penistower | let's perform my favorite little scene ⋆

Tony had gone through a rough patch following Ultron, but Pepper had been there with him for all of it like always. She was always so good to him, and he's trying to be more engaged and take cues; and not give her any more reason to worry. So when she comes to him in the lab, he whirls around immediately, focused entirely on her. Usually he would at least take a moment to finish up whatever he was working on, but he can't let things continue to degrade. He needs to be a part of their solution.

And when he catches the look on her face he's glad he got his head out of his ass in record time. "Pepper, what is it?" A second later it sinks in that something is wrong. He's popping up out of his seat and going to her without being asked, but what comes next is the last thing he could have possibly expected. Pregnant? It doesn't make sense. He floats away for a second before forcing himself back into the moment.

"Are you sure?" he asks, then grimaces, realizing it was dumb. He shakes his head as if he could etch-a-sketch what he just said. Of course she is or she wouldn't come to him with this. He reaches out for her arms, uncertain but knowing they should be close for this. He can't be a father, he's going to let her down. She already takes care of him, won't this just be twice as much on her plate? Breathing in shallowly through his nose, he rubs his thumbs against her elbows and tries not to look absolutely terrified.

Threaded | Flat

Pepper had readied all the words she was going to say to Tony in her head before ever approaching him in the lab, but now that she's standing here, having pushed out the simple truth, she finds all those carefully planned sentences have vanished into thin air. Her hands come up to grasp his arms, as if they're holding each other up-- maybe they are. Nodding, she swallows away the thickness in her throat and tries not to let the complete terror that seems to threaten to overtake Tony's expression deter her.

"I went to the doctor for a test today to make sure. I'm almost two months along already. I thought it was just stress-- it's happened before." The missed period, the fatigue and occasional nausea. She gives a watery, mirthless smile, shaking her head. "And I was on those antibiotics that time, the doctor thinks they interacted with the contraceptive."

She's never forgotten to take the pill, they've always been careful. A baby hadn't been on either one of their agenda, but now that they're faced with the reality of the situation, Pepper is realizing there really is only one possible solution. She can only hope Tony will eventually be onboard with it, because she can't bear the thought of losing him now.

"I already made the prenatal appointment for tomorrow," she goes on shakily, gripping him tighter. Because even in crisis, she's nothing if not efficient. "Tony... I know this wasn't the plan. I'm scared too, but I can't even think of-- terminating. And for me, this is probably the last chance I'll have."

She knows she's pushing it with a first-time pregnancy at forty, but if everything checks out, she knows this is what she's meant to do.

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