Chapter 2! This one's a bit shorter, and it's in Pepper's POV. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Pepper Potts makes it a point of honor not to cry in front of anyone. Ever. But there is something about Tony that changes her, makes her react in ways she doesn't understand and can't control. So of course she cried when she had heard he had gone missing in Afghanistan. Of course she had cried when he made it home. And she definitely cries while he lays lifeless in a hospital bed, lying there because of something she had done to him. The golden layer that first enshrouded him when she injected him with the Extremis remains there, still covering his skin. She likes to run her fingers across it, feeling the rough texture of it under her fingers. She wonders what its purpose is. If Tony were awake, he would know. He would have the answer. He always does.
Despite the fact that Extremis succeeded in healing Tony's mortal injuries, he is still brain-dead. The scientists think that the technological virus overloaded his brain. The doctors say there is nothing that can be done for him, that he will probably never come out of the coma. They say she should let him go, that there is no hope left.
Does Pepper leave? No. Of course not. This is her Tony, and although she knows deep down inside that she will probably never hear his strong voice or see his dark brown eyes ever again, she can't bring herself to leave him.
5 weeks of emotional and physical stress have taken their toll on Pepper. Dark, worried circles have formed under her eyes. Her voice is constantly rough, her eyes always red and bloodshot from crying. All in all, she looks as if she has aged 10 years in just over a month. Rhodey worries about her, even more than he worries about Tony. He used to come to see Tony every day, but now his visits are more and more infrequent. But Pepper never leaves.
So when Tony finally awakes, he is not alone. She is there, sleeping by his bedside, as she always does. She has the armchair pulled close to his bedside, and her head lays on the bed next to him, her arms under her head, and one hand reaches out to rest gently on the glowing arc reactor in his chest. So, naturally, she hears him groan, feels him shift as he wakes up. She sits up, bewildered, but her head is clear. She watches as he opens his deep brown eyes and returns to her.
Now under his control, the golden under-armor seems to melt away, disappearing underneath his skin, as natural as can be. Pepper and Tony watch in fascination until the last of it has slipped away, leaving Tony's skin exposed, vulnerable. He looks up into her face, and she is sure that his stunned expression matches hers completely.
"Pepper? What's going on?" he whispers, an adorable look of confusion sweeping across his face. Pepper says nothing, but takes one of his hands in one of hers, leaving her other one where it sits on his chest. She realizes that she can't answer his question, because she has no idea what's happening to him or if he's going to be okay of what they should do next, and it's all her fault. She begins to cry.
He smiles, lifting a hand to push her soft red hair out of her face. "Miss me?" The confusion is replaced by his usual arrogant self-assurance, and Pepper feels like everything is going to be okay.
But then his eyes lose focus and it seems like he is looking past her, and he grows unnaturally still. "Tony," Pepper panics, calls his name. "Tony!"
After a few agonizing seconds, he answers her. "Pepper," Tony says breathlessly. He still doesn't see her. "Why can I see all of this, in my head?"