"The clean slate protocol, sir?" Jarvis asked through his ear piece. Pepper stared back at him with the same confused look on her face when she caught him doing something out of the ordinary. Tony looked back at her and her ruffled hair with make-up under her eyes. The truth that he wasn't able to protect her was still unbearable for him. They hurt her, and he couldn't do anything. It made Tony feel sick to his stomach, but it was all over now… almost.

"Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes… yes." Tony answered his AI, nodding on each yes. As he said this he slowly moved forward towards Pepper to wrap both of his arms around her back. He could tell that she was both confused and still frightened about what had happened only moments ago. He couldn't do anything but hold her for that moment though. She hesitantly wrapped an arm behind his shoulders, leaving the arm with the ironman armor at his side.

Over Pepper's shoulder, Tony could see the numbers of suits flying around in the sky above them in aimless circles. He knew he was seeing for the last time when he heard the first explosion behind him. Stark watched as the parts of the boat reflected the light from the explosion as sparks rained down above them. The clean slate protocol was now in effect, and the first ironman suit was destroyed.

It wasn't long before the next explosion sounded from somewhere long off from his right shoulder. Tony watched the next suit explode in midair as more sparks flew like fireworks in the dark Christmas night sky. They began to go faster now, one boom after another as the suits were destroyed in midflight one by one.

Pepper let out a surprised breath over his shoulder as she watched the suits go, her hair brushing up against Tony's face as she looked back and forth. Tony was reluctant to watch Jarvis blow up his suits. He'd spent countless hours on all of those, all the way up to Mark 42. He realized that that was the reason he was destroying them though. They were only a distraction, an obsession, to keep him away from Pepper and the ones he loved. He had submerged himself in his work instead of being the person he should be for his Pepper.

Pep's grip tightened around his shoulders. Tony turned and pressed his lips against the side of her forehead, pulling her close. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of her hair that he had missed so much. He kissed her and turned back to look over her shoulder.

"Okay so far? You like it?" Tony asked, glanced over at Pepper. He heard Pepper give a happy sigh.

"It'll do." she said, making him smile. She tightened her grip on him even more. They hugged for a while like that, the last of the suits exploding around them. Finally, the sounds of the suits being blown up decreased into nothing which was when Tony stepped back to look at Pepper. She was worn, but she was still his Pepper. He gave a half smile to her making her smile back.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I just missed you that's all." Tony commented. He noted the ironman arm still enclosed around hers as well as her black sports bra which was the only thing she was wearing as far as above waist level.

"Let's get that armor off of you." Tony said. He reached for Pepper's arm which she extended towards him. He turned it so her hand was palm up. The red painted armor gleamed in the lights that were stranded around parts of the ship. As she reached her arm out, the familiar mechanical whine that the armor made while it moved filled Tony's ears. He realized it would be the last time he heard that sound from the armor for a while.

Wiping the thought out of his head, Tony reached for the small latch at the joint of the arm armor and flipped it up. The pieces of the suit retracted from each other and clanked to the ground in a pile of parts. Pepper rubbed her arm where the armor used to be clad. Tony took this time to take off the jacket he was wearing. One of the sleeves was completely ripped off while the other was still attached, but it was probably the most intact thing on his body.

Tony wrapped the jacket around Pepper's back and helped her get her arms through the sleeves. It was much too big for her, making Pepper look even smaller. It was better than just being in her sports bra however.

"Thanks…" she mumbled as she zipped it up. Tony waited until she fastened the jacket around her before he enclosed her in his arms again. She wound her own arms around his neck and nestled her head in the spot where his neck met his shoulder. Pepper's warm breathing down his neck made Tony slightly shiver as he buried himself in her hair. Pep smirked at this before pulling away to look up at Tony.

"Hey!" Tony heard a voice come from behind Pepper. He looked over her shoulder to see Rhodey running to them still wearing the Iron Patriot armor. The mask was flipped up so Tony could see his friends face as he ran towards them. "Everyone alright?" Rhodey asked.

"For now." Tony said. Pepper turned to face Rhodey, allowing Tony to wrap his hands around her waist from behind.

"Nice to see you Pepper." Rhodey said giving her a slight nod.

"You too Rhodes." she replied. Tony kissed the top of her head before remembering something.

"Rhodey, where's the president?"

"Ah, the ambulances and police force showed up at the docks." Rhodey said. He added a slight eye roll. "Finally." He murmured. "He's getting checked out so they can be sure he's alright, I suggest you two do the same."

"Nooooooooooo…" Tony complained. Pepper twisted around a bit to look at him with an irritated look. "What?" he asked her. "You know I hate hospitals, and ambulances, and people being in control of my wellbeing. It's unsettling."

"You aren't the qualified one here!" she said. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Who needs qualification anymore." he retorted. He knew there was no winning this argument however.

"Will you quit whining for once and take two seconds to make sure you aren't dying?" Rhodey asked. Pepper had already taken Tony by the hand and had begun dragging him towards the mainland anyway. He followed her but dreading what was coming next. There were undoubtedly tons of reporters waiting once they got off the boat. The idea would have excited him a couple months back, but it was going to be hell going through it now. He was "back from the dead" even though he never was in the first place. He had no home to go back to, he had no workshop to relax and tinker in, no dummy or butterfingers to boss around. The realization sent a pang of depression through Tony's body. It was suddenly gone when he watched Pepper walking in front of him, pulling Tony along by the hand. He had her, and that was all that mattered.

~X~

The bright lights flashed all around him. The annoying clicks of the cameras filled the air and the roar of shouting reporters erupted into the night.

"Tony Stark! Tony Stark!"

"Where have you been since you house was destroyed?"

"Did you defeat the Mandarin?"

"Who exactly is the Mandarin?"

"Were you aware that Miss Potts was involved?"

"How did you survive the destruction of your mansion?"

"What will you do next?"

The reporters were gathered on every side around the ambulance. Officers held them back to the best of their ability, but they were still way too close than Tony wanted them. Their questions were all meaningless statements to him that he wouldn't answer. He tried to block out the noise while the nurses and doctors from the ambulance checked him, but the last question hit him. What would he do next?

Tony felt Pepper hand slip into his as she laced their fingers together. She squeezed his hand knowing full well that the reporters were probably getting to him. He looked over at her with sad eyes that made her frown.

"Where do we go next?" Tony asked as quiet as he could while still being able to be heard over the nagging paparazzi. Pepper looked up at him with wide eyes. The nurse on the other side of her was gently prodding her shoulder and patching it up with bandages.

"I- I don't know." she answered. "I mean… we could go stay at the Tower for a while."

As soon as these words came out of Pepper's mouth, Tony felt a constricting feeling in his chest. It kept getting tighter and tighter, gripping his heard and twisting it in knots. Tony's breathing became labored as it became harder to actually get breaths. He looked away from Pepper and stared at a spot on the ground. Focus, focus. You'll be okay. You'll be okay. Tony tried to tell himself. It was no use though. The anxiety attack took hold of him and he could keep control any longer.

Breaking away from Pepper's grip on his hand, he quickly walked forwards and into the crowd of reporters. He had no idea where he was going but everything was getting blurry. The shouts and yells became even louder around him as the journalists and paparazzi buzzed around him. There were so many flashes of bright light that Tony could see where he was going. He felt the shoves of people around him and the distant call of his name from Pepper somewhere behind him. He only kept walking though as the world began to spin and become more and more blurry. Tony was breathing extremely fast now and broke into a jog.

Finally, he broke from the crowd. They formed a cloud of people behind him pointing microphones and cameras, but Tony just kept running. He could make out a spinning brick building, the stretching parking lot and the street lights that surrounded him, but he hardly paid attention. He reached the brick wall right before he collapsed against it. Tony tried to regain the strength in his legs but it was too difficult. He eventually gave in and slid to the ground, pressing his back against the wall and pulling his knees to his chest. Tony could clearly hear his loud breathing through the night. He tried to calm it down but he just couldn't think straight.

"Tony!" he heard Peppers voice. He didn't look for her though; he could only focus on breathing. "Tony…" he heard her soft voice come up beside him. He was still breathing in fast loud, short breaths while tightly gripping his knees. Pepper knelt in front of him but still gave him a considerable amount of room. She reached forward to take his hand.

"Shhh… breathe… Just breathe, Tony." she said soothingly. He heard her words and tried to focus but he couldn't, he couldn't… "I'm here, Tony." Pepper said quietly but in a firm way that was comforting. Tony finally raised his eyes to look into hers. She looked frightened despite her calm words. He didn't mean to frighten her; he just couldn't control the anxiety attacks sometimes.

While lost in Pepper's eyes, Tony barely noticed his breathing calming down to a normal pace. The word became more clarified and less blurry and his head stopped spinning. A sense of relaxation and comfort washed over him knowing that Pepper was there. Tony finally took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He let his head gently fall back against the brick wall as he caught the rest of his breath.

"What the hell was that all about?" Pepper breathed. She moved to sit down beside him, keeping her hand in his. Tony opened one eye to glance at her before closing it again.

"I- I might have a slight of an anxiety issue." he said. Before Tony could continue Pepper immediately spoke up.

"An anxiety issue!?" she demanded. "And you didn't bother to tell me?"

With this, Tony opened his eyes and turned to look at her. Their faces were less than 6 inches away from each other as Tony tried to explain.

"No, no… I just found out not too long before the house was attacked. I was at a restaurant with Rhodey and these kids wanted me to sign some picture about New York and I flipped out. It's happened about two other times with mentions of the Avengers. I- I try to make it stop but-"

"Tony, it's ok. It isn't something that's easy to control. It will take time." Pepper said.

"There are aliens… aliens, Pepper. What the hell is that about? We don't even know if they're coming back or how many there are or how many are set on destroying Earth or…"

"Well Thor doesn't seem so bad. He's definitely not from Earth." Pepper pointed out. Tony raised his eyebrows. He supposed she was right. The thought of Thor made him smile.

"Point-break…" he whispered under his breath. "Yeah I guess Asgardians are okay."

"I'm sure everything will be okay." Pepper said. Tony nodded and they sat there in peace for a while. It was then when Tony realized that it was a pretty nice night. The stars were scattered throughout the sky and there was a warm breeze that blew past him once and a while. He squeezed Pepper's hand, grateful to be able to be there with her. After near death experiences with both of them in the course of a few days, he found himself once again appreciating everything more.

"Why don't we get a hotel room tonight and see how you feel about New York in the morning." Pepper said pausing a bit as she hesitantly said New York. Tony nodded and pushed himself off the ground, offering a hand to Pepper. She took it and stood.

"Let's get out of here." Tony said looking over at the mob of reporters.

"What about telling Rhodey?" Pepper asked.

"Rhodey can wait, I'm exhausted."