Well hi again! And happy almost 235th birthday to my home country! This is my favorite chapter, see if you can figure out why. Hint: it may or may not have to do with Tony busting up someone's face... but whatever. :) Enjoy!

Chapter 10:

Tony felt like a creep. Here he was, sitting in a car across the street from his ex girlfriend's house, waiting. He turned on the radio to give his some vague reason of stopping on this very street. He pushed a button and went to his favorite station. The radio blared in a melancholy tune.

"I wish I was special, You're so fucking special, But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo, What the hell am I doing he-?" Tony switched the radio off. Technology hated him today.

He glanced at her house and noticed the front window was open. He couldn't help but stare at the happy couple in the window. Pepper had a bowl of ice cream in her hands. Tony winced as memories of shared ice cream came flooding back. Her expression didn't look happy though… it looked… anguished. She appeared to be hearing something unsavory from her companion. Suddenly her expression shifted to that of rage and her hand reached out and slapped him full on the face. Tony tried not to be too satisfied. She was apparently giving him a piece of her mind. The guy rubbed his cheek. Tony almost rubbed his in sympathy. Pepper could slap pretty hard when she wanted to. He almost felt bad for the guy... almost. Her expression changed to that of sadness while the man-friend's switched to an almost reprimanding look. He was telling her off for slapping him? He probably deserved it, the prick. She closed her eyes briefly but when she opened them, she looked... resolved somehow. Tony was staring so intensely out the window that when a tired looking man walked by with his dog, he jumped violently. That earned him a strange look from the man who discreetly pulled out his cell. Great, that was all he needed, to be caught by the police creeping on a woman he was supposed to be over. He was about to take off. She didn't deserve this. Tony had just started up the engine when suddenly, the man grabbed her wrist. Tony's blood ran cold. Everything slowed down. The man's hand reached up and struck her across the face. Tony nearly took the door off of the car, leaving it running. In no time, Tony was out of the car, across the street, up the stairs, and kicking the front door in.

Pepper didn't know what to do. Her lip was bloody and her wrist hurt from bruises, already forming. Matt was ranting about her stupidity and Tony's arrogance. She didn't know what went wrong! First, he was mildly upset, but somehow… he had snapped. She knew Tony would never had done this to her. Speaking of Tony…

Pepper would give anything to see him again. Even if he didn't love her, his face would be the biggest comfort right now. There was a thump at the door, Matt froze. Pepper kept her eyes closed. If it was the police, they would find her and arrest Matt. Another thump, seriously, the door wasn't deadbolted! Low cursing was heard outside. She heard the whine of something laser-ish charging. The door blasted open and Pepper heard herself scream.

Pepper heard a scuffle behind her and male grunting. If it was the police, they would have made themselves know. It sounded like two men. 'Great' she thought, 'Just what I need. TWO men taking their anger out on me.' She closed her eyes tighter, not wanting to see her fate. Matt yelped, a thud sounded outside, and there was silence. She opened her eyes fractionally but when she heard a slightly winded voice she shut them again.

"He's not allowed to touch you like that. Nobody is allowed to touch you like that." Well that sounded just like… she opened her eyes.

Tony.

She got up and stared at him, he stared back, nervously.

"I'm sorry Pepper, I was just- er- driving by and I just happened to be driving by when that happened. I'm so sorry. I'll... I guess I'll just... leave now, then. Er... bye." He took a step towards the door but she stopped him. A gentle hand on his wrist. He turned.

"Thank you for saving me." He smiled and replied,

"I'm a superhero, it's kind of my job." A moment passed with only the silence between them, both staring at the ground nervously.

"How'd you get the door open?" Tony held up his hand, sheepishly. It was encased in the travel version of the Iron Man gauntlet he had been perfecting over the last month. Pepper rolled her eyes and wiped the blood off her lip. Tony eyes changed to blackest black as he saw her injuries. Tony had to look away before he got angry again. Pepper went to get a rag to clean up with. When she returned, Tony was on the phone with the police, giving them Matt's general description. He was also studiously ignoring Pepper's silent plea to let it go. When he was on hold, he turned to her.

"No, Pepper, I will not let it go. He hurt you. You can hate me all you want but do not ask me to let this go." That shut her up pretty quick. Instead she busied herself with straightening out the rubble that was now her front door. As soon as Tony was through he sat on Pepper's couch and rubbed his forehead. His other arm lay across the back of the couch. Pepper noticed that he had changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Pepper remembered that she was still in her gown... and it still held traces of her blood. The police would want it, she thought, as she excused herself to change into something more comfortable. She decided on a tank top and yoga pants. She hung her dress up in her closet and headed back to the living room.

"By the way, Tony. How exactly did you find out where I lived? I know I told you the address once, but did you just remember it or-?" She paused. Tony was standing in the kitchen looking into the trash can with a dejected look on his face. Pepper's blood ran cold. She knew what was in the trash that he was probably looking at. After her "nightmare" she had taken the picture of herself and Tony by her bed and threw it away. She remembered the half-satisfied, half-miserable feeling that coursed through her when she tossed it. She felt like an absolute bitch now. She didn't know what to say.

"Tony... I-" He looked up, eyes a little red. He quickly plastered a smile on his face that didn't fool Pepper for a minute. His voice was straining and fighting to stay in control. He was breaking inside.

"So, yeah. The police are on their way to sort this out. I don't feel comfortable leaving you here with your door smashed in so... I can put you up in a hotel for the night or... you could stay with me?" He seemed to tack the last option on as a hope that she would stay nearby. She didn't want to hurt him anymore. Staying close by would only lead to hurt for the both of them...

"No, no. Thanks, but I'll just go to a hotel. I don't want to be a bother." He couldn't believe it. She thought she would be a bother? He hoped maybe they could sit and talk for awhile. She didn't even want to stay near him. He was breaking down. He nodded, briefly.

"Ok, well, put it on my card... I'll just... yeah, I'd better go." He quickly walked from the room. He wasn't exactly aware of opening his car door and sliding in. He sat in his car for a moment. He felt like an idiot. He knew it wouldn't fix things, but did it make him a bad person for wanting her to jump into his arms after saving her? Any other girl would. No, he thought, wryly, Pepper wouldn't. And to be honest, he wasn't sure he wanted her to. He had to get her back, there was no question about that. With no potential boyfriend in the picture, things might run a bit smoother now, as well. He turned the key in the ignition. At least they were on speaking terms again... he sped off, not noticing the redhead standing in the window, watching him with remorse. He would never know how much she was kicking herself for not taking him up on his offer to stay with him.

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