InsaneJournal

Who: Tony and Pepper
What: Reunion!
When: later, on the day of the cosmic ripple.
Rating: Green, some language

The universe was a busy place. But this time, it was a place that Stephen Strange was pleased to be in, because he felt responsible for losing this person in the Soul Dimension.

He opened a portal to where he sensed Pepper Potts was, and wondered what he was going to find. Regardless of which Pepper it was, he was certain that Stark was going to have to stop burying his face in his work and take notice.

Pepper wasn’t sure what had happened. All she knew was that one moment she was making wedding plans, the next she was in some kind of limbo. Panic hit her at first. Was she dead? No, she breathed and could feel her heartbeat. Good! The baby was ok. Then the worry about how Tony would react to her disappearance took over. She knew exactly what he’d be doing. Work. Lots and lots of work. Instead of dealing with his emotions. Dork.

Then she squeaked when a portal just opened up right in front of her to reveal Dr. Strange. “Stephen!” Pepper put her hand to her chest. “Oh, thank god. Where am I? Where’s Tony?”

The universe must have decided to be a kind place, considering it was giving him a break today. Maybe it was the result of good karma, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to look the gift horse in the mouth.

His eyes immediately went down to her stomach, which was...very much still there. He immediately knew which Pepper this was. His relief in this instance was immediate, considering he blamed himself for her going missing in the Soul Dimension. Stephen's eyes closed as he muttered 'thank the celestials' under his breath, before he opened them again and smiled at her.

"You're in New York again, alive. I lost you in the Soul Dimension, before Hope and Scott were able to transfer you out through the Quantum Realm." He moved in to rest a hand on her shoulder, to assure her that yes, this was very tangible and real. "Tony's at Stark Industries. He's been there since you disappeared. Months ago. It's January."

Soul dimension. Quantum Realm. None of that made sense to Pepper. She just stared at Stephen for long moments before she grasped on to what she DID understand.

“I what?!” To her it had only been a few minutes. A half hour at most. “January?! What about my wedding? That was September!"

"So you don't remember being in the Soul Dimension at all. That's....great."

This was another universal hiccup, or another mind leech, possibly. But he didn't want to upset a pregnant woman by telling her that an astral parasite was latched onto her brain, sucking out her memories. Instead he went out of his body and confirmed that no parasites were feasting on her, and then was back in his body with barely a pause in the conversation.

"Afraid you've missed that. Since it's January," Stephen said, in the most annoyingly unflustered way. "I'm not sure what Tony did about it. You can ask him. Want to go there right now?"

He raised his eyebrows, hopefully.

There wasn’t going to be anything Stephen said that would make sense to Pepper. She just stared at him again then sighed. “Yes, please. If I’ve been gone as long as you said he’s probably buried in work while destroying his liver.” She gestured for him to lead the way.

"Yes to both. Let's see if a surprise will jolt him back into the world of the living," was Stephen's wry reply, as he opened a portal directly into Tony's personal lab (and living space) at Stark Industries Tribeca skyscraper. He stepped through with a smirk back at Pepper, holding it open behind him as he calmly spoke, "Stark."

Having worked since...days...Tony Stark looked like he was pinpoint focused on several mad science projects. A cup of suspiciously alcoholic smelling coffee was within reach. His hair was sticking up funny from sleeping on a couch, and his Tony the Tiger t-shirt showing signs of steady disintegration. A seam on the shoulder was unraveling. His goatee was less defined. When Strange spoke, Tony let out a full body twitch and spun around in the chair from several holo displays, pointing at Strange accusingly.

"No. Nope. Not it. Didn't do it this time. Whatever went wrong, not me. If it's bad news, then hit me with it. But otherwise I'm gonna deflect like this."

Tony made a judo chopping motion with both hands.

"You're not it, and I'm not the bearer of bad news for once," Stephen said, stepping aside and his cape making a flourishing motion for the guest of the century to step through the portal.

This was beginning to feel like a huge deja vu. Pepper really did hate repeating herself, but in this instance, because it was Tony, she’d do whatever needed to be done. So when Stephen opened the portal she followed impatiently.

One step into the lab and the telltale smell that she hated more than anything hit her nose. Oh, Tony she thought as the doctor put on his show. Hearing Tony’s voice made her heart lurch, and she’d really like Stephen to get out of the way...oh. Ok.

“Tony?” Pepper took the few steps necessary to get past Dr. Strange, a worried smile tense on her face.

As Dr. Strange discreetly showed himself out through a portal to the Sanctum, Tony's eyes were bugging out . It took him a couple more seconds to register what he was seeing before he stood up so abruptly that the chair was zipping away. It only stopped when it hit some cabinets under a cluttered lab table.

"Pepper?" he asked as though his eyes were deceiving him. It was done while he was rushing forward until they collided, arms immediately wrapping around her as he blinked back tears. "Oh my god. What the hell. You....there...dust....I put....closet...and gone, you were so gone, I couldn't stay there anymore. It was so quiet. I tried, but then I just....don't look in the office, my shit is everywhere. I wouldn't let the janitor touch it and do you realize how pissed cake ladies get when you call them and cancel? Because wow. Anger management issues. Hulk sized."

It wasn't actually him that called, but he read the transcript after Friday dealt with it for him. He stopped motor mouthing and stared at her for a moment, whispering in awe, "I missed you and little Morgan Chase Stark."

Tears of her own filled Pepper’s eyes. He looked horrible. Worse than she’d ever seen him before which was saying something. She caught him when he rushed to her, mostly because she was afraid he’d fall down if she didn’t.

Nothing he was saying was making any sense. Pepper cupped his face with her hands as she hushed him in an attempt to stop his rambling and maybe get an actual complete sentence from him. “Tony. Ton-...Tony stop. No we are not naming our kid after a bank.” It was almost as if she had never been gone, but looking at him she knew it had been a while.

She chuckled. “Hi. You look like shit.”

Tony's face was still between her hands, as he blinked profusely and stared in what fluctuated between a state of relief and disbelief. He spent months being in even more of a disconnected state than ever before, while pretending that everything was fine. In reality, he was about as far from fine as possible.

"First? I love you. Second? It's not after the bank, that Chase part was a joke," Tony admitted, his mouth ready to vomit words again, because it felt like his heart was bursting. Probably with joy, but also quite possibly from a heart attack caused by too much liquor and caffeine. "Funny joke though. It's just...that whole time, I kept thinking about you and your eccentric uncle. Now it's stuck in my mind as Morgan and he's gonna be....still in you. Right? I'd like it if he's still in you, but if not, I'm just....happy to have you back. And if he's not, have you gained weight? You look amazing anyway."

Apparently it didn't register that he looked like shit. Which he does. But now his hands are on her waist and he's glancing down at her body and back up at her face. Rinse. Repeat. Ad infinitum.

Pepper couldn’t help but laugh in a kind of manic way. “I love you, too, you dork. Yes, I’m still pregnant. Just...shut up.” She knew this could potentially be awful, but she didn’t care. He needed this so she didn’t even think about when the last time he’d brushed his teeth was. She just kissed him.

Tony had a toothbrush. It was a Phillips Sonicare and it was awesome, with different speed settings and everything. It was more awesome when he remembered to use it. That day? He hadn't. It was extreme coffee breath, chased with a dash of alcohol. There was also a slight undercurrent of dried cherries and the leftover half of a needlessly complex vegan sandwich.

Basically? Poor Pepper. Tony was powering through an epic I missed you kiss with all of his usual grace, like a fumbling hectic squirrel on crack, not sure where those paws should go so they're going everywhere.

When he came up for air, he blinked in that guileless way he reserved only for her and said, "That was brave."

She half expected that pathetic little whimper he gave when he was fumbling for control. Her heart was breaking for him more than a little, but she chuckled for his assessment. “Yes, well. I threw myself on that grenade so you’d stop rambling, but don’t expect another one until you’ve been through the biohazard room.” And he did have one. It was a toss up on whether she was joking or not.

Pepper looked into those glassy, bloodshot eyes as she pushed her fingers through that mad scientist hair. “Let’s get you cleaned up, hmm?”

Tony laughed, although there were tears hanging in his eyes. Pepper was the only one who could fuss with his hair like that. Or tell him what to do. Or joke about his need for decontamination after a tinker spree that stretched on for days at a time.

"Yeah, ok. Think I can do that," he replied. Even then he couldn't resist cracking a joke. "You comin' with to hose me off and scrub me with something on a stick? I hope it's a mop and not a broom. I know I'm a prick but I don't want prickly competition. There's enough of me to go around."