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The first time someone asked Iron Man to save them from something that couldn't be punched, Tony wished they'd asked for a supervillain instead.
Being a superhero was exhausting, more than Tony cares to admit.
Tony sat in his lab, with his fourth cup of coffee. Jarvis had given up pestering him to stop. His suit lay on the ground and gosh, he didn’t expect the damage to be this bad. Usually, it was just a few scratches here and there, easy fix won’t take more than ten minutes, but this…
This was bad.
It might be broken beyond repair…
He spent the night taking out parts that could still be used (which were considerably few). DUM-E had to keep poking him with a screwdriver to keep him awake.
He took a step back to admire his work.
The new suit was going to be perfect.
It had to be.
By the time it was morning he had successfully planned all the new features he needed to add to the suit. Jarvis had also been successful and had managed to bully him into sleep. Sleep had always been well…complicated. At least for him…and now he can’t even go to sleep without thinking about his time captive in Afghanistan, Yinsen’s death…
He stumbled downstairs to his room. It was close to Pepper’s and Tony took comfort in that fact. He'd insisted Pepper's room be close to his months ago. She'd never asked why. Maybe she already knew.
He asked Jarvis to set up an alarm for 6AM so he could wake up early and add more details to the suit. The AI refused at first but Tony managed to coax him into doing it.
To all the good in the world…
Let him rest…
Tony closes his eyes and for the first and last time, the universe lets Tony Stark sleep.
***
He woke up to sound of Pepper’s gentle voice but he could hear the effort she was keeping to bite back the frustration seeping into her voice.
“Tony? Tony, can you hear me?” she nudges his shoulder with her elbow, trying to get him to wake. Hmm has no one ever told her that if Tony Stark doesn’t want to wake, he won’t and today was one of those unlucky days. Rhodey has been pestering him endlessly about how grumpy he is when he wakes up. Tony simply scowled in his direction and hit him with a book.
“Tony you’ve got a meeting in one hour, I already told Happy to get the car ready.” Tony turns his head to look at her.
Great. Really great.
Now all he had to do was survive another meeting where people expect him not to pass out by how boring it is. He’d rather listen to the complete history of a random potato, and the potato’s life would be more interesting.
Tony let out an exasperated sigh then rolled over and got to his feet. He didn’t bother a shower. Maybe if he smelled too bad, they would have to kick him out.
You could always hope, right?
He quickly got dressed into his black and white tux, spraying a generous amount of cologne into his armpits. It had been a gift from Pepper and gosh, she has good taste.
He exists the dressing room in a hurry and meets Pepper outside in the hall. He makes a move to take out a chair for himself but Pepper stops him and raises her eyebrows in disbelief.
“What are you wearing…?” Tony frowned, confused, before glancing down at himself.
Oh.
Oh!
Shit. It’s a board meeting not gala! He can’t show up in a flipping tuxedo!
He shot her a cocky smile mummering an apology.
“What did you say?” asked she said smirking mischievously.
“I said I’m sorry” he said a tiny bit louder.
“What? Can’t hear you!” she teased.
“I said I’m sorry!” he exclaimed.
Pepper smiled victoriously but immediately stopped once she saw him glaring. “Now, Shoo. Go get changed and meet me in the lobby”
He nodded quietly, turning on his heel while trying to bite back his anger. He would get her back someday, if not today.
He changed into a plain white dress shirt paired with his custom-tailored navy suit, with a matching tie Pepper bullied him into wearing. He strapped on his favourite watch on his left wrist, tightening the hooks.
Tony rushed downstairs to find Pepper and Happy waiting for him inside the car.
He offered a small smile to Pepper and a quick wave to Happy and they set off.
***
They made a quick pit-stop at the McDonalds drive-through at Tony’s request. Because Cheeseburgers are way more important than meetings in his opinion. When he tried to explain his reasoning to Pepper she just rolled her eyes at him, calling him “childish” for which he’s still slightly offended. Okay, very offended.
Two to zero. Pepper was absolutely insufferable when she was winning.
He'd have to fix that. Eventually.
That same wrong-wrong feeling kept striking him. Everything was fine, so why….?
Suddenly a huge blast came from behind, the inertia causing his upper body to hurl forward. His head hit hard against the seat. Tony quickly glanced to his side to check if Pepper was okay. Thankfully, she was well and upright, if not a little winded.
Happy’s face had little scrapes here and there but he was mostly fine.
Tony felt another hit coming to his side and he quickly scrambled close to Pepper seat. The blow sent both of them flying out of the car landing harshly on the highway.
Tony groaned softly. Trying to open his eyes. The sunlight was too bright it blinded him, forcing him to squint.
He manages to see a man standing above him, hands raised in the air, skin all red and angry like…like someone lit it in fire.
No, that can’t right!
It’s not possible!
Aldrich Killian. The man who he met on the rooftop, all those days (or should he say nights) ago back in 1999. When he was still his young, arrogant self. He would be lying if he said wasn’t interested in the idea Killian had brought up back then. But his drunk-self wasn’t really focusing on working that night. Quite the opposite actually.
Oh shit. Was the last thing he thought before slipping into unconsciousness.