A/N: whoops this one's completely totally a day late RIP,,, but i just needed to write it after waking up from a bit of a nightmare myself yesterday :0

anyway in the year of our lord 2017 i still can't believe civil war Did That Thing and put pepperony on a break eubvwowvnlwnksvoae wtf the fuck

Pepperony Week 2017, Day 5: Post-Civil War

Tony wakes with a start.

The room is dark. He blinks a few times, his eyes adjusting enough to identify the room as his own in the Avengers Facility. The bed covers are thrown this way and that around him. He slowly pulls them back together to cover him properly, his heart thudding in his chest.

"I have detected you have an elevated heart rate," FRIDAY chirps overhead. "You suffered from a nightmare."

"I detected that, too," he grumbles, his voice quivering.

It's been a rough couple of weeks since everything with the Avengers happened. He still can't believe it all, sometimes; nightmares may exist in a realm separate from reality, but it really doesn't matter, because it's not like he's waking up to a good world anymore. His friends are gone, his parents' deaths have been turned completely upside down, Rhodey's struggling just to walk, and Pepper is—

"FRIDAY," he says suddenly, acting on his fearful impulse, "call Pepper Potts."

"Calling Ms. Potts."

He hasn't even looked at a clock since waking up, so he truly has no idea what time it is for him or her, or even if she'd be awake right now, but none of it matters, because he's never felt so alone and the nightmares don't end when he wakes up anymore.

"Hello?"

His thoughts are cut off by Pepper's sleepy (but concerned) voice. He sits up quickly, taking a deep breath.

"Pep. Hey. Hi. How's...how's it going?"

"Well, considering it's 2:00 AM over here in California," she pauses for a moment, "it's going okay, I suppose."

"Oh, yeah, uh, right. Sorry." He clears his throat. It's 5:00 AM for him, then. Whoops. "I just was calling to check in with you, see how things are going. All the…friend formalities."

He gestures vaguely with his hands but, of course, she can't see it.

"In the middle of the night," she says, reminding.

"No time like the present, you know?" he says, deflecting.

"What happened?" she asks. "I can tell you're not okay."

She's too sharp for her own good, sometimes. Even over the phone. He runs his hand down his face, suddenly exhausted. "It's nothing. Just—never mind. Sorry. I don't know why I called in the middle of the night. It was…stupid. I'll just let you go—"

"Tony, wait," she says, cutting him off. "Don't hang up. I want to talk to you, too."

"Really?" he asks because, honestly, should he have been in her position, he wouldn't want to talk to himself, either.

"A lot has happened recently," she says softly. "A lot of…bad things. I want to see you."

Oh? He'd not been expecting that. "Even when we're on a break?"

"A break doesn't mean we can't spend time together," she says with a small, teasing scoff. "I don't want you to be alone. During all of this."

"Pepper, you don't have to…"

"I talked to Nat the other day. She's…not doing so well, either. She told me to check in with you."

Though he'd talked to Pepper in the time since the big Avengers fight, it hadn't been…much. They're at an awkward crossroads right now, because of their break, and he couldn't bring himself to share about everything that had happened. It was just so much.

"Natasha's an international war criminal now," is all he manages to reply.

"I think she was already one before joining the Avengers," Pepper replies just as casually. "I'm coming to visit you."

"Come on, Pep, I know you're busy—"

"The company never came first in my priorities. You do—did."

So he's not the only one struggling with this "break" stuff. He sighs, lying back in his bed. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," she admits. "That's why I'm heading over to New York tomorrow—well, technically today now, I guess—so I'll see you then and we can catch up."

"Thank you, Pep."

The line's silent for a few moments before she yawns.

"I'm sorry for waking you," he says then, a smile creeping into his voice. "I can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see you, either," she says. "You should get back to sleep now. FRIDAY told me you had a nightmare."

"Damn you, FRIDAY," he grumbles, rolling his eyes. "You were supposed to just call her."

"Ms. Potts is still in our system, boss. She likes to keep tabs on you."

(Of course she does, because she's Pepper.)

"Right, okay, goodnight, Pepper, goodnight, traitorous A.I.," he says, his voice slightly muffled by his pillow as he turns onto his side and closes his eyes.

"Goodnight, Tony," Pepper says softly, her voice not unlike old times.

(Additionally, like old times, she stays on the line until FRIDAY reports that he's resumed sleeping peacefully.)