Draumr

Chapter four

His lungs burned in the foreign air. They were back. The chituari were back and they were after him. He could hear their animalistic battle cries close behind him, feel the rocky ground beneath him shake when their hoof-like feet stomped down to pick up speed. The landscape was completely flat, minus some of the small, sharp rocks sticking out of the ground. There was nowhere to hide. And he didn’t have his suit. If it would’ve done anything good, he would have screamed. Screamed for help, for his team to come and rescue him. Hadn’t he rescued them from this exact fate?

But alas, he was all alone here with the exception of the monsters chasing him until exhaustion would be the death of him. He’d been running for what felt like days without rest, but he couldn’t run anymore. His only hope was that they would make it quick.

When his foot caught on a raised rock, and he could hear his toes crack from the force, he didn’t try to pick himself up again. He was too tired. There was no point in running anymore. He would never get away.

The chituari cried out in glee, rushing upon him. Their clawed hands at the ready to-

Tony stirred. There was… something. His head was pounding. He felt weaker than he had in Afghanistan, completely exhausted. All he really wanted to do was go to sleep again, but there was something making annoying noises. He rolled over in his bed, hand searching his pocket blindly for the phone. His hand brushed gravel. That was… strange. In fact, now that he thought about it, why the hell was his bed so bloody hard? A groan escaped his lips before he forced his eyes open. The light stung, and he had to blink a couple of times to adjust.

Tony bolted back as quickly as he could. He’d been lying right at the edge of a skyscraper! Had he rolled over just a few more inches, he would have fallen off.

“What the fuck?!” he gasped. Underneath him he could see the city. A crowd, it seemed, was gathering, pushing against each other and police to see what was happening. There, behind the small circle of police officers, was Tony’s beloved Audi, crashed and dented in the wall of the pizzeria. A few feet away from that scene, a very upset pizzeria owner was talking to the police. Next to him was a woman and a child, both covered in a blanket each, telling the police about what happened. And oh look, the reporters were already in place, taking pictures and notes.

And on top of a rooftop was Tony Stark, looking down in confusion. His brain couldn’t quite comprehend what had happened. Because that was his Audi, and he could have sworn he’d been in it just a few seconds ago. But now he wasn’t and how the hell did I get here?! Looking around the roof, he saw no way to get up, no ladder or hatch. There was no way he could have gotten up here, not without his suit, which he didn’t currently have!

Through all the commotion and confusion, Tony had completely forgotten about his phone. When he realized, it was just in time to quickly grab it and answer before voicemail.

“Hello?” he said into the microphone. His voice, thank god, wasn’t shaking.

“Tony! Oh my god, Tony, are you okay?!” Pepper sounded frantic.

“Pep? What-”

“Where are you right now? Do you need someone to come and get you? Are you hurt?” Tony blinked, confused.

“I-”

“I’ve been trying to call you a billion times! Why didn’t you pick up? I was so scared! And Happy! He was at the tower and looked for you and now-”

“Pepper…”

“-no one knows where you are and you didn’t pick up the phone and-”

“Pepper”

“-the news about the accident is already all over twitter and facebook. Tony what happened? Why didn’t you pick up your phone? Why-”

“Pepper!” Tony almost yelled, finally catching the assistant’s attention. He breathed a sigh of relief when she went quiet. Her blabbering had been adding exponentially to his already terrible headache. Still, he was relieved to hear her voice. Even frantic and without an end, Pepper’s voice found a way to calm him down from almost rolling straight off a skyscraper, not to mention waking up on said skyscraper in the first place.

“One question at a time, please” He said, backing further away from the edge of the roof. If anyone saw him on top of a bloody building, questions would be asked. Questions he wouldn’t be able to answer, and that was always bad when it came to the press.

“Are you hurt?” A smile brushed his lips. Normally, he hated people worrying. It was annoying and in his opinion, it only got in the way of things. But Pepper was an exception. In fact, she was the complete opposite. He hated worrying her, but at the same time he needed to feel how she cared. He had never felt that way about a person before, and even with Pepper it had taken him years to realize it.

“I don’t feel hurt. A headache, yes. Confused as all hell, absolutely. But other than what, I feel fine” Was his reply.

“Where are you?” Ah… now this would be a bit harder to answer.

“I’m aahh… I’m… well, it’s sort of a confusing story. You see, I’m on top of a skyscraper and… I might not know how to get down again” Blood rushed to his face just admitting it. God, he felt like an idiot at that moment. How the hell was he supposed to explain this when he didn’t even understand it himself. The answer was simple; he couldn’t explain nor understand.

Tony cast a quick glance over the side of the roof before backing away again. Great, now news reporters had showed up. Why the hell was a car accident so special suddenly? They happened all the time! Probably something to do with the fact that the driver is missing. Tony massaged the space between his eyes, trying to lighten his headache. This was bad. Very bad.

“-Tony!” Oh right! Pepper.

“Hmm?”

“Were you even listening?” She sounded frustrated, which was also very bad. He coughed a couple of times, clearing his throat.

“No, not really. What did you say?” He could practically hear her eyes roll.

“I asked how and why you’re on top of a skyscraper” Pepper explained slowly, as if dealing with a petulant child. Which in her opinion, was probably justified. Tony thought, practically turning his brain inside out in search for a good answer, an explanation. He’d been in that car and should honestly just be putty in his seat. But he wasn’t. Not that he wanted to be putty, he just felt completely lost at what had happened. Had he somehow… teleported?

Again, he felt that same tingling sensation in his chest, wrapping snugly around his arc reactor in an almost calming manner. This was weird, even for him.

“I… can’t explain” was the reply he came up with. Because he really couldn’t. He couldn’t even come up with a lie that would explain how he was not dead or dying. And he didn’t want to lie to Pepper… not again.

“What? Tony-”

“Please Pepper. Just trust me on this, alright? I know how stupid it sounds, but just trust me. Send Happy to get my car and tell him it was one of my self-driving prototypes gone wrong. Don’t tell him where I am. I’ll call for a suit as soon as things die down here, alright?” Pepper seemed taken aback by his tone. She had seen several shades of Tony, including the more serious scared side after the invasion. But this? He sounded drained, confused. Not the self-sure pompous bastard who had hired her because she had pretty hair, nice boobs and more than half a brain (his words, not hers).

“Tony…” Pepper hesitated for a moment. Tony wished he could read her thoughts. “I… fine. I’ll send Happy”

Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Pepper didn’t understand, but she knew Tony enough that trying to get something out of him when he didn’t want to was impossible. He’d been tortured in an afghan cave for three months and hadn’t given them anything. She didn’t know the exact details of Tony’s stay in that cave. No one did. Whenever the subject was mentioned, Tony would either change it or, as when Steve tried getting him to talk, leave the room completely.

Tony was about to say something, anything to break the silence that had befallen them. But just at that moment, he heard a half-familiar voice from the other end. It was one of the leaders in the board. He couldn’t remember the man’s name, but the voice was definitely familiar.

“Ms. Potts. The board is waiting for you” The man said.

“Just a minute, Mr. Hallon. I’m on the phone” Pepper told him, as politely as possible. Tony’s smile widened slightly. Loyal little Pepper, what would he do without her?

“Go to the meeting, Pep. I promise you, I’m fine. In a couple of hours, I’ll be back in the tower. Just in time for dinner. Just focus on keeping my bank numbers high, will ya?” He told her, sounding more like his usual annoying self.

“Are you sure?”

“Are you questioning me, Pep?”

“Always” She replied. His heart rose when he heard the smile in her voice. Mission accomplished. “I’ll send Happy to get the car and tell him you’re okay, and Tony”

“Yes?”

“Stay out of trouble” This was usually where the brunette would come with some sarcastic and stylish reply, but his throat clenched. He didn’t know what to say. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He knew exactly what to say. Yet the words seemed to have trouble on their way out. There was a click and the line went dead. Tony hesitated for another moment, still holding the phone against his ear.

“I love you, Pep...”