hello guys, long time no see. Well, the long wait is over and i promise this chapter was worth the wait. I hope you like this and thanks to all my reviewers and supporters, love you all.

read, enjoy, review.

E: Everything

"Everything" – Lifehouse

DAY 38 OF CAPTIVITY, 1:29 AM, GULMIRA, AFGHANISTAN

Temperatures in this hell hole are so completely bi-polar it's not even funny. In the early morning I'm freezing my ass off; in the afternoons I'm sweating like a hog. This is how I keep track of how long I've been here. 38 Days give or take a day. I don't know what time it is but I can at least figure that's it late/early because Yinsen is sleeping on his cot made of bales of hay. I haven't slept for approximately two days and I'm sure I'm going insane, well at least more than usual. I'm losing hope and confidence. It's been however long and I'm only a third of the way done with our escape plan. I honestly don't see how im going to get us out of here alive. I really don't expect to make it out of this cave, at least alive that is.

"Find me here, And speak to me. I want to feel you, I need to hear you. You are the light, That's leading me, To the place, Where I find peace again. You are the strength, That keeps me walking. You are the hope, That keeps me trusting. You are the light, To my soul. You are my purpose."

"Don't you dare think that Anthony Stark." Calls out a familiar feminine voice.

Okay, so definitely not one of my best moments, but I mean if the woman you've realized too late that you love, who is thousands of miles away, and yet somehow standing in front of you, im pretty sure you'd drop a hammer too. I'm not kidding either. She is seriously standing in front of me, arms crossed over her nice white button up blouse, black skirt, her infamous black high heels, hair down, a stern look on her lips and worry in her eyes.

"You're everything."

So I guess I should probably back track some huh? You're probably thinking, love? Tony Stark? Impossible. Well it's true. When you're unconscious due to overwhelming amounts of pain from insurgents operating on you with no meds, you tend to dream. And my dreams, well I'll admit I was in denial for a couple of days. Okay so maybe it was a couple of weeks, same difference. All my dreams revolved around Pepper and I being together, like in a romantic relationship type of together. I thought it was crazy but then randomly these memories of wistful glances and soft words came to mind and something in the back of my head said, 'You're crazy Stark if you think you don't love her.'

So there's that explained and now I can revert back to my confusion of Pepper standing in front of me. She is only a few feet away and she looks so real, smells so real. I'd recognize that floral scent anywhere; I bought it for her a year ago as a ten year anniversary gift. So now, contrary to popular belief I did not run away, I embraced her. I walk up to her and wrap my dirty, greasy, smelly, arms around her and crush her to my chest. I can feel her, it's tangible. Of course a part of me mentioned it was just me seeing what I needed to see at the moment because I was so exhausted, but I didn't care. I can feel her arms wrap around me, pouring strength into my body and giving me comfort.

"Don't give up Tony, I need you. Don't ever give up. You can do this Tony, I believe in you." She says softly.

Her words warm my heart and suddenly I feel stronger, confident, and invincible. Her lips press to my cheek and my stomach loses it. Then just as soon as she appeared in front of me she disappeared. I immediately long for her presence but the warmth of her lips are still present on my cheek. I conjure up all the strength I have and set to work again, this time however I feel more alive, rejuvenated, strong, confident, and needed. I send a silent thank you skyward and continue to focus on my task at hand using Pepper's given strength.

THE DAY OF RETURN

"How can I stand here with you, And not be moved by you?"

My heart is beating uncontrollably. I am nervous as an intern on their first day at work. Can you believe it, I mean me of all people nervous. I'm Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark and I'm nervous about stepping off the plane as soon as it lands on the tarmac. Okay, that's not entirely true. Really I'm just nervous about seeing Pepper and for good reason too. I mean for the past fifty-five ish days the only thing that has kept me alive and fighting is her. Well her, but not her exactly. But I mean how exactly do you explain that to someone, especially to the only person you've ever cared about? It's not as if I can tell her that my hallucinations of her gave me the will and strength to continue on. That her soft kisses on my lips, the warmth of her arms around me, her words and soft caresses gave me strength to push on, to fight to come home. How do I explain that? That's not exactly something you can tell a person no matter how long you've known them or how much you trust them, especially when they don't feel the same way. So now you begin to see my dilemma.

Don't' get me wrong, I'm happy to be home but now I'm faced with another challenge. One that is more difficult than surviving in a cave. For the past two months I've been able to show and tell 'Pepper' how I feel and that 'Pepper' felt the same way. But now…how can I not hold her close? How can I stand around her and not just shower her with the love I feel? I've cared about anyone the way I care about Pepper and now I'm just supposed to shove what I feel to powerfully into a box and push it out of mind?! How am I going to do this? I wish she feels the same way I do, but how can she? I've never given her a reason to stick around as just an employee and yet she has so faithfully; so please tell me how I can now ask her to love me when I don't deserve it. A guy like me just doesn't get someone as good as Pepper.

The back of the plane has opened and Rhodey is holding me up as if I need the help, but I don't push him away, he helped save me. As I'm walking I can now see her standing there by the car waiting for me. I want to run to her and pull her close and never let go but instead I push that thought way deep down and put it on the back burner and put on the mask everyone knows me for. Some E.M.T. starts coming toward me with a gurney and I begin cursing him out, well in my mind anyways. Nothing is getting in the way of my walking to Pepper, nothing.

"Get them out of here." I say to Rhodey. He pushes them away with a wave of his hand and as my feet hit the pavement I turn to Rhodey to let him know I'm okay now. "I've got it from here Rhodey, thanks." He gives me a small smile and lets go with a nod.

I'm free now to go to Pepper, and suddenly…my mind is blank. What do I say to her? I have no idea what to say and I'm afraid of spilling everything to her. Until I see the red in her eyes and a part of my heart soars knowing that she missed me. The other part is sad that I'm the reason she's crying. I don't like seeing her cry and I especially don't like being the reason she's crying. Finally I'm close enough and I put on my playful mask.

"Few tears for your long lost boss?" I say and a smile appears on her face and consequently one appears on mine as well.

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting." She retorts just like old times. I smile for just a moment longer, relishing in seeing her smile again.

"Would you tell me, How could it be, Any better than this?"

I realize how much I've missed that smile and I store it for safe keeping in my heart and mind. "Yeah well vacations' over." I can see her smirk and another smile appears on my face. Right now it can't get any better than this moment here with Pepper.

1ST NIGHT HOME. 1:29 AM. MALIBU MANSION.

Finally I get a chance to talk to you guys. Tony here has been hogging up this story. But now I get to tell you this next part of the story so buckle up because you're definitely going to be happy with what happens.

Alright so I'm a mess right now. Tony has just got back home, told the press that Stark Industries will no longer be making weapons, and to top it all off, I am hopelessly, completely in love with the man and I have no idea what to do. Right now I'm going through the endless emails I've been receiving nonstop from people of all different positions. Business partners, clients, board members, reporters; basically anyone and everyone connected somehow to Tony.

So I realize I sort of just brushed over the whole, 'I'm in love with him' thing but if I expand on it I'll never stop and I'll just drive myself crazy with feelings. It's better this way, trust me.

Anyways, so I know it's late, well early, and I'm still at Tony's house in the living room but I don't want to leave him. Not after he just got back. I can't leave him for the sake of my sanity. I just got him back and I can't let him go. Not until I know he's not going anywhere and until he knows I'm not going anywhere. So here I am in the dark living room in black sweats and a red tank top, my face illuminated by my laptop screen. I probably should sleep but I find I can't. Honestly I'm a little afraid that when I wake up he'll be gone again. Probably just my emotions, but there's no harm in not sleeping. I have plenty of work to be done that can justify my actions. It's not like I'm- did you hear that?

I can hear some odd noise but I don't quite know what it is or where it is. "JARVIS, where is that sound coming from?"

"It appears to be coming from Mr. Stark's room."

"You calm the storms, And you give me rest. You hold me in your hands, You won't let me fall. You steal my heart, And you take my breath away. Would you take me in, Take me deeper now."

I jump up and bolt to his room not even bothering to think about the repercussions of what I'm doing. It's fear that has clasped my heart and I'm afraid he's being hurt. I throw open his door and immediately I'm taken aback. The blue light emitting from his reactor that I fixed earlier is lighting up his face. I can see the sweat covering his face and neck. He's having a nightmare. A primal protective instinct washes over me and I climb into bed beside him and shake him awake. He jolts up so fast with a scream it scares me and he's gasping for air as if he can't breathe.

My heart aches and I call out softly, "Tony it's okay. I'm right here."

He looks to me and falls back down and into me so his head is resting on my bare chest and he just begins to cry. My heart breaks a little more as he clutches me and pulls me closer to him and continues to cry. I wrap my arms protectively around him thinking that if I'm here holding him the nightmares can't come back and hurt him. I don't know how much time has passed. All I know is that the man I love is in pain and I desperately want to make the pain go away. I subconsciously rub small circles into his back while holding him securely with my right arm. I notice he stops crying and for a few minutes it is quiet. I think he has fallen asleep and just as I think this he softly speaks.

"Thank you Pepper." He looks up and my eyes lock onto his.

They're so cloudy and emotional and I don't notice how he has slowly been gravitating toward me until our lips are mere centimeters away. I notice my heart is beating rapidly, pounding violently inside of my chest. It is telling me to kiss him and in this moment I know I won't have another chance and so I press my lips to his and everything around me is forgotten. All my passion and pain goes into that kiss and I can feel his emotions. I know now what he feels because it is exactly what I feel. He's in love with me just like I'm in love with him. Of course neither of us is going to say it quite yet but I know how he feels and suddenly I feel so much more complete. Knowing I'm not alone in this sea of emotion, knowing that we can drown together, it makes it so much more worth it. Our lips meet a few more times but it doesn't progress beyond that. It's closure of sorts, the admission of something new and rich and tangible. They're sweet and soft and so full of love. I kiss him one last time and this kiss is slower, sweeter, and longer than the others. He's the one to pull back and when he does his genuine smile is contagious.

He lets out the cutest little sigh and snuggles into me wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I indulge him because I too want the same thing, to be closer. Not even a minute later I hear the even breathing and know he's fallen asleep.

I place a soft kiss on his forehead and whisper, "Goodnight Tony, sweet dreams.", before I close my eyes and rest my head on his chest beside the reactor and shortly after I'm falling asleep comfortable and happy.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING

"Cause you're all I want, You're all I need, You're everything, everything."

I awake before Pepper and I have to say that I awake rather pleasantly. She is resting in my arms and the way the sun is bathing her in its rays make her look like an angel. My angel sleeping peacefully with me. A smile engulfs my face and with my finger I lightly begin to trace her face. She looks so beautiful lying here with me and the memory of her lips on mine begins to replay in my mind over and over and I can't help myself. I gently press my lips to hers just wanting to feel them on mine again. She awakes and I'm almost sorry but then she reciprocates the kiss and gives me another before smiling at me and saying, "Morning Tony."

I love her smiling at me and it's just so contagious and beautiful. "Good morning my beautiful angel." I say lovingly. I exhale a breath of happiness and for a moment I just stare into her welcoming eyes before I place another kiss on her addicting, sweet, soft lips. Nothing could get any better than this moment here with my beautiful angel.

"Would you tell me, How could it be, Any better than this..."

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Woo, so 38 Days till IM3 and we got two new T.V. spots today one of which *spoiler alert* includes Pepper in a suit and in that same one, finaly our first real Pepperony moment. * spoiler over*

The second one is pretty cool too, so go to youtube and check them out! or just go to google. lol.

Alright so i hope you enjoyed this chapter, drop me a review and share your thoughts. Thx Puzzlers, see you soon and you as well my Spring Breakers. :)