Chapter 2
Tony wasn't sure how much time had passed since he was last awake. Shortly after Pepper had explained how he was still alive, they administered another round of pain killers for the infected wound on his stomach...which he had healed and accidentally reopened more than once since Thanos had given it to him. Those, in turn, knocked him out of consciousness again, leaving him sedated for a few more hours to catch up on sleep and let his body recover.
Honestly, it was the first solid sleep he'd had since the original surgery that had removed his arc reactor. This time he knew he was okay, so there was no bad dreaming...no nightmares, or fuzzy blips of memories, or worries...at least currently.
But eventually his eyes opened again, this time easier than before. The oxygen mask was still attached to his face, and he didn't try to remove it at first. Instead, he turned his head to see Pepper's seat was empty. So he took a deep breath of his fresh air, then struggled to push himself up into a sitting position against the bed pillows, propping himself up enough to look around.
That's when the oxygen finally got to him and he removed the mask, immediately coughing as the unpurified air mixed into his lungs. It stung, it pinched, and his head spun as he tried to tune out the alarming ringing of whatever machines he was hooked up to...probably setting them off by taking off the clips on his fingers and tossing the oxygen aside, but he didn't care. He could ignore it.
But apparently only he could ignore it, because the next thing he knew, he was staring at the heavy work boots of someone way too familiar for comfort as they stepped into the room.
Stark blinked heavy a few times, rubbing his head with a hand.
"I'd say it's good to see you, but..." Stark managed, gesturing with the same hand before bringing his eyes up.
But it came out scratchy, as though he hadn't used his voice in days. He probably hadn't.
"After all this time and you're still holding a grudge..." the man muttered, lowering his head as it shook in amusement.
Tony lifted his own eyes and watched as his blond hair, now longer than ever before, hung in his eyes when he hooked his thumbs in his pockets and looked back up. He was still in uniform...though a different uniform. A darker one, that had...scales? Something of the sort. Some kind of new tech he was already itching to inspect.
"Stark..." he sighed.
"Cap."
There was a shared silence, neither one of them knowing what to say to each other. It had been...well, who knew how long now. At least a year or two. At least.
"There a place to get a cup of coffee in this joint?" Tony mumbled next, his voice slowly coming back.
He tried to shift so he could swing his legs over the side of the bed, hoping to stand and get his whereabouts, but he only managed to make himself cough. He felt more lightheaded than before, and gripped the edge of the small bed he was on with both hands.
Steve immediately jumped to his aid, letting the fragile man fall into his arms as he helped him steady himself. Tony coughed into his chest, sucked in a breath, then groaned in frustration.
"All right..." he heaved on a heavy breath before slapping Cap on the back and letting him push him back into his bed. "All right, it's a little good to see you, Rogers..."
Steve only chuckled at his defeat. "You look like hell, Stark."
"They don't have spa days in space."
"No, but you got plenty of beauty sleep," a new voice echoed through the room, interrupting them.
But this one was welcomed. Very, very welcomed.
"My knight in shining armor," Tony tried to joke, lifting a hand in gesture to the familiar red head next. "Hey, honey..."
Lord, was she a sight for sore eyes. Her hair was down. She was in lounge clothes, not whatever armor he swore he saw before. She didn't wear makeup, but he liked it better when she didn't. She was breath taking, and he had about a million questions for her once his heart stopped faltering due to the relief of seeing her again and actually being able to talk with her.
"Tony, you need that oxygen," she sighed.
Waving the mask in the air with one hand before bringing it to his lips in a dramatic breath of air, Tony hummed in agreement.
"How are you feeling?" she pressed.
"Great," he answered snarkily, taking the oxygen down again. "Like kittens and rainbows."
Pepper groaned in disgust, reattaching the clips to his hand as he scowled down at her fingers on his.
"I'll give you two a minute..." Steve answered politely, ducking back out, and Tony narrowed his eyes at him as he left, confused to why he was even visiting him in the first place.
Pepper whispered a thanks with a small smile to the soldier, then let out a breath when the door closed and turned back to Tony. She looked at him as though he was broken, and he hated it. He hated feeling so weak, so confused.
"You are...stunning..." he tried, smiling guiltily up at her.
Her soft hands brushed the hair from his forehead just like the last time he was sort of conscious. The were comforting, but when his dark, doe eyes looked up at her, she was frowning...over thinking.
"I'm starved... You think they still have that res?" he asked next, trying to stay light hearted about it, but when she blinked a few too many times for comfort and looked away, he felt his heart break. "Right, bad joke... Pep, I'm sorry...okay? Okay, it was stupid, and selfish, and-"
"I keep..." she huffed, steadying her voice. "I keep thinking when you disappear, it's gonna be the last time. That you'll come back and be sick of playing superhero, and you'll stay. But then you keep leaving, and you don't come back...and this time no one came back, Tony. Everyone's gone."
"Cap's here..." he pointed out, but then took her hand and squeezed gently when she turned back to him with red eyes. "How long has it been?"
It was a simple question, but even thinking about it made his head hurt.
"Since you left?" she asked delicately, looking down as he toyed with her ring. "Four months."
"And how long..."
"Three days since we found your ship."
It had been three days. Three days spend on an IV drip with regular meals slowly being allowed back into his schedule. Three days of off and on oxygen, weaning him off little by little. Three days of navigating through space, back towards Earth...home. That's what this was, wasn't it? Another space ship? It looked like the Quinjet...but it wasn't.
Thankfully he didn't have to ask. Pepper brought up a display from his charts, showing their specs, and he got straight to the point, twirling the hologram in the air above his bed as he inspected the ship they were on and the projected path back to Earth.
"Where's Nebula?" he asked while he focused, free hand still in hers.
"Mostly disassembled in another room," Pepper admitted. "Neither of you were fully functioning when we found you."
"I can revive her," he shrugged off, then sighed, glancing back at his fiance. "You...have a suit."
It was spoken matter of factly, with a little bit of humor. He was mostly entertained by the idea that finally, she understood the good they could do. But it was also bitter to an extent, because honestly...he would never want her to risk herself like that.
She hesitated, looking at their hands before finding words. "It doesn't mean I approve of them, Tony, I-"
"It's not one of mine," he remembered.
"It's...twelve percent of yours..." she spoke quietly, her lips twitching in a small smile as she teased him about something he had said ages ago. "It's the same design, better tech."
"Better tech?" he fake gasped. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that, Miss Potts."
Sh only rolled her eyes in response. "It's your suit with Shuri's tech."
"Right..." he grumbled, glancing back at the display. "The doc that's supposed to check me out...who is this person, exactly?"
"She was from Wakanda."
"Was?"
Pepper's blue eyes held steady on his when he turned his attention back to her. "Before..."
"Before they disappeared," Tony finished for her, understanding she was probably completely unaware of what happened...all of them would be.
She nodded. "She was trying to get the stone from Vision without killing him, but it didn't work out that way, and..." She exhaled slowly. "She uploaded an AI modeled after herself in case something like this happened and we needed help accessing their tech. She's been helping us redesign your suits."
"So Vis is gone, too, huh?" Stark repeated, as if to remind himself what was going on.
But then he gave up, frustrated, and motioned for her to move back so he could get out of bed. She didn't seem to agree, but she slowly backed up, allowing him space.
Pepper watched as Tony swung his sore body over the edge of the bed with a grimace. He wasn't really ready to go back to work after nearly dying, but there was no other choice once they landed...and that would be in approximately twenty three minutes, judging by the map on the hologram.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" she asked. "You can stay in bed for a few days once we get in, the others will-"
"I need to fix this," he cut her off, shaking his head, adamant. "For Vision, for the planet, for...Parker..."
She didn't speak, though, which he found oddly comforting. She just waited, waited for him to take the conversation further, but he didn't want to talk about it anymore yet. He needed to get over the people harassing him about what had happened and trying to act like they gave a shit that he was back. He needed to get over the sadness, the regret, and figure out a way to get the kid back.
He was probably quiet too long, though, because the second he let his head rest in his hands over his hand, his hands wildly searching his long hair, Pepper was engulfing him in an embrace similar to all those before. His head against her chest, cradling him in her arms with her chin on his head for comfort. That's when he smelled that scent...the same one he smelled before he was about to pass out - her, and it broke him down.
"I don't want to be Iron Man anymore," he nearly whispered, his hands sliding up her back.
"Tony..."
"I'm serious... After this...Pep, after we fix this, I'm...retiring. We'll put the suits away. Keep one or two, just in case, but I'm done...chasing aliens and trying to stop bad guys."
He lifted his head, still in her hold, and watched her press her brow together in concern. But he had never seen anything clearer, despite the emotions he hated creeping into his bloodstream.
"What are you going to work on, then?" she mused, thankful that he was finally seeing things her way, but also worrying that he was only saying it in the moment, and soon enough, things would be back to normal.
"Us," he answered easily. "You, and me, and a family... Pep, when we figure this out, let's have a baby, settle down somewhere..."
"And the Avengers?"
His lip twitched as he thought. "I'm getting too old for this shit."
That made her finally laugh. She chuckled lightly, pulling his head back up to watch as his eyes danced up at her. They were clear, for the first time in ages.
"There's still a war happening, Tony..."
"I know," he sighed. "But after that."
"What, when you kill yourself trying to win this fight?"
He swallowed awkwardly, suffering through his sore throat. "I'll make it through, I promise."
She took a deep breath, steady, and it chilled him. Her eyes left briefly, glancing down at his chest. Then her hand dropped from the back of his head, poking at the remaining nano tech still in him.
"Promise me something else?"
"No more tech," he agreed before she could even say it. "It's a simple procedure."
He waited patiently for her answer, hoping it was a yes, but then her eyes flashed to the windows as they brightened; they were making it back to Earth after all, and flashbacks to when he returned from Afghanistan flew through his mind. But he didn't let it bother him...at least not visibly. He was too focused on Pepper, on her answer to his request.
"I'll think about it."