Hollow Scars

Where she had been planning to leave her hospital room only moments before Nick Fury had approached her to discuss the Avengers Initiative, she had lost her motivation. Scarlett now lay down on her hospital bed, curled up and facing the sterile looking wall. How could she have even considered that it would be okay for her to go home with Tony and live a normal life with him? There was no chance of that thanks to MedCo and after some reflection she knew what she had to do.

She had to leave.

But she didn’t want to leave.

Every fiber of Scarlett’s being desired to find the room where they had Tony resting and to make sure that he was okay and well cared for. How could she though when there was so much else to do? Nick Fury had reminded her of what she’d avoided thinking about since she’d found Tony outside of Moscow. Everything had seemed so simple when she’d been sitting with Tony in the MedCo facility waiting for death. Now that they had managed to survive the ordeal those things she’d ignored didn’t seem so trivial.

Scott was going to come after her.

She had inadvertently set his sights on Tony by sacrificing herself for him. Now Scott would think it was Tony’s fault that she couldn’t be the woman he wanted her to be. It wasn’t a rational way of thinking but she somehow knew that was how the situation would be twisted in his mind. She’d heard his crazy rant about how she could never love anyone but herself. In the heat of the moment she had saved the man she really did love and Scott had been stunned. Even when she was trying to do the right thing her actions backfired.

Coughing, Scarlett attempted to clear her throat to no avail. It felt like ages since she’d been able to properly breathe. Thanks to the pneumonia it would likely still be a few more weeks before she actually could.

MedCo wouldn’t let her go.

Even if Marcia seemed to be the least interested in her of the three heads of the company, it was a fool’s gamble to think she’d be in the clear. She knew that Marcia would send people after her. It was a bad move for MedCo to keep Scarlett alive after what she’d seen and the threat she’d posed.

Living in the public eye with Tony could very well be beneficial for her current predicament. Her presence in the public eye would keep her safe, at least to an extent. MedCo wouldn’t want the bad press of having hurt someone who was a public figure, especially if she was well loved. While the corporation didn’t seem to care about their reputation to an extent, she was sure there was even a limit to that.

They didn’t mind being a terrorist organization, because realistically the normal population didn’t care about what was terrorizing them as long as their government promised to keep them safe. But when someone who was of a certain celebrity was harmed even in the slightest of ways? The whole nation seemed to mourn for those who won the grand popularity contest.

Then again fame had its drawbacks for the same reasons. If MedCo and Scott wanted to know where they were or what they were up to they could very easily be tracked and followed from almost anywhere. Scarlett’s head was spinning with the contradictory thoughts so she closed her eyes to keep from becoming nauseated.

If Scarlett could eliminate the threat completely then she wouldn’t have anyone to worry about and she could live her life without looking over her shoulder at every turn. It was the only option that made sense and it was the only one that was fair to Tony. It was the same conclusion that she had come to when she’d been with him in the hotel in California before she’d flown to London. Tony had ended up following her there and that was what had gotten them into that mess in the first place. Her decisions had led them down a dark path.

What other choice did Scarlett have? Their lives would be at risk either way but at least by taking this chance it could offer them the opportunity to eventually have a life without MedCo breathing down the back of her neck. Then there would only be S.H.I.E.L.D. to deal with and she guessed that they would be a much simpler fix and far less threatening to their livelihood.

She was lucky that Tony had forgiven her for the many betrayals committed made even if her intentions had been good. Would he forgive her again if she left at that moment? Maybe she didn’t need him to forgive her. If she left this time she would have to disappear properly. Her chest stung again and she brushed her fingers over it to try and relieve the pain coughing had left in it. Fingers brushed over the scar left behind by the arc reactor days ago when she’d last had the chance to share her bed with Tony in Italy.

Italy was supposed to be a place of romance and excitement and instead it had been a place of torment and illness. Would that be the life that she was dooming Tony to if she stayed? If ever there was a time for therapy it was then and there. Scarlett wondered if finding the psychiatric floor of the hospital would be in her best interest.

Sitting up she decided to at least go for a walk to mull over her options. Tony had said a few things to her in the past about this exact situation before and it had resonated with her. He would follow her anywhere and he wanted to help her. She couldn’t walk out on him, not again. To be perfectly honest Scarlett was too tired to keep running from monsters the way she had been. Neglecting her health, forgetting to sleep, suffering through vicious nightmares every time she closed her eyes; it was no way to live.

MedCo had done horrible things and many of them had been designed either by or because of Scarlett. Could she really ignore that and live without it eating at her conscience? Every morning she would wake up and know that somewhere in the world there were people dying because of her. She’d have to worry every night when she went to sleep that she could wake up and find Tony in danger or worse. Pressing her hands to her temples, Scarlett made a mad attempt to clear her throat once more. The cling seemed to get worse the more she thought about her predicament. On top of that everything her head was hurting but she guessed that was likely caused by stress.

The only other option Scarlett could come up with was to take the offer that Nick Fury had made her earlier in the day. But could she really be at the mercy of yet another omnipotent company? Her stomach churned and lurched at the very idea of it[a name="here"][/a]. She could’ve thrown up then and there. It was as though someone was taking all the rotten things that had happened in the last month and shoving them down her throat to make her gag. Either decision she ended up making Scarlett knew she would end up facing some kind of demon she just had to decide which demon would be worse: breaking Tony’s heart or putting them both in danger.

Scarlett stumbled toward the door, desperately needing fresh air. She was sure that they wouldn’t let her leave the hospital quite yet, or at least they wouldn’t recommend it, but all she needed was a walk around the block to hopefully ease the insanity that was compounding inside her mind. If she didn’t go outside soon then she was pretty sure she was going to vomit and have a fit. It wouldn’t be pretty.

But as she opened the door she found someone standing behind it with his hand raised to knock. Scarlett instantly reached for where she would’ve usually kept her gun on the holster underneath her arm but found it absent. Panic compounded when she realized just how defenseless she was. The man looked familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly why he did. Whoever he was, he’d realized he’d scared her and smiled apologetically. Scarlett would’ve loosened up if she hadn’t already been in complete and total panic mode before the dark skinned man with pretty brown eyes had scared the living hell out of her.

“Sorry ma’am, did I surprise you?” He still sounded apologetic so Scarlett shook her head no and kept the three thousand curse words on the tip of her tongue to herself. She was running out of nerves to be shot and if people kept jumping at her outside of her hospital room then she was likely going to rip someone’s head off and in the most literal of senses. There had been one too many horror movie moments for her in the last week. She couldn’t be blamed by the panic that welled inside of her.

“No, just jumpy.” Scarlett took a step back into the hospital room and sat down again on the edge of the bed. It was obvious that whoever this was had every intention of coming to speak with her so she once again refused to waste her energy standing. As she sat she found her leg twitching uncomfortably and had to tap her foot against the floor to keep it from being obvious. Her eyes darted to the window and her chest seemed to tighten further at the idea that maybe she wouldn’t get outside before full blown panic set in. Scarlett tried to talk herself down mentally but it wasn’t exactly working. Panic attacks were not her forte as she had displayed on several previous occasions. Tony had been the only person to successfully talk her down from one and even that hadn’t gone very well.

Tony wasn’t here to help. Tony was in another room somewhere recovering because of something she had done. She’d ruined Scott and had nearly gotten Tony killed. Scarlett was pretty sure she could be the worst girlfriend in history. The voice in the back of her head scolded her for having a mental pity party but another fought back saying that it wasn’t pity if it was what had actually happened.

“Scarlett? I’m Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes… but everyone calls me Rhodes. Tony calls me Rhodey and I don’t know if he’s mentioned me before,” the man finally spoke when he realized that Scarlett wasn’t planning on introducing herself or saying anything at all.

“Ah yes, the WarMachine.” Scarlett found her voice but it sounded weak and confused even to her own ears. Wincing visibly she wiped a hand over her face and hoped that she could somehow manage to save this conversation. “He’s mentioned you in passing but to be fair we haven’t really talked much recently.”

“Understandable. From what I’ve heard you’ve been pretty busy since you met.” Scarlett could tell by the way the handsome man looked at her that he was judging her and she was sure it wasn’t in a good way. This man was supposedly Tony’s best friend and it was very likely that he was going to be overprotective of his friend. All the sass and confidence that Scarlett usually oozed with seemed to fade completely as she was faced with someone so important to Tony. Maybe she’d used it all up on Nick Fury when he’d come to give her a visit.

“So this is the girl, huh?” Rhodey offered up a smile and placed a nervous hand on the back of his neck. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Scarlett shrugged her shoulders and smiled a little bit. When would Tony have had time to tell this man much about her? Her paranoia kicked in again and she wondered if maybe this was another ruse perpetrated to fool her into a false sense of security. Scarlett had to kick herself mentally to get back into gear. Between the panic and the paranoia she was becoming into a lunatic.

Even MedCo wasn’t bold enough to infiltrate a hospital with heavy S.H.I.E.L.D. presence. After a few minutes spent awkwardly staring at each other Rhodes shook his head and his smile faded completely.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” He looked disheartened and there was a tone of disappointment in his voice that made Scarlett flinch. She didn’t respond but her eyes betrayed her immediately. When the hell did that start happening with anyone besides Tony? She really had to get her conscience in check and quickly or she was going to open herself up to a world of hurt that she wasn’t ready for. “You’re not even going to say goodbye to Tony, are you?”

“If I don’t say goodbye then it won’t hurt, will it?” Scarlett knew that wasn’t the truth but the words were spilling past her lips before she’d considered them. There was a burning sensation behind her eyes but that she knew she could hide. It wouldn’t hurt any less to avoid goodbye because she knew what Tony would be like when he found out she was gone. But she hadn’t really decided to leave, not yet. While she was sure that was the inevitability of her situation, she was hoping to find a better solution to her problems. Therapy really seemed like a good place to start but even thinking about it made her feel ridiculous.

“What about Tony?” Rhodey immediately countered though he could see that this was somehow painful to her too. It comforted him to know that Scarlett was at least torn about her decision.

“Don’t you think that I’ve caused him more than enough grief in the last few months?” Scarlett wasn’t sure why she was speaking so honestly to Rhodes when she couldn’t be honest with herself half the time. He was practically a stranger to her and yet there she was telling him exactly what was on her mind. These were some of the deepest most painful fears she’d yet had to face in her relationship with Tony, as short lived as it was, but her brain seemed no longer to be a part of the conversation. Rhodey had either picked a really good time to approach Scarlett or a really bad one.

She wasn’t sure which it was yet.

“Bullshit,” Rhodey grimaced and Scarlett’s brow furrowed in surprised and upset at his response. “You are just as stubborn as he is, I swear. I never thought I’d meet anyone who could compare.”

“I…” Scarlett began but there were no words left to say. Was he insulting her? Was he complimenting her? What was it with these people coming into her room and speaking in riddles? Had the last month not been confusing enough for her? Apparently not.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is for Tony to open up like this? Like he has with you?” Rhodey walked over to the hospital bed and sat next to her. He was nothing like Nick Fury. There was something very kind and caring about Rhodey and Scarlett could see why Tony had taken a shining to him in the first place. This man barely knew her and he was telling her exactly what he thought of her and what she was up to without any fear of her response. If anyone needed someone like that in their life it was Tony Stark. Scarlett merely shook her head no. She couldn’t exactly picture anything really being hard for Tony. She could even hear an inappropriate joke about it in her head in Tony’s voice.

“He hides his fears and insecurities underneath a mask of sarcasm and sex but you of all people should realize how hard it is for him to be honest about anything. Or serious about anything for that matter. Hell, I can’t talk to him about anything without it becoming a joke.” Rhodey continued, one corner of his mouth pulling into a smile while he described his friend. “He’s pining for you and you’re going to leave without saying goodbye?”

“He’s not pining for me, Tony doesn’t pine. You don’t know that’s what he’s doing.” Scarlett finally found her voice. Talking to Rhodey offered her mind and her heart some calm. At least she could focus on one problem instead of the three thousand she found herself at battle with.

“I do know.”

“Come on, Rhodes.” Scarlett immediately objected, but then covered her mouth to cough. For an illness that was getting better it seemed to be getting exponentially more disgusting considering the amount of phlegm she’d dealt with in the last hour.

“Every time that I’ve talked to Tony since he met you he has spoke of you and only of you. Even when I prompt him to talk about other things it all comes back to you. He even talks about how desperately he wants to do right by you. I can’t pretend I know what you’re going through or that I know anything about you outside of what I read in your file.” Scarlett cringed when she realized what he knew about her thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D. What was in the file may not have been her full history but it wasn’t pretty either. “But you have to understand what a big leap that is for him.”

“I don’t want to hurt him anymore.” Scarlett shook her head, that burning feeling behind her eyes coming back. “I don’t know what else to do besides leave. He keeps following me around like a lost puppy. How am I supposed to even begin sorting out this mess?” Hanging her head, Scarlett ran her fingers through her hair to keep it from obstructing her vision.

“I can’t answer that but talking to him is probably a good idea. At least say goodbye. He was heartbroken when he woke up without you in California. He may not act like it but Tony can be a real softy sometimes. There’s a good reason he was never in a long term relationship, you know.” Scarlett scoffed and coughed to stifle the half-hearted chuckle at the end of it.

“Fine.” Scarlett shrugged her shoulders. What else could she possibly do besides listen to him? Besides, Scarlett wanted to see Tony. She realized in that moment that she was desperately searching for reasons not to leave. If Tony was awake and asked her to stay then it was likely she would fold like a cheap suit and damn the consequences.

“Thank you.” Rhodey sighed with relief, having been holding his breath while the lovely woman contemplated her response. Even though she was exhausted and seemed to have been through the ringer, Rhodey could see why Tony had fallen for her so quickly. While she wasn’t his type, he could definitely picture his friend with her and getting into trouble at every step of the way. Even when he’d tried to talk Tony out of putting his life on the line for the woman with a lengthy sordid history, he’d had the feeling that something about this relationship was different. Rhodey had never liked any of Tony’s girlfriends in the past with the exception of Pepper, but even that relationship had never felt right.

This one he knew was right, but it was clear to him that Scarlett wasn’t as sure of it as he was and that was the only thing that worried him. But after the past week of dealing with Tony and the fallout of this woman’s last relationship, Rhodey felt a sense of responsibility to the both of them to make sure they didn’t do anything too stupid that would screw up the brief glimpse of happiness they’d experienced together. If there was one thing he wanted for his friend, it was for him to experience happiness. Rhodey got up from his spot on the hospital bed next to her and started toward the door.

“It’s nice to finally put a face to the name, Scarlett.” Rhodes smiled kindly at her when silence lasted too long once more. Scarlett wondered how on earth Tony had become friends with this man. She’d have to pry later to find out. Of course, she was aware that the two had met at MIT, but the how and why were still a mystery to her.

“The same goes for you Rhodes.” Scarlett nodded politely. The grip on her chest had lessened and though her heart was still racing the urge to run outside and scream at the top of her lungs had subsided. He started out the door but stopped, holding it open as he turned once again to look at her.

“If you need anything then you give me a call. I could be a very valuable ally if need be.” Rhodes offered a mischievous glance and started out the door when she didn’t respond. Scarlett scrambled to her feet and followed after him, holding the door open as she peered into the hallway.

“Wait, Rhodes… Why would you do that for me?” To say she was confused was an understatement.

“Whether you like it or not, no matter how much you resist? You’re family now.” Without another word Rhodey walked down the hall and out of sight. Scarlett leaned against the frame of the doorway and closed her eyes. What was she going to do now? Could she really leave after having that talk with Rhodey? She didn’t think she could have in the first place. It would’ve been one of the worst decisions she’d ever made in her life, she was sure. Though she thought that most of her options seemed pretty dreadful, so no matter what she chose was likely a bad decision.

A heavy sigh on her lips, Scarlett walked back into her room and gathered the few things that she’d been left with. It took only a few minutes to find where Tony was being left to recover. That afternoon he’d been relocated to a room upstairs. Pepper had apparently been calling to try and get him upgraded to a nicer room so that he wouldn’t complain when he woke up, but it was a hospital and things didn’t work like that unless they were royalty. Tony Stark didn’t have much pull when he was mostly unconscious.

On the floor above, Scarlett was guided to his room by a pair of friendly nurses who tried to chat her up on what she knew about the billionaire. After prying herself away from the gossiping ladies she pushed the door open carefully into Tony’s room. He looked exhausted but peaceful. Carefully and quietly she pulled at his blankets and tugged at his clothing to search for signs of obvious wounds. There were multiple bruises but it looked like there hadn’t been any serious damage done.

After she’d finished with her check and shooed off the nurses who came in to “check” on Tony, Scarlett sat on a chair near his bed and swallowed the lump in her throat. Leaning her head on the side of his hospital bed she resigned to watching him sleeping for a few minutes before she worked up to what she had planned to do. Was she really going to say goodbye? Could she even form the words on her lips?

It had been much easier when she’d done it a month ago but life had seemingly changed so much. It felt like years had passed since she’d first woken up in his work room in Malibu, hating his guts and plotting to ruin every part of his life. By the end of that same day she’d realized she’d had some kind of tug toward him and had immediately honed in on self doubt.

Now here she was in a hospital room, torn between what she wanted to do and what she knew she should do. Why couldn’t she just do what she wanted? In some sick way maybe she was punishing herself for the misdeeds of her past by denying what she wanted most. In her head she constantly told herself that she was protecting Tony but who was she really protecting?

Wiping the moisture away from her cheeks that she hadn’t realized had escaped, Scarlett sat up and leaned to kiss Tony’s forehead. Even if she wasn’t going after MedCo she needed to get cleaned up. The last thing she needed was for Tony to wake up and find her a teary eyed mess. There were many things Scarlett was good at and crying in front of other people, or crying in general wasn’t one of those things. Sure, everyone cried, and those who claimed they didn’t were liars. But it didn’t mean that Scarlett was comfortable with the display of emotion.

“I’m so lost, Tony,” Scarlett whispered, staying close to his forehead where she’d kissed and shaking her head. He couldn’t hear her so what was the harm of getting some of the tension off of her chest? “I don’t know what to do. Either way I feel like I’m ruining you. It sounds stupid but every scenario I play out in my head ends up with you dead or miserable.” No one responded. The only other sound in the room was the monitor recording Tony’s vitals and the air conditioner clicking off after the room had reached temperature. “I’m so sorry, Tony.”

Scarlett sat back down in her chair and placed her hand to her lips and stared again for a long time. Tony didn’t seem to hear her. The things she’d left unspoken the first time she’d left or had tried to express in writing were lingering in the air for no one to hear or to understand.

“I love you… and maybe that’s why I keep thinking the best thing for me to do is to set you free. Whatever life we end up having is going to be unbelievably hard. So maybe that’s why I keep trying to run away.” Scarlett got up and wiped her eyes again. With a final sniffle she dried up her tears and threw Tony another glance. She had to go get some fresh air. There was an old nagging voice in her head telling her to go get a drink. It was the same annoying voice that had driven her to drink in Malibu and had gotten her arrested.

Today she wouldn’t be giving into it.

Scarlett got up from where she sat and walked toward the door. As she went to pull it open she heard Tony shift in the bed behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that he still had his eyes closed but his hand was lying off the side of the bed, palm up and open as if waiting to be held.

“Don’t go,” He muttered without opening his eyes. His voice was haggard and exhausted. The usually perfectly manicured goatee looked strange and bushy from days spent without being able to shave. It was oddly cute and endearing on him. “Stay with me…” He clenched and unclenched his fist as if to ask her to come and take his hand without actually saying the words. Scarlett immediately melted. “At least until I get better.” He reasoned and she could see the faintest hint of that mischievous smile she had grown to love over the last two months. Scarlett nodded her head to let him know that she would stay but realized he wasn’t looking at her and couldn’t see her response.

“Okay.” Her voice sounded strange and quiet too, broken in a way. It wasn’t only because he had asked her to stay that had kept her with him, but that she wanted to stay. The panicked thoughts that had raced through her mind only an hour beforehand seemed to vanish completely. She was sure they weren’t gone for good, but for now they didn’t matter and she would deal with them when they recurred.

Whatever lay ahead for them would be something they dealt with when it happened. There was no way that Scarlett could guess what MedCo would do if they did anything at all. For all she knew Scott had become a liability and had been exterminated by Marcia and wouldn’t be coming after her again. It was a slim to nothing chance that this was the truth, but it was as equal a possibility as anything else she’d imagined could happen.

Right now she wanted, and needed, to take care of Tony. When they were both well she would take every precaution possible to keep them safe even if it meant making a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. though she very much wanted to avoid that if possible. Slowly she walked back to his bed and took his hand. He rubbed his thumb over the back of hers and gave it a squeeze. She returned the gesture and went to sit down next to him in the chair she’d left only moments ago.

“I don’t think I really could’ve left anyway. You look too pathetic,” She taunted. Had he heard everything she’d confessed while she thought he’d slept? Had he heard her cry? This was her pathetic attempt to save face. Tony smiled a little but kept his eyes closed. Tugging on her hand he pulled her closer, keeping her from taking her seat. Slowly he shifted, grunting as he did out of pain and exhaustion but leaving a distinct spot that he desired Scarlett to fit into.

Shaking her head she pulled her hand away from his, or at least tried to. His grip wouldn’t relent so she contorted herself to be standing properly before climbing into the bed with him. Finally he let go of her hand as her head rested on his shoulder.

“Is this hurting you?”

“You couldn’t hurt me if you tried, Scarlett.” Tony responded, that same snide tone he always had even on his sleepy voice. Rolling her eyes Scarlett kept her head on his shoulder. Slowly he picked up her hand and placed it over the arc reactor in his chest. Something about her touch on it comforted him. He’d never thought the thing keeping him alive would provide him with comfort, but somehow it did when she touched it. It was a silly little thing he’d likely never admit out loud outside of pillow talk, but it still meant something.

Eventually Scarlett fell asleep but only for a little while. When she woke up she found that Tony had returned to his unconscious state. Afterward she went to speak to the gossipy nurses and managed to get a meeting with his doctor to talk about how he was holding up and recovery time. She knew that Tony wouldn’t want to be in a hospital if he could help it and if there was nothing physically wrong with him outside of exhaustion there was no need for him to stay there. She wanted him to be comfortable, he deserved that.

The doctor confirmed that he would be just fine to move as long as she had the ability to care for him. So as soon as she got the chance she contacted Rhodey. He had, after all, told her that if she needed anything to give him a call. Tony’s phone and hers had been destroyed during the battle against MedCo so instead she had no choice other than to contact Rhodes. From there she’d contacted Pepper and was able to update her on the situation.

The two had butt heads before Scarlett had left the Malibu house and she was sure that Pepper still didn’t trust her but Scarlett didn’t much care if she did or not. Eventually she would repair the bond with Pepper that she’d had when they’d first met and ganged up on Tony but for now all she needed was the woman’s help.

The truth was that Scarlett didn’t really know many of Tony’s preferences since they hadn’t gotten to spend much time together outside of running for their lives or battling MedCo. So with some help from Pepper and a little more help from Rhodey with transportation Scarlett managed to book a suite in a hotel in Moscow under an assumed name. Tony had been conscious enough to move but not enough to get much done. The doctors warned her that he would likely be out for another week and Scarlett was perfectly fine with that.

As long as she got to watch over him that would be okay. Pepper offered to wire funds to take care of the hotel but Scarlett had told her not to worry about it and had paid for the hotel herself. After all that Tony had done for her, she didn’t want him to spend a single penny more. Pepper had also offered to come out there and help get their affairs in order but Scarlett had refused the help and told Pepper to relax and go do something to calm her nerves. Eventually she’d had to talk to the driver, Happy, and convince him to force Pepper to do something to get her mind off the situation halfway around the world. Apparently Tony had left California without as much of a word of explanation to Pepper and every time she had tried to figure out what was going on with Scarlett Tony had skirted the question or asked her for favors instead.

Scarlett properly explained what had transpired and dealt with Pepper checking up on them multiple times during the day. There were even times where Scarlett had given Pepper some input on the business that Pepper was temporarily providing a front for since Tony was out of commission while he was unconscious.

The days spent in the hotel taking care of Tony were some of the least tumultuous of Scarlett’s life. While her mind had been crippled by doubt and frustration in the hospital and during her time chasing after MedCo none of that seemed to matter while she played nurse to the man who had gone out of his way to take care of her and try to save her when she had never asked him to do so in the first place. It was peaceful to know that she was, for once, doing something right.

For awhile there it seemed like she couldn’t do anything right. Her instincts had fought her intentions every step of the way.

Scarlett had daily visits back to the doctor that had treated her at the hospital for her pneumonia. It would clear up with time and heavy antibiotics. The second trip she’d taken on the third day had been when her coughing had gotten worse and she’d contracted a fever. Unfortunately she’d needed a stronger antibiotic. She’d let the pneumonia fester for so long in her lungs that it had become a rather severe case. This antibiotic left Scarlett feeling more exhausted than before.

Everyday of the week after that Scarlett spent a few minutes caring for Tony, making sure she had enough to eat, then collapsed in bed next to him and fell asleep. The antibiotic made her stomach sick and left her feeling weak and worn out.

They were quiet a pair. Staying in one of the nicest hotel rooms in the Moscow resort but not actually doing anything to enjoy it. It would take the rest of the week for them to recover even enough to function like regular sick people would. Despite it all and the condition of their health, they were happier than they had been in at least a month. Neither one worried about who would be there the next morning or what explosion would be going off in the background.

Scarlett had the distinct feeling that there was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent keeping an eye on them in that same hotel and while that would’ve usually bothered her at this particular time it didn’t. If they wanted to keep MedCo away for the time being then she was going to take it and run with it.

Tony deserved the break. She deserved the break.

Finally after two long months of doubt, stress, and confusion, Tony Stark and Scarlett Damien found rest.

Together.