Chapter 5

"She's alive?" The new incoming text to Tony's cellphone from Rhodey startled him. He knew his friend had very little time to communicate with anyone while attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado, but he could not blame him for perhaps breaking some of the rules of his new school –especially in a situation like this. Even with the super stealthy Stark Pod Tony had sent Rhodey a few weeks ago, the Air Force student did not want to risk being kicked out of the Academy for something as simple as texting during class.

Tony flipped open his pod and responded to James' inquiry, inviting for the both of them to have an overdue text conversation.

"Yes, and well. Hardly a scratch."

"When?"

"Two days ago. She was left at NYTA but came to the armory at night."

"Shit! What happened?"

"She hasn't told me much."

"Gene's still alive?"

"She thinks not."

"You?"

"I think yes."

"Where are you?"

"Hospital. Virgil had a heart attack when he found out."

"TV?"

"Yes."

"Damn."

"You can say that again."

"Damn."

"Rhetorical."

"I know. I gotta go. Break's over. Catch up?"

"Yes, soon."

Tony put away his phone for now. The hospital hall he was in was quiet and practically empty as he waited for Pepper's visit to her dad to come to an end. The hospital had two different slots for visiting hours: one in the morning, and one in the afternoon, and they planned to be present for both. Pepper had wanted Tony to go inside with her, but Tony had insisted that perhaps it was best for her to go inside alone. Virgil was yet to wake up since the incident, and Tony doubted the first person the man wanted to see was the person he blamed for Pepper's disappearance.

Tony adjusted his posture in the uncomfortable chair, stretching his legs in front of him on the floor, and his arms at his sides atop the chairs next to him. Pepper still had about an hour until the morning visiting slot ended, which left him plenty of time to sulk in his thoughts. He rested his head on the edge of the chair and closed his eyes, relaxing as much as possible. From all the things he could have thought about at the moment: Who was watching over the city while Iron Man was away? When were his entrance documents due for MIT? Would Pepper's dad be alright? Where was Gene? What had happened to the Makluan rings? What had the Alien Guardian put Pepper through? – the only thought his mind could concentrate on now involved Pepper's lips on his.

Pepper, Tony sighed, recalling the feeling of her mouth on his, brief as it might have been. Despite his previous constant denials to Rhodey that he had in fact liked Pepper as more than just a close friend, deep inside he had always known the redhead held a special place in his heart. How special, however, he had not known for certain until she had slipped through his grasp. Six months was a long time to wait – and think – and besides the upgrades to his tech and the temple, Tony had an acceptance of his feelings for his friend to show for the time he had spent locked up in his little world. It had been gradual, constant, like the dripping of a leaky faucet, until one day it had just burst open and nearly drowned him in pain and understanding. He recalled the day as if it had been yesterday, but it had been three months ago; a few days after Rhodey had left for the Academy.

He had just had another fight with his father regarding his postponement to enrolling in MIT for the Fall semester. After a long argument, Howard and Tony had compromised: Tony would continue his search for Pepper, uninterrupted, until the end of the year. However, Howard would work on getting everything ready to get Tony admitted to MIT, and he would start school at the beginning of the following year; no more delays, no questions asked. After Howard had left after the agreement had been made, Tony had spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about the last question his father had asked him that day: what will you do if you don't find her?

At first, he had immediately answered himself that he would just keep searching, every day, nonstop. He did not need to be in the lab for the computers to continue working, and he could get an instant notification of her location via the pod. He had almost been satisfied with his answer until a question resulted from his previous response: how long would he look for her?

A month?

Another year?

The rest of his life?

The last option had seemed appealing to him, seeing how desperate he was to bringing her back, but what would searching for a missing person until the day you died truly entail?

Another damned question had popped up.

He had figured he would end up going to MIT, graduating, expanding his own company and taking over SI, and all while waiting for that one message from his computer that would signify Pepper was back. He had always dreamed of taking over the company, enhancing it, making it the best technology company in the world…but he had never considered the reality of the other side of his life; his personal life.

What about a family; a wife and kids?

To that he had not given much thought.

Clearly, he was not exempt to the circle of life, and thanks to Andros Stark he knew he would one day marry and have kids of his own. Andros had never mentioned whom Tony would marry, and he doubted he would have volunteered the information if asked, but the idea of continuing his infinite search for the girl he had placed in harm's way, while trying to be a son, a father and a husband did not seem to be as simplistic as he had initially thought it would be.

Would his wife complain about his devotion to finding his friend?

Would his kids reproach him for spending so much time searching for a dead girl rather than with them?

Would his company survive his constant escapades to check on any Makluan energy leads?

Tony Stark had hit his head on the wall one too many times by then that night. Every time he had found an answer to another question, an even more difficult question would pop up. He had gone around in circles, late into the night, trying every loophole and response imaginable to answer the simple initial question of what he would do if Pepper never came back. All answers had seem too complex, too risky, too difficult for everyone involved, and none of them had seem to be the absolute solution to all of his problems until a final question had come to his mind: why go through all this trouble at all?

And the answer had come to him in a blaze, shaking him to the core, forcing him to take seat and sending him to a long silence way into the night. Why would Tony Stark, the man who could have anything and anyone, go through the trouble of finding his long, lost friend, Pepper Potts?

Because I'm in love with my long, lost friend, Pepper Potts.

And everything had unraveled after that.

xxxXXXxxx

Inside the hospital room, Pepper sat in a chair next to her father's bed. She held his hand in both of hers, stroking the back of it and willing him to open his eyes. "I'm so sorry you found out like this, Daddy. I didn't know where you were…I was going to tell you in person. I wanted you to hear it from me."

The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the only response she got. She looked down at her pod and realized the nurse would stop by to escort her out any moment now. Even though she had spent every waking minute with Virgil, she felt as if she had somehow failed her first visit with him. She knew she had not known what to expect, and the doctors had told her there was nothing else anyone could do for him but wait, but she could not shake the feeling that she had wasted his time and hers. The last time he had been in a hospital bed she had not sat idly by; she had hacked into the FBI database to find Mr. Fix, gotten Iron Man involved and eventually saved the day. She had also almost gotten herself killed, but that just came with the investigator territory.

This time, however, there was no villain to chase, and no mystery to solve. This time, the single perpetrator of his injury was her.

The knock on the door was followed by the sound of it being opened, and Pepper did not make it difficult for the nurse to do her job. She stood up from the chair and walked up to her dad. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, gave him a weak smile and promised him she would be back later on. With a final nod to the nurse, Pepper exited the room and walked out to the hall where Tony was still waiting for her.

"Please tell me you did not spend two hours just sitting there," she walked up to him and offered her hand to help him sit up. Tony gladly accepted it and pushed himself up from the chair, towering over her and looking down at her tired face.

"I don't think you can complain if I did. You were doing the exact same thing in there. How is he?"

Pepper shook her head. "No change, but at least he isn't getting worse, I guess." She crossed her hands over her chest. The two teens remained silent for a moment until Tony's pod rung. He gave Pepper an apologetic smile as he took it out of his pocket and read the incoming text message.

"My dad will be here tonight."

"Really? I didn't know he and my dad were friends."

Tony shrugged. "That makes two of us."

"Hm," she mused, finding it strange that Tony would be unaware of something so out of place, and then began walking toward the exit of the floor. "Anyway, do you mind dropping me off at the airport?"

"Airport?" Tony repeated, walking next to her and holding the door open for her as they reached the reception room, before pressing the down button for the elevator and waiting for it to appear. "I thought you wanted to come back in the afternoon?"

"I do. I am, but, you probably have to go back to school tomorrow, right? I mean, it's gonna be Monday, after all. I'm going to rent a car."

The ring of the elevator doors opening gave Tony a moment to think about his next words. They entered the small room and Tony pressed the basement level button, the door closing immediately afterwards. "You can't rent a car, Pepper. You don't have a driver's license or insurance."

"Dammit," she slapped her forehead. "You're right. Well, I'll catch a cab."

"Are you nuts? Do you think I'm going to leave you here alone when you need a friend?"

"Are you nuts?" She spat. "Do you think I'm going to let you miss school because I have a problem? C'mon, Tony. I'm a big girl."

The elevator doors opened again and the teens exited in silence. The car Tony had rented was a few feet away from them, so they reached it quickly and got inside. Tony plugged in the keys and started the engine, but did not attempt to shift gears to put the car in reverse. "Pepper, I don't think you understand what's happening here."

"I understand that my dad had a heart attack, and he needs me here."

"Well, yeah, that's a given but…Pepper, you…you've been gone…for a long time. We haven't even gotten a chance to get you checked by a doctor! I mean, do you know…comprehend…" Tony sighed; the words were just not coming to him. "I'm worried about you, Pepper."

"I'm fine, Tony. I've already told you that."

"Are you, really? Do you really expect me to just accept that you're fine just because you said so?"

"YES, I do! Am I not reliable anymore, just because you don't know what happened to me? Because you didn't see it with your own eyes? Because you weren't there every time Gene tried to…" She pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose, pulled her face away from his and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Tried to what?"

"Nothing."

"Pepper…Gene tried to WHAT?"

"Will you let it go?"

"No!" He grabbed her forearm and raised it up, forcing her to look up to stare at him. "You want me to believe you're OK? You told me Gene didn't hurt you, but now you're saying he did?"

"I didn't say he hurt me, alright?"

"You didn't need to. I'm not an idiot, Pepper. I can read between the lines."

"Gene didn't hurt me."

"Bullshit!"

"It's not bullshit, Tony! And even if it were, it's not your problem!"

"Yes it is! It is my problem, because it's about you! And Gene better be dead because if he's not and I find him, he's gonna have his ten damned rings shoved up his…"

"STOP! Just…stop! Take me back, please. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Tony opened his mouth to continue the argument, but the look on her face made him stop. He carefully let go of her arm and pulled away from her. "Jeez, Pepper." Tony shook his head as he shifted gears for the car and placed his foot on the pedal. "I know you really liked the guy and all, but what did you do when you were away with him? Get married?"

Pepper's face snapped to stare at Tony's, eyes wide in shock and obvious guilt written all over her features. Tony narrowed his eyes in confusion but then widened them more than hers. He open his mouth to speak but in his confusion he pressed the pedal before he was ready and the car reversed just as another car was passing by, hitting the empty copilot seat for everything it was worth.

Tony let go of the pedal and looked back just in time to see the driver get out of the car and slam the door. "Are you fucking blind, kid?" The aggravated man kicked the tire. "Was your girlfriend giving you a blow -"

The last thing Pepper heard was Tony rushing out of the car himself in a flash, not allowing the driver to finish his question. "Oh, brother." She mumbled as she covered her face with her hands, counted to ten, and then exited the vehicle to calm the beast.

xxxXXXxxx

"What the hell were you thinking, Tony?" Pepper dabbed the alcohol-damp cotton ball on Tony's eyebrow, shaking her head at him. The genius sat on the edge of his bed at the hotel, shirtless, first aid kit next to him on the mattress. Pepper stood above him, patching up his bleeding face, which had been the only place he had gotten hurt during his fist-fight with the angry driver. "We crashed the guy's car. He had every right to be pissed off!"

"Yeah, at me! Not at you! Ouch!" He flinched when the alcohol began to sting.

"He didn't do anything to me. Why did you even take his words to heart? He was just mad; he didn't mean it. He apologized in the end, anyway."

"He shouldn't have insulted you in the first place."

"He didn't. I don't care what he said. Now stop pulling away or I'll pour the entire bottle of alcohol on your face."

"Agh," he mumbled in annoyance but complied. He remained as still as possible until Pepper placed an adhesive bandage above his left eyebrow and turned around to throw away the cotton ball in the trash can.

"Done!"

"Thanks, Pepper." He stood up from the bed and grabbed his ripped and bloodied shirt from the floor and tossed it inside the trash can as well. He then walked to his bag and took out a plain red t-shirt, which brought memories to the redhead standing a few feet behind him. Her eyes glistened for a moment, her mind taking her back to the day she had been kidnapped. She had been so happy, so blissfully unaware of what awaited her on her first official mission in her own suit. She had just been a simple girl who was ready to go to college, be a superhero, and patrol the skies with her friends. And now, six months later, despite her attempts at hiding it, she was…

Broken.

Tony finished putting on the t-shirt and turned around to face her, the last of his anger slipping away the moment he saw her distant look and the tears threatening to spill. She blinked once and kept her eyes closed when she felt the salty water reaching the corners of her mouth. The next thing she felt was his arms around her, pressing her onto his chest, and she could not hold back the painful sob that escaped her. Her legs grew weak, giving under her and almost making her hit the floor hard, but she was slowly helped down to it because he was there for her.

He had almost always been there for her; except for the time he had not been, and nothing would ever change that experience for her.

She hugged him back fervently, her nails scratching his back through his shirt, her sobs turning into desperate wails. Tony was at a loss; he had never seen Pepper so sad, so afraid, so distraught, so…

Broken.

There was nothing he could think to say or do, other than holding her tight as she cried out her pain. She had cried a few days ago, and a few times before she had been taken, but they had not been liked this.

Never like this.

What did they do to you, Pepper? He thought to himself, but could not say the words out loud. He did not want to further upset her, or break the moment she had finally gained the courage to appear weak in front of him, despite the paradox of it all. Pepper hated being the damsel in distress, the one that always needed rescuing; the one that sometimes had to wait for the knight in shining red-and-gold armor to save the day. She despised being a burden to him, to anyone of her friends, to her family, to herself above all. But she was only human, and if there was something Tony had learned in the past few months as he had diligently waited for her return was that it was alright to be just that – human, for only a human would be able to appreciate the lessons life sent our way, and come out of them stronger, better than before, and ready for the challenge of the next day.

"I'm here, Pepper," he whispered to her when her shaking began to subside. "Like it or not, I'm here for you."

"I…I like it," Pepper whispered back to him. "But Gene might've not."

"What does Gene have to do with it? Why would he have even cared?"

Pepper pulled away from Tony, both still kneeling on the floor of his hotel room. She stared up at him, took in a deep breath, and got ready to drop the bombshell on him. It was now or never, and she doubted she would have the nerve to tell him any other time. "Gene might've cared because…" she swallowed hard. "I'm his wife."

A/N: Yup, I've done worse than that, too.