Title: Light Within

Author: Shannon – shannyfish

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the "Iron Man" movies, any other Marvel movie, or its characters; Marvel and other people do. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: An unknown foe has managed to grab Tony Stark's attention, enough so that he calls on the Avengers for help. With the one person that he loves most in the world in jeopardy, Tony must surrender himself…and in turn be rescued himself. Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Warning: The POV will shift. Spoilers for all Marvel movies up to and including "The Avengers". Also, using creative license with a character from the Iron Man comics and Iron Man Armored Adventures Cartoon.

Author's Note: Constructive criticism is appreciated!

. . .

"Will you please just talk to me?" Pepper finally asked after two hours of them not speaking. The only others on the plane were the pilot and co-pilot. She was thankful that Tony hadn't decided that they needed flight attendants as well.

Tony looked from the window to her. "What's there to talk about? Besides…how incredibly awkward this trip seems now?"

"New York," she said quietly. She ignored his comment about being awkward. He was the one that was making it all so tense and awkward. Pepper hadn't turned him down; she just hadn't given him an answer.

"What about New York? Stark Tower has been reconstructed and it's fully operational…you know that," Tony told her.

Pepper sighed and stared at him. "I don't know everything that happened with the Avengers there… You have refused to tell me."

"You don't need to know everything Pepper," he told her quietly. "You know every detail of pretty much my whole life up until then…"

It was true. If there needed to be a biography done on Tony, she could write down his whole life story, maybe even better than he could. She knew things that he probably didn't remember because of his time partying a little too hard. "You've been different," she said instead of arguing with him. She wasn't sure if anything would put Tony's attitude back on track, but arguing definitely wouldn't.

"I know."

Pepper just stared at him. She had thought that he probably didn't realize he'd been acting differently. He almost looked sad. "You propose…but you won't tell me what happened in New York. I need to be able to be in your life…as your wife, not as your assistant, Tony. I want to be here for you."

"It's not that I don't want to share my life with you, Pepper," Tony explained. "Let's face it. You've been the closest person in my life since you came to work for me. You know me better than anyone." He paused for a moment. "And you're out there… People know your name…"

"Well, I was CEO of Stark Industries," Pepper told him.

"And then there's the tabloids."

"I'd prefer they know me from the first."

Tony nodded. "I know. I never wanted to expose you to that ugly world, Pepper. I don't want you to be a target of any kind. If I could get the media to leave you alone, believe me, I would."

"I can handle them," Pepper assured. It wasn't like she hadn't been handling the media for years now. It had been part of her job, so now it was no different for her except she was trying to keep herself out of the spotlight. That was actually pretty hard when you were dating Tony Stark/Iron Man.

"You shouldn't have to."

"I've dealt with them on all of your other previous manners for so long, Tony," Pepper said. "It's not anything new. I still want to help, you know…"

"And what happens when someone tries to hurt you?" Tony asked. "Because of me?"

Pepper stared at him. "What happened, Tony?"

Tony had told her that he'd been safe when she'd been watching the news on the jet. She'd missed his call and felt guilty, but he'd sworn that he'd been fine. That he'd just wanted to check to make sure she was in a safe place. He'd told her that Coulson had died. He hadn't gone into details; he'd just made sure that she knew that he'd died a hero. And she'd believed it. She knew Phil Coulson, at least better than Tony, and she knew what kind of heart he had even when Tony didn't like that she knew his first name and chatted with him.

"I've seen evil. Evil in people and evil in this universe," Tony started. "I've seen the evil that lived inside of me—"

"Tony—"

"No, let me finish," he told her. "I don't know how you put up with me for all those years… But Pepper, you've experienced so much danger because of me…because of Iron Man. Obadiah Stane and Ivan Vanko. I am so thankful that Justin Hammer, himself, isn't a dangerous man on his own. I also am so very thankful that you weren't at Stark Tower during all the fighting…" Tony stopped for a moment. "Phil died…he died trying to protect us all. Loki killed him. He was the true hero…but his death united the Avengers… We were something he believed in and so we tried to prove his faith in us." He was quiet for a moment again and bowed his head. "Every night…I have nightmares… Nightmares that you were in Stark Tower… That Loki or those aliens who came through the hole in the sky killed you…" He looked up and directly at Pepper. "Because you, Pepper Potts, are the one person in this world that I cannot live without…and I fear, that people know that… I fear, that I won't be able to protect you."

And though the events were not spelled out as a play by play, it was far more than what he'd given her before. It was enough. Pepper hadn't known about the nightmares. Every night, she'd wake and he'd be down working on some new spec for a new Iron Man model. She had just thought that his brain was in overdrive with figuring out the design aspects of it.

"I took that missile…and I made sure that it went up into that rift…and all I could think the whole time was 'At least Pepper is safe'. It was all worth it knowing that you were safe…even though I couldn't hear you tell me that. I knew you were in D.C. and not in New York."

"We can't have secrets," Pepper told him. She got up from her seat and moved towards him. "You have to promise me that. I need to know if there's a problem with the arc reactor. You can't not tell me that you're dying…or anything. I need to know these things. I want to help you, Tony…even if it's just sitting next to you and reminding you that it can be done." She gracefully sat down across his lap and rested her forehead against his.

"…I promise."

Pepper smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Their lips met, but turbulence pulled them apart. She didn't think anything of it and leaned in to attempt another, much longer, and more intimate kiss. Again, their lips touched and this time the kiss deepened for a moment…but only a moment before the plane lurched and there was a loud creaking sound.

"That didn't sound right," Tony said. The pilot or co-pilot's voice came over the loud speaker, but neither of them listened. They held onto each other as the jet rocked again.

"Tony—"

"I'm going to apologize for what I'm about to do later…" he said as he moved back to where the luggage had been loaded. He pulled out the Iron Man Armor Suitcase and started to pull it on.

He had promised, she had started to think, but she was honestly relieved. The rocking felt unnatural and Pepper wasn't sure what it could be. All she knew was that either way, it wasn't good. She found him relocating her to the back of the plane, shoving her into the lavatory and instructing her to sit tight and to keep the door locked until he came back. He used the intercom button nearby to instruct the pilots to lock themselves in the cabin as well. Pepper knew what this meant. He planned to open the door, which would depressurize the jet's main cabin. "Tony, be careful," she pleaded before he pulled the door shut and instructed her to lock it. She did it.

The jet rocked again and Pepper had put her arms out to try to hold herself in place in the middle of the lavatory. It had become hard to breathe and she wasn't sure if it was because the jet was depressurizing or if it was simply fear and worry. It seemed like an impossible amount of time had passed. The jet rocked twice more before it ceased. She waited, like Tony had told her. Occasionally she'd glance at the watch on her wrist. What felt like hours was only fifteen minutes. Tears fell from her eyes and she allowed sobs to wrack her chest. Her head spun with worry and 'what ifs'. Tony should be back by now, she told herself. This wasn't how she wanted to start their vacation…

A door was shut and she could hear and feel the jet's main cabin re-pressurizing. She waited with held breath. Pepper closed her eyes and tried to force herself to breathe. After crying, she found her chest screaming for some kind of relief.

"Pepper! Open up!"

A huge breath of relief pushed from her lungs. She pushed herself to her feet and slammed into the door in order to unlock it. Tears were streaming once again. She finally managed to get the door open and found herself in Tony's still armor clad arms before she could think.

"It's okay, Pepper…" His voice was quiet and calm.

"Are you okay? What was out there?" she asked quickly, a moment later. Pepper pulled back and started to look him over for any signs that the Iron Man armor had been damaged.

"I didn't find anything," he explained. He moved back and the armor started to automatically remove itself from his body and reconfigure itself into a suitcase form. "I got tossed around by something out there, too… I'm positive that it wasn't natural… But I couldn't find anything." He moved towards her again and reached out to pull her into his arms again. "Hey…hey… It's okay…"

"I'm not mad," she told him a minute ago. "That you brought the suit…"

He smiled down at her and then kissed her forehead. "I wasn't going to bring it, but then I had a bad feeling and couldn't bring myself to think of what could happen if I didn't have it along." He was quiet for another moment. "I am sorry I broke my promise though."

She reached out and put her hands on either side of his face and just stared into his eyes. "Let's not elope… Let's do it with a ceremony and everything… It doesn't have to be big… It can be small, you know, by normal people's standards…" Pepper told him. "I think we deserve it."

"Does this mean you're saying yes?" he asked with a huge smile.

"No," she teased. "But I will once you propose with a ring—"

"Do I need to be down on one knee?" Tony asked.

Pepper smiled. "I don't think it would hurt."

"I can't get the ring without you…" Tony told her. "You do all the shopping for everyone… All of the time. You always just bought your own presents… I just admired them."

Pepper blushed for a moment. She remembered the blue dress that was her birthday present from Tony from a couple of years ago. It was the night that they danced…that they almost kissed…and then Tony disappeared and ended up distracted by the journalist he'd slept with before that. A snarky one at that. "You know, I still remember that night."

"Too clearly for my own good," Tony told her.

"I want you to go out and pick the ring… I want you to propose—"

"Again?"

"Again," Pepper told him.

He made a face.

"I don't want us to regret the choices we make in our lives," Pepper told him honestly. "I don't want to look back and wish that we'd done things differently."

"Too late."

Pepper made a face at him this time. "Do you really want to explain how you proposed at the house to a journalist?"

"Do they really need to know?"

"It'll come up," Pepper promised. "Friends will ask."

"I don't have friends… I have you, Rhodey, Happy, JARVIS, and the suit."

Pepper frowned at him. "Maybe Natasha will ask you."

He stopped and was quiet for a moment, visibly thinking about it. "I suppose you're right… Though, she'd probably make some comment how it sounded like something I'd do and that you deserve better." Tony was quiet for another moment. "And you do. Pepper, you deserve everything in the world… If I could give you the stars in the sky, I would."

Leaning in, she kissed him. She smiled brightly at him. "I know you would…but leave them in the sky…" Pepper kissed him again. "Remember when we talked about taking time for moments? Let's do that. You've pointed out how short life can be. Let's live each day to it's fullest, Tony."

. . .

She woke up wrapped in his warm arms, enveloped in the soft pillowy blankets of the hotel bedding. Geneva was beautiful, but she didn't mind that they'd taken the opportunity to just sleep in and enjoy being together. She went to slowly and carefully slip out of bed unnoticed when she was pulled back into bed. Pepper giggled and allowed him to pull him back into his arms. She rolled over and rested her forehead against his chest.

"Can we do this every morning?" Tony asked.

Pepper looked up at him. "If you're still in bed when the sun rises," she told him. She reached up and stroked his cheek for a moment before pushing against him and placing a kiss on his lips.

Tony returned the kiss and held her even tighter. "This is so much better than spending my mornings in the workshop with JARVIS."

Giggling, Pepper rested her head on his shoulder and just enjoyed their embrace and the simple pleasure of being so close to him. The warmth and comfort of it was simple and yet it was mind blowing. It was like the world slowed down for that moment. "I love you," she whispered and turned her head and kissed his shoulder.

"I could really die a happy man waking up to you every morning like this," Tony told her again.

"Then let's promise, that no matter what…this will be what our mornings are like…"

"I feel like I'd have to block this in until at least noon everyday," Tony told her honestly.

"Stark Industries still needs both of us to do jobs, Tony. And then there's SHIELD—"

"SHIELD can wait!"

Pepper smirked. "Maybe noon on the weekends and seven all the other days."

"Seven? Can we make it eleven?"

"Seven."

"Ten?"

"Seven."

"Nine?"

Pepper smiled brighter. "Seven."

"Eight?"

"Maybe on Fridays…"

"Can we make it on Mondays instead?"

"Mondays it is," Pepper told him. She kissed his shoulder again. "You do realize that we came here not to just lay in bed all day…"

"I didn't plan on laying in it all day," Tony told her with a soft laugh and then kissed the side of her head.

Pepper rolled her eyes and pulled back a bit from him so that she could see his face clearly. "There's museums…and art…and—"

Tony groaned. "Can we do a less educational trip?"

"As long as it involves leaving the bedroom."

"I don't know why that's so horrible," Tony teased with a smirk.

"You do realize that I've never been here before and had free time," Pepper told him.

"No free time?"

"Sleeping doesn't count."

"Oh," Tony mused. "Well…I suppose we could do museums…"

"Why don't we talk to the concierge and see what activities might be suitable for us both," Pepper suggested.

"You know, maybe you should have been a diplomat."

"Then where would you have been now?" Pepper asked.

Tony thought for a moment. "Good point." He smiled and pulled her into a kiss before rolling, so that she was underneath him. "Maybe one is a better weekend time," he told her before assaulting her with kisses.

. . .

Pepper couldn't have asked for a better trip. She really did feel more relaxed and content with life. She really felt like things were finally falling into place for them. Tony had seemed happier…and maybe even genuinely relaxed.

"We should buy a house," Tony said. "Or maybe a castle. They have castles here, right?"

How nice it would be to have a house there. Though, it never seemed like they really had a time to have downtime. "Maybe next time," Pepper suggested. It was time to pack and she was actually quite sad about it. She wished that they could really take a bit longer to relax and be together there.

"I want us to make this a regular thing, Pepper," Tony told her.

"Vacationing?"

"Just us…"

"That means staying on task and having all of our responsibilities between Stark Industries and SHIELD taken care of before we take time for ourselves," Pepper reminded him. He was getting better about it, but she still very much remembered the old Tony. The Tony that would rather party and do things on his own time, which meant that she had to do them for him and make him do things he really didn't want to do.

Tony made a face. "I may be able to accept that challenge…"

Pepper smiled back at him. "We'll see then," she said. It didn't take them long to pack, though Pepper had wished that they really did have a valid excuse to take longer with their stay. They really were needed back, though. "Are you going to call up—"

"Already did, they should be here any minute," Tony told her.

"You know there's hardly any luggage," Pepper told him as she crossed the room and snuggled into his arms.

"You deserve to be spoiled, though," Tony told her before placing a kiss on her forehead. He rubbed her back and kissed her again, this time taking in her lips.

The knock at the door interrupted them and Pepper smiled up at him before taking a step back in order to be released from his arms. She let him answer the door, which was a nice change. Sometimes she found herself doing things she was used to, but a lot of times she told herself to wait a couple of seconds in order to see if Tony would do them. Their relationship was different and they were both still adjusting.

"Will you require a car as well, Mr. Stark?" the bellhop asked.

"Please," Tony replied.

Pepper just waited as the two bellhops collected the four bags and she watched as Tony retrieved the Iron Man armor case and waived the concerned looking bellhop off. He cuffed it to his arm, as they'd done in the past. Sometimes Happy was cuffed to it, but it was always to someone that Tony absolutely trusted.

"Ready, Pepper?"

She'd been distracted for a moment. One of the bellhops had caught her eye. Pepper tried to shake it off; she put it to the fact that the bellhop was a woman, which she normally didn't see. "Yes," she mumbled before she started to step towards Tony. The sound wasn't what scared her, it was her body collapsing to the floor and then realizing that she couldn't move her limbs that absolutely terrified her. She tried to form words, but they wouldn't come. Pepper was just relieved that she seemed to be able to breathe.

With no control over her own body, Pepper focused on what she could see. Tony had collapsed too. How she wished she could call to him or reach out for him. She couldn't. Movement caught her attention. Both of the bellhops were still moving.

"Are you sure we don't need them both?" the man asked as he dropped their bags.

"He only wants Stark," the woman said.

Pepper watched them as they both came into view, both standing over Tony. There were things they were pulling out of their ears, blue lights turned off a moment later before they stashed them. Familiarity sparked and she realized they'd been a Stark product that they'd pitched at one point. They'd made prototypes, but they never went to full production, she couldn't remember why.

"Though…I'll admit, if he were smart, he'd take Ms. Potts as well," the woman said.

Pepper watched as the woman stared down at her. A chill ran through her. Why was there familiarity with this woman? Of course, there was a rather long list of women that Tony had had…relations with and in turn, Pepper had needed to deal with them in the morning. She wasn't there for revenge though…she was there for someone else.

When the man found the key to the armor case and they unlocked it from Tony, Pepper worried more. Were they just after Iron Man armor? Did they think that it would fit just anyone? That JARVIS would respond to them? The woman took the case and the man picked up Tony like he was a small child. The man turned and headed out, while the woman stared down at her.

"I'm sure you're wishing you could scream right now," the woman said as she moved closer to her before crouching down in front of her, using the case to support herself. "Don't worry though, the effects of the sonic taser are temporary. Less than fifteen minutes now and you'll be able to call for help, but by then…your darling Tony will be gone. I'm afraid you won't be seeing him alive again," she said before reaching down and stroking Pepper's cheek for a moment. "Don't worry. I'll kiss him goodbye for you."

Panic was raging within her and Pepper wanted to scream and cry and run after them. Instead, she was forced to lie there on the floor at the will of her unmoving body. Those fifteen minutes…she already knew were going to feel like hours. They were in Switzerland…who knew where they were taking Tony? Who knew whom the bellhops really worked for?

"Ma'am?"

Pepper's heart raced a bit more at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. She felt fingers at her neck and a man's face appeared. He was checking on her and though she knew he really couldn't do anything to help, it was nice that someone had found it before she could move again.

"Can you speak? Are you hurt?"

She couldn't answer him. How she wished she could at least nod to him! So, she just lay there and tried to remember where she knew the woman. Pepper ignored the man and his yelling for help. It wouldn't help her anyway. She couldn't do anything except think. She knew that the first phone call she'd be making would be to Director Fury and hopefully they'd be able to get a picture of the bellhops turned kidnappers from the hotel. Pepper just hoped that Tony was okay and that they'd get to him in time. She didn't like how the woman told her that it was the last time she'd see him alive.

It wouldn't be the last time, she told herself.

. . .

TBC…