The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know!
In the past days, I've been thinking about this story very much and I am not sure if it will really reach 100 chapters in the end. I'll have to think of the plot for the next chapters first. So don't be disappointed if we just reach 90 or something like that.
I also have to warn you that I won't be able to update that often anymore in the next weeks/months. Tomorrow, I'm starting something new and I don't know how much time for writing will be left then. It can be enough, but there's also the possibility that I'll just be able to write on the weekends again. I can't say it yet, I'll have to wait and see how things will turn out.
I don't own the characters or places!
Even after many hours, Tony and Bruce weren't able to find the reason for his new found strength. The Extremis wasn't in his blood anymore. Now they were looking for possible metabolites, but that could still take some time. After all, no one knew how that substance was metabolised and what it could do with the other substances in the body.
It was infuriating. Tony hated problems he couldn't solve. Steve and Bruce tried to calm him down, but it didn't work. In the end, they decided to go to the gym again and test how strong Tony was exactly. The results were scary. He was just as strong as Steve now!
Of course he could live with that if there weren't any other side-effects, but he didn't want to be super strong. He was just Tony. Normal, except for his intellect. He solved problems with the head and his suit, not with strength of the body.
In the end, they decided to quit searching for the day. It was already late in the evening when the three of them went to the kitchen to grab dinner. The others weren't there anymore. Most probably, they already went to bed. There was a note on the kitchen table.
Dinner in the fridge, Nat
"I love her." Bruce muttered when they found that the others had ordered Chinese.
"She's awesome." Tony agreed.
After they'd eaten, they decided to go to bed as well.
"Where will you be sleeping?" Steve asked when Bruce was gone. "I mean, since you and Pepper...?"
Tony sighed. "There are enough guest rooms." He muttered. "I don't like it, but I'm also not sure if she wants me there."
Steve raised his eyebrows. "You need to talk."
"I know." Tony agreed reluctantly. "But not tonight."
The next morning, Tony was in his lab and worked on Peter's new suit. They were still waiting for the results of the new scans concerning the Extremis, so he thought that he could also use the time. Next to that, he was keeping an eye on the activities of a certain director of SHIELD. However, it didn't look like he and Steve could go there in the next days.
He was just thinking of the new colours – the red had been a little too bright until now – when someone entered the room. However, Tony didn't look up. "Are the scans finished?" He asked, assuming it was Bruce.
"Honestly, I don't know." When he recognized Pepper's voice, Tony froze. He'd expected anyone to come here except for her. He turned around slowly just to find her looking at him with a small smile on her lips.
"I wouldn't expect you to." He answered slowly. "What are you doing here?"
"Do I need a reason to see you?" She asked.
"No, but after everything..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Tony, I'm worried." There was concern in Pepper's voice. "Did you find something yesterday?"
He shook his head. "Nothing." He muttered darkly. "We're still on it, though. It's driving me crazy!"
"I can imagine." Pepper said with a frown. "I really hope you can solve this problem soon."
"Yeah, me too." Tony agreed. He looked at Pepper more closely and noticed that she was dressed far too formal. "You'll have to work soon?"
She nodded. "That's also a reason why I'm here." She admitted hesitantly. "You know that I actually wanted to go to LA last week."
"You'll be leaving?" He concluded and tried to keep the smile on his lips. It was true. Actually, Pepper had to go to LA the previous week since a few things had to be dealt with at SI. However, she stayed at the tower after everything that happened with Tony.
Again, Pepper nodded. "This afternoon. Happy's coming with me if that's alright."
"Why shouldn't it be?" He asked and raised his eyebrows.
"Well, he also spends lots of time with the kid, so I wasn't sure if he's needed here." He hated how insecure she sounded when she said this.
"It's fine." Tony said simply. "We'll be alright here."
Pepper smiled slightly. "What will you be doing?"
"Next to searching a solution for my problem?" He shrugged. "I'm working on the new suit for Peter and there are a few more things I need to fix. Next to that, I have to accompany the kid to school soon, there's this family day. You might remember, he asked me since he... well, you know." He grimaced when he thought of Peter's parents. "And there's something Steve and I have to deal with."
"So you'll be quite busy." She said after looking at him for a few moments in silence.
He nodded. "Yeah, you could say it like that. And you?"
This question seemed to take her by surprise. "You never ask what I'll be doing at work." She noted suspiciously.
Tony grinned. "It's good that I can still surprise you after all those years." However, he got serious again very fast. "Don't stress yourself. And call me if there are problems. Then I'll come."
Would now be the right moment to talk to her about the pregnancy? He knew that he had to apologize. And somehow, he knew that they wouldn't see each other for some time when she left now.
"Pepper, about the other night..." He started hesitantly and just like that her relaxed posture was gone. The smile on her face was replaced by an anxious look. "I want to apologize."
When she frowned at him, Tony's heart broke. Only now he realized how badly he'd hurt her with his behaviour. "Tony..." She began, but didn't get a chance to say more. In this moment, her phone rang. Pepper pulled it out of her bag and sighed. "This is urgent, I'm sorry."
She accepted the call and listened for a few moments. "All right, I'll be right there."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Important meeting?"
"Something like that." She nodded. "One of our new partners in Europe wants to talk. He says it's urgent."
Tony sighed. "We'll never get a chance to talk in peace, will we?"
She grimaced. "I really have to go. Can we talk later?"
"You mean when you're already on the plane?" Tony asked and crossed his arms. "You've got another meeting before you have to leave, remember?"
Pepper didn't ask how he knew about it. She just sighed. "I'm sorry." She already wanted to turn around and walk away, but Tony reached forward and took her hand. For a few moments, they both stared at their entwined hands in silence.
"Be careful." Tony whispered.
"That's my phrase." Pepper replied. "After all, you always bring yourself in danger." Her lips twitched, but there was sadness in her eyes.
"I love you." Tony said simply. "Never forget that."
"Tony..." She whispered and shook her head. When Pepper closed her eyes, Tony feared that she was going to cry. However, there weren't tears in her eyes when she opened them again.
"You're all I ever think of." He continued. "Even in my darkest moments." They both knew what he meant with that. The time Hydra had captured and tortured him. "Please come back to me."
Again, there was surprise on her face. However, Tony never got to know why. In this moment, the door of the elevator opened and Happy came into the lab. "There's a video conference you have to attend." He said to Pepper.
She swallowed and nodded. "I'm on my way." She turned to Tony one last time. "I love you too." Then Pepper let go of his hand, turned around and left.
When the elevator closed behind her, he still didn't turn to his work again. It took some time until he was able to focus on Peter's suit again.
"She's gone?" Steve asked incredulously. "Why?"
"Pepper is CEO of Stark Industries and needed in LA." Tony sighed.
"Did you try to talk to her?"
"Of course I did. But we were interrupted because of a damn video conference!" Tony didn't try to hide his frustration. With Steve, it wasn't necessary.
"That's infuriating." Steve agreed immediately. "What are you going to do now?"
"There's not much I can do. I don't want to talk to her about all this on the phone. She has work to do in LA and I've got problems I need to fix here." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even know when I'll see her again."
"I think you should call her soon. You don't have to talk about the pregnancy then. Just ask how she's doing. Show her you care." Steve suggested.
"She knows I care." At least that's what Tony hoped. "I care so much that it hurts. I should have never told her all those things."
"You can't undo it anymore." Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just be honest with her. And don't withdraw from her. That will only make things worse."
"It can't be worse." Tony muttered darkly.
It could be worse. Later that day, he was on his way to the kitchen when he heard voices from one of the media rooms. He recognized Natasha and Bruce. "So she left because he doesn't want the baby?" Bruce asked incredulously and Tony froze. He knew that he shouldn't listen to people, but right now, he couldn't help it.
"She left because she has to figure out what she wants." Natasha explained. "She can't always do what Tony wants. She's got her own mind."
"Pepper never did what Tony wanted." Bruce threw in. "They always agreed on things together."
"Remember that time when he left just because she wanted him to stop being Iron Man? Because she was worried for his safety? They didn't talk then. He just left on his own."
"Because he thought he was doing the right thing and Hydra came back as well." Bruce noted.
"He hurt her with it." Natasha reminded him. "Very much."
"He hurt himself as well."
"That's not the point here. Pepper has to figure out what she wants now. This is about the baby."
"She's not sure if she wants to keep it?" Bruce asked in horror.
When he heard this, Tony's heart was about to stop. Pepper didn't want to keep the baby? Would she really do that?
"Oh, she wants to keep it." Natasha said now. "Even if she's not sure if it will work."
At this, the pain in his chest lessened again. "They can make it work." Bruce sounded so sure of this and Tony envied him for his optimism.
"I told her that Tony's just scared and that this has nothing to do with her." Natasha continued. "I think she didn't believe me. She thinks he doesn't want children with her."
He closed his eyes. How could Pepper possibly think that?
"How can she think that?" Bruce voiced Tony's thoughts. "That's everything Tony ever wanted."
"Pepper thinks the kid, Peter, is enough for him."
What did Peter have to do with all this? Yes, of course, he was like his own child to Tony. However, that didn't mean he didn't want to have children with Pepper.
"When you said that they have problems, I didn't expect it to be a mess like this." Bruce sounded thoughtful now. "They really need to talk."
"Well, might take some time. Now Pepper is gone and Tony is busy here." Natasha threw in. "But maybe it's better this way. Pepper needs some time for herself. It's all too much with him being Iron Man, then the pregnancy, Tony nearly died... She needs time to relax."
"And you think she'll have that in Los Angeles?"
"Or she needs to go on a vacation after that." Was the simple answer. "Maybe some time without Tony will be good for her."
In this moment, Tony decided that he'd heard enough. He didn't go to the kitchen. Instead, he turned around and headed back to the lab.