So since I'm still new at this I decided to give the Pepperony100 challenge a whirl. First up #86 Engine grease

Much love to all my wonderful followers, you make my day, and inspire me to keep on going.

Disclaimer: I don't own a darn thing, except for a badass Tony Stark figure.

Gravity

Pepper sighed in relief as she stepped into her apartment, leaning her head back against the solid door. Tony was finally on his way to Afghanistan, and the next few days were hers for the taking. Sure she still had work to do, but with Tony out of her hair things would go smoothly. It wasn't that she didn't care for him, she did, he was all she had, but the fact of the matter was he drove her crazy.

Pepper slipped out of her blazer and tossed it over a chair in the bedroom.

"What the hell?" She noticed a small black smudge on the bottom of her otherwise very clean white button down. She gingerly ran her fingers over the stain, noticing it still had a slight slickness to it. Shedding the blouse quickly she brought it to her nose, the familiar smell making her cheeks flush with anger. Engine grease, he was in a whole other country and still able to push her buttons.

"Oh my god, I'm going to kill him!" Then she noticed yet another smudge halfway down her skirt.

"Defiantly going to kill him." How the hell did it even get there, she must have leaned up against something while she was down in the workshop, shooing him out the door. She changed quickly and set off for the cleaners. Maybe if she got there quick enough they could perform a small miracle. It didn't matter, when she got her clothes back she could still see the faint stain at the bottom of her shirt.

It had been two days, Tony hadn't called to make sure things were going ok, but that didn't surprise her, she knew he trusted her to get things done. She was surprised at how much she was able to get done on her own, and as annoying as he could be, every now and then she would find herself lonely. She secretly wished he would call, but knew he wouldn't, why would he.

At three in the morning, on the third day, the phone did ring. Only one person would call her at three in the morning, and although she was annoyed as the sharp trilling pierced her ears, she smiled when she answered.

"Well well Mr. Stark, I thought you had forgotten all about me."

"Pepper, I'm sorry to call so early." It wasn't Tony, it was Rhodey. Something was wrong, his tone of voice was quiet and apologetic.

"Rhodey? Rhodey what's wrong, where is Tony?"

"Something happened Pepper, we lost him."

"YOU DID WHAT!" Her heart was pounding, her body trembling, fighting back tears in her eyes.

"We were ambushed, they took him, god Pepper, I'm so sorry. We are still looking, I know he is out there somewhere." She was silent on the line. "Pepper?….Pepper are you there?" Tears were making their way down her face and soaking into her feather pillow. She took a deep breath and tried to be brave.

"You bring him back Rhodey, please, just find him and bring him back home."

"I'll do my best." She hung up the phone before she shoved it off the night stand, taking her alarm clock and lamp with it. She never went back to sleep, she just sat in bed with her arms around her knees, wishing he would come home.

A week after she had gotten the call from Rhodey, she found herself back at the mansion.

"Good morning Ms. Potts." She was annoyed that the voice could sound so calm, like nothing was wrong.

"Morning Jarvis." She mumbled.

"I am sorry to inform you that Mr. Stark has been reported…." She didn't want to hear anymore.

"Mute." She went from room to room, searching for something she wouldn't find. She did however find remnants of what had been lost, they were everywhere. On the arm of the couch, embedded in the carpet, trailing along the walls of the workshop stairwell. Engine grease, small black smudges he left behind wherever he roamed. With each one she found her heart would ache even more. Funny, how those messy god awful black smudges that she hated was now something she would hate to live without. The marks led her to his bedroom, the door shut, black fingerprints on the knob. Closing her eyes, she opened the door. Everything was as he left it, like nothing had even happened, like he was still there. A shirt was tossed on the bed, the one he had been wearing while she was trying to get him to leave. Her hand lightly ran over the fabric before she picked it up and held it to her chest. She collapsed on the bed, sobbing deeply into the stained shirt that still held the scent that one could only describe as truly Tony.

"Come home Tony, I need you." She whispered to herself, still clinging to the shirt he had left behind. She found herself sleeping there, in the comfort of his bed, it gave her a small amount of hope, and she needed all the hope she could get.

It had been two months now, she didn't cry as much as she had in the beginning, but she still ached for him to return.

"Things aren't looking too good Pepper, I think we should stop looking." Obadiah was standing in her office, looking out the window, no emotion showed on his face.

"NO!"

"Pepper, I know Tony is important to you but…"

"But nothing, I can't believe you would just give up like that!" She walked over to him causing him to face her. "You are the closest thing to a father that he has and you're just going to quit!" She stood her ground and was staring into his cold eyes.

He sighed.

"Your right, we shouldn't give up." He stepped around her leaving alone once more.

On the third month the phone rang in the middle of the night once more. She fumbled with his things on the nightstand trying to get to her phone.

"Hello."

"Pepper! We got him Pepper, he's a little banged up, but we found him." Rhodey was babbling with excitement into her ear. For the thousandth time in three months she cried, and for the first time in three months she smiled.

"Thank you Rhodey, thank you so much."

She was there when he stepped off the plane, arm in a sling, but otherwise he looked like himself. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she couldn't stop smiling as he came up to her.

"Your eyes are red. Tears of joy for your long lost boss?" Of course that would be the first thing he said to her, anything else wouldn't have been Tony.

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting."

"Yeah well, vacations over."

Every now and then she would come across the stained shirt hanging in her closet. She would let her fingers linger on the small grey smudge that remained. Each time it would bring a smile to her face. The thought of engine grease now warmed her heart, and she couldn't get enough of it.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

-Shelly