One Missed Call (Pepperony)

[Tony Stark]

Location: New York City
Date: 1 Hour After The Avengers
Time of Day: Late Afternoon

He was sitting on a bench waiting for his ride. The shawarma place was sitting behind him, having just made quite the profit off of six hungry heroes. The SHIELD Agents had taken Loki into custody, accompanied by Thor. Cap and Bruce had gone off to help the NYPD and EMTs respectively.

That just left him. He had nowhere to go but this bench.

The tower was in shambles and he was far too tired to deal with it now. So here he sat, waiting for Rhodie, or Pepper and Happy, or Pepper, Happy and Rhodie, whoever was coming to find him. His phone was gone, the helmet faceplate was where all of that data was stored, thrown away by Thor after the fight. Lucky for Tony his GPS signal was still active.

He sat back in the chair and put his arms behind his head, resting into them while he whistled. Besides all the wreckage, it was a pretty nice day.

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

When the plane landed, Pepper had picked up her phone to call Tony, knowing his suit omitted a GPS signal that would leave her straight to him but, for obvious reasons, preferring to hear his voice. What she’d found, among two company emails from their faction in Malibu and the weather forecast for the weekend, was a glaring alert for a missed call. The math was easy to do; the timestamp on the call placed it mid-battle, and though there was no way to be sure, Pepper knew exactly when it had been made.

She’d gone white, or so Rhodes had told her. When she’d mentioned it being imperative that she have a moment alone with Tony when they landed, he’d protested, but her vehemence had apparently brought a bit more colour back to her cheeks, and he’d finally given in. Of all people, James Rhodes knew what Tony meant to her. And his decision spoke volumes about their own dynamic; If he’d have thought her a security risk in any way, he’d be accompanying her right now.

But he wasn’t.

In her dove-grey suit and irresponsible heels, Pepper trekked through the ruined streets toward what could only be Tony’s GPS signal. She didn’t hurry; she needed the minutes to decide what she was going to say.

Eventually, she turned a corner, and the Blackberry in her palm told her that Tony should be visible from where she stood. The wreckage, however, negated that. The place was a mess of concrete and steel. She trained her eye on one side of the street, slowly sweeping her gaze through the confetti of buildings and rubbish, until a flash of red caught her eye.

And there he was. Parked on a bench, almost as if he was waiting.

She picked her way down the street carefully, not rushing as she came up behind him. She knew he knew she was there. Pausing, she debated for a long moment about what could be said. When she did speak, her voice was husky and hollow.

“Anthony Stark.”

* * *

[Tony Stark]

"Anthony Stark."

Oh, he only got called Anthony when he was in real deep. She must've noticed the missed call by now. Tony's head went through a list of excuses, but he knew he'd be in trouble regardless of what he said. After all, he flew a nuclear warhead into another dimension and nearly had been trapped there, not to mention the fact that he'd stopped breathing as well. If it hadn't been for The Hulk jump-starting his body again, Tony certainly would have died today.

However, he hadn't. In fact, besides the damages to the city, the loss of life was very low. All in all, Tony figured that was reason enough to get out of the lecture, but apparently not. Besides, Pepper should've answered her phone! Hmph!

Standing slowly, Tony felt how sore his knees were while he got up. He tilted his head at the approaching woman, "Virginia Potts. You know, when I call your cell, it's usually because it's something important. You're lucky I was just calling to ask you to pick up a pizza, which I see you didn't get. That's okay, The Avengers and I had shawarma, it was actually pretty alright. I mean, I won't be rushing back for it, but if I'm in the neighborhood."

At this point, he knew she was speaking right over him, he was listening, they did this often. No one missed a word that the other was saying, even though they were both talking loudly and simultaneously. So, continuing on, Tony spoke again, "Look, I know what I did scared you Pepper, but I'm tired, I'm sore all over and all I really want is a shower, then to fall asleep next to you for like, three days. So, can we just put this one in a memo or something?"

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

When she’d walked down the street moments before, she realised she wasn’t spoiling for a fight. She didn’t want to berate him, like he deserved, or congratulate him, which she begrudgingly admitted to herself would also be appropriate. She just wanted to fold into his arms and hang onto the fact that he was still here.

Every scrap of that logic had flown out of her head at his first sentence.

“A pizza, Tony?”

Gone was the level tone, the understanding she had been trying to dig deep enough to find, and the complete and total weariness that comes with watching the worst of your nightmares unfold on live TV. In its place there was a very strong and, from her point of view, rational urge to deck him. Pepper had no idea how to throw a punch, but if he hadn’t been wearing metal armour she’d have tried anyway.

“You went out for shawarma without trying to call me again? One missed call, Tony – ONE. Meanwhile, Rhodes and I –“

She broke herself off. They were speaking over each other again anyway, but besides that, she didn’t think it was her place to tell him that James had been as broken as she’d ever seen him. And that was saying something; the man was classic military, stoic and unflappable.

”A memo, Tony? A fu -- you know what? No. No, we absolutely cannot put this in a goddamn memo.”

This would mark exactly the third time Pepper had cursed in the entirety of their relationship, including the years she’d worked for him as a secretary. The first was during her first week as his personal assistant: one of her heels had broken at exactly the wrong time, and she’d turned her ankle. He’d bought her flowers, but the card hadn’t included her name, she presumed because he didn’t remember it.

The second was the afternoon she’d found him in a Scotch-induced haze; it had happened to be the same afternoon he was scheduled to meet the President of the United States to personally discuss a confidential weapons contract. She herself had gone through multiple clearance protocols to even be allowed to make the appointment.

This was by far the most appropriate occasion, she rationalised, refusing to feel guilty for her choice of words on a day like today.

* * *

[Tony Stark]

Obviously Pepper was mad that he had put himself into such terrible danger and was now trying to pass it off like it was nothing. She had a right to be, Tony had gotten himself into a seriously dangerous situation with that nuke earlier, and he'd nearly died, would have too if it hadn't been for The Hulk. He looked to Rhodie and then Happy as well, they both looked nearly as worried as Pepper did. Was no one just relieved that he was okay, that he and the rest of The Avengers had saved the city, and the world as well? Pepper blasted him for not calling more than once.

"Well, I would've called again, but Thor pulled off the faceplate of my armor, that's where the cell phone is. This armor needs serious repairing now." Tony had discarded the old helmet completely already, he'd have to make a new one. Perhaps even get started on a new armor completely. Tony would work on all of that stuff later, right now, he needed to appease Pepper, Happy and Rhodie too.

"We were just worried about you boss. You flew up through that hole and it nearly closed on you." Happy was right, Tony had to admit that had been pretty dangerous, "I had to, otherwise Manhattan would've been gone. Look, it's all good now. We're all safe. Loki's in jail and the army of blue baddies are all finished. SHIELD's going to deal with the rest of the clean up."

"Next time," Rhodie started, "When SHIELD calls you to make some kind of super club, make sure they include me. Someone needs to watch your back." Tony agreed. That was fair, and Rhodie would be a big help, in his mind.

Finally, he looked to Pepper, who was still mad about the memo comment. Tony paused a moment before saying, "I'm sorry Pepper. Really I am, but everything I did out there had to be done, and only I could do it." He smiled a bit before saying, "I won't do it again." Tony smiled impishly. There was no way he'd go without doing something so reckless again, impossible.

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

Pepper had been so busy berating Tony that she hadn’t noticed the other two making their way towards her, jumping slightly as she heard Happy over her left shoulder. She flushed the palest pink, knowing they’d probably heard her language.

She stayed quiet as the other two spoke, leaning against James for support. It had been the longest day of her life, and here she was toddling around the wreckage of Manhattan in 4 inch heels. Surreal was the only way to describe it. She felt like she was dreaming, and right now, the solid bulk of Rhodes’ shoulder was her rock. She shook her head slowly, disbelief written across her delicate features as Tony rationalised his behaviour.

“Of course you won’t do it again. Until next week.”

Her voice was thick with sarcasm, but right now she really felt entitled. She’d never explicitly painted out exactly what terrified her about his stints in the suit, but it was fair to say that nearly every one of her worst case scenarios had been visited that day. And, as usual, he just didn’t seem to get it. Looking at him long and hard, she sighed soundlessly.

“You might as well head home. I’m sure they’ll want you for statements eventually,” she waved her hand in the air, indicating whoever ‘they’ were; even she couldn’t guess.

* * *

[Tony Stark]

Tony walked up to join the group, as opposed to standing opposite them. He smiled to Pepper and said, "Oh, I'm not doing any work for like, a week, and we're going to, I don't know, Switzerland, or Paris, some place with chocolate, lots of chocolate." He smiled a bit as Rhoadie rolled his eyes and Happy stood silently as always. Eventually, Happy turned to go get the car while Tony continued to to ramble on.

Shell shock from almost being trapped in inter-dimensional outer space? Jittery after getting eaten by a giant armored space whale? What's that?

"Does anyone want mini cupcakes? There's this place called Baked By Mellisa that I keep hearing about, I think it's on East 42nd. Hogan, let's stop for cupcakes on the way back, to the wrecked tower... Er, guess we're staying at a hotel. Where though, what about the Trump building near the Holland?" Seeing Pepper had calmed Tony down enough to realize everything that had happened in the past three nights, and it was hitting harder than a hangover.

He looked from Rhoadie, to Pepper, then to the car pulling up before saying, "That's a rental right? We really shouldn't be driving any of our cars out on these roads, they're kind of covered in alien, blood, and stuff." It was almost like he couldn't stop talking, it was the only thing keeping him from passing the hell out.

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

Pepper could only stare at him, her perfect pale chignon keeping her hair from whipping into her face in the slight wind.

“I’m not going to Paris, Tony.”

Her voice was rising, incredulous. And as much as she didn’t want to have this scene in front of James and Happy, she couldn’t stop her reaction as he bumbled on. Her pulse spiked when he mentioned cupcakes, and that was the moment she knew he had to be the most irresponsible, childish person she had ever met. As well as the most irresponsible, childish person she’d ever fallen for, which was worse.

“You’re going home.” Her voice was deadly calm, smooth glass amidst the rubble and smoke. “Or, to the hotel. You know what I mean. Happy has a car waiting, James and I will hike north ten blocks and grab a cab from there.”

She didn’t mention if it were a rental. In truth, she had no clue, but she hoped it wasn’t; it would serve him right for thinking such an absurd thought at a time like this. Taking a hard look at him, she wanted to step over, to smooth his hair from his face as if she were straightening his tie, but she wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Pepper fought the urge she’d given in to so many times over the last six months. Anxious, tesne hands smoothed down nonexistant wrinkles in her skirt.

“I will see you in a few days, once I decide if I’m going to stay on at Stark Industries.”

She didn’t bring it up for drama’s sake, she brought it up so that he would know she couldn’t be relied on to clean up his mess this time; there was a real possibility she would resign tomorrow. But she’d learnt long ago never to make snap decisions around Tony – god knows he made enough for the both of them – and this was no exception. She’d give herself a night, ONE night of deliberation.

* * *

[Tony Stark]

“I’m not going to Paris, Tony.”

"Why not?" Paris seemed like a perfect getaway right now. He and Pepper could lay low, and he could eventually break all the news to her about what had happened. Surely she would want to know about the Avengers from him and not from the news. Tony was thinking of her this time. In fact, Pepper had encouraged him when Coulson, when Phil came to them before this all started.

“You’re going home.”

"I already told you, our floor is kind of a mess right now-"

“Or, to the hotel. You know what I mean. Happy has a car waiting, James and I will hike north ten blocks and grab a cab from there.”

"Why are you taking a cab? Come with me, I've got a lot to tell you about-"

“I will see you in a few days, once I decide if I’m going to stay on at Stark Industries.”

That hit like a ton of bricks. Or two, seeing as Tony was already carrying the weight of having nearly been trapped in a different universe after leading a nuclear missile in with only an untested Iron Man armor model to protect him. This wasn't the first time his actions put Pepper at a crossroads. However, he was usually a little less groggy than this. It was harder for him to completely process everything.

"Like that? You're not even going to tell me how worried you were? Or show any kind of emotion? Just, later, I'll let you know if I quit in a few days." He stumbled, feet heavy and clunky, "You're going to have to give me a little more than that Pepper, I've had a hell of a day. I got CPR from a big green guy in torn up dress pants, I blew up a giant alien turtle thing, from the inside!"

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

”Is that what you need to hear?!”

Her worries of being overheard were gone now, lost in the incredulousness of having to massage Tony’s ego yet again, especially considering the circumstances.

“Yes, I was worried. Are you happy?” As usual, she didn’t give him a chance for rebuttal. “You know, scratch that. I was more than worried. I was terrified, Tony. I know you were there, but at least you could do something about it. I couldn’t even do that. I had to watch it, on television. Passive. Helpless while you flew away into god knows where.”

Her hand had slipped into her blazer pocket, sweaty palm curling around her beloved Blackberry.

“And then to find I’d missed the call…” Her face had gone white now, and she shook her head to avoid the natural progression to tears. “So excuse me, Mr. Stark, but you’re going to have to give me a little more than ‘Hey, let’s get cupcakes.’”

Her voice was watery as she spoke, but she stood her ground, not flinching once.

“Because I’ve had a hell of a day.”

She straightened her blazer, releasing her deathgrip on her breakable phone, regaining her composure. Pepper Potts would not cry in the middle of the wreckage of Manhattan. Not now, not ever. And certainly never with an audience.

* * *

[Tony Stark]

Oh, this was one of those moments where Pepper had been acting tough, but not really meaning it. Tony was pretty bad at recognizing it, just like he had been now. Right up until Pepper's voice stumbled a bit. In the remains of the suit, Tony fumbled around until he found the release switch. Finding it was a bit difficult because Tony usually felt safer in the suit than he did out of it.

With a flip of the mechanism, the torso, arms and legs of the current armor came undone and fell off of him. Feeling particularly bold as he stepped out of the heaps of metal, Tony moved in on Pepper, ignoring any protest that may come his way, and wrapped himself around her.

Closed in, Tony was able to speak to her privately, so Hogan and Rhoadie couldn't hear them, "I'm sorry Pepper. Really. I just, did what I had to, or everyone would've died." That was true, there was no one in the group besides him that could have done what he did with that warhead today. What would Rogers have done? Thrown his shield at it?

Now holding on to Pepper, to tightly for her to break loose if she tried, Tony was vulnerable, a rarity. He probably smelled like sweat and Hulk too, but he wasn't letting go of Pepper, not right now.

"Don't leave, the company, there's never been a job better fit for you Pepper. Don't leave me, because I can't deal with it. I can't handle you leaving. Seriously."

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

As the armour fell away, it was just Tony again. Iron Man seemed like a bad dream, and Tony was there to help her over it.

But it wasn’t a dream. Iron Man was more the Hyde to his Dr. Jekyll, and she knew it was only a matter of time until something like this happened again.

“I don’t care that everyone would have died, Tony.” She hated herself as she said it, hated the ugly truth behind her words, but it was the truth. “I hate that this is your job. I can deal with the explosions and the international tensions and the scuffles, but I can’t deal with you having to drive nukes into outer space, And you can’t ask me to.”

She was shaking in his arms, her autopilot failing. She couldn't move, couldn’t back away; this was where she wanted to be, anyhow. Even as she hated him for putting her though this, a natural reaction to the day’s events and the possibility of having everything she loved ripped away from her, her rational side loved him for it. He was a better man than she’d ever imagined he would be, and she was immensely proud that she stood by his side.

When she wasn’t murderously angry at him for almost dying on purpose, that is.

“I can’t leave the company, Tony.” She consented to a few hot, silent tears, not budging to brush them away; there was always the possibility James and happy wouldn’t see them, and reaching up to acknowledge them would be a clear giveaway. “I want to right now, but we both know I can’t.”

That was something she could hate herself for. She was so good at doing what was best for Tony, but she couldn’t see what was best for herself. She hoped it was staying with Stark Industries, because she couldn’t bring herself to leave it. Or him. No matter how much she fantasised she could.

* * *

[Tony Stark]

“I don’t care that everyone would have died, Tony.” She hated herself as she said it, hated the ugly truth behind her words, but it was the truth. “I hate that this is your job. I can deal with the explosions and the international tensions and the scuffles, but I can’t deal with you having to drive nukes into outer space, And you can’t ask me to.”

"You're right. I'm sorry Pepper."

Tony breathed, he could already tell that Pepper wasn't going to leave, that was a relief. He really wouldn't even be bale to tie his shoes without Pepper there to supervise. He leaned back a bit and said, "Pepper." A squeeze of his embrace, then Tony tried to crack a joke, "I promise, no more nuclear missiles in interdimensional outer space alien bases, okay?"

“I can’t leave the company, Tony.”

"I know. I don't want you to, we've never been doing better. The company, us, everything. You can't just let it go."

“I want to right now, but we both know I can’t.”

Tony stopped in his tracks for a second, "And you shouldn't. Pepper, I need you, not just at the company. I need you."

[Virginia Potts]

* * *

He’d admitted as much several times, of course, but it was usually an effort to placate her. Due to his tone and the way he looked at her, she gathered that this time was different. His warm brown eyes held none of the sparkle of his usual arrogance, and that fact shocked her into silence.

Of course he’d been right. She hated admitting it, even to herself. It was because of him that the whole of Manhattan hadn’t been wiped, and the logical thing to do would be to congratulate him, not harangue him up one side and down the other.

” Pepper, I need you, not just at the company. I need you."

All she could do was nod. The fight had gone out of her, and she crossed the few feet of rubble between them, tucking herself into his arms. Wrapping her arms around him, she could tell how tired he was from the feel of his muscles beneath her fingers. As inactive as she'd been, clutching the armrest of her seat in the plane, she felt like she wasn't far behind him; the emotional toll of the afternoon had been huge.

Looking him over, her gaze sharp but subtle, her thoughts were only confirmed. He wasn’t very good at caring for himself, never had been – but he’d just saved the city, and he needed her. Well, he needed someone, and she would much rather it be her; no one else spoke Stark quite as fluently as she did, not even James.

“Come on, then.”

She took a short breath, compartmentalizing her feelings on the subject. She would deal with them later, one by one, probably in the privacy of her own condo in the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

[Tony Stark]

"Come on, then."

Already using Pepper as a light support, Tony let out a bated breath and relaxed. If he hadn't felt his heart stopping earlier in the day, he would have figured it would have there. His chin fell into the crook of her neck and shoulder, a perfect resting space if there had ever been one. He took a deep breath before speaking up in a miserable tone, "I got swallowed by a whale today. A flying, space whale." He left out the fact that he had done it voluntarily.

Pepper didn't need all the details.

Instead, Tony finally followed Pepper's instruction and made his way to the car. By now, Happy had loaded all of the pieces of his trashed armor into the back of the car, Tony would figure out what to do with them in the morning. Right now, nothing looked more comfortable than the leather seat of the back of his car. Normally Pepper would get in and slide over, but today, Tony took the initiative and practically fell in, then moved over so Pepper could follow him.

Supporting his head between the window and his headrest, Tony sighed before shutting his eyes. It had been a long day in the superhero office, and he just wanted to rest his eyes, a little bit. He didn't have anything to say, no sarcastic comments, nothing. Tony Stark was out of words. Take a picture, it'll never happen again.