Missed Calls

Chapter 9

"Shall I try Miss Potts, sir?"

"I don't think so, J. She will be up when the meeting is done. Besides, we are having too much fun to stop now."

"If you say so, sir."

Tony smiled and made another correction on the computer screen in from of him. Thankfully, his more important equipment had been put away before he left for the S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier and escaped damage. Since returning earlier, Tony had managed to reassemble a computer workspace. He had been working feverishly for the biggest part of the day. All in all, he had been pretty productive.

Halfway through Thunderstruck, the music stopped. This could only mean one thing and Tony grinned. "No call to let me know you're coming home?" he said, not looking up.

"You couldn't have heard it over all that noise." Pepper stepped out of the elevator and into Tony's make-shift laboratory.

"I'll have you know that song is a classic."

"And yet, still not as good as Back in Black," she replied, making her way to where he was working.

"You have no idea how proud I am of you right now," he said, meeting her lips halfway for a kiss. "Keep it up and there will be an AC/DC t-shirt of your very own in your Christmas stocking."

"Which will go fabulously with the Prada pumps that will be under the tree." She looked around at the work that had been done to the apartment. "Somebody's been busy."

"A lot of people, actually. The work crew just left a little bit ago."

"Did you get the Tesseract taken back?" she asked on her way to the bedroom.

"Yep," he replied. "Thor and Loki went zooming toward a galaxy far, far away not too long after I got there."

Pepper was tired. If Tony was working on a "project," then she could almost bet the company they would get the quiet night in they both needed. "Where did everyone else go?"

"I don't know. Steve took off on his bike. Clint and Natasha went wherever it is spy-type assassins go and Bruce is here."

"Here?!" Pepper said, a little alarmed. She was in the process of undressing, her jacket already off and her skirt soon to join it on the bed. She stuck her head out the door of the bedroom. "Here, as in he is in the apartment?"

"No, not here here. In the building here. I told him he could come and hang out in R&D until he figured something out. That got me to thinking."

"About..."

"Places to go. C'mere. I have something to show you."

"What?" she said, making her way to where Tony had been playing with his computer modules.

"When we were leaving from meeting everyone, I asked Bruce where he wanted me to take him. He said he didn't have anywhere to go. I thought, what about the rest? I have this and the place in Malibu, but, where can they go?" While he talked, Tony continued to work on his computer. "Steve's home was an iceberg for 70 years. Bruce has to settle for wherever he can hide. Thor can't exactly check into the Four Seasons when he's here. Clint and Natasha, what do they have? So, I sketched out some things on my phone and started working on it when I got back."

"You mean, like a headquarters?"

"Kinda, but more than that." Tony punched a few buttons on his keyboard. Almost instantly, the monitor was filled with images of what looked like a renovated Stark Tower.

"Wow!" Pepper said. "You made this on your smart phone?"

"It was on the phone I reconfigured, so, technically, I think that would make it a genius phone, but, the preliminaries, yeah." Pepper manipulated the module, turning it so she could see it from different angles. "There would be meeting rooms, a lab, hangar deck, places like that, but, there would also be separate living areas for everyone," Tony began to explain, "tailored to fit their individual needs. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Very."

"Our area would be the biggest and..."

"Our area?"

"Well, yeah. 'Tailored to individual needs' and the thing I need most is you. All the rest is cosmetic."

"Very smooth, Mr. Stark," Pepper said.

"That's because it's the truth, Miss Potts," he said, snaking his arms around her waist. "Everyone needs a home, Pep. I've found mine. Maybe, I can help the rest find theirs."

"Anthony Edward Stark, you are turning into a responsible adult right before my eyes."

"Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain, you know." Tony flashed her that boyish smile she loved. "Want to see the whole thing?"

"Absolutely."

Tony dropped a kiss on Pepper's cheek before letting her go. He walked to an empty workspace and rolled out what looked like a black mat. He tapped a few places on the surface and digital blueprints of the different levels appeared. Pepper followed and stood beside him, watching Tony work with the plans. "You can do the honors. Just put your hand there and bring it up," he instructed. Pepper placed her hand where Tony told her. When she raised it, a full-color, 3-D image of the building followed. Tony had stepped to pour himself a drink from the blender behind them and rejoined her at the table. "Pretty sweet," he said proudly, rotating the image almost 360-degrees with a swipe of his hand. He showed her how sections of the model could be moved or removed in the same manner.

"It's amazing," Pepper said. She stroked his face gently and moved in for a kiss. "Have I said lately how proud I am of you?"

"Probably, but it bears repeating."

"I am very proud of you."

"Thank you, Miss Potts."

"You're welcome, Mr. Stark."

Tony pulled her in for another kiss. After the second kiss ended, he continued to hold her close. He knew his life would never be the same. Oddly enough, it hadn't been the Avengers or the aliens or even the near-death experience that made him realize what meant the most to him. It was a phone call, a phone call that didn't even go through. That missed call showed Tony exactly what he would have missed.

Author's note: So, this is the end. *sniff* I'm actually kinda sad about that. I really had fun writing it, which hadn't happened for me in a long time. A special thanks goes out to NCISVILLE for the suggestion and encouragement to turn a one-shot of Tony in space into Pepperony's journey to the end of AVENGERS. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review. I am still *amazed* that anyone would like to read anything I wrote, much less leave such wonderful comments and make it one of your favorite stories. I am humbled! It makes me want to write more. :D