You Are Not Tony Stark

When Your Husband And Son Are Superheroes... 2/3

I wanted some insight into how Pepper felt after the snap and later I want to add more with Tony too.

***

Two weeks after Thanos won

"All right, then start hiring new people as soon as possible. We have to start doing something," Pepper said to one of her assistants, who reported her about the status of their employees.

"We'll do everything we can to do. We have the first list of erased people. What are the next instructions?"

"Children are a priority, making sure that if they do not have any of their relatives alive, they will receive asylum in one of our houses. So far we've only managed to get one in Manhattan, so we'll start here. Over time, more should open. We're working on one in Queens right now."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have a visitor, Mrs. Potts-Stark," her second assistant announced, hurrying to them.

"A visit?"

"Colonel James Rhodes. He's waiting in your office," the assistant replied.

"In that case. Continue your work, later I'll look at the financial side of the whole thing," she said before leaving them alone in the hallway and going to her office. She wasn't very prepared for Rhodey's visit, but when he was here she couldn't refuse him.

"Rhodey!" she greeted him as she walked into the office.

"Pepper," he returned her greeting, exchanging an embrace before they both sat opposite each other.

"What brings you here?"

"I wanted to see how you were holding up, so I went to Penthouse, but there I found out that you were working. Pepper, I know what you're doing and it's really noble, but you know you don't have to do that, do you?"

"If I don't, then who?" she asked with sadness in her voice.

"I can't imagine how hard it must be for you. Why aren't you at home and concentrating on yourself?" he asked gently.

"And how does that help me? They're not here, but these people do, and they need help," she snapped.

"We have one guy looking for him in space. We'll find him, Pepper. Did you cry at all?"

"Of course I did! My son has turned into dust in my arms! But now I can't, don't you understand? I can't, because once I start crying, I will never stop. What I'm doing now, at least helping someone," she explained brokenly.

"This is not healthy."

"I don't care."

Now

Pepper didn't know what to feel. Panic? Anxiety? Rage? Oh yeah, the anger that she felt was really huge. How dare he?!

"What do you mean Nick Fury called him?!" she cried into the phone.

"As I say," Happy replied.

"Happy! I sent you to Europe to watch out for Peter, and not for Nick Fury recruiting him to fight the water! Do you know how I feel now?!"

"I know, but you can be calm. The strange guy did most of the fight. Peter was just helping people."

"Don't tell me to be calm! God, Happy. Please just watch him," she sighed. Tony gave Edith to Peter, which Pepper wasn't very comfortable with, so she decided to send Happy to watch over their son.

"He's all right, boss," he assured her before he hung up.

Pepper looked back at the computer screen where the footage of the attack on Venice ran. Only the green guy was visible, but that didn't help her stay calm at all.

"Not like that," she murmured to herself, moving away from her office and straight into the penthouse. The company will have to wait for now. The journey took her barely three minutes, thanks to working and living in the same building. And as soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she heard Tony's voice.

"There's no such thing."

"I thought that was just theoretical. I mean, that completely changes how we understand the initial singularity. We're talking about an eternal inflation system. And how does that even work with all the quantum, it's insane!"

"Peter, I said it once. There is no interdimension!"

"Are you just the one who solved time travel?" he asked teasingly.

"Yeah, and that's enough! This guy isn't from another dimension, the end of the discussion!" he snapped.

"Jesus, Dad, did you get up with the wrong leg today or what?"

"Kid, just because you're on the other side of the ocean doesn't mean you're talking to me like that."

"Peter, hun, are you all right?" Pepper stepped into their phone call and finally reached the living room where Tony was sitting on the couch with a tablet in his hand looking for something.

"Hey, mom, I'm great!"

"What happened?"

"Water attacked us, who would have said that?" he tried to joke.

"Did you fight?" she asked heavily.

"Not much. I just had my web-shooters and I couldn't do much against the water with them. The bell hit my head. Twice."

"Oh sweetie, don't you want to go home?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"It's all right, Mom, Mysterio has it under control. I'll just have a holiday with Ned and MJ."

"Back to what I originally wanted. The photo is really bad and Friday will take a while to recognize the face and I know I've seen him before. Can you try a facial match with the help of Edith?" Tony interjected.

"No, I won't, Dad. I hope I won't see him again. It's his fight, not mine."

"Nice to hear that, enjoy Paris, and if Nick Fury bothered you again, you would tell me, okay?" said Pepper.

"Sure thing, mom, I'll call you from Paris, guys,"  he said, hanging up.

"Pep, I hate to say it, but this isn't definitive. You know him, he gets into trouble in a second. There's nothing like interdimension, and if the guy claims to be, something's wrong."

"It's your tingle, as May would say?" she asked with a small smile.

"Well, yes it is. I'll wait if Friday will be able to tell me more, and by then we'll have to pray that everything is all right."

"Then welcome to my world, because that's all I do when you and Peter are away and fighting. I should probably also tell you that Happy didn't take a vacation, but I sent him to Europe to watch out for Peter, so he could intervene in extreme need," Pepper sighed.

Why couldn't everything just go smoothly once?