There we go, a little turbulence is necessary for us to appreciate the wonderful times ahead :D

I ran down into the workshop.

'What's going on, what happened?' Rhodey rushed over to me.

'Where is he?' I cried.

'He left, where is he going, what happened?' Rhodey asked again.

I collapsed into the couch, I couldn't breathe, 'where did he go?'

Rhodey sat beside me, Happy and Bruce stood in front of me.

'I don't know, he didn't say anything, Pepper what happened?' Rhodey looked at me.

I shook my head, I don't know, what did happen, did I just tell Tony that I didn't want to be there for him? I cried hysterically.

Rhodey pulled me closer to him, 'calm down Pepper, you need to tell me what happened.'

Happy brought a glass of water, Rhodey handed it to me.

'What happened?' He spoke quietly.

'I told him I was leaving.' I said finally.

'Leaving?' He asked firmly, 'as in leaving him?'

I nodded.

Rhodey cleared his throat.

'What have I done?' I cried, 'I love him so much, what have I done?'

'Why did you say it?' Happy asked.

'I couldn't watch him risk his life like this.' I dropped my head in my hands, 'I told him I was leaving, oh my god.'

Rhodey took my hand in his, 'it'll be ok, I'm sure he knows you were just worried, talk to him.'

'I tried calling him, he didn't answer, ' I looked over at the screens, 'what is that?'

Tony Stark himself has called today's press conference, the turnout is already seeing dozens of reporters hoping to catch a glimpse of the Phoenix himself.

'What is he doing?' Happy sat down beside is.

Bruce looked as awkward as ever, he looked over at the screen.

The camera panned out and showed Tony arriving in the Audi, my heart sunk, he was taking bait to a whole new level.

He walked up to the stage escorted by his bodyguards; he smiled at the press before him but I could see the frown beyond the façade he was putting up. The sunglasses hid the fact that his eyes were red, I saw them before he left. I covered my mouth with my hand. What have I done?

'As you can see ladies and gentlemen, I am alive and well, and better than ever. ' I would also like to say that Miss Potts is still recovering from the incident and I would appreciate it if you would allow her some time to recover in peace.' He took the sunglasses off, 'and this is a private message to those men who attempted to destroy my world, you haven't succeeded, you never will, and if you try, the full force of the law will be against you, as well as Iron Man.

I watched the conference, I felt worse as each word came out of his mouth. Then the ever present reporter, Everhart chimed in.

Pushing him, forcing him to relive what I had just done to him, but true to his ever perfect poised composure, he dealt and deflected anything she threw at him.

And Miss Potts was taken because?' She cocked her head and smirked at him.

'Because she is the closest individual to me, she would have access to everything I have access to, it makes sense.' He looked uneasy to anyone who knew him as well as I did, but to everyone else, he was confident, cool and in control.

And that is the only reason she was targeted?'

The camera focussed on Tony's face, he returned an annoyed smile, 'yes, she is my personal assistant, thank you everyone, please forward any further questions you may have to Miss Potts' inbox, we will attend to them when she feels well enough to do so.'

The interview finished, I swallowed hard, he just painted a target on his head.

Before the camera drew away from him completely, I saw a glimpse of a familiar woman making her way to Tony's side. Natasha Romanov. My heart dropped, she knew he was in danger, all of S.H.I.E.L.D did, they sent an assassin as a personal body guard to watch him.

Rhodey cleared his throat, 'he just gave you an out.' Rhodey said quietly.

I looked to him, 'what?'

'No more ties to Tony Stark, if you don't want them.' He replied.

I looked around at the three men before me, 'no, that's not what I want, I need to see him.'

'I'll try and get through to him.' Happy nodded.

Rhodey stood up, he took out his phone as it started to ring, 'Sir, no, we didn't know Mr Stark was going live, I understand, I'll make sure to let him know.'

He replaced his phone, he sighed, 'Tony needs to speak to the defence minister, he wants a run down on the events following the rescue op.'

I nodded, silent tears continued to plague me, 'he did this because of me.'

'He's known to make rash decisions without any reason, Pep.' Rhodey said quietly.

'No, not anymore, he talks about everything with me; this is because I let him down.' I stood up.

'I need to get him back, I need to tell him I didn't mean it, I can't believe I did this to him.'

'You were stressed out Pepper, it's completely understandable.' Rhodey tried to comfort me.

I shook my head, 'I shouldn't have said what I did, he needs me now, more than ever.'

'I'm sure he understands Pepper, give him time.' Rhodey said firmly.

I conceded. I looked down at my hands, I was a terrible person. I felt like I betrayed him.

Rhodey's phone rang again, he sat beside me, 'Agent Romanov, no I was not aware he was planning a conference.' He spoke quietly, 'is he alright?' I heard him ask. He nodded, 'keep me posted.'

'They're going back to S.H.I.E.L.D, Fury wants him close, he's got a neon target on his chest right now.' Rhodey explained.

Happy came back, he handed me the phone, 'Tony.'

My breath hitched, I took the phone from him, I walked out of the workshop, I made my way up the stairs, racking my brain for what I could say.

'Tony?' I said finally, I took a seat on the bed beside the half packed luggage. The scattered mess made me queasy.

'Pepper.' His voice was completely depleted.

'Tony, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it.' I whispered.

'I know, but I meant what I said.' He said quietly.

'What did you mean?'

He sighed, 'that you deserve better, you were right to say what you did, it wasn't fair of me, to put that much on you.'

'Tony no, no I was wrong, I was scared and exhausted, there is no excuse to validate what I said, please come home.' I pleaded. I was so completely exhausted from crying.

I heard his voice waiver on the other end, 'I can't do that Pep, not now, not until this is finished, you're never going to be safe from me until this is done.'

'I don't care about that, I just want you home, please Tony, I'm sorry.' I couldn't express the pain I was feeling, I only hoped he could forgive me.

'I can't Pep, I love you, I'll see you soon ok.' He sighed.

'Tony, please forgive me.' I managed.

'Always.' He said quietly.

'They said you're going with S.H.I.E.L.D?' I asked.

'Yeah, they want me close by, Fury thinks there's a serious risk of me being hunted down, I need to stay away from you until this gets resolved.'

I nodded to myself, 'I am behind you on this, always.' I hoped it wasn't too late.

'Thank you.' He said quietly, 'I have to go, I love you.'

'I love you Tony, please come home.' I said.

He disconnected the call.

I threw the phone across the room, if anyone told me that I would destroy my relationship with Tony Stark, I would have laughed. Firstly I would never date a womanising playboy, and second, he would ruin it by cheating or doing something incredibly stupid. I screamed at myself. I ruined the most perfect thing I could have ever hoped for. He is the most caring and genuine man I have ever known, he changed himself and the world for me, and I ruined it. I told him I was leaving, because I was scared? Pathetic. Idiot, Pepper, you're an idiot. I was scared this would never get fixed; I was scared that he was gone forever.

I curled up on the bed, I pulled my knees to my chest, his scent still lingered in the pillows, I closed my eyes, 'please come home to me Tony.' I whispered, I hoped that whoever looked after heroes whether they be gods, angels or other heroes, was listening. I hoped someone would be there to protect him the way he protected the world.

I love that I can explore Pepper's feelings of guilt for a change, it gets to me that Tony is always portrayed as being the bad guy who makes all the stupid mistakes.

So for once I wanted to make Pepper seem more human, able to make mistakes. So this is something I've always wanted to explore, and the reason I do, is to make it all the sweeter when they're happy and better :D

Hope everyone is ok with this, and GUEST, thanks for your awesome reviews :D YAY