#also I had sketchy wips of her from last year and only JUST finalized her design GODDD

[kaleidoru]

Sam's mother, she is alive (as one would hope, considering she is the central star / sun of the galaxy she serves) but due to the eclipser blood in him, inherited from his father, he is forbidden from coming anywhere near her.

[novantinuum]

Hi, I was just wondering if you had ever thought about what would have happened in your story "Hollowed Moon" if you had continued it. I always thought it was such an interesting setup that could have gone in so many different directions. And there really aren't other stories focusing on Stevonnie and Spinel, so it was unique!

Hiya!

So, I do have some half-written, half-plotted out material to share. I gave this story some consideration the other day, and came to the decision that I don't have the desire to finish it out, alas- I have far too many other active WIPs to add it to the list. There's a few good reasons why I discontinued it, anyways... intimidation over the huge surge of attention it was getting back in 2019, some rude comments from overzealous Spinel fans, (I know everyone isn't like this, but a certain segment of the Spinel side of the SU fandom kinda burned me over time, hhh), and a future chapter containing a sensitive topic that I wasn't in a good headspace to write about at the time.

But! Anyways! Below the cut is all the existing material I have for Hollowed Moon past chapter 14, consisting of a mixture of descriptions, sketchy dialogue, and prose. It honestly feels nice to finally be able to put this story to an official rest.

__

Chapter 15

“I... I saw her.”

“Who-?”

“I saw Pink Diamond. I saw you, in this exact garden, in a dream. I- it was like I was experiencing everything through her. She explained your game, tapped your nose and told you to smile, then warped away—“

“That’s it, that’s what happened, almost exactly! But how could you even know that, I never—“

“I don’t know,” they blurt out. “I have empathic abilities, and sometimes that makes dreaming a little weird, but I have no idea how or why I saw any of this.”

[Pause for Stevonnie to think]

“Spinel, I’m so, so sorry,” they whisper brokenly. “But I think... she left you here.”

“What...?”

“She said she’d return, but before she warped away she whispered goodbye, like she didn’t actually intend to make good on that promise. She was lying to you,” they choke out, voice thick.

“No. No,” she says in clear denial, “no she’s not. She can’t be! She told me she’d come back! I can wait! I just have to wait—“

“But she’s not! She... she can’t, because Pink Diamond is gone. She- she was shattered, Spinel. Five thousand years ago, on the Earth. I- I should’ve told you this from the beginning, and I didn’t, and I- I’m so, so sorry—! But she left you behind, and now she’s never coming back.”

[Silence. Tears brim in Spinel’s eyes. Her eyes grow dark, pained, and then she glares at Stevonnie with such venom it almost knocks them backwards in alarm. ]

“NO!” she screams, tears streaming down her faded pink cheeks.

[She tears her feet up from the roots and runs away, using her arms like an orangutan to vault herself forward super fast so Stevonnie can’t catch her.]

___

Chapter 16

AN: Content warning for self-shattering attempt. Part of the reason why I had to stop writing this story at the time. I considered pushing the plot another way, but it didn't feel authentic to how I believed this scenario would play out for Spinel when she didn't have a direct target for her anger. Without someone to actively be jealous and upset AT, I could only imagine her breaking inwards instead of outwards, feeling that she's utterly failed in her life's purpose. Nothing more than a description for this chapter... and it'd be a short one.

[When Stevonnie finds her, she’s smashing her fists against her gem in her sheer anguish. She’s already cracked it. She’s glitching. It looks terribly painful. She’s about to strike her gem again when Stevonnie intervenes.]

___

Chapter 17

[Post timely intervention. Spinel is still cracked at this moment, though... her form glitching as she cries.]

“I was... her best friend,” she cries, fat, glistening tears streaming down her cheeks. “I was supposed to make her happy! Why wasn’t she happy? Why didn’t she come back?“

[Spinel reasoning that maybe if Pink came back for her, she wouldn’t have been shattered in the first place]

“What did I do wrong?” she whispers hoarsely, gazing pleadingly into Stevonnie’s eyes. “Wha- what am I doing? Why do I wanna hurt myself so badly?”

“Shh, now,” they reply, tears of their own brimming at the crease of their eyes, and pull Spinel’s head to their chest. “I’ve got you...”

___

Chapter 18

They know their throat is tight, and their voice scratchy. They know they’ve never sung this song in front of another living being, since it’s something personal they composed alone on one of their late nights back on Earth, thinking about all the difficult days Steven and Connie have had to face over the months. Pair this with their active crying, and there’s no way their singing will be anything pretty.

But pretty doesn’t matter right now.

Stevonnie opens their lips, and— clutching the broken hearted Gem close, rhythmically rocking with her back and forth— lets the wandering melody emerge from within.

“I guess I have to face That in this awful place I shouldn’t show a trace Of doubt...”

“But pulled against the grain I feel a little pain That I would rather do Without...”

“I’d rather be Free, free Free...”

[Hoarse, Spinel starts singing with them.]

“I’d rather be Free, free Free...”

“Free, free Free...”

“From here...”

[Stevonnie holds her tight while crying, their tears healing it back up.]

___

Chapter 19

AN: Don't have anything but a single bit of dialogue in this chapter note- I'm assuming I intended it as being a good few hours after the events of chapters 16-18... when Spinel has calmed down a little and has a moment to reflect on the upsetting news she's just received.

“I think... I always knew,” she says, voice hoarse. “In a way. It was so obvious how she felt about me.

___

Chapter ?

AN: From here on out, the plot hasn't been split into individual chapters.

[At some point shortly after chapter 19, Lars and his crew locate Stevonnie in the garden, and pick them and Spinel up. The next few bits of dialogue and description takes place on the ship.]

Rutile twins: “I haven’t heard of Spinels being produced in over five millennia.” “Me neither!”

Rhodonite: “Yeah, I heard they stopped making them entirely after the rebellion on Pink’s colony.”

[A bit of overwhelming conversation later, no one really noticing Spinel's conflicted emotional response to so many Gems hovering around her at once.]

Padparadscha: “I predict that you’re both going to make Spinel feel very uncomfortable aboard this ship.”

Rhodonite: “I’m sorry, we don’t exactly meet new Gems every century.”

Rutile twins: “Yes!” “It’s just been us until we met our captain!”

Fluorite: “Our new huuuuman friend helped us escape the tunnels on Homeworld. Now... we’re slooowly making our way back... to Earth.”

Spinel: “Earth?? You’re going to Pink’s world? But why? I heard she... was shattered.”

___

[Spinel feeling a sense of kinship with the idea that there’s other Gems who didn’t serve their rightful purpose and are now escaping their life on Homeworld to be free of that. Because now, without her Diamond, since she was unable to keep her happy, she’s an Off Color too. She failed her given purpose same as them.]

[Discussion of Earth, and the rebellion, and how there’s Gems living free there. And how Pink’s colony was siphoning life away, and that’s what these Gems were fighting to protect. Stevonnie points out all the plants and wildlife that used to live in the garden, and asks her if she felt happier when it was around. Spinel says yes. Stevonnie says that this is what the Diamonds are destroying, with each lifeless colony they forge. Everywhere they go, dead wildlife lies in their wake.]

Spinel: “I... guess I never thought of it that way.”

[(Stevonnie adds...) And while they’re very sorry for the personal connection there, and can’t imagine how painful that must be, that’s why Pink Diamond was shattered.]

[Spinel is given an open choice... Lars gives the invitation to stay with him and the Off Colors, and Stevonnie offers for her to come with them back to Earth. It's not a hard decision for her in the end, though. She's always dreamed of seeing what was once Pink’s planet, ever since she heard the Diamonds bequeath it to her.]

___

Stevonnie: “Okay, so… before we go, I need to be honest with you about something." [deep breath] "I’m actually a fusion of two separate people who are close friends. You... know what fusion is, right?”

Spinel: “Duh, o’course! What, d’ya think I was made yesterday?”

[...]

Stevonnie: “But even with that, I can’t be together as me all the time. Steven and Connie, the two who come together to form me... they love hanging out with each other so much, but they also have their own lives! Other friends, other hobbies, their own families. They still talk when they’re apart, but they know it’s okay to do things alone, too. Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

Spinel: [shakes head no] “No...?”

Stevonnie: [sighs] “I understand you’ve been left behind. Believe me, I know how bad that feels. So the last thing I wanna do is make you think I’m doing that too.”

Spinel: “Y-you— you’re going away?” Stevonnie: “Unfusing, yes.” Spinel: “But Stevonnie, you—“ Stevonnie: “Spinel. No matter what, you are my friend. Steven and Connie consider you a friend, too. And my hope is that you’ll keep making a whole bunch more on Earth, so you’ll always have people around who know and love you. But that can’t always be me, okay?“

___

[At home... on Earth. There's a bit of a close call for Pearl when Spinel arrives, and recognizes her as Pink's second pearl. This is news for Garnet and Amethyst and Steven, the first of which had somewhat suspected that Pearl used to be in the diamonds' service, but never knew for sure. Pearl, of course... can't say much on this due to her gag order... not that anyone else knows about that yet... but does manage a very concise and PD=RQ free explanation about her past in Pink's court, and her transition towards being a Crystal Gem:]

Pearl: “Rose Quartz set me free, and I’ve been a part of the rebellion ever since.”

___

[At some point between the last scene and the next, mention how Spinel had a bit of a relapse... she ended up poofing herself, and reformed differently. A little bit closer to the smudged mascara and frayed pigtails look of canon, but no rotated heart. Unlike in canon, she has a solid support system amongst the Crystal Gems, and she's working hard to recover from the heartbreak of Pink's abandonment.]

___

[Final scene is set post A Single Pale Rose. Steven and Connie fuse, and Stevonnie goes to find Spinel to check in on how she's taking the news. The final line of the fic is as follows:]

Spinel: “I know you’re not her, not really. And I know you’ll always be a better person than she ever was. But in some silly cyclical way... back in that garden... it’s almost like Pink came back for me after all.”

[seancamerons]

First line game

Tagged by nobody !! Thank you for the tag, I genuinely love these things 🧡

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories! See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors! (I don't know if it's last 20 posted or last 20 WIPs so we're gonna compromise and do last 10 posted and last 7 WIPs I've been working on!) Favorite authors: @reinhartroleplays and i’m not sure but theodorathayer from ff.net and ao3 come to mind idk if she’s on here.  The starred ones are my favorites. 

---

WIP 

Summer Daze It's July 2004 and Emma and Chris aren't doing well together. Between Chris being somewhat distant, temperamental and preoccupied with music and overall lack of communication between the pair Emma assumes it'll only be a matter of time before their relationship is over. They talk everyday but the romance leaves a lot to be desired.

Maybe this Christmas Emma Nelson awoke bright and early 7:00 AM to her alarm buzzing and she was anything but chipper. It was a cold December morning and she shivered once she took the blankets off her in her king-sized bed. Together Forever * Emma Nelson spent her summer days by the pool catching rays and nights at the ravine with someone unexpected - Jay Hogart. Summer fling, nothing committed or serious. Its August 2005 and the living is rather easy. Backtrack The bells on the door jingle as a figure trudges in to the warmth of The Dot, the neighborhood eatery at closing time on a Saturday night. The streets were bare aside from a few cars; it's at this time that Emma typically closes down shop and goes home. She carefully picked up a cup left behind at a table to send to the back. Focused on her craft she didn't really budge making sure she didn't drop anything. She often believes it's not a normal workday if at least one mug breaks. I Have Nothing * '...I can never forget how we ended on such bad terms with that fight, and then he left my heart bleeding in his hands as I crumbled my photograph meant for him. It sucks how it haunts me to see him every day,' Emma writes in her bright red diary with a pen as she takes a sip of Jack Daniels straight from the bottle. She sighs and then finishes, 'he was so not who I thought he was.' She almost had half the mind to tear out the entry crumble it into the trashcan like she did that photograph. This was how Emma spent most weeknights in the basement bedroom getting plastered and writing her thoughts in a diary.  Orange Car of Secrets (Hiatus) Emma Nelson, Jay Hogart and Ellie Nash have just piled into the car and were en route back home. It was around six o'clock. The sun was orange in the sky and the air was stale. The three were hungry, sweating and dirty still from the sand lingering in their clothes. It had been a long day and a day of ages for the misfit ragtag group of acquaintances. Emma had longingly looked out the window to see their friend, Sean Cameron being ripped from their lives and their memories. She saw he had tears in his eyes. Judging by his demeanor it was difficult for him to say his goodbyes. One thing that struck her as strange was he hadn't even said goodbye to her. The wordless look was all she needed to get her by. It was worth a thousand goodbyes. Maybe his goodbye to her was just the hardest one because of their past that he more than made up for in the last twenty-four hours or so. The Starlet and the Dealer (Discontinued) Zoe Rivas, child-starlet was the epitome of popular with teenaged girls. She was just sixteen herself. Piles and piles of both open and unopened letters handwritten and typed come from girls all over, some in English some in other languages that only a translator could read litter her bedroom. If the girls knew her day to day life they likely wouldn't have had such nice things to say. Honestly, they would have probably of text messaged and tweeted their thoughts or anonymously hurl threats from a computer screen. 

One-Shots/Drabbles

Why don’t you believe me? *

Sean entered the main vestibule at the courthouse handcuffed with an officer present for court. Emma's mind was flooded with sadness as she saw him battered and bruised.

Mutual

The words turned her world from bright and innocent full of hope in the air to darken shades of monochrome. Fortunately for Emma, there was still a lingering light still flickering in the distance. Although Archie had only been her family for a short time, he was always around and she never would be able to fathom a world without him.

Homecooked Meal

The first day of school was pretty eventful for Sean but he was glad that it's over. After the final bell rings he makes the trek to caf to see Sheila the lunch lady. He hadn't seen her all summer and he had to stay behind in Simpson's class because he wanted to talk to him so he missed lunch.

Addicted

I didn't mean to see that you know, see him scoring drugs on the street corner from one of those sketchy thugs down the street. I was buying the newest installment of the Fortnight book series to sink my teeth into, no pun intended. Maybe fun intended, maybe I should put down Fortnight, I'm too old for vampire fantasies not when very real ones exist in my life.

Unfinished Business *

The only time we can be together is while she's asleep, how lame does that sound? I can stay in her house forever if I wanted to. I was invited there even if she doesn't want to acknowledge me. It's my fault she doesn't listen to my messages or chooses to ignore them. I get that now and if she resents me forever it'll hurt. She never mentions me. My name is Cam, but I know you were thinking I might as well be named Casper the friendly. . wait for it don't finish. 

Honesty Maya Matlin stood still for a moment, playing back the recent moment in her mind as it echoed and swam through her brain. "I should've just kissed you." He whispered just inches from her, his eyes wide. Her eyebrow raised and then he just walked away. She knew he meant every word. Girlfriend of the Month * Sean Cameron like most guys his age found himself in the bathroom more often than not in search of reading material. He had the house to himself for the day, his girlfriend was out with friends and he could pretty much do whatever he wanted on that day. Since his long-time girlfriend Ellie moved in he found it more or less refreshing to see that she subscribed to some magazines but most of the reading material is not anything that is remotely of interest to him. A smiling blonde beauty graced the cover of this month's Girltrash magazine and in his boredom he picked it up reluctantly. He didn't expect that kind of magazine of Ellie to own because of it's preppish style of writing but sometimes he struggles to expect the unexpected.

The Reunion Even though Sean never graduated and was expelled from Degrassi he still managed to get invited to the class reunion for the class of 2007. Sean technically never graduated from the school, but he always considered it his high school despite getting his high school equivalency a short time after his expulsion. He can't believe it's been a little over 10 years since he last has seen some of his long time friends. He spent those years growing as an individual. He achieved most of his personal goals for example he owned his own garage called Cameron's Custom Cars. He was also going stag by choice because he wanted his reemergence to be a surprise to his old friends and best of all he was single. He was briefly seeing a girl but it was mostly casual on his end and his mind was always elsewhere. When Liberty received the email that he was making the reservation she knew she was the only one who knew and while she knew Emma was on student council she made absolutely sure she had no clue he was coming.

[crmediagal]

I Have A Lot of Thoughts...

Okay. I just got back from seeing TROS. Bearing in mind that I already knew the main spoilers involving my precious boy, Ben Solo, and my beloved ship Reylo, I still have So. Many. Questions. And a flippin’ series of disappointments to whinge about, so get ready.

!!! WARNING: #TROS SPOILERS AHEAD !!!

Lets start with the main and, for me, most important factors: Reylo and Ben Solo

At the end of the day, if Reylo wasn’t ever intended to be end game, I could have lived with that. I’ve shipped whatever the heck I wanna ship and written those ships in fandoms I’ve loved for years, regardless of their basis (or more often, not) in the canonverse. I’d have survived if there was no kiss at the end.

Back in early 2016, when people were still speculating that Ben and Rey were related, I was writing them as lovers and doting parents, so, erm, again, for me, the ship wasn’t contingent upon them becoming canon in order to hold legitimacy/meaning. It shouldn’t for anyone, really. Ship whatever you wanna ship, guys! Love them regardless of screen time or lack thereof!

That being said, I will cherish That Moment™ forever when the Reylo shippers got a glimpse of what this incredible coupling could have been. And in the actual canon material, no less. That’s more than I'd have ever expected to receive and, frankly, was enough for me to be satisfied.

HOWEVER.

I was fully invested in this trilogy from start to finish for Ben Solo.  And that is where I've been most letdown, disheartened, and pained.

At the off, sure, Kylo Ren made for an interesting archetype “villain” in TFA, but the moment we learned of his true identity, the Bad Boy™ appeal, for me, melted away. I fell in love with the tortured young man who had never really had the freedom of choice; who had the burden of war heroes for parents and a royal bloodline that traced back to Vader; who was abandoned by his family and left to navigate the enormity of his powers and abilities on his own. I was taken with Ben Solo’s troubled, many-layered complexity and this character took on a whole new meaning for me after TFA.

Like so many other Ben Redemptionists, I desperately wanted to see Ben Solo free of the torture he’d suffered all his life. And that life wasn’t long in years, unlike Anakin’s. By the end of Anakin’s life, he was more machine than man and middle-aged.

All the more reason that I needed to see Ben redeemed in this story...and allowed to walk freely in the sun. 

SW is built on forgiveness and redemption, after all, so why would they not bring Ben Solo back to the Light and take him where Anakin’s story never could go? The groundwork was laid in two films and reiterated in countless interview quotes the creators dropped on us for four effin’ years. Disney and the creators seemed as invested in Ben Solo’s redemption arc as the fans were, so I wasn’t too worried about seeing it come full circle. 

Hooooo boy. #MyBigFatMistakeThatIWillNeverMakeAgain

Ben Solo’s redemption, while earned in the last few minutes of TROS, was horribly cheapened when the creators decided to ‘play it safe’ by making him sacrifice himself. It wasn’t romantic and tragic, as I’m sure JJ and the creators were aiming for, but, rather, a Grade F example of very poor, very subpar writing. We got to see Ben for a few moments as himself whilst much of his storyline and importance in TROS was cruelly (and, it would seem, very purposely) reduced in the last film, too, when such plot for his character was supposed to be centre stage.

Less time devoted to Ben’s arc and then killing him off sends so many terrible messages, particularly for kids. You’d think Disney would understand that better than most.

Death is not hopeful. Redemption in the form of a young man, who was barely given the chance to live in Light and Love, dying as soon as his true self was realised isn’t hope. It’s been done before in this saga, as it has in many others, so it just makes the whole play-by-play defeatist and devastating. And after 40+ years of Skywalkers and Solos suffering in this universe, haven’t we ALL had enough of that, JJ? Disney?

They made Rey a Palpatine--a ‘surprise’ that had me actually laughing in the cinema and asking myself nervously, ‘Is this a joke?’--who takes the name of Skywalker to renounce her own bloodline but in the end, JJ, Disney, and the creators still sent us the same damnable, harrowing message: that Palpatine won.

#YIKES. That isn’t hope either, JJ! Disney! ABORT ABORT ABORT!

I thought JJ and the creators would be bolder than this PG-level crap. I thought Ben’s journey would be a true reversal of Vader’s, just as the director himself quoted not too long ago, and what did we get instead? Dusty old tropes and the sour takeaway that redemption will always come at a price rather than at its simplest, most exceptional form: the beauty of a second chance. 

In the end, Ben Solo’s never to know freedom from Darkness? He's never to have the opportunity to make right of his wrongs by living in the Light? He's never to grow old? Instead, he’s to die a too-young death in the hands of a woman who actually loves and cares about the role he has to play in this whole saga; perhaps, the only one who cares at that point?

That’s cruel, JJ. Disney. And, again, utterly hopeless.

Hell, Ben’s not even one of the Force Ghosts Rey sees in the last scene of the movie! (A convenient loophole, yes, and the flicker of an opportunity to, perhaps, bring him back but it’s a wildly overlooked mistake if that wasn’t intended by the creators...and I don’t think it was intentional to make him Not There™.)

I don’t get this saga anymore. I failed to grasp the overall message of Hope in TROS. At all. I’m beyond disappointed at the assassination of Ben’s character to give others, who shall remain nameless, more screen time and a beefier storyline which was, frankly, always quite thin to begin with. I feel like I’ve been cheated on...and it hurts so badly to be so letdown by something you’ve loved and supported for so long.

And some other ridiculous absurdities in TROS while we’re still here:

Why was this film ALL about Rey’s lineage, a direction that seemed to come out of nowhere when it was already established in TLJ that her background wasn’t important or crucial to her part in the story? She came from nowhere, so why did this become a central thing?

I’ll admit that I never really cared whether Rey was a Skywalker or a Kenobi or had any given name. I rather enjoyed the idea that she had built herself up from nothing. That was an empowering message, in fact, and a strong one, I think. It was certainly leaps and bounds better than the, ‘HA! GOTCHA! SHE’S PALPATINE’S GRANDDAUGHTER!’ reveal that was laid onto us way too thick in the Final Act.

Ew. Gross. No thanks. I hate it. Take it back. It’s a passe trick to try and pull on the audience at the last minute.

One of many more examples of poor writing by the creators, I suppose. 

Also, since when is Finn a Force sensitive? Did I miss something in TFA or TLJ that suggested he possessed that gift? No? Ah. More lousy writing.

Additionally, why does Finn spend the entire movie running after Rey? Why was his romantic storyline with Rose completely dropped and nonexistent in TROS?

It’s almost as if JJ and the creators were giving TLJ director, Rian Johnson, the middle finger throughout the entire finale that was this garbage of a movie. Nice work in undoing all the innovative things Rian brought to the saga, JJ. TROS is even worse™ than the Prequels...and THAT’s saying something.

Why did all the voices of Jedis past speak to Rey but never the helpless Ben Solo who had Palpatine raping his ear from the time he was a baby? It seems sketchy and unfair?

Again, lots of TROS makes little sense. It felt like an entirely separate movie to me--separate from the rest of the saga--and doesn’t wrap 40+ years of this series up all too nicely. It’s anything but. It’s confusing, heartbreaking, and leaves one without much hope.

So...we come to the end of my ramblings and wailings:

Ben Solo was the most interesting, convoluted, and beautifully crafted character from this new trilogy and a true redemption would have served the legacy upon which the SW saga is built--Hope™--so much better, including but not limited to its utilisation in making Han’s death carry meaning. Because his son would have not only returned to the Light but gotten to Live™ and experience it fully.

What a remarkably hopeful ending that would have been...

Instead, we got garbage writing and the redundant SW tropes.

Ben Solo deserved better. JJ and the creators absolutely wasted his potential in this story and I’ll be forever crestfallen..and retreating more and more into my own Ben Redemption fics because to hell with this elementary-level bullsh*t.

Han Solo deserved for his son’s part in his demise to not be utterly pointless at the end because, hey ho, guess what? YOUR SON DIED ANYWAY?!

Leia Organa deserved to not only see her son redeemed but to have that emotional reunion many of us were craving. She had already lost so much, but I guess JJ and the creators decided to just...serve the general more pain in the end. Wow. Rude. Such disrespect. Carrie Fisher wouldn’t have stood for it.

And Rey... My gawd, she deserved better, too. She should never been tied to Palpatine in order to make her seem more important. That grossly underserved her character.

She also should have had her other half. The yang to her yin. The only other person in the entire ruddy galaxy who understood her: Ben. She deserved to not be left alone at the end of TROS, just as she had started in TFA.

I’m going to go work on my WIP Reylo fic now and try to forget TROS entirely.

[plane-lord]

WIP: Apres (WHN AOU)

So, I haven’t written any sort of fanfic, or anything else substantial, for a very long time. The work below has come along VERY slowly and I can’t say that I’m very pleased with it. However, if you happen to read it (Hi!) I certainly wouldn’t mind a little feedback. I haven’t seen very many AOU to CW fanfic out there, or to put it more precisely, I haven’t seen very many that address what I would like them to. Specifically, what happened to Tony & Pepper between the two movies... So, here is  my attempt, humbly submitted... Hopefully, I can manage more than a couple paragraphs, though at this point I’m feeling fairly plotless... 

Pepper Potts cast a critical eye over the great room below. Her position on the walkway provided a more complete picture of what still needed to be repaired. Her frown deepened as she took in the yellow caution tape marking the windows to be replaced, as well as, the hole in the floor of Tony's lab. In Bruce's lab, several pieces of equipment were pushed to the side, damaged beyond repair. Finally, her gaze circled back to the oversized bookcase, several shelves broken and splintered. They were going to need a new one, she thought with a grim smile. Workers had managed to clean up most of the broken glass but there was still a lot that needed to be done before the space was livable. The interior designer was scheduled to arrive sometime Tuesday.

Pepper made a list in her phone of the estimated repairs and costs. She frowned at the growing tally and added it the grand total of the last few years. By her estimation, she was sure it now surpassed the entire collective GDP of several small nations.

She was getting good at this; managing the aftermath of destruction. She supposed it was better to concentrate on the mess in front of her, rather than the one currently dominating the news cycle. This mess she could handle with practiced ease. Over the last eight years, Pepper, figured she had coordinated cleanup and major renovations enough times to add Construction Contractor to her resume.

The room below blurred and she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Yes, this mess was easy, this mess was contained. The one out there, beyond the steel and glass confines of Avengers Tower, that was anything but easy. Although, she wasn't completely sure, she had a sneaking suspicion that the primary catalyst of this particular mess would soon be flying through the door, a wreck in his own right.

The news reports were still sketchy, still bereft of details.  So far, all she knew for certain was that; 1.) a bunch of homicidal robots were hell bent on ending the human race, and 2.) the Avengers stopped them, but at great cost. A whole city dropped from the sky, hundreds, possibly thousands dead. She had a sneaking suspicion that her guilt-ridden, "hot mess" of a boyfriend had more to do with this disaster than anyone outside of the Avengers suspected. She wasn't stupid, she saw the images of menacing, technologically-advanced robots, terrorizing an entire eastern European country. She was in a long-term relationship with the world’s foremost robotics expert, it wasn't a giant logical leap.

It was alarming that JARVIS was no longer functioning, no longer running the tower or the everyday business transactions - oh and hadn't that been fun to explain to the executive board. Mostly though, she missed his calming voice. The silence was eerie after all these years of constant, and reassuring chatter.

She had tried to call up the relevant footage in the tower. Piece together what Tony had yet to tell her, but without JARVIS's help she had only seen a brief and grainy snippet, enough to conclude that, a little more than 72 hours ago, the first of the robots had appeared as malfunctioning legionnaire droids.

She sniffled and wiped another tear away, "Oh, Tony, what have you done?"

She thought things were better over the last two years. The fight with AIM and Killian had given Tony a new perspective, he cut down on the distractions, as promised, at least for awhile. She knew she could never get him to truly stop being Iron Man and she had never asked, she just wanted him to find a more healthy balance.  They had moved to New York, nearly full time, and he finally agreed to talk to someone - work on his fears. He seemed happy, content, present.

Then they had watched the fall of SHIELD. For days Tony was on the phone, holed up in his lab, going over the files that Natasha had released to the world. He offered his help, money, shelter, lawyers to Steve, Marie Hill, Natasha, Clint, and anyone else that suffered from the fall out. Together they put in place plans to do what SHIELD had done - oversee the Avengers and clean up the rest of Hydra.  It had worked splendidly. Tony felt useful and, as promised, he only donned the suit when needed - though the frequency had increased exponentially over the last year.

Pepper wasn't naive enough to think he didn't have backup suits at the ready, or specialty suits in the works, but his obsessiveness wasn't nearly at the level it had been post-New York. He worked hard and spent days in the labs, but he also made sure to take her out, show up for his business obligations, and over all, Tony earnestly tried to be a good boyfriend and partner.

Pepper scanned the darkening skyline, the city was aglow, bathed in rose-colored tones of the setting sun. She expected to see Ironman weaving through the tall buildings, but there was still no sign of him.  

She thumbed through her phone and checked the time stamp on the text from Rhodey. Sent three hours and fifteen minutes ago. Pepper frowned in worry, he should be here by now. She reread the text, "Tony just left. Take care of him. This has been a tough one." Short on details, it was still more than the succinct text from Tony; which consisted of a quick, "I'm fine, don't worry. Love you." She had only gotten that, after a dozen unanswered phone calls and multiple worry filled texts. Not having JARVIS, to give her updates, was highly inconvenient and adding even more stress to her week.

Finally, she spotted the distinct trail of the repulsers as they streaked across the New York skyline. She watched Tony land and take a couple stumbling steps forward before he straightened and stepped out of the suit altogether. Even from her vantage point she could see he was exhausted, and in some physical pain.

He stood on the platform for a moment gathering his wits. A couple minutes passed before he limped inside the destroyed penthouse, favoring his left leg. He ran his right hand, wrapped in a compression bandage she noted, through his hair taking in the damage around him.

"I was starting to worry about you." Pepper said from the walkway, keeping her tone light, “Thought maybe you'd finally make good on that threat to move to back to California.”

He startled at her voice and looked up, a small sad smile on his lips. "I took the scenic route. Sorry.”

She watched him slowly walk to the elevator and waited, her grip tightening around the rail in anticipation. She could fix this. That's what they did, they fixed things. Together.

She heard the doors open, the soft squeak of his sneakers as he crossed the floor. He hesitated behind her, before she felt his arms encircle her waist. He breathed deeply, taking in her scent before his head came to rest on her shoulder. Pepper wrapped her arms over his, “You know, I thought, the days of house destroying parties was behind us…”

Tony squeezed her gently and kissed her temple, before replying, “Well, you know me, it’s not a real party unless I blow out a couple windows and need a major remodel by the end of the night.”

Pepper turned in his arms, to get a better look at him. She ran a gentle finger over the scratch on his right cheek. He had certainly looked more beat up than this, but his red rimmed eyes, and slight tremble of his body suggested a far more deeper hurt. “Tony, are you-“ she wanted to ask him to tell her everything, but she knew better than to push him - he would talk when he was ready, not before. “Did you eat? I had Happy order some Ray’s.” Pizza, Pepper had learned long ago, always made Tony feel better.

Tony leaned forward and his forehead pressed to hers. A half smile on his lips, as he spoke softly, “You take such good care of me. I don’t deserve it.”

“I think we’ve had this discussion before…” Pepper sighed, her right hand gently scratching the nape of his neck. “I seem to recall that I vehemently disagree with half your assessment.”

She could feel a little tension leave his body, as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. He didn’t move from his position, leaving her question unanswered.

“Bruce is gone.”

Pepper’s hands stilled, waiting for him to continue.

"He took a Quinn Jet, no idea where. Guess he couldn’t handle being an Avenger anymore.”

“Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry.”

“I really fucked up, Pepper. Everything. JARVIS is gone. Bruce is gone. And there’s now a crater where a whole goddamn city is supposed to be.” His voice cracked, his eyes glassy with the threat of tears, “My fault. My fault, again.”

Pepper pulled his head to her shoulder, “Hey, you’re a good person, Tony. This is-” she couldn’t believe any of it was true. He blamed himself for things out of his control, too often, to take his word for it now. “- this is your exhaustion talking. Whatever happened, whatever the details, we’ll get through this. You and me. It will look better tomorrow.”

She gently kissed his cheek and ran her hands down his arms, taking his hands in hers. “I think that we need to get some food in you, clean up, and get to bed. We’ll figure this out, Tony.” Tony took a shuddering breath and nodded, “Right. Food. Showering. Sleep. The Pepper Pott’s fix for all of life’s problems.”

Pepper smiled gently and led him to the elevator. She knew that tomorrow didn’t always prove to be better, but she was determined to do whatever she could to help make it so.