"That's what I want, too," she confesses softly, something tender and so very pained in her own eyes. Smiling a wan, tremulous smile, Pepper cups his cheek gently. "Even though I know I shouldn't. We both know..." she trails off, the tightness in her throat choking off further words.
Tony's running out of time, that much is certain. He'll die anyway if he doesn't figure something out. Pepper knows turning him would heal him fully, she has absolutely no doubt of it -- but how can she knowingly doom him into this life? Into being a monster. She can't bear the idea, but the thought of living without him anymore is equally incomprehensible.