The shadow Hunter

Chapter 25

I feel like i floated through the next month, there but not really there. I was massively behind on homework and i had a pile building up and teachers shouting at me each lesson. Some days i just stayed home in bed, not able to bring my self to leave. I hardly saw Nat and Wanda because they were busy working and i still wasn't talking to Peter. However, MJ would come over every now and then and i think that's when i was the most with it. But when i was upstairs in my room, i could hear Tony and Pepper arguing downstairs or in there bedroom. They seemed to be arguing more and more and over small things to. It didn't bother me really and they always seemed to make up after.

Except from one Saturday in mid march. I sat on my bed in my room, finally trying to make a dent in my pile of work. I had SATS coming up soon so i needed to make an effort now. It wasn't that i particularly cared about exams, but i think i felt if i could be good at something...other than what i already am good at, i could, i don't know, be something.  I caught my self wishing Peter was here because he was always so good at studying. I was drawn away from my studies by raised voices downstairs. I ignored it at first, assuming it was just another of Tony and Pepper's arguments. But after a while it hadn't stopped, they hadn't made up yet like they usually did. I strained my ears trying to hear what they were arguing about this time. I could hear a few words. Something from Tony about Pepper working too much. Something from Pepper about Tony being too obsessed by his tech and that if he wasn't careful another Ultron incident would happen. Tony spat back saying he was only doing his job and Pepper argued that's exactly what she was doing when she was at the office. I couldn't catch the next muffled shouts until Pepper mentioned me. "And what about Clara?" She had asked. "What about Clara?" Tony replied. 

"Spend time with her, and i don't mean take her on missions with you!" Pepper exclaimed. "Look, if she wants to come with me on missions, that's her choice and mine not yours, she is my daughter." Tony replied. "She's as good as mine too!" Pepper yelled. The statement caught me off guard. I straightened- unsure if to feel offended on behalf of my real mother or warmed by her care. "If she's your daughter Tony, starting acting like it. It's been 9 months-" Tony cut her off with his side of the argument. "We've made progress. We have bonded. We spend time in my lab sometimes, i ask her how school is." I heard Pepper sigh. "But you don't actually talk with her." Tony lashed back, "Hey, she is hard to talk to, she doesn't open up." In fairness to him, that was right, i didn't really. "So encourage her to, make her feel comfortable talking to you." Pepper replied.

"I try!" Tony shouted. "She still calls you Tony, doesn't it bother you she doesn't see you as her dad yet?" Pepper pointed out. Although, it had only been 9 months, and i didn't think i would ever see Tony as my father. The argument became like a tennis match, both trying to win. "Tony! Clara needs support! Sometimes she won't ever leave her bedroom, She rarely makes conversation, she is lonely, i don't know what the hell happened with her and Peter but she has gone back to how she was right after Sokovia. She has gone and is still going through a lot!" I blinked slightly shocked. There wasn't anything wrong with me. I wasn't lonely and maybe i got sad sometimes but i could handle it. "But of course you haven't noticed any of that!" I could hear Tony stutter, trying to think of what to say. "No Tony!" She shouted before he could speak. She sighed and her voice lowered. "I can't do this anymore." She breathed. "What? You can't do this anymore? What is this?" Tony asked, still anger and annoyance in his voice. "Us." Pepper said quietly but clearly. My lips parted with confusion. "What? Wha-...what do you mean us?" Tony stumbled, all anger had vanished from his voice. "I mean Tony, i need...i don't know...a break, some space." Pepper sounded like she was crying or at least trying hard not to. "But Pepper, this was just an argument, we-we argue all the time." Tony said desperately. "That's the point Tony. All we do these days is argue. I think some distance would do us both some good." 

There was silence for a long time and then footsteps coming up the stairs. They were Pepper's. She headed for their bedroom and i could hear her pull a suitcase from under the bed. Tony ran after her. "You can't leave me, you can't leave us." He stated. "Where will you live?" He asked. I heard Pepper throwing things in her case. "I'll go to my parents." She told him. "Your parents? You'll get annoyed with them after two days." Tony told her. She sighed and snapped her case shut. "But what about Stark Industries?" He asked, hoping she would change her mind. "I'll work from my parents house until we sort this out." Tony continued to beg but eventually Pepper opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. "I need some time away." She said. "Please, Pepper, don't...don't do this." Tony begged. She didn't answer and i wondered if she was reconsidering her decision. "I'm sorry Tony. I'll call you soon and we can discuss what happens from here." She said softly. I heard the door open and her footsteps down the stairs, Tony's running after her. There was silence and then the elevator doors opened and shut. Pepper was gone. 

I didn't go downstairs straight away but after 30 minutes, i willed my self downstairs. I descended the stairs and when i reached the kitchen and living area, Tony was sitting on the sofa with a glass of scotch, staring mindlessly ahead of him. He didn't acknowledge me and i didn't speak for a while. "She's gone." I muttered finally. He nodded slowly. "But she's coming back right?" I hoped. Tony took a long sip of his scotch. "If she wants to." He told me. I could tell Tony didn't want to speak so i went back upstairs. I opened the door to Tony and Pepper's room. Half her things were gone. She hadn't even said goodbye. 

Tony wasn't himself, wasn't happy, in all the time Pepper was gone but especially for the first two weeks. He was distant, he didn't speak, he just drank. I missed Pepper much more than i ever could have expected. I would go down for dinner and it felt odd with out her there asking about my day. There was a piece missing every time i was in the house. 

The next month was harder than the previous which didn't seem possible. I stayed home from school sometimes, and Tony was too busy distracting himself with things to be bothered too much. When i went to school, half of the time i would walk into the city as soon as Happy drove off. I would walk around, and eventually would usually end up at Pietro's grave. Then i would get back 5 minutes before Happy showed up and no one would ever know (apart from the attendance officer) I did go to school though, just enough to keep up with my good grades. I spent the days either alone or with MJ. But i was fine. Completely fine.