Chapter 1
Tony still had the nightmares. He still woke up, drenched in sweat, staring at the walls of the dark room with wide straining eyes. He could barely sleep. Though, since New York he had gotten used to it. Espresso usually got him through, though he shook like a mad man after the amount he drank daily. He spent most of his time in the lab. Tinkering, he liked to call it. “A distraction.” That’s what Pepper had called it. He often thought that maybe he wouldn’t be so screwed up if she hadn’t left. But, he didn’t blame her. She took care of the company better without the distraction that he provided her.
He had started to get behind on the paperwork that Pepper brought him daily, in big stacks. She came by his house daily, leaving a stack in the mailbox, with a little note that told him the due date. She always added three exclamation marks and a tiny smiley face. He figured it was easier for her not to face him. If she saw him now anyways, she’d probably smack him across the face and tell him to pull himself together. He rarely changed out of his pajamas, just drug himself down to work on his suits, forgetting to shower, and often forgetting to eat until Jarvis reminded him.
And that’s where he currently was today. It was nearly 3 pm, and he’d only slept 4 hours in the past 48. He had a cup of espresso on his work station, which sat neatly on top of the half-a-foot stack of paperwork, when his phone rang.
“Jarvis, who is that?”
“It’s Pepper sir.”
Tony sighed and swiveled around in his chair, rubbing his face with his hands slightly too hard
“Answer.”
The voice on the other end was familiar, as was the tone it held. “Tony Stark!! I told you to have those papers done three days ago!” She huffed into the microphone, “And not only that, but you’ve been ignoring my calls and emails! Do you want me to come down there?!”
“Oh hi, Pepper. Sorry about that. I’ve just been caught in a spiraling mood of enhanced brain power. I swear, I think I’ve disproved the theory of gravity.” His voice dripped with sarcasm, and he stood, stretching his arms over his head and listening to the satisfying crack of his stiff bones.
“Tony, seriously?! I’m coming down there now.”
“C’mon Pep-“
“No, Tony. This has gone too far! Regardless of if I’m running this company or not, I still have to have your damn signature on the papers…”
Tony groaned, “God after all these years, I’d expect you’d have learned how to forge it by now.”
“You do realize that’s illegal, right? I’ll be there in ten.” The line dropped. Jarvis spoke up.
“She has disconnected the call.”
“Yeah, Jarvis, I realized.” He walked up the stairs slowly, dragging himself to the shower.
He really didn’t want any ties to the company anymore. Not after he became Iron Man, anyways. There really was no gratification that he received from running the company. Before it was all for his father, but truly, his father wanted him to carry out his legacy with the creation of the replacement for palladium. And he had done that, and it propelled him forward in his hero state of life. Now? He had no desire to do anything with Stark Industries. Pepper was doing a great job, and he didn’t want to interfere with her success, and obviously, she didn’t want him to either.
He dug through his drawers, his now slightly outgrown hair dripping onto his shoulders. Slipping on a white t-shirt and jeans was truly all he could muster with the energy he had.
Soon enough Jarvis spoke up. “Mrs. Potts is at the door, should I let her in?”
Tony nodded, making his way down stairs and to the door. He heard Pepper’s heels clicking against the hard floors.
She greeted him with a smile. “Glad to see you showered.”
Tony shrugged, putting on a slight smirk at her professional demeanor. “Grease smell can be overwhelming.” He walked over to the table, the stack of papers in his hands.
“Shall we start?” She handed him a pen, her signature Pepper smile still shining.
It took about an hour to finish. All he had to do was sign, but there was about 200 sheets for him to do it. Pepper sat patiently, and Tony was starting to remember why he fell in love with her in the first place. But that feeling had since faded, and replaced with admiration, as a friend would have for a friend. He admitted he missed it all, but he couldn’t bear to get in the way of pepper’s success. Not when he had his own.
The truth of it all was that he truly was lonely. It was boring, living in an empty Avengers tower when nothing was going on. When they had no missions, they went their separate ways, and Tony was stuck by himself in a place that held only the shadows of his friends.
“I’ve been thinking, Tony.” Pepper spoke up, as they finished the last few signatures.
“I’m sure you do a lot of that every day, Pepper.” She rolled her eyes at his comment. It was easier to ignore his sarcasm.
“Have you ever thought of getting an apprentice? There’s so many bright young people in New York.”
Tony looked up, surprised at her statement. She was right, but the thought had never crossed his mind. “How exactly would we go about even doing that?”
“I could always put up an ad. Just put together an application… and you can choose whoever you’d like.”
Tony bit his lip. An apprentice. He never was really good with kids. They annoyed him, honestly. But maybe it was a good idea. He could get his mind off things for a while, and actually have something to do either than fuck around in the lab and deny press conference and event invitations.
“Sure Pepper, have at it.” He waved it off, and started making his way back downstairs.