A Source of Comfort

Disclaimer: Not mine. Obviously. Just borrowing them.

Notes: Watched Avengers:AOU last night, and it left me wanting Pepperony scenes! So I read a few stories to get a fix, and now I have decided to write a few of my own. Be aware that there might be spoilers so if you wish not to be spoiled…do not read just yet. Mistakes are all mine. And since I have only seen the movie once so far, some of the dialogue taken from the movie might be slightly different.

So without further ado…here are a few Avengers:AOU Pepperony scenes!

When With These Visions

The quinjet zoomed over the Atlantic, now six hundred miles away from Manhattan. Every Avenger sat around anxiously anticipating their chance to unwind.

Tony however, piloted the jet with his mind and heart in a jumbled mess. Those visions he had experienced in Russia still floated around in his head. No matter how much he tried to focus on the sunlit passing clouds and water below them, he could not escape the darkness that hovered over him.

A strong sense of disappointment filled his body. It took him months to move past the trauma and events of the Battle of New York. He spent numerous hours talking through his experience, his visions, his fears. And though it took longer than he would care to admit, he finally reached a point where the words wormhole, aliens, and New York would not trigger panic attacks. He could finally sleep restfully next to Pepper.

But now, after those horrid visions of death and failure, he was afraid he had fallen back into his old patterns of good old traumatic stress.

How could that happen? How could those images, that felt so real, materialize out of thin air months later? Was it a relapse? Could something have triggered it?

These were the questions he fought to answer as he drowned out random conversations from his team.

"We know Tony's got that covered." Natasha smiled as she made sure Barton was comfortable. "Right, Stark?" She asked, but Tony did not respond.

"Sorry what?" He shook his head and blinked quickly to himself in order to force himself back from where his mind just was.

"Wow. You must be planning one hell of a party in that head of yours." She teased.

"Uh, yeah, you know me. It's always go big or go home." He tried to feign interest in the discussion, and was satisfied when the team shared small chuckles.

When everyone returned to conversing among themselves, Tony reemerged himself in his thoughts. Quickly yearning for a drink of strong liquor, something he had not desired in a long while. But he knew it was the way he used to function before his life changed…before Pepper became his solace. He wished she was not miles away in China on business right then, because then he could drown himself in her voice, instead of a glass of scotch.

After the jet touched down on the landing pad, and the Avengers dispersed to their quarters, Tony headed straight for his bar to serve himself a generous amount of scotch. He tossed it back without a second thought and sighed at the familiar burning. An odd relief for the other sense of burning he felt in his head.

He contemplated having one more drink, but decided against it before he walked towards the huge shower he had built Pepper during the remodel. A shower would hopefully help wash away the tension he felt throughout his entire body.

Tony was the kind of man who hardly stood around in the shower waiting for the water to turn cold. He saw no point in soaking until the fingertips shriveled up like raisins. Not unless Pepper was there with him. Which was not rare after missions. She often insisted on a hot shower or bath to help ease him out of Avenger mode.

And though she was not there with him, he spent hours under the water trying to recover. He washed away as much of the day as he could with scalding hot water. He pressed his palm against the wall in front of him for support, and tried desperately to listen to the sound of the water instead of Steve's accusatory voice. The same one he had heard in his vision. 'You could have saved us'. And when the waterfall finally lost heat, he decided to step out to get dressed.

"Sir you have an incoming call from Ms. Potts." Jarvis alerted him as he threw on a t-shirt.

For a second he thought about telling Jarvis that he would call her back, but he knew he was in desperate need of her voice. "Put her up on the screen, J." He commanded as he walked over to one of the large bedroom smart screens.

"Hey you." He smiled at the sight of her sleepy appearance. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I just woke up." She yawned. "I have an early start today. Meeting with the investors right before I go in to the office." She smiled.

Tony nodded. "Have I ever told you I love your early morning yawns?" He teased.

"Yeah there no less appealing than your late night snores." She teased back.

"Ouch. Nice comeback." He gave her a thumbs up.

Pepper shared a small laugh with him as she tucked some of her loose red strands behind her ears. "So how was the mission?"

"This is when you ask me something you already know the answer to right?" He grinned as she rolled her eyes.

"Well the first thing I woke up to was an update from Jarvis."

"Traitor." He looked up at the ceiling as if he could see Jarvis' face looking down at him. "So you know how it went down." Tony stated with his best cocky smile.

Pepper nodded. "Clint. The scepter. Got it. But what I'm more interested in hearing about is how you are doing after all of it."

"Well you know I took it like a champ. Did my job. I work hard to play hard. Have a celebration planned for tonight. It was a good victory." He tried his best to sound like himself.

"Right." She shook her head. "Jarvis mentioned something about a spike in your heart rate and blood pressure."

"That happens when you're trying not to get yourself killed you know."

"Yes. Or when someone is in distress." She shot back with a small smile as Tony stared at his feet

A few moments of silence transpired between them before Tony looked up to her on the screen.

"No distress. All good." He lied.

"You're a terrible liar Anthony Stark." She waited for him to continue on his own, but he did not. "Care to talk about it? Was it New York?"

"Pep…" He was on his way to formulating a rebuttal, but she interrupted him.

"Tony I can tell something is bothering you."

He exhaled a heavy sigh before he sat on the edge of their bed.

"I saw something." He gave in and accepted her offer to listen.

"Like before?"

"Not really. Similar. I'm not sure. I don't even know what I saw. But what I do know is that it was all my fault." He looked dejectedly up at her.

"Was it related to the wormhole?" She asked with trepidation in her voice.

"I don't think so." He scratched his head. "I saw a lot of death. And I had the strong sense that I was responsible for it all."

She looked sadly at him. "You have a way of carrying the world on your back, Tony. Let your team in, they can help you."

"It's not that easy. I feel like I have to be the one to save us. If not for them, then for you. For us." He smiled almost shyly.

"I wish I was there with you." She smiled as she looked down at her keyboard.

"Me too, baby. Me too." He nodded through red eyes. "I miss you."

Pepper looked up and stared at her screen lovingly. "I'll be home soon."

Tony stood up and made his way closer to the smart glass. "Listen Pep…I don't think you should come home right away." He hated the taste of the words as they left his lips, but he was no fool. If Pepper came anywhere near the team right now, he was sure he would lose himself. Concentrating on any mission would become nearly impossible as he would worry more about her safety and whereabouts than anything else. His heart ached for her, but he needed to finish the mission with the scepter as soon as possible in order to continue on with his life. And as he looked up at her, seeing her blue eyes looking back at him, he knew he could not live a life where Pepper did not exist. So if her safety was priority number one, distance would have to be the answer.

"Why? I thought you were finished with the latest mission." She asked.

He nodded and bit his lip in thought. "Mostly. But until we return the scepter to Asgard, there's no telling who might come knocking on our door for it."

They watched each other silently praying that nothing of the sort would happen. While this was the first mission in a few months, they had a tendency of dragging on each time. Keeping them away from each of their lives. Both of them hoped that would not be the case again.

"If that's what you think is best, I will stay out here, Tony."

Tony nodded. "There's nothing more I want than to be with you, but not at the expense of putting your life in danger. This isn't some government mission or super soldiers we are dealing with. This is Gods, monsters, and alternate universes. It's bigger and stronger than me."

Pepper smiled proudly at the man before her. "I have faith that your heart is stronger than any of those combined."

"Careful now, stroking my ego might make me change my mind about this." He grinned.

An alert tone sounded between them and Pepper smiled sadly at him. "That's Happy asking about the pick-up time. I have to go get ready."

"Alright." He responded disappointingly. "Go get 'em boss." He teased.

"Of course. Tony…"

"Yup?"

"Please be careful. I love you."

"I love you, Pep. I'll have Jarvis send for you when I know we're all clear."

"Bye, Tony."

"See you."

Anthony Stark cursed the emptiness he felt as he watched the screen turn black. But he knew this was the best thing they could do. As long as he could hear her voice and see her face, she could be his source of comfort no matter the distance.

So this is where I share my opinionon the movie. While I loved it and thought it was great, I was very disappointed that we got no phone call between Pepper and Tony. You establish a relationship like theirs throughout the course of four movies, you would think at least one scene would be dedicated to that relationship. A simple phone call where no Pepper actually needs to be seen would have been great. It's only natural that Tony would rely on his better half to make it through some trying times. Anyway, I ramble, and it sounds like I'm complaining (maybe a small part of me is), but I really did like the movie. I might even go watch it multiple times. :) Happy Avengers everyone! And remember, no Pepperony does not mean the movie is bad, go in with an open mind.

See you guys next chapter.