zolac_no_miko: (sexy hardware)
[personal profile] zolac_no_miko
Title: The Worst Fear
Characters/Pairing: Tony/Pepper, Pepper POV
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: ~400
Summary: A near miss; a missed call.
Warnings: Spoilers for Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Avengers.
Disclaimer: Characters and plot elements in this story are © Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures. All content is fictional and for entertainment purposes only, not for profit.

Notes: OH SNAP I'VE JUST WRITTEN AVENGERS FIC. I just have so many unexpected feels about this one particular scene.... Some credit should maybe go to [livejournal.com profile] klatubarada for accidentally incepting me with this bunny.

Posted to [livejournal.com profile] avengers_2k.

This story also available on my AO3.

~ ~ ~

Since Tony Stark had been captured by the Ten Rings and had come back with metal in his chest and a fire in his eyes, Pepper had become well acquainted with fear. And Tony was Tony and the world was crazy and broken, and the fear just seemed to get worse with time. When Tony had disappeared into the desert; when she'd walked into his workshop and found him quiet and serious, ready to walk into the line of fire, willing to risk everything for the sake of his Mission; when Stane had turned murderous, donning a behemoth suit and going after Tony, and Pepper had had to make a choice that nearly killed him; on the track in Monaco, when Vanko had come after Tony like a ravenous beast, all teeth and claws and deadly intent, and Tony had been without the suit, completely defenseless; when Vanko came after him again, with an army of drones, all of them rigged to explode... Pepper had been scared, so scared. She'd been terrified.

The Battle of Manhattan had definitely been worse, harder to bear. Pepper had watched from her jet, watched the violence and flames on the television screen, known that Tony was in the middle of it, and that knowledge had paralyzed her. When she'd seen footage of the missile, and the tell-tale jets of the Iron Man suit, and Tony and the missile together disappearing into that hole in the sky, she had been so scared she couldn't breathe, and she'd thought she had never been so frightened, thought it was the worst fear she could possibly feel.

It was later, much later, after the camera lenses had shown her Tony, alive, on solid ground, walking and conversing with the other Avengers, that Pepper had excused herself and gone to the washroom, and happened to glance at her phone.

She'd missed a call. From Tony. And from the timestamp, he'd called mid-flight, when he and the missile had been hurtling toward that gateway into the black of space. And she knew what it meant, she knew Tony.

He hadn't expected to come back from that.

Pepper's phone slipped from numb fingers, tumbled to the floor; her knees buckled beneath her and she gasped, sheer, blinding panic flooding into her. She cried, curled in on herself, pressed into a corner, sobbing brokenly, helplessly; she sobbed and gasped and cried and could not stop, and that

That was the worst.

Date: 2012-05-13 02:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] evilmissbecky.livejournal.com
Oh man this is heartbreaking. I still get teary-eyed during that scene, because I want Pepper to answer the phone so badly.

Thank you for writing this.

Date: 2012-05-13 09:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
Guh, I know, it's this tiny little scene but it's so subtly and horrendously heartbreaking, just... UGH, JOSS WHEDON ARE GOOD WRITER YES. T_T

You're welcome! Thank you for reading and commenting! ^_^

Date: 2012-05-13 02:49 am (UTC)
jerusha: (Default)
From: [personal profile] jerusha
This was awesome. I love how much emotion you pack into this fic.

Date: 2012-05-13 09:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
Thank you! I'm glad it made an impact. ^_^

Date: 2012-05-13 04:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ericadawn16.livejournal.com
One nitpicky thing...
The disclaimer should be Marvel, Walt Disney and Paramount...

Okay, past that, I loved it. It's just how I imagined it except that after their reunion, he would have to tell her about Phil...

Date: 2012-05-13 09:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
ARGH FAIL, I copied the disclaimer from one of my DC fics and then got distracted and completely forgot to alter it appropriately, fixed now, THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT. I do actually know the difference between DC and Marvel, I swear! XD;

Yay! Oh man, glad I'm not the only one, I thought of it the other day and couldn't shake it, had to write it down so it would leave me alone. ...OH GOD YES, THAT TOO, Pepper would be crushed! It's okay, though, because he's not really dead. :D

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Date: 2012-05-14 03:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ericadawn16.livejournal.com
No problem

Yep, it's just so...wow...it's hard to wrap my head around how she must feel and what she could have felt because that's just devastating. Someday, I will have to write about it, too.

Date: 2012-05-14 03:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
I APPROVE OF THIS IDEA. :DD

Date: 2012-05-15 06:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ericadawn16.livejournal.com
You know, maybe I'll do that as my kissing meme story. Other people have done sad ones, too.

Date: 2012-05-13 09:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] purple-carpets.livejournal.com
^
Headcanon

<3

Date: 2012-05-13 09:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
Eeee!! :DD *flattered and thrilled*

Date: 2012-05-13 11:39 am (UTC)
ext_9872: (screwball comedy antics)
From: [identity profile] zauberer-sirin.livejournal.com
this is absolutely perfect. I came out of the cinema with a lot of feels and fic ideas about the damn missed call and this is perfect. exactly what I wanted to read. Great job!

Date: 2012-05-13 11:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
Fantastic! So glad I'm not the only one. So pleased you liked it!

(Love your icon, it's really sweet. ^_^)

Date: 2012-05-13 12:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sirona-gs.livejournal.com
My heart just stopped in my chest. I think I stopped breathing, too. Oh, god. Oh, Pepper. You're so right, GOD, seeing that missed phone call. MY FUCKING HEART. AVENGERS FIC FROM YOU JUST MADE MY DAY. <3333333333333333 TELL ME WE CAN DRAG YOU INTO THIS FANDOM. *__________*

Date: 2012-05-13 07:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
<33333333333333333333333333

OH GOOD SO IT'S NOT JUST ME.

Awwwwwww, Neve~! ♥ I'm glad I could make your day. ♥♥

Haha, I'm pretty sure I've been in this fandom longer than you have... but you probably mean writing for it. No promises, love! I mean, anything is possible, this happened, something like this could happen again, but right now I'm really just drowning in H50 and Batfamily bunnies. (Mostly H50.)

Date: 2012-05-23 11:05 pm (UTC)
ext_3761: (Default)
From: [identity profile] klatubarada.livejournal.com
Late to the party *as usual* but I'm sooo glad I could accidentally incept ya :) heh heh.
I love Peppers reaction,its completely beautiful in all it overwhelming feels <3

Date: 2012-05-28 04:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com
No worries, THIS PARTY NEVER STOPS. :DD

Haha I have to be really careful about stating fic-wishes out loud, because half the time I find I have to write them myself. ^_^;; Thank you so much for, all unwitting, helping to inspire me!

Ahh, good, thank you, I'm glad it reads true for you!

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