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callmeshellhead (callmeshellhead) wrote in rockthatmeme,

Pietro was dead. Bruce was gone. Natasha was heartbroken. It was all because of Tony, because Tony had done something in a moment of panic and desperation and made an AI system that was too good, too intelligent, and, apparently, not artificial enough. That thought plagued him, with every droid he shot down and every hit he dodged, Tony knew that it was happening because of him, and people were dying. He had finally relapsed and became the warlord that he worked so hard to change from, coming back full circle. The nightmares were going to get worse, that was almost guaranteed, as soon as they stepped back into Avengers Tower, Tony put it all away and compartmentalized. There was no point in apologizing to the team now, apologies weren't going to bring anybody back, so he did what he could and separated himself from the situation, congratulating everybody on a job well done and cutting in with a snarky remark when it was expected of him. Soon, Steve was gone with Natasha, some super secret Nick Fury not-S.H.I.E.L.D shit that Tony really couldn't bring himself to care about right then, and Tony was moving upstairs to get himself out of his suit.

Pepper had been overseas, and he hadn't been able to contact her the entire time everything was happening. He could just imagine the terror she had felt when she saw the story on the news, a city in the sky with the Avengers engaged in a battle if a lifetime, and although she hadn't told him that she had come back from Germany, although she hadn't been able to contact him and he hadn't been able to contact her, Tony knew. He knew that she would be upstairs on their private floor, a loft set aside in the tower for the long weeks they had to spend in New York City, and she would be there because that was what they did. They waited for each other when they didn't know what was happening, because despite their differences, both Tony and Pepper wanted the same thing at their very cores. Someone to come home to.

His body was aching, nasty bruises starting to form on his arms and torso, but he ignored the residual pain for now as he took the elevator to their floor and stepped out into the small hall that led directly to their door. Tony pushed it open, knowing that she wouldn't have locked it, and the first thing he saw was Pepper sitting on the couch in their living area, fiddling with her hands and waiting. Waiting for him. This is what Tony did to her, he left her waiting and worried and that thought that always came to him when he woke up in the middle of the night or got called off on a mission hit him once more in that moment; what was he doing to her? Why was she staying?

He didn't say anything until she looked up, and even then Tony found it hard for him to move from the spot he was in, feet planted to the floor and legs heavy. He blinked, a look of confusion and uncertainty on his face, because fuck, what was he supposed to say to her?

"...We might need to call our PR guy."