Hat-Trick Darcy Lewis Challenge #One:

Character: Tony Stark/Iron Man

Song: Bang A Drum ~ Chris LeDoux/Jon Bon Jovi

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Drama

Spoiler Alert: Itsy Bitsy little spoiler for IM3, like seriously small, since most people already know about it, otherwise completely AU.

Rating: M, but only for the use of the F word.

Reason To Believe

"Bang a drum for tomorrow

Bang a drum for the past

Bang a drum for the heroes

That won't come back"

Darcy stood in the doorway, watching with sad eyes as Tony took another long drink of his scotch. He had been that way since Pepper walked out of his life a month ago. Darcy never thought she would see the day that Pepper would actually leave, but there they were, Tony spending his days in the bottle and Pepper off God knows where.

She hated to see him this way, he hadn't even once worked on his suits. She could really beat the crap out of Pepper, leaving Tony when he still didn't have a full handle on his PTSD. She knew he was a lot to handle, Darcy had pretty much taken over for Pepper where that concerned when she took the job for him five months before. The late nights, the random bouts of anger, the panic attacks. She had dealt with them all.

Darcy walked into the room, slipping off her heels by the door as she went. Tony didn't even look at her as she sat down beside him on the couch. She sighed and reached over, taking the glass from him.

"If you're going to drink that, at least refill it." She sat it down on the floor and curled her feet under herself, leaning into Tony. She reached out a hand and ran it through his hair.

"The bar just closed, Tony." He turned to look at her, his eyes wet from the tears he refused to let fall. She knew in his mind to do so would be a weakness, and Iron Man was anything but weak. That was the problem, Iron Man wasn't, but the man behind the suit was.

"I'm sure we can find one that is still open." Darcy shook her head, her hand still running through his hair. She scratched the base of his neck, watching as his eyes closed halfway before he realized what he was doing.

"No, Tony, no more drinking. It is time to go to bed." He hung his head, his whole body leaning towards her. She removed her hand from his hair and gathered him up in her arms. She rocked him back and forth as one might do a child.

"How long before you leave?" Darcy's heart was about to shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. Damn that woman, damn the world! She pressed her lips to the top of his head, speaking quietly into his hair.

"No less than forever and a day." Tony laughed and lifted his head so he could look into her eyes.

"That long, huh?" He removed himself from her and reached down to take the glass. Not knowing what else to do, Darcy slipped a foot from under her and knocked the glass over. They both watched as the amber liquid spread across the floor like spilled blood.

"That scotch cost more than your new car." Darcy stood from the couch and went to the bar to grab a rag. She watched from the corner of her eyes as Tony watched the scotch puddle.

"Your fucking boxers cost more than my new car, but you leave them lying around the tower willy-nilly." Tony raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, they wouldn't if you would just allow me to buy you a car." She shook her head and kneeled down on the floor to dab up the spilled drink.

"I already told you I want to earn the things I buy." Tony snorted, but didn't say anything as he sat back on the couch. She looked up wondering why he hadn't made some witty comeback, only to find that Tony must have had the bottle hidden between the cushions as he was taking a long pull from it. Angry, Darcy stood up and grabbed the bottle from him, flinging it across the room. Scotch spilled all down the front of his shirt, soaking him through.

"What did you do that for?!" Completely tired of it all, Darcy tossed the rag on the floor and sat down once more beside Tony.

"I know you hurt, I know things have not gone right for you for years now, but I won't sit here and watch you slowly kill yourself." She grabbed his face, looking him straight in the eyes. He just pulled away and hung his head.

"Wow, forever and a day goes by pretty quickly." Darcy felt her tears fall from her eyes, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. She scooted closer to Tony, wrapping him back into her arms. She rested her chin on his shoulder, placing her mouth at his ear.

"I'm not leaving you. I said I wasn't going to watch you kill yourself, what I meant was that every time you try I'm going to stop you. Because the world needs you, your friends need you." Tony lifted a hand and rested it on hers that sat on his other shoulder.

"Me or Iron Man?" Darcy twinned their fingers together.

"Both. They need Iron Man to protect them, but they also need you…the man. A man of flesh and blood, a man of wit and intelligence." He lifted his head, turning it so their noses touched tip to tip.

"What about you?" Darcy smiled, leaning in to give him a little peck on the lips. She pulled back, a watery smile on her face.

"I need you, very, very much." His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why?" Darcy slid her free hand to sit just above his heart, pressing in just enough that Tony wouldn't miss it.

"Because as long as this beats I have a reason to believe, I have hope. Don't silence it, Tony." Without a single word Tony agreed with a simple nod, and set his forehead on hers. For the first time, Darcy watched as a tear slipped down Tony's cheek.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.