Closer Than You Think

14

3rd POV

"I think that I should go home now," Peter said when Pepper broke the hug.

''Thank you Peter," Pepper said with a sigh.

"No problem, I'm glad to help, I'm sorry about entering the room like that, I was looking for the bathroom, I should have just asked Friday," Peter said.

"It's alright, I'm glad that you did, or we never would have met, there's a bathroom two doors away from this room on the left," Pepper said.

"Thank you Mrs. Stark, I mean Pepper," Peter said with a smile.

''Your welcome," she said as Peter walked out. She felt like he ripped her heart out as he walked away. All she wanted was to have her son back but she didn't know if her wish would ever be fulfilled.

Pepper went into the living room and saw Tony asleep on the couch. He looked peaceful as he slept. She started feeling even more guilty for the way she treated him. How could she have made such a big mistake by blaming him.

It was then she realized how pale and tired he actually looked. She was saw him as a healthy happy person who didn't have any problems but she was wrong, terribly wrong. She was supposed to be there for him the way that he was there for her.

She made him feel like a failure but she was the one who failed him. She put a blanket over him and kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry Tony,'' she whispered as she went to her room and fell asleep too.

The next morning Pepper woke up to make breakfast for the two of them, she knew that he wouldn't eat otherwise. She even asked Friday to tell his assistant to cancel all his meetings for the day, he wouldn't be going to Stark Industries that day.

Tony had never slept so well before, he didn't have any nightmares that woke him up like everytime when he went to sleep.

He would have slept longer if he didn't roll of the couch. A loud thud was heard as his body hit the ground.

His eyes opened and he looked around for a second until he remembered that he fell asleep on the couch.

"Tony! Are you okay?" Pepper asked running out from the kitchen after hearing the loud bang of Tony's body hitting the floor.

She facepalmed when she saw him on the floor.

Tony immediately pulled himself up,"Good morning Pep, I'm fine, I just  rolled off the couch," Tony said. He looked at her carefully, there was something different about her.

She seemed happier than usual, he hadn't seen that brightness on her face since they lost their son.

"Did you get hurt?" She asked with a sigh, Tony shook his head.

He wondered what was the cause of her change in behavior, she was acting like the old Pepper all of a sudden. His Pepper, the one who cared about him.

She looked genuinely concerned even though he only fell off the couch. A few years ago he went on a mission and got seriously injured.

He was bleeding all over and he could barely walk or even stand straight. He managed to limp into the penthouse but he ended up leaving a trail of blood.

Pepper was drunk and watching tv on the couch, she looked at him for a few seconds.

"You better clean that blood up," she had said before turning her attention back to the show.

Tony wiped a tear as hs remembered that incident. The fact that Pepper had ignored him hurt more than any of the physical injuries he had that day.