Title: Redesign This! (epilogue)

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Disclaimer: I don't own Pepper Potts or Tony Stark (although I wish I did), or any of the rights to Iron Man.

Pepper walked into the workshop. Tony sat with his back to her on the couch, the television talking monotonously as he worked on something at the table.

"I'm going home."

Tony didn't respond, and so as she came around to face him. He looked up, "Why don't you like her?"

"What?"

"Why don't you like her? You girls used to get along. What happened?" He seemed genuinely confused and earnest. Pepper sat down on the sofa arm, clutching her purse in front of her.

"She left, Tony, she left the company in ruins. That's not fair, no matter who you are, much less someone so close."

"You hate her because she did what she thought was right?"

Pepper sighed, but Tony stood up, "Does that mean you hate me? Because I did what I thought was right. I hurt the company and I put myself in danger."

"No!" She looked up at him, sensing the situation was getting away from her. She sighed, "I just, I don't know why. It's a woman thing, ok?"

He looked up past her, "No it's not."

"Tony," she watched him walk across the workshop, back up like an angry animal. He dropped the reactor he was carrying at one of the consoles. After a few taps he leaned back into the dental chair and reached down to remove the reactor in his chest.

"What are you doing?" Pepper was up and across the room in a moment, holding the glowing blue circle that a moment before had been keeping him alive.

"I'm replacing it. That one," he pointed to one roughly the same size, placed beside the console. Pepper picked it up to find it encased in a thin plastic sheeting so clear it was barely perceptible. She handed it to him.

He flipped it over and pulled the cord out to its full length. It was short, or shorter than usual, and as he reached into the socket to connect it to the base plate, it came up short. His hand couldn't reach. He looked over to Pepper, and then silently handed her the reactor.

She gently plugged to cord in and pressed the reactor into place, turning it clockwise and waiting for it to click.

"There's no goo."

"Yeah, the casing should prevent that now." He tapped on the circle to make sure it was in place, and then looked up at Pepper. "Thank you. I never say thank you, but I'm saying it now. Thanks."

Pepper smiled, and then blinked. "I don't hate her, it's just hard to have someone come back, after so long."

"Then I guess I'm lucky you never left." There was a hesitant moment when they stared at each other, this time with no one around. Pepper stood close by his chair as he reached out and took her hand. Pepper looked down at it as her face became red and after a moment she stepped gently away.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?"

"Yes Miss Potts."