Brenna stepped off the elevator into Tony's penthouse and went straight to the kitchen. She started a pot of coffee first thing because she couldn't deal with him till he had his first cup. After getting that done she began making the cherry turnovers he loved so much. It was a simple recipe handed down from her grandma, but he acted like they were gourmet.

Just as she put them in the oven, Tony walked out of his room rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was wearing only a pair of grey sleep pants, his hair messy. Her mouth went dry and she turned toward the sink to wash the dishes. "Lord help me." She thought to herself. Thank God he couldn't read minds.

"Morning." He mumbled as he took down his favorite coffee cup.

"Morning, sleep head. How late were you up last night?" She kept her eyes on her task as she asked. Why did he have to look so damn good?

"What time is it?" He looked at the clock on the stove that read 7:15 a.m. "I went to bed about five hours ago."

This time she looked up at him. "You should still be in bed then."

He shook his head. "Can't. I have a meeting with Pepper in an hour."

She scoffed at him. "What was so important you couldn't go to bed at a decent time?" He just stared at her for a moment before turning back to the coffee pot. "Just couldn't sleep, okay." His mind never seemed to want to shut down. She knew this, and felt bad for getting mad at him, but she worried about him.

"I know. I'm sorry, Tony."

He shrugged his shoulders. "No big deal. Is that your cherry turnovers I smell?" His smile was so wide when she told him yes. "You do love me." He placed a big kiss on her cheek causing her to blush bright red. He just laughed as he picked up his coffee and left the kitchen.

TS_TS

Three hours later Brenna was at the kitchen table finishing up some paperwork, when Tony returned. He didn't look very happy.

"You, okay?" She asked him, concerned.

He took off his jacket and loosened his tie before plopping down in the chair next to hers. "Not really, no. Not much I can do about it, however."

She was just about to ask him if he wanted to talk about it when he began to vent. "This whole soulmate bullshit is annoying. It makes everyone do stupid shit, like quitting a damn good job, and moving halfway around the world."

Before she could even get a word out, he stood up and stormed off to his lab.

"Ooookay." She didn't know what else to say.

Once her paperwork was complete, she took him a fresh cup of coffee and a few of the turnovers. He had left for his meeting before getting to eat any. Hopefully they would cheer him up.

She walked in to find him sitting in a chair staring off into space. "Hard at work I see." He looked over at her and frowned. When he didn't comment she knew he was upset. She set the plate and cup down on the table in front of him. "You want to talk about it?" He probably wouldn't, but she at least had to offer him the opportunity.

She waited a moment before turning to leave.

"Do you have a soulmate, Bren?"

She froze in place. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't lie to him. Slowly she turned around and nodded. "I do."

He took a sip of his coffee before motioning her back over to him. "Do you know who he is?"

"Yes." She answered honestly, praying he wouldn't ask her to tell him.

"If he asked you to quit your job and move away, would you?"

She wasn't sure why he was asking this, but she was again honest when she answered. "Yes, I probably would."

He jumped up from his chair and started to pace the room. "So you think I should be happy for Pepper, and just accept her resignation?"

She didn't know how to answer at first.

He stopped and looked at her. "Just accept that she wants to leave and be with someone she has never met?"

She could tell he wanted her to say that Pepper was wrong, but she just couldn't. "I can't tell you what you want to hear, Tony. I can only be honest."

He rubbed both hands over his face and into his hair. She could tell he was doing a ten count to calm himself down. "What truth do you have for me that could possibly make this better?"

She took a moment to choose her words carefully, despite seeing the frustration in his whiskey colored eyes. "Despite how you feel about soulmates, there are those who cherish the idea of belonging to someone." He scoffed at her. She chose to ignore it and continued. "I know it hurts you to lose her because she is your friend, and you have known her for a long time. I understand this, but as her friend do you want her to be happy?"

He really wasn't expecting her to ask him this, so it threw him off a bit. She made him stop and really think about it, however, and he decided that yes, he wanted Pepper to be happy. "I guess… yeah, yes, yes I want her to be happy. I don't want anything to do with it, but I can't begrudge someone who believes in it."

She smiled at him.

"And it doesn't mean you can leave and go off with this soulmate of yours. You're my best friend and I'm not giving you up." He declared before leaving the lab, and her standing in the middle of the room in shock.