It hadn't hurt nearly this badly when he had been sitting at the table with the guys, as he had begun to think of them, eating shawarma.
His leg had certainly not throbbed. He would have noticed that. His arm had been bleeding, but he had ignored that as well. He was pretty sure his back had some screwed up points, and then there was his face. Every part of him hurt. Every muscle screamed in agony, and every cut ran red. It was as if his body had waited until his heart had stopped racing to tell him what was wrong. It was his own, personalized aftershock.
"I'm fine." He repeated to himself, knowing full well he was not. Maybe he had been in pain earlier, but had not noticed simply because he was still thinking about the wormhole. Not being able to reach Pepper… being certain his death was only minutes away… falling from the heavens… Tony shuddered. A fresh wave of pain coursed through his body. He was definitely not okay.
"We're almost home, sir." JARVIS said. Tony wondered if the AI really was tired or if he was just imagining it. He would have asked, but his jaw ached as well. He had no intention of speaking.
The suit landed on the landing pad only a few minutes after JARVIS spoke. With a groan of pain, Tony braced himself for the removal, letting the metal assistants separate the parts of his battered suit with little to no interaction from him. Not for the first time, he was grateful that he had planned it out that way.
Tony made it inside before collapsing on the couch. His body ached for sleep, but his mind still rolled. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the infinite black of the wormhole looming before him. Tony fought to stay awake.
He could not dwell on it. The more time he spent lingering on the day's fight, the more he vividly he saw it. Tony could easily imagine getting trapped up there… not making it down in time… the blackness swallowing him whole, suit and all.
"Ah!" Tony shot up, gasping for air. The visions had become an all too real dream. Tony's heart raced. His breathing was still frantic. For a single horrifying moment, he had been back there.
He ran a hand through his short black hair, glancing around his room. He was on the couch, the first one he had come to. The room stretched out before him, huge and empty. His body began to ache again, pulsing as if the wounds wanted to remind him of his terror. Tony forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. It helped a little bit, slowing his heart and the crazy pulsing throughout his body.
Exhausted, Tony Stark collided with a deep, dreamless sleep.
Heels clicked on the floor as Pepper exited the elevator. She had gotten home an hour ago. Neither JARVIS nor Tony had greeted her, and neither answered her calls. Pepper had tried calling Tony's cell phone after seeing the missed call on her own, but he had not answered. She yelled for JARVIS as soon as she stepped into the Tower, but the AI had stayed silent.
Pepper felt fear grip her heart, intertwining its cold fingers between the bones of her spine. She checked every room on every floor, thinking the worst. The news had said Tony was all right, right? He had to be. He had survived. They would have called her if he had been taken to the hospital, right?
Right?
Pepper's thoughts came as quickly as her feet flew over the ground. She searched relentlessly, hoping Tony was home and just hadn't heard her. Her fear grew as she looked. Each room turned up nothing.
Finally, she reached the top.
He was asleep on the couch.
Relieved, Pepper felt the tension slide from her shoulders. The physical release made her feel thirty pounds lighter. She walked over to the couch, lightly pressing a hand to his shoulder.
Tony moaned. "No… please."
That was unlike him. Even in his sleep, he took every instance of bodily contact to be the first step towards sex. Pepper frowned. "Tony. Wake up."
She wanted to let him sleep, especially since he so rarely did. But that cry… the way his face had contorted when she touched him… something was very wrong.
"Tony," she urged gently.
His brown eyes opened, then shut again. She bent down and kissed him awake, his eyes wide when she finally pulled away.
"Can we do that again?" he asked, trying to smirk. His attempt failed, creating the look of a crooked smile with lips too red for his pale face.
"Tony." She said for a third time. "I'm so glad you're alive."
"Me, too." He whispered, still too sore to speak. "I … thought it was… the end."
"Baby," she whispered, trailing her fingers down the side of his face. She pulled a piece of fabric from her purse to wipe away at least a little bit of that dried blood. "What happened?"
"I only… stopped the end… of the world." He said heavily. "Next time… pick up your damn phone."
"Promise." She said, her own half smile making her look even lovlier in Tony's eyes.
"You had better," he said. "Ah. Careful. Very sore. Kinda broken."
Pepper gingerly took care of her broken man, avoiding the worst of his marks if only for now. She wanted him to rest and gain strength. "What was it like?"
Tony tensed up as it all came rushing back. He fought off the intense wave of panic that hit him, but only barely. He refused to answer. He just violently shook his head, making his headache worse. "Ow."
Pepper understood. An idea formed in her mind. "Can you walk?"
"Not really."
She thought for a moment. There was a bathroom on this floor. It wasn't as nice as their personal bathroom, but it was good enough. The tub was the size of three king sized mattresses, and a good four feet deep. All she had to do was fill it with hot water, and Tony would have a good place to relieve his body of pain. "Can you walk a little bit?"
"Why?"
"You'll see." Pepper stood up, intending to go fill the tub.
"Please don't go." Tony said softly.
"I won't be long." She promised, kissing his lips gently. She kept her word, returning a moment later. "The water's running." She said. "Come with me. Lean on me, I'll help you."
She gingerly helped Tony to stand. After the bit of rest he had, he found strength. Tony was slow, but he made it all of the way to the bathroom. "Get naked." She instructed.
"I didn't know you liked the wounded soldier thing." Tony's smirk was more successful now. He stripped off his shirt, and Pepper gasped.
His back was covered in red lines, as if something had gone straight through the suit and cut into his skin. His chest had a few marks as well. Blood had seeped into his shirt, staining it. His arms were better, but not by much.
"What…" she reached out to touch them, and he flinched.
"Pepper. Please." Tony got out of his jeans. He got into the tub, the hot water stinging at first. "Ah. I don't know what happened, so please don't ask."
"Okay." She said simply. "Okay."
Steam rose up from the water. Tony breathed it in, sagging against the side. Exhaling his stress, he began to feel almost okay. He seated himself in the corner, glad his tub was built more like a hot tub than a bathtub. He closed his eyes, listing off the names of his Audis in his mind to stay awake.
He opened his eyes when he heard a splash. Pepper had joined him. "It looked comfortable." She explained with a warm smile. He lifted an arm, and she reclined underneath it.
"Don't do that to me again." She whispered. "See this…" she kissed just above the mark on his chest. "And this…" she moved slightly so her lips could grace a mark on his back. "And this…" she kissed his face, right above where the worst injury was. "Are not okay. I need you in one piece, Tony." She reminded him sternly, though her eyes were kind.
"I know." He replied. "I like being in one piece."
The water was easing his pain quite a bit. He felt himself begin to relax, the tension and fear melting in the comfort of cuddling with Pepper in the tub. His aches grew less frequent, his visions weaker, his mind calmer. Only when the water began to chill did Pepper suggest going to sleep. Tony nodded, his tired mind distracted by her beauty enough to agree.
After they had dried off, he found himself in their bed. Staring at the ceiling, he wished he was able to love on Pepper a little bit. There had been plenty of heated kisses in the tub after her treatment of his wounds, but he had been too sore- much to his extreme displeasure- to carry anything any further. At least there was always tomorrow, Tony decided, holding her close against his body as he let sleep carry him away.
Darkness.
Stars.
Falling.
Terror.
Tony jolted awake. He blinked a few times, frantically searching for a sign that he wasn't trapped back in the wormhole. His rapid breathing slowed only when he became conscious of Pepper's hand on his arm.
"It's okay. It's okay," she repeated over and over. "You're home."
"Home." He repeated, nodding. "Yeah. Sorry I woke you… bad dream, I guess."
"It's all right." Pepper said, easing him back down. "Do you need anything?"
"I think I'm okay." Tony lied. "Go back to sleep, babe, okay?" He kissed her. She was only too happy to snuggle back up to him and fall back into her dream of a Hawaiian vacation. Tony waited until her breathing was deep and even. He bent down, grimacing as he did, to lightly kiss her forehead before sliding out of bed. He heard a soft moan come from her lips- the excuse 'Bathroom,' readied itself on his tongue, but she did not stir. Relieved, he took stiff steps down to his workshop.
Tony worked the entire night. He worked beyond his pain, building until the first light of dawn. When that struck, he crept back upstairs, sliding into bed once again. Pepper woke an hour later, smiling sweetly at him.
"Good morning, superhero." She said.
"Morning." He returned.
She propped herself up. "How'd you sleep?"
"Like a rock."
"Good." She beamed. "That will really help you."
Tired and sore, all he did was smile.
"Wanna make plans to fix the Tower today, or do you want to rest some more?" she said, the edges of sleep still in her voice.
"Let's play it by ear." He suggested, not wanting to reveal he had already made a few plans in the dead of the night. "Go back to sleep for a little bit. Take today off."
"Stop." She laughed. "We're both taking today off. For starters."
Pepper did drift off once again. Tony stayed this time, thinking over and over how devastated she would have been if Bruce had missed, and Tony had hit the ground. A few other scenarios passed through his mind, all of them ending the same way. He was so happy he had made it. Not necessarily for himself, but for the woman he loved.
Over the next few weeks, Tony drank a lot of coffee. It became his best friend, keeping him awake, energetic, and appearing normal. As soon as he was on his feet during the day once again, the pair flew back to their Malibu home. Tony healed nicely, despite his lack of a relationship with sleep. The two flirted often, spent brief time together very rarely, and spent the full night together never. As his body got better, his anxiety only got worse. He worked night after night, as soon as Pepper fell asleep, but nothing put his fears to rest. New York had happened. Now it was over. Tony Stark, caught in his own, personalized aftershock, was not the same man he had been.