Glass Heart

Tony slammed the half empty glass bottle of scotch down on his desk sloppily and leaned back into his office chair after he’d taken a sip of the warm amber liquid. He was now making a face of disgust at how unpleasant it was.

“Jarvis, I need ice already! Where’s my ice…” The buzz he’d been building up in an attempt to drown his confused feelings and force them out of sight and out of mind wasn’t coming fast enough for his tastes and worst of all, his scotch was warm.

“Sir, I sent you ice twenty minutes ago and I do believe it melted because you forgot to put it in your drink.” Tony glanced around the room in search of the ice that was missing and saw a glass of it nearby filled with water and the tiniest chunks of ice and pouted. Grumbling under his breath about not getting the right kind of help when he needs it, Tony got up from where he sat at his desk, grabbed the bottle of scotch by its neck and then marched over to the small living area set up in the far corner of his lab. Digging around in the freezer, Tony found ice in the icemaker, grabbed a handful then sauntered slowly back to his desk, dropping two or three cubes on the floor as he went since they slipped from his fingers.

Tossing the remaining cubes into his glass of already poured scotch, he then picked up and took a long drink, nearly draining the contents. Scotch was clearly not designed to be consumed in such a way, but Tony didn’t care. He didn’t want to think, he didn’t want to feel, he just wanted to drink and forget.

When he’d first come home from visiting Scarlett at the jail house, Pepper had asked him what Scarlett had done to get arrested and he’d refused to tell her much of anything. She’d started to lecture him about how the woman was bad news from the start and he should put a stop to what was happening before it got further along and more dangerous but Tony had no energy for any of what she had to say. He’d told Pepper to shut up and get the hell out, though in much kinder terms because he knew that Pepper would not have taken kindly to being told to shut up. The last thing he needed that night was for his assistant to add onto his foul mood by jumping down his throat about misplaced anger.

“Where did I go wrong, Jarvis?” Tony refilled his glass to the brim and sat so heavily down in his chair that it rolled backwards beneath him and would’ve continued if he hadn’t set his feet down on the floor to stop it.

“I don’t follow, sir.” Jarvis answered after realizing that his builder was actually listening for a response.

Tony hunched forward in his chair, one hand on his knees and the other hand still gripping around the neck of his half empty bottle of scotch. Without responding to his computer, Tony set down the square bottle on his desk and placed his head in his hands gingerly. Running his tongue nervously over his bottom lip he felt the stinging sensation behind his arc reactor again as he had many times that night. Tapping the back of his hand against it he sat up straight and stretched his neck from side to side, waiting for it to crack.

“Run diagnostics on the chest piece again. Reflect…” Tony snapped his fingers at the screens around his desk that came to life at his beckoning. Tugging his t-shirt up as high as he could he waited for the screens to mirror his image back at him and observed his reactor to see if perhaps the surrounding scar tissue had become enflamed and was causing him discomfort. It wasn’t the first time it’d happened, but he’d never felt a pain quite like this nasty stinging that seemed much deeper than the reactor itself went.

“Chest reactor running at one hundred percent sir, just as it was an hour ago and an hour before that.”

Tony stared suspiciously at the reactor in the reflection that popped up on his screens before shoving his shirt back into place angrily. “Alright, I get it. No need to be snarky about everything Jarvis.” Snapping his fingers once again, the screens went black and turned off until Tony would require their use again. He’d left the room mostly dark. For some reason looking around his once comforting made him feel worse. “Something has to be wrong with the frame then, it hurts.”

“Might I make a suggestion, sir?” Jarvis sounded wary to be offering his opinion and considering the foul mood Tony was in, he couldn’t blame his computer. If it had been any other night, he would’ve been amused that even his home was apprehensive about dealing with him. Getting up from his seat, Tony picked up his full glass of scotch and took a drink of it so it wouldn’t spill while he walked since he’d filled it too high. Slowly he approached the old hotrod on the other end of the room, the one that Scarlett had dented when she’d thrown something in anger after one of the many times they’d fought with each other. The ache behind his reactor worsened and Tony continued to make faces of discomfort.

“Go for it.” Tony waved his hand toward the ceiling in acknowledgement before reclining as far back as he could in his hotrod. Glancing at the ceiling he turned over the situation in his mind one more time before he tried to push it away from his thoughts. It kept returning like an annoying bug coming after some food.

“Perhaps the problem with your reactor isn’t physical.” Jarvis theorized, still sounding apprehensive and even choosing his words wisely.

“All problems are physical, what are you proposing? That the pain I’m feeling is theoretical? That’s ridiculous, Jarvis. I programmed you better than that. If you had a room I’d send you to it.”[br /]
Tony sipped at his scotch again, wishing it would turn his overactive brain off for just a few seconds to offer him the relief he craved. What people often forgot about Tony was that he was always thinking, always considering each possible outcome and always turning over the next move he would make in his mind. It was what made him so good at everything he did, but it was also his cross to bear. He’d taken to destructive habits over the years to cope with the complicated way his mind worked, but never before had he been unable to drown it out with alcohol. Even the damn scotch was reminding him of Scarlett. How many times had they shared a laugh over a drink?

“I was only theorizing that perhaps the pain you are feeling is a manifestation of your more recent emotional distress.” Jarvis clarified with less apprehension. Apparently being insulted by Tony had prompted him to be more forward. Tony tossed this idea around in his mind a few times. If Jarvis had suggested it when he’d gotten home then he probably would’ve flipped his desk over and tossed his computer to the floor in ager. But now, hours later, when scotch had failed him and his chest was practically throbbing with ache, Tony considered that he was wounded in a way that wasn’t physical at all. It wasn’t that he was unfamiliar with the feeling of heartache, of course not. Tony had lost his parents at a young age, been betrayed by someone he’d considered family, and felt disconnected from nearly the entire world his whole life.

No, Tony Stark was very familiar with heartache but nothing quite like this. It was more like the conflict created by the heartache he was feeling that was making it worse. He’d never been as attached to a woman, outside of Pepper, the way that he was to Scarlett. And even then, things with Pepper had always been different. When he’d nearly died, he was afraid that he would never tell her how important she was to him and had mistaken that feeling for something akin to love. Thankfully, once his health had been sorted out, his thoughts had been as well and they’d realized their relationship was perfect just the way it was.

But now, this feeling with Scarlett was completely different than the ache he’d felt even after his near death experience. Even when he’d first found her in the desert, he knew something was off about her though he could never have guessed it would be this particular feeling that caused it. Tony was lost, confused, and his alcohol wasn’t doing anything to lighten his mood, which was saying something. He hadn’t even felt like throwing a party to distract his thoughts. When he’d first realized that all he wanted to do was lie around in his basement and mope, he asked Jarvis to take his temperature to check if he’d somehow contracted a cold.

“You’re probably right.” Tony sighed at long last and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat with a soft thump. “The real question is: what do I do about it?”

“I am unfamiliar with such emotional turbulence, sir. Though I do recall Miss Potts, on several occasions, trying to get you to watch several films that you refused to watch with her because you were… and I quote, not on your monthly cycle. Perhaps these could offer you some insights into matters of the heart.” Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at his computer’s ridiculous response.

“I don’t think any chick flicks are going to help me now.” Tony opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. This was far removed from any typical love story. He hadn’t been in a serious relationship that had lasted more than a month in as long as he could remember and he most certainly was not ready to admit that he’d wanted one with a woman who had tried her damndest to destroy his life.

But was that what she had really been doing during her stay? The way she’d smiled and laughed with him over the simplest things, how she’d run away from him on the dance floor at the charity event when they’d gotten so close to kissing; that couldn’t have been an act. When she writhed in pleasure beneath him in bed and had whispered his name so passionately in the sheets; could that really have been her trying to pull the wool over his eyes? Somehow Tony didn’t even think someone with Scarlett’s abilities was that good of an actress.

When he’d seen her in that jail cell earlier in the night, she looked broken and that didn’t seem much like a spy who had done her job particularly well. Shaking his head of the thoughts of the broken woman he’d left to rot alone in a jail cell, considering he was sure she was quite as miserable as he was, he sat up straight and started waving in front of him.

He had disregarded his glass of scotch entirely after he’d gotten into the car. Drinking wasn’t helping and he had a feeling that in this particular situation it was only going to increase his misery rather than lessen it as he desired. So logic dictated he would abandon the cause.

“Bring up the files we have on Scarlett.”

“Yes, sir.” Tony brushed his fingers through his messy hair and waited for the small amount of files to load on his screen. There wasn’t much he had managed to obtain other than the records he’d created for her. At first he was browsing over the remaining files he’d had from when he’d first located the MedCo facility in Africa. She’d been trying to tell him from the very beginning about her suffering, even if she hadn’t meant to, and he hadn’t seen the signs that were lit up so clearly in front of him. He’d been too swept up in trying to get her into bed and fulfilling his own selfish motives. Even if she hadn’t realized it, the panic attacks, the heart ache, the lost and confused moments where she thought he hadn’t been looking, he found were all telltale signs of an identity crisis.

Of all the people in the world, Tony should’ve recognized them. He had gone through the same thing after returning from the desert with the arc reactor in his chest. It was something he had grown to accept and it had become a part of him with time, but it was more than just the fact that he was no longer anything like the rest of humanity. It was that he had nothing to show for his life other than money and materialistic items. And while that had suited him for most of his life, after nearly dying somehow all his stuff had lost its value. When he came home, that had hurt more than anything; more than Stane’s betrayal, more than losing Yinsen, and more than the pain he suffered each day thanks to the shrapnel in his chest.

After that, all that mattered was the next mission and he remembered telling Pepper that he’d found his purpose with the arc reactor. There was so much more he could do to help the world around him than just share his ideas and flaunt his money. When he put on the Iron Man weapon he could really change things for the better.

Browsing through the files on his computer tagged with Scarlett’s name, he stopped when he found some stills of her that he’d saved for his personal collection. In almost all of them she was smiling in moments where no one had been looking at her. There was no malice in her eyes, none that he could see at least. She’d been through something traumatic and while he only knew the tail end of her story, he knew now that she had just been searching for what to do next. When she’d gone after him she’d only been continuing with what she thought she knew which was exactly what Tony had done in the past. Even if she didn’t want to admit, they were very much alike in that respect.

Zooming in closer to her face in the photo, Tony sighed and tilted his head just slightly to look at it from a different angle. At long last, she’d told him the truth and if anyone knew how hard it was to face the truth, nonetheless share it with someone you thought was trying to kill you, it was Tony. He’d been too hurt and upset by the same truth to see it when she’d been confessing in the jail cell but now that he’d had some proper time to think it over rather than avoid it like the plague he knew what he was dealing with. Groaning in misery, Tony shoved the picture away from him and slammed his head back against the seat of the car again.

“I miss her too, sir.” Tony was shaken back into reality by Jarvis’ voice overhead. The program was modeled after him originally, to respond to his mannerisms and learn from him. Had Jarvis known all along what they he and Scarlett feeling long before they’d realized it? Laughing under his breath, Tony wiped his hand over his jaw as he often did, realizing he needed a shave. How long had it been? He guessed not for a few days now.

“Do you?” Tony cleared his throat then hunched forward, elbows on his knees. “I shouldn’t have left her there alone, no matter how mad I was.”

“I have to agree.”

“You’re an ass.” Tony scoffed and wiped his hands over his face, holding his head in his hands for a frustrating moment before groaning, gripping his hair and leaning back upright.

“Just remember who built me and give credit where credit is due.” Tony ignored Jarvis’ comment and checked his watch to see that it was about two in the morning.

“I’ll go get her in the morning. I doubt that any judge would grant me a favor at this time of night.” Tony smiled resolutely, though his chest still stung with heartache. It had hurt to hear the truth but the fact that it was finally the truth was what really mattered. He would go to the jailhouse, get her out on bail and set her free one way or another. It would take work for the damage between them to be repaired, not to mention entering an exclusive serious relationship scared the hell out of Tony, but he would hope that’s what she wanted. If she thought he was worth the risk, then he’d be willing to take the same leap.

Then again, he wouldn’t want to force her into something she wasn’t ready for either. The good ones, the women that really managed their way past his tough, cold, conniving and often perverted exterior never wanted to stay with him for very long. He always did something to drive the important people out of his life.

“What would you like me to do in the meantime, sir? I am guessing sleep is not in the forecast.” Jarvis once again brought Tony back to reality.

“I need you to go back to the day we went to Africa in search of that facility. There has to be another lead that we’re not seeing. I don’t care how good they are, no company is this damn good.” Tony sighed heavily. If he couldn’t make Scarlett stay because of what she felt for him then maybe he could make her stay if he found a clue to lead them to the people who actually had put her in harm’s way. It was a desperate attempt to avoid admitting the truth of what was going on in his head and what was going on in his heart.

“What is it we’re looking for exactly?” Jarvis made several holographic screens appear in front of the hotrod.

“Something we didn’t see before.”

“That’s a very large window, sir. Could you possibly be more specific?”

“I have had just about enough of your snark tonight, Jarvis.” Tony knew that in a weird way, it felt like Jarvis was trying to cheer him up. “Check nearby hospital records. I was bound to hurt somebody in that craziness that day. There’s a slim chance that they sent people to nearby medical facilities.” Yawning, Tony closed his eyes and waited for his computer to do the grunt work for him. Jarvis was so well programmed, that he could do the hacking easily for Tony with little assistance.

“There was only one case of mysterious burns that resulted in admission to the hospital for a number of days, sir. It appears the subject was in critical condition and is still in recovery.” Jarvis responded once his computations were complete.

“Really?” Tony had thought it had been a stretch for him to search the hospitals and hadn’t actually expected any results. “Bring up as much information as you can on the patient, Jarvis.”

“Already done.”

Tony opened his eyes and stared at the hospital admission files in front of him. The man had been dropped off at the hospital anonymously, which to Tony already sounded like something MedCo would do. After he’d woken up days later with chemical burns on his skin, similar to those Scarlett had received, he had filled out the proper information concerning his identity.

“Scott Aaronson. Engineer…” Tony grumbled then rested his head in his hands. The man that Scarlett had thought she’d lost at MedCo hadn’t been lost at all. No one had shot him and he’d been thrown in front of the hospital more than likely after Scarlett had been taken by Tony. It was obvious that MedCo hadn’t needed Scott for anything after that and they didn’t require leverage over Scarlett until she’d been retrieved which had been their obvious next step.

Would the guilt be lifted from her shoulders when she found out that her hands were clean of Scott’s blood? Would she feel relieved and perhaps be able to sleep at night? While Tony wouldn’t admit to watching her sleep if asked, he’d seen her tossing and turning and knew something more than hiding the truth from him was plaguing her thoughts.

Worst of all, Tony wondered if she loved this man she thought was lost. She hadn’t gone into specifics in regards to him even when asked and wondered if it was because she was afraid to hurt Tony’s feelings. Of course, she had said that it was going nowhere with Scott and there was no future with him but she’d also added on that it was complicated so Tony knew there was more to it than that.

The same could be said for her connection to Tony. There was obviously no future at face value with the kind of man Tony was reputed to be, and what they had was more than complicated. Would she want to go after Scott and let him know she was alive when she found out he had survived? Would she want to take a second chance at a relationship she thought she’d never get the opportunity to revive? Or would she want to stay with Tony and explore the confusing feelings they had for each other? Tony was guessing she would leave and go after Scott. It was most likely that the only reason she disregarded the relationship was because the man was dead or at least she had thought he was.

When it came to love and the like, Tony had very little faith in his chances. Yet with those thoughts, his heart stung at the idea of her leaving him to go after this Scott guy. The pictures of him in the file were unimpressive but couldn’t be further removed from Tony himself. He had striking blond hair, a young looking face, was thin, lanky and had crystal clear blue eyes. How the hell had Scarlett ended up attracted to him?

Tony rubbed his hand over his jaw in reflection. He looked a little older than he actually was and he attributed that to growing up earlier than he needed to. Life had always been stressful and burdensome being a Stark. His hands were gruff from battle and his hands on work, he had facial hair that he’d once tried to keep in check but it had become impossible and he’d simply embraced what he’d been gifted with. He was tall, with broader shoulders a thicker more muscular build, and had dark brown eyes in comparison. Maybe Scarlett didn’t have a specific type.

In the morning, Tony would get her out of jail and he would offer her the option to stay with him and he’d offer to fly her to Africa to go see the man that she thought was dead so she could get closure. Even if it meant losing her, he couldn’t keep her trapped and thinking she’d been the cause of the death of someone she’d potentially loved.

Still, jealousy was an ugly thing and Tony was definitely not above being jealous. He didn’t want her going after Scott. He wanted her to stay with him and start over. They could follow their hearts instead of letting their egos lead the course. Curiosity gripped Tony and he couldn’t help but wonder how long she’d been with this man. Maybe the police reports from her prior arrests would give him more information. If they’d been as thick as thieves, he would’ve been arrested with her.

“Jarvis, save the files on Scott for later and keep a tight lip on it, okay? This is between you and me for now.”

“Keeping secrets has served you both so well, already. But yes, of course, whatever you wish.” Jarvis was clearly not above putting in his own two cents about the information that Tony had found particularly in matters regarding Scarlett.

“I’m going to tell her about it, it’s not a secret. I just don’t want anyone else to know about it.” Tony rolled his eyes. “Oh ye of little faith. After that, do me a favor and uh, bring up Scarlett’s arrest record. See who else was included in the incident reports.”

“Hoping that the name Scott doesn’t pop in conjunction with them, are you?” Jarvis responded but started searching for the files they’d located after they’d first found out Scarlett’s full name.

“Guilty.” Tony stretched his limbs and glanced around the room absentmindedly. “I don’t suppose you’ll get me some water.”

“I’m afraid that I do not deliver to that area of the house. You didn’t want anything spilling on your cars while you work, if I recall.”

“Right, right… Guess I have to get it myself. Shouldn’t have sent Pepper home…” Tony grunted as he got out of the car, stumbling on his rubbery legs. “What’s taking so long with those files? Even when we knew nothing about her it didn’t take you this long. Do I have to rewire you again? Are you overworked?” Tony regained his equilibrium and started toward the living area of the lab again. Once there he opened the door to the fridge and leaned heavily against it. “Of course there are no water bottles in here. That would be too easy.”

“There are no arrest records to date for Miss Scarlett Damien.” Jarvis reported once his search was completed. “Neither local nor international police databases are filing any prior misdemeanors under that name.”

“Well, that’s not right.” Tony pulled a chunk of ice from the freezer and popped it into his mouth. After he’d crunched it enough to make enough room to keep talking he continued. “Where is it in the search history? Look for it that way.”

“Those files no longer exist, sir.” Jarvis followed the command and responded quickly.

“Wait, the search history or the files on Scarlett?”

“The files on Scarlett, your search history is intact, every dirty detail.” Tony considered what this could mean. Hand on his forehead he tried not to jump to conclusions but he had a strong feeling in his gut that something was wrong. Walking back to his desk, still crunching on the remaining ice in his mouth, Tony sat in his office chair and contemplated what could cause such a phenomenon.

“Jarvis, bring me the files from the jailhouse tonight and from the courthouse for Scarlett’s scheduled arraignment.” Tony hoped that they’d find the information there and the feeling in the pit of his stomach was just that; a feeling. He was growing tired of his emotions becoming physical manifestations, as Jarvis had so eloquently put it.

“There are no such files on record, sir.” When Tony didn’t respond and remained still in his chair, Jarvis continued. “As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Mr. Stark, Scarlett Damien does not exist.” Clenching his jaw, Tony considered the truth of the situation. If it was a computer error, which was the most likely cause, going down to the jailhouse in the middle of the night would cause untold publicity problems.

On the other hand, if it was what he feared, and someone had erased Scarlett so she wouldn’t be noticed missing, then if he waited until morning to act he could lose her forever. With the ease MedCo seemed to disappear from the digital and physical world, it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

“I’m probably going to regret this later, but uh…” Tony turned his chair around and found that Jarvis was a step ahead of him and was preparing the Mark VII for him. “Thanks.”

“I will alert Miss Potts and Mr. Hogan of the situation, sir. Bring her back safe.” The arms of the gantry came to life, preparing the suit for action.

“You’re my favorite computer, you know.” Tony didn’t smile as he walked over the gantry that would suit him up. The Iron Man suit fit like a glove and clung to him seamlessly. “Hey, Jarvis?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Those plans I threw out for the Stark Tower in Manhattan when I got home? The alterations I made?” Tony watched as the screens and sensors booted and came to life in front of him inside his helmet.

“Yes, I do recall you angrily telling me to scrap them before you got the scotch out and started drinking.” Jarvis responded politely.

“You didn’t really scrap them, right?”

“Of course not, sir. I very rarely delete anything you tell me to get rid of in anger particularly when in conjunction with alcohol.” Tony made sure the systems within the repaired Mark VII were running to full capacity before launching out of the garage at full speed.

“Thanks again for that. Start scans of the jailhouse for me. Try to locate where Scarlett is and let me know if she’s okay. If we can see her resting in the building then I won’t go in”

“But if anything else, I assume we’re going in guns blazing?”

“Just like Jesse James.”

“I do prefer Wyatt Earp, myself.” Tony was glad that Jarvis was trying to calm his nerves but was more concerned with what he would find when he arrived at the jailhouse. “Miss Damien’s heat signature has been targeted in red, sir.” Blueprints of the old building popped in his line of sight then slid to the right to stay out of his view way while he flew toward the jailhouse.

Jarvis had memorized her heat signature and it was very clear that she was struggling against a group of men bigger than her that were carrying her away through the hall. Just as he had suspected, MedCo had waited for the perfect moment to strike. Once she was alone and vulnerable they had erased her existence and made their move. There would be no one to miss if there were no files to prove she’d been there.

“She seems off even for being attacked, what’s going on in there?” Tony gritted his teeth and threw out several possibilities that came to mind.

“I cannot answer that.”

“Some of my questions are rhetorical.” Tony hurried around the jailhouse, looking for an entrance that wouldn’t involve him breaking through a wall. At the top of the building he found an old bell tower that was obviously out of use for some time. Deciding he would pay for the damages he’d inevitably do to the building, Tony dropped in through the bell tower, which broke easily beneath the weight of the Mark armor.

“Nice landing, sir.”

“Keep her targeted, Jarvis.” Tony didn’t have the energy to joke around any longer. He needed to find Scarlett before MedCo’s men disappeared with her. Hovering through the hallways he moved cautiously in case there were any unexpected surprises. He’d underestimated MedCo’s forces one too many times. The lights in the hallways were still flickering like some old horror movie and it gave him the chills. At the end of the hall he could hear a commotion and what sounded like men yelling. Then he heard Scarlett shouting, but her words were somewhat slurred.

“Get offame!” Spying her at the far end of the hall, she twisted sluggishly out of the grasp of the man on her left and knocked the balance of the one on her right, sending them both down the staircase. She had a black bag over her head, to further weaken her against them.

“Let her go!” Tony shouted through the microphone of the Mark VII then held up his hand repulsors threateningly. Instead of relenting as he had hoped they would, they raised their guns and fired shots at him but their bullets crashed with the armor and ricocheted away harmlessly. Not wanting to give them a chance to use any of their expensive toys to try and disable him again, Tony had Jarvis lower the capacity of the repulsors so the attacks he fired would be nonlethal.

The first man fell back after one blow, the second just after that. Down the stairs he could hear struggling. He was not surprised to see that despite how she’d been stumbling the feisty brunette had managed to come out on top. Scarlett had her legs wrapped around the neck of the man who had fallen down the stairs with her in an attempt to strangle him and the black bag was on the floor next to her. She looked worse for wear, but was obviously still willing to fight for her life despite whatever drug had been obviously given to her to slow her down. Blood was trickling down the side of her head where she had hit it when she’d fallen down the stairs.

“Behind you!” Scarlett nodded to Tony, who turned instantly once he saw the blip on his targeting and delivered a metallic fist to the face of the man who had attempted to attack him from behind. Just as he had delivered a second blow to make sure the man was unconscious, one of the men who had fallen earlier to his repulsor blast was back on his feet and aiming one of those peculiar guns that had turned off the Mark VII on the highway what seemed like so long ago.

Before Tony could make an attempt to move faster than the man did with his gun, a shot was fired behind him. He turned in panic to make sure Scarlett was alright and was relieved to see she was the one holding the gun. The blow had hit the man after him in the shoulder and forced him to drop his weapon. Tony rushed over to Scarlett who was wiping her prints off of the handle of the gun and then stumbled to lean against the wall of the jailhouse.

“Are you alright?” He popped open the helmet of his armor to speak with her. She nodded and smiled weakly, but was having a much harder time fighting the drugs in her system now that the adrenaline was wearing off. About to speak again, Tony stopped when there was a commotion down below. Apparently the police had finally come to their senses and were reacting to the situation in the stairwell. Quickly, Tony scooped Scarlett in his arms and flew back to the bell tower where he hid her. “You stay here.” She nodded again and leaned against the woodwork, not bothered by the spiders and cobwebs around her.

Tony returned to the hallway, where he quickly lined up the unconscious forms of the four men who had been after Scarlett. Once he’d done that, he rushed back to the bell tower, hoping to remain unnoticed. If Scarlett’s records had been erased, then someone had been paid off in the jailhouse to allow the men to sneak in and out with their bounty. Tony wasn’t going to argue if her charges were gone entirely. He could bring her home in peace, without having to deal with any legal issues. Once in the bell tower again, he found Scarlett holding the side of her head and waiting. The guilt was still written all over her face despite how he’d obviously come back for her.

“Tony, how did you know?” It wasn’t the question he’d expected, but probably the same one he would’ve asked if the tables had been turned.

“Let’s get you out of here, okay? I’ll answer all your questions at the house.” Tony carefully lifted her in his arms, cradling her close against his suit. He’d half expected her to object to being carried off but instead she closed her eyes and leaned against the shoulder of his armor. Every objection she’d had to being treated like a damsel in distress in the past had disappeared. At least he knew that she wanted to be saved. It was a relief that she hadn’t told him to get lost.

It didn’t take long to get back to the Malibu cliff side mansion. Once inside the house, Tony set her down in his hotrod where he’d been drinking earlier and popped his helmet open while the gantry appeared out of the floor to pull the suit off piece by piece.

“So how did you know I was in trouble?” Scarlett leaned over the seat of the car, her eyelids looking heavy, but she somehow struggled to stay awake and fight whatever drug was in her system.

“Your files went missing.” Tony shook his head once the Mark VII was put back in its place. Taking a step away from the gantry platform he walked over to where she sat in the car. “It was like you were being erased. I couldn’t let that happen, Scarlett. I guess those guys weren’t anticipating me to show up. They weren’t exactly prepared for the Mark VII.”

“Well, they only sent four guys after me anyway. If I’d been able to avoid the needle and hadn’t had anything to drink beforehand then they would’ve lost anyway.” Scarlett offered Tony the smallest twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

“I have no doubt.” Tony tucked her messy hair behind her ear and let his hand linger against her cheek before pulling it away. Much to his surprise, she’d closed her eyes and leaned into his touch rather than shied away from it like she usually would. He could see the pained look on her face, some kind of internal struggle mixed with the anguish from the wound on the side of her head.

“Thank you.” Scarlett looked up at him sincerely. She didn’t want to play games with him anymore. Being honest had only been hard because she’d been so wrapped up in a lie. Now that she was out of jail and away from the men who were there to take her back to MedCo, she was ready to start fresh, if Tony would let her. There had been two thoughts in her mind while she’d been dragged through the hallway. One of them had been how sorry she was that her last act before being taken had been crushing Tony and the second being that she was tired of fighting and hurting everyone around her.

“It’s no problem. You know… Jarvis was worried and I can’t say no to Jarvis.” Tony shrugged his shoulders. “Come on, we should take a look at that bump on your head and let you get some rest. Sleep off whatever they put in your system.”

“It’s just… a sedative. Should’ve used a stronger one and knocked me out. For a dastardly villainous company they’re ill equipped to deal with someone like me.” Scarlett slowly stepped out of the hotrod but lost her balance after a few steps. Tony quickly helped correct it.

“Well, they clearly underestimated you on multiple occasions. I’m personally hoping they never learn.” Tony started guiding her through the lab and up the stairs, since he was sure she wasn’t going to let him continue to carry her around. His instincts were, however, telling him that he should just pick her up instead of making her do more work after being drugged and bashed in the head. But, what they currently had was too fragile for him to test. Once they were in the living room, Tony was forced to stop his trek upstairs when Pepper came rushing up to him. He’d nearly forgotten that Jarvis had called them just in case they were needed.

“Tony! What on earth is going on here? I thought she was supposed to be in…” Happy was standing behind Pepper, looking both half asleep and confused. He clearly didn’t need to know what was going on as badly as Pepper seemed to. “Is she bleeding? Why are you two always bleeding? I swear you’re giving me an ulcer! Should I call the doctor?”

“I’ll explain after I take care of her okay? No doctor, she’ll be fine. Would you, uh… get me some antacid or something? All this yelling has given me heartburn.” Tony scrunched up his face comically. In the midst of his worry, he’d nearly forgotten about how much he’d had to drink. While it was less than he could handle, it was still enough to turn his stomach considering how he’d jumped into action without having so much as a glass of water. “Oh and restock the fridge downstairs with water bottles. Really, how did it get that empty? It’s like we’re in some third world country!” Pepper stared at Tony, mouth agape and prepared to argue with him about every single word that had come out of his mouth. “Really, I’ll explain what happened in a minute.” Softening her features after hearing the serious tone in her boss’ voice and seeing how out of it Scarlett looked, Pepper nodded and started away from him.

While Tony had been arguing with Pepper Scarlett had taken a seat on the couch and closed her eyes. Once again, she’d taken to holding her head. The blow there was clearly bothering her. Tony would have to remember to check her pupils in case she had a concussion. Then he really would have to call the doctor.

“Come on, that’s not bed.”

“But I’m so comfy…” Scarlett pouted and glared up at Tony with one eye open.

“It will be way more comfortable upstairs.” Tony decided he’d deal with her yelling at him if he had to and slipped an arm beneath her knees and the other around her back so he could carry her up the stairs with ease.

“I can walk, they hit my head not my knees.” Scarlett looked at him as skeptically as she could considering how her body seemed to be refusing her actions.

“I know you can, but this is much faster.” Tony whispered and started quickly up the stairs before she had time to squirm and try to escape. Bypassing the guest room that had originally been set up for her, Tony instead moved onto the master bedroom and set her down on his bed to rest. He wanted to be able to keep an eye on her through the night without having to spy through cameras. She seemed not to notice which room she’d been put into anyway. Once she was resting on his pillows, Tony started looking around for something to use to take care of her wounds. She’d taken care of him so many times over the past two weeks and he’d never gotten the chance to return the favor despite her injuries. While he’d been the one to take care of her after she’d gotten back from Africa, it wasn’t quite the same.

Much to his surprise, Pepper had followed them into the room and brought him a bowl of warm water along with a cloth to clean the wound on her head and other first aid supplies just in case. She mouthed “you’re welcome” and then started back down the stairs without another word.

Tony watched her go suspiciously then turned back to Scarlett who was staring at the ceiling. Picking up the cloth he brushed it over the bloodied bump on the side of her head. It wasn’t very severe, but didn’t look like it was peaches and cream to deal with either. When the cloth met the wound she gasped and grabbed his arm to try and stop him.

“Look, I have to do this. I don’t like it very much either. There is nothing sexy about you being drugged.” Much to Tony’s surprise, Scarlett laughed at his comment and let go of his hand. She watched him continue to wipe at the cut on the side of her head.

“You’re doing it wrong.” She whispered and then guided his hand so it wasn’t pushing so harshly against the bloodied wound there. “You’re going to make it worse if you keep scratching at it.”

“I usually make Pepper do this.”

“I’m not surprised.” Scarlett closed her eyes while he finished up wiping away the blood that was starting to dry onto the side of her face. “Tony?”

“Yeah?” Now that he’d wiped the wound, he was trying to understand the wizardry that was the medical tape that was supposed to keep her wound closed so it could scab up properly. After turning it every which way and not understanding it, he decided to place gauze over the wound instead.

“I’m sorry.” Glancing at him seriously, she touched his arm gingerly. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t Scarlett… it’s really okay. I get it. I mean it took me most of the night, but I eventually got it.”

“No, it’s not okay. What I did was not okay.” Scarlett swallowed hard and propped herself up on her elbows so she could look at him seriously and resist the tug of sleep the medicine in her system was forcing on her. “I feel guilty.” She touched a hand to her chest and furrowed her brow in thought. Tony rested his hands in his lap while she internally struggled in front of him. Clearly, whatever drugs Scarlett was on was lowering her inhibitions enough for her to make confessions he was sure she would not usually make. “Scott died because of me and since the moment I woke up I have felt nothing but guilt for being unable to save him. I felt guilty and the only way I knew how to cope with it was to get revenge.”

“Scarlett…” Tony considered telling her what he’d found in his search. He could free her from the emotional turmoil she was stressed by and set her free from it. Scott didn’t die and she had no reason to feel so bad about it.

“I’m not done yet.” She spoke earnestly and Tony wondered if it wasn’t the drugs talking. Maybe Scarlett had a few more confessions to make after all.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“I feel guilty for blaming you for his death and for my stupid decisions that followed when all you’ve tried to do is help me and do some good for the world. You’re still an ass but you’re not to blame for what happened to him or to me.” Tony glanced away from her as she spoke. His heart was stinging again and he wasn’t sure why. He hated dealing with these sorts of emotions, but maybe this was what he needed to hear. “I’ve been finally trying to do something good and I couldn’t even recognize that’s what you were doing. I… Everything backfired. I couldn’t even save myself.”

“Hey…” Tony wasn’t very good at being comforting, but he knew that he had to get her to rest before she said things she regretted. Helping her lay back down, he urged her against his pillows again and pushed her hair out of her face once more, his hand ultimately resting on the side of her neck.

“I had to say it. It was all I could think about after you left. I hurt you and it was what I meant to do when I first met you but I didn’t know you then. I thought I knew everything about but I was so wrong. I’m sorry Tony… I’m so sorry.” When he didn’t respond to her she closed her eyes and offered a small smile. “I’m done now.”

“It’s not your fault either, you know.” Tony swallowed the guilt he was feeling. Why didn’t he tell her about Scott? In his mind, he knew that was the right thing to do, but then fear suddenly gripped him and stayed his tongue. What if she did leave him? What if she wanted to still do the right thing and go after Scott and the people who had harmed them? If she left then he’d be alone again and he hadn’t realized how much he hated being alone until he hadn’t been anymore.

“It is. There’s no question about that. Can you forgive me?” Scarlett stared at him, waiting for a response desperately. Tony looked to the side. It wasn’t a question of if he could forgive her, it was a question of what he should tell her. He’d forgiven her earlier in the night before he’d even gone after her. But now he knew what he should do and he wasn’t doing it. Why shouldn’t he be selfish? When things were better he’d tell her. Or maybe he’d never tell her and help her deal with the guilt she was feeling instead. They could work together to get past it. The longer it took him to answer, the more panicked Scarlett became. Somehow she’d known that things wouldn’t work out for her. Nothing ever seemed to. Maybe that sort of life wasn’t for her. She was supposed to spend her days chasing shadows not falling in love.

Realizing that he’d drifted off into his own conflicted thoughts he gently brushed his thumb against the outline of her jaw and then kissed her quickly.

“I already did.” Tony smiled, staying close to her lips. “You need to…” Before he could finish his thoughts, Scarlett had perched up on her elbow again and kissed him a second time. Smiling against her lips, Tony placed his hand on the bed next to her to keep from falling on top of her. Not that he would’ve cared if that had happened, but he wanted her to remember everything they did. It felt good to kiss without worrying what motives the other had other than the sensation itself. And even though she wasn’t working for a cause anymore, she still felt the same bolts of electricity and tension that she’d felt when they’d first gotten so dangerously close. There was no question about the strength of what they shared, not anymore.

Reluctantly they both pulled away, though Tony kept his hand on the side of her on his bed. Scarlett looked relieved, though he could still see the heavy burden of guilt weighing on her shoulders. Not to mention she looked like she needed sleep desperately. Between her nightmares and the stress of their situation, he couldn’t blame her.

“Thank you.”

“You have thanked me more tonight than the entire time that I’ve known you.” Tony smirked devilishly. “You must be delusional. Now get some sleep. Once those drugs wear off we’ll really talk, okay?”

“I’d like that.” Scarlett nodded her head and then closed her eyes, rolling onto her side so she could be comfortable on the unfamiliar bed. Anything felt better than the cot she’d been lying on in the jail. It was easy to give into the tug of drowsiness that she’d been fighting since the moment she’d been injected by the thugs who had come for her once she had said everything that was on her mind and was sure she was safe for the night.

Tony tugged the blankets from the bottom of his bed so they were covering her and then walked out of the room. Jarvis dimmed the lights behind him. Pepper was waiting for him in the hallway as he expected. He leaned against the door after he’d closed it behind him and then narrowed his eyes at her when she handed him the box of Zantac he’d asked for when he’d first gotten home.

“Why is everyone such a smart ass tonight?”

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Tony.” Pepper crossed her arms over her chest and then glanced at the door behind him.

“Oh, Pepper.” Tony placed his arm around her shoulder and guided her down the hallway. “…do I have to?”

“Yes. You had Jarvis pull me out of bed at close to three in the morning. You are going to explain what the hell just happened.”

“Fine.” Tony pouted, then headed downstairs where he would spend the rest of his night explaining what had transpired since he’d gotten Scarlett’s phone call at dinner and then convincing Pepper that Scarlett was no longer out to get him. The woman still held a grudge after seeing the way Tony had been hurt and the danger he’d been put in.