Driven To Tears - An Iron Man One Shot [Pepperony]

Driven To Tears

 "Pepper!"

"Miss Potts!"

"Can you comment on Tony's condition?"

"Will Mr Stark be discharged in the near future?"

The questions rang in her ears like sirens as she was led through the paparazzi below the hospital, making her head spin with stress. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding since her phone rang, and she knew her mess of an appearance gave that away. She only hoped she could make sense of everything once she got inside.

"Thank you, Happy," the woman said before making her way toward the elevator alone.

Internally, Pepper Potts was a wreck, but she couldn't let the cameras see that. Ever since the media got word of Tony's arc reactor being removed, they had labeled them a power couple in the business world, both running Stark Industries as their main focus. Being an Avenger didn't help things, though; the super friends had Tony on their beck and call after she allowed him to start designing a few suits again once they patched up their relationship. Though, at times, it still felt like they were living in the pre-Extremis world.

She sighed, trying to focus on what was important at the existing moment - Tony.

Pepper's heels clicked on the floor surfaces as she rushed down the hall until she reached the room she was instructed to go to while they had her on the phone. Walking out of a meeting wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done, so she hoped she had remembered it correctly. Thankfully, she still looked a little formal; it gave her confidence, and she knew she'd need it to put up with Tony...he was bound to be as stubborn as ever after this stunt.

Outside of the doorway, the beeping of his heart rate met her, and as if on cue, all of her toughness and frustration with Tony faded. She peeked through the door and saw him lying there, playing with a hologram display of his phone. He seemed fine, but he looked pale as hell, and...fragile - something that only occurred now that the arc was missing. She shuddered, remembering watching his fall in New York City about a year or two back, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

"Tony?" Pepper Potts spoke softly, finally entering the room.

He swiped all of his windows closed and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Hey..." he greeted, looking guilty.

Frowning, Pepper made her way over to sit on the edge of his bed. She reached her hand across Tony's forehead as he grinned up at her, trying to take the hurt out of her eyes. How could he be so positive for someone who tried to...

"I flew back as soon as they called," she told him kindly. "Bruce is beyond worried."

"Did you take the suit?!" Tony immediately asked, his face lighting up thinking about the armor he crafted for her.

Pepper closed her eyes and shook her head after a moment; her red hair felt tight in it's ponytail.

"No, Tony. I left it at home with you, remember?"

His smile vanished. "What's the point of building it if you never use it?"

"I'm not an Avenger like you."

"You could be... I can talk eyepatch into it."

"That's not what I want, Tony," she mumbled.

Tony forced a side smile to avoid a possible argument, but it only showed his sadness more. He looked at her as she ran her nails behind his ear and met his chocolate eyes; they were cloudy and darker than usual.

"I know..." Stark finally admitted, taking her free hand in his and massaging it with his thumb.

"I'm worried about you, Tony," Pepper whispered, looking at their hands. "Rhodey's worried...Bruce is worried...Happy is-"