Broken Lullaby ▷ Tony Stark | ✓

23 - NEW BEGINNINGS

IT WAS NEW YEAR'S EVE AND PEPPER CAME TO VISIT.

It wasn't as if she was out of his life, she was the CEO of his company and still had to drag him to press conferences and things of the sort, but it wasn't as if they were having brunch and talking about how great it was that they were taking a break from each other.

It couldn't be said that Tony didn't understand why Remy cried every time he thought someone was going to leave.

But he hadn't expected her to be there, what with her being out of town for the holidays, but there she was, dressed as impeccably as always, just smiling at him in the doorway of his room.

He hadn't visibly startled—he had taught himself to generally hide his reactions so people wouldn't use it to their advantage—but, inwardly, he had shrieked and jumped out of his skin, because she was there, right in front of him.

"I just flew here to talk to you, then I'm back out," she explained, reading his mind, as always, stepping into the room, keeping a respectable space between them, and he wished she didn't look so easy doing so.

"Good Christmas?" he asked, walking around his room and fiddling with some things, trying to avoid having to look at her for very long.

She shrugged, watching him walk around with a bemused expression. "It was nice. How was yours?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have a feeling that you already have an answer to that?"

"Facial recognition on Facebook, which is already eyebrow raising in itself, and the number of results were too high to just be you taking pictures, and there weren't enough to be pictures taken of you just out in the world," she explained, smiling and pulling out a tablet which she had no doubt prepared for this very interaction, opening up screenshots and handing them towards him.

He couldn't help but smile as he looked at all the selfies he had taken with the family members, pictures of him eating with others, giving out presents, and hugging a few of the people who had become emotional after they realized he had given them money.

He paused at the picture of him, Birdie, and Remy in front of the Christmas tree, grinning brightly with BUDDY standing off to the side, waving at the camera.

He raised his eyes and found Pepper looking at him with an unreadable expression. Clearing his throat, he handed it back and went back to walking around the room, looking away from her.

"Happy told me the kid was here for a few days," Pepper said, eyes following him, "How did you meet him?"

"He ran into me in front of his school," he replied, keeping his voice light and casual, and unsure as to why he was so on edge.

Maybe it was because, deep down, he was afraid Pepper was going to tell him that it would be better that he distance himself from them, because staying too close would put them in danger, would bring them more pain than they deserved, and deep down he knew that she was right, but the thought of losing people he had grown so attached to was just not an option for him at this point, it couldn't be; he had been left by so many, and he shouldn't have to be left again, not if he could help it.

But Pepper didn't say anything like that. She didn't do anything except reach out and touch his arm, stopping him so he would look at her.

"Are you happy?" she asked softly, and he didn't know what was happening, but he gave her a short nod, because there was no use trying to think too deeply, she always knew what he meant.

She smiled then, and his heart ached, because he missed that smile, but another smile was just in the back of his mind, and he realized that he could still have this smile, just not in the way he used to want it.