AN: Phew. Hello. I know, I know. Its been forever. I've just lost motivation and momentum with this. I had a brain full of ideas, but now they're kind of all emptied out. You guys all deserve this to be continued because you're all so amazing. Happy day to you, and have a wonderful weekend.

-O-O-O-

Pepper tucked her suitcase neatly beneath her bed, all clothes hung up and put away. Tony had dropped her off with a kiss and hug only a few hours ago, and she was already missing him. She smiled to herself, straightening her desk absently to give herself something to do until Maya arrived.

Her eyes fell to the picture of her and Aldrich, pinned above her desk. She frowned, chewing at her lip.

What was he doing now? Was he fighting, gun in hand, bent over the tall grass of the Vietnamese jungle? Or was he sitting, alone in the tents, thinking of her? Feeling alone and abandoned in a foreign land? She wasn't naïve enough to feel nothing for him after what had happened. He was still a human, faced with a task that could mean death.

She had considered writing him back, but neither would she give him the false hope that she was still a possibility.

She loved him. She did, and wished for the best. Maybe that was the extent of her interaction with him for now.

Her thumb reached up, pressing the pin deeper into the cork board layered beneath it. She'd leave it. As a reminder.

She was jolted from her thoughts when Maya entered, lugging her suitcase behind her. "Hi Pepper!" she greeted brightly.

Pepper smiled. "Hi. How were the holidays? You seem excited."

Maya nodded, tugging her suitcase onto her bed. She faced the redhead, grinning madly. "I'm going to rush," she announced suddenly, in a burst of breath.

Pepper faltered a moment. "What?" she said, smiling. "Really?"

Maya shrugged. "I just feel like it's the right things to do. The right time, you know?"

Pepper nodded. This would be good for her. To help her branch out. Pull her from her comfort zone. And most exciting of all, Maya had decided this on her own.

"So…are you rushing Beta?" she asked, sitting on her bed. Of course, she had to submit her shameless plug.

Maya nodded. "Of course! I couldn't consider any other sorority; not without my best friend." She smiled fondly at Pepper. "You're a great friend, Pepper. Really."

Pepper grinned. "Thank you for saying that, Maya. It means a lot. I'm proud of you."

"Oh, please," Maya laughed, waving her away, smiling. "Anyways. How were your holidays?"

Pepper shrugged. "Really eventful." She smiled.

"How so?" Maya inquired.

Pepper was grinning again like a lovesick schoolgirl, she just knew it. But she didn't care enough to hide it. "Tony Stark and I are…kind of a thing now."

Maya spun to face her. "What? Really?"

She nodded, turning sober. "Um…I'm sure you heard about his parents."

She nodded sadly. "I did. I read it in the newspaper. Its awful."

"We visited a few times over the break, and Maya…he just really needs a friend." Pepper sighed, plopping back onto her bed. "Just someone to hold onto. To cry with him. I mean, I can't really say anything comforting. Not anything that sounds meaningful at least. My words would just be empty. So I was there for him. I just sat with him. And it just…sort of happened." She laughed again.

"Is he ok?" Maya asked, worried. "Is he back?"

She nodded. "He's here. But he's still shaky."

The girl nodded, glasses bouncing on her nose. "I'll have to talk to him tomorrow in class."

"You should," Pepper said, smoothing down her bedspread.

She hoped this semester would be good for all of them. It was almost like a second chance; like starting all over. It couldn't be more perfect. She only feared Tony would crack under the pressure. Even if he did, she'd be there to help him through the fall.

-O-O-O-

He couldn't breathe. He knew the answers. He'd known this crap since he was six. What was the damn problem?

His hand shook, the pencil growing sticky with his sweat. His fingers gripped his sleek black hair, tugging it at the roots.

Screw it.

He bolted from his seat, grabbing his satchel and leaving the test papers on the small folding table-top. His chair creaked loudly at his commotion and his pencils scattered noisily across the tiled floor, but he didn't turn back.

Several students glared and whispered beneath their breath, watching the calamity happen.

As he exited through the back of the lecture hall, the door was unusually heavy and his skin unusually warm.

The fresh air outside wasn't too soothing. It was bitter cold, stinging his throat as he desperately gasped. This was the second time this had happened, but the first since he'd been back at school. And now during an exam; a very important one that he'd doubtfully be able to make up.

He didn't notice a watery snow falling until it dripped onto his eyelashes, then stopped. Shaded by an obscure black umbrella, he glanced behind him. The familiar redhead holding the covering finally brought a warmth back to his chest.

She smiled, but her eyes were hinted with worry. "What happened?" she asked.

He glanced between them, mouth open, breathing in the frigid air. The skirt of her dress brushed his trousers as a breeze picked up, drawing them closer together in the cold.

"I panicked," he admitted, glancing back up at her. "I was in an exam, and then I just blanked. I couldn't focus. It was like…" His breath shook.

He didn't notice how worked up he'd become until her gentle hand rested on his shoulder. "Let's go for coffee," she offered.

-O-O-O-

He never believed in angels or any of that nonsense. Certainly didn't now. But she might've been an exception. If he wasn't holding her hand across the tiny café table, if he didn't know she was real flesh and bone, he might've guessed she was an angel.

She didn't ask anything else about what happened, just walked with him to the nearest coffee shop, ordered a pair of cappuccinos and was now quietly sipping hers.

The blue of her eyes caught a grey cast at the drowsy winter light filtering in through the window pane, he noticed. With eyes like those, maybe he shouldn't have doubted her ephemerality.

"I'm sorry," he admitted.

She glanced over the rim of her cup at him. "What ever for?"

"For…" He sucked in a breath and let it go, watching the steam rising from their cups become offset for only a few seconds. "Being…like this."

A smile quirked at the corner of her mouth, and she shook her head. "Tony, you don't have to apologize for that."

The pad of her thumb brushed his knuckles.

"You misunderstand me…" she continued. "I'm not trying to baby you, but nor do I expect you to be magically ok two weeks after something so serious. I might not really know what you're feeling right now, but I'm happy to be here with you."

He smiled. For the first time in awhile. "Thank you, Pepper."

She leaned away, sipping her own coffee quietly.

It was a mess. Everything. His schooling, his family, the company. But if there was one constant to cling to, it was her.