The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 72

"So, something new?" Tony asked as he returned to the lab to see Bruce and Natasha.

"Unfortunately not, but I'm doing what I can," Bruce assured him.

Stark rubbed his face wearily. "I really don't understand. Why does something still have to go wrong? Is our family cursed, or what? It's my fault?"

Natasha and Bruce exchanged a startled look. Tony really must have been on the verge of his strength. And neither one of them was surprised. All that the Starks had to go through...

"Tony, we'll help you with everything. It will get better again. It always turns out for the better in the end," Nat tried to encourage him, but he didn't seem to listen to her at all.

"Peter talked to Pepper-"

"That's great!" Bruce shouted, opening his mouth into a wide smile.

"- and he thinks something is going on. He said she sounded very strange on the phone and he was a little worried about her. Nat, has Pepper been okay lately?"

Natasha paused and looked eloquently at Bruce, who quickly leaned back to his work. Tony didn't miss it. He frowned and came closer to them. "What is it? Do you know something I don't?"

"Well... Pepper was a little sick recently," Natasha admitted, "so we went to the doctor. But he says it's common in such a situation."

"What happened to her? What did the doctor tell her?" Tony asked, and panic began to build in him. "In what situation?"

"I don't know, she didn't tell me anything specific, but she said it would be- she didn't go to work today or yesterday," she interrupted herself in a faint voice.  "What if -"

"What if she lied to you," Tony grimly interrupted her. Natasha wanted to say something about the baby, but in the end, she was glad Tony interrupted her because if she revealed her secret, Pepper probably wouldn't thank her for it.

"It would be like Pepper, she always has to handle everything on her own. We're going to her. With what's going on now, I won't risk it. I need to talk to her," he said firmly and hurried out of the lab.

"Oh God, I'm going with him, he doesn't know where Pepper lives," Natasha said, giving Bruce a quick kiss on the cheek. "Maybe we'll be back soon. Watch out for Peter!"

"I hope everything is okay," he muttered carefully, watching Natasha run after Tony.

Everyone hoped.

•••

"Damn, if I walked, I'd be there faster!" Tony growled as there were about ten traffic lights on the way to Pepper. "How far is it?"

"A little bit more. Tony, please, everything's fine, you don't have to panic-" Nat tried to calm him, and then they finally set off again.

"Am I panicking? I'm not panicking at all! How could you just leave her unattended? Why didn't you tell me anything? You know something more than I do, Natasha!" Stark growled, drumming his fingers impatiently on his thigh. Natasha's head ached from his constant talking and she turned a little harder than she intended. "I should have driven, you're going to kill us here."

"Calm down, please. We're here. Please do not kick Pepper's door," Nat frowned as she parked not very deftly, but Tony didn't listen. He quickly unbuckled his seat belt and ran to the house. The main door was open, he ran in and headed up the stairs. "Hey! How about waiting for me?"

"What floor?" he shouted at Natasha, ignoring her completely.

"Tha last one."

Luckily the house didn't have too many floors, Tony was upstairs in a moment, ringing and pounding on the door. "Pepper! Pepper, open the door!"

In a moment, his wish had been granted, Pepper opened the door dressed only in her robe and screamed in surprise as Tony ran inside and held her in his arms.

"Tony! Is there something wrong?"

"You tell me! By the way, in other circumstances I would be very pleased with your choice of clothes, but unfortunately now is not the time," Tony said hastily, grabbing her hand and leading the confused Pepper into the living room. "Well, I'm listening. What's happening? What did the doctor tell you?" he asked as soon as she sat down. Natasha joined them.

"What are you talking about?" Pepper didn't understand. Natasha and Tony exchanged glances.

"Pep, we went to the doctor recently," Nat said vaguely. "You didn't tell me much, but I think Tony should know the truth by now, don't you think?"

"What? What the hell is going on?" Tony asked, frightened. Pepper paled. She took a shaky breath and looked down at her hands. "Pepper? Honey, what's going on?" He quickly knelt beside her and placed his palms on her knees. Pepper bit her lip.

"All right, I'll tell you, even though I planned not to tell you anything," she whispered, and Natasha frowned. Why shouldn't she want to tell him? He was her child's father! He had a right to know. "Tony, I -"

"What, honey?" he urged her gently and took her hand. A tear slid down Pepper's cheek.

"Tony, I was pregnant."

He stopped and Natasha covered her mouth with her palm. Oh my God. She was beginning to understand. Why Pepper was like that, why didn't she go to work. Oh my God. Did she do it all on her own?

"Pepper, correct me if I'm wrong - but did you just tell me you were pregnant?" Tony asked, and Pepper nodded. His heart fluttered with joy for a moment, but then he realized Pepper was talking in the past time. He gasped for breath. "Oh no. No - Pepper. Come here," he breathed, sitting down next to her and hugging her. He tried to take it all.

He could have had a second child. With Pepper.

"You... miscarried? But how? You told me everything was fine," Natasha whispered. The atmosphere in the room was gloomy and all three tried to absorb the fact that Pepper had lost her baby.

"I don't know, it just happened all of a sudden," she replied in a whisper, tears glistening in her eyes. She didn't understand. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand.

"I'm so sorry, honey. Imagine what it would be like... we would be double parents, Pepper. And Peter would have siblings." Tony had to smile at the idea. But then he realized it wouldn't happen. And a little fear popped into his mind. "It was my baby, right?"

"Tony!" Nat shouted at him, and Pepper froze. She broke free of his grip and looked at him in disbelief. Tony was immediately ashamed.

"You think I... cheated on you?"

"No, of course not," he replied quickly. "Just, I remembered something—"

"Remembered what?"

Tony sighed. He won't get out of this now. "Well... Pep, don't take it seriously and don't worry about it. It was just an illusion or something. But Peter says... He says that he saw you kissing some stranger." Natasha gave him a disbelieving look. He really knew how to make it better.

Could it have been worse? Obviously it could. Tony's response hit Pepper like a well-aimed blow to her stomach. For a moment she forgot how to breathe. She just gripped Tony's hand tightly.

"Peter," she said in a strangled voice, "Peter thinks I'm cheating on you?"

Suddenly it all made more sense.