FIC preview: Avengers
So. I'm stuck on Redemption Songs. And this came to be.
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, Tony Stark awoke in a cave with a car battery strapped to his chest.
Tony’s instincts had usually proved to be right. In the past, Tony had ignored them. He had let his mother leave with his father and had never saw either of them alive again; he had come to Afghanistan to show off the Jericho even though his heart had nearly beat out of his chest on the plane ride over; he had confided in Obie of his fears of dying alone, of his own weapons being used against him though something in him rebelled at the idea of sharing something so personal with someone he was meant to trust, and look how that had turned out? Tony, alone in a cave, his chest blown apart by one of his own missiles, about to die. Who else, but Obie, would have had the power to sell weapons under the table? Double dealing and wheeling, it had always been Obie’s speciality. Tony built. Obie sold.
So when his instincts told him not to trust Yinsen with his suit, this time Tony listened. And it was this fact that saved his life.
...
And Tony made himself walk, until he couldn’t anymore, and then he crawled, arms out, and fingers clawing uselessly at the sand that slipped between them, until the sound of rotors turning made Tony raise his hands to the sky. One last burst of energy had him jumping to his feet, just as soldiers ran towards him. Rhodey was in the front, one of Tony’s only friends, the number of which Tony could count on one hand, and the man pulled Tony against his chest and sobbed softly into his hair. Tony’s arms slipped around the man’s waist, body leaning onto the others’ because his own lacked the strength to stay upright unaided, but his eyes remained dry and his face expressionless, returning none of Rhodey’s relieved smiles. It was as he climbed into the helicopter, Rhodey patting him frantically on the back, that he glanced around at the men and women armed with Stark weapons, and he wondered, where the fuck were you when I needed you?
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, Tony Stark awoke in a cave with a car battery strapped to his chest.
Tony’s instincts had usually proved to be right. In the past, Tony had ignored them. He had let his mother leave with his father and had never saw either of them alive again; he had come to Afghanistan to show off the Jericho even though his heart had nearly beat out of his chest on the plane ride over; he had confided in Obie of his fears of dying alone, of his own weapons being used against him though something in him rebelled at the idea of sharing something so personal with someone he was meant to trust, and look how that had turned out? Tony, alone in a cave, his chest blown apart by one of his own missiles, about to die. Who else, but Obie, would have had the power to sell weapons under the table? Double dealing and wheeling, it had always been Obie’s speciality. Tony built. Obie sold.
So when his instincts told him not to trust Yinsen with his suit, this time Tony listened. And it was this fact that saved his life.
...
And Tony made himself walk, until he couldn’t anymore, and then he crawled, arms out, and fingers clawing uselessly at the sand that slipped between them, until the sound of rotors turning made Tony raise his hands to the sky. One last burst of energy had him jumping to his feet, just as soldiers ran towards him. Rhodey was in the front, one of Tony’s only friends, the number of which Tony could count on one hand, and the man pulled Tony against his chest and sobbed softly into his hair. Tony’s arms slipped around the man’s waist, body leaning onto the others’ because his own lacked the strength to stay upright unaided, but his eyes remained dry and his face expressionless, returning none of Rhodey’s relieved smiles. It was as he climbed into the helicopter, Rhodey patting him frantically on the back, that he glanced around at the men and women armed with Stark weapons, and he wondered, where the fuck were you when I needed you?