A/N: OK, I was almost convinced to write another chapter :D as always I really hope you will enjoy it! I decided to skip Afghanistan (well because it was just too depressing to write, maybe I will go back to it later)

I apologise for all the mistakes!

Ch#2 Coming Back

'No, I don't think he will notice that the drinks are color coordinated' she thought distracted looking once again at the fridge in the workshop. It was four in the morning and Pepper had spent more than an hour arranging the bottles of various drinks in the fridge according to their colors. Well, she was perfectly sane or at least she still thought about herself as a sane person but she just couldn't wait any longer. The hours since she had picked up the phone from Rhodey had been passing painfully slowly and as long as she had been busy during that day when the night had fallen it was impossible to cope with the sluggishness of the clock. Pepper had never in her life experienced such a long night as that one. She had stopped the fight to sleep around one in the morning and just had gone to Tony's Mansion.

She had been here every day during those three months but it had never been so painful as today. And today should have been a happy day. 'He is going back home, he will be here in mere hours and finally you will be able to look at him again' she thought to herself trying to compose herself.

The last three months had been a living hell. Not only had she been forced to convince each and every one from the company that HE WOULD be back because he was Tony Stark and he had done more incredible things on daily basis, but also she had to convince herself the same thing every day. As long as the SI had been easier to convince, her own self had been a tough fight.

There had been nights that she had woken up crying from a dream she hadn't remembered but it had left her dark and at loss of hope. There had been nights that she had dreamed of their last conversation before he had left and as much as she had wanted to say other things then. But most nights had been filled with dreams of his dark eyes and smile hunting her and flashing before her eyes whenever she had closed them. If she'd had doubts about her feelings toward him before, all of them had vanished the moment she had heard about his capture.

It had been a memorable day. It had been a day after her birthday celebration and she had been happy to have a free day for herself. Tony had been in Afghanistan, her friends as always had made her a nice birthday party (but small as she hadn't had too many friends mostly because her work) and she'd had the next day free to do what she wanted. So why had she woken up with a dark feeling that day she hadn't known yet. When she had answered Rhodey's call, she had been sure he had called her because Tony had misbehaved again and Rhodey had needed some help. But the dark feeling she had got up with hadn't left her alone and when she had heard Rhodes words she had almost collapsed on the floor. After a brief pause the disbelief had come and she could have only thought that it had been a mistake or some sick joke. But as the day had progressed she had been forced to believe that it hadn't been a mistake and he had been truly taken away from her.

To be honest Pepper hadn't remembered much from that day, maybe only the fact that she hadn't moved from her sofa for couple of hours and she somehow had managed to stop crying and force herself to go to work the next day.

And ever since that day she had just pretended that he had been away and he would come back any day. So she had made sure that his house was operating and ready for his comeback even if she had been forced to eat all the food she had stored in the fridge for him every week. She had kept company to JARVIS and she knew deep down that it had been more for her own well-being. One thing she had refused to do during those three months, it had been going to his workshop. It had been impossible, it had been out of the question and she had knew deep down her heart that if she would have gone downstairs there had been no way she could look at his beloved place without losing her fragile hope of him being just away. It had been enough that she had almost seen him everywhere. In the kitchen when he had complained about something to eat just a few days ago, in the living room where he had sprawled on the sofa idly going through channels making her angry because she had been trying to work there. There had been no chance she would survive going to his favorite place, looking at his robots and pretending (as she had been doing for the three months) that he would be back like tomorrow making her life complicated again.

Oh, and she had finally stopped to deny that she hadn't been in love with him. Because this hole she had inside her ever since he had been gone was like someone had just ripped her heart out and sent it to Afghanistan in pieces.

Pepper closed the fridge door and looked around the workshop. Everything was like he had left it even his coffee mug was at the same spot she had remembered it from the three months. The last conversation they'd had here was playing in her mind and for a hundredth time she regretted not telling him half the things she had wanted that day.

She had made a promise to herself that if he would be home; if he actually would be coming home in six hours she would tell him everything. Pepper sighed tiredly and looked at his beaten up sofa. She reluctantly, as if it could bite her, walked to that furniture and sat at the edge. She could almost smell his unique scent on the pillows. After fighting with herself for couple of minutes she just curled in a ball on the sofa and hugged one of his pillows, not long after the first tears started to flow lulling her to sleep.

'OK I look like crap' she thought to herself when she was looking in the mirror in the morning. She had only sleet for three hours on the beaten up sofa in Tony's workshop and now she was trying to hide her dark circles under her eyes with some makeup. Unfortunately she was falling miserably with that. Happy was waiting in the driveway to take her to the military base where the plane with Tony on board would land in an hour and she could only think how unprofessional she looked today. She put on her dark brown suit jacket heading for the door, looking one last time on the mansion. Everything was ready and waiting for Tony to come home. She was so tired and emotional that only thinking about that was making her cry again. And she was really trying not to.

Happy nodded his good morning to her and held the door for her, saying nothing about her look although she was sure he noticed. The drive to the military airport was as long as the night before, Pepper knew that it was only forty minutes but for her it was way too long. She had been freaking waiting for three month and that damned forty minutes were just a borderline for her nerves. But finally they were on place and waiting for the plane to finish the landing procedure and just stopped. When the cargo hatch finally opened and she saw him standing up form a wheelchair, his arm in a sling, but still bearing this famous Stark look on his face she almost took a double step back to just lean over the limo for a second. Every cell in her body screamed at her to run to him, to hold him, to tell him everything but she just froze. She was so happy to finally see him that she couldn't think of anything else than just looking at him. Her breath caught in her throat making her even more dizzy and she could feel her heart beating frantically against her ribs. Rhodey helped him to walk down ramp and he was finally close enough her so she could look into his eyes. They locked their eyes together as on mutual understanding, Tony walked closer to her not losing the eye contact with her and finally he stand in front of her. He looked different; it was the first thing that came to her mind. He looked tired, beaten up and his eyes lost that spark which was always there. And it was the most painful discovery she acknowledge, she had dreamed about those eyes almost every day and now when finally she was staring into those beautiful dark brown eyes of his there was no spark there. She was fighting the urge to reach and caress his cheek, to lock him in her embrace and tell him that everything was all right. But her brain didn't work and her body was betraying her so she needed all the strength of her common sense to fight the tears that was threatened to fall.

"Your eyes are red." Tony said. And he hated that statement ever since it had left his mouth 'God I have miss you' was far better but he just couldn't say it could he? So he continued in as much light tone he could muster. "A few tears for your long-lost boss?" He was finally back, he was finally home and he was looking at the woman who became a definition of home for the last three months. He still remembered where he'd left 'them' when leaving so he needed to went back to being 'them' again, just for now, just for the sake of finally feeling at home. And there was nothing better than pretending that nothing happen and he was still the same person only little beaten up. She was smiling this beautiful smile of her, biting her bottom lip down and his brain could only think about how wonderful was to be back to see that smile again. He was trying very hard not to think about her lips, maybe that's way he tried to act as much normal as he could.

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." She answered as much lightly as she could 'Oh God I have miss you, I have to do something with my hands other way I will just throw myself at you' she was thinking foggy and fighting with herself. She couldn't stop looking into his eyes. 'I want that spark back, what should I do to see it back'

"Yeah, vacation's over." He answered and he knew perfectly well that this conversation should sound totally different but he was so confused. He needed to make some rapid decisions now and he didn't want to involve his mixed feelings towards Pepper with what he needed and promised himself to do today. 'We will talk Pepper I swear but now… I can't think straight' he thought to himself and he just went to the car door.

"Where to, sir?" 'Happy always the professional one.' Pepper thought when she closed the door. "Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." She answered fast.

"No." Tony interrupted her in stern voice. Pepper looked at him with frowned face. She knew that Tony hated hospital on principle but in that situation he really should go to see a doctor.

"No? Tony, you have to…" She tried to reasoned with him using her most soft tone, trying very hard not to make him angry "… go to the hospital."

"No is a complete answer." He barked back at her fighting with anger. He didn't want to be angry at her and especially spat at her but he really didn't want to go to hospital. He wanted to go home and curl in his bed and just woke up tomorrow and discovered that all what had happened was a really bad dream. But he knew better than that and he promised something to himself in that cave and now when he came back he knew that he needed to keep his word to himself and to Yensen. He just didn't know how to explain that to Pepper yet.

"The doctor has to look at you." She tried again.

"I don't have to do anything." He said even angrier. 'Please Pepper not now, not today, just do what I want, please I don't want to fight with you I don't want to take it out on you' he thought darkly and just bore his dark eyes into her and continued. "I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and the other..."

"That's enough of that." She rolled her eyes on him; if he was trying to make her mad he was doing a pretty good job talking like that. 'No way I will make that happen, if you want that, you will have to arrange that yourself…or…well I can… no I will never do it like that… or' how on earth she could think like that right now, maybe she was still in shock of his return. But Tony was saying something and she needed to focus.

"...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now." He was finishing saying and she was even more surprised.

"Call for a press conference?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Came the short answered.

"What on earth for?" she asked again but dutifully took her the phone out and started to dial the number to make his wish.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." Tony finished and leaned back in the seat trying to compose himself and start thinking what he needed to do next. Pepper was chatting silently on the phone arranging the press conference and he finally had time to look at her. She didn't change much, she was still raging beautiful and now wearing that confused and at the same focused look on her face she looked even prettier than he remembered. Suddenly he regretted the conversation they just had. He should say something nice to her before he started bark orders, he should tell her he missed her and he was thinking about going back to her every day for that horrible three months. But the words just escaped him then and now he was too scared to start this conversation again.

"Only the cheeseburgers Sir?" Hogan's words broke him from his train of thoughts and he discovered they were in the parking lot.

"Yeah..." He answered absent-minded and then he looked back at Pepper who was still writing something on her phone "Pepper anything?"

She just shook her head no and returned to writing. He frowned and looked back at Happy "On the second thought Hogan fries and vanilla shakes for everyone, it is a happy day after all" Happy just smiled and slipped out of the car. At the same time Pepper looked from the phone and she saw a glimpse of that old spark in Tony's eyes. She couldn't stop looking into his eyes and he didn't look away.

"I'm sorry for earlier." Tony said in a soft voice still looking at her, Pepper put down her phone and gazed back at him. "It's OK Tony…" She started and without thinking reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly. Tony was so surprised by her gesture that he almost pulled back from her touch. But her hand was warm, soft and so small, just as he remembered and for a split second he finally felt like home.

"It's not OK Pepper…" he started and tried to find the right words to explain her everything but failed miserably and just squeezed her hand in response. He was saved by Happy who returned loaded with food and in no time Tony had both his hands in a cheeseburger bag. Pepper tentatively was sipping her shake and just started at Tony who was chewing happily trying to bite two sandwiches at once. It was almost like the old times. Almost.

Note: OK there will be more! Definitely more between scenes we know from the movie because when you watch it you somehow miss all the unspoken things between Tony and Pepper, sometime there are like days skipped when so many things could happen and my mind is just wondering what happened there so... what do you think? Please leave a review or you can always PM me! -Ann