, an innocent bystander could have safely assumed by their current postures that the redhead and the inventor were something more than simple friends; perhaps even romantically involved, somehow. And yet, they were not.

"I love you," the inventor stated out of nowhere and the redhead's body stiffened, her eyes opened wide.

"What?" She did not dare to move an inch, let alone face him.

"I love you," he repeated, slightly pulled away from her while still keeping his arms around her and stared directly into her eyes. "Tell her that, when she can still hear you and understand you. I didn't, and I regret it every day."

Her wide eyes shifted from left to right, reading as much as they could into his electric blue ones. She repeated his words in her mind several times until she was able to understand them, and she almost smacked her face with her hand when she realized what she thought she had heard was not what he had actually implied.

"How come you didn't tell her?" She asked once her heart stopped racing and she used the back of her hands to dry the new tears that appeared, this time for him and his pain.

"Because I thought that if I didn't tell her," he half shrugged and his voice lowered, "that she wouldn't be able to leave me. That she'd stay."

Pepper furrowed her brow. "How old were you when this happened?"

"About six or so. Didn't want to know any better."

"Mmhhh."

She pulled completely away from him to allow her brain to fully process his words by not being distracted by his enthralling touch and intoxicating cologne, stared to her front for a second and then cleared her throat. "That's some good advice, Tony."

"It's more like the sharing of a personal experience." He briefly gazed at her from the corner of his left eye. "Very personal. I'd never told anyone about it… until now."

A small smile brightened up her face at his words. She knew what he had meant: to not voice his secret to anyone else. But with it had also come the indirect understanding that he trusted her enough to confide in her. "Thank you for sharing it with me. It must be hard for you to – to feel guilty about that."

"It's only hard when I'm alone."

Pepper nodded and looked down at her hands on her lap. "Good thing your dad's back, then. Now you won't be alone anymore."

"I," he hesitated for a second, scratched the back of his head with his left hand, but in the end he grabbed her right hand one more time and held it in both of his. "I haven't been alone for a while, Pepper."

She was not able to look at his face, so she kept her eyes glued to their hands, which now rested on his left knee. She was afraid of what she would see in his face, or of what she may not see. She was scared that she was mistaking Tony's words of comfort for a thinly veiled declaration of love or the confession of the start of a crush. But above all, she was terrified that he would see in her face what she had kept a secret for so long: that her feelings for him were too strong and of more than just a friendly nature. She decided that another hand squeeze and a nod would suffice for now, and before the moment could become more compromising for her, she sighed aloud, took her hand back and looked towards the roof access door.

"I should eat something before the break's over."

"You don't have to go down there. I can bring you something."

"Nah," she shook her head. "I need to get my backpack, anyway."

"I can get you that, too."

The girl's head snapped to her right to stare at her friend with an upsetting look that he had not expected of her. "You don't have to pity me, Tony. I… I appreciate the gesture, but I can take care of my own food and books."

"I'm not pitying you. And I didn't say you couldn't do it yourself," he said and lifted his hands on either side of his face. "I said I could help you."

"I know that's what you said, but that's not what you mean."

"Of course I mean it. You're my friend, Pepper. If I needed your help, you'd do the same for me."

The ginger opened her mouth to retort that she already had done that last year, but when she realized where the conversation would go if she relayed to him what she had done for his sake last Christmas and how it related to her current situation, he would never forgive himself.

"Sorry," she said and shook her head. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I know," he said with a smile.

The two of them remained quiet again for about a minute until Tony suddenly and skillfully jumped off the water tower, only to stand on the ground right below her.

"Come on, let's go." He opened his arms wide and pointed them in her direction, inviting the girl to simply fall into his embrace.

Pepper raised one eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? I'm not jumping from here. I'll break my leg… or worse."

"I'll catch you. I've done it before."

"And you said that I'd shattered your back." She recalled his exact words and expression at finding out she was practically sitting on top of him while in search of a Makluan ring.

"That was before." He scoffed. "I carried you just a couple of weeks ago, remember?"

"You mean you flew me." She clarified as she knew he was referring to the day Tony's future grandson had appeared out of nowhere to kill him off and they had been left with no choice but to escape. "And you were wearing the suit. You're not wearing it right now."

"I don't have to. I've got Extremis now, remember? You'll be light as a feather for me."

"I… I don't know, Tony." His offer was tempting. Too tempting and inviting and dangerous for her heart, at that.

Tony lowered his arms with a frown and tilted his head to the left. "Pepper: don't you trust me?"

"I do," she immediately replied, no doubt in her voice. "But… I… well…"

Her head turned to her right to visually map out the path she would have to take to get off the structure without Tony's help. She would have to get up, balance herself on the edge of it, and then precariously step her way down from unsafe place to unsafe place. The wind was starting to pick up, and with her current luck, it was very likely that a sudden gust would send her over the edge of the roof and to her death.

It was simpler to just let Tony take care of her. Even if she felt like a damsel in distress whenever he did. Then again, she had never really had a problem being Tony's damsel in distress, as long as she could take care of herself at any other time.

"Fine," she finally said and held onto the edge of the tower to push herself down. "Are you ready?"

"Yup," he said, a smile returning to his face and his arms opened again.

"OK. On the count of three, alright? One. Two… three!"

She closed her eyes on instinct, pushed herself off the structure, and let her arms fly forward, hoping that if Tony did not catch her, she would at least suddenly develop the ability to fly on her way down. Fortunately for her, the inventor had already calculated the exact path she would take even before she had made the jump, and it was without an issue that he caught her in his arms, held her against him by the waist and slightly above the ground, allowing her to surround his neck with her arms.

He chuckled when her face stopped inches from his and saw that her eyes were still welded shut even after it was obvious that she was safe in his grip. Her hands were clutching the fabric on his shoulders and her entire body was as tense as it had ever been, all signs that she had been afraid of what would have happened to her had he not caught her as he had promised he would.

"See? Light as a feather," he stated and then slowly slid her down against him so that her feet finally touched the floor. "You can open your eyes now, Pep."

She opened only one eye and stared left right with it before her other eye joined the task. She then blinked a couple of times, realized that her feet were firmly planted on the ground, and then became slightly nervous when it became obvious to her that for some reason his hands were still on her waist and her arms were still around his neck. Her eyes stared directly at his chest for a moment while she gulped, and when her gaze traveled from his chest to his lips and then to his eyes, she immediately felt the change in the air between them.

Tony Stark was staring at her lips while he licked his own. And she almost had a heart attack at the way his half-closed eyelids made him seem as if he wanted the same thing she had been fantasizing about them both.

"Pepper Potts: Private Eye. I could kiss you!"

"What's stopping… you?"

The same thing that was stopping him now: poor timing, losing their friendship, Pepper's dying mother. The world.

"Tony," she swallowed hard. "You… you can let go now."

"I know," he said in a soft voice. "You too."

"I-I know," she replied, lowered her eyes to his lips again, but made no effort to break the hug. "I will."

"Me too."

He increased the grip on her waist instead of releasing it, felt his heart racing at having her so close to him, and wanted nothing more than to tell her what he had wanted to tell her for a couple of months now, but had been too afraid to do so. He felt like a chicken at having her so close to him, literally in his arms, her glossy and inviting lips inches away from his, and being unable to seal the deal. All he had to do was lean forward and to the side and he would be able to capture her mouth with his. He just had to close his eyes, press their lips together and she would instantly know what was crossing his mind – how he felt about her.

Yet her ringing phone had other plans, and its loud beeping made them both come out of their trance. The redhead took a step back from him, covered her eyes with her left hand while in her right she held her phone and pressed it to her ear. The inventor, for this part, held back a groan of frustration and shame: frustration at being unable to just up and tell her the truth about his feelings for her, and shame that he was currently thinking about the wants of his heart rather than her current dilemma with her dying mom.

"Today?" He heard her ask whoever was on the other end of the line with a tone of disbelief. "Is it… is it time?"

He furrowed his brow when he saw her left hand come down to her side and fresh tears appeared in her eyes. She quietly nodded to the person that clearly could not see her, but he had a feeling that the caller knew what her silence meant. She continued nodding while information was relayed to her, and when the call finally ended, she pulled the phone away from her face only to stare at its darkening screen with absent eyes.

"Pepper?" He reached out to her with his right arm but did not touch her. "Did… did it happen?"

"I…," she hesitated for a second but then shook her head. "I have to go, Tony."

"Where? Home? Seattle?"

"Yes," she said. "Seattle. I… I have to change my flight but… but I can't stay here. I can't… my mom… that's all I can worry about right now. I can't do anything else… I can't worry about…"

"Let me take you home. It'll be faster. I can fly you there. I can —" He walked up to her, but before he could embrace her or try to comfort her again, she took a step back.

"No. I… I'm sorry, Tony." She said but was not able to stare at him. "I'm sorry."

And just like that, she stormed away from the roof, leaving a hurt and confused inventor in her wake.