Big Reputation [An Iron Man FanFiction | Pepperony] - COMPLETED

The Tower

Dust and pieces of shredded concrete floated through the air around Tony as he opened his eyes. The smell of destruction...if that was a thing...was strong in the room. Looking around, he searched for Pepper - why weren't they in bed anymore?

"Pep?" he called, his voice tired.

Something wasn't right. He glanced down and saw his hands bloodied and the familiar carpet, soiled with debris, of the casino from DC. Then, just as quickly as he had recognized that, he saw her - Pepper, strawberry still in her glass, lying on the floor a few meters away from him. She held her hand out, but her eyes were cold.

"Pepper!" he yelled, trying to rush to her.

The scene faded instantly, leaving him upright in bed with the red head sitting up as well to his right. It was just another nightmare...at least they had moved on from Afghanistan so he could let that go. Sighing, he wiped the cold sweat from his face and tried to slow his breathing until two arms snaked around his waist and tried to calm him.

"Tony," she breathed, panicked as well after he shot up calling for her. "We're fine. Everything is fine. Just breathe."

He struggled for a moment longer to slow his heart rate but finally succeeded. Her fingertips trailed down his bare back, soothing him enough to close his eyes again and reset.

"What happened?" she asked softly once he seemed okay.

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Nightmares. Again."

"Still?"

He faked a smile. "Used to be about captivity, but this time it...was you," he admitted.

Pepper swallowed, realizing there was still so much she didn't understand. "Tell me what happened," she invited.

His fists clenched silently as he spoke. "I saw...you." He turned to her. "It was my fault. The accident. I saw - she made me see you, Pep."

Not wanting him to relive it, Pepper silenced Tony by pulling him into a hug. He sighed and settled into her; he was going to grow quite fond of this kind of comfort.

"Jarvis, time?" he mumbled into her neck as he stared down at the white sheets, now tinted blue by the arc; his hands were clean and as far from bloody as could be.

"Three thirty-one AM, sir."

He groaned and released himself from Pepper's grasp before pushing the blankets off. Then, he stood and grabbed a dry pair of pants and an old band shirt from the closet.

"Gonna grab a drink..." he muttered as he exited to the kitchen.

Pepper frowned but let him go.

As he entered the dining area, the lights turned up slightly, thanks to Jarvis, which revealed his house guest sitting at the island eating one of the rolls from dinner.

"You're up late," Stark observed as he went for the scotch in the cabinet next to the fridge.

"Yeah, someone was keeping me up," Rhodey answered him sternly.

Tony flashed him a grin over his shoulder, proud of himself; he had made his deal with Pepper earlier in the night, and he had made sure she kept it.

"What, don't like my name?"

"At one in the morning? No. Never." Rhodey took a sip of his water. "You can't treat her like that, Tony."

"I's fun, Rhodey. Geez..." he defended, pouring his drink and turning toward the other man. "Out of the two people in this room, who is A) in a committed relationship and B) still the coolest guy in LA?"