Day 6 –Tony's House

I walked up the front walk, pausing for a moment before opening the front door. Once inside, I looked around the familiar room. The house seemed empty and lonely without Tony and his bright personality. I moved toward the stairs, glancing down the staircase to the workshop. I couldn't go down there yet. I wasn't ready for the memories that would assault me the second I opened the door to Tony's lair, where he went when he wanted to be alone, and where I normally heard unbelievably loud music in all hours of the day.

I went up the other stairs. I paused before the door to the room I normally slept in, but moved toward Tony's bedroom. I paused for a millisecond, but moved inside. I saw his enormous king sized bed, covered with a red bedspread. His desk was on one side of the room, covered with papers. His dresser, close to it, was also covered with junk. I smiled slightly. He never could tell the difference between a dresser and desk, so he put his things on both. He had the same floor to ceiling windows as the rest of the house, facing over the sea.

I sat on the bed, putting my stuff beside me. I reached for one of the pillows lying there, on the side he normally slept on. I hugged it to myself, burying my nose in it. I could still smell him, that scent that was distinctly Tony, on it. I started to sob quietly, breathing in his smell of sandalwood and vanilla, leather and grease that I was so familiar with.

I stood up with the pillow tucked in my arms, and went back down stairs to the living room.

I sunk into my normal seat, still clutching the pillow to me, taking some comfort in Tony's scent as I looked out the floor to ceiling windows. It was starting to get dark outside, though it was not night. This darkness was a storm brewing. It was coming in from the sea, and as I watched, a jagged piece of lightning struck, followed by a loud boom of thunder. The dark clouds moved onwards, toward the beach front mansion. It started to rain, the great drops making the beach turn dark and hitting the roof with sharp tap, tap, tap sounds. It matched my emotions perfectly. Tears ran down my face as I watched the rain coming down.

(_)(_)(_)(_)(_)

I slept in Tony's room that night. I had an old t-shirt of his on, and his scent surrounded me, comforting me as I drifted off to sleep. And I dreamed.

We were on the beach, running along the shoreline. He laughed as we ran.

"Come on, Pepper! Betcha can't catch me!"

I giggled at him as he started to trip over his own feet.

"Oh yeah?"

I ran past him, and he came up not far behind.

"You're so slow, Potts!"

He smirked as he ran past me. This turned to surprise as I swiftly caught up and overtook him.

"Oh, no fair! You have longer legs than me!"

He whined, running faster.

I laughed.

I looked back. Tony was stuck; his foot was caught in a piece of driftwood. He called out,

"Pepper, come help me!"

I tried to turn back, but I was frozen, looking back as Tony called out my name again.

"Pepper!"

I yelled back,

"I'm trying!"

He didn't hear me; his voice getting even more frantic as he started to get pulled out to sea along with the wood .I was forced to watch as he was pulled beneath the waves, calling my name all the while, till he was gone. I screamed.

I woke up, still screaming. I buried my head in the pillows, sobbing as I breathed in Tony's scent. That was the worst nightmare I had ever had in my entire life. The dream, seeing Tony get pulled b-beneath the w-waves-g-gone f-forever…I cried harder, and screamed as the familiar agony stabbed me again and again, till I was just drifting, not doing anything but breathing and thinking of Tony as the waves of anguish washed over me.

I didn't fall back asleep that night, for fear of what I might see.

Day 7- Tony's House

I woke up slowly, opening my eyes and seeing Tony's bedroom. For a heartbeat, I wondered what had happened-had I finally given in to his flattery, and fulfilled my deepest desire? But no, I remembered, Tony was –gone-and would be for maybe forever. My eyes overfilled again, but I stopped before I gave in to the despair lingering beneath. I loved him, I knew that now, I thought it had been just physical attraction at first, but while his little black book of women just cared about his looks, I loved him. The look he gets when he figures something out, his childlike joy when he has a new idea he just has to try out, his silences, his witty remarks, his devil-may-care attitude, and especially just that he's…..him. Wonderful, brilliant, original Tony. And I would do anything to get him back.

With this in mind, I moved out of his bed, and went all the way downstairs to his workshop. I entered the code, and stepped inside. Seeing his tools and desk just the way he left them made me gasp for air again, but I breathed through the pain running through my veins until I achieved control again.

"Jarvis."

I addressed the AI.

"Yes, Ms. Potts?"

"Pull up a map of the middle east on one of monitors, centered on Afghanistan."

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

The map glared brightly on one of the screens, with Afghanistan at its center.

"Show me where they had the demonstration of the Jericho missile, and its surrounding landscape for twenty-five miles."

Jarvis zoomed in on the spot. I saw the flat desert where they had the presentation and the huge mountains around the desert. They were so big; I wondered how anyone could find their way through, much less the U.S. military.

My thoughts, so recently filled with hope, turned to shreds once again, and the knowledge that I loved Tony –gasp- made the pain much worse. I looked away from the monitors, not wanting to see the source of my hopelessness. I moved toward the couch that was there, but the pain of all the memories-turning down Tony's music, making him eat something, making him go to sleep on the very couch I headed for at 3 in the morning when he hadn't slept for over 2 days….battered my mind until I was on my hands and knees, moving towards it inch by inch, stopping every couple of seconds to try to regain control. I couldn't. As I reached the couch and collapsed on it, I realized that it had been one week since Tony was taken. The workshop echoed with the sound of my cries.

A/N- I know this looks bad, but it will get better. I will update soon. Promise. R&R! Reviews are love! -K