"I missed you." She softly uttered into his neck where her face was buried. He held her so tightly that he was starting to wonder how she was managing to breathe. He guessed it was okay because she was embracing him just as hard.

"Really? Barely noticed you were gone."

"Yeah?" She played along. He could sense an eye roll in there. Tony turned his head a bit to kiss her on the side of hers. Yep, there was that smell of her hair again. Tony never understood why people went on and on about the smell of girls' hair... I mean, it was just hair, right? How good could it smell?

Now he got it.

For the longest time, it was the only scent he longed to experience one last time before he... Well, now Tony didn't have to think like that anymore.

"Yeah. What's like, two months, right? Nothin'." He continued to tease, knowing full-well how awful it actually was. "Been there done that." He threw in a reference to his time as a captive in Afghanistan. He could feel the muscles in Pepper's stomach jolt as she scoffed. He still didn't let her go. She didn't let go of him either.

"How on Earth did you survive two months up there?"

"Well, I certainly wasn't on Earth for one thing. Kind of the point."

"Tony, I swear-"

"Okay, Alright, I'm getting there. So I had about twenty minutes of oxygen left. Twenty. That's 1200 seconds of my life left, mind you."

"Yes, you've mentioned that part."

"Yeah, so right in the niche of time a ship- an enormous one I might add- it..." Tony trailed off when he realized the slight wheeze in his voice. He was experiencing a slight shortness of breath. "You going suffocate me right here?" He asked Pepper who didn't let up despite his words.

"Keep going," she said. Tony chuckled and kissed her head quickly once again before continuing... or trying to. It was getting harder while she was squeezing the life out of him.

"Anyway, it must've caught the distress signal that Blue was sending out because within the next ten minutes- Uh- Pep? Hard to talk without air, honey." He choked out.

"That doesn't make sense." She said plainly stated, ignoring his complaints.

"What- What do you mean?" He wheezed. "Jesus. Pep- Babe?"

"The distress signal doesn't work without power. And the emergency power was out by then too." She continued.

"H- ow do you know... that?"

Tony's eyes fluttered open. In a normal situation, he was sure he'd jolt awake in a much more violent manner but the energy was lost in him. Not to mention, he didn't just dream up that shortness of breath- it was real. It was very real.

Head lolled to the side resting on his shoulder and eyes cast outwards to that star speckled mesh of darkness, Tony heaved in the thinning oxygen. With what little strength he had left, he raised his wrist just enough to see the countdown of his dwindling lifespan- 22. Not 22 hours. Not 22 minutes. Seconds. 22 seconds.

21.

20.

19.

On top of the lack of O2, his chest had never felt heavier on the inside. These dreams he was having, they just kept getting crueler. They were more vibrant, more realistic, more plausible and likely to be real. Tony was sick of falling for it but at the same time, those moments when he truly believed he was home with Pepper were the only things that made him feel anything.

That one stung though. He's never felt such heavy disappointment as believing in his safety on Earth with every inch of his being and then waking up to 20 seconds ticking down to the end of everything.

14... 13...

Tony's lungs fought hard for air. It hurt to breathe. He was sick of his own sad gasps filling the silence around him. His head was starting to feel light. His eyes couldn't focus. His body was too weak to move, save for his fists that he clenched in discomfort as the struggle for air became more and more a losing battle. His heart was beating fast with the panic that arose from the lack of something so necessary. He was scared.

No, he was terrified.

What would Pepper think of him when he didn't return? After he promised to always come back to her? He promised her a wedding and all she would get would be a funeral. That is if they ever found his body.

I'm sorry, Pepper. I'm so fucking sorry.

6... 5... 4...

Tony felt his eyes get heavy. The air was gone now. There was nothing. It was the strangest thing to not be underwater but unable to breathe. Everything was still.

1... 0...

Stark's body resisted a bit, his chest convulsing and begging for the sweet release of breath, but soon a tiredness set in and the torturous segment of initial hysteria was over. His muscles went lax and his mind drifted as if he was at peace... Yeah. Sure.

Closing as slowly as ever, his eyes took in the last thing he'd ever see- the same thing he had been staring at for almost 2 weeks. Loneliness. Failure. And a bunch of fucking stars.

He thought of the people he loved in his head one last time, trying to save so many memories for... Whatever was next. He didn't know. He just hoped he could take their images with him.

His fiance, his team, his pain-in-the-ass best friend... He said a thousand apologies and countless silent goodbyes.

Part of the journey is the end. His own voice echoed in his head again.

The end.

A tight pain in his side was the first thing that was noticeable. It wasn't killing him or anything. It was more of a dull ache accompanied by a subtle throbbing.

There were sounds- Earth sounds. Normal sounds.

His eyes fluttered open for a second but he squeezed them shut immediately. It was blinding and his head felt like it was being smashed in between two oncoming semis. He took this time to focus on what he felt instead: blankets weighing down on him, a pillow underneath his head, something sticking into the skin of his arm and... someone grazing their fingertips along his cheekbone so gently that he wasn't actually sure they were there.

Tony meant to say something cohesive, but it just came out as a quiet groan. The hand- well... he was guessing it was Pepper- raked through his hair gently before resting on the side of his face.

Stark decided to try again. He forced his eyes open and focused forward and there she was, lying on her side facing him with tears sneaking down her face. She broke into a smile and sniffed, quickly wiping her eyes with her free hand. She looked exhausted like something has been wearing on her for long before this moment.

"Hi." She whispered. He could hear the swell in her throat.

Tony knew he should reply- that was the right thing to do- but he had been through this so many times that he was kind of past formalities. Instead, he tentatively reached forward with a hand that didn't even feel like his. The pads of his fingertips just barely made contact with the skin of her face, tracing from her eyebrow down to her lips where he took time to fascinate himself with how vivid this all was... how cruel to be more specific.

It felt like he was being stabbed all over again, but not quite with the same effect. It just hurt him so badly to know that this was all he wanted but what he could never have.

"...you okay?" she asked, slightly amused and equally confused as he continued to explore the details of Pepper.

In his mind, he was thinking a thousand ways of marveling at how intensely his mind was trying to trick him, but it only came out as a half-mumbled "...so real..." from his lips. Pepper's eyebrows pulled together.

"What?"

Tony let his fingertips drop from her skin and instead he used all his strength to push himself forward and duck his head down. He pushed it against where her shirt covered her abdomen, nestling his face in the fabric. Pepper returned her hand to the mess of his hair on the back of his head, combing through. He sighed happily into her stomach and relished in the familiar feeling.

He might wake up on a spaceship suspended lightyears away at any minute, but that was later and now was now. Tony gave into what he truly wanted to do- just whole-heartedly enjoy the illusion.

"I'm going to get Bruce in here." She said, her voice strained like it got when she was stressed. Tony yanked his head up and caught her wrist in his hand before she could reach too far for her phone.

"No! No offense, he's great. He'd kind of ruin this though."

"Wh- Ruin what? Tony, you're acting weird-"

"Can we just-"

"-and I don't know what you're-"

"-go back to what we were doing before and-"

"No. No, Tony- Tony. Your brain was deprived of oxygen for a while and-"

"Don't- Don't do that."

"Do what?" Pepper demanded, obviously perplexed by his behavior.

"Trick me. Convince me."

It was quiet. Pepper stared at him with eyes in turmoil. They were frozen, studying each other. Tony was propped up on one elbow still, and quite frankly, it was killing him.

"You're scaring me and I'm calling Bruce."

"No! No..."

"Tony, I'm serious-"

"No, Pep. I'm serious. I can't do- I can't do this over and over. Believe this whole-heartedly and the- the- then wake up to-"

"Tony. Tony, hey." Pepper put her hands on either side of Tony's face and turned his eyes to her. She looked scared. He felt a tinge of guilt but he knew this routine. He's been through this dream at least twenty times before. "...you know this is real, right?"

Tony and Pepper looked into each other's eyes for a stretch of time. Hers begged him to be grounded again and he was sure his own were speckled with doubt. Finally, he was the one to break it.

"Can we please just lay down again?" he asked tiredly, dropping his arm so he could go relievingly limp on the bed again. He would admit he felt more of a pounding pain and nausea than in his usual illusions. Pepper didn't let him relax for more than half a second. She pulled him back up into sitting position.

"Listen to me! Hey- you almost died Tony. They got to you a few minutes after the oxygen ran out and- We can talk about it later, okay? But you're home, I promise."

"No. Okay, because as soon as I believe that I'll wake up on that piece-of-shit ship. Starving, dehydrated, bleeding internally- sometimes externally- and nothing to look at but the fucking timer hanging a rapidly decreasing number over my head, counting down to the second where I won't be able to even imagine you anymore-"

"So what? Your plan was just to give up?"

Okay, things were getting more heated than he had intended.

"My plan is to realize that we failed. I failed. That- that nightmare... The one I kept having for 6 fucking years. It's real. It's now. The Doc's gone, Thanos is gone, and the- the kid... I know there's only half of an Earth to even come home to as if it was even the slightest bit plausible that I'd be able to make it. I don't know if there's even a "you" to return but if there is I know you'll be okay. I know you'll be okay without-"

Pepper suddenly stood up out of the bed, stopping him cold in the middle of his rant. He realized he was gripping the sheets in his fist tightly and his breathing was fast. Mostly, Tony was focused on his fiancé whose face suddenly went white. Her expression dropped to numbness and her eyes glazed over.

"I need to step out." She said quietly. She turned quickly and walked out while pulling her hair up into a ponytail. Before she even got her hairband off of her wrist, she was gone. Tony was left alone.

...That... wasn't normal. What she was claiming though... It wasn't possible.

Right?

Out of all the times he envisioned lying in bed with Pepper in his arms, why would this one be the one that stuck?

Shit. Shit. He fucked this up, didn't he? God, his mind hurt. A lot of things hurt and that was another thing that made him think that maybe... maybe this wasn't as unbelievable as his rational mind would have him believe.

Either way, he just really upset his girlfriend and he hated that idea whether it was in a dream or not.

Wincing, Tony yanked the IV out of his arm. With gritted teeth, he eased himself onto his feet and took a quick step towards the door...

...and just as quickly hit the floor. A rush of nausea gripped him tightly and refused to let go. His head split open in pain and the wound in his side twisted into an agonizing knot. His body hitting the hard ground didn't do him any favors either.

Still, Tony pushed himself up despite everything. He squeezed his eyes shut until nausea subsided enough to stand again. Now, more slowly, he made his way out of the medical bay.

He made it to the hallway. It all looked the same as he left it. That fact that he hadn't "woken up" yet if this was, in fact, a dream, well... that was something.

He walked past the gym, the pool, the downstairs bathrooms and-

The giant living room- the giant living room full of Avengers to be more specific. Familiar faces and weird, new ones... they all turned to watch him stumble into the room. There were about half-a-dozen of them in there. Instantly Tony recognized Natasha, Rhodey, Bruce... Uh... Was that a... was that a raccoon?

Then Cap. His eyes froze on his friend's (if that's what he could call him still). They locked gazes for a while, Cap sitting with his stupid-straight posture and Tony standing behind the big "L" couch while clutching his side.

"Interrupting, am I?" He muttered, breaking his gaze with Steve and noticing the awkward atmosphere of the room. No one answered, but he wouldn't have paid attention anyway. This was all a lot to process and it wasn't helping that the walls were getting tighter. A familiar feeling gripped his chest.

Are you kidding me? Now?

"Tony... Hey, man. Are you- You doin' okay?" Bruce spoke up. Tony swallowed thickly and gripped the couch in front of him. Something heavy fell onto his shoulder, making him jump. He looked up to see a face he hasn't seen in a long time.

"Stark." The deep Asgardian bass filled the air. The surprise of the god towering over him actually scared the impending panic attack away. Tony didn't even know that was a thing.

"Thor." Tony finally managed. He turned his attention back to the room, trying to focus on what was most important at that moment. "Has anyone seen Pepper?"

More quietness. Then...

"She's not with you?" Rhodey asked. Tony took a stuttering breath and ran his hand through his tousled hair.

"Fuck..." he whispered under his breath. He was starting to feel like he was going to have to believe it this time. So if this was real, then he just screwed it up big time. Spouting self-deprecating BS about his death acceptance was probably not something Pepper wanted to hear after finally getting him back from space after a couple of weeks. If he heard Pepper say anything remotely close to "you'll be okay without me", he'd freak too.

Tony was aware of the eyes on him as he stumbled out of the room, but his mind was set on Pepper and only Pepper. Where did she go?

He found her outside on the third-floor patio. She sat on the ledge of the large balcony, looking out on the landing field. He watched her through the glass doors as he approached before pushing through into the fresh air.

Holy Jesus, he's never felt something so amazing. It was warm but not hot out and there was the most amazing breeze... The setting sun was casting an orange glow over everything and the trees made sounds, the birds made sounds, the wind made sound...

It was good to be home, to say the least.

As soon as Tony took a moment to appreciate being outside, he was distracted by what Pepper was holding. She had a small box in her hand and was pulling out-

"Woah! Hey, what the hell?" Tony rushed forward and dropped to one knee, yanking the box of cigarettes out of her hand and chucking it over the side of the building. They watched it tumble three stories down.

"Hey-"

"Don't 'hey' me. What the fuck is that about? I thought you haven't smoked since after college." Tony slurred out quickly, not at all expecting this. It was such a minor part of her life in the grand scheme of things, but she had mentioned how hard it was for her to quit after smoking throughout highschool and college- a bad habit she picked up from her Mom.

He turned to shoot Pepper a confused-with-slight-accusation look but noticed how red her eyes were. She turned away and wiped her face quickly. Stark shifted his weight cautiously to ease himself to sit next to her.

"Yeah." She answered, sniffing afterward. "But then aliens took over, my fianceé ran away in a spaceship, half the world disappeared and I was starting to think you weren't ever coming back so... I was trying everything."

She and Tony sat side by side but it felt like they were still lightyears apart. That was his doing, he knew it. He didn't blame her for feeling hurt by his lack of faith or effort in returning to her, but he also didn't entirely blame himself. As far as he could remember, he was as good as dead. How they managed to find him he had no idea.

Right now, it didn't really matter.

He gave it a few more seconds before he couldn't take it anymore. Leaning into her shoulder, Tony threw his arms around Pepper's waist, burying his face in the place where her neck met her shoulder. He breathed in deeply and sighed in relief. There was something about when he finally made long-awaited contact with her that lifted every weight that sat on his chest.

Thankfully, she turned to press a kiss on the top of his head. She wriggled her arms free of his hold and wrapped them gently around his shoulders. One of her hands lightly made circles over his back, sending chills through his body.

"You're probably tired of hearing it, huh?" he asked, his voice slightly broken with guilt.

"What?" She asked, just as quietly.

"I'm sorry."

Pepper gave it a thought. She half-shrugged with the shoulder he wasn't currently collapsed on.

"Doesn't hurt." she mused. Tony smirked into the skin of her shoulder, kissing up to her neck. He nuzzled and kissed her until he got at least one giggle. Tony couldn't count how many times he's used this tactic to make her feel better.

"I believe you." He finally whispered, laying back down on her shoulder and tightening his embrace.

As soon as the words fell from his lips, it hit him hard. He was home. He was safe. He was alive. He was holding his gorgeous bride-to-be who was also alive. Stark closed his eyes and shuddered. He had never felt relief like this, and there have been many occasions that called for relief after evading death throughout his lifetime.

"Yeah?" She asked. He heard a tinge of disbelief in there. "What changed your mind?"

Tony sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know... I mean, ultimately... I had so many dreams that I was with you again in every type of situation. Never though, would I ever willingly imagine you upset."

He felt Pepper's body relax under his touch. He shifted his head just a bit to be able to look up at her face. She glanced down at him and smiled a bit, rolling her eyes.

"You always know what to say to make me a sucker for you." She scoffed. Tony smiled and reached a hand up to brush away a few strand hairs from her face.

"I mean it." He defended. She caught his hand in hers and kissed the back of it before holding it in her lap. She brushed her thumb of his knuckles, studying his hand in silence for a good while. Tony closed his eyes again, nudging his head against her neck before going still and feeling his hand in hers and the wind on his back.

"You still don't fully believe it, do you?" She finally asked. Tony sighed.

"Okay, for the most part, I believe it. I want to fully be on the same page, I really do-" He said, finally starting to sound like his normal, slightly sarcastic and fully charismatic-self. "- However, there is a gun-wielding raccoon in our living room, Pepper."

Pepper laughed.

"Who's ship did you think you were on?"

"Not a woodland animal's."

"Fair assumption."

After that, things faded together. Not in a bad way- not in the hallucinogenic, deprived of everything in space way- but with the overflow of relief and long-awaited feeling of safety, sleep seemed like the next thing.

Tony drifted in and out for who-knows-how-long. He just knew by the time he returned from an illusionless sleep, it was nearly dark out and the breeze turned from warm and comforting to slightly cold and biting. Pepper was kissing the top of his head and playing with his hair to bring him back to the land of the living.

"As much as I want to stay out here alone with you forever, I'm not the only one who wants to make up for lost time." She said in a low voice. Tony groaned rubbed his eyes. He turned and kissed her collarbone. "Your team missed you, Iron Man." She continued, bringing up his face to hers with a hand on his jaw.

Pushing his forehead against hers, Tony leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. He tried to freeze time at that moment as if it were an option. What she said sounded good to him- staying with nothing but each other forever. But...

"And-" Pepper added, pulling back from him. "I think they found us."

Tony's eyebrows furrowed for a second before he turned to see what she meant. His friends and the newbies were all gathered there at the windows, Nebula included. When he made eye contact, their attention scattered as if they were never spying.

"They're like a bunch of needy kids," Tony mumbled.

"Oh stop."

Tony took a deep breath as Pepper stood, pulling him to his feet as well. She took his hand and interlocked their fingers. He got one more quick kiss on the cheek in before they started heading inside.

"Alright. Let's face the masses."

The next chapters will be alternate versions of Tony returning, rather than a continuation of this version. The next update, "I Got You", we follow Pepper in her rescue of Tony and their reunion in space.