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'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
~ With Pepper, in Tony's personal workshop ~
Tony sat hunched over the workbench, his left-hand pressed flat against the edge as if bracing himself from falling again.
He was still clammy and cold, but the blue-white glow of the Arc Reactor had returned to his chest, pulsing in time with his shallow, shaky breaths. Pepper stood above him, rain in her eyes and a towel in her hands, not to dry herself or his sweat but to slap him with if necessary.
He could see her lips moving before he really heard her.
"-unbelievable, Tony! You know that? Absolutely fucking unbelievable! Is this what you do now, just call me up at some random hour to come revive you because you've decided to make yourself the world's most reckless suicide guinea pig?!"
She let out a long and deep breath that she never realized she kept in.
"You know what I was doing tonight, Tony?" Pepper asked, her voice trembling with barely held-together anger. "I was at a birthday party. A birthday party, Tony. I haven't had a normal night in months, maybe years, and you know what?
For about three hours I almost believed we could be normal people again. And then I get a call from JARVIS… That you're DYING. That someone's attacked you. That you've got minutes left unless someone, anyone, comes to rescue your sorry ass!"
She swallowed hard, her hands gripping the towel so tight she was wringing it dry. "I don't even get a warning, Tony. I get a computer voice saying 'Mr. Stark's life signs are in critical condition, immediate medical intervention required.' I nearly killed myself getting here! And when I do, I find you sprawled out on the floor, dying, and you're still… STILL cracking jokes as if nothing is happening!"
Tony opened his mouth to speak, but Pepper cut him off with a look that could melt gold.
"Don't. Just… don't. I'm not done. Because I saved your life. Again, might I add. What am I on now, double digits? And you're already plotting how to throw it away again." She glared at him, her eyes red. "You almost died! You WOULD have died if I hadn't found the old reactor and put it back in. You were seconds away from being a corpse, Tony. Do you get that?!"
She gestured at his chest, where the older, beat-up reactor now sat, its blue ring a little dimmer, a little rougher around the edges.
"And now, after all that, after making me think you were gone, you want to go after Stane? Again? Do you even know where he is, Tony? Are you even listening to yourself? You can barely stand, and you want to go out and fight a maniac who just stole your heart out of your chest. Literally. And what happens if you die? What happens if this old thing can't keep you alive long enough?"
Her voice faltered for a second.
Then, softer.
"What happens to me if you. . ."
The silence stretched for three full breaths before Pepper, as if embarrassed by her own display, wiped her cheeks with the corner of the towel and sniffed hard.
"You are so selfish sometimes, Tony. I know you think you're the only one who can fix this, but you're not. You're not a god, you're not a superhero. You're… you're just a guy. An idiot, genius guy who can't see past his own ego. And I am so tired, Tony, I am so goddamn tired of trying to keep you alive when you clearly have a death wish!"
Her fists balled up. "So go ahead, tell me. What exactly is the plan here? You're going to just storm in and punch him in the face? Are you going to outwit him, outlast him? He's got your reactor. Your suit is probably a quarter-charged at best. What's the end game, Tony?"
Finally, Tony blinked. "You done?"
"Not even close," Pepper snapped. "But you might as well talk now, because if I keep going I'm going to break something."
Tony ran a hand over his face as he seemed to have aged older after the entire ordeal.
"You're right," he said, surprising her into silence. "I am selfish. Probably the most selfish bastard you've ever met. Maybe it's genetic, maybe it's just me. I don't know. But you're right. I want to go after Stane. Not because I want to be a hero. Not even because I want to save the company, or my name, or whatever.
I want to go after him because if I don't, someone else gets hurt. Or he builds something worse, or… I don't know, maybe he blows up half the city. And yeah, maybe it's also because I can't stand the idea of him getting away with it. Maybe it's petty. Maybe it's all ego. But I have to fix it."
He sucked in a breath, holding her gaze. "You ever hear of a guy named Yinsen?"
Pepper shook her head, the name meaningless to her.
"He was the doctor who kept me alive when I got kidnapped," Tony said. "He saved me. He also helped me build the first suit. That's how I got out. But he… he didn't make it. He bought me time and I wasted it by thinking that no one could ever replicate what I built. I thought it was too hard, too complex, too 'me.' But Stane? He got it. He found the scraps, re-built the suit, and now he's got the heart to run it."
Tony touched his chest, over the new-old reactor. "This thing is barely keeping me ticking. I know it. You know it. But I have to go. I have to stop him, because if I don't, then it's my fault. It's on me. And maybe that's selfish, but I don't want anyone else to pay for my screwups."
He dropped his hand, then looked up at her, something vulnerable in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Pep. I really am. I'm not good at this. You know that. But I… I can't not do this."
The two of them stood there, neither willing to break the moment.
Then, JARVIS's voice interrupted their moment. "Sir, I am detecting a significant energy spike beneath the Stark Industries main complex. The output is… considerable."
"How considerable?"
"Sufficient to power a Mark II suit for an extended period."
Tony's lips twitched. "There. That's where he is."
Pepper stared at him, her anger having collapsed into something like raw fear. "You're really going, aren't you."
He nodded slowly but resolutely.
She opened her mouth, closed it, then walked forward until she was close enough to press her forehead to his. "You come back. You make him pay for what he did, but you come back. Or so help me, I'll find a way to bring you back and kill you myself."
Tony smiled, the first real one since the whole mess started. "Deal."
Tony stepped into the metal skeleton, the plates closing around him. The suit whirred to life as the reactor's light shined through the chest plate. As he powered up, he gave her one last look, a silent promise. Then he blasted through the elevator shaft, headed for the fight.
Pepper listened to the fading hum, her hands shaking, her heart both shattered and fuller than ever.
"Be careful, Tony…" she whispered.
She knew he wouldn't be.
~ With Wanda, in the Maximoff twins' apartment ~
♬♪ "I found youuu~" ♬♪
Wanda hummed the melodies of her new favourite song, letting it echo around the quiet apartment as she padded into the living room, towel wrapped around her damp hair.
Her bare feet left little prints on the wooden floor, but she was too giddy to care. The birthday party had ended hours ago, but she felt like the celebration was still going, the melody of Luke's performance replaying itself over and over in her head.
She tossed the towel onto the back of the couch, a little splash of water dotting the cushion. As she did, she spun once, arms out, then flopped dramatically into the couch, all in one smooth, silly motion.
For a minute, she just lay there, grinning up at the ceiling, remembering every moment of the night.
~ Flashback ~
After the song, after the party, after everything, it had still been raining. Luke had walked her home, the two of them soaked through, but not caring.
They'd held hands all the way back and she couldn't even remember specifically what they'd talked about, nothing, probably, but it had felt like everything.
At her door, they'd stopped, both shivering, both smiling, both suddenly unsure of what to do next. There was this weird little silence, and then they both spoke at the same time.
"I-" / "So-"
They broke off, then laughed, then started again, only to talk over each other once more. It was so awkward and so perfect that Wanda couldn't help but giggle through their interaction.
On the third try, she let Luke go first.
Luke had looked down at his hands, then at her, and said, "I had a great time tonight. Like, not just the party, or the cake, or even the music, but picking you up, walking here, dancing in the rain. Even the part where we almost slipped on the sidewalk and died, twice."
Wanda had felt her cheeks go hot, even though the rain was freezing cold.
She wanted to say something clever, but all that came out was, "Me too."
Their eyes had locked for a second, and something electric moved through her. She was just about to blurt out something embarrassing, when she realized she already had, because next thing she knew she was inviting him in.
"Um, do you want to come in?" she asked, her voice weirdly high and tight. "To dry off? Or wait out the rain?"
Luke had stopped. He actually froze, which she hadn't expected. The rain dripped from his hair, and his eyes were wide for a second, as if she had just knocked him over. Then a little smirk appeared on his lips.
"Wow, Wanda. Just like that? Skip second base, third base, go straight for the home run?"
It took her a full two seconds to realize what he meant.
Then she almost died.
"That's not- I didn't- I wasn't-!"
She could feel her face turning the colour of her hair.
Luke tried and failed to look innocent. "I'm just saying, you're a lot bolder than you look. I respect it. But I am a gentleman, and I would never take advantage of a girl who is-"
Wanda punched him, not hard, but right in the bicep.
"You're a jerk," she said, but she couldn't stop smiling.
"You're the one who invited me in," he said, grinning.
"To dry off! Not to-" She broke off, unable to find the words.
She might as well have been speaking in tongues.
He shrugged, hands up in mock surrender. "Totally. I believe you. That's why I'm going to stand right here in the hall and not come in. See? Model citizen."
Wanda rolled her eyes, then closed the door on him. Yet she did not walk away, instead she remained by the door as she pressed her ears against it. She could hear him shifting his weight, waiting for her to say something else.
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Then, through the door, she heard him again. "Hey, Wanda?"
She did not respond, yet it did not stop Luke from continuing.
"I meant what I said. Tonight was the best. You're the best."
The words sat between them for a second, heavier than the rain. A soft 'humph' was heard on the other side of the door, the only indication he received that told him Wanda had heard him.
Luke chuckled to himself. "Well, good night, Wanda. I'll see you tomorrow."
Luke was halfway turning to walk away when suddenly, the door opened and Wanda had planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Before he even registered what had happened, she had already shut the door on him again.
For the second time that night, Luke was once again frozen still. There was a silly smile that was firmly planted on his lips as he raised his hand to touch the spot where Wanda had kissed just moments before.
"Just so you know, I am never washing this side of my cheeks ever again!" Luke all but declared.
Loudly.
"Just go already, you dummy of a dork!" Wanda's tone suggested a world of pain if Luke stuck around any longer, yet Luke knew she enjoyed the moment just as much as he did.
~ End of Flashback ~
♬♪ "Wanda~ Pulled me in I asked to~ Love her~ Once again you fell I~ Caught Ya~" ♬♪
As she sung her song and relived her most recent moments in her mind, she did not catch the sound of the apartment door opening nor the sound of someone walking towards her.
"You like the song that much, huh?"
Suddenly, the voice of a man startled her as she all but jumped to her feet like a child being caught by her parent for trying to take the last piece of cookie in the cookie jar. However, she calmed down when she saw who the man was.
"It's just you, Pietro. When did you get back? And why are you wet?"
Pietro, drenched from head to toe, simply stared at his sister with a raised brow. "If you'd paid attention instead of being lost singing that song, then you'd figure out that I have only just returned. And are you just going to ignore the fact that it is still raining out right now?"
Wanda had a deadpan look on her face. "It's still raining?"
Pietro just shook his head at her antics. "How's your night? That bastard didn't try anything funny with you did he? Cause if he did, there'd be hell to pa-"
His rant was stopped by a drenched towel hitting his face.
"That 'bastard' allowed us to celebrate OUR birthday for FREE at his cafe. So I'd choose my words carefully, Pietro, or you're just going to sound like an ungrateful kid." Wanda reprimanded.
Pietro shrugged his shoulder. "Yeah I know, but it's just how us guys talk about each other, you know? He's going after my sister, so obviously he's a bastard to me, and begrudgingly the owner of one of the better cafe's in LA."
"And he's also. . ." Wanda's voice trailed off towards the end.
"Come again? I didn't catch you that time." Pietro walked closer to her as he couldn't hear what she said earlier.
"He's also. . ."
Once again he did not catch what Wanda had said. "Sis you need to speak up. I can barely hear what you're saying there."
When Pietro was standing right in front of his sister, Wanda's next words were something that he never thought he would hear this early into their relationship.
"Luke is also now my boyfriend."
Silence. Try as he might, the moment the words registered to Pietro, he could not keep his surprise in check.
"HE'S YOUR WHAT NOW?!"
- End of Chapter 90 -