A/N- Contains language, drinking, mentions of sex and violence. Children, stay away. Seriously, you shouldn't be on this site anyway, darlings. Go get a tumblr. Also: I am considering making an epilogue. I have an idea, but idea's grow with REVIEWS! I love all my readers so much. I promise In With the Storm will be updated as soon as it can be, but I have had soo much work recently… and school comes before fanfiction, I'm sorry. Also pray for my brother he's having sinus surgery on Friday. Much love, Sofie.
Pepper didn't like parties. It wasn't the actual thought of having one that bothered her so much (after all, her childhood had been full of them), but these parties were full of people who didn't want to be here. They were here to make an appearance, have a drink, enhance their image, not to enjoy themselves… and that irked her.
She watched Tony, standing on the opposite side of the room talking to some business executive or other. Pepper should probably know his name. God knows Tony would forget it sober, not to mention slightly intoxicated. He was looking fine, not his best obviously, but since he'd just gotten back from a mission the day before Pepper felt she'd done a pretty amazing job patching him up. He gave her a look of boredom as the business executive droned on about a possible Stark Industries merger and she could just barely see the bruise across his cheek a load of foundation had covered up.
Where was Jimmy? He'd said he'd be here. She checked the clock on the wall and took another sip of champagne. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this bored. Normally, some nice woman would come and talk to her, but since this party was virtually all old men who wanted to get some and skanky waitresses who doubled as prostitutes, she didn't really feel like having any social interaction.
Tony stood up and shook the man's hand, finally finding a way out of the conversation and made his way over to her.
"Well that was torture," he said, running a hand through his hair distractedly, "Harry S. Truman, or whatever the hell his name was, wanted to discuss a merger and do so in the most innocent way possible. Like he was trying to help out my company."
"Well, I'm sure Mr. Truman was just trying to be helpful and not at all trying to swindle us out of millions of dollars."
"Say it ain't so, Pepper."
Pepper rolled her eyes, "I would if I could, Mr. Stark."
Tony sat down on a barstool and took a sip of her champagne before Pepper could snatch it away from him, "Why do you call me that all the time? It's kind of irritating."
"It's called being at a public function, Mr. Stark. I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong impression of us."
"What may that impression be, Ms. Potts? And where's Rhodey? He was supposed to be here by 9:00."
"I texted him five…"
Tony's head whipped around as a gun shot echoed through the large space. Then another. And another. Tony grabbed Pepper and pressed her against the bar crouching down low enough where they might not be seen.
"I'm gonna go get the suit, okay Peps? Just stay here." he whispered into her ear. Like everything was okay. Like she was sitting on the couch in the mansion and he was trying to get her to blush.
Pepper grabbed his arm before he could move, "No. Not okay. You're going to get killed."
He shook his head and tried to pull away, but Pepper was just as strong as she was strong-willed and held him back.
"Pepper, I'm the only one here who can do anything."
This was all happening much too fast. Five seconds ago they'd been at a party, now they were in the middle of a life-altering decision.
"I don't care," she could feel herself starting to shake, but she had to keep him still. She couldn't let him die. She just couldn't, "Please, God, just stay."
There was a yell, and a few more screams as the gunman yelled, "Stay down!"
Then, so suddenly, that Pepper couldn't react the man was bending down in front of them, pulling Pepper up by the hair.
She screamed as she was tugged to her feet and he pressed the barrel of the gun into the side of her head. This wasn't reality. Hell no. This wasn't even in half the movies she watched on a Sunday afternoon.
Pepper looked around her at the place Tony was blocking from her view. Half the people at the party, including its host were dead. The other half were crouched on the floor, cowering under the gunman's unruly stare.
"Tony Stark," he growled, "Come out, come out wherever you are."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Pepper whispered, "What the hell made it okay in your head to kill innocent people?"
She could see Tony's eyes from underneath the counter, full of fear, but strong and determined as he rose to his feet.
"No," she shook her head violently as his hand reached out for her arm, "I can't let you do this. Please, I can't..."
But resolutely he stepped in front of her, one hand holding onto hers tightly. Pepper swallowed as he took a step forward.
"May I ask, before you kill me violently, why you want to?"
"Because Tony Stark," the man said, his New York accent obvious even with whatever method he'd tried to hide it, "We can't trust you to just standby anymore. The Mafia wants to kill the man who threatens their operation."
"So it all comes down to one rescue last April," Tony said sadly, shaking his head, "You killed a room full of people because I saved one person. You bastard."
"Those are your last words, Stark?" the man smiled, circling him, "Seems like you'd say something more heroic. But you know, maybe I misjudged you."
He stepped back and raised his arms as he pointed the gun at Tony's chest, "Time to go."
"Get out of here, Pepper," Tony whispered, and she could hear the emotion in his voice, "You're not watching this."
"I'm staying with you."
"Pepper, please, God, this is my last request. Could you not be so damn stubborn for five seconds?"
Pepper let go of his hand, "If that's the last thing you want me to hear, then I..."
But Tony shook his head and took her hand again.
"I love you."
"You have five seconds or she dies too! Five..." Pepper could vaguely hear the man yell over the sound of her ears ringing.
"I love you too."
"Four... three..."
Tony smiled and Pepper felt him shove her out the door, and turn towards the gun.
"Two... one."
Pepper didn't have time to scream, "No!" before the bullet fired and Tony was on the ground.
Pepper felt herself scream as she watched the gunman fall as well, a bullet in his own chest, and the man that had stepped in front of Tony turned and she saw his chest, bleeding compulsively.
The room seemed to be spinning in slow motion as Tony sat up and kneeled over James Rhodes. Pepper ran to his side, her heels crunching over broken glass.
"Rhodey, Rhodey, oh my God, Rhodey," Tony couldn't seem to stop saying his name as his hands pressed against the man's bleeding chest.
"This is it, man, I'm done."
"Don't say that," Pepper was crying, "Someone just called the ambulance. You'll be fine, okay? I swear."
"He got my chest, man," Rhodey was shaking his head. Pepper had never seen him cry and it was terribly painful, "Tony, I'm so sorry."
Tony was crying too, "What are you talking about? You just killed yourself for me. Please, don't be sorry. Oh God, Rhodey, you're my best friend. C'mon. Please... you have so much more to live for!"
"Way back in college when you were sixteen," he was laughing through his tears, "I promised I'd be that one guy that stuck by you... especially when you were going through all that shit with your Dad... and God I'm failing you, Tony, you don't know how bad..."
Rhodey's face was looking more and more weathered and the blood was spreading all over suit jacket. Pepper pulled off her sweater and pressed it to his chest.
"You have nothing to feel bad about, Jimmy... please. Don't leave him thinking that you would go up to heaven regretting. Please, Jimmy. He'll kill himself... and I can't. I just can't deal with this anymore."
His eyes were fading, albeit slowly, but obviously now, "I'm sorry I had to miss your wedding," he was babbling, "You'll look so gorgeous in lace."
Pepper took his head in her hands as the hands Tony was holding her sweater with started to shake, "What are you talking-"
"And Tony, you'll be such a great father and I'm sorry I couldn't be there to watch it."
Pepper could see the paramedics out the window, walking much too slowly.
"I love you." Pepper whispered.
"You're my best friend." Tony cried.
"Stay gold, Tony. Just promise me that." Rhodey said, as he smiled up to heaven and left his world behind.
…
It was a blur, that night. Paramedics came and went. And when they finally took away the body Pepper went numb. She and Tony stood against the wall and stared. They didn't cry. They didn't even say a word. And, so suddenly, she found herself sitting next to Tony in the limo, staring at her blackberry. She looked down at the messages she sent, somehow all worded extremely carefully even in her semiconcious state.
Tony was staring out the window, looking twenty years older than his actual age. His mouth was set in a tight line and his eyes looked as dark and brooding as they had that week he'd come back from the Middle East. It was something Pepper had hoped she'd never see again.
"Pepper," Tony said, running a hand through his hair and looking at her in a way that was hard to describe, "Why do the best people have to die?"
Pepper raised her eyebrows, "I guess that's how life works. The world is overrun by evil people, and God just doesn't have enough time to stop it all."
"But..." then he paused and his eyes turned angry, "Damn it, I should've died today. This is all my fault."
"This isn't your fault," Pepper said, taking his hand, "None of this is. If I hadn't asked him to go that party we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."
And now she was crying. God, her emotions were on steroids today.
So she didn't really notice when Tony pulled her to his chest, and cried into her hair. Or when he fell asleep and Happy smiled back in the rear view mirror. Or when she fell asleep too.
…
"Wake up, Pepper... Wake up, Peps... the baby's crying..."
Pepper opened her eyes and then scrambled backward as she saw Tony standing over her.
"What are you doing in...this isn't my apartment."
Tony smiled and handed her a coffee, "That always wakes you up, huh?"
Pepper grimaced at him, before sitting up, placing a pillow over her chest and reaching for her coffee. Her heart was racing and she had no idea why.
"Is it the middle of the night, Tony?" Pepper said, rubbing her eyes.
"Yep."
Pepper set down her coffee and glared, "Then why in hell did you wake me up?"
"You were screaming."
"I was... what?"
He shrugged, "You were screaming. So I went and got you some coffee and waved it in front of your face and told you the baby was crying and you woke up."
Pepper looked at him, slightly perturbed, "I don't have nightmares, Tony. You do. Did you have a nightmare with me screaming in it or..."
"You were still screaming when I got up and made coffee. Unless this coffee's imaginary, I'm pretty sure you can't place blame."
"That's never happened to me before..." she said, concerned.
"Not including the last three times tonight, of course."
"Three times?"
"If I do recall. And we've had this exact same conversation every single time. It's kind of funny."
Pepper shook her head, "That's not funny... am I going insane?"
"No," Tony shrugged from where he sat, "It's called post-traumatic stress disorder and it sucks. End of story."
"But what would I be stressed about... oh."
Pepper looked down at her feet, struggling to keep from crying. She'd momentarily forgotten. For a moment it had all been okay. No one was mad or sad or intoxicated, and Pepper was kind of happy that Tony had enough care in his body to get her a coffee. But now...
"Do you want to sleep with me Pepper?"
Pepper raised her eyebrows, "Um, Tony..."
"No, not like sleep with me Pepper, but like sleep with me Pepper. You know the one where you count sheep and stuff."
Pepper smiled, "Where you count sheep and stuff? That doesn't sound like very much fun."
"It isn't, but when you have PTSD and someone's with you, it makes you less paranoid. Or in your case less likely to scream."
Pepper looked at him for a moment, "Fine. But this is one time thing."
"Pepper," Tony raised his arms, "You've seen the tabloids... do I really stick around long?"
But the next morning when Pepper woke up with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist, she realized that maybe Rhodey was right about more things than he gave himself credit for. And maybe the playboy might stick around for a little longer, after all.
So you like? Tell me if you want an epilogue by REVIEWING! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I love your feedback… as long as it's not cuss-me-out flames… those will be removed. Thank you all and much love,
Sofie