Story: something life-altering changes everything – and suddenly, some decisions are really easy to make.
Author's note: Ok, people, this is going to be a huge one. I've been majorly obsessed with Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S., and more recently also with Loki for quite some time now, and needed a way to get all of it out of my system. This is going to be another 40 chapter monster, and I have no clue how it turned to be a crossover with Grey's Anatomy in later chapters... that just happened along the way. Oh, and my Bruce looks like Edward Norton… Mark Ruffalo is just so… hairy…
Disclaimer: Not mine. Unfortunately.
It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped
Chapter 1: Frozen Silence
Sometimes, it's the smallest decision that can change your life forever. (Keri Russell)
Natasha Romanoff was a practical person. Why should one discuss for hours about which solution might be the best, when you could use what you had at hand, and then see what would come next and deal with it as it came?
"I can close it. Does anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!" Holding Loki's scepter, she prepared to do what she just had proclaimed, not knowing if their intercom devices still worked, far from caring whether anyone had a problem with her ending the Chitauri invasion right now.
"No, wait!" a voice over the intercom exclaimed, calmer than each of the other fighting or portal-shutting Avengers felt in the moment.
Utter confusion radiated over the comlink, even though nobody was actually talking. Why on earth would Stark want them to wait?
"Stark, these things are still coming!" Captain America almost growled. Talking of Loki being an full-tilt diva. Stark was just the same, needing a big entrance!
Tony rolled his eyes. As if he did not know that they were still coming. He had taken down three of these whale thingies, and they still kept coming. Obviously, the other members of this Muppet show of super heroes had not seen him take off to catch the nuclear missile.
Right. Fury had called him, and not used the comlink they established to communicate.
"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute."
Tony was biting his lip, cracking a cut open again that had just stopped bleeding, calculating what could be done to avert a nuclear explosion in the center of Manhattan.
His eyes scanned the portal, damning Fury at the same time. He was the only one who could fly, he was the only one who would come up with this solution. He was the one who was self-destructive enough to actually do the only thing that made sense.
"And I know just where to put it", he said as he caught the missile.
Rogers heard a round of gasps while still trying to figure out what exactly a "nuke" was. Thor was already watching the sky where the hot-rod red and golden suit came in, carrying something on his back, a strained groan radiating over the comlink as Iron Man pushed the thing on his back upwards.
Obviously, it was a missile, and obviously, Stark was aiming for the portal now.
"Stark, you know that's a one way trip…?!"
Tony rolled his eyes again. Thank you very much for reminding him of THAT. It was an easy decision, though – either thousands of humans would die, or thousands of Chitauri. He smirked at himself.
He of all people? Iron Man was going to save the day?!
They gathered around the motionless suit, removing the mask to find the unconscious man inside who woke with a start as the Hulk screamed at him.
Restless eyes flickered open, taking in his surroundings, this was no cave, he still had all parts of his body in the right place, and obviously he had just saved the world.
Tony Stark didn't feel relieved; he did not feel overjoyed that from now on he could make jokes about having nuked outta space.
He felt like running. The motionless suit was confining him, it was pushing him down, rendering him more or less motionless just by its sheer weight, when the servos where not operating.
Three faces were still looking at him, expectantly, so he did, what he always did. Make a joke, distract people… pray that J.A.R.V.I.S. just needed a few more seconds to get the suit back online.
"What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me?!"
Thor looked confused. Steve rolled his eyes. The Hulk… smirked? Tony half-smirked back. He liked that guy.
"We won", Captain America stated, making him almost sigh with relief. Good. At least nobody had to try and take the suit apart shrew by shrew to free him in the middle of a raging battlefield, when he was not even sure if he could still stand upright without his external armor.
"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried Shawarma? There's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it." He was babbling and he knew it.
While Thor stated that they were not done yet, Tony started to panic. He could not move!
"And then Shawarma after. Gimme the HUD!"
Three blank faces watched him, and he prayed to a deity he didn't believe in that they didn't realize how his breathing became more elaborate. The abbreviation of head-up-display obviously rang no bells.
"Give me my mask! Put it back in place!" he almost yelled, once more being frowned at, but at least Thor now moved.
"Just get up, you don't need the face-cover when we confront Loki", Steve stated, and Tony decided that, indeed, the Hulk was the one of this bunch of superheroes he liked the best.
"Suit's systems are offline, I cannot even properly lift my arm", he grouched, sending the super-soldier a glare. "I need J.A.R.V.I.S. to get it back to operating."
He ignored Steve's smirk, most probably finding his conclusions concerning the tin man and his interiors confirmed.
Thor put the HUD in place before he could give the Captain a piece of his mind or burst into tears, a trail of wetness running back to his ears after he heard the mask being connected after some seconds. At least they could not see his face now, his mask slipping, exhaustion and fear taking over. At least they could not hear his trembling voice when he called out to his AI.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
Nothing.
"J, Buddy, you there?!
Still, nothing.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.?! Are you there?! Answer me, Buddy!"
Three people (okay, one super-soldier, one Demigod, and a green rage monster… isn't there a joke that starts like this?) outside the suit shared another confused and helpless look. He was loud enough to be heard now, even though they could not make out what he was saying.
The HUD flickered, taking another second to finally boot. Before he could call out to his AI another time, J.A.R.V.I.S. addressed him.
"Sir… I lost the connection to the suit… I am sorry", the polite, British voice of his co-pilot said, and this time, Tony didn't even try to hide that he was crying.
"It's okay, J, I didn't build this thing to fly into another dimension. You alright?"
J.A.R.V.I.S. hesitated for a millisecond that was long enough to be recognized.
"I am safely stored on my home server, Sir. Though, taking care of you would be a lot easier if something like that would not happen again." AI speak for Gosh, I'm glad you survived, don't do that ever again. Tony softly smiled at the answer.
"We should come up with something, huh?"
"Yes, we should. Connection has been re-established, Sir. I recommend visiting a hospital; you are mildly concussed and bleeding."
"Anything broken or life-threatening, Mom?" Tony joked, sighing as he was finally able to move again, pushing himself up into a sitting position.
"No, but Miss Potts will arrive in less than one hour, so that might change", J.A.R.V.I.S. retorted, making Tony laugh and frown at the same time.
"I missed you, J. And I actually told Pepper to move her cute tush to somewhere safe!"
"The jet has turned with designation New York and you have two missed calls from Miss Pott's cellphone. Do you wish to call back?"
Before he could answer, someone knocked on the suit.
"Hey, you ready, finally, or do we need a can-opener?"
Gritting his teeth, Tony lifted his head to look at Mr. Star-spangled-banner. Not everybody was running on some super-serum; give the regular guy in a high-tech suit a minute to catch his breath, will you?!
Getting to his feet, he looked at the Demigod and the green monster. Straightening his form he turned to Steve again.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., do a check on the control surfaces."
"Sir, the suit is ready to go, there is no need..."
"Just do it, J", Tony said softly. "Humor me, huh?"
"As you wish, Sir", the AI answered, and instantly started to move every mobile part of the suit in a sequence from his feet to his shoulders, which was rather impressive, even though Tony was just standing there.
Rogers swallowed, Thor frowned. The Hulk was already climbing up Stark Tower.
"Test completed, we are ready to take off, Sir."
"I'm ready to go. Race you to the top, Cap?" he asked out aloud, his tone teasing and just a bit too cheery, while actually feeling tired and a bit dizzy, leaning against the suit that was keeping him upright.
"I've got you, Sir. I really recommend you visiting an infirmary."
"J, you can mother-hen me as much as you want when Loki is locked up somewhere safe, I promise. Now, let's take off, and make it look impressive."
If J.A.R.V.I.S. had eyes, he would have rolled them. Still, he also knew where his creator's never let them see you're bleeding philosophy was coming from, having learned from childhood on that every weakness would be taken advantage of. So he spiraled up into the sky, followed suit by the Norse God and his hammer.
Rogers just shook his head. Show-offs.
Stark Tower was largely intact, the Penthouse had taken most of the damage due to Thor and Loki crashing into each other, the Hulk's irritation with Loki, and some sky dive on Tony's behalf through one of the windows, yet, none of the "whale thingies" had made it close to the building.
Bruce had just turned back to his flesh-colored form with less muscle and gratefully followed Tony's instructions to find his wardrobe to borrow some joggers and a hoodie.
Clint and Natasha were sharing the couch by now, the archer half asleep, the spy watching Steve and Thor discuss with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that were supposed to take care of Loki when a strawberry-blonde in ridiculously high heels entered the room, not even glancing at the Demigods, the men in black, the super-soldier, or the guy that came out of Tony's closet wearing Tony's clothes. Her entire attention was directed at the man in the metal suit.
He had the HUD up, so she could see his face, and over the years she had gotten too good at reading him.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., how urgently do I have to kick Mr. Stark's rear into the direction of any hospital that is still operating?" she asked into the empty room, making more than one head snap around.
"Sir is mildly concussed and has not slept for over three days. I recommended medical treatment already twice, but he is stubbornly refusing. As always", the AI responded, almost sighing at the end of his sentence.
It was Thor and Rogers that were confused the most. Natasha knew J.A.R.V.I.S., the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were busy confining Loki properly, and he was being busy being confined properly, irritatingly quiet and demure, not putting up any resistance. Clint was fast asleep by now. Though, while Thor was contemplating the fact that on Midgard, disembodied voices where talking from the ceiling, Steve had thought of J.A.R.V.I.S. as a person, sitting somewhere in a room, providing whatever Stark needed to keep the suit functional. What this guy was doing here, and who this woman was, was beyond him, though.
Maybe she was his secretary?
The blonde was stepping up to the suit, not caring about her white costume as dirty, scratched up metal fingers gently closed around her waist, and she kissed Stark, which made the super-soldier reconsider his observation.
"Do a full body scan, J.A.R.V.I.S.", she ordered, pecking the billionaire once more.
"Yeah, do a full body scan on Pep, J, and keep the file, just in case!" Tony joked and shook his head at Pepper as she actually swatted the suit.
"I'm fine, Pep, nothing a good sleep wouldn't cure", he said in a softer voice, his eyes locking on hers, the room around them fading.
"You always say that, and then you set dislocated shoulders on your own, or blow yourself up multiple times a day and then blame poor DUM-E."
"Aw, you're always on the kids' side. Last time it was his fault, you know? He's still grounded for that."
Both Thor and Rogers were frowning by now. "Stark has kids?" Steve asked, still working on his astonishment about the blonde woman Stark called Pep. Sure enough the billionaire did not seem the family man type... or monogamous. After Bruce was just smiling, he threw a side glance at Natasha, who was smirking.
"Yeah… sort of…", the spy shrugged.
"And he calls his son Dummy? Poor kid." That was not nice – still, it sounded like Stark. Sadly enough the blonde did not defend the boy…
"It's a robot, Captain, no need to go all moral on him", the redhead smirked, watching the super-soldier's face fall.
"Oh…" Okay, it did sound like Stark to treat a machine like a kid.
Pepper's hands by now had reached up to the helmet, taking it by both sides to gently pull Tony down a bit and rest her forehead against the faceplate.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., open the suit and have a look what's in the fridge, because I bet he also has not eaten for just as long."
"No, J, leave the suit as it is", Tony protested, still not trusting his own legs. And he did have no clue when was the last time he had eaten something, so…
"Sir was eating on the helicarrier, and the only thing left in the refrigerator is 3 day old pizza. I recommend taking off the suit somewhere where Sir can sit down, though", J.A.R.V.I.S. stated, making a note to order food – as soon as any delivery services where up again.
"Don't talk about me as if I were a child, J. I can take care of myself."
"With all due respect, Sir, without Miss Potts and me you would not be able to tie your shoes."
Natasha snorted at that comment. She liked the sarcastic wit of the AI. Steve and Thor were still scrutinizing the couple.
"One day I will find that bug in your subroutines and make you less snarky, J. But now, bathroom would be great, a hot bathtub, I feel sweaty, and bloody, and banged up."
"I already filled the bathtub, and called that Shawarma place you have been mentioning before. They agreed to deliver in case you are hungry."
"Thanks, J." Turning his attention to Pepper, who by now started to realize that she was not alone with him, but had four people staring at her, he grinned and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Care to join me, Miss Potts? Though, you'll have to do all the work, because, you know, I just nuked outta space and saved the day, and stuff…"
Pepper, and, curiously enough, Captain Rogers, turned bright pink at that comment. J.A.R.V.I.S. set the suit in motion, making Tony feel like a rag doll inside. Pepper had no other choice than going with him, because his arm was locked around her waist.
"Oh, and J, make sure to accommodate our guests… I bet we have a bed for Legolas over there and the other guys… and girl", Tony exclaimed before he was out of the room.
"As you wish, Sir."
Natasha by now had turned to wake up Clint, after all, everything one of Stark's guest suites could offer for accommodation was better than a couch – even if it was Stark-approved.
Bruce just smirked at Thor who was still looking at the ceiling.
"Artificial intelligence, that's cool. You passed the Turing test?" he asked into the room.
"Every time I have been tested. Though Sir did only test me once, and then stated it was a waste of time."
"Testing yourself, huh? You connected to the entire Penthouse?"
"I am running all of Sir's mansions and Stark Tower. Miss Romanoff, Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers, Mr. Barton, Mr. Odinson, please enter the elevator."
The Norse God and the soldier hesitantly entered, while both spies and the physicist just shrugged and stepped into the cabin that opened right before them.
"Okay, J, stop fussing and open the suit. Pepper has dragged my sorry, drunk ass multiple times around the entire house, she'll be fine", Tony exclaimed, as the suit maneuvered as close as possible towards the bathtub, and only the upper half was removed part by part from his body.
Also Pepper frowned at no one in particular, since J.A.R.V.I.S. consisted of computational subroutines and the wiring in the walls.
"I would not recommend Miss Potts carrying heavy things, including your sorry ass, in her current condition, Sir", J.A.R.V.I.S. intoned, now having both humans frown at the ceiling.
"What condition could I be in that would make me incapable of lifting Tony?" Pepper asked. Yes, he was heavy, but that had never stopped her. And no matter how drunk he was, he always had managed to be of some help. Now, that he was sober, getting him into the bathtub should be a piece of cake.
"Sir asked me before to do a full body scan and I discovered a 128 cell blastocyst implanting in your endometrium. Congratulations."
Pepper needed a few seconds longer than Tony to translate this. When her eyes grew wide with realization he was already making a self-confident comment on the quality of his scanners. When her mind got Oh my God, Tony tilted his head at her, watching her closely.
When her eyes started to water, her brain doing double takes in how to explain to him that she did not plan this, that she never intended baby trapping him, and oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, what am I going to do now?!, a cocky grin appeared on his face.
She knew that grin, every time he managed to achieve something the world (or one person, didn't matter) had told him it was not possible, he wore this smug, self-satisfied expression, telling anyone I did it anyway.
He was proud of himself!
"Good Lord, Stark, wipe that grin out of your face, you're not the first guy to knock up his girlfriend!" she exclaimed, making him laugh out loud while putting some effort into setting the lower half of his suit in motion, closing the distance to her and wrapping his arms around her.
"But I'm the first guy to knock up you. And just so you know it: Nope, I don't feel baby trapped. And yes, I love you."
Pepper smiled at his confession, leaning in to softly kiss him. "I love you, too…"
"And I just surprised you with my reaction, huh?"
"Um… yes…" But then, he was so unpredictable all the time, it was not happening the first time that he reacted in the completely opposite way to what she had expected.
He just smiled softly, kissing her again, before groaning.
"Okay, let's get me out of this suit before that thing that is squeezing me in the wrong place right now annihilates the chance for Stark junior to ever have siblings. Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S., you're going to be a big brother soon!" he addressed his AI, while maneuvering back to the bathtub with Pepper at his side. Giggling about the big brother comment, as J.A.R.V.I.S. was indeed able to perform more or less according to that book, at least in this tower, he realized that J.A.R.V.I.S. took longer to answer than he expected.
"J?"
"I am currently consulting a thesaurus for a more sophisticated answer than YAY!, Sir", J.A.R.V.I.S. announced, making the couple chuckle.
"What did the thesaurus say?" Tony laughed, eliciting another almost-sigh from his AI.
"Whoopee, huzza, and yipyip. I prefer sticking to yay in the moment."
"Aw, Peps, J.A.R.V.I.S. is looking forward to being a big brother. Wait until we break the news to DUM-E and U!"
She smiled, helping him sit down at the corner of the bathtub as the suit disintegrated from his lower half. It was somewhat sad that he was thinking of his bots first, not having another family anymore he could tell earth-shattering news like these.
"We can tell them tomorrow. Or do you think the three months rule also applies to artificial intelligences?"
Tony did not care, gathering the rest of his strength to get rid of his clothing and finally submerge his aching body in the warm water.
When he opened his eyes again he saw Pepper sitting on the floor right next to him, her head resting on her arms that she had placed on the rim of the bathtub, watching him.
"You almost died today", she whispered and he reached out to caress her cheek.
At least she would not have been alone, then.
"I'll make sure something like that will never happen again", he said, closing his eyes again, not wanting to see her skeptical expression, thinking And how exactly are you going to do this?