Theme 83 - Home
Title: Return
Author: ZionAngel
Theme: 83 - Home
Rating: PG
Length: 930 words
Summary: “But Jarvis will miss you.”
AN: Let’s just say that it’s not easy to tell if your writing sucks when you’re as tired as I am….
“What time are we landing?” he murmurs, sinking deeper into the airplane couch. She’s sitting on one of the bar stools with a drink. Straight orange juice, he’s pretty sure. He still has a hard time grasping the concept that she almost never drinks. Doesn’t fit with his expansive understanding of the world. Really, who would turn down a nice martini or four when some of the best vodka in the world is not three feet away? And if she should happen to remember that stripper pole that rises up from the floor (even though she’d been slightly appalled the only time she’d seen it) and the vodka happens to give her a few ideas -
“Four. Should have you back home by five.”
“Oh, good. Plenty of time for you to pick out a few benefits and parties to blackmail me into before dinner.” He sends her a snide smirk, and she rolls her eyes when she looks up.
“I am going straight home and crawling into bed.” She sighs heavily. “God, I miss my bed.”
He goes limp against the cushions, staring at her as he wraps his head around what she just said. “You’re going back to your place?”
She gives him a long glance over the rim of her glass, seeming confused. “Of course I am. I’ve spent about thirty minutes at my condo in the last two weeks, and that was to pack.”
“But you can’t go home,” he says bluntly, feeling a little bit of panic, and a bit more sadness.
“Why not?” she laughs, and the sweet sound of her voice doesn’t help him feel any better.
He doesn’t have an answer. Well, he does, technically, but saying “I love you and I don’t want to be alone” would probably just make things awkward. “Because…” he stammers, thinking faster than he ever has when guns weren’t being pointed at him. “Jarvis.”
“Jarvis?” She’s looking at him like he’s lost just a small portion of his mind. “What about him?”
“You can’t leave him all alone in that big house.” He’s trying to sound very matter-of-fact, but he’s not sure how well he’s doing.
One eyebrow slowly creeps up. “He won’t be alone, you’ll be there to keep him company.”
He shakes his head. “But it won’t be the same.”
Her face softens almost imperceptibly, and her eyes open just a fraction of an inch wider. Like she knows. “It’s been just the two of you plenty of nights for years. Almost every night for the last two months.”
She probably does know. That doesn’t change his battle strategy. “But Jarvis will miss you, Pepper. He’ll get lonely without you. He’ll brood.” He is desperate and genuinely upset now, and doing his best to hide it. “You ever see a brooding AI before, Potts? Because let me tell you, it’s not a pretty sight.”
She pauses for a moment, and a small, sweet smile graces her face. “Well then, please remind Jarvis that I’m just going home, not quitting. I’ll be back to see him the day after tomorrow, working ridiculously long hours as always. He’ll get to spend plenty of time with me.”
That should comfort him. But it doesn’t. Somehow, the idea that she won’t be sleeping just down the hall, that he won’t be able to see her last thing before bed or first thing when he wakes up gives him a feeling very close to nausea. It takes a great deal of self control to keep his face calm and his tone relaxed. “But what if he needs your help or wants to talk to you and you’re not there?”
“Well, he knows I’m just a phone call away if anything comes up. Just like I always am.”
He slumps just a bit further into the cushions in resignation. “So there’s nothing I can say that will get you to spend the night? For Jarvis?”
Her smile is kind, but resolute. “I’m afraid not, Mr. Stark. Contrary to what recent behavior would suggest, I do actually have my own home, and I would like to get back to it before I need a hazmat team to come clean out my refrigerator.”
He sighs, and feels fear and sadness creep into his face. He hides both of these by getting up and heading to the bar for a trusty scotch. “Okay. But I’m warning you, Potts, if you show up for work and the whole house has gone hay-wire because of a grief-stricken AI, the repairs are so coming out of your paycheck.”
“Well then, I’ll have to be sure that doesn’t happen.”
He does his best to simply drop the subject and enjoy her company through the rest of the flight, up until Happy arrives at her condo. The time between saying goodbye and finally arriving in his living room, alone, all flow by in a semi-conscious blur of cars and buildings and finally a suitcase. He plops on the couch much as he had on the plane, staring around at the harsh shadows the late afternoon sun casts throughout the room. He sits in silence for a long time, soaking in the feeling of his house, the eeriness of the way it is now. He’s lived here for close to twelve years now. He had this entire house built from the ground up, to his exact taste and specifications. He’s always liked this place, but he now realizes that at certain times he likes it a bit more.
This place… it’s not home without her in it. Not anymore.