In Between (Tony Stark's Daughter)

Chapter - 8

Tony's POV:

Tonight is the night when Pepper will come home. The night when we will have the 'discussion'.

To be quite honest, I don't really look forward to it since this will describe our whole future.

Our marriage had been rocky these past few months and we had not been the happiest couple for quite a long time now. And we are going to discuss about how we are going to make this work or worse, how we are going to put an end to it.

"Daddy! What take Mommy so long?!" My little oblivious daughter complains, getting a little impatient.

"Soon, love. Your Mommy will be here soon." I tell her, as I make her sit on my lap.

She gives me a pout. "She is taking so long, Dad."

I give her a smile as I pinch her cute little nose. "Be patient, bug." I tell her softly.

"But Dad......" but she was cut off by Pepper calling her name. "Where is my little bunny?" She cheers and her smile widen once she sees Clara.

"Mom!" She gets off of me and ran towards her mom as fast as her little feet could bring her.

Pepper opens her arms for Clara and once she reaches her, Clara buries her face in her chest as she sniffs her scent.

"You smell like heaven, Mom." She gives her a toothy grin, as she looks at Pepper with love and admiration.

Pepper lightly chuckles, as she stroke Clara's golden hair slowly. "Well, I went to heaven while I was gone." She jokes, making Clara giggle.

"I miss you very much, sweet pea." She cooes, hugging her once again.

"I miss you too, Mom." She replies, nuzzling Pepper's neck with her little face which makes Pepper laugh a little.

I just stand there awkwardly as I watch the mother and daughter reunite. They sure miss each other.

"Happy! Mommy has finally come back home." She announces once she notices Happy walking in.

He returns her a smile. "Oh! I only notice it now." He replies as he shakes his head in amusement.

"You know what, love? Why don't you go to our room with Happy and he would show you my gift for you?" Pepper smiles at her, probably wanting to tell me about her decision.

She excitedly nods as she leads Happy towards her room. "C'mon, Happy!"

The whole room became quiet once Clara is out of sight, leaving Pepper and me in an awkward silence.

"So?!" I ask, raising my eyebrows at her.

Her smile fades away and suddenly become very serious. "Tony,......I just, I am still standing on the same ground." She states, biting her lips.

"Then, what about Clara, Pep? You know how much she misses you. If you leave, then how will she survive?" I say, trying to knock some sense into her stubborn head.

She shakes her head as she looks at me as if I am crazy. "You don't get it, Tony. I am taking her with me."

What the hell is she talking about? Take her? There is no way I am letting that happen. I know that I am not a very responsible husband like Cap, but what I know is that I am a very responsible father to Clara. And I am not just letting her go that easily.

"No, you're not. She stays here with me." I simply state, my tone getting firmer.

She rolls her eyes. "Lets not play around anymore, Tony. I am getting tired of it."

"If you're tired of me, then you can leave. But you are not taking her. She stays here with me." I hissed, starting to get frustrated with her demands.

I really don't know what is going off with our marriage. One day you wake up and realize the ugly truth. You're no longer in love anymore.

"You can take the company, and whatever you want, I don't care. But not her." I continue, not even finding it necessary to give her a glance anymore.

She keeps quiet for about a minute, then finally, she lets out a sob. "It's always about other things, isn't it? It was never me."

Seriously?! Is she fucking serious? She was always the reason why I keep going forward. She was the love of my life.

"You really wanna know why I want a separation, huh? It is because you're always fooling around, Tony. You don't care or love me. You just didn't want to be alone. And I bet that's the reason why you want to keep Clara." She shouts at me, as she breathes heavily.

I feel myself getting angry as well. She didn't just say that. "You know what? If I didn't love you like you claimed, then I would already leave you when you can't even give me a fucking child!" It was my turn to raise my voice.

Her eyes hardens once she heard my last words. Her eyes showed hurt all over again like when we found out that she is barren.

Then, I felt a hard slap on my face. Ouch!

Her tears rushed down her face endlessly. She lets out a loud sob as she sniffles.

Dear God, Tony! Why did you have to mention that? My conscious scolds me. Damn, I really should close my mouth when I am angry. It always leads me to a bad thing.

"I am so done with you, Tony." She sobs, wiping the tears from her face.

"Pepper, I didn't mean to....." I was cut off by the sound of the door closing and in came my little girl, with her eyes red and puffy.

She didn't hear our conversation, did she?

"Sweet pea, what were you doing outside?" Pepper asks, as she opens her arms for her.

Running towards her mother, she hugs her and bury her face in her neck. "Just....putting out the garbage."

Pepper sighs heavily. "Sweetheart, listen to me. You don't have to lie. You know that I hate lying."

Then, Clara gives her a pout. "But, daddy and you were fighting."

Pepper just place a kiss on her little nose. "We're sorry, sweet pea. But sometimes, mommy and daddy fight too." She tells her softly.

"But......you still love each other, right?" She hopefully asks, her big green eyes full of hope.

Pepper just gives her a nod, not even trusting her voice. I just stand there quietly as I watch them.

"Why don't we head up to your room and pack for your stuff?" Pepper asks, taking her hands.

"Why?" She asks, looking confused as ever.

"Because we decide to separate for a little while, sweet pea."