Stones and Glass Houses (Book 1)

🕷(97) Epilogue

Pepper POV-

As Pepper finished making a PB&J sandwich, she set down her knife with a sigh, turning to the living room where Brooklyn was lounging at. 

She was still seated by a small window, book in her lap, but forgotten as she stared out into the snowing landscape.

It was like she was searching for something.

Understandably, after everything that had happened to Brook, she'd been a little distant at first, doing her best to smile and seem ok to everyone, but once they all left for training or on missions, Pepper noticed she just sort of...got lost in thought.

Knowing her daughter had been captured had been one of the greatest horrors in Pepper's life. When Peter came in accompanied by his kryptonian friend and a band of Waynes to share the news, the woman had felt time stop and rewind to the moment years ago when Tony had been captured by terrorists.

Pepper had feared she'd go weeks without hearing from Brooklyn, and knowing it was the Red Room who had done it, it made it all the more worrisome.

Natasha was usually very level headed, calm and poised at the face of danger or a rising issue. But for those four days Brooklyn was gone...the woman had been frantic. Pepper knew why, because this had something to do with Ivan, and that meant really bad news.

Pepper had no special espionage skills or the ability to go out for clues. All she could do during those four days was stay at home and try to calm down Harley, who refused to go to out until Brooklyn was back home safe.

Usually Pepper kept the young boy to the Avengers floors, because the rest were filled with Waynes whom Harley was still afraid of. It WAS odd sometimes, seeing both Waynes and Tony working towards a common goal. 

Sure, they fought almost any chance they could, but there was always someone there to remind them that each fight was minutes spent of their children suffering.

During that time, Pepper also noticed something peculiar that the others had overlooked.

One of Mr. Wayne's daughters, with red hair and the glasses, was crippled from the waist down. Yet, she still moved, ran, and sat with ease. Pepper had spent much time with Brooklyn as the teen showed her the tinkering modifications she was making to a brace for Rhodey, and there was something similar about this one, however subtle...

Pepper knew without a doubt that Brook had made the brace for the young woman walk, and maybe it was the rising horror of never seeing her daughter again, but Pepper had gone to Brook's room and cried with pride.

Thats how Natasha had found her, thinking it was just the worry of Brook getting to her.

"Relax, I think those two will keep one another safe" Nat had said with absolute certainty now that they knew both Brooklyn and Damian were in the same place.

"Why? Because they care for one another?" Steve had asked from here he leaned exhaustedly by the entrance to the room, beard unkempt and eyes crestfallen.

Nat had gone over to him, gladly excepting the offer to huddle by his side as she looked between him and Pepper, "I think this goes beyond that. They trust one another, otherwise what I saw that day at the dance wouldn't have been possible."

Those words had been a comfort to Pepper, however small it might seem.

Now, her daughter was back home, covered in bandages, rubbing the cuff marks on her wrist absentmindedly, but somehow not caring about it all. Brooklyn HAD made sure Ivan was put in the most highly secured prison in the world, had testified for SHIELD at the man's trial, even smiled when he was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.