He doesn't know how it all started. Becoming so heavily dependent on her. He thinks that maybe, it started, the bond formed, the first time she carried him up the stairs, after another drunken escapade. He had leaned heavily on her, because it was all he could do at the moment. Strip running really takes it out of you. He didn't notice the duffle bag of art supplies then, but he does now. Pepper's upstairs, and theres no one around, so he picks a few papers from the duffel bag. Hes in Peppers office, her sacred personal space, which is probably the only reason why the bag is so carelessly left out. She doesn't expect any invasion of privacy.

He inhales sharply when his eyes come to rest on the pictures. She's done portraits, several actually. Of him. He's shocked, because he's never seen her touch a paintbrush for as long as they've been together, and he didn't know that she had displayed some interest in him so externally before. Then again, these were'nt meant from public eyes, or any eyes. Some are very simple, and he thinks the snapshots are probably taken from somewhere on the internet. His chin is up, eyes are slightly drooped, and he has a cigar in his mouth. He remembers coughing afterwards. He never had a thing for cigars. Others are more personal, not the kind that are lewd in any way, but some Tony Stark moments, no one has ever seen. Theres one of him sitting on a couchette in the living room, eyes closed, a a somewhat lazy smile on his face, dressed in combat trousers and an MIT sweatshirt. The picture oozes comfort. He can picture the moment perfectly, He'd been so exhausted from training, and relaxing in a room that possessed the musky, fresh scent of Pepper, had taken off the edge. One particular battle had had him questioning his combat skills. He pushes the picture behind, and flips to the next one. This time it more of a side profile. His hands are in the middle of gesture, like he's teaching a couple of students. He remembers that too. A guest speaker at a local community college, only because he felt like he was tired from visiting snobby prestigious colleges. She had somehow managed to capture the look of sheer contentment on his face, as he explained the law of conservation of energy, and Faradays laws. His jaw was slightly open in the picture. He sifts through the rest of the pictures,all in variations of colours.

Tony has never thought of Pepper as anything but a sharp, brilliant, lean tigress, who can tackle anything and everything. She cold be funny, sexy , sweet, and incredibly sarcastic. But never in his life had he ever thought that Virginia Potts had a creative creature hiding within the depths of her. Now though, Tony can imagine her frail wrists , manipulating the paper, and her hands all over a canvas, her nimble fingers holding a paintbrush, eyebrows knotted in concentration. In this image, it almost looked like she was trying to paint his life together, trying to get everything to blend in, trying to get it right. He sits upright in guilt when he hears her in the doorway.'' Why do you have those?'' comes her horrified whisper. Her skin is porcelain in im light, but her eyes her flitty, dancing between Tony and the pictures. Deep down, he realizes that he's broken another barrier of the dam. Her privacy is irrevocably torn from her. Her fists clench tightly. He stumbles with words,'' Pepper-um-I'm…'', he wants to apologize, but how does one apologize for taking the thing that is precious to them. Pepper is all about privacy, she basks in it whenever she gets the chance, and she doesn't get the chance all that often. Even less so, now that she and Tony are together. ''I'm sorry. I shouldn't have.'' She smiles slightly, and he physically feels something resembling relief. '' I did these when you were going through particularly trying times. It hurt me too, Tony , seeing you so hardwired, and frankly this…. Was therapeutic. I took a semester in art a few years ago.'' He doesn't believe this. She's apologizing. She sits down next to him, and reaches her hand out. He thinks she's going to take his hand, but instead she pries the papers out of his slackened hands. He realizes that maybe she thinks he's overwrought, despite the fact that he was the one who invaded her space. Granted, they're together, but she's entitled to some secret pleasure, or therapy, whatever. '' Hey, I'm not weirded out. Frankly, I get it Potts, you need an outlet, we all do. I take apart stuff, and you put stuff together.'' He goes for her wrist, but she backs up.

''I'm going to get us both some coffee, because you look like you need it.'' He must have spent half the night on the blasted suit. Blasted being the key word here. She's still a little wound up from watching the strongest man she knows crumble just a few days ago. He still hasn't mentioned it. Hell, he's going to have to, he cried into her shirt that night, as if the people who he couldn't save, were coming to haunt him. For Gods sake, she doesn't want to let it be, but she does, because Rhodey had given her the number of a brilliant therapist, and she thinks she's going to use it soon enough. If she could coax him into to atleast one meeting a month…

She gets up to go, but she can see the hurt in his eyes, still lingering, so she doesn't object when he pulls her onto his lap and kisses her needily, or when his breath trails down her neckwith hot kisses, but she stands her ground when his fingers tug at her underwear. They are not going to have sex everytime she's upset. She feels it's the only way he thinks he can comfort her, and that worries her. When she turns to look at him , she can tell by the tightness of his lips and scrunched nose, that he'll sleep in the workshop tonight. And she'll let him.

When Pepper is up in the kitchen, she feels a little sorry, which is Why when she hands him a mug of coffee, he can smell the whiskey tainting the drink. He's still too proud to apologise for his actions, and he will still sleep alone tonight.

This is the beginning of the end. The end of them.

Authors note : So first chapter done. Little more angsty than my normal story, but ill try to fill in some humor. Please review your thoughts, its really appreciated. Don't worry, theres a lot more to come.