Chapter 2
Tony was confused when he woke up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room, but within a minute everything from the night before came back to him. The engagement was called off. He was staying with Peter and Harley. They welcomed him with open arms.
He was filled with a mixture of sadness and gratitude.
As he woke up a bit more, he noticed the wonderful smell of food coming from the kitchen along with the sounds of laughter and some type of pop music playing. He groaned as he got out of bed, not used to the firmer mattress. He followed the smells and laughter to the kitchen, where Peter and Harley were making breakfast while dancing. It was a sweet sight, seeing the boys have so much fun with each other. It made his heart hurt when he realized he never had that, and he probably never would.
“Good morning, Tony!” Harley said when he noticed him, smile on his face. Peter looked over at him too with the same soft kind of smile, his hair a curly mess. “We made you coffee!” Peter said, using one hand to flip eggs in a frying pan and the other to point to the pale yellow mug on the counter. “What time is it?” Tony asked, walking over and peeking at the food being made as he got his cup of coffee. “Last time I checked, it was around 8:30.” Peter said, putting eggs on a plate and turning the stove off.
Tony nodded as he sipped the coffee, not feeling the need to add anything to it. “We didn’t know what you’d want, so we just made bacon and eggs, but we have cereal and stuff if you want any.” Harley said while taking the plates of food to their small dining table. Tony shook his head after he swallowed his coffee. “No it’s just fine, thank you, guys.” He said with a genuine smile. Peter took a couple plates out of a cabinet and placed them on the table. “Eat up boys!” Peter said.
All of the men sat down at the table, piling food on their plates and eating as the music continued to play in the background. “What are you guys doing today?” Tony asked while using his fork to cut up one of his eggs. “Well, I have class at 10 and I’ll be on campus until around 3.” Peter explained. “I have the day off, but I have class at noon and I’ll be home around 2. You got anything going on?” Harley asked. As if on cue, Tony’s phone dinged, indicating a text message. Sadness overtook him again as he read the message. “Pepper wants to talk about everything.” He said quietly.
The other men gave small nods in response. “It’s probably best to do it sooner rather than later.” Peter said just as quiet. Tony dropped his phone onto the table, hunger dissipated. Peter checked the time on his phone. “I gotta get ready for school.” He stood up and took his dishes to the sink before going to his and Harley’s bedroom.
There was silence between Harley and Tony, Harley finishing his food while Tony didn’t touch his. “Peter’s gonna scold you if you haven’t eaten more by the time he gets out. He’ll tell you that you gotta fuel up before you leave.” Harley said while eating another slice of bacon. Tony nodded in response. “To be honest…” Tony started, “I was not expecting it to be this good. Especially considering how May cooks.” He joked. Harley laughed in response.
“Well, it was rough at first, but I actually taught him a few things.” Harley explained. Tony’s eyes went wide as he took another bite. “You taught him?” He asked. Harley finished off his coffee while nodding. “My mom taught me and I knew that Miss May wasn’t too good in the kitchen, so I showed him the reins.” As Harley explained the story, Tony found that he had cleared his plate of all food.
Peter walked out into the dining/living area, donning a sweater, jeans, and a beat-up pair of sneakers with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. “I’m heading out, guys.” He walked over and placed a kiss on the top of Harley’s head. “Good luck, Tony.” Peter said while patting the oldest man’s shoulder. “Thank you, Pete.” He said. Peter gave him another smile before he walked to their front door and took his keys off of one of the hooks. “Love you!” He exclaimed as he closed the door behind him.
Harley smiled, standing up and taking his and Tony’s dishes to the sink. “You guys are great together.” Tony’s words were genuine. Harley’s face flushed at what Tony said. “I have you to thank for that.” Harley said while rinsing off the dishes. “Did you know that we would..” Harley started, looking over at Tony. He shook his head in response. “I had a feeling you guys would get along but I was shocked when you guys got together. I don’t know WHY I was shocked, Pep wasn’t, but she has her way of knowing.” His smile dropped when he mentioned her.
Harley thought back to what Peter had said the night before, about how Pepper was right about things most of the time. Tony would be alright.
- - - -
A few hours passed, Tony had showered and he and Harley watched TV until the younger man had to leave. After a few minutes of being alone in the house, Tony decided that he should go see Pepper, get things over with.
He was trembling slightly on his drive to the tower, sadness and anxiety coursing through him. He was glad that Harley had passed him a spare key before he had left for class; he had a way back in if he needed to leave. He knew it was better to get it done sooner rather than later. Get a statement out before the wedding would’ve happened.
An even dimmer atmosphere came over Tony when he pulled into his usual parking spot, scrubbing his hands over his face after turning the car off. He took a deep breath as he walked into the building, sending polite smiles and small waves to the people who noticed him. Maybe if he faked positivity, it would come to him.
The elevator ride felt like hours instead of less than a minute. He felt like his heart rate could be heard loud and clear if he wasn’t alone in the elevator. Was this what a heart attack felt like?
He hesitated a bit when the doors opened and he walked onto the penthouse floor, trying to focus on his breathing. Pepper walked in at the ding of the elevator, somber smile on her face. He wasn’t the only one who was hurting. She looked disheveled, at least in the perspective of anyone who knew her. Her strawberry blonde hair was in a claw clip on the back of her head with a few stray hairs framing her face, she wasn’t wearing any makeup (which was probably for the best, considering her eyes were red from the many tears she had shed since the night before), and she was wearing wrinkled pajamas. It was a look few had seen from the normally organized, perfectionistic look of Pepper Potts.
“Come sit with me, Tony.” Her voice was soft, motioning to a nearby plush chair. Tony silently walked over and sat across from her. He was unable to make eye contact, too focused on trying to suppress his trembling to be able to do so. She sat in her own chair, pulling out a pen and notepad out of the drawer of a nearby coffee table. It was obvious she was trying to remain professional with her posture, but her clear exhaustion and sadness caused her to slouch slightly.
“PR doesn’t know about this yet, but they should.” Pepper began speaking. “I want to have a statement outlined before people begin to catch on, or speculate.” Her tone was to-the-point, seemingly trying to push any emotions out of her voice. “PR didn’t already have a statement prepared for this before we even started dating?” Tony attempted to joke, getting a soft chuckle out of Pepper.
“They probably do.” She said honestly, a bit of humor coming out. “But I also want it to be clear to others, the public, that this wasn’t for publicity. I also wanted to ask you about your opinions on donating my dress. There are a lot of charities that donate wedding dresses to people who can’t afford their wedding dresses.” She clarified. He wasn’t surprised that she would want to donate it. “I don’t have a problem with that. But I think if we were to donate anything involving the dress, maybe we could auction it? Split the proceeds to multiple charities?” She smiled at Tony’s suggestion.
The conversation Tony had only planned on lasting for a few minutes ended up lasting a few hours, as they discussed donating decorations as well.