AN: Hello there! As promised, here's the new chapter =] As always, many thanks to MegaDiary123 for helping out and proofing this chapter. Also a thank you to all of you for the support and the comments! I will be trying my best to reply to all of them, I'm just swamped right now. So it might take a while, but I will get back to you!

Until next time, please enjoy. *Pepper Mom Mode Activated*

All rights go to Marvel

Pepper's POV

I watched on a screen on my home office as Natasha, May and Clint remained on the sitting area, watching over Skye and Simmons who were none the wiser regarding their audience. It did bring a small smile only face.

Natasha and Clint didn't have many people, and I was just really happy for them to have reconnected with their friend, who also happened to be a big part of Skye's life. They deserved to have as many people as possible. With these thoughts, I felt the edges of my mouth starting to fall, and I let out a heavy, shuddering sigh.

Something had to be done, and I was growing tired of always being the one that had to see it being done.

I pushed away from my desk harshly, and made my way to the elevator.

"Where to, Ms. Potts?", J.A.R.V.I.S. asked as soon as I entered. He didn't even need a reply. I just looked deadly at the camera, and he knew where I wanted to go. The moment the doors opened, I found myself standing at Tony's personal workshop.

As he had been for the past… almost week at this point, he was hunched over one of his benches working on something. I looked around and saw Bruce on the other side of the room, working on a computer, about something or another. I didn't really care. Having heard my entrance, he lifted his head, and then danced between myself and Tony. He nodded in my direction, and then proceeded to exit without as much as saying anything. He just placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a supporting squeeze before leaving.

Tony didn't even lift his head to see me.

"You are not going to say anything to me, either? Am I the next person you will start to ignore?" I asked after about 5 minutes where the only sound was metal upon metal, or things being moved around on whatever he was doing.

Without even lifting his eyes, he grunted out "Might as well. We both know how this is going to end".

"Do we?", I retorted back. "Please, do explain to me how we both know this is going to end". I would like to point out, at this point, that I had not raised my voice. I was just on point, not really letting much of any emotion bleed into my words.

"You're gonna tell me to go and see Skye, to apologise or something. 'Talk things out', I believe was what you said last time. I am going to refuse to do so, and you will leave, again only to come back tomorrow and tell me a different variation of the same story".

During his little monologue, I had moved closer to him. I placed my hand on his, halting his movements on his most recent work. We stayed like that for a while, just being in each other's space. I was hoping he would do the next move, but it didn't seem like this was going to happen. "Tony", I called out. "Look at me, please".

It took another set of heartbeats until he fulfilled my request.

"I don't want to have this talk with you all over again, and I won't. It's been a harrowing few days, for everyone. And I am tired of fighting with you about this. So I will stop. I will say my piece now, and then I will go. But, Tony, I won't come back tomorrow to have the same thing happen again"

"What is this?", he asked. "Some sort of ultimatum?"

I scoffed, shaking my head and retracting my arm. "You really think I would do this to you?" To say I wasn't ever so slightly disappointed would be a lie, but I knew him and I knew how he reacted when he couldn't process what he was feeling.

"This is me, telling you, that Skye can leave tomorrow. She got the okay from Bruce, Fury and Simmons, and from what I am understanding, she wants to just leave the Tower, breathe some fresh air for a change", I folded my arms in front of me. "I love you Tony, you know that", I said matter-of-factly. "But I hate watching two of the most important people in my life fight. Skye has tried, while she's here, but she's also been giving you space. You know she won't push. Not for this. And if she decides she wants to leave tomorrow, and you don't even try to reach back, I don't want to begin to think what that would result to".

His head had fallen and he was looking back towards his work. "I gave her a laptop", he whispered so low that if there was any other noise in the room I would have missed it completely. "Why is that not enough?"

I allowed myself to momentarily smile, as I took a step closer to him. It was more than I was expecting to get out of him. "You know why", I said as I hugged him from behind. I looked at the current project he had displayed on his workspace. "Why won't you tell her what you are working on? What you have been doing?"

He shook his head. "Skye isn't the only one that can keep a secret", he replied.

"If you count the other members of your group, then no. But if you're comparing yourself to her, we both know that the only reason you have kept all of this a secret is because the only person you actually see is Bruce". I stepped away and moved towards the many screens. Looking at the new information from the last time that he had managed to gather. Still no clue. "And this isn't about the secrets—"

"It isn't?", he interrupted me. "There are more she isn't telling us. More I am sure she wants to discuss with her little family the moment she is able to leave the Tower", his knuckles turned white from how tight he was holding on the edge of his desk.

"Jealousy is not a good colour on you", I said. "And you know she loves you. You cannot go to that place, Tony. Love comes in a lot different forms and she knows these people for all her life"

"Yeah, but I don't know what I have done to make her not trust me! Not only did she kill agent Coulson—which the three of them knew, thank you very much—but she saw him, and said nothing. Not just to me, to you either! Does that not bother you?!", he turned around, his face a bit red from the frustration and anger. "She kept this from you! Told you she was unwell because of her missing the anniversary of his death! And you are just standing here", his arm moved widely and erratically at my direction, "honestly telling me this whole thing hasn't bothered you? So, what if I am keeping a couple of things close to my chest? What if I'm staying up at night, trying to find where Ian Quinn is, or trying to figure out a way to create a version of her gloves she can collapse into a pair or simple bracelets so she doesn't ever have to be in the same situation? What of it?!"

"You think I didn't care? That I wasn't hurt?", I was astonished by his assumptions. "You think, that when I heard the whole story, I didn't feel like someone had knocked my breath out of my lungs?" I walked up to him, so forcefully that for the first time since I went down there he sat up straight. I pushed my finger on the middle of his chest. "It hurt like hell, to know she didn't trust me. But then you", I kept pocking where his arc reactor still was, even though it wasn't the thing that was keeping him alive anymore, "you, had the audacity to ask if she made this all up.

"I watched as her face collapsed, as she had to defend herself from the people that were supposed to support and help her in hard times. You managed to make her so upset, she was hurt. Again!" I took a step back and folded my arms over my chest. "So, when you ask if I was upset: yes. Yes I was. But I cared more to be there for her, when she started bleeding again. Because all that matters in the end, is that she is okay, and that she is healthy. Because it was only a day after she was shot, bleeding and dying.

"So, excuse me if I care more about her being alive and well than a secret that she held", I spit out as I started making my way back towards the elevator doors that J.A.R.V.I.S. opened for me. "Skye is like a daughter to me, and I love her so much. You need to figure out whether your love for her is larger than the hurt you're feeling right now. And I cannot help you with that".

With that, I let the doors close behind me and left Tony alone.

Skye's POV

Today was the day. They told me yesterday that from today I would be able to leave the Tower, and I could not wait. I loved the Tower, and I would have loved to stay here, but I couldn't stay still anymore. However long my recuperation was going to take, I needed to get moving, start researching, bring the others up to speed. And, unfortunately, this was not something I could do here.

And while I felt somewhat elated that I would be able to go someplace more private, I was not a hundred percent as happy as I was expecting myself to be. Because I would still leave people behind here.

However much she was trying to hide it in my presence, I knew that Pepper hated the fact that I was leaving. Bruce had a somewhat sterner look, but we had both enjoyed the past few days where we just had the opportunity to be around each other. With Captain, things were going better, we had some more discussions over the last week, but there was still some tension there. Not as much as it used to be, but still enough. Not that I could blame him, just as much as I think he now accepted that he couldn't blame me for keeping the secret. There was a better understanding there that I hadn't expected to find.

And then there was Tony.

Tony who had yet to speak to me.

Tony who had refused all and any contact with him.

The closest thing that we got to an interaction was the note he left on top of the Stark Industries laptop that he left on my bed the other day.

I was on the communal area of the floor, watching silently as people around me moved. Everyone was busy making sure that we were as stocked up as we could, triple-checking everything. I was just content watching them. I had stopped trying to suggest helping or doing something more than relaxing around.

I had started walking around, leaving the wheelchair behind, and was feeling pretty decent. Accelerated healing came in handy in cases of a gunshot it would seem, my mind trailed as I placed my hand on my somewhat healed wound.

The corners of my mouth dropped, as my mind once more travelled to the only person missing from here. I shook my head in that realisation. You know what?, I thought to myself. No. I am not going to feel bad, I tried to convince myself even though I knew it was futile.

Maybe I hadn't pushed hard enough, or maybe I had pushed too hard. Trying to reach out, but stopping after a handful of days when nothing was coming out of it. "Best to give him some time", people had suggested to me, and I had listened. Because for all his intelligence, Tony was still like a child in many, many other aspects of his life.

It wasn't too long after, that I got up and even this small movement of mine made everyone in the room stop whatever they were doing. Everyone ready to come to my aid in case I were to show any sign of pain. It was touching, but smothering at times. "Okay, guys, I think we have it all", I said and started moving towards where they had all gathered.

I could tell that Jemma wanted to come quickly to my side, but she was holding herself back to give others the space. And Pepper didn't hesitate to be the first one to fill it, appearing next to me in a heartbeat.

Her hands moved on my shoulders, holding me, as if she was afraid I was going to fall. "Are you sure you want to go? It's not too late to change your mind"

I smiled kindly at her and moved in for a hug, which she returned tenfold. "I know, and this doesn't mean I am leaving forever. You know that, right?", I pulled back to see her expression and I could see there were unshed tear gathered in her eyes. They somehow managed not to spill over when she nodded. "Plus, you guys know where we're going, you are always welcome to visit. Right, old guy?"

"Of course", Clint chipped in, coming around Pepper. "You can come whenever you want"

"At least they know where we're going", I heard Natasha from the back. "Why do they know and we don't?", she asked and her hand moved, pointing between May and herself.

"'Cause it's a surprise, we've been over this", Pepper kissed the top of my head as I moved away from her and towards Bruce for a goodbye hug. His soft smile and small nod made it a little bit easier to know that this was the right choice.

Pulling away, I turned towards Rogers. "Cap'", I said and nodded in his direction. "See you soon?" I asked and offered my hand. Taking me completely by surprised he came closer and hugged me gently, making sure not to put any extra pressure with his powers. "You still need to show me how to download music", he said.

"Jar is doing it for you, why would you want to know?" I offered back, to which he shrugged. I took it for the olive branch it was.

I looked around, hoping. Hoping, but knowing that no-one else was gonna make an appearance. I wasn't going to wait anymore for him. I moved towards the guys, who had moved closer to the exit on the patio that we were going to take off from. "Talk to you soon again, Jar" I called out to the A.I.

"Take care, Skye. Have a safe journey" he simply said back.

Since Clint and I were the only ones that actually knew were we were going, the cockpit was given to us. The other three had taken the normal seats, allowing me some rare alone time with my brother.

"Sorry to make you reveal it sooner than you were expecting to", I apologised once more.

He shook his head. "You need to stop apologising. Even if it's not perfect, I was planning on it being my Christmas present for her". I could feel both the excitement and the anxiousness rolling off of him.

"She's gonna love it", I reassured him. "I am sure of it".

A comfortable silence followed, where the only sound was that of the engine and the buzzing of the airplane that was never quiet in my head. I hadn't tried using my powers all that much since… well, since the Revelation Day when they went a bit haywire. But they were still on the background.

"Skye?", Clint's voice was heard in the headphones we were not wearing. I turned my attention to him and saw as he watched me from the corners of his eyes.

"What's up?" I asked, lolling my head in his direction.

He lifted one finger, telling me to wait, as he proceeded to click one of the intercom buttons. We were already closing in on Iowa, so he called out to the people on the back. "We're closing in, strap in", he spoke and his words spread all over the jet.

He didn't say anything after that, as he checked that everything was in order. "Clint?", I asked.

He shook his head. "It's nothing", he ended up saying after a couple more moments of silence. "I'm just really glad you are okay. You really scared us back there". His voice turned a bit rough there.

"I'd promise not to do it again, but it's not really up to me", I said back. This guy. He decided to throw this at me the moment we were landing. Damn him. And then the wheels were on the ground and we gave the okay for everyone to unbuckle.

We were quickly out back, preparing to exit the aircraft. Soon, we were all standing outside, looking at the natural expanse and the building that was almost completely finished. "I thought that it would be nice to have a space to come and unwind when we are not on mission, or just need a place to exist outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.", Clint turned towards Nat and offered his hand.

Her eyes took in the building in front of her, and placed her hand on his own. "When did you do this?"

"We have been working on it for over a year now. It was a nice side-project after the Battle", I offered. "I helped out with the wiring and made sure the place has a good connection and is secure as much as it can be, while he worked on the construction"

"I wanted to have this finished by Christmas, so we could come here, but didn't manage to quite polish all of it off", even if his voice was steady, I could tell the underlying anxiety. And if I could, then so could May and Nat. But the latter just seemed enamoured by the farmhouse in front of her. "Welcome to our Homestead"