[For Tony] Item post

[wildlyconflictd]

The end of November brought with it palpable expectation. Too many years, apparently, had December blown in cold and snow-crusted, and now, even after a year that had seen a blistering heat wave before the the dip towards icy temperatures, the hot, humid air seemed heavy with anticipation. Most of the day Pepper has spent inside escaping the

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[notawastedlife]

"Whoa, there, I know you miss me when I'm not around but-" Tony cut himself off.

Pepper Potts did not panic, not on any sort of regular or irregular basis. Once or twice, and the time that came most readily to mind there had been explosions and dead agents of SHIELD.

Probably something more substantial than a bat in the caves, then.

"-what is it?"

[wildlyconflictd]

Pepper's lungs felt as if they had outgrown her chest, tight against her ribcage as she sucked in sharp, erratic breaths. "Obediah-" she managed, but had to stop for an excruciating moment more while she reeled in the terror she'd let get away from her on her way here.

"In the caves, it- I couldn't tell what-" She paused, cursed under her breath at her ineloquence. "The suit was in there, the big one, I saw the light and thought it was you."

[notawastedlife]

Tony's face went still, the usual evidence of a dozen interweaving ideas playing out over his expressions replaced with severe intensity. He might as well have closed the visor of the helmet, if he'd been wearing it.

"He didn't follow you," he said. It was big, it lumbered, but it had a hell of a stride, it could fly once out of the caves, and it didn't get tired. "Come on," he said, pulling a screwdriver, which might not have seemed much of a weapon, considering.

[wildlyconflictd]

"Wait-" Pepper began as she hurried after him, and reached to stop him with a surprisingly strong grip to his bicep. "Tony, you can't just waltz in there with nothing but a screwdriver!" What was he going to do, hope that Obediah stayed still long enough for him to dismantle the suit?

"Please," she began again, in earnest. "If you get cornered in there, there will be nowhere to go, nowhere at all."