Pepper
Pepper rolled her eyes for the hundredth time.
"I'm sick of this", she whispered and hit her head on the window, which she had been staring through. It was one of the rare rainy days and as always, Tony was outside running around, staring at the rain, waiting until his clothing was soaking wet. As if the water made him feel more alive, at least that was what most people thought. Pepper knew better: It made him feel less himself and more like one of many humans, he could forget his thoughts and his problems.
But it was not okay, he was going to get a cold or he could catch a virus, and she had told him a million times already that this was not good for him. He always nodded, said he would come in soon, but of course that never happened.
The most frustrating thing was that she could not talk about this with anyone. She would only upset them, they wouldn't understand that this was not just his massive ego and his love for rain. It was getting bad again, she knew it was and there was nothing she could do against it.
"Jarvis...", she began, but the robot already knew what she was going to say.
"It's anxiety, he has to deal with it on his own. You cannot do anything. You can't save him, you can't save anybody."
Another eye roll and Pepper knew that Jarvis was also worried, but they both were unable to help.
"I can and I will try though.", she said, like she always did. And on her way out of the building, there was the usual doubt in her head. Tony was so strong and it felt strange to know that he was living with so many demons, that he was fighting them every day.
The elevator arrived and in the first floor, right im fromt of her stood Tony, who was dripping water on the floor.
He looked at her with puppy eyes and then said softly: "I'm sorry"
Pepper did not say anything, she did not open her mouth, while her thoughts were running wild. She did not say that she knew that it was getting bad again, that he was deep into battle and that he did not sleep enough, that his work with the avengers was keeping him from resting.
She did not say that she was so so worried for him, but maybe he could see it in her eyes. Maybe that was the reason why he was here now, why he had not waited for himself to drown in the rain.
Instead of saying anything, she just waited for the elevator doors to close behind both of them, waited for it to arrive in the second floor.
Pepper tried to look at her shoes, but she still noticed that Tony had been looking at her the whole time. He was still looking like a wet dog, a very sad wet dog. She could not help but smile a little at that thought, but tried to hide it.
"Uh, Pepper?", Tony began, gesturing in the direction of the elevator door, "the door isn't opening... I think we're stuck in here... Jarvis: Call someone who can get us out of here."
A sigh and an eyeroll was the only answer Pepper gave him, paired with the usual It's-totally-your-fault-look.
"Oh, I feel like I'm stuck in some bad movie. You're not gonna make out with me until we're getting out of here, Tony. I'm not that desperate"
Tony laughed a little.
"I didn't say anything. That was your idea."
"Gosh, I hate you so much", Pepper said, as she spontanely decided to sit down. Maybe she could avoid looking into Tony's eyes like that.
But he did the same thing.
"So if you're against the making out, what about talking? I have the feeling you're... You're trying to distance yourself from me. Sometimes you just go into that strict mode and... I don't really know if that's a good thing."
"I'd rather not talk about that", Pepper said.
"Alright, then what do you want to talk about?"
"How are you?"
"I'm fine"
"You're such a liar sometimes, Tony"
"I mean, ask me a question and I'm gonna ask truthfully this time, okay?"
Pepper smiled a little.
"I can ask anything?"
And now Tony smiled too.
"I'd rather have it be something cheesy, since we're in a bad movie apparently."
"Do you feel lonely sometimes?"
"Sometimes? Always", he said and there was sadness in his voice.
A thought ran through Peppers head. She was not really a fan of spotanic decision, but sometimes, they were necessary.
She just pulled Tony into a hug. He seemed surprised, but held tight onto her. She would not let him go, not now, not this time.
Another idea. She was stuck in an elevator with Tony Stark, there were probably thousands of fangirls out there who were dreaming of that scenario. If this could happen, then everything else was possible too.
"Do you think that everyone is destined to find someone, like a soul mate? You know, "the one", all that cheesy stuff.", she whispered into his ear and hoped that Tony would not lie to her.
"I think I've already found that person.", he whispered.
It felt like needles that were stuck in her heart. Of course, he was Tony Stark, of course he had found someone. Pepper was just his assistant, just someone there for him, a hundred million of more amazing people standing in a queue waiting to replace her.
"That's great for you, honestly, I'm happy for you."
Tony laughed at her, his head still buried in her shoulder. She could feel his heart beat faster, or was she just imagining that?
"I didn't think the great Pepper Potts could be this naive."
Pepper pulled herself away from him.
"What are you laughing at?"
Tony was smiling at her, just a little. And her heart stopped for a second.
"Should I kiss you now or what other hints do you need until you'll realize that... I'm talking about you, Pepper. Only you. You're looking after me, you're there for me and... I love you, I really do. Wow, never thought I would ever say that and really mean it.", he laughed a little, but Pepper knew he was just trying to hide his anxiety.
Pepper usually was not the kind of person who broke her promises and said one thing and then did another. Still, they somehow still ended up making out in the elevator.
