Meant To Be

TWELVE

 Tony finally re-entered the building, clearly soaking wet and deflated. As he walked down the hallway, he was stopped by Stark Industries board member, Obadiah Stane.

"Where have you been Tony?" The man asked. "Both you and Miss L/N missed the merge announcement."

Tony looked at Obadiah. "You knew that Y/N didn't know about the merge, didn't you? Yet you still went along with it."

"Tony, the merge is good for both of the companies. We all know that. Y/N will see that eventually. You just need to give it time."

"You're fired."

Obadiah chuckled. "Sorry, what?"

"You're fired. I don't care what Howard's will states, my lawyers will figure it out. But you're off my board."

"We'll see about that."

Obadiah marched off. Tony closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned against the wall.

"Tony?" Rhodey asked as he walked up to his friend. "Are you wet? What's going on? Where's Y/N?"

"She found out, Rhodes," Tony whispered. "She found out and ran off. She's gone."

~~~

"She's been gone for too long," Tony fretted.

Tony was pacing in one of the side rooms of the building that the gala had been hosting in. His tie and suit coat were thrown over a chair and his shirt's top 3 buttons were undone. The gala wrapped up about an hour after Y/N had walked off, that was three hours ago. Tony was freaking out, but no one would let him go after Y/N, afraid that he would just make it worse.

"Rhodey, his friends, Wanda, and Happy, are all out looking for her," Pepper tried to comfort. "They'll find her."

"This is all my fault. If I had just been honest with her from the start, none of this would be happening." Tony stopped and turned to face Pepper. "I need to be out there searching for her. It's still raining! And if she's still out there, then she's definitely caught something! She could get sick and... I can't even say it..."

"Tony," Pepper stood up and rested her against on his arms, "Y/N's going to be okay. She probably slipped into a bar."

"Yeah... yeah... you're probably right, I just... I love her so much, Pep."

"I know... and, from what you said, she loves you too. That doesn't just go away over night."

"She told me that all that loving me has done is hurt her... all I do is hurt her..."

"And yet, even after all this time, she still loves you." Tony looked away causing Pepper to sigh. "You're going to figure this out, Tony."

~~~

Y/N honestly didn't know how long she had been walking. She was at the point where she was numb, not even noticing the rain pouring down on her. Her arms were folded across her body, subconsciously trying to keep herself warm. She was clearly out of it and only kept going because she knew that if she stopped, she'd just fall down to the ground.

"Y/N?" A voice called out from a rolled down window of a car. The car had pulled up to the curb and was slowly following Y/N. "Y/N? Come on, get in the car."

Y/N could hear the voice but was unable to recognize it's owner or really stop herself from walking. The car stopped and the person jumped out of the car. The quick footsteps splashed in the puddles of water on the sidewalk.

"Y/N," Bucky called as he came into view. He stood in front of her, stopping her from walking anymore. "You're soaked, doll." His hands came up to cup her face to try and get Y/N to focus on him. "Shit. You're both cold and hot. We've got to get you back and inside. Everyone's worried about you." Bucky moved so that he was beside Y/N to guide her to his car. They barely took a step before Y/N's knees gave out. "Woah there." Bucky kept her up against him. "I've got you."