Day 95
Pepper yanks out her phone as soon as she sees the red armor rocketing through the sky toward the spaceship ascending into the sky. She prays it isn’t Tony, but there is no one else that it might be. Her future husband is launching him full speed toward a spaceship. She needs him to come back. She needs him to stay.
“Tony?” To her relief he answers. Maybe she can get him to come back, to get someone to save the world. She knows it’s selfish, but just this once she wants him to be selfish. She wants him to be selfish for her.
“Hey honey-” Not many people can hear it, or notice it, it the subtle change in his voice. She heard it a lot after his first encounter with aliens. Terror. Tony is better than most at concealing his fear, but he has never been able to hide anything from her, “-- we might have to push our 8:30 res.”
No. No. No. He is on the ship. Pepper already knew that, but the realness of it is driving itself into her mind.
“Please tell me you are not on that ship!” She tries not to scream. He can’t be. No. Please no!
“I’m sorry,” His two simple words cut her deep. She can hear the dread and terror dripping from his voice. She can hear it; he wants to come back. He is up there alone and terrified, and he wants to come back, but she knows he can't- won't.
“Tony I swear! Get your ass back down here… please!” Pepper cries. Come back! Come back! Come back!
“I’m sorry Pepp- I Pepp?” the connection breaks up.
“Tony! No! Please no! Not again! Come back!” Pepper screams this time, but the connection is gone and she knows it, “I love you.”
She knows he can’t hear her say it. She knows the connection is already dead, but she says it because she'll hate herself if she doesn’t. The spaceship has vanished from the sky. He is gone.
“Boss- I’m sorry… but I lost him. He is to far away.”
He is gone.
Pepper sinks to the ground biting back tears that want to push themselves out. He is gone and she hadn’t had the chance to tell him. She had lied. She had been going to tell him over dinner, but now he was gone, and he may never know that he is a father. Pepper runs her hands gently over her belly and curls in on herself. She doesn’t care if anyone is watching her. She has a feeling deep inside her heart that she will never get him back.
He is gone.