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The penthouse was eerily quiet and dark when Tony arrived home. As the door clicked shut behind him, he noticed the glow of a fire burning in the sitting room, so he made his way toward the fire when he heard her.
"You're home late," Hermione said, glancing over her shoulder at him. He could see the table was set, candles burning, a vase of fresh flowers and the room was filled with the faint smell of bacon cheeseburgers. "I picked up your favorites for dinner."
"Oh yeah?" Tony asked, raising a brow as a smirk pulled at the corners of his lips. "With thousand island, lots of cheese, and pizza oil from Mulberry's?"
Hermione nodded, propping her chin on her hands and resting her elbow on the table. "But it's been sitting here for almost three hours. Where have you been?"
"I'm sorry," Tony said, pushing himself away from the wall and starting to step towards Hermione, only to be stopped when she held her hand up.
"Stay there," she said, shaking her head. "You can tell me where you were without coming near me."
Tony was taken aback by the coldness in her voice, so with a furrowed brow, he took a step back and leaned against the wall. "I got held up at the office, so I ran late. I'm sorry I forgot to call. What the hell has gotten into you?"
"I'm done trying with you," Hermione huffed, shoving her chair away from the table. The scratch of the chair legs against the floor echoed around the room, sending a shiver down her spine as she got up and moved into the sitting room.
"What does that even mean?" Tony asked, furrowing his brow as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. Based on her reaction to his movement, he found it in his best interest to stay put.
"I can feel you pulling away from me," Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared into the fire. "You're spending more and more time at the office and getting home later and later. Most nights, by the time you decide to come home, I'm already asleep because I've been home alone for hours."
The pain in her voice shattered Tony's heart into a million pieces. He hadn't meant to keep brushing her off, but work kept piling up on his desk, and he would lose track of time. By the time he even realized that he was going to be late coming home, it was too late for him to call and let her know. Most nights, she would have already eaten dinner and had curled up in bed with a good book.
"It feels like I'm running on borrowed time in this relationship," Hermione said, glancing back at him over her shoulder. "And the silence radiating through the room just shows me that it's only a matter of time until you do leave me for something better."
The tears had already started to stream down her cheek by the time she felt his arms wrapping her up and pulling her into his chest, but she couldn't stay here and be comforted by him. Hermione pushed at his chest until his hands dropped from her body to his side. Shaking her head, she brushed past him and went back to their bedroom a few feet down the hall.
Tony stared into the flickering flames of the fire for a few moments before scrubbing a hand over his face and carding it through his hair. He had a million and one thoughts running through his head, but none of them would be able to stop what was about to happen. The sound of a bag scraping against the wall forced him to turn around, and he wasn't ready for what he saw.
Hermione was standing near the front door of the penthouse with a duffle bag hoisted up on her shoulder and her computer case in her hand. He could also see the dried trail of tears reflected in the fire's light. Every nerve in his body was lighting up, demanding that he go to her and kiss the tears away from her face, but that wasn't what she wanted.
"I'm going to go spend some time at Ginny and Harry's," Hermione said, her voice low and shaky. "I just can't be around you right now. Goodbye, Tony."
Tony watched in silence as she walked out the door. He knew that he should have said something, but he didn't have the words to say. It was too late, and they both just needed some time.