Fic: Broken Bones or a Broken Heart?
Title: Broken Bones or a Broken Heart?
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark & Pepper Potts.
Rating: PG
Summary: A Tony high on pain meds leads to confessions of the heart.
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognise belong to Marvel, I’m simply playing with them.
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. The genre was angst and my prompt is chemistry.
Date Written: 30.01.2012
~*~
“We have chemistry, you know?” Tony says waving his arms in the air, “I know I sound like a fourteen year old girl saying it but it’s true.” Tony sighs, “I get the funny feelings in my stomach too.”
“I would say you should be drugged up on painkillers more often,” Pepper says from her seat at Tony’s bed side, she grimaces as she looks over Tony’s injuries, “but I hate seeing you like this.” He’d been badly hurt on the latest Avengers mission. The suit had done a good job of protecting him but he still had a broken leg, some cracked ribs and a concussion. There had also been the awful moment when the arc reactor became loose in his chest and his heart stopped for a few moments.
Pepper had been called and she’d met Tony in the hospital. He’d been airlifted out of there on Coulson’s orders (apparently Tony had been insisting he was fine, whilst being unable to fly in a straight line). The rest of the team were still out fighting whatever invading alien race was causing havoc in downtown Manhattan this time.
“I’ve never felt this way before,” Tony turns to look at Pepper, his eyes hazy from the painkillers, “Not even about you and I thought we were perfect. I’m sorry Pep.” Tony reaches for her hand and she takes it gently.
“It’s OK Tony.”
“No it’s not! I hurt you. I always hurt people, especially the ones I care about.” Tony leans across to push the hair from Pepper’s face. He winces at the strain on his ribs and collapses back onto the bed. “I’ve hurt you. I’ve hurt Rhodey. And if Dummy and JARVIS had the capacity to feel I would have hurt them too!”
Tony’s eyes are wet as if he’s trying to hold back tears, “I may have the teenage-girl-chemistry-thing with Steve but I won’t do anything about it.”
“Tony, you deserve to be happy,” Pepper squeezes his hand.
“No I don’t, I will hurt Steve and that will be the end of it, end of the team. Fury will rip me a new one and Coulson will taze me.”
Pepper hides a small smile at the thought of Coulson getting the chance to use his taser on Tony. She gently strokes Tony’s knuckles, trying hard not to look too closely at the grazes and the bruises that were starting to appear on his skin.
Tony stays silent for a so long Pepper thinks he’s fallen asleep, “I don’t know what I’d do if he hated me.” Tony says, so quietly that Pepper barely hears him. Then louder, “Can I have more pain meds?”
Pepper smiles at him softly, “Sure.” She presses the button for the nurse and as she waits, Tony begins to fall asleep. Pepper leans over him, presses a soft kiss on his forehead and whispers in his ear, “Steve feels the same way about you Tony. Don’t be too scared to try.”
Tony mutters something in his sleep and Pepper sits there by his side, just as she’s always done.