Glass Heart

The gauze beneath the denim was sticking to Scarlett’s skin, melted like it’d been set on fire. Burning and aching horribly, Scarlett hunched over the wound and grabbed her knee to keep it still. Her leg had started to tremble and throb uncontrollably; seizing from whatever reaction was causing her such renewed pain. Even when she’d first gotten the burn in the explosion in Africa it hadn’t pained her so horribly.

“Let me look at it!” Tony tried to push her hands away from the wound but she swatted him away and practically snarled in response.

“You are not a doctor, Stark! A doctorate doesn’t make you a medical doctor or we’d both be set so back off! You’ve done more than enough!” Scarlett hissed in anger, her words like venom. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to look at the wound, but her defenses were kicking into gear. All she could think to do was protect her leg from further attack. Pain did strange things to a person and Scarlett’s instincts were telling her to be on her guard. The smell, much like the sulfur of a burnt match, only increased as her wound continued to smolder. Denim smoked and started to wear away over the wound, revealing glimpses of the burn she’d gotten days ago. What had been healing in the morning was now bright red and agitated, oozing and bloody. The remains of the jeans were discolored and stained.

Not willing to argue with her when she seemed to be reacting so violently, Tony got up and hurried to the computer desk where he picked up an office phone. When someone on the other line answered he started yelling orders into it. One of his many strengths had been taking charge when situations became dire and this was as dire a situation as any he could think of.

“Do we have any doctors on staff today? Medical doctors though, not us doctors. You know for lab accidents or injuries?” Tony wasn’t offended that Scarlett had shooed him away. In fact, he was more concerned that he’d done something to worsen her injury rather than aid her as he’d intended to do from the get go. Guilt seared in his stomach, something he’d grown increasingly familiar with ever since he’d returned from captivity in Afghanistan. He popped an antacid in his mouth and hoped it’d get rid of the nagging feeling.

After the man on the other end of the phone got back to him, he cursed under his breath. “None on site? None? Isn’t that part of protocol? What happens when we have melt downs, huh? Call a damn doctor and send him over immediately!” Tony practically threw the phone across the room when he heard Scarlett whine in pain from behind him. She’d been in bad shape when he’d found her in the desert, but even then, during her fleeting moments of consciousness, she had never made such a distressed sound.

Hurrying back to her side without bothering to hang up, he watched her struggle on the floor in pain. He guessed that arguing with her about the next step wasn’t going to get him anywhere so instead approached the situation from a different angle. Crouching next to her, Tony touched a hand to her back gingerly. If he could get her to calm down, then maybe they’d be able to work through the pain as a team.

“Hey,” He whispered soothingly. To his surprise, she swatted him away with surprising strength, causing him to lose his balance and fall on his backside. “Damnit, Scarlett I’m trying to help you!”

“Haven’t you done enough?” Scarlett repeated and grabbed at the forming holes in her jeans and started to tug. Maybe if she could at least get the wound to breathe, she could ease the stinging pain she felt. Tony immediately grabbed her hands and stopped her from pulling at the denim any further.

“You’re not thinking clearly, Scarlett! Don’t touch it! You’re getting it on your hands!” They struggled physically for a moment before she relented and allowed him to keep holding her hands. She was trembling from head to toe but trying to breathe through it and hide the visible shaking.

“It hurts…” As much as she wanted to argue with Tony, the pain was muddling her thoughts. Every time she tried to logically solve the problem of her leg, the pain shot through her senses and reminded her of just how awful it was. The rest of her had started to shudder as terribly as her leg had been and before she realized it she couldn’t hide the violent tremors. Tony could only guess she was either going into shock or having some sort of panic induced fit from the pain.

“Calm down, Scarlett! It’s okay, I called a doctor and he’ll come help you.” Tony eased her slowly back onto the floor, still holding both of her hands. Once there he had put both of her hands down at her sides he touched the side of her neck. “You’re going to be just fine. You’re just having a bad reaction to the denim.” Tony tried to sound soothing but was busy trying to think. If it was a reaction to the denim or to the way the wound was constricted and not getting enough oxygen beneath the jeans, then the only solution seemed to be to take them off and he knew she wouldn’t like that idea. Then there was the nagging fear that the doctor wouldn’t get there in time to help. Tony couldn’t sit idly by comforting her for a doctor that could take an hour to get there.

“Stop making assumptions. You don’t know what you’re doing.” Scarlett took deep breaths and partially regained her senses on the floor. While her shaking hadn’t ceased and her brain was still in panic mode she could concentrate on something other than the pain for a few moments at a time if she concentrated hard enough.

“Assumptions or not, we have to do something. Scarlett, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to take off your jeans.” Tony offered her a smile then pushed up her shirt so he could get to the waistline of her pants.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Scarlett sat up instantly and grabbed at his wrist to stop him. Her body was shaking and fighting her every move and it had taken nearly all of her energy to force herself off of the floor. Her limbs seemed stiff and rigid and almost as instantly as she sat up, she couldn’t stay that way so she leaned heavily against Tony.

“I’m not trying anything sexual with you right now, you’re practically on fire!” Tony scoffed, in awe of her stubbornness.

“Get the scissors and cut away the part over my wound, you don’t have to take my pants off entirely, Stark!” Scarlett tried to regain her balance so she could at least sit upright without having to put her weight on Tony but struggled.

“Damnit, I have never had one woman give me such a hard time about getting into her pants.” Tony’s humor went ignored when Scarlett nearly growled at him in response. Letting go of her he started looking around for a pair of scissors, but couldn’t find anything. There wasn’t even a box cutter lying around. The only thing he could think to use was the pair of wire cutters he had prepared to do electrical work with but somehow that seemed more dangerous than taking her pants off did.

“Now is not exactly the right time to be a smart ass.” Scarlett hunched forward again when her body refused to stay upright. She was using all of her concentration to try and resist tearing at the denim that was smoking away against her leg. She was starting to panic that the denim would get into the wound and permanently damage her muscle tissue if it continued.

“Damnit, Scarlett.” Tony started on what promised to be another rant as he returned to her side, crouched the way he’d been before she’d knocked him over.

“When is the damn doctor going to get here? Didn’t you say there was a doctor? Or did I make that up?” Scarlett closed her eyes tightly and tried to stomach the pain she was feeling. Was this her punishment for the horrible things she’d done? Did she deserve to lose every bit of herself piece by piece in burning horrific pain until she knew exactly what it felt like to be at the other end of her treachery? Cursing mentally, Scarlett forced the blame out of her mind. The last thing she needed was to be an emotional wreck on top of the current pain she was experiencing. Her mind was searching for a reason for the pain and a source to blame, and the only thing she could find was her actions.

“He’s not going to get here in time.” Tony closed his own eyes and tried to consider what to do next. If she wasn’t going to let him get rid of what was irritating the wound he’d have to take a different approach entirely. He couldn’t sit and watch Scarlett tremble in pain in front of him. There had to be some sort of action he could take to offer her some relief.

He expected Scarlett to react in some way to his not being prepared for an emergency or to make some wisecrack at how he’d screwed up but instead she leaned bent over in pain. She was pale, ashen and looked sick to her stomach. The tips of her fingers were red and irritated from where she’d been pulling at the jeans and Tony could feel that his hands were too, from having touched her afterward. It was like something had turned toxic between the mixture of the chemical he’d been using to neutralize her burn, the denim and the gauze. Guilt churned again at the idea that he could’ve been the cause of the pain she was experiencing.

It was then that he recalled that in each lab he’d made sure they had a room set up for lab accidents in each building. There would be a shower in there where he could at least rinse the toxic chemical off of them. While he had no doubt it would sting, if he could get the reaction to stop then they could at least evaluate what damage had been done. All he had to do was find the room in question.

Slipping his hand beneath her knees and the other around her back he lifted her up easily. Expecting her to fight him and argue about being carried around and treated like someone who couldn’t care for herself, his concern grew when she instead leaned heavily against him and hid her face against his shoulder. Spots were obstructing her vision and her stomach was churning with nausea and illness. She was repeating to herself that she had to stay conscious, simply to keep herself that way. She’d slipped completely into shock now, her body trembling from head to toe. The pain in her thigh continued steadily, like burning hot daggers stabbing into her flesh and twisting only to be agitated with salt. It took all of her effort to stay conscious and to keep from throwing up.

Her lungs were constricting and she felt cold and achy on top of everything else. Tony carried her from the room and up a flight of stairs, searching for the room set up for lab accidents. She was sweating terribly now despite her shivering, like she had a fever. Nearly every symptom of shock had more than set in. If it got any worse, Tony would have to call an ambulance or get a helicopter to take her to the hospital. Well aware to how she would argue against these things he tried to rack his brain for a solution. Other than the lab they’d started to prepare downstairs, there was little to no supplies in their current building.

Rushing through the hallway he scanned the signs next to the doors in search of what he was looking for. Once he found the room at the end of the hall, he kicked the door open and carried her inside, the door swinging shut loudly behind him. Setting her down on the shower floor at the far end of the room, he slammed his hand on the shower trigger then crouched inside of it next to her. The spray of cool water hit them like a ton of bricks. Ice cold droplets of water crashed against them in an assault of purified water. At once Scarlett howled in pain from the feeling of the water against her wound.

Scarlett had instantly tried to hide from the spray against the wall, still shaking all over. Her lips were turning blue and her eyes were distant. Tony grabbed her from where she futilely hid against the wall and pulled her into his arms to comfort her. Then he forced her to straighten her legs in front of her and held her torso close against his. He hid her face against his chest and rested his own in her hair. The water finally warmed up and was less startling as it washed over them. Still trembling, Tony held her close, eyes closed.

“Breathe with me okay?” He whispered in her ear until he felt her shaking calm at last. Turning to look down at the wound on her leg, he saw that it had stopped smoking and twitching but the burn was now showing through the denim that had been eaten away.

The skin was raw and pus covered; the wound bloodied and messy. Thankfully the water was starting to wash even that away. Scarlett’s thoughts were still muddled with pain but starting to clear thanks to the surprisingly soothing water. Whatever had caused her to feel such misery was starting to wash away, but the ache of the wound still remained, amplified.

Leaning her head back to look up at Tony, Scarlett forced a smile for a split second to let him know she was going to be okay. Shock had started to fade now that the source of the pain had been eliminated leaving her feeling completely and totally exhausted. Water dripped on the two in the shower still, soaking them from head to toe.

“We still need to take your pants off.” Tony cleared his throat once he felt safe to talk again. He wiped his face free of water only to have it returned from the spray of the shower. Scarlett sneered and closed her eyes.

“Not a chance in hell, Stark.” Scarlett’s voice cracked as she spoke and sounded weak but she made no move to actually stop him. “If you really want to get into my pants then you’re going to have to do more than get lucky with a chemical reaction.” The pain had rendered her near completely useless. Scarlett had experienced some nasty blows before, but that was something unlike anything she’d ever been through before in her life. Pain was different when it was being inflicted by someone and could be blamed on them. When the pain was coming from within there was no monster to fight off, no cause to eliminate, only pain. Pain without distraction was the worst thing she’d ever dealt with.

“I don’t know if it’s the denim, the gauze, or even the chemical I’ve been using to treat you but we can’t leave your jeans on after that.” Tony brushed his fingers over her face and tilted her chin up to look at him again. Drained, she stared at him, sopping wet in the darkness of the medical room and considered what to do.

“Fine, but only if this doesn’t count toward your attempts to get me naked. This situation is definitely not fair.” Scarlett hid her face again against his chest. She was too tired to argue with Tony about something as trivial as pants. And it wasn’t like she was embarrassed to be without them, just stubborn. The more she reflected on the situation at hand, the less important it seemed to fight him on the subject.

“Don’t worry, this is way less fun than what I’ve been aiming for anyway.” Tony laughed, grateful to have her arguing with him again and sounding more like her old self. She was obviously not feeling well after she’d started to recover and he’d have to remind himself to take it easy on her. “So much for getting the lab assembled today, huh?” Tony chuckled under his breath after he allowed her to lean against the wall of the shower. Sitting in front of her he unbuckled her belt and unzipped her jeans.

Tugging them down, he was careful around the wound and found the denim sticking to parts of the burn, like the fabric had melted upon contact with whatever had offended it. He’d have to run some tests, but he was guessing between the lack of oxygen, the chemical he’d been using, and the denim rubbing against her wound it had caused some sort of reaction.

“Right.” Scarlett managed a laugh but then winced as she watched Tony peel the soaked denim away from her legs. He’d had to pick at parts of her wound to get the denim and gauze away. Once he’d finished he discarded the jeans in wet heap in the far corner of the shower. Without them she felt immediately better than she’d felt moments prior. The pain had finally started to relent and though the burn stung from the contact with the water, it was easier to breathe. Her chest no longer felt constricted, her hands no longer shook and while she still felt clammy and exhausted, she was simply relieved to be able to think clearly.

“There, no more pants.” Tony patted her good leg and then looked at her seriously. He wanted to tell her how relieved he was to see her breathing properly and speaking coherently but instead he pulled her back into his arms and gave her forehead a kiss. His lips lingered against her wet skin, not ready to pull away. He closed his eyes and held her while the water washed away the ooze from her offensive looking burn on her thigh. A few moments later, the water shut off automatically, leaving the two sitting on the floor of the shower in the darkness.

“Happy now?” Scarlett smiled slightly, not moving her head away from his shoulder. She hated to admit it, but Tony had saved her again when she hadn’t been able to think clearly. Why did he have to be so damn good to her? Why couldn’t he have been the chauvinistic egomaniac she’d read about in the papers for years? Instead he’d been her savior on more than one occasion and now in her moment of need, he held her and comforted her.

“Not at all.” Tony laughed relief still thick in his voice. Glancing down at her legs, he saw how red and irritated the skin around the burn had become but it already looked better and back on its way to healing. Now that the panic had subsided, he found no reason not to enjoy what was in front of him. He only stopped when Scarlett smacked his chest in annoyance.

“Oh, quit it.” Closing her eyes she stayed leaning against him. If he was willing to support her then she saw no reason to embrace it. On top of that, her eyes didn’t want to stay open. Once she got back to the Stark mansion she would request she get to sleep the rest of the night.

“Now that we’re not panicking I can’t enjoy your legs? Someone should enjoy your legs… It’d be a shame for them to go unappreciated… Wet and glistening the way they are.” Tony’s lips curled into a smirk. Scarlett shook her head in amusement and couldn’t help but laugh. Pleased to see her reacting positively at last, he continued on. There was no more guilt involved with acting on instinct. “And I have to say how relieved I am that you don’t wear granny panties. I always worry about that. These are quite cute, I’m pleased.”

“Will you stop looking?” Scarlett laughed and pushed him off of her. Leaning against the wall of the shower she heaved a sigh and wiped the water from her face. “Next time we do this, I’m working in a skirt and you can’t talk me out of it.”

“I’ll just try to get you to work without clothes on from now on, okay?” Tony stood up and shook his head, his hair still dripping wet. Glancing around the room he started to search for towels to dry them off.

“I’m sure you will. God you’re an ass.” Now that things had settled, Scarlett couldn’t stop laughing. Why were things suddenly so hilarious? Maybe it was because wearing pants had practically set her leg on fire. Or maybe it was because Tony had taken off her pants without them having some sort of sexual experience. Or perhaps it was that she hadn’t handled the situation on her own at all. Her whole life she’d been fighting battle after battle on her own and now that she wanted to be independent more than anything fate was forcing her to rely on the very man she’d set out to sabotage. Everything seemed so terribly comical.

“Oh, is that how you thank the man who saved your life again? I’m beginning to think that you might not know how to be grateful.” Tony found a towel and instead of using it for himself, he walked to where Scarlett was sitting in the shower. He wrapped it around her shoulders and started to dry off her face with the corners of it. Scarlett’s smile fell and she looked down at the burn on her leg again. For a fleeting moment during her pain riddled stupor, she’d thought about how the constant hardships had been punishment for the nasty things she’d done in her life. Could she tell him about those thoughts? Tony had spent the last few years trying to redeem his name from the torrid life he’d lived. If anyone would understand the struggle she was suddenly faced with, it would be him.

“What?” Tony stopped drying her off and tilted his head to the side to better look at her. “Scarlett, what is it?”

“Nothing.” Scarlett glanced up at him and shook the thoughts from her mind. Why was redemption so important now? Wasn’t she supposed to be getting justice for Scott? Her career had been spent going from one mission to the next, completing some task for someone or another. Maybe it was time for her to do something for herself.

“That didn’t look like nothing. Were you hoping I’d take my pants off too? Because, I’m afraid that’s not a very good idea right now, considering.” Tony chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood. He wondered if the shock of the pain was lingering and throwing her off and hoped it was only that and nothing more.

“No, that was definitely not what was going through my mind.” Scarlett managed to push her rebellious thoughts away and smiled at Tony. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“How badly I handled that.” Tony tucked the towel around her then let her dry herself off more properly. He got up and retrieved a towel for himself though he knew it would be futile to try and dry off entirely when their clothing was still soaked. Maybe if he called Pepper she’d bring them something to change into.

“Considering how terrible that was, I think you handled it pretty well.”

“I froze up, Stark.” She sighed in frustration then used the shower wall to push herself to a standing position. Tony watched her carefully, prepared to help her if she fell.

“You were in pain.”

“I’ve done a lot more than that with much worse pain.” Scarlett looked at him skeptically. “If you weren’t here with me, what would I have done? Curled up and cried until I passed out?” Scoffing she shook her head. It wasn’t only that moment that had bothered her. She knew her limits with her current wounds and had continually pushed herself beyond what she could handle. Her poor decision making was bound to catch up with her at some point.

“You would’ve handled it.” Tony offered her his hand which she initially rejected. Giving her a knowing look she reluctantly took it and stumbled out of the shower, doing her best not to put more weight on her leg than necessary.

“You can’t possibly know that.” Sighing, she looked back to Tony after she managed another step. “Thank you. If you weren’t here…”

“Stop it.” Tony pointed an accusing finger at her. “You would’ve been fine. Stop thanking me, it’s weird. Come on… Let me carry you to a chair or something, okay? This is going to take all day at this rate.”

“I can do it just fine on my own.” Muttering in annoyance she swatted his other hand away and then felt her leg give out as she stumbled forward. Tony caught her and held her against his chest to keep her from hitting the ground, both arms around her waist.

“You were saying?” Tony smiled down at her. She looked lost. Something was happening behind those deep blue eyes, something she wasn’t telling him. While his curious nature insisted he pry and try to find out what, his gut told him to stay out of it. She’d been through more than he could’ve imagined in her past by the sounds of it and pushing her to talk about it could potentially push her further away.

If anyone had pushed him to talk about what he’d gone through with Yinsen in Afghanistan then he would’ve mentally retreated instead of embracing his fate and having dealt with the bad hand he’d been dealt. It had taken him a long time, but he’d finally started to cope with the arc reactor in his chest. It was his chance to do better and be a better man not his curse that had crippled him. Maybe Scarlett was dealing with something similar. When she was ready to talk, she’d talk and when she was less fragile, he’d ask her.

He’d expected her to say something snarky in response but instead she just stared at him. It was different than before when she’d been desperately seeking help. Being so close to her brought him a different kind of thirst and it seemed to do the same for her. She was thinking of the times they’d been interrupted in the restaurant and in his lab. For a brief moment she’d had his lips and she wanted to know what it was actually like to kiss him. But was it what she really wanted or was she still struggling with the after effects of her traumatic experience?

Tony’s heart was suddenly pounding in his ears, his reactor working a little harder than it had been before she’d been inches from his face. Why was it that every time the two of them got close, he hesitated? Something was stopping him from making that final move that he so desperately wanted. Was it the fear that it’d be like every other failed relationship he’d had in the past? Or was it something else? The woman whose breath he could feel brushing against his neck was the most complex riddle he’d ever come across. He had to collect his thoughts or take the plunge. If he kissed her now, he might be taking advantage of her and if something happened between them, he didn’t want to call it that. As much as he would usually want to hold it over her head that he’d gotten her, he wanted her to not regret what she’d chosen to do.

“I should call Pepper and have her bring us a change clothes. As sexy as this is, walking around sopping wet isn’t ideal. I don’t handle colds very well.” Tony slipped his phone out of his pocket and shook the water off of it. Luckily, he’d built the device to be protected against the elements. Short of it being purposely broken, it wasn’t going to fall apart or short out anytime soon. Scarlett nodded her head and looked away from his eyes. She was vulnerable and was having a hard time putting her walls back up. They’d crumbled thanks to the pain and the shock she’d experienced and now she felt too weak to rebuild.

“Yeah, good idea.” Scarlett’s voice was barely a whisper. She couldn’t get the thought of his lips out of her head and she guessed he was struggling with the same.

“Potts?” Tony heard the familiar voice of his redheaded assistant on the other end of the phone. Putting her on speakerphone he pulled the phone away from his ear. “Hey, I need a favor.”

“It depends on what it is, Tony. I’m busy, contrary to what you seem to think. I cannot drop everything I’m doing just because you need a churro or something ridiculous.” Pepper sounded distracted by something, but they could only guess what it was.

“I need you to call Happy and meet us here with one of the cars and a change of clothes for both of us. No pants for her though, okay? Make it something that’s not constricting.” Tony didn’t explain why, but instead wanted to see what Pepper would say in response to that. He quickly slipped a hand over Scarlett’s mouth when he saw her preparing to explain.

“What did I tell you about taking advantage of employees, Tony?” Pepper finally sighed. There was the sound of shuffling papers then her heels echoing against the floor. Shoving Tony’s hand away from her mouth, Scarlett tried to clear her thoughts. She’d so desperately wanted to kiss him to thank him for what he’d done for her. More than that, she wanted to give into the tension that had continuously bubbled up between them and for all the wrong reasons.

“She’s not my employee, thank you very much, we’re partners remember? And if I recall that means we make our decisions equally.” Tony couldn’t help but smirk. Pepper grunted in annoyance. “Just do it, okay? It’s not what you think it is. We need clothes and the car… and churros.”

“Fine, Tony.” Pepper hung up before Tony could make another snide remark. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he looked down at Scarlett who seemed to be once again ignoring him. If she kept retreating mentally like that his curiosity would force him to ask her what was going on. An arm still around her he readjusted and pulled her closer so he could lift her up and set her down on the gurney at the far end of the room.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Tony hoped that asking under the guise of concern for her wound would keep her from snapping at him. He wanted to get answers before he put her down. “You look upset.”

“No, it’s not that.” Scarlett cleared her throat and returned to reality. If she was going to get the truth about what happened with Scott in Africa, she would have to get back on top of her game. Slowly, her resolve was building. “I’m just a little uncomfortable with you holding me like this when I’m not wearing any pants.”

“If you think you’re uncomfortable now then you’re lucky that my pants are still on because that would only make this that much more uncomfortable for you.” Tony grinned. She swatted at his shoulder again and gave it a playful shove. Lifting her up carefully, he carried her across the room then set her down on the gurney.

“I can walk on my own, I’m just a little bit unsteady. You can’t carry me around everywhere. And you most certainly don’t need another excuse to grope me.” Scarlett smiled despite her accusations and then grabbed his wrist when he tried to pull away.

“I told you that if your leg gave out and I had to carry you out of here today, then you wouldn’t get to complain when I groped you. That was part of the deal!” Tony laughed, pointing toward the hallway. “Don’t you remember?”

“I never agreed to that, you just hoped I did.”

“You ignored me, which I always assume means you agreed with me.”

“No wonder Pepper doesn’t respond to you anymore. It’s pointless!” Scarlett laughed and tugged him closer by his arm.

“Okay, you’re sending me mixed signals now. Do I not grope you or do I come closer and grope you? You have to make up your mind.” Tony leaned with her tug and smiled down at her.

“I’m trying to talk to you and you keep rambling on about sexual things.”

“I know we just met the other day but I thought you’d be used to this by now.” Tony cleared his throat. Humor was the best remedy he could think of. If he could make Scarlett laugh and entertain her, then maybe she’d stop pulling away from him emotionally. Not that he particularly wanted her to open up and spill her guts to him, but he definitely didn’t want her to retreat where he couldn’t reach her if he chose to.

“I don’t think it’s something I could ever just get used to.” Scarlett laughed.

“Well that’s good right?”

“It means you’re not boring.” Nodding her head Scarlett let go of his arm and looked to the side. “I just wanted to say thank you again.”

“I told you to stop that. I know I said I wanted you to be grateful, but this is just plain weird.”

“That’s partially why I’m insisting upon doing it. I know you think that I’m being soft or something because of how I slipped into shock there for a few moments but I’m not. You helped me despite how I’d lashed out at you and I am really appreciative.”

Tony didn’t respond this time and instead stared at her. Narrowing his eyes, he searched for a catch or waited for her to follow up with some sort of snarky retort about how he could’ve been the cause of what had happened to her. It was Tony who had put the chemical on her and Tony who had bound her leg that morning. He’d forced her to go upstairs and get changed into jeans and had the idea of working in the lab when he knew she was far from healed. In his mind, it had been his fault and he’d simply been cleaning up the mess he made and taking responsibility for his actions.

“And not just for that.” Scarlett took a deep breath and seemed to be bracing herself for something painful. “You saved me in the desert. I would’ve been taken by MedCo or left for dead in the sand and you saved me even though you had no idea if I was friend or foe at the time. I woke up and panicked because I just don’t like you very much. Despite being a total bitch you’ve done nothing but try to help me.”

“And repeatedly get you into bed.” Tony added in.

“Yes, and repeatedly try to get me into bed to no avail.” Scarlett laughed and shook her head. “Do you understand why no one thanks you for anything?”

“I don’t. It’s a complete mystery.” Tony smiled down at her. “Stop it. Really. I know you’re grateful, I could tell when you didn’t try to kill me. You saved my life last night and I was a complete ass about it and yet you were still nice to me this morning.” He shrugged and then tucked a stray hair behind her ear. This was an action he’d become rather fond of doing with her though he still hated that her hair was still pulled back and away from her face.

“That’s true, I was pretty helpful and you were incredibly ungrateful.” Scarlett pursed her lips and leaned a little closer to Tony. The tension between them was constant, she couldn’t escape. Even though her leg was throbbing and she was physically and mentally drained, his eyes captivated her and his lips called to her.

“I learned from watching you. I mean, you’re teaching me bad behaviors by just being here. I might wake up tomorrow and insist I don’t need pants because of how good you’re making it look. You’re a terrible influence.” Tony joked, leaning closer to her, standing so he was leaning against the gurney, looking down at her. Scarlett laughed. The heaviness of her dark thoughts was starting to fade thanks to Tony and his constant joking.

“Shut up.” Touching his cheek, she leaned close and took the plunge. Her lips brushed against his before she finally kissed him. Though he was surprised by her sudden action, he returned the kiss and placed his arms around her. Her lips were softer than he’d imagined they were from the fleeting ghosts of kisses they’d shared before. The sensation made him tingle, like an electrical current flowing through him. Reaching behind her he tugged the ponytail out of her hair so it wouldn’t be held in place anymore.

Instantly Scarlett pulled from his lips and looked at him in surprise. “Seriously?” She scoffed as Tony nodded his head tossed the hair tie over his shoulder so she couldn’t retrieve it. Chuckling, she was about to return to his lips when there was a knock on the door. Tony grumbled and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. Finally, he’d gotten to kiss her and now someone was interrupting them again. At least he’d finally made progress on the matter.

Scarlett, on the other hand, felt torn. She was hoping that after she’d finally kissed him and released the pent up tension they’d been building she’d be able to weed her way through it. But instead, the kiss had left her more confused than before. All she wanted to do was to keep kissing him and holding him but things kept getting in the way. Her mind was quickly wandering to less than innocent places. How was she supposed to find the truth when her hormones insisted upon taking the reins?

“Someone called for a doctor?” Pepper’s voice was on the other side of the door. Tony pulled away reluctantly. Scarlett expected him to make some sort of smart ass remark about how he’d known she’d wanted him all along but instead he stared at her for a moment, longingly. It seemed that he wanted to kiss her again, just as badly as she wanted him to. Why had he hesitated about something that felt so damn good? It was clearly something they both wanted. If it had been any other time and any other woman he wouldn’t have cared if Pepper had walked in on them or anyone else for that matter. In fact, he’d always gotten a thrill out of being caught in some sick way. So what was it about Scarlett that was stopping him from ignoring Pepper?

“I’m keeping score to see just how many times that’s happened to us now.” Tony whispered after a moment of silence passed between them. He wanted to tell her how frustrated he was that every time he’d managed the nerve to get her close enough to make a move, he’d been thwarted. Finally, Scarlett had taken action and still, Pepper had managed to get there quickly enough to interrupt them before things had gotten further along. Before he could say more, Pepper’s voice came from the other side of the door a second time.

“Did you get hurt, Tony? Is everyone okay? Why would you call a doctor?” Her voice was both frustrated and filled with worry. Pepper opened the door without knocking, panic written all over her face. But when she saw the two of them soaked to the bone and standing near the gurney, Scarlett without her pants, her worry faded into confusion. “I’m not sure I want to ask but, what happened?” The doctor was standing behind her, looking as confused as she was. Tony had never given details as to why they’d needed a doctor just that one had been needed and was to be fetched. Tony had nearly forgotten that he’d called for one in the first place. Scarlett leaned closer to him and whispered.

“When did you call a doctor?”

“While you were writhing in pain on the floor downstairs.” Tony whispered in return.

“Ah, I can’t honestly say I remember much of that.”

“Writhing in pain? Who was writhing in pain?” Pepper made it a point to overhear what was said between them. “Tony, what did you do?”

“Why did I have to do something? You can’t automatically assume everything is my fault.” Pepper gave him a knowing glance and he sighed. “Well this time it wasn’t my fault. And obviously we weren’t having sex like you assumed on the phone because writhing in pain is not the way I would choose to describe what I do. I like kink but that’s a little too much, even for me.” Tony would’ve continued to rant on but Pepper held up her hand to object. Scarlett was stifling a laugh. It was hard not to be amused by Tony’s interactions with his assistant. He had obviously started purposely busting her balls over the years.

“I don’t need to know that, Tony. What happened? Did one of you have a lab accident?”

“Scarlett had a bad reaction to something. I haven’t pinpointed what it is yet but if you want to collect her jeans from the shower, then I can work on figuring that out.” Tony finally explained, glancing back at Scarlett. The memory of her lips on his made him lean closer but he forced himself to turn away after he’d lingered for too long. “She needs you to help her get changed so don’t let her argue with you. The doctor can follow us home and he can look her over there to see how to treat this burn. I obviously haven’t been doing enough for her with just the chemical treatment. If you help her with that I’ll go get cleaned up next door. Unless you’d both like me to strip here and do it in front of you. I wouldn’t mind. A show for a show.” Tony teased, pulling playfully at the bottom of Scarlett’s shirt. She swatted his hands away, an act which she found herself doing more and more frequently.

“It’s bad enough that I’m not wearing pants anymore, Stark. Go get changed.” She shooed him away. If nothing else, she’d at least gathered her wits. Kissing Tony had been a split second decision that she’d jumped the gun for. It was something she’d been wanting and unable to resist. Now that it had past she was torn. The only way she could think to describe her longing was like her first taste of scotch.

When she’d first picked up a glass of it in college, it was awful. The smell burned her nose and the taste was the most offensive thing she’d ever had in her life. But she drank the whole glass and poured a second one. It was the closest thing she could compare Tony too. Now she loved scotch and rarely drank anything else. The analogy worried her. The last man on the planet she wanted to be involved with was Tony Stark and yet she’d kissed him and while she knew how bad it was for her to have done so, she wanted to kiss him again and she wanted far more than that.

“Fine, fine… I’ll go next door. Come get me when she’s done, Pepper. I’ll help her out of here. Is Happy upstairs?” Tony started toward the door after taking his clothing from Pepper.

“Yes, he’s waiting out front with one of the Audis.” Pepper nodded her head, still feeling confused. She hadn’t received a proper explanation as to what had happened.

“Good, don’t take too long or I’ll start making up stories about what you’re doing with your extra time. I’ll send it in to penthouse forum. You know I will.” Tony threatened, pointing at the two women before guiding the doctor out of the room so he could get changed. While he was back to joking and being himself, Tony’s mind was working in overdrive. Had Scarlett kissed him because she was scared and vulnerable? Maybe she’d been worried she wouldn’t get another chance at it.

Either way, it’d felt wonderful and he wanted more. The hesitation he’d felt was gone. Even if she rejected him a thousand times he wouldn’t stop until he got the answer he wanted from her. Now that she’d been the one to initiate contact he knew it was what she wanted, even if she argued against it. She was worth the extra effort he’d put into chasing her.

“So, since Tony didn’t really answer me, what happened?” Pepper asked after Tony had shut the door. Walking over to where she sat on the gurney, Pepper set the bag with the remaining clothes down next to her. Scarlett was more than capable of getting herself changed and was grateful to see that Pepper had brought her a comfortable dress to change into. Skirts were nice, but dresses were less constricting around her waist and that was what she needed after what she’d been through. Clearly, Pepper trusted her to get changed on her own since she made no effort to actually assist her in the process. Once she’d gotten changed she took a ginger step off of the gurney with Pepper’s help.

“It’s exactly what Tony said. I had a bad reaction. I’m not sure what caused it but my leg started smoldering. It’s a little better now but shaky.” Scarlett glanced back at the shower where she’d practically cowered in a curled up ball. Even though it had only been a half an hour ago she felt like an eternity had passed since then.

“Was it that bad?” Pepper still felt confused, despite the explanation.

“Yeah, it was like a bad chemical reaction. When we couldn’t figure it out, he dragged me into the shower to get it to stop. I was pretty useless when it came to helping actually. I probably hindered the process a little, to be honest.” Scarlett felt guilt in the pit of her stomach again. Not guilt for lying, but this time for not being able to protect herself. She’d never liked to be the beast of burden and there she’d been, curled up and cowering like some damsel in distress. She wouldn’t let it happen again.

“Are you okay?” Pepper watched her for a long moment. Scarlett seemed forlorn. The cool confident woman she’d finally started to take a shine to had disappeared.

“I’m fine. Let’s go meet up with Tony before he really does make up stories.” Scarlett took each step slowly and retrieved her soaking wet jeans from the floor of the shower, which she placed in the bag Pepper had brought their clothing in. Scarlett was grateful that Pepper had trusted her to walk and hadn’t insisted on getting Tony. She admired that about her. Tony gave her orders all the time, but she completed tasks in her own way. “But, I’ll be honest, I’m more than grateful a doctor is finally going to handle my wounds.”

“You and me both.”