(no subject)
[after this]
"Mr. Stark, are you awake?"
Tony wants to laugh at the question, but he doesn't. He just keeps his eyes closed, laying perfectly still, but he betrays his own attempts at pretending to be asleep by talking after a moment. "Still can't call me just Tony, huh?"
"Not quite yet, no."
He opens his eyes then, but he's greeted with almost complete darkness. A dimly lit light bulb is hanging from a corner of the cave, and it's barely enough for him to be able to see Yinsen as he walks closer to him and sits on the cot next to his. Tony's about to say something, ask him what time it is, but a cough stops him from doing so. It feels strong enough to dislocate every bone in his chest, and for a second he can't bring himself to talk again just yet, but the sudden realization that it's so damn hot makes him frown. "What, did they turn up the heat in here? I didn't even think they could do that."
Yinsen doesn't answer. He doesn't even move. He just sits there on the cot next to Tony's, watching him through the almost-darkness. Tony rubs his eyes, almost in an attempt to get them more used to the darkness so he wouldn't feel almost blind, and he just sighs under his breath. "What, the silent treatment? I thought you were over that."
"What would you like me to say, Anthony?"
The question makes him freeze. Or, well, not really the question - it's the voice. Hadn't he just been talking to Yinsen? For a moment he doesn't move, just leaves his hands covering his eyes as he braces himself for something he doesn't quite understand.
"I asked you a question," Howard repeats almost casually, but to Tony it sounds foreign. Of course it's foreign. It's his father. In the cave? No, he had been talking to Yinsen. But how come he can almost hear Howard's voice still echoing in the cave?
"Dad?"
Silence.
"Dad?" He opens his eyes then, but there's no one next to him. No Yinsen. No Howard. Tony sits up then, frowning into the darkness as he tries to figure out what the hell is going on, but a hand on his shoulder stops him. There's a small squeeze, that reassuring gesture that he had known ever since he was just a little boy.
It makes him freeze the second he recognizes it.
"I think you had a nightmare," Obadiah says from behind him, but Tony still doesn't move. Obie's hand remains on his shoulder, and even if it feels like it's some sort of flame that will burn his arm off, he just sits there. "Are you all right, Tony?"
Tony bolts from the cot then. The heat that he had felt on his shoulder seems to expand throughout his body like wildfire, and he can't take it anymore; he just needs to get away from Obadiah. Get away like he couldn't that night, because suddenly he can hear a high pitch that he recognizes. One that renders him immobile and makes him stumble on some loose gravel, some tools that had been left behind on the ground.
"Mister Stark, you need to be more careful. Are you all right?"
There's a shadow moving towards him. He'd be worried, but he knows that voice. He knows that man even through the darkness. "Jarvis, what... You shouldn't be here."
"You shouldn't either, Sir."
The voice that echoes in the cave is no longer his butler's. It's mechanical, and even if it's still familiar, it's so foreign that Tony flinches away. When he opens his eyes there's some rays of sunlight streaming in through cracked openings in the torn down building he's in, and after being so used to the darkness he just flinches again from how his eyes can't quite stand the light.
Yinsen. Howard. Obadiah. Jarvis. They all dance in and out of his thoughts so quickly, all of their voices still echoing in his head, that it makes him more disorientated than just finding himself in an abandoned, almost destroyed building.
"Jarvis," he says quietly, his throat so dry that it's a wonder he can even speak. Still, he wants someone to answer him. Yinsen. Dad. Obie. Jarvis. Someone. Anyone.
Jarvis, the mechanical version of him, should be answering him. He should be talking, shouldn't he?
"Jarvis," he manages louder, a sudden wave of anger since he's not answering bursting through him that makes it easier for him to talk. It even makes it easier to sit up, even if doing so with the powered down suit it feels like a major accomplishment. One that leaves him more winded than he had expected. "JARVIS."
There's a faint whirring sound as the suit tries to power up again, one more attempt at restarting the system, but it quickly dies down as the failed circuitry just can't manage it. When it's obvious that no matter how long he waits it just won't start up, Tony sits up and props himself up against the wall the best he can before trying to undo the latches that will release him from his current metal prison. His hands feel clammy and shaky, and some movements he just can't quite manage, but when the faceplate is finally removed he just throws it the best he can across the room.
God, he feels nauseous. It's too hot, but he feels like he's shivering, and he just closes his eyes to focus on something else. Calm down. He needs to calm down to be able to remove the rest of his suit. He has to take it off to figure out what the hell has happened. Maybe he can fix it. Of course he can fix it; he had built a mini arc reactor in a cave, hadn't he?
He'll fix it. He can fix it.
There are other voices he wants to hear - other voices he needs to hear. Those he needs to get back to. There's a whole list now, isn't there?
At least now there's no cave. There had been gunfire and explosions - he remembers that much - but right now he wasn't being threatened with them. And, as claustrophobic as he's starting to feel while trapped in the broken suit, he's not trapped in a cave.
He's just trapped in the destroyed building he had taken refuge in. He doesn't even know where he is - he doesn't even fully remember what had happened. How had he gotten here. It's suddenly so hilarious, that he he just starts laughing no matter how much it hurts to do so. His chest feels as if it's going to explode as each laugh gets harder and louder, but he doesn't care. He laughs until he doubles over, and his eyes sting.
At least it's better than absolute silence, he thinks as he closes his eyes. He can't stand the silence. He can't stand the stillness.
"Tony?"
Yinsen. Howard. Obie. Jarvis. They all seem to echo in the room, and Tony just takes solace in that for now.
For at least a moment, at least until he can move again, he'll just pretend it's enough.
"Mr. Stark, are you awake?"
Tony wants to laugh at the question, but he doesn't. He just keeps his eyes closed, laying perfectly still, but he betrays his own attempts at pretending to be asleep by talking after a moment. "Still can't call me just Tony, huh?"
"Not quite yet, no."
He opens his eyes then, but he's greeted with almost complete darkness. A dimly lit light bulb is hanging from a corner of the cave, and it's barely enough for him to be able to see Yinsen as he walks closer to him and sits on the cot next to his. Tony's about to say something, ask him what time it is, but a cough stops him from doing so. It feels strong enough to dislocate every bone in his chest, and for a second he can't bring himself to talk again just yet, but the sudden realization that it's so damn hot makes him frown. "What, did they turn up the heat in here? I didn't even think they could do that."
Yinsen doesn't answer. He doesn't even move. He just sits there on the cot next to Tony's, watching him through the almost-darkness. Tony rubs his eyes, almost in an attempt to get them more used to the darkness so he wouldn't feel almost blind, and he just sighs under his breath. "What, the silent treatment? I thought you were over that."
"What would you like me to say, Anthony?"
The question makes him freeze. Or, well, not really the question - it's the voice. Hadn't he just been talking to Yinsen? For a moment he doesn't move, just leaves his hands covering his eyes as he braces himself for something he doesn't quite understand.
"I asked you a question," Howard repeats almost casually, but to Tony it sounds foreign. Of course it's foreign. It's his father. In the cave? No, he had been talking to Yinsen. But how come he can almost hear Howard's voice still echoing in the cave?
"Dad?"
Silence.
"Dad?" He opens his eyes then, but there's no one next to him. No Yinsen. No Howard. Tony sits up then, frowning into the darkness as he tries to figure out what the hell is going on, but a hand on his shoulder stops him. There's a small squeeze, that reassuring gesture that he had known ever since he was just a little boy.
It makes him freeze the second he recognizes it.
"I think you had a nightmare," Obadiah says from behind him, but Tony still doesn't move. Obie's hand remains on his shoulder, and even if it feels like it's some sort of flame that will burn his arm off, he just sits there. "Are you all right, Tony?"
Tony bolts from the cot then. The heat that he had felt on his shoulder seems to expand throughout his body like wildfire, and he can't take it anymore; he just needs to get away from Obadiah. Get away like he couldn't that night, because suddenly he can hear a high pitch that he recognizes. One that renders him immobile and makes him stumble on some loose gravel, some tools that had been left behind on the ground.
"Mister Stark, you need to be more careful. Are you all right?"
There's a shadow moving towards him. He'd be worried, but he knows that voice. He knows that man even through the darkness. "Jarvis, what... You shouldn't be here."
"You shouldn't either, Sir."
The voice that echoes in the cave is no longer his butler's. It's mechanical, and even if it's still familiar, it's so foreign that Tony flinches away. When he opens his eyes there's some rays of sunlight streaming in through cracked openings in the torn down building he's in, and after being so used to the darkness he just flinches again from how his eyes can't quite stand the light.
Yinsen. Howard. Obadiah. Jarvis. They all dance in and out of his thoughts so quickly, all of their voices still echoing in his head, that it makes him more disorientated than just finding himself in an abandoned, almost destroyed building.
"Jarvis," he says quietly, his throat so dry that it's a wonder he can even speak. Still, he wants someone to answer him. Yinsen. Dad. Obie. Jarvis. Someone. Anyone.
Jarvis, the mechanical version of him, should be answering him. He should be talking, shouldn't he?
"Jarvis," he manages louder, a sudden wave of anger since he's not answering bursting through him that makes it easier for him to talk. It even makes it easier to sit up, even if doing so with the powered down suit it feels like a major accomplishment. One that leaves him more winded than he had expected. "JARVIS."
There's a faint whirring sound as the suit tries to power up again, one more attempt at restarting the system, but it quickly dies down as the failed circuitry just can't manage it. When it's obvious that no matter how long he waits it just won't start up, Tony sits up and props himself up against the wall the best he can before trying to undo the latches that will release him from his current metal prison. His hands feel clammy and shaky, and some movements he just can't quite manage, but when the faceplate is finally removed he just throws it the best he can across the room.
God, he feels nauseous. It's too hot, but he feels like he's shivering, and he just closes his eyes to focus on something else. Calm down. He needs to calm down to be able to remove the rest of his suit. He has to take it off to figure out what the hell has happened. Maybe he can fix it. Of course he can fix it; he had built a mini arc reactor in a cave, hadn't he?
He'll fix it. He can fix it.
There are other voices he wants to hear - other voices he needs to hear. Those he needs to get back to. There's a whole list now, isn't there?
At least now there's no cave. There had been gunfire and explosions - he remembers that much - but right now he wasn't being threatened with them. And, as claustrophobic as he's starting to feel while trapped in the broken suit, he's not trapped in a cave.
He's just trapped in the destroyed building he had taken refuge in. He doesn't even know where he is - he doesn't even fully remember what had happened. How had he gotten here. It's suddenly so hilarious, that he he just starts laughing no matter how much it hurts to do so. His chest feels as if it's going to explode as each laugh gets harder and louder, but he doesn't care. He laughs until he doubles over, and his eyes sting.
At least it's better than absolute silence, he thinks as he closes his eyes. He can't stand the silence. He can't stand the stillness.
"Tony?"
Yinsen. Howard. Obie. Jarvis. They all seem to echo in the room, and Tony just takes solace in that for now.
For at least a moment, at least until he can move again, he'll just pretend it's enough.