It had been very busy lately for Tony. No matter if he was working or fighting with the Avengers. His workshop was a mess and scarps of metal were everywhere.
Tony had been in very odd moods lately, Pepper hadn't witnessed that yet. He had moments were he was so angry at people and then would not even remember it happening.
That night was no different. He was working on one of his suits and was drinking. He had also had a new project going lately as well. Tony still seemed to stay up all night and not get much sleep.

"JARVIS whats the time," Tony said sleepily after sereval hours, He was almost falling asleep at his bench. He didn't seem to look up.
"1;20am sir," The AI replied.
Tony nodded and looked around. He decided to get up and go to bed. He stumbled as he really had drunk too much. He goes and collaspes onto the couch and fell asleep.
The genius was soon snoring as he fell into a deep sleep. He was looking rather exhausted, He didn't seem to know that he had a meeting the next day.

Tony was laying across the sofa half his body hanging off, It was late morning and he had a meeting in ten mintues , but he had slept in due to drinking alot the night before. He was snoring and had a pillow over his head.
His alarm had gone off almost 2hrs ago in his bedroom and he hadn't noticed. He seemed to have left his glass on the floor as it was tipped over he breathed rather deeply in his sleep.
He was having bad dreams as well. He didn't seem likely to wake unless woken.

He was breathing deeply and moaned in his sleep "No!!!" He yelled in his sleep. He seemed to have kicked off the blanket that Pepper had thrown over him last night. He moved on the sofa.

It had been a while since the whole alien incident in New York occurred, Stark Towers needed some repairs after it but thankfully it hadn't taken too long for things to return back to normal. Pepper still ran Stark Industries, but somehow she managed to slip time in for Tony. Course he was still up to no good, may it be disappearing for missions or working on his toys. A soft sigh escaped past her lips as Pepper caught him asleep again on the sofa in his messy work room. She had insisted on placing a couch there considering how he refused to return to his room to sleep, she figured that seeing a couch would be a lot more tempting than falling asleep at the table. She had just finished up work at SI that she'd drop by to drop off documents that Tony would need to review over for the meeting, instead she found him asleep for once. Usually he wasn't asleep until three own wards.

Shaking her head she returned back to the couch with a blanket as she gently set it over him. She left the documents on the table before leaving his workroom so she could return home. Tony had offered that she live with him at Stark Tower in New York, but work simply wouldn't allow it. She was visiting him for a week before she needed to return back to CA to handle SI. The distance had been a little hard, but it couldn't be helped. He was busy saving the world and he had avenger duties to handle anyways.

~

It had taken years for Pepper to get used to this kind of stress. No one would have been able to prepare her for the kind of behavior Tony had, especially not when she first started working for him. She had called his phone non-stop and of course it was off. She knew it was possible for it to have run out of battery, not with JARVIS handling small issues like that. Then again it was Tony she was dealing with. He probably just had JARVIS turn it off when it first started ringing. Groaning with slightly annoyance the glass doors to his workroom had opened and she entered. He was still on the sofa, the only difference was that the blanket was on the floor. Letting out a sigh she walked over and crouched down as she shook his shoulder. "Tony, get up," she called out before giving him another rough shake. They were going to be late for their meeting, it was rather important since it was going to be further discussions on what SI would be advancing in. Her strawberry hair had been tied neatly into a neat bun as she wore her usual work clothes.

Tony was laying there. His dreams interrupted by Peppers voice. Having been shaken out of his nightmare was good, but he didn't feel like getting up out of bed.
"Pepper...," He mumbled. His eyes closing again. He had a headache. He knew that was his own fault. But he never seemed to learn. He just never slowed down on his drinking.
He knew Pepper never approved of his constant drinking. But he honestly had no plans on cutting back. He knew Pepper had asked him many times too. He yawned a bit.

"I don't see why I need to get up " Tony snapped. He didn't seem like his normal self. His eyes were full of rage. Tony was never this angry. There wasn't any reason for him to be angry either.
He gets up and punched the wall, his fist going right through. He seemed to have been having sparks of rage for a few days now, He wasn't sure it was even going on.

Tony walked over to his bench and noticed his blueprints. He still was busy , but he didn't seem to remember his meeting "I can do my work later," He said pointing to the papers.
He was yawning and rubbed his eyes. He still seemed angry. What ever had happened. He wasn't himself. He glared at pepper. He had an almost darker look in his eyes.
He walked over to the door and went up into the kitchen.

Pepper was pleased that he had woken up, it usually took her a while considering how he was always hung over. She had taken notice of the empty bottles left on the side, some of it even on the floor. It worried to see him like this, even though he assured her that it was nothing. She would be lying if she said that he was the same guy she knew when she first started working for him. His state of mind only seemed to have gotten worse ever since the incident with Loki. "You're hung over again aren't you?" she bluntly spoke as she watched him sit up. He was a mess, he reeked of oil and sweat not that it should have been surprising considering how he rarely takes care of himself. Taking care of him was part of her job, well that was what Pepper had assumed considering how she managed everything for him.

"You need to get up because you have a meeting, you would have known if you were listening to me when I came by yesterday," she reminded. There was something off about him, usually he was groggy in the mornings maybe a little grouchy, but never angry. It was the first time that he had glared at her. She gasped as she watched him punch the wall, "Tony?!"

"Tony, hey! Where are you going?" she called out, still startled from seeing him act out the way he did. Quickly she followed him up to the kitchen, where the smell of strong coffee was present. She had made a cup of coffee along with toast before she headed down to wake up. "You have a meeting in ten minutes, this is important. They are discussing future plans of Stark Industries, we've delayed this for weeks now." She spoke seriously, he had promised her yesterday that he would attend the meeting today, though she knew that had to be partly because he was busy. Tony usually promised things without even realizing what they were, especially when it came to work.

"Hungover? Of course not." He snapped. Tony was holding his head. He was indeed hungover. The rage hadn't faded and being angry only made his head hurt worse.
He was aware she was worried, but in this state of mind, he didn't quite care about her worry for him. In his right mind he probably would, even if he wouldn't cut back on drinking.
He would have tried to reassure her.

"Meeting?" Tony blinked "You didn't tell me." He growled a bit. He was not aware she had told him. He was angry. The rage soon faded.
He looked rather miserable after that. He didn't remember being angry. "Pepper?" He was rubbing his head. He went to get his coffee.
"I'm getting my coffee." he replied. He knew he needed to get ready.

"Ten mintues, why didn't you wake me sooner," Tony was drinking his coffee. He eats his toast quickly and the has a quick shower and gets changed.
He goes back out to her "Ok fine lets get going."
The man knew he needed to get going. He still felt terrible.

Pepper didn’t believe his words for a second, there was no way that he wasn’t hung over especially not after drinking that much. Sure most of the bottles had been there piling up over time, but she knew him better than that. He was unbelievably mad and a part of her knew that it couldn’t be because of his hangover. She however maintained her composure, knowing it wouldn’t help if she repeated her words. She was going to call him out, hoping he’d explain why he seemed so agitated, instead he seemed to have snapped out of whatever state he was because he glanced at her with slight confusion.

“I’ve made coffee for you already, I did call you,” she reminded softly as she watched him disappear to have a shower. Sighing softly she prepared a glass of water along with along aspirin for his headache since she was convinced he had one. Once he was out she offered it to him, “take it,” she urged. Refusing to budge until he did. After he did she moved over to the door, making her way out where Happy was in the car waiting for them. Opening the door she got in and waited for Tony to join her in the back.

Tony was looking at her. He had taken the asprin. He knew that was probably a wise idea before any meeting. He was sure he would still feel pretty damn awful for a few hours at least. He didn't seem to have noticed he was mad before.
"Ah I am not hungover... I was just up all night. I'm working on things." He knew that he probably couldn't deny he was hungover. He just didn't want another lecture about drinking. He was grinning a bit.

Tony was looking at her "Ah I didn't hear." he replied. He knew that he would have been up earlier if he heard her call. He decided to just remain quiet for the rest of the trip. he wanted to avoid saying too much and upsetting Pepper.
After awhile something caused the rage to return.
"Happy!!!" he growled "We are in a rush here."
The man was seeming tense. He again wouldn't remember losing his temper.

Pepper sighed but nodded to his words. He was trying to convince her again, but there wasn't really much to argue there. If she mentioned that she knew he was drinking it would further lead to a small bicker. "JARVIS informed me that your phone was off Mr.Stark. Anyways here are the documentation for the meeting, I advise you to go through it," she added before handing him the documents. She however froze when she heard him growl over to Happy who blinked with surprise.

"Y-Yes sir," he replied having stuttered slightly as he drove a little quicker. "Relax, I've already informed that the meeting start thirty minutes after the original time. Considering how I knew you would be late... we'll get there in time."Pepper assured quietly, she was tempted to ask why he was agitated again. Perhaps he was still drunk? Surely that couldn't be the case. "Tony... has everything been alright? You seem tense," she whispered softly having used his name instead of his last. She only usually called him Tony whenever they were alone, but when they were around she addressed him formally.

"Well yeah I forgot about the meeting and wanted to sleep." Tony replied. He knew Pepper was probably not pushing the subject about drinking. He knew that he would rather be in bed than going to a meeting.
He sighed when she passed him the documents, He didn't feel like going over them.
The genius looked over the papers. He sighed "Don't see why I need to go over these." He snapped.

He looked at Happy seeing him stutter. He wasn't aware enough to apolize. "Then why did you tell me Ten mintues." He growled at Pepper. He was hungover, but that was no reason for him to be tense and angry.
"What? I am fine." He didn't even seem aware he was angry. Nor did he see anything wrong.
The genius was closing his eyes.
Tony was looking at Pepper again, his anger had faded again.

Pepper blinked at his words, it was his usual behavior, he didn't like reading anything he didn't have to. Knowing him he would just go into the meeting room and announce something absurd just as he always did. Pepper however wasn't really fond of his tone. "I told you ten minutes because you would slack otherwise," she mentioned seriously without backing down.

She was aware that he was working on a new project, something he hadn't even bothered to inform her. Still she wished he would rest. According to JARVIS he had only been getting a few hours of rest every night, it worried to see him like this. She had wondered if his mental state was cracking, whenever she spent nights over it was often to see him having nightmares. Flashbacks to Afghanistan and even the incident in New York. It worried her to the extent that she recommend he see someone, course he just brushed it off, making it seem like she was over worrying about something she need not think about.

When they finally arrived Pepper thanked Happy and closed the door. She went ahead to the building as someone opened the door for them. "Good morning, Miss Potts, Mr. Stark," she man politely greeted as they walked past.

Tony was looking at her, the rage had cleared from his eyes. He really wasn't aware of his change in moods. He didnt really read over the papers that much and just tossed them aside. He knew Pepper always did her best to make sure he was prepared.
He walked into the building that the meeting, He still wasn't fully with it. He was glad at least despite the sick feeling from his hungover that he hadn't thrown up, he walked around. He grumbled when he was greeted and walked past.

"Lets just get this over with," He grumbled. When Tony was calmer. He looked confused. He was looking at Pepper. He didn't seem to know why people seemed wary of him. He was blinking and seeming lost.
He knew the meeting would be long. But sometimes he walked out early.

Pepper glanced over at him when they were in the elevator, people were aware of him. It seemed like they had seen him a few days ago though Pepper found that unlikely. He never came to work, that’s why she was there every day. Once they reached the top floor she left the elevator and opened the door leading to the meeting room. Everyone was already seated and she went ahead to apologise for the delay before taking a seat.

“It’s good to see you on time Mr Stark,” one of his sponsors lightly jokes knowing that it was almost impossible to get a meeting with him. All of them had to go to Pepper for details, she handled the paperwork and practically ran the company. “Are we ready to start?” he spoke as Pepper nodded, she went ahead to introduce the idea of expanding Stark Industries, they had already discontinued most of the weaponry, having decide to work on mechanical technology for advancing medicine. Though hadn’t been fully enforced yet, Tony had seemed to have wanted to do a lot, it was why a meeting was needed so they could see just where things were supposed to go on from here.

Tony was looking at her. He knew all of this was boring. He wasn't in the mood to even sit through it with a hangover. Why should he? He never saw the point in any of it. PLus he was Tony Stark and could do what he liked.
He knew Pepper never liked it when he tried to skip out on meetings and stuff.
The genius walked onto the meeting grumbling.

Tony huffed at that comment "I'll arrive when I like." He growled angrily, the rage back "I'm Tony Stark." he goes and gets ready to start the meeting. "Ready? what ever." He listened and made comments when he should. But he sounded like he didn't want to be there. He was hangover and in a foul mood, The foul moods seemed to come and go, his anger more than anybody was ever used to. He could see people were wary to even speak to him,
After about half way Tony just walked out.
The look on his face was of annoyance. His headache had faded by then.

Pepper had caught onto Tony’s tone; it was no wonder that people were weary of him these days. Still she made no effort to comment on it since he seemed to have been behaving, He made short comments on things, but still it was obvious he didn’t want to be there. Typical Tony. Sighing softly she took over the meeting, handling the concerns of everyone. A few had caught sight of Tony walking through the halls though they simply greeted him politely.

Their meeting had gone a lot longer than Pepper had expected for it to. Finally coming out of the room, she moved straight to her office setting down her documents. Gazing around she was unsure if Tony had left the building and gone home, she hadn’t even had lunch yet not that she would have it any time soon. “Have you seen Mr Stark?” she asked having called the receptionist. She had hoped he wasn't causing any more trouble.

Tony hadn't left the building. He was sitting where he was and was thinking, The genius didn't seem to be himself today. Though he still had moments where he was more like his normal self.
He really hated meetings and didn't care if he had walked out half way.
People knew him for not really sticking around meetings anyways.

The receptionist looked at her "He is still here."

Tony was closing his eyes. Even if his hangover was going away. He was moody for other reasons. He was waiting for Pepper so he could go home. He yawned still feeling tired. He looked around when he saw her.
"Pepper?" he asked noticing her.
He was a bit calmer now. Though what ever was causing him to snap was likely to cause him to again.

Pepper frowned when she was told that he was still here, glancing around she soon found him in his office in his chair. His office was still the largest of the building, but of course it went unused. Pushing the door open she let out a sigh of relief as she caught sight of Tony. His eyes were closed and she wondered if he was asleep, her steps were silent but loud enough to be heard as she drew closer to him.

“Mr Stark,” she replied as she drew closer to him. “The meeting is over,” she mentioned before sighing softly. “Perhaps we could go for lunch now? I know you haven’t eaten, plus you look pretty beat,” she bluntly commented seeing how tired he looked.

Tony was looking at her . He seemed very worn out. "Ah good." He replied. He was glad he didn't have another stupid meeting to worry about for quite awhile at least, He knew Pepper would make sure he attenended every meeting. Though he did still miss alot of them.
He wanted to carry on what he was doing back home rather than worry about meetings.

"Alright." He stood up. He seemed calmer now and smiled "Lunch seems like a good idea." he seemed happier than he had in the morning and seemed to have smiled for first time. But the problem with him wasn't going away.
His stomach growled loudly as he thought of food.
"Cheeseburgers?" He looked hopeful. His hangover was almost gone and he no longer felt sick, so having lunch seemed like a good idea.

Pepper gave him a weak smile, she hadn’t seen him smile all morning until now. It was quite refreshing, there was something about Tony’s smile that made her heart race. It was welcoming and so playful. This was the Tony she knew, not the one that greeted her in the morning. She chuckled softly when she heard his stomach grumbling, “Let’s go. We’ll stop by Burger King,” she suggested before motioning to the door. She usually didn’t have junk food, but burgers were one of his favourites.

“Come on then, Happy is waiting for us,” she spoke before leaving through the door and waiting for him inside the elevator. Once they made their way down they made their way through the lobby as many said goodbye to Tony. Pepper couldn’t help but lean back against her seat once they were driving towards the restaurant, she figured it would be best to go through drive through, pick up the food and head back to rest. She had a late night and a very early morning.

Tony knew that Pepper liked it when he smiled. He wasn't aware what was going on with him all day. He looked at her. "Is something wrong?" Tony looked confused. He had noticed her weak smile.
He was wondering if something was bothering her. Though he knew that right now he was hungry. WHen she mentioned burger king that made him smile more. He get up and headed to the door. He was looking around.

He headed to the car where Happy was waiting. He was still very tired. He knew that he could cope. He was used to coping if he had to. He seemed to be thinking as they were in the car. The genius didn't know what to say to Pepper.
He hummed a bit and closed his eyes as he got lost in thought. At the moment it didn't seem like he was going to snap. But he likely would again at some point. Though he was unware.

Pepper shook her head, "Nothing's wrong, just glad to see you smiling," she mentioned casually. She figured his bad attitude this morning was from his hangover, she mentally made a note to remind him not to drink as much next time. "I heard you're working on something again, JARVIS says it's top secret stuff," she remember asking JARVIS what he had been up to. He was up almost every night working on something, meetings were cancelled and pushed aside to later dates to accommodate his time. He was also drinking a whole lot that it worried her. She didn't want to lose him again so she made an effort to get more involved with whatever he was up to. And trust her on this when she says it wasn't easy.

"Been worried about you these days," she added softly the concern showing through her eyes.