Somebody That I Used To Know - Stony

Chapter Three

"I can't do this anymore, Tony!" Pepper exclaimed in annoyance when Tony woke up screaming from another nightmare.

Tony watched her with teary eyes as she paced back and forth. Confusion was clear as day on his features, but deep down he knew this wasn't going to end well.

"W-What do you mean, Pep?" Tony hesitantly asked.

Pepper looked at him with pained eyes. She frowned slightly when she saw a tear roll down his cheek and sighed softly.

"I love you, Tony. But you're not you anymore. You are a shell of the man you used to be." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

Another tear rolled down Tony's cheek, "What..?" He murmured.

Pepper groaned, "God, Tony, I thought you were a genius. Ever since you became Iron Man, a piece of you gets destroyed with every problem you encounter. Then that whole Civil War between you and your team wrecked you. But then Siberia hit you like a bus. I understand that what Steve did was awful, but you need serious help Tony. You are broken, and I can't stick around and watch you destroy yourself anymore. You barely sleep and when you do, you get nightmares."

Tony blinked back fresh tears, "What are you getting at?"

"I love you, Tony. So, so much. But I have to be selfish just this once. Seeing you hurt, hurts me. So I'm leaving. I hope you understand. I'll still work with you, but that's all I can do." Pepper concludes.

Tony's jaw drops and he desperately pull the blankets off of his body. He dashes to Pepper and got on his knees in front of her. He buries his face in her stomach and let the tears fall freely. Pepper wraps her arms around his neck and he can feel her form shake a bit.

"Please, please don't leave me. I'm begging you. You're all I have." Tony whimpered.

Pepper sniffles, "No I'm not, Tony. You have Peter, who is practically your kid at this point. And you have Rhodey, who has been your best friend since your MIT days. You have people, Tony. I'm just no longer going to be one of those people."

"Please..." He pleaded.

Pepper tightened her hold on him, "Maybe when you get better we can become friends again. You're my family, Tony, I will never forget you. I will also never abandon you to fend for yourself. That's why I'll still be CEO." She cried.

They stayed like that for who knows how long. They were both crying, holding each other as tight as possible.

Eventually Pepper had all of her bags packed and with one last kiss to his forehead, she entered the elevator.

"Goodbye, Tony."

The doors closed and Tony began to sob. He threw the glass that was on the table next to him, and it shattered against the wall. He let out a scream of agony as he put his face in his hands.

"Goodbye, Pep."

Tony sat up in bed and breathed heavily. He felt tears fall down my face and he wiped them away quickly. Tony looked beside him, hoping to see Pepper, but just saw an empty bed.

Tony let out a shaky breath and got out of bed. He looked out the window and saw it was still dark outside.

"Fri, what time is it?" He asked.

"It is currently 4:27 am, boss."

Tony sighed and left his room to go to the kitchen. He made coffee and leaned against the counter while drinking it. His mind wandered to the Rogues and he couldn't find it in himself to snap out of it.

It's been a week since they've been here. Rhodey's been a huge help -as usual- so he haven't had to see them yet. Though he knows it'll all be ruined when they go on a mission or have a meeting.

Tony can't believe he cried like that in front of them. He didn't mind crying in front of Rhodey, because he's Tony's best friend. But those people have hurt Tony immensely, especially the leader of that little clique. Steve Rogers.

Tony has nightmares about him whenever he sleeps. Tony's actually grateful this nightmare was about Pepper and not him. It was refreshing, as sad as that sounds. Having nightmares about Captain America always makes Tony have an anxiety attack when he wake up, which leads to Friday alerting Peter or Rhodey and them coming to snap him out of it.

Rhodey tells Tony how Rogers will ask about him and how he's doing. Luckily, Rhodey tells Tony he always answers with "Fuck off Rogers," which manages to make Tony crack a smile.

"-rk. Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark!"

Tony looks up from his now empty mug of coffee and sees Peter looking at him, clearly concerned.

"Are you alright, Mr. Stark?" Peter questions.

Tony smiles and nods his head reassuringly, "Of course kid. Always. I was just thinking."

Peter raises a brow but leaves it at that. Tony looks outside and sees the sun peaking through the buildings.

"When do you have to leave for school, Pete?" Tony asks Peter as he makes himself toast with peanut butter.

"10 minutes, I accidentally slept in later than usual." Peter admitted.

Tony chuckled a bit. He put his empty mug in the empty sink and converses with his kid while he eats. When he finishes Tony grabs his plate and puts it in the sink, mumbling about getting to it later.

Peter grabs his bag from the bar stool and speed walks to Tony to give him a hug. Tony smiles and returns his embrace before pulling away and kissing him on the forehead.

Peter heads for the elevator and presses the button. When the doors open he looks back at Tony and smiles.

"See you later, Mr. Stark. Love you!" Peter chirped as he steps into the elevator.

Tony felt his heart warm at the words and his smile softens, "See ya, kid. Love you!" He calls as the elevator doors close.

Tony goes back into his room and changes into his lab attire - aka a black tank top and black sweatpants. He ruffles his hair a bit as he heads down to the lab. Once down there he goes to his work bench and tries to find anything he needs to work on. He settles on making a new suit for Peter, because Tony can never give that kid enough to repay him for everything he's done for him. Then after that Tony would work on upgrades for Rhodey.

"Friday, play some music." Tony requested.

"Right away, boss."

AC/DC starts blasting through the lab and Tony smirks a bit before getting lost in his work.

Hours go by before the music randomly gets turned off. Tony looks around the lab and spots Rhodey next to the door.

"What's going on, Sour Patch?" Tony greets.

Rhodey chuckles a bit and rolls his eyes. He walks towards Tony and stops when he's by Tony's side.

"What're you working on, Stank?" He teases.

Tony snorts at the old nickname. "Just a new suit for the kid. How's everything going with the Rogues?"

Rhodey sighs and that catches Tony's attention. He raises a brow and turns towards Rhodey completely.

"What's the matter, Platypus?" Tony asked him.

Rhodey rubs his eyes tiredly and looks at Tony apologetically. "I tried to stop it, but they were very persistent on this." He started.

"On what?"

Rhodey crosses his arms and leans against the table. He doesn't speak for a minute or two before finally breaking the silence.

"Fury called for a meeting with all of the Avengers. It's tomorrow at 2:00."