"Where are they," Tony asked instead. He'd just driven through the crime scene, remnants of its labeled tape stuck to the hood of his car, and had not listened to a word the law enforcer said.

"Commissioner Banks will explain. As of right now, you're trespassing. We need you to get-"

"Get your fucking hands off me," he snarled at the policeman. "Touch me again and I'll ruin you, I swear to God." His threat must have resonated with Officer Brighten because he had let go of his arm instantly.

"I don't care who you are," said Commissioner Banks. "Don't threaten an officer and expect to get away with it."

Tony scoffed at the man who had approached. "What are you gonna do? Arrest me in front of my dead parents?"

"Alright, there's no need for that." Obadiah walked up and apologized to the officers. "He's devastated. The kid's lashing out on anyone in his path."

"I understand, but rules have to-"

"What the fuck are you here for?"

Obadiah side glanced Tony's direction a second before refocusing his attention to the Commissioner. "Exhibit B."

The voices blurred once the officer in front of him walked off and what he'd been exposed to shattered all that was left of his bearings. Sadness. Hurt. Pain. Anger. Loss. They all came in without a care; it tore him down. He brushed past the adults, tears running down his cheeks. He hated himself for being so weak. For not being able to control his emotions. This couldn't be happening. Not to him. "No..." Five tears turned to ten, twenty, fifty. His heart ached, but most importantly, it told him to let go, that even the strongest people fell and were allowed to feel. A sob escaped his throat; his body began to tremble. What happened wasn't fair. Why them? Why his parents? There were worse people out there. Killers. Psychopaths. Rapists. Murderers. They deserved to leave the world the way his parents had. It wasn't fair that decent human beings had taken their place instead.

Tony sniffed, wiping his runny nose with the sleeve of his sweater, tears continuing to cascade down his cheeks to his chin. He couldn't control his breathing anymore. It turned erratic, short, and uncontrolled.

"Where..." He scanned the damages and couldn't see them. The car he'd been staring at the entire time? It was empty. "Where," he repeated, his voice laced with sorrow and heartbreak. He ran towards the car only to be stopped by a pair of strong hands. "Let me go!" He started kicking and screaming, but Obadiah tightened his hold around Tony's chest and took the beatings. "Let go! Let go of me!" Exhaustion wasn't going to wear him out. He refused to admit defeat, to give up.

"Come on, breathe. Don't wear yourself out." Tony didn't care what Obadiah was saying, but he didn't fight him when he guided him to the ground.

He shrugged Obadiah's hand off his shoulders and brought his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. No matter what he did, he couldn't cancel out the noise. Obadiah. The sirens. The strangers. The cops. They reminded him just how real this was. His parents had died. He was alone in the world.

Obadiah rubbed Tony's back soothingly and shook his head. It pained him to see Tony like this. Howard and him were brothers and he considered Tony a son. Rest assured, justice would be served.

Tony looked up and wiped his cheeks. He could feel a rash settling in, his skin was cracking. "What happened," he quietly asked, his voice cracked.

"Car explosion. Somebody must have put explosives underneath the car during the benefit. I had them pull up their security system; eight minutes were erased. We're doing our best to get it back."

"Send it to me. JARVIS can analyze it."

"Don't put yourself through that. I'll get our best guys on it and personally be there so nothing-"

"What? You think I'm just gonna stand here and let whoever did this get away with it," Tony angrily interrupted. "I'm not fucking useless." He stood up, fueled with determination, promising himself he'd find out who did this right then and there. He'd make them pay. "You do what you want; I'll do what I want. Send me the tapes or I'll just hack in. Just because dad's gone, you think you control the company? You think you get to decide what happens? You don't. I do. Stark Industries is mine. Not yours. You better know your place, because unlike dad, I don't need you and I never did."

"Okay, point taken." Obadiah took a step back and raised both his hands in defense. "I just don't want you in any more pain than you're already in. You mean so much to me. I've watched you grow up; seeing you like this hurts right here." He pat his heart and smiled sadly. "Because nothing I do will bring them back, nothing I do can help you get through this, but what I can do is be useful. Lash out all you want. I'll take it. I promised your parents if anything happened, I'd look after you. Like it or not, I intend to. You may hate me for it, but at least they'll be someone to come to when you need it."

"Right, cause I can count on you," Tony responded in a mocking manner. "Dad told me why he wanted me at Stark Industries. You don't think I can run the company when I turn 21."

"No, no, no, no, no," Obadiah quickly said. "I simply told him you'd rather spend your time elsewhere. Finish college, travel, meet new people. Was I wrong to be considerate of your feelings? Think about it." He sighed, this wasn't the place to argue. "Let's go home. Sleep, rest; calm down."

Silence filled the space between them for what felt like hours until Tony decided to respond. "Okay." He didn't see a point in arguing again. "They're everywhere, right?"

Obadiah nodded.

His jaw clenched, fresh tears trickling down his eyelashes.

"I'll take you home. Spend the night."

"Don't bother. I don't need you watching me like I'm four."

"Your hands are trembling. Not safe."

"Take your concern and shove it up your ass. I said 'don't bother' so quit pestering me about it." Without another word, Tony walked off and back to his car. He held his head up, tried to stay strong, but anyone in their right mind could see he was seconds away from falling apart. Him included.

Pepper awoke to a loud crash. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. This wasn't the first time she heard it. Curious, she glanced around and finally noticed the space next to her was unoccupied. Where is he? She frowned. When had he gotten out? Her eyes caught the time and it deepened her frown. It was a little past five in the morning.

"Miss Potts, I insist you go back to sleep."

JARVIS' voice made her heart skip a beat.

"I'm terribly sorry for startling you," the AI apologized, his voice lowered to a whisper.

"What's wrong with him," Pepper asked.

"I'm afraid it's not in my right to say, but he's in no immediate danger at the moment."

That only made her more concerned. Another crash. That's it. I'm finding out what's happening.

JARVIS kept silent. After all, he couldn't stop her from leaving. He'd just been told to tell her not to go downstairs. His inventor never said anything about stopping her. Besides, it'd be best if she weren't kept in the dark.

There was broken glass everywhere, mirrors were shattered, furniture was flipped. Tony was sitting at the island counter, his back facing her with a half empty bottle of scotch and an unfinished roll of chocolate chip cookie dough. His knuckles were scraped. The glass he'd been holding came in contact with the kitchen wall with great force and it scared her. He poured another, drank it down, and hurled it at the wall. So that's what the noise is, she thought.

He was hurting all over, but it was fine. Pain was good. It was a way to feel numb...to forget the pain associated with loss. Or that's what he told himself.

She placed her hand over his and stopped him from pouring another glass. He glanced up and smiled with every ounce of strength he had left.

"You ever said something you wish you could take back only to realize it's too late? The damage is done and nothing you do will change that?"

"Where is this coming from," Pepper asked, her question laced with grave concern.

He fought back the tears threatening to fall.

"What happened?" She leaned forward and rubbed the sad creases off Tony's forehead, her palm cupping his cheek. He instinctively leaned towards her touch, but said nothing.

It wasn't her job to take care of him, he told himself.

His eyes were teary, his cheeks were rosy and flaky.

She retracted her hands and frowned. What happened that made him do this? Why's he afraid to tell me? It couldn't be too bad, could it? She could see him battling his thoughts and decided to help him out.

"What you said before, about regrets," Pepper began, getting his attention, to which she was thankful for. "That's what you're referring to, right? I have one." She cleared her throat, mentally preparing herself. Turned out she didn't need to.

"I think dad believed me when I said I wished he had died in the explosion."

She shook her head. "He didn't. Not even for a second."

"But I meant it when I said it."

"You were mad at him," Pepper replied to his soft whisper.

"But it doesn't change the fact that I said it."

"Doesn't matter. I think it's kinda within our rights to say we hate them once in awhile."

"Sure," Tony mumbled.

"Is that what happened," Pepper carefully asked.

"You mean the mess? Yeah, something like that," he retorted, his voice void of emotion.

She surveyed the room and took in the damage. Did Tony and his dad get into an argument or something?

I wish that was what happened.

"You should go upstairs and sleep," he opted to say instead. "It's late."

"Alright. Are you coming," Pepper asked, getting off the seat.

He didn't bother to look at her, not that he had been during the span of their conversation. "In a minute."

"Sure," Pepper smiled. She was still worried, but it was clear he wouldn't be telling her anything any time soon and there was no reason to push it. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her chest.

He welcomed the comfort and tightened the grip on her shirt. He needed this more than Pepper realized.

"I'll wait for you upstairs," she said, kissing his neck before pulling back.

He watched Pepper go and sighed. He had come so close to telling her the truth just then. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but they refused to roll off. Whatever. It doesn't matter. She's gone. 180. That was how much degrees his life had turned in a matter of hours. It was funny - he'd gone the majority of his life without them and had never once shed tears for that, but now that they were physically gone, he was reduced to this.

And he never did go upstairs that night, leaving Pepper wide awake and wondering what had happened.

The sun rose the next morning and its rays pierced through the windows waking him up. He lifted his head off the counter and sorted the kinks in his neck that could only come from such a sleeping position. He got up and slowly walked upstairs only to find a sleeping Pepper. He smiled for a second and frowned the next. Didn't she tell me she'd be waiting for me?

He shrugged and proceeded into the bathroom. Steam filled the air within minutes and he closed the shower door. The water pressure systems did their work and he leaned his head against the tiled walls. His muscles were getting a much needed massage. It felt wonderful. Like rain washing the sadness away. But he knew he couldn't stay here forever. He'd have to go out...face the music. The press. The paparazzi. Reporters. Their questions. Stark Industries. That was the most important thing, right? Business. It was disgusting.

He grabbed a towel off the shelf and opted not to shave. He didn't have the effort.

"Oh my God!"

"What the hell," he yelled, clutching his towel tightly. She had scared him to death.

"I didn't see anything, I swear," Pepper hastily said, turning her back towards him.

For the first time in what felt like forever, he laughed. "Just don't scream like that again. It's okay to look, Pep. I'm not naked or anything."

"Sorry, I panicked." She turned around and momentarily glanced over Tony's body.

"I thought you'd still be asleep when I got out so I decided to not bring clothes with me," he explained; feeling slightly embarrassed of the fact that he was standing in front of Pepper in almost nothing. Plus, he wasn't sure she was telling the truth. "Are you sure you didn't see anything? We need to even the score if you did."

"What," Pepper said outrageously.

He walked up to her, a twinkle in his eyes.

"I didn't!" She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. All Tony did was stand there and she couldn't help but take in the tiny droplets of water dripping down his hair, chest, and eventually to the towel.

"Pepper, you're blushing."

"Can you put clothes on?"

"You just ignored me. That is evidence right there."

"I didn't! You were already like three fourth the way wrapped by the time I screamed."

"By the time you screamed," he repeated.

She nodded.

"And before that," he asked, hoping to catch her in a lie.

"I, uh," she stammered, looking around. "I was trying to get signal. I can call, but I can't use data."

"Something probably malfunctioned," he suggested, which was far from the truth. He had told JARVIS to bounce her signals. "But don't change the subject. You saw my junk, didn't you? Which means..." He went for the hem of her shirt and smirked.

Pepper grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Maybe if you came up last night, like you said, I'd let you."

"But I'm here now," he replied, the smile still on his face.

"I'm serious, Tony," Pepper with a drab expression. "Tell me what happened."

"Can I explain myself later," he asked, running a hand through his hair as he walked into his closet.

She followed him. "No. You're just gonna avoid it until I bring it up again and I really don't want to."

His back was towards her and his posture immediately stiffened. Why couldn't Pepper just let it go?

"I need to change." At that second, Tony could literally feel her cross her arms and stare him down.

"Fine." She sighed and turned around.

Once he finished, he glanced over at Pepper and frowned. He didn't want to fight, but he didn't want to talk about it either. It was too bad he couldn't have it both ways, so which was the lesser evil of the two?

"Look, maybe you don't want to talk about it, but you can't pretend like it didn't happen either," Pepper began once she heard him clear his throat. "You scared me last night. All that noise; all the broken glass."

"I'm not pretending it didn't happen. I can't even if I wanted to."

"Then why not tell me about it? I can help."

"No, you can't," Tony said earnestly. "No one could or can, Pep."

"But you can't-"

"Just drop it, Pepper," he told her more determinedly.

Pepper closed her eyes for a brief second and huffed. "You are so stubborn."

"Well, then, that makes two of us."

They were at a standstill and it quickly turned into a silent battle of who would break first.

"You know this is what a relationship is, right? We tell each other things and we help each other out," she said gently. "Get through it together. Both of us have to give ourselves into it or else it just won't head anywhere. Do you get that? Hiding things leads to miscommunication, trust issues, arguments; and before you know it, things will be so bad that we don't even care anymore. I don't want that to happen cause sooner or later it's going to lead to a break up."

Pepper probably didn't mean for her words to come off ultimatum-like, but they had, and it rubbed him the wrong way. "That sounded like an ultimatum."

"No, it's..." She stopped and walked up to him. "It isn't. I'm just telling the truth. Relationships have certain foundations that make them work. There's respect. There's communication. I mean, how am I going to know what you're thinking or if you have issues with me if you never bring it up? Then you need to actually like the person; not just physically. There's this thing called the 'honeymoon phase,' where everything is perfect, nothing's wrong, but that'll eventually pass and you have to ask yourself do I stand this person? Are they worth my time and effort? Do they feel the same? Commitment's also a foundation; trust. We need to share stuff, no matter how difficult it is, Tony. If one of the foundations break, and we do nothing to fix it, it'll start cracking; fall apart."

His glare was still present and now his hands were balled into fists. "I don't need to hear this." Tony picked up his jacket and strode past her.

"Oh, so you're just gonna go," Pepper asked to his retreating form.

"Yeah," he responded, turning around. "I've got stuff to do today and you're getting in the way of that. Grab your things, I'm taking you back."

The ride was completely silent. He kept his eyes on the road and she kept them up front. She'd steal glances at him once in awhile to see if his expression changed, but it hadn't. What's wrong with him? She felt useless and he refused to talk about it.

And the way he had dismissed their conversation? It infuriated her.

Tony finally pulled up to Pepper's driveway and turned off the ignition. He had upset her back at his house and he'd been feeling terrible for it.

"Pepper," he said, stopping her from opening the door. He heard her take a deep breath before turning to look at him.

"Look, about what happened earlier, I'm sorry. I really-"

"Don't bother. I got the point. I won't bring it up again."

Without another word, she got out of his Audi.

"I wasn't done," he huffed, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. He was frustrated with himself. He'd come by and talk to her when things settled.

"He's such a pain in the ass," Pepper muttered as she heard him drive off. She stuck her key in the lock and walked in the house only to find her parents and her brother looking at her with expectancy. "What?"

Victoria got up first, then her dad and brother. "How's he doing?"

Confusion crossed her face. "What are you talking about? Tony?"

"Yeah. Who else," Peter asked.

She looked at her brother, still confused.

"His parents died last night. Someone put explosives in their car."

"What," Pepper asked in total shock. "No, that can't be right. He would had told me."

"He didn't tell you," Richard repeated more as a statement than a question.

"No," she quietly answered. Her eyebrows creased and she involuntarily looked out the window to see if he had came back. She couldn't believe this. Everything makes sense. She mentally hit herself upside the head. I was such a jerk just then.

I'm gonna call him, she thought to herself. Then I'm gonna yell at him for being stupid.

She went upstairs to her room and dialed his number. Voicemail. She dialed four more times and got the same result. Her hands flew to the keyboard and opened a new message: Tony, seriously, I need you to call me back. I'm sorry about earlier. I had no idea what happened. Why didn't you tell me? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Drive safe, alright? I'm worried about you. Please don't do anything stupid.

"Did Tony answer?"

"No," Pepper responded, wiping away the beginning of tears. "Why didn't he tell me? I'm his girlfriend."

"Give him time," Victoria said, comforting her daughter. "I'm sure he wanted to, but, honey, it's not easy to say out loud."

"I got mad because he wouldn't tell me what happened last night. Mom, you should have seen him. Tony was a mess. I guess I never expected it to be because of something like this. I was such a jerk to him."

"But it also tells him something. That you care about him and he will appreciate that."

"Yeah," Pepper sighed, looking down at her phone. She just wanted him to call back.

It turned out he never did call. He never even answered her text. Weeks passed. No word. He hadn't shown up at school. She missed him. How was he? What was he doing? Was he taking care of himself? She had to have almost hit the dial button a million times already. She'd just about given up on ever hearing from him again. Then, on finals week, just days before Christmas, he strolled into lab and sat next to her.

Wow, I can't believe it's been an entire year since this little story was published! :)