Again, my many thanks to everyone who leaves a kind review. My job is beyond stressful and time consuming, so it's nice to have some positive reinforcement. I've guessed on when he started college based on the age he graduated. I hope you like this chapter!

It was the second night after they went to Wal-Mart, and they were tucked in the living room watching movies. No one was more surprised than Pepper that this was how they were spending their evening. They hadn't talked about the things they said on the shopping trip. When Tony had seen her the next day and acted like nothing happened, she followed his lead. The evening had been such a mixture of connection and anger. Hadn't it been that way a lot lately? He'd been such an ass about Brad. But he'd also spoken about his parents, a rarity, and his openness had led her to reveal information as well. She felt as though they had made a connection, some positive step in their relationship. So Pepper accepted his offer of a movie night. Or rather, Pepper gave in while she answered emails when he dropped a DVD case in her lap and stared at the floor while he asked if she wanted to watch.

The lights were dimmed, but the copious food wrappers prohibited much romantic atmosphere. Each was attired in sweats, and each felt remarkable relaxed, stealing small glances while the other was transfixed, wondering independently why they hadn't done an activity like this sooner.

"This movie sucks."

"It's a classic."

"That sucks."

Pepper sighed and hit the stop button. "I agree."

Tony stretched out his arms over his head. "Then why are we watching it?"

"Because you wanted to."

"I did?"

"Insisted."

His head flopped onto a shoulder. "I don't remember that."

"Well then, no more Red Bulls for you tonight."

"Let's watch another one."

She yawned. "It's late."

He stretched his legs out, stopping one escape route. "Please."

"You don't need my permission to watch a movie, Mr. Stark. I just won't be here to watch it 

with you."

Tony pouted a little. "But it's more fun when you are here." Her expression failed to change. "I'll let you fall asleep on my shoulder."

"How very generous of you."

"Consider it a bonus of working with me."

"Next time you want to give me a bonus," Pepper inspected a box then discarded it upon realizing it was empty, "consider money or a vacation to the Bahamas."

"I'll consider a vacation to a beach when you consider wearing swimming attire more up to my standards than what I've seen you wear."

"Oh, but I look so attractive in the rough burlap."

"You look attractive in just about anything." Tony could see Pepper blush in the low lights of the living room, and she turned her head quickly so that he couldn't see the small smile that played across her face. 'Either I've said something really right or really wrong,' Tony thought to himself. "I've just committed sexual harassment, haven't I?"

Pepper turned and patted his knee good naturedly. "If I were really concerned about sexual harassment I wouldn't be your employee."

"And here I thought we were friends."

She considered this for a minute. "I guess we're that too."

"Friends stay up and watch movies together."

Pepper sighed, extracting herself from the couch, "I'll put in another. What sounds good?"

Tony was amused to see how flexible she was when she stretched her back. "Something funny."

Pepper made her selection and plopped back down on the sofa. "You know, I don't think I've stayed up all night watching movies since college. My friends and I would all huddle together with junk food and just binge out until like six in the morning then sleep on the floor. How about you?"

"Nope."

"Nope?"

The credits began to roll, but Tony turned his body to face Pepper. "You do realize that I was 12 when I started college."

"I guess I knew that." She turned to face him as well, mirroring his posture of having his head in a hand on the back of the couch. "So?"

"Let's just say that it took about five minutes for the novelty of a brace faced pre-teen billionaire genius to wear off on most people. Until I met Rhodes…"

"Not a lot offriends."

"Is a nice way to put it." He smiled and stared at the middle distance behind her head as if the past lived there. "I even tried to join a frat."

"They let you try? You're joking."

"Guess who the joke was on?"

"Ah ha."

"They convinced me to pull this…prank."

"How?"

Tony shrugged. "Why does any lemming leap off a cliff? It looks much cooler before you jump."

"What was the prank?"

He grinned broadly and shook a finger in her direction. "Oh no, I must save some embarrassing factoids for the memoir when I'm fat and old and need the money."

"When are you going to need money?"

Tony sucked in and patted hisstomach. "I'm more concerned about the fat and old part. It would be such a disappointment to all my female fans."

Pepper laughed and took a sip of wine. It was her second glass. Tony was on his forth andwas at least outwardly unchanged. "Fine, leave the prank a mystery."

"Yeah, so…" Tony's eyes went back to looking over her shoulder. "I got arrested. In my underwear, no less. But that's…" He pulled a knee onto the couch and absently pulled at his sock. "I remember having to call Obadiah. He had custody of me, though I really only needed a supervisor at that point. He came down to the station at like two am. He used to scare me when I was a kid. When my parents were still alive, and they used to have him over for diner I'd hide in my room…he'd come up there, want to see what I was working on…and he'd clap me on the back and I remember his hands being big and cold." Tony let his eyes look back at Pepper's. He expected to see her drifting off, picking at a nail, like most women he met did. But this particular woman's attention was only on him, and it gave him the strength to continue. Yet he couldn't ignore all his nervousness, the hem of his shirt was in his hand, the thumb following the thread. "Anyway, he came to the station in a full suit. And I thought who dresses like that so late? He must have changed into that just to come down here, just to show up the cops. I wanted him to yell, expected it. But he didn't. He just bent down real low and pointed at me asking who in the hell I thought I was. That I couldn't be just another asshole college student off slumming my life away. That there were rules, expectations toward my behavior that my sorry little mind needed to understand. And that if my father could see me now, he'd be ashamed. Ashamed. I told him my father would want me to be happy. I don't know how I was so brave. He slapped me, hard, and said 'grow up, Mr. Stark.' Then he left me in the cell overnight and froze my accounts until I agreed to move off campus." Tony finished the wine in his glass. "So yeah, I suppose my college experience was a little different than yours."

Pepper wasn't sure how she found her voice. "You were just a kid."

"In my life, being 'just' anything wasn't an option."

"But…"

"Please don't make a big deal out of this, Miss Potts. I certainly haven't." It was an outright lie, since even all these years later Tony could still palpably remember the sting of Obadiah's hands and words.

"Oh." Pepper nodded and turned back toward the TV nervously.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't. I just…" Shelooked back at him softly, "I'm just not sure how to react to stories like that."

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"No." Tony looked down disappointedly, and Pepper reached out to touch his arm. "I mean, I don't mind hearing about that sort of thing."

He looked back into her eyes. "I've never told anyone that story."

"Why?"

He shrugged to downplay the truth. "I guess I've never had anyone to tell."

"Not even Rhodes?"

"Guys don't talk about this sort of thing."

Pepper snorted. "Sure. The dude code of honor."

"Hey, it's gotten the human race this far."

"Congratulations."

"What? You don't have a story you've never told another person?"

"Some of us choose therapy," she said this seriously.

And Tony missed the hint completely. "Funny, you seem normal to me."

"See this," she gestured between them, "this is why I don't come to you with stuff."

Tony backtracked, disturbed by how quickly Pepper had crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I said but…whatever. Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me about this disturbing thing from college."

"No."

"I told you something."

"This isn't like trading Halloween candy."

"I don't understand."

Pepper put her head in her hands. "Wasn't any part of your childhood normal?"

"I thought the story about going to college at twelve kinda cleared that mystery up." Tony watched Pepper's fingers dig into her forehead. "Tell me."

"Give me a good reason why I should trust you."

He thought for a minute, then gently took Pepper's wrist so he could see her face. "Because I want to know."

"Because you told me something."

His head shook slightly. He could feel her pulse racing beneath his fingers. "No. Just because I want to know."

She paused thoughtfully. "A year ago, this conversation wouldn't have happened, would it?"

Tony's throat felt dry. "I don't think so."

Pepper nodded, retracting her hand from his, but looking him in the eye. "I was a senior when my mom died, and my dad didn't want me to go away to college, but my mom did. And I felt like I should do it for her, and I went. The last thing I told him was I'd be home for Thanksgiving. So I come home, and he's not there. And I call around all panicked that something terrible has happened. I wait for hours, and he comes home drunk. Asks me what I'm doing here. Yells and yells. I left to spend the night in a hotel, and the last thing he tells me is to not come home for Christmas. And I didn't. And I haven't since." Tony looked at her a bit agape. "So there you have it. My terrible thing."

"Okay." She was right, he realized. There was no easy thing to say after hearing something like that.

They fell into a quiet peaceful silence and soon Tony's attention was back on the film, the arm closest to Pepper draped across the back to the couch. After a few minutes, he heard her shift and a head came to rest on his shoulder. He looked down at the perfect part in her hair and smiled.

"Don't smile."

"I'm not smiling." He kissed the top of her head and brought his arm down slightly so it could rest on top of hers. "You do realize that doing this will fulfillyour bonus for the year."

"Shut up and watch the movie."

And as pleasant as the evening was, and as much as he enjoyed having Pepper semi-curled by his side, in the back of his mind Tony Stark was thinking about when his assistant would go to bed, and what he would be able to shoot next in his video game.

XXXXXXXXXX

The third day after their shopping trip started the same way the other ones had, with Pepper Potts waking up to find her new pony pinned uncomfortably beneath her body. She hadn't meant to sleep with it originally, putting it on a chair next to her bed so its glassy eyes watched her protectively. But she'd awoken several hours later after reliving in her dream the moment she'd been told Tony had been taken, and pulled the stuffed animal to her chest affectionately. After that, there was no need to pretend it didn't make her feel sheltered. Besides, she hadn't slept better in a long time.

Rising and seeing it was past eleven, Pepper dressed quickly. She found him asleep on the couch, a half eaten bag of Doritos as a pillow. The image of him like this from the distance, all wrinkled clothes and tousled hair, was oddly endearing, Pepper decided. Leaning against a doorway leading into the living room she sighed. "When did he go to sleep?"

"Roughly four hours ago," Jarvis replied.

"Well, his meeting isn't for a while, I'll let him rest." She supposed he'd just stayed up and watched another flick.

Pepper tiptoed into the living room, even though she was fully aware of how deep a sleeper her boss was. Gathering the various food containers scattered around the table, Pepper retreated to the kitchen and made coffee. While the coffeemaker made pleasant dripping sounds into a far too expensive for its own good pot, she placed her hands on the counter and bent down as far as she could go, stretching her back. She still couldn't believe their conversation from last night. All that painful college junk just seemed to pour out. The fact that they were effectively both adult orphans was something neither seemed to like the dwell on.

You're all I have. They'd said that. It had to mean something.

Pepper heard the rustling of cellophane first. Setting down her coffee cup she moved back into the living room. Tony was on the couch turning in his sleep. At first Pepper thought he looked like a dog whose legs were twitching from chasing a dream cat. But then his eyes squeezed shut, and she heard him say quietly, "No…please…"

She went and sat by across from him on the coffee table and put a hand in his hair. "Tony, wake up."

"What are you doing?"

She rubbed his arm vigorously. "Come on…"

His thrashing became more dramatic. "Please…don't…"

Pepper couldn't let him be like this and pinched his arm hard enough to leave a mark. Tony shot up on the couch, but Pepper was quicker, putting both hands on his shoulders, guiding him to sit back down, leaning closer to look into his eyes. "Tony it's OK. It was just a dream."

He looked into her eyes disbelieving for a moment his own safety. But soon enough he registered the softness of the couch and pleasant daylight. Pepper's eyes were big with concern, and her hands massaged his shoulders protectively. "It wasn't a dream," he said shakily.

Pepper shook her head. "You were asleep. I watched you."

"That's not what I meant." Tony shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his eyes, but Pepper's hands refused to move.

"Then tell me what you meant."

Tony hung his head. He stared at his feet, pleased that his toe seemed almost healed. "I…"

To his surprise her head came to rest on his, their foreheads touching. "What? You think you're going to scare me?" Tony let outan airy chuckle. "Tell me what you were dreaming about."

"I woke up while they were putting in the arch."

"What?"

He tapped the device. "The anesthetic must have worn off. I passed out eventually but…"

"Oh."

"I remember straining against their straps."

Pepper could feel the tension in his shoulders, the hotness of his breath, but she didn't pull away. "I'm sorry that you had to experience that." She gave a weak smile.

"Not your fault." Tony briefly thought about how easy it would be to hug her just then, but forced his mind to move on.

"It's not yours either."

He sat back from her, forcing her arms to fall, feeling the first wave of anger hit. "I don't know about that."

"We are only responsible for our own actions. You didn't go over asking to be caught and tortured."

Tony crossed his arms across his chest. "And I suppose that my years of making more and more effective weapons had nothing to do with any of my problems?"

"The people who took you have different circumstances in their lives that forced them to make bad decisions and need those weapons."

"And what about me? What forced me?"

Pepper opened her mouth to say something, but the phone interrupted her. She flipped it open with precision. "Hello?...No, I didn't forget his meeting…You'll be here when?...Fine, he'll be ready." The phone beeped to signal the end of the conversation. "You need to go and shower. You have a meeting with the Air Forcein an hour and Rhodes will be here to pick you up soon. I'll make us some lunch."

He wanted to continue the conversation, but instead Tony simply stood and said in his most executive tone, "I'll have a Rueben."

XXXXXXXXXX

"This isn't a Rueben."

"After the chicken I wanted to stay in my comfort zone."

He sat down. "I don't like grilled cheese."

She slid the food off a counter griddle and handed him a plate. "You've never had grilled cheese."

He poked the food apathetically, "How did you know that?"

"I guessed. Your reaction at Wal-Mart was pretty telling of your eating habits."

"How many calories are in this thing?"

Pepper pulled the paper off another piece of cheese. "Since when do you care about that?"

Tony cut the sandwich in half. "The suitdoesn't have an elastic waist. If my body is a temple, I need to be more mindful of what I put in it."

She rolled her eyes. "This coming from a man who ate Doritos and Mountain Dew after midnight."

"I was hungry."

"Just eat the sandwich."

"Fine." Tony took a bite and was surprised. "Not bad Miss Potts."

Pepper sighed and yanked open the fridge. "See."

Only her butt was visible poking beyond the door. Tony didn't mind this, especially since she couldn't see him watch her. "What inspired you to make grilled cheese today?"

Pepper was so distracted from looking for a jar of pickles that she didn't think before she spoke. "It's good comfort food."

"What do you mean comfort food?" Pepper froze inside of the fridge, one hand on the handle, the otherwith a death grip on the cool glass of the pickles jar. Why hadn't she said 'because they're tasty so shut up.' Maybe if she waited inside the fridge long enough, he'd forget he asked the question. "Miss Potts…" Damn it.

She straightened up mechanically and shut the door. "I didn't mean anything."

"Lying is so unbecoming of a lady."

"Let it go."

"You made me confess about my dream."

"This is about sandwiches, not nightmares," Pepper said nonchalantly, trying to open the pickles.

"No, this is about 'comfort food.'"

The lid wouldn't budge. "Why are you treating this so negatively?"

Tony put down his sandwich. "Why won't you answer my question?"

"All I wanted to do was make a nice lunch that we would enjoy." Pepper slammeddown the jar.

"No you wanted to comfort me."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"Do you think I need to be comforted?"

"All things considered…"

Tony slammed his fist on the counter which made Pepper jump. "Answer me!"

"Yes, I guess I do somewhat think that. I mean, what would you have done if it was me who had gone through what you went through? What would you be doing if people out there had done to me what they did to you?"

"If they'd hurt you, they wouldn't be out there. They'd all be dead, I promise you that."

"Um, hey guys." Tony and Pepper's heads whipped towards the doorway atRhodes in uniform. "Do I smell grilled cheese?"

Tony wiped his face with his napkin. "Go ahead and finish mine, I'm not all that hungry." He got down from the stool and walked out of the kitchen. "I'll be ready in five."

Rhodes and Pepper watched him go."How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough."

Pepper sighed. "Feel free to eat his sandwich."

Rhodes sat down at Tony's still warm seat and took a bite. "Are you okay?"

"Sure."

"That answer doesn'tinspire much confidence."

Pepper snorted as she buttered more bread for her own lunch. "It wasn't meant to."

"You don't have to stay here."

"I think that conversation just proves that I should."

"Look, I'm his friend but I'm yours too. There's no need for both of you to suffer."

"I suppose so. But I can't leave, you know that."

"I know." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Is he sleeping better?"

She shook her head as she flipped the grilled cheese. "No."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

The griddle made reassuring sizzle noises. "I've tried. You saw how well the grilled cheese conversation went."

"So he doesn't know the truth?"

Pepper put one hand on her hip and used the other to gesture with the spatula. "What? That I lied? That my apartment isn't having work done and I'm staying here because I'm so terrified of him going off the deep end that I want to keep him nearby so I can try and stop it?"

Rhodes pulled some run off cheese from the plate and ate it as well. "Yeah."

"No, he doesn't have a clue. Thankfully."

"So what are we going to do?"

Pepper took his plate and put it into the sink. "Sometimes I just want to hug him and not let go until he talks to me."

"You say that like it's impossible to consider."

"It is."

"Don't know until you try."

"Try what?" Tony interrupted.

Rhodes stood quickly, trying to draw Tony's attention. "This really is some tasty grilled cheese, Pepper. Thank you. Come on Tony, let's go."

After they left Pepper stood in the kitchen eating, considering that the hugging plan might have to be a last resort if Tony ever found out about her staying over for reasons other than necessity. Because if she was hugging him, it might be more difficult for him to fire her.

XXXXXXXXXX

They'd just straightened out the deal for Tony to work as Ironman in tandem with the Air Forceand were driving back to his place in the early evening. Rhodes finished his last phone call and looked at his old friend. "That went surprisingly well."

"Why did you say surprisingly? I took a conflict resolution class in college, one of the society credits that was supposed to make me so well rounded." Tony took a drink from the heavy glass in his left hand.

"How much did you hate that?"

"Lots."

"Incredible." Rhodes sighed and rubbed the crease in his pants. "What I'm trying to say is that you usually aren't great at meetings or negotiations,and this was a bit of both."

Tony looked out the window. "Well, you guys played fair this time."

"It helps that we couldn't let you take your ball and go home without a deal."

He smirked. "It's nice for someone to finally admit that I have bigger balls than the US government."

"And you have to take it there. I thought you might have changed."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He looked at his friend through sunglasses even though it was far past the time of day where they were needed. "Are you and Pepper in on something together?"

"Don't be so paranoid. And lay off Pepper while you're at it."

"Miss Potts can take care of herself."

Rhodes looked at him seriously. "She's trying to help."

"Why do I need help all of a sudden?"

"It's not that you need help, it's just that…that…"

"What? What?"

Rhodes stared at his friend. He needed a haircut, and there were bags under his eyes that his sunglasses didn't hide well. During the meeting, he'd been scratching his side whenever the subject of the Middle East was brought up. Tony wasn't well, but Pepper was right to suggest he 

wasn't ready to talk about it. "Nothing…"

"That's right." Tony looked back out the window. Part of his brain told him to shut up then. But the part that was beginning to swim in alcohol was more persistent. "You think I've changed."

"I never said those exact words."

Tony went on like Rhodes hadn't even spoken. "And I guess you're right. I've changed my perspective on a few things, but overall I'm still the same man I was before. And that person wasn't so bad…I'm fine now."

"Sure." But his tone was anything but certain.

Tony snapped his fingers. "I got it. Let's go out tonight."

"I don't know."

"Come on. I'm sure your mom won't mind."

"Funny."

"Hey, what could possibly go wrong?"

"You know, every time someone says that, somewhere an idiot dies."

"When's the last time it was just the two of us?"

Rhodes chose his words on purpose. "Since before you were abducted."

"Since before I was abducted…" Tony said the phrase slowly, then quickly picked up the pace. "Yeah, before. Then isn't it about time we go out again?"

"You're acting like there's a time stamp on hedonistic behavior."

Tony laughed. "See, you're all uptight. Some hedonism is exactly what you need. Happy, take us downtown!"

Rhodes sighed and sat back. 'Well,' he thought, 'at least I'll be with him to keep his sorry ass out of trouble. But there is no way this night is ending well.'

XXXXXXXXXX

"You're where?"

"A bar."

Pepper rubbed her neck. "I don't suppose you could be more specific."

"I have a feeling if I were more specific you might come down here and make a scene."

She laughed. "You know me too well."

"Look, I'm on babysitting duty. I'll get him home in one piece. Take a night off and relax."

"All right Rhodes."

"Don't wait up."

"I won't." Pepper clicked her phone closed and looked around the quiet house. "I guess it's you and me Jarvis."

"Excellent Miss Potts. Shall I put on a movie?"

"No no, I'm perfectly capable of pressing a button."

"It's no trouble."

"Jarvis please. At least let me think that the machines don't have total control for another night." Crouching down she pressed the ejection button and reached for a case. But there wasn't a DVD in the player. "What's this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid. Is this a game?"

"Mr. Stark asked me not to tell you."

"Jarvis…"

The computer paused. "He didn't say I couldn't play it for you."

"Good boy." Pepper's eyes grew wide at the images on the screen. Destruction. Carnage. Death. "What is this?" she whispered.

"I can't tell you," Jarvis replied while simultaneously pulling up a screen showing a website for the game.

"How long has he been playing this?"

"Don't test my loyalties."

"Don't you want to help Mr. Stark?"

"The website would indicate that in order to get to Mr. Stark's current level, he would have had to play for almost twelve hours."

"While I'm asleep," she answered an unasked question. Pepper shook her head. On the screen a simulation showed a man getting his head blown off and the word 'winner' blinked furiously. "What have you done now Tony?"

She stretched out her legs on the ground. So much for not waiting up.

XXXXXXXXXX

James Rhodes couldn't dance. It wasn't that he was completely inept. He could keep beat, and if he stuck to swaying/stepping from side to side, he at least appeared to seem competent. But if arms or any kind of turning was involved, game over. Yet here he was, in a corner of the dance floor, carefully surrounded by people, making a bit of a fool of himself.

Tony shook his head and looked back at his phone. It might have been his idea to go out, but he wasn't exactly enjoying himself. Somehow the appeal of beautiful people drinking and having meaningless conversations had dimmed. He'd tried, sitting at the bar, talking amiably, but it seemed like every man called him dude, and every woman had too much eye shadow and cleavage. Even if these things hadn't been a problem in the past, it was now.

So the fabulous Mr. Stark was sitting by himself in a secluded corner, cruising the internet. He wished he was at home, watching movies with Pepper. He smiled a bit. If she hadn't been staying with him, then he wouldn't have…well, that was a bit too complicated.

Suddenly Tony had an interesting thought. How exactly was Pepper paying for the work on her apartment? It wasn't that he didn't pay her well, better than most he imagined, but still this was a significant investment, and wouldn't it be downright kind of him to pay for it all as a thank you for all her hard work. Quickly accessing a new browser window he called up her bank and after a few tries with her password (which turned out to be his birthday) he was in.

Tony scanned her recent billing history, and then read it twice more to make sure he understood what he saw. No payments made toward any sort of bathroom type place. No payments even made toward a something to do cleanup work for water damage. He supposed she could have paid with a credit card, but somehow he doubted it.

She'd lied, he realized. She'd lied about why she was staying with him. It was like drinking ice water, he could feel the betrayal working through his chest and stomach. Why would Pepper do that? Did she think he was weak? Broken? Didn't she trust him at his word? The anger in his heart burned away the ice. Tony wouldn't admit it to anyone, but this hurt. He punched the button for his favorites.

"Mr. Stark?" Tony looked up. An attractive blonde stood in front of him, her skin tight dress barely containing her ass. "Hi, I'm Mimi. Like, my friends over there dared me to come and talk 

to you."

"Did they, now?"

She nodded, lip-gloss shining. "Uh huh. They told me there was no way that I could get you to come back over to the bar with me."

"You seem like a perfectly kind," he glanced at her chest, "well rounded young woman. Why wouldn't I at least consider what you haveto say?"

"Well," she played with her necklace, "the newspapers have been totally saying that you haven't been out partying since, you know, before."

"They have?"

"Yeah, and my friends say that you were maybe damaged down there over there, or your head or whatever," Mimi laughed at the sound of her words, but Tony's jaw tightened. "I told them that's not true, but they won't believe me. Would you, like, come over and talk to them?"

Tony looked down at his phone. Pepper was highlighted in his favorites, her small icon picture burning brightly. He stared at it for a second, and then looked back up at Mimi, who smiled broadly. His phone beeped off and went in his pocket. Tony stood and put an arm around the young woman.

"You know what, my dear; I think a drink or two with your friends is exactly what I need."