Pepper and Tony walked back to their room in the tower. It was late at night, probably nearly midnight Tony was guessing. he was exhausted still and could tell Pepper was as well. He sat on the bed and reached out a hand to pull Pepper down with him, but something was obviously wrong. Tony's heart fell as he noticed Pepper standing by the bedside with wide eyes and clenched fists.
"Pep...?"
All of the sudden Pepper's eyes rolled back before they closed and she collapsed on the spot. Tony jumped out of bed and miraculously caught her on his knees before her head hit the hardwood floor. Tony gathered Pepper in his arms, supporting her with one arm behind the small of her back and the other behind her neck. Pepper's head lolled back so he moved his hand to support her head so he could look into her eyes that she was trying so hard to force open.
"Pepper!" tony yelled. She began getting warmer in his arms as a glow began to kick up... the extremis... what was happening? Tony knew it had harmful side effects but those always happened right when getting injected. Pepper had been stable... and now she was dying.
"Tony..." she managed to choke out.
"It's ok, It's ok baby... I'm here." Tony whispered trying to reassure her. He didn't know how he could though, he didn't believe things would be okay himself.
"You said you'd protect me." she whispered, tears in her eyes. Guilt gripped Tony's heart at these words. They were words that he constantly thought about every second of everyday.
"I- I'm so sorry Pepper." tony stuttered, tears filling his eyes now as well. She looked as if she was about to say something, her big blue eyes boring into his making him feel a deep ache in his chest. There had to be something he could do but he couldn't think or move. Pepper gasped instead, pain obviously taking over her body which was nearly unbearable for Tony to watch. Pepper's eyes finally closed fully, this time for good.
"No! Please Pepper, please don't leave me..." he watched the life fall from her eyes as they closed, a final tear streaming down her face. Pepper's body went even more limp in his arms if that was possible. The light began to fade and the warmth of her body faded away quickly forever.
"Pepper..." Tony choked out. His through was getting tighter and tears blurred his vision.
"Don't leave me..." Tony repeated "I'm sorry..."
Pepper just remained in deadly stillness and silence. The one thing he wanted to protect, the one person he truly loved, who he truly cared about was dead... and it was his fault.
Tony ran his fingers lightly over her face skimming over her eyelids, down the bridge of her nose, and over her lips for the last time. Tony pressed his forehead to Pepper's as his body began to shake. He finally allowed tears to slide down his face as he held what was most precious to him as close as he could, knowing he would never get the chance again. Tony's chest hurt like it never had before as he skimmed his hand through her hair. He had taken her for granted, she deserved batter than this, than him. Sobs racked Tony's body and echoed through the empty room that seemed like his prison now.
Tony gasped as he woke up on the couch in the Tower. He felt sweat damp on his face and his entire body was shaking violently. He took fast, frantic breaths with wide eyes. The only thoughts he had going through his head was Pepper, Pepper, Pepper.
Tony felt a hand gently grip his shoulder. He snapped his head up to see Pepper sitting right in front of him, only a few inches away.
"Tony!" she said worriedly, making it apparent that she'd been calling out his name for a while now. She looked at him with big, frightened eyes, but they were there and she was alive. tony took to time to throw himself at her, burying his head in her neck and squeezing her tightly. She slowly wrapped her arms around his back and rubbed it.
"Pepper." Tony moaned into her shoulder.
"What, Tony? I'm here it's okay." He let himself fall into her and just let her calm him down. It seemed to go faster than other anxiety attacks. On other occasions Tony would be happy about his progress, but right now he was just overly relieved that Pepper was still okay. However, after a few moments Tony realized she still had the extremis in her system. He had to fix her now.
Tony pushed away from pepper and gazed out the window behind her, frantically thinking of how he'd get started on the anti-extremis serum. Equations, elements, and all kinds of information flew through Tony's head as he said,
"I need to get down to my workshop."
Pepper stared at him like he was crazy which apparently was exactly what she was thinking.
"Are you insane?" she asked.
"Pep, I'm serious."
"It's after midnight and you're exhausted. This can wait until tomorrow, Tony."
"Pepper, the stuff inside of you, it's dangerous for you."
Pepper thought about this, but eventually put a hand on Tony's shoulder.
"At least wait and sleep a couple more hours. You said yourself, I'm stable."
"Yeah, but I can't be sure if it will stay that way."
Pepper sighed and closed her eyes, obviously frustrated.
"Please Tony... just a couple of hours of sleep. You can get right on it in the morning." she said, finally opening her eyes to look at tony with a begging gaze. Her blue eyes stared into his, making him want to look away since he knew if he didn't, he'd lose. But Tony could never look away, and tonight wasn't an exception.
"The counter active serum looks to need similar compounds as the serum itself..." Tony muttered to himself out loud. tony was in the Tower's workshop, examining the make up of the extremis serum to help him create the antidote. The holographic clock showed that it was only 6:34 in the morning, but Tony was wide awake. He'd been at it since five this morning, letting Pepper sleep in as long as needed.
Tony was in full work mode when Jarvis interrupted for the sixth time.
"Sir, Nicholas J. Fury is calling once again. I suggest you answer this time." Jarvis's voice rang out through the spacious workshop. Tony groaned and stretched out in his leather chair and rolled to face a big glass monitor.
"Fine, fine. Let him through." Tony agreed. Within fractions of a second, Director Fury's face appeared on the screen, but only a picture of him. However, his live voice echoed off of the long walls.
"Stark, this is like the fiftieth time I've called." he already went off complaining.
"Really? I counted only forty nine." Tony said lazily, uninterested in Fury's reprimands.
"Very funny. You can't just blow up a Roxxon Oil Company ship and proclaim yourself alive again just to drop off the face of the Earth once more."
"I didn't think I'd need to check in, I was sure you'd have your goons tracking my every move." Tony retorted bitterly. Fury chuckled but didn't deny Tony's accusation, just as he thought.
"Well in any case, the team was worried Tony."
"What, even capsicle?"
"If you're talking about Rogers, yes, especially worried."
"Well I'm right as rain." Tony said while fiddling with a pen cap on his desk.
"And Potts? What about the extremis? Tony, I'm concerned for her safety and those all around her..."
"Well, Nick, I've been trying to find the cure but your forty nine calls are making it difficult."
"Alright, alright. Just debriefing." Fury defended. Tony rubbed his hands over his face and yawned. After finding the anti-serum he could finally sleep without the constant worry.
"Hey, by the way, where was SHIELD for m backup this whole showdown?" Tony prodded Fury.
"Well what do you want me to do when you threated a terrorist then invite him to your house?" Fury said defensively. Tony rolled his eyes. When were people going to get over that one?
"Okay well in my defense the said terrorist was a British drug-addict actor named Trevor."
"Well listen Stark, I've got other matters to attend to today. We can meet another time to discuss."
"So not even as much as a 'I'm glad you're not actually dead Tony'?"
Fury was quiet for a bit before saying.
"Just stay out of trouble Tony." Then the line went dead. Tony shook his head, guessing that was as good as it would get with Fury, then got back to his work.