World War Stark

Summary: Tony Stark realizes that 'we' is sometimes better than 'I'.

CHAPTER ONE:

HOW A ROOFTOP CHANGED TONY STARK

Pepper Potts.

Pepper.

Potts.

Pepper. His sweet, sweet Pepper.

"Tony…" Pepper whispered softly shortly after Rhodey had disappeared into the night sky. "It's November."

The distracted billionaire looked down at the woman whose hands were still holding his own and he mouthed a small 'what?', still unable to process logical sentences after the lip-lock he'd just shared with her.

Pepper giggled and looked into his eyes, her own eyes twinkling.

"I meant is as a metaphor for winter, Mr. MIT."

Tony's eyes widened a little and he wanted to slap himself repeatedly for not noticing that it was really cold and that she was shivering – but that could be because of the amazing kiss they'd shared, he reasoned. Giving her an apologetic smile, he pulled her up into his metal arms, shivering himself at the close proximity of her face against his. He would not admit it out loud, but 'the kiss' had done some irreparable damage to his lower area, things he would not like for her to notice (yet).

"I'm sorry. I'm an idiot." Tony said and took off into the sky, holding her safely against his chest as he flew towards the penthouse he owned in Manhattan. He made a mental note that the Mach 3 speed would not be gaining him any bonus points for being a gentleman, so he slowed down.

Pepper's quiet whimper made his blood run cold.

"We're almost there…" The superhero looked down at her and landed on top of the roof where he gently let her down, taking his eyes from her for a few brief moments in order to take off his armor. She stood there for a whole minute, trying to grasp in the situation and the fact that she needed to clarify some things to him before they actually made another step towards what they've both always wanted. "Remind me to take you to see the stars sometimes. They're really beautiful, though we should do it when we get back to Malibu. You –"

He stopped because Pepper had literally attached to his sweaty body, her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. "Hey—"

When she didn't respond, Tony wrapped his arms around her and placed his cheek on top of her head. After a minute, he whispered.

"Let's go inside. You're freezing."

The redhead nodded and wiped away some stubborn tears that had fallen down her cheeks in an effort not to scream at him because of the near-death he had faced alone.

"Those better be happy tears, Potts."

Pepper looked up and saw worry etched deep into his facial features. "You were dying and you didn't—"

Tony stopped her by taking her hand in his now bare one.

"I promise that I will tell you everything once we get inside, take a shower, eat something and rest for a while."

"Tony, you can't expect me to just forget this ever happened." She stubbornly continued.

"Okay. I won't. But just come with me." He said, trying to use the most adequate tonality of his voice to coax her into doing what he wanted. "You're freezing baby."

At that, she finally relaxed and followed him as he opened up the rooftop door for her to get inside the building. Once they were safely inside, Tony spoke up.

"Jarvis, you on?"

His sweat-slicked hand held hers tightly, thumb gently stroking her knuckles as he waited for the A.I to turn itself on. At once, the whole penthouse lit up, bathing it in a dim light. Tony's eyes found Pepper's and he smiled a little.

"There should be some spare clothes in my closet. Go clean yourself up. I'll make you a sandwich."

Pepper looked a bit incredulous, but played along.

"I'll call Happy. I don't know if he made it alive or not, and god, I need to make some quick calls to—"

Tony cupped her cheek. "Happy's fine. He's with Natasha at Hammer's facility. And no more phone calls tonight. Turn your phone off. We'll have plenty of time to make calls tomorrow."

Her eyes narrowed and she took a breath. "Who's Natasha?"

Tony grimaced. "It's a long story."

Pepper nodded again and squeezed his hand before disappearing upstairs.

An hour later, Pepper walked downstairs, wearing one of Tony's old MIT sweaters and a pair of shorts. At the sound of her steps on the floor, Tony's head turned and his face lit up in a huge smile.

"I think I have never seen you dressed so casually, Miss Potts." He teased, having showered himself. Tony was wearing only a robe and a pair of deep blue boxers. He was planning on showing her the damage the old arc had done to his chest, but he noticed that the lines were almost gone. And on top of it all, Jarvis had run the complete test for the new arc reactor, and the results were positive.

"If by casually, you mean dressed in your clothes, then yes, I think this would be a first." Pepper replied, sitting down next to him on the couch.

Tony's eyes never left her. "I've been trying to prove that 'firsts' are really what I need at this time of my life, Pepper, but as of lately, I've felt like no one takes my efforts seriously anymore."

Pepper munched lightly on her sandwich, testing the waters. Her response was a sad smile.

"You can't expect everyone to notice your efforts, Tony. I did for a few months after you came back – but now I don't know anymore. You just locked me out from your life, Tony. What did you expect me to do? Forgive you after throwing me out like that? Sending me out to be the CEO of the company like I never meant anything to you—"

"No, Pepper, you don't understand." Tony emphasized his words, trying to show her how wrong she was. "I sent you there because I trusted you…" He looked down to his feet. "I trust you with my life, Pepper, and I didn't mean for it to be like it was. I needed you because you were the only important person in my life left, but I also needed someone to take over the company if it turned out that I died. I realized - I realized that I'm not good on my own, Pep."

Pepper looked at him, really looked at him and saw raw sincerity in his words.

"It took you what? A week to realize this?" She set her sandwich down on the plate next to his and scooted closer to him, cupping his cheek. "I know you didn't want me to find out. I know that I wouldn't have liked to know that you were dying, but what upset me the most was the fact that you hired her in my place."

Tony set his jaw. "I know. I was wrong. I should have known that it would upset you." He reached out and placed his hand on her thigh, palm flat open. "She's working with that guy Fury I told you about."

Pepper seemed surprised. "She is? Is that why she knew all those crazy martial arts techniques?"

She saw how Tony's eyes turned liquid for a few seconds while he was looking at his hand. "Look at me, Tony. I'm not upset anymore."

"You aren't?" He asked as his eyes met hers. She noticed a glimmer of hope in them which made her heart ache with a bittersweet pang.

"I am not. But I'm asking you to be honest with me from now on. I don't want you to hide anything from me ever again." She whispered, feeling her heart beat faster as his arms pulled her to his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. I'm sorry too… for earlier today. I shouldn't have kicked you out of my office."

Tony's lips curled into a small smile and he pressed them to her ear.

"Well, after publicly embarrassing you in front of my guests, I think I was entitled to being kicked out."

Pepper snorted into his neck and breathed in his scent.

"I never got to give you a Happy Birthday kiss." She admitted, tracing her fingertips over his arm. Tony listened more carefully. "Because she was in your arms."

He felt his chest constrict and he rasped out.

"I spent the entire night drinking because I knew you wouldn't be the one I could hold in my arms for the last time." He sighed heavily and added after a few quiet minutes. "I need you."

In Pepper's head, that was equal with 'I'm so alone; please don't leave me, too'.

She slid her left hand into the hair at the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his, keeping tears at bay as she felt his body react to the touch he longed for. He kissed her back, his mouth hungry for her own, hands keeping her close to his pained soul. As always, she proved out to be the healing for his wounds.

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