Thank you for your wonderful reviews :) So much more is on it's way and I'm really excited! It's nearly all going to be action packed and incredibly Pepperony after this chapter!
Her heart sunk, every time the phone rung when Tony was away she felt her chest constrict and the nausea washed over her instantly.
She took a deep breath and answered the call.
Tears sprung to her eyes as soon as she heard Natasha's overly cool voice on the other end, she was on her way and would meet her at the house in ten minutes.
Without hesitation Pepper sprinted downstairs to the workshop, keyed in her access code and made her way to the hidden, inbuilt safe. She pressed her palm against the panel in the wall and it opened up revealing an arc reactor.
She pulled it out of the case, careful not to damage it; she laid it in the specially crafted suitcase and slammed it shut.
Damn it Tony, you said this would be over; she ignored the stray tears which fell as she rushed through the house and down the driveway to Natasha's waiting car.
They sped off down the highway silently; road rules didn't matter, not when Tony's life hung in the balance, again, she bit back the tears and anger.
They took Tony to the Mercy hospital this time, Pepper shook her head, that meant he was doing this off the books, he didn't tell S.H.I.E.L.D, which meant Natasha was working off the books too.
She knew that in a way, she was his guardian angel, in black leather and guns strapped to her thighs. On more than one occasion she had been there when Tony needed someone, she knew he would never ask for help, and she thanked whichever God was out there, looking out for him, that Natasha showed up when she did.
They came to a halt in front of the Emergency entry to the hospital; Happy met them with a weak nod. He got in the car and drove it away to park. Pepper rushed through the all too familiar hallways, pushing through the crowd which had gathered. Natasha fell behind to give her some privacy and manage crowd control.
Tony was a celebrity, as soon as anyone caught wind of Iron Man being involved, they arrived in troves, barricading themselves against the doors, thrusting their cameras and recorders in her face as she tried to hold herself together, and keep the calm demeanour she was known for.
This time was different; she had no strength left to hold up the façade which she normally donned so well, the hallways were littered with reporters. It was nearly four in the morning; how did these people even find out?
She made no effort to hide the tears which she knew fell obviously as she walked through the flashes of their cameras. Her world was spinning around her in slow motion, her heart beat echoed in her head, please be ok Tony.
The surgeon met her in a private room, she recognised him as a S.H.I.E.L.D certified doctor, they trusted him to keep Tony's secret, and protect The Avengers. Pepper shook his hand as he explained the intricacies of Tony's injuries. She looked at him with a blank expression, his heart had suffered a lot of damage and the magnetic pulse which nearly killed him had thrown his heart out of rhythm. She swallowed hard. The case with the reactor burned like a lump of coal against her lap, a constant reminder of the ever present vulnerability he faced. Would this even help? She forced herself to push away the negative thoughts; she couldn't afford to think like that.
'Have you got the replacement arc?' The doctor asked her gently.
She nodded and wordlessly held up the case.
He noticed her blank expression, 'he'll be alright, a lot of people experience arrhythmia of the heart, and it's very treatable Miss Potts.'
She nodded, 'I need to get this to him.'
The doctor got up and led her to Tony's room. She gently pushed the door open, he looked up at her with a weak smile, she was glad to see he was awake, the tightness in her chest eased up slightly.
The doctor left them alone and Pepper took a seat beside Tony.
'Let me change that for you.' She reached up under his shirt, he flinched slightly, 'I'm sorry, did I hurt you?' She gasped.
He shook his head softly, 'no, tickled.'
She smiled weakly, 'sorry.'
He took hold of her hand as she reached up for the reactor, 'I'm sorry,' he whispered.
Her gaze remained on the feint glow of the failing reactor, her tears flowed silently, she was weak, she was tired and completely emotionally drained, she felt his hand on her cheek, he raised her face so that their eyes could meet.
'Hey, I'm really sorry.' He whispered, 'but I'm ok, see?'
She shrugged his hand away and nodded; she took her hand from his grip and reached for the reactor again. She chewed her bottom lip as she worked silently replacing it with the new one, she grimaced at the pain she saw in his eyes, every touch made him wince. She sighed heavily as she clicked it into place and watched the blue light come to life. The gentle whir was the only sound between them.
His eyes bore through her, 'Pepper.'
She took his hand in hers and kissed it, 'I need to take care of something.'
Without another word she left him alone, finally letting the breath she was holding escape. She leaned against the closed door and pressed her hand to her face.
Natasha cleared her throat gently as she approached her, 'is there anything I can do?'
Pepper looked up at her, 'take me home please.'
She nodded, 'I'll call Happy.'
There were so many things she wanted to say, and ask, but she didn't.
Happy avoided looking at her, Natasha must have advised him, and she mentally thanked her.
'I've got men on the house, you'll be safe.' Natasha noted as Pepper walked into the mansion.
The silent house was still in the night; her own shallow breaths broke through the cold which surrounded her.
She felt horrible for the way her exchange went with Tony; but she couldn't find the strength to speak, or anything else for that matter.
She made her way upstairs and crawled into bed, he was safe, at least she knew that.
'You're going to have to do a lot of grovelling and a lot of making up for that stint you pulled last night.' Happy said flatly as he helped Tony to the waiting car.
The look on Pepper's face didn't leave his mind at all, sleep didn't welcome him, and he knew there was so much he would have to do to make up for this. His stupidity had put her through this, justify it as much as he wanted, there was nothing which would make her feel better, he knew that, but he would try, because she was worth everything and more to him.
'Stop by the florist, please Happy.' His voice sounded hoarse and it made him cringe.
'Flowers aren't going to fix this Tony.' Happy chimed in.
'I didn't ask for your opinion.' Tony said flatly.
'Well I'm giving it to you buddy, so listen up.' Happy said firmly.
Tony rolled his eyes and looked out at ocean as they drove home.
'Pepper loves you more than you can imagine boss, she works harder than anyone I know to make things happen, to keep your company going.'
Tony listened.
'She sits at home and worries herself sick when you're gone, and when you're here she worries even more, you come home beat up and broken, she tells me you sleep for an hour at the most and then you work yourself to the point of passing out.'
Tony's chest tightened, he was right.
'Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch you do that to yourself?' He looked back at Tony through the rear view mirror, 'it's not just Pepper, we all worry about you, and then you go out and do this, what are you trying to prove?'
Tony cleared his throat and looked down at his hands, he felt like a child being scolded by his parents for acting out at school.
'I know there's a lot going on in there, I'm not expecting an autobiography of your life Tony, I'm asking as a friend, whatever it is you're battling with, it's not working, you're not coping and Pepper is going crazy worrying about you, it isn't fair on her, or you.'
Tony finally nodded, 'you're right.'
'Just work this out, you two are meant to be together, tell her what's going on and she'll be your rock.' Happy said with a smile.
He pulled into the florist. Tony ordered a bunch of flowers through Happy, while he was paying the woman, she tried to sneak a peek through the tinted windows of the Bentley; Tony shielded his face, he didn't need media hype around this aspect of his life.
'Anything else boss?' Happy asked as they pulled onto the highway.
'No, just head home.' Tony turned his attention to the world outside.
The drive was painfully long, he was relieved when Happy finally pulled into the driveway and let Tony out; he gave him a knowing nod and watched as the broken man walked solemnly to his house. He had never seen anyone so hollow, he felt for him, but there was nothing that he could do to help, this was something he needed to work out with Pepper.
Tony walked through the front door clutching the flowers to his chest, 'Pepper?'
No reply…
'Pep?'
Nothing…
He didn't expect her to answer him, he knew she was home, Jarvis told him she was sleeping, he didn't blame her. He would pretend to be sleeping too. God he was a jerk.
He placed the flowers on the piano and sat down. Music, of any kind, soothed him.
She hesitantly made her way downstairs; each agonising step brought her closer to the worst thing she was ever going to do. She heard the piano, she heard him.
As she got closer, the music got louder and louder, the melody was beautiful. The notes carried through the air, her heart pounded in her chest threatening to break through her body, she could barely walk. The wall was all that held her up. When she finally reached the landing at the foot of the stairs, the music stopped. Tony turned to face her.
His smile faded as soon as their eyes connected. Horror at the look on her face was all he could focus on.
He stood up and rushed over to her, 'Pepper what happened, what's wrong?'
She held her hand out to stop him, 'don't.' she managed a broken word.
'Pepper you're scaring me, what happened.' He tried to take hold of her hand. His heart raced, what the hell was going on? 'I know I messed up Pep.' He moved to take her hand.
'Don't touch me!' She screamed, everything he did was making this harder if that were even possible.
He stammered backwards, 'Pep?' He didn't understand.
'Don't, don't talk.' She shoved the envelope into his hands before he could stall her.
He looked at it and then back at her, she couldn't control her crying anymore.
'What is this?' He whispered, his eyes locked onto hers, trying to understand.
'Resignation.' She whispered as she swallowed against the bile in the back of her throat.
He looked down at the tear stained mess in his hands and then back up hat her, is pleading eyes welled up, 'I don't understand.' He choked out.
'No, you don't, that's the point, you don't understand anything!' She spat.
He dropped the letter and shook his head, 'no, I don't because we talk about things; we don't just throw them away like this.' He said louder this time.
'Well, then, you should be able to work it out yourself, you're a genius aren't you?' She yelled back.
This had become a shouting match.
'What do you want from me Pepper?' He cried, 'I love you, more than anything, we need to talk about this.'
She shook her head, 'no, no Tony, all these constant Iron Man threats, the secrets and the lies, I can't do this, this whole relationship is a joke!' She couldn't think, 'you nearly died, again, you are completely reckless!' Despite the anger, she cried uncontrollably.
'I, I'm so sorry, Pepper I had to, they were going to kill you.' He stepped closer to her trying to take hold of her hand.
She stepped back to avoid his touch, 'did you honestly think that this would work?'
He looked at her incredulously, 'yes, Pepper I did, because I love you.' He said firmly, 'I do, I do think this can work.' He corrected.
She turned from him and tried to catch her breath. She knew that the world needed Iron Man, but she needed Tony Stark, and she naively believed she could have him; she pulled the ring off her finger.
She turned around and faced him once more and handed it to him.
He looked at her with wide eyes, tears streamed down his cheeks openly as did hers.
'I'll send someone to pick my things up.' She choked out.
She pushed past him; she didn't have anything else to say. She rushed outside slamming the door behind her.
Tony stood stunned, feet glued to the floor, he shook his head, he couldn't believe this was happening, he knew she was angry and he knew he would have to work hard to earn her forgiveness, but this, he never expected this.
He finally found his legs again, 'Pepper stop!' He yelled as he ran after her, he finally caught up and tried to pull her back.
She ripped her arm out of his, but he caught her wrist with his other hand.
Pepper turned around and swung as hard as she could and slapped him across the face.
He stammered backwards momentarily, his wide eyes broke her, 'please, Pepper don't do this, I can change I can fix this, whatever you want, please!' he yelled as he tried to take her hand again.
She pulled away, 'don't touch me.' She pleaded, she didn't want to hear anymore, 'just leave me alone!' she yelled.
Before he could stall her again, she rushed away from him and into the waiting cab. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she needed to be anywhere away from here and away from him.
He looked on as the cab sped away, and she sped away from him.
She planned this, she left the hospital and went home knowing that this is what she was going to do...
Fifteen minutes earlier…
Tears poured out of her eyes, she couldn't control them anymore. Rick's drawn gun was inches away from her face, she could smell the led. The other man, she recognised by Natasha's description as Dragon, stood in the corner of the room with a laptop and several cables protruding from Jarvis' control panel in the wall. Tony had called earlier, and the now hacked Jarvis replied telling him that she was sleeping, there would be no reason for Tony to doubt it, so he came home, never knowing what was waiting for him.
'Tell him you're leaving or watch him die,' Rick said with a smirk, he held a small remote in his other hand, 'live or die, live or die.' He waved the remote in front of her face.
'No, please don't make me do this.' Pepper pleaded.
'Your choice Pepper, watch him live thinking you hate him, or let him die knowing you love him.' He waved the remote before her again.
'Why are you doing this?' She screamed, her pleas were lost in his satisfied smirk.
'He made my life difficult Miss Potts, so I'm returning the favour.' He laughed sadistically as Dragon continued typing away never once meeting her gaze.
Pepper looked down at the screen of the tablet Rick handed her, it showed Tony walking through the door; he clutched a large bouquet of flowers to his chest, her heart broke. Oh god.
'I can't, please don't make me do this.' She pleaded to the unforgiving man.
He smiled, 'I'm giving you a choice, and it's up to you what you chose to do.'
'No!' She screamed again.
'Time is running out.' He said softly.
She looked at the screen; Tony made his way into the living room, 'Pepper?'
He called for her again, 'Pep'
She couldn't reply.
She watched on as he laid the flowers on the piano. He sat down and began playing. The same haunting melody as last time reverberated throughout the house, the sound cascaded through the walls. Pepper looked at Rick's grinning face.
'Tick tock.' He teased.
She slowly found her legs and stammered to the door. She clutched her hand over the engagement ring as her tears freely pouring over her cheeks.
'Don't forget this.' He held out an envelope.
Aww yeah, loving the agst! I'm loving even more how the next few chapters will portay Tony's anger at Rick and Dragon and a heap load of action/fight sequences :)