"Good morning, Miss. Potts. It's cold outside, and the sky is cloudy, with high chances of rain throughout the day. I recommend you wear a coat and carry a umbrella with yourself, when you leave."
"Leave?" Pepper asked, groping the mattress and finding it empty. Then she opened her eyes and looked around.
"Cleaning and gardening teams are scheduled throughout the whole morning. So if you don't want to face the noise and mess, yes, you should leave."
"Tony?" The woman looked toward the bathroom, hoping that the man got out of there.
"Mr. Stark is out. He left as soon as you fell asleep." Friday confirmed what, deep inside, Pepper knew. Then the woman faced the empty part of the mattress, unable to stop thinking about the past. But she didn't let herself be shaken, because she was sure there was a good reason behind Tony's absence.

"Where is he?"
"Mission as Iron Man. I'm not allowed to reveal the location." Again, Friday confirmed what Pepper thought.
"Let me know when there's any news." She asked. Then got up, to get ready for another day of work.

…

The weeks dragged, and Tony spended his whole time on missions with Iron Man or Stark Foundation; at the laboratory in New York, having consultations with the therapist, or training with Vision; and when he was in Los Angeles, it was always in the workshop. He worked in new suits, Friday's update, in the development of vehicles that wouldn't need drivers, the search for Banner…

And then, people never saw him. Except in some missions, or while checking the progress of the reform of the Tower, which was finished in a few weeks, and the work of the new Avengers facilities, which not many months after the idea was born, was coming to it's last steps. On these occasions, he was seen walking through the halls, next to his girlfriend, always clean, well dressed and fed.

Who looked by far would never suspect, but Tony and Pepper's relationship was gradually crumbling. Tony had been spending more time with machines and the Avengers than with the woman, who no longer tried to get him to accompany her in anything other than revisions in the constructions or at a charity event or another.

Pepper even tried couple therapy, but gave up after Tony missed it a sequence of times; either because he had to go to Canada to put out a forest fire, prevent a terrorist attack in Russia, or because he was too focused on something that was creating and forgot the appointment.
There's no way to a couple therapy to happen if one of them is never present in the sessions. Then she would continue her individual therapy and he would continue with his.

Tony was also suffering with it. He missed being with the woman, and hated what was happening between them.
He loved her too much.
But the world needed his help that moment.

They had to find a way to conciliate their lives with Iron Man. It would not be easy, after all, with too closeness, Tony get the risk of losing Pepper. And being away... he get the risk of losing Pepper. But the two of them have been through a lot. It wouldn't be that stone in the middle of the road that they couldn't get over or kick it out of their way.

But he would never forget her. And he was always with something that remind him of why he was doing that, something that encourage him to keep working to make the world safe. So it was common to see him driving an orange car and wearing clothes or accessories that remind him home.

Meanwhile the months passed.

…

The state of New York is known for the lit, noisy, hectic and chaotic capital. But the New Avengers facilities were totally out of all of that.

A dirt road in the woods led to the place that used to be just an old shed. And getting there, what were most seen were soldiers running, jumping, paying pushups, or doing what they were ordered as part of their training.

Tony drove right to the underground garage, where he parked the car on the spot with his name, among a lot of vehicles prepared for missions, plus the ones owned by the officers and soldiers who worked there. Captain America's motorcycle was a few spots away.

He entered one of the buildings of the complex and found Rhodes en route to his training, then decided to follow him. But with ulterior motives, of course:
"Tony, It's no use insisting! I will not repaint my suit just because you're bothered!"
"So you're gonna let those drawings ruining the bodywork?"
"They are memories! Each of them represents a Ultron bot I destroyed. Is not because you are not nostalgic that I don't have to be either."
"Have you ever heard the phrase "Who lives in the past are museums"?"
"Have you ever heard the phrase "My Body, My Rules"?" Rhodes hit back. Then the discussion got interrupted when a man, leaving the cafeteria, ran into the two:
"Stark!"
"Dr. Selvig!" Tony said excited, and they greeted. "How long! Last time we saw each other, you were…"
"Getting recovered from a alien mental domination?"
"I was gonna say "with a few extra hairs.""

"Yeah... I'm getting old. And not in a charming way as you." He knocked on Tony's shoulder.
"Dr. Selvig, is a pleasure to meet you. I'm James Rhodes." The man introduced himself and they shook hands.
"So, what brings you here, so far from the land of the Queen?" Tony asked.
"Thor! I helped him a few months ago, and he offered me a job here. I accepted without thinking twice!"
"That's great! It will be great to have you in our team, Doctor..." Every single muscle of Tony tensed at the voice of Pepper behind him. "Thor's looking for you."
"It must be because of Jane…" Selvig sighed.
"What Jane has to do with it?" Tony asked.
"They broke up! I guess I shouldn't said that... Well, now it's late. It was a pleasure to see you, folks. Dr. Cho! I was just wanting to talk with you!" He called the woman when saw her, and together they walked down the hall.
"I need you to sign this." Pepper's smile was gone as soon as the man walked away. She handed a clipboard to Tony, who signed the papers without even reading them.
"What you're gonna do this weekend?" He returned the document. "Take a break, let's have a getaway. Cannes?"
"I can't. It's my mother's birthday."
"Can't you cancel?"
"You know I can't do this to her."
"Then ask her to go with us!"
"You really want my mom to be with us in a getaway?"
"Of course not."
"Then why are you asking me to do this?"
"I just want to spend some time with you!"
"I want it too! But I can't cancel with my mom on her birthday! I barely see her!"
"Guys…"
"Mind your own business, Rhodey!"
"James, haven't your training started 10 minutes ago?" The couple interrupted him at the same time.
"Fine…" He held up his hands in surrender.
"I gotta go. Maria is waiting for me." Pepper then turned around and headed for the elevator, being observed by the men.

"I think she's mad at you."
"I'll fix it."
"Will you?" Rhodes asked, before tightening his friend's shoulder and go on his way, leaving him alone.
Then Tony desperately ran to the woman.

"Pep! Pep!" She stopped walking and turned back as heard the call.
"Tony, you can be with me whenever you want, and we can go everywhere, whenever we want! Why it has to be exactly this wee..."

"You're gonna sleep here?"
"What?"
"You're gonna sleep here?"
"Maybe. Why?"
"Have dinner with me?"
"I'd love to…" She smiled, completely changing her mood.
"Great. I'll call you later. Now, about our vacations…"
"Vacations?" Pepper looked at him, serious.
"Hey! I'm trying to do something nice here!"
"And I'm listening…" The woman raised her eyebrows as said.
"Great. So, after we got beaten in Seoul, we took refuge at this Barton's farm, where we had to do everything, because it was literally just us and... Have I told you that he has wife and three kids?"
"No, but I already knew."
"Wait, how you…"
"Tony. Focus."
"Right. How about we buy a farm for summer?" He suggested, and the woman looked at him for a few seconds, not believing what she had just heard.
"The world is a mess...and you want to milk cows?"
"I didn't say that. But it must be... interesting." He said, and the woman rolled her eyes. "Pep, come on. Even the manual labor was interesting. Cap and I found some axes and fought over who cut more wood. I won, of course…"
"Right…" She smiled, knowing it was a lie.
"...And it would have been pretty relaxing, if there wasn't Ultron wanting to kill everyone on earth." He grimaced. "But now I can try to really enjoy it. With you."
"But what about Iron Man? And about everything that is going on? Do you think this is the right time for us to forget everything and get isolated in a farm?"

"And when will that be?" Tony asked. Then the woman thought for a few seconds.

"You're right. Ok... I think I can think about it."
"It's enough for me!" Tony responded, and had a stolen kiss.
"Now I really have to go." She warned and turned around.
"Okay." He pulled her back for another kiss. "Bye."
"Bye." She gave him a peck on the lips and runned away, before she got pulled again.
"I call you!"
"I'll be waiting!" She replied, having her back to him, and then entered in the elevator.

Pepper haven't notice, but as soon as she moved away from Tony, his watch showed a notification that made his smile disappeared, letting his face dark.

And she neither saw it when he ran to a chopper, not knowing when he would get back.

…

"Hey." He greeted her while entering the room, but only receive a crooked look. "I thought you were sleeping."

"It's hard to sleep not knowing where you are, and if you're alive or dead." She replied, blocking the screen of the starkpad that was in her hands." Are you gonna tell me where you were?"

"In a hospital in Norway." He said, taking off his coat and throwing it in an armchair. Then he walked to the bed, loosening his tie. "A young woman was in Sokovia that day, and as might be expected, she is traumatized by what she saw there. She has depression and panic attacks, and even tried to kill herself a few times, but failed. So yesterday, she tried again.

"She died?" Pepper asked horrified.

"No, but she fell into a coma." He sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. His curved back carrying the weight of the consequences of his actions. "The family thinks she's better that way. So she's not haunted by the images that had dominated her head and made of her life a hell. Hell that that I caused...

"Tony…" The woman dropped the starkpad in the pillow and crawled to the edge of the bed, to embrace him from behind. The man snuggled in her thin arms and allowed himself to enjoy the moment, since that was one of the few places that he felt good in. Then he closed his eyes and inhaled the pleasant smell of shampoo and perfume that were coming from her body.

"I wish I could say that everyone and everything will be fine. But I can only say that we are giving everything we have to help as many people as possible. We can help this young woman too."

"I'm already working on it." He hid the fact that the last thing the girl's family wanted was his help.

"Alright..." Pepper muttered, her lips in his hair. "We will continue doing everything we can, okay? Now look at me." She asked, and he turned his body, now facing her.

The woman was with a clean face, as well as her body. She should have recently left the bath, getting ready for the date that never happened. Her hair was dry, loose and a little messy, thanks to the pillow. She was wearing a black cotton shirt written E= MC² in front of her breasts and black and white checkered shorts.

Her eyes sparkled, revealing her happiness to have him alive at home, but worry and sadness were also present there, as well as the weak dark circles.

A little wrinkle of concern had presence on her forehead, and Tony wanted to kiss it, but not as much as he wanted to kiss her thin lips, that were more distant from him than he would like.

She was beautiful. And seemed to be fine, despite everything

But Pepper couldn't say the same of her partner.

Tony was elegantly dressed, as always. His clothes were clean, as well as his hair and mocassins, which were shining. His lips were smiling at the woman, but his eyes were sad. His strong dark circles snitched his extreme exhaustion, and his eyes reflected all pain and fear that they had ever seen. He was terrible, but, if asked, he would surely lie.

But he couldn't lie to her.

Pepper brought her face close to his and gently kissed his lips, but too soon, she back off. Tony yearned for more, especially in the first seconds after the end of the contact, but soon realized that that night he wouldn't get what he wanted.

"We're not gonna have sex tonight, right?"

"You change the subject so fast that sometimes I can't follow..." The woman put her hand to her temple, processing information. "And the answer to your question for now is "no", by the way."

"Why not?"

"Because we need to talk. We can't skip to the nice part and just ignore everything that's going on."

"I don't think we can ignore everything that is going on in the world."

"I'm not talking about the world, I'm talking about us. This..." She repeatedly pointed to both of them. "It is everyday harder. I wonder how you intend to spend summer in a farm with me, when you can't spend a single day without disappear on a mission or locking yourself in the laboratory..."

"Simple: I'll take vacations."

"You're never on vacations, Tony."

"This time I will!"

"Until something happens." She added. "You could never rest knowing that there are people out there needing you."

The man stared at her in silence, knowing that it was true. Then he sighed.

"I know... this is complicated; I am complicated. Ok? But we can fix that! My father was also a pain in the ass, and that never stopped him and my mother of…"

"We are not your parents, Tony..." She said, then noticed that the man was staring something behind her. "What?" She looked back and saw Vision near the wall. "Great..." She said, returning to her original position, then started looking to her legs.

"Sorry for the interruption, but Maria Hill want to talk to Miss. Potts. She is waiting in the living room."

"Ok, I'll go in a minute." Pepper looked at him aside. "Thank you, Vision."

"You're welcome."

"We need to have a conversation about privacy. And doors!" Tony added.

"As you want, sir." The humanoid nodded, then went back on the same wall that he came in.

…

Half hour later, after finally finish the emergency meeting with Hill, Pepper returned to Iron Man's dormitory, finding Tony snooping into her starkpad.

"Have you spoke to Vision?" She asked, hanging the robe.

"Don't worry, he will no longer invade our privacy again."

"What you're doing is also privacy invasion, did you know?"

"You have some interesting ideas here..." The man ignored her comment. "September Foundation..."

"Yeah, sure; Now give me the starkpad, please." She asked with outstretched hand.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked, handing over the object. The woman then blocked it's screen and left it on the bedside table, before sitting on the bed. "We can have a conversation, if that's what you want."

"Tony... I just wanna sleep without discussing with you once again." Pepper pulled the sheets and looked at the man beside her, tired.

"Okay."

"Okay..." She lay with her back to him and turned off the lamp. Then she felt Tony do the same, and the silence filled the room for a few minutes. Until she herself spoke again:

"I'm gonna use my name in September Foundation."

"Makes sense. If you use my name, people will think of me. And that spotlight is yours. Besides, I owe you this since Stark Tower."

"Yeah..." Pepper weakly smiled, remembering the 12% discussion they had many years ago; at a time when the world's biggest problem was Thor and his aliens friends and enemies destroying a town in New Mexico. If they knew what was coming...

"I'm sorry for not showing up again. And for being a complete asshole." Tony said, looking at the shining stars in the view of the sky provided by the huge suite window. Seconds later, he felt an arm and a leg engaging his body, and soon he became locked in a hug.

"You're not an asshole. You are a good man, who cares about people. And is upset with everything that's going on."

"Even because it's my fault."

"Mulling this thoughts over won't make any good. What we have to do now is to keep helping those who need help. But not only the victims of Sokovia, Seoul, and all other places hit by Ultron. I'm talking about people in general. There's so many bad things going on... it would be nice if everyone had a reason to smile, a motivation to move on..."

"So that's the reason of the September Foundation?"

"Yes..."

"I love you, know? " Tony asked. Then Pepper lifted her face to look him in the eyes.

"I love you too." She said. And then warmly sealed her lips to his.

"So let's do this. It won't erase people's memory, but it can be a motivation to go forward."

"It would be great if we could do this. Change our memories, remove all the trauma... We would have spent much less with therapists." Pepper raised her eyebrows and gave a peck on his lips, before leaving him and settling in her sleeping position. "Good night, Tony."