The Field of Heaven

Chapter 7

"Tony." Pepper called from the bathroom, where she was finishing putting her makeup on for work. When she didn't get an answer, she opened the bathroom door to find that Tony was still asleep. She sat down on the bed next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking it lightly. "Tony."

Tony moaned softly and opened his eyes, still in some pain from having a knife slice the side of his stomach.

"I have to get going. You need to change your dressing. Do you want me to change it or are you going to do it?"

Tony moaned again. "Can you change it?"

"Sure." Pepper smiled and stood up. She walked to the bathroom and grabbed the stuff she needed to dress Tony's wound. She sat back down in the same spot she was I before. Pepper put the stuff down on the bedside table and pulled the blanket down around Tony's waist, revealing the now bloody dressing.

Pepper carefully peeled the dressing off and tossed it in the trash. She poured some hydro peroxide on a gauze pad and wiped the blood from the area. Tony winced at her touch, as he did last night. Pepper tossed the gauze in the trash and covered the wound in a new dressing.

"There." Pepper said as she patted Tony's chest, just below the arc. "Just try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone. Just relax for the day, okay?"

Tony nodded.

Pepper leaned over and kissed Tony's lips quickly before she stood up and walked towards the door. Pepper stopped in the doorway and turned to look back at Tony, who was staring at her. "I don't have too many meetings today, so I should be home by five. Call me if you need anything."

Tony nodded and watched as Pepper turned and left.

"Tony, I'm home." Pepper said as she walked through the door a few minutes after five.

"In here." Tony's voice came from the living room.

Pepper walked into the kitchen, put down her purse, and then turned to look at Tony. He was still in his boxers, watching TV. "Um… Is this what you've been doing all day?"

"Yeah." Tony smiled at Pepper as she walked over to sit next to him on the couch. "How was work?"

"Fine." Pepper said as she looked down at his dressing, which, surprisingly, wasn't bloody, like she expected it to be. "How does it feel today?'

Tony shrugged. "Ok, I guess. A little better than yesterday, but I'm not about to go around in the ring with Happy."

Pepper laughed and then sighed, leaning her head on Tony's chest. "Dinner?" Pepper asked hungrily.

Tony kissed Pepper's head. "Chinese?"

"Sure." Pepper said as Tony reached for the phone.

Tony motioned to get up from the couch when the doorbell rang half an hour later, but Pepper grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "Oh no. You are not answering the door dressed like this." Pepper said, motioning to Tony's attire of nothing but his boxers.

Tony sighed and stuck out his bottom lip.

Pepper rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch to open the door. Pepper paid the deliveryman and closed the door, after she thanked him.

They ate in silence, until they got to their fortune cookies. Tony picked a fortune cookie from the coffee table and then looked at Pepper.

"Go ahead." Pepper said as she smiled sweetly.

Tony opened the plastic bag around the fortune cookie, threw it on the table, and cracked the cookie open. He read his fortune aloud, "It's one of those low-key days you'd rather spend just chilling."

Pepper laughed, "I think that fortune just put the last nail in your coffin." Tony laughed along with Pepper.

"Your turn." Tony said as he picked up the other fortune cookie from the table and handed it to Pepper.

Pepper took the cookie, opened the wrapper, and cracked open the cookie. She laughed after she finished reading the fortune to herself.

"What?" Tony asked with a confused look.

Pepper, still laughing, handed the little piece of paper to Tony.

Tony read Pepper's fortune aloud, "Marriage lets you annoy one special person for the rest of your life." Tony laughed as well at the irony of the fortune.

When they both managed to control their laughing, Pepper said, "I think we need to stop ordering Chinese, Tony. Every time our fortunes seem to be dead on. Remember what they said last time?"

"Yeah." Tony laughed once more. "I'll just make dinner from now on then."

Pepper looked worriedly at Tony. "On second thought, Chinese is fine. As long as we don't read these fortune cookies anymore."

Tony and Pepper both began to laugh again as Tony's phone rang. Tony looked at the coffee table where his phone was and picked it up. He looked at the caller id and sighed. He hit accept. "You have impeccable timing, Fury."

"Listen up, Stark." Fury began over the phone. "Iron Slash has been sighted just outside of Malibu."

"What?" Tony sat up and looked to Pepper. She knew from the look he gave her that whatever Fury had told him was not good.

"Captain America, Thor, and Black Widow are already there. I sent the address to your AI." Fury said before he hung up the phone.

Tony slowly moved his phone away from his ear with his mouth wide open and his face pale.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Pepper said taking the phone from his hand and setting it on the table. She took his hand and squeezed it gently.

Tony looked up at Pepper. "Iron Slash is back. He's just outside of Malibu."

Pepper couldn't believe what she just heard. "What? I thought you killed him."

"I did. I mean, I thought I did." Tony dropped his head in disappointment, not knowing what to do.

"Hey." Pepper said, lifting his chin with her hand. "Everything is going to be ok."

"I have to go, Pepper." Tony said looking sadly into Pepper's eyes.

"I know. It's okay." Pepper stared back at Tony. She moved a hand to the back of Tony's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Pepper softly mumbled against Tony's lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." Tony said softly as he pulled back to see tears streaming down Pepper's face. He brought a hand up to wipe the tears from Pepper's check. "I'll get him this time. I promise." Tony kissed Pepper softly once more before looking up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, prep the suit."

"Right away, sir." Jarvis said in his usually tone.

Tony got rose from the couch, pulling Pepper with him, and walked downstairs to the workshop. He entered his code and opened the door, still holding onto Pepper's hand tightly. He walked over to where he kept his neoprene under suit. He pulled it out and slipped it on. Pepper zipped up the back and looked up as he turned around.

"Be careful." Pepper said putting her hands on his chest.

"I always am." Tony smiled softly and then kissed Pepper again passionately, before walking over to the now open floor and let the robots assemble the suit around him. "I'll be back soon." Tony said through with the metallic voice the suit gave him and flew out of the garage to the address that Fury had sent to Jarvis.