A/N: My thank you's to those who reviewed/followed/favourite this story, that means a lot for me, guys!

Tony Stark stood in front of his wall length mirror, his hands falling limply by his sides as he smoothed them down his suit jacket for what was the fifteenth time in a matter of minutes. He wanted it to be perfect, he wanted himself to look impeccable because he knew that was how Pepper would have wanted him to look. He knew that if she was watching him from wherever she was, she'd want him to look as a winner even if inside he felt as anything but a winner. He gave a sigh and held up his head, the cold expression taking over his face once again as he stepped out of their, or rather, his bedroom.

He saw the Avengers lined up with their backs to the newly repaired wall of windows, all of them, even Thor, dressed in black. He could see the pained look on Bruce's face and the guilt that was shadowing his eyes. The only thing Tony wanted to do at the moment was to shout at him and tell him that it wasn't his fault that Pepper died, to tell him that it was already too late when he got there as himself. That everything was too late, but the words seemed to die in his throat. He saw Bruce's eyes peer up to him and his head moving a little to what seemed as a nod.

Beside him, was the one and only, Natasha Romanoff. Her usually cold and emotionless face was long gone and he could see the sadness in her eyes. During the years he worked with the team and SHIELD, Pepper and Natasha grew quite fond of each other, and by fond that meant they were together most of the time. He saw her open her mouth to speak, probably to give him her condolences but he saw Clint nudging her side then simply shake his head. Probably he understood Tony's pain and knew that condolences won't bring his Pepper back.

Thor was the only one that moved out from the row, he didn't had Mjölnir in his hand as he used to and Tony supposed that he had left it somewhere in the Tower. Or that he lost it somewhere in the battle, not that Tony cared about it. He felt the God's rough and heavy hand place itself on his shoulder and he released a sigh, patting his friend's arm with a hand.

"Mr. Stark," The captain was the first to speak and the second to step out from the row. Tony couldn't help but notice the dark coloured military jacket the blonde wore. It seemed that Pepper's death affected everyone on the team, or rather, his grief affected everyone in the team. That made a positive thought form in the engineer's brain. He wasn't alone after all, he still had his adoptive and weird family with him.

"Captain," Tony acknowledge with a curt nod as he made his way past the blonde and toward his other team-mates. He opened his mouth to speak when he heard a loud hit, as if someone stormed inside the Tower with such a ferocity that the whole building shook. Tony was the first to turn his head in the door direction, only to be faced by an extremely confused, panicked and worried James Rhodes and a just as confuse Happy trailing behind him.

"Tones, tell me that none of that is true." Rhodes demanded, jabbing his finger toward the windows of the Tower. That made Tony close his eyes and purse his lips together as he thought of how he could put it right for his friend. How could he tell it in a right way that their common best friend, and girlfriend in Tony's case, was dead?

"Rhodey," Tony managed to choke out and his voice tone was enough for Rhodes' eyes to widen until the whole team thought that they were going to get out from their place. "I can't lie to you." Tony added and placed a hand under his chin as he blinked away the tears that threatened to fall once again.

"That means...Pepper is dead?" Happy was the one who spoke this time and his answer was a group nod from the team.

Tony felt the world crash over his shoulders once again, and as if Rhodes was reading his mind, he felt his friend's arm wrap around his shoulders soon enough to hide the way they fell. Rhodes glanced down at his shorter friend who nodded too, as if he confirmed what the team stated with a mere nod. He could feel a sharp pain in his chest but he knew that he had to be strong for his best friend. No one, aside from Pepper, knew Tony more than he did.

Tony stood in that awkward position for a few moments, Rhodes' arm draped around his shoulders firmly and his head low, his almond eyes staring at the floor. As soon he felt his feelings get under control, he tapped Rhodes' arm in a friendly manner and turned to face the team. The looks on their faces was unbearable and if it was a better situation, he would have shouted at them to stop staring but he couldn't do that, not when he needed all the support in this world.

"Come on, guys," He stopped to clear his throat and clasp his hands together. "let's get that done."

The limousine stopped in front of one of the largest, and still intact, conference building from New York. The same building he came to when he was rescued from Afghanistan or when he announced that he was Iron Man. What a mistake he did back then. Maybe if no one knew who Iron Man was then Pepper wouldn't be dead right now. Or she would, because from what he knew, those aliens didn't had TV channels on their planet.

The whole team got out from the team with Tony following short behind. He could hear, somewhere in the distance, voices of his fans, screaming his name among other words. He simply flashed a peace sign then lowered his gaze to the ground as the flashes of the journalists cameras went straight in front of his eyes. He could hear, and feel, Thor and Clint move at both of his sides at the sight of him lowering his gaze. His team, his family, was there, always up to protect him.

He sighed with relief when he stepped inside the cool room where the press conference was held. He could see a huge, long, table in front of the many seats that were occupied by numerous journalists and photographers. Cameras were pointing everywhere, and he could feel the discomfort of his friends at the sight of them. It was another thing that made him feel safe, it was that they came to a press conference, revealing their identities to the public only to be by his side.

He could see the chairs that were behind the table, six, just enough for them. He noticed that Clint choose to sit the first, and from experience, Tony knew that he was doing it to can watch everyone that was around the room and be ready to attack in case it was needed. Right beside him, was Natasha, her face cold and unreadable just as it was the first time he met her. He couldn't help but notice that Bruce sat next to her too, just as he stood in line at the Tower. The other thing that made him look at Bruce was that the man looked a bit too green for Tony's liking. The engineer hoped that he won't Hulk out right there.

Tony choose to sit next to Bruce, in the middle of the table, with Thor following suit and occupying the seat that was beside him only to leave the Captain to sit at the other end of the table. He reached with a finger to tap the microphone that was in front of him, leaning on his elbows before clearing his throat slightly enough to gain attention from the mass of journalists but Natasha got the word first.

"I assure you that this press conference won't take too long of your precious time, but, Mr. Stark there needs some attention." The whole room froze at the assassin's words and glare. "Thank you." She nodded in Tony's direction and leant back in her seat.

"We are here today, to announce the loss of yet another great person, along the other victims of the war," Tony began and he felt Bruce's hand squeeze his arm under the table. "You have known her as the personal assistant of the Stark Industries CEO and later, as a CEO herself. I've known her as Pepper Potts, the woman and not the assistant. This is why I'm here today, is to announce that," He paused again and drew in a deep breath. "Pepper Potts died last week, during the attacks over Manhattan."

As soon the words escaped his lips, the whole room jumped to their feet. The cameras were blinding him with their flashes and he could see that it did the same to the others as well. He caught sight of Clint leaning over the table and grabbing his microphone with a huff. Apparently those journalists were just annoying for the archer as they were for him.

"And now, if you will excuse us." Clint said sharply, standing up and going straight to Tony's side. He whispered something in the engineer's ear then placed a hand on his arm as Tony stood up from his chair.

"The real heroes are among us. Phil Coulson and Pepper Potts were two of them. Rest in peace." Tony mumbled in his microphone then removed the ear piece from his ear and placed it on the table as he felt Thor and Clint escort him outside and straight inside the car. Once he was alone in the car, the engineer gave a short sigh, not knowing that the worst part was just going to begin.