Crashing Through the Feelings
Thank you to candyfan841 for favoriting, and LadySaphire for following. This chapter is just a few days after Crash ran out of the tower and almost got ran over. Pepper needed a break from all of the stress from having a basically mini Tony. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. If you have any suggestions, don't forget to leave a review for me!
Chapter 4: Taking a Break
"Pepper, I can't not work all the time. Sometimes it's the only thing my mind can focus on. I'm sorry." Tony was walking behind Pepper by a few steps, trying to talk to her but she already had her mind set. Tony had been working over the past two weeks constantly, rarely having time for anything else. Pepper had asked him to stop and spend time with her and Crash, but he hadn't listened. He knew that Crash understood why he was always working and was okay with it, but couldn't figure out why Pepper didn't.
"Tony, if we are going to be in a relationship, it has to be two sided. We both have to give something up for it to work. I can't do this anymore. We need to take a break." Pepper turned around and stopped walking. Tony stopped short, and looked at her.
"But, Crash needs a mother figure to be here for him." Tony motioned back to where Crash was sitting through the glass windows on the wall. He was fiddling with his shoes and playing on his phone.
"Oh, now you're gonna play that card on me, really?" Pepper put her hands on her hips and cocked her head at Tony. He smiled trying to not look guilty, but it wasn't working. She shook her head and walked away. This time, Tony let her walk away without a chase.
He turned back around and watched Crash out the window. The child ran a hand through his semi-short black hair in frustration, probably from losing at whatever game he was playing. He wore a blue cut-off shirt with "Stark Industries" on the front and a pair of tan cargo shorts. Tony watched him for a while, laughing at his expressions that changed so sporadically. One minute he could be laughing, then the next be yelling. He finally looked up and saw Tony watching him. He gave the biggest and happiest smile he could, and watched Tony smile right back. Now that Pepper wasn't going to be there to help take care of Crash, Tony would have to be a full-time father to him. Or at least put him off onto one of the other members that lived in the tower.
Crash had been pretending to not pay attention to the conversation going on behind the closed doors, but it was hard when the only volume the argument was conveyed was extremely loud. He played on his phone to try and drown out the noise, but it hadn't been working. He had heard the entire thing, and the part where Tony tried to use him as a reason for her to stay. He looked up as Tony walked out into the hallway and turned off his phone.
"Hey Dad, can we do something tonight? Like together? We could work in your shop or something, or we could upgrade my suit!" Tony laughed at his enthusiasm, and put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close to him.
"Maybe buddy, but I have to talk to you about something serious." Crash nodded, and knew what the conversation was about.
"Is it about you and Pepper taking a 'break'?" Crash did air quotes and Tony looked surprised.
"How'd you know about that?" Crash looked at him and Tony knew why. "We were that loud?" Crash nodded, then looked down at his feet. Tony rubbed his hand up and down Crash's arm, trying to comfort him.
"Is it cause of me? Am I the reason why you guys are taking a break?" Tony frowned and shook his head.
"No, you're not the reason why Crash. It's because apparently I'm too absorbed in my work to pay attention to either of you two." Crash looked away and shrugged.
"Sometimes you can be, but I understand. It's part of your job. You own one of the biggest companies in the world. And possibly the universe." Crash looked back to Tony and their eyes met. Tony could see his eyes starting to water, and could tell he was about to cry. He stood up and pulled Crash into a full hug.
"Hey it's okay, buddy. You know what, we can go wherever you want and do anything you want to do tonight. How's that sound?" Crash nodded with his head against Tony's chest, sniffling to keep breathing through his nose. Tony held him for a long while before he noticed Crash starting to pull away. He let him go, and scratched the back of his head. Crash rubbed his eyes and wiped away the tears.
"Can we build something tonight? It doesn't have to be big, I just wanna spend time with you." Tony smiled and ran a hand through Crash's hair.
"Of course kiddo. Just you and me." Tony put an arm around Crash's shoulder and they walked down to Tony's workshop. They built a small wrist watch that Crash could wear that had all of the contacts for any Avenger if he ever needed it. Tony put in a secret code interface, that he could access remotely. When needed, he could initiate a program that gave Crash just the hand of the suit, that he could use to defend himself. After they were finished, they went back up to the top of the tower to enjoy the view.
"So, I have to go to my old college for a presentation next week. I was thinking maybe you could tag along. You wouldn't have to worry about school, I've got that covered." Crash laughed and looked down to Tony. Crash was standing on the top landing of the tower with Tony on the lower platform.
"I might be able to work it into my schedule. I could care less about school." Tony looked over his shoulder at Crash and gave a look of disappointment. Crash grinned and shrugged.
"Okay, I care about school, but I'm okay with missing a few days. It's not like I'm struggling in any classes. So what's the presentation about?" Tony grinned and turned back to the city.
"I'm giving the college enough money to split between the students for their projects that the college alone couldn't fund. I'm also showing off one of my latest projects too." Crash nodded then crossed his arms.
"And what is it?"
"You'll see when we get there." Crash dropped his arms to his sides and groaned. Tony smiled and shook his head.