Summary: Tony stopped drinking after he got back from Afghanistan. Tony started drinking after he got back from New York. POST AVENGERS PRE IM3, SPOILERS.

Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own – I'd be filthy rich otherwise, which regrettably I'm not. Please R&R and give constructive crit.

Rating: T for my use of expletives and mature subject matter.

Pepper stayed with Tony throughout the morning, while he alternated between shivering under the blankets and trying to pull all of his clothes off in order to relieve the fever that was burning him up. After returning from his flashback to Afghanistan in the early hours of the morning, Pepper managed to stop him from falling into anymore, although it had been a close call a number of times. Tony was lying, exhausted on his side of the bed.

"Tony?" Pepper called, moving over to pull him onto his back.

"Hmm?"

Tony looked back at her, his mouth in a tight line and his eyes glazed over.

"Are you feeling better?"

"…A little bit… It'll come back."

"Rhodey said I should call Bruce."

"…"

"Do you want me to call Bruce?"

Tony shook his head before answering.

"Don't want him to see me like this. He's had bad experience with alcoholics."

Pepper frowned at him, and turned away to get a blanket to put back over Tony as he had started to shiver again.

"Tony, he's a doctor… He could help you."

"Not that kind of doctor, Pepper. It's not his job and I don't want to put it on him as well."

"I'm sure Bruce would just want to help Tony," Pepper said, taking his hands into hers. "You said yourself you wanted him to visit."

Tony pulled his hands away and snapped, "Pepper, I said I don't want him here and I mean it! Fuck!"

"Tony!"

"I don't want anyone's help with this, and I don't need it," Tony said, pulling himself from the bed. "I'm going down to the shop. Don't bother coming down."

Tony walked purposefully across the room towards the doorway, pausing only to change into a fresh set of clothes and drop his dirty ones in front of his closet.

"If you need me, don't call," he said, slamming the door behind himself.

Pepper sat stunned – Tony had never treated her this badly when she was trying to help him in the past.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts?" the robotic voice answered.

"Why is Tony acting like this?"

"He is experiencing alcohol withdrawal Ms. Potts. One of the more common symptoms is agitation."

"Are there others I should know about?"

"It is likely that Mr. Stark will experience a range of symptoms over the next week or so, ranging from a fever and tremors to possibly hallucinations and seizures."

"Oh my God."

"Mr. Stark does not believe in God, Ms. Potts."

"JARVIS!"

"I would advise having a doctor present if Mr. Stark is to continue this course of action, Ms. Potts."

"Call Bruce Banner."

"Yes Ms. Potts."

IRONMANIRONMAN

Bruce was sitting at a small table in a shack in Calcutta, sorting through his medical supplies. Putting the most important ones in a separate container, he began to mark out what he needed for future medical treatment for the locals. As he reached for a pen, his computer started to signal an incoming internet call.

"Mr. Banner?"

Bruce looked at the face on the screen, not recognizing it but knowing the number it came from.

"Ms. Potts, right? What can I do for you? You're not calling on behalf of Fury are you?" he asked jovially, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Not at all. Actually I'm calling on behalf of Tony. I need your help."

"I'm a little far removed from any situation that could happen over where you are, Ms. Potts."

"I could get you here in under a day – just let me explain."

"Okay…"

"Tony stopped drinking. He's been hitting the bottle pretty hard since New York and I spent last night with him after he stopped. It wasn't pretty."

"How much has he been drinking?" Bruce asked.

"Judging by the amount of alcohol that was missing, probably close to a bottle of scotch a night or more. Probably more… I'd say more."

"That's a lot of alcohol, Ms. Potts. He really needs to be in a hospital for this sort of detox. He may be going all right at the moment, but he could have seizures, hallucinations… He could die. I'm glad he's trying to stop, though."

"…"

"I'm not just saying this. I've seen it happen.

"…Bruce, please come."

Bruce sighed and looked over at his medical equipment, which was sorely lacking. Pepper saw where his gazed moved to and decided to make an offer.

"If you come, I'll get the company to make sure you never are in need of medical supplies again for the work you do – I'll have you stocked up permanently."

Bruce looked back to the computer, realizing the good he could do with such an offer.

"Bring me over."

IRONMANIRONMAN

Tony sat in his workshop, throwing things around the room.

"Stupid fucking Pepper. Stupid Howard. Stupid me. The great Tony Stark."

He threw a screwdriver through a holographic pull up of part of his suit.

"The Invincible Iron Man… Stupid title for a stupid hero. If only they could see me now."

Dummy wheeled back with the screwdriver clenched in his claw, bringing it up to Tony.

"Did I tell you to get that?" he said to the robot, which immediately backed away, making frightened chirping noises as he went.

"Sir, I would ask that you refrain from taking your anger out on the bots. They don't know what's troubling you an it is beyond their capacity to handle it."

"JARVIS, what have I told to you about talking to me when I don't give a shit about what you've got to say?"

"Not to do it sir, but I would ask that instead of sitting idly here, you do something with your time."

"Oh yeah? What am I supposed to do? Every time I stand up I feel like I'm about to pass out, I have to take my shirt off every five minutes because I'm alternating between a fucking desert and the arctic circle, and here's the kicker; my hands are shaking so goddamn much that I can't even drink a cup of coffee without spilling it!"

"Sir, you knew all this would happen before you agreed to do it."

"…"

"I'm not saying that makes it any better sir, but with all due respect, you were expecting this, while Ms. Potts was not. She is very concerned about you."

"…I know, JARVIS. I know. I just don't want her to see me like this. I look like shit, and I feel like shit."

"That is an accurate description of your current condition, sir." JARVIS stated.

"I swear to God, one day I'm going to take out whatever the fuck it is that makes you sassy, JARVIS, and you'll be sassless" muttered Tony.

IRONMANIRONMAN

Pepper was sitting at the kitchen table when Tony walked back upstairs with his hands in his pockets. She could see the sweat glistening on his face and arms, and his t-shirt was damp. He strode up to her slowly.

"Tony-"

"I'm sorry, Pepper. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry, I fucked up and I didn't mean what I said."

"…"

"I mean this though, me saying sorry. I knew that this was going to happen when I stopped drinking and I should have warned you that I turn into an asshole."

"What do you mean 'turn' into an asshole? Pepper said with a small smile.

Tony smiled back, and it almost reached his eyes.

"I guess I meant I turn into more of an asshole…"

"That, I can agree with."

Moving towards the table where Pepper was sitting, Tony pulled a chair out with his feet and dropped his body down onto it, sagging into the chair.

"How are you feeling? Pepper asked, looking him over.

"I feel like absolute shit, Pepper. I'm hungry but I know I'll just throw it back up in a few hours once all the vomiting starts."

"You should probably eat something now then," Pepper said. "Do you want me to make you anything in particular?"

"Something dry and bready. It's about all I think will have a chance of staying down, even now."

Pepper stood up, moved over to the bench and put two slices of bread into the toaster and then made a cup of coffee for Tony and herself. Once the coffee and the toast were ready, she quickly spread a small amount of butter onto each slice and brought them back to the table.

"Can you empty out a bit of the coffee for me?" Tony said when he saw how full the cup was. "I know you're shocked that I'm asking you to get rid of what I think is the nectar of the universe, but I'll probably spill it everywhere otherwise."

Although Pepper didn't understand, she poured a little out of the cup regardless and then brought it back to Tony. As he reached out for the cup, she noticed how much his hands and arms were shaking, something she previously missed because he had his hands jammed into his pockets. When Tony saw her staring, he quickly grabbed the cup, put it on the table and shoved his hands into his lap.

"It's nothing Pepper, this is normal too. Don't worry about it…"

"Tony, the only reason I'm not taking you to the hospital right now is because Bruce agreed to come and stay here. He's leaving Calcutta tonight, when the jet gets there to pick him up."

"Pepper! I told you not to make him come!"

"I didn't make him come. I told him what has been happening and he agreed that you needed a doctor present. He said he's dealt with this kind of thing before-"

"Yeah, when his dad was lying on his deathbed! I don't want him to have to see me like he sees his father," yelled Tony.

"He doesn't Tony, he said so himself. He said he's glad that you've stopped drinking."

"…"

"Tony, he just needs to be here in case something dangerous happens – you said yourself you know how bad it can get and you've been drinking far more than you did before you went to Afghanistan. I'm sure you know that this is the best thing for you to do."

"Okay, okay. He can stay," Tony said, reaching for the toast on the table and taking a sip of the coffee, wincing as it went down. "I'm gonna regret eating this later, I'll tell you that now."

IRONMANIRONMAN

The remainder of the day passed relatively unremarkably, with Pepper and Tony deciding to sit down and plan out what was going to happen. Pepper was organizing for Tony to take up to a month off work, under the guise of working with the Avengers as a full time consultant. She told the Avengers themselves what was happening, with all of them being more supportive than she thought Tony expected they would be. Clint and Steve both offered to come around and spend time with Tony to take his mind off things 'if he ever wanted to,' to which Tony said no and yes to respectively, still holding resentment against Steve for whatever reason. Pepper herself took some of her leave from the last decade or so off, putting her deputy in control of the company temporarily (someone who Tony trusted) and getting Happy to make sure that everything was running smoothly and to update her as often as possible.

Hopefully, it would all go to plan.

That night however, Tony started to look more and more pale, and was starting to sweat more profusely than he had all day.

"Hot flashes are comin' back,' he said dopily from his position on the couch. "C'n you get me some water or somethin'?

Pepper walked over to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water and brought it back to where Tony was lying, curled up on his side. She passed him the bottle and he took a couple of sips before shaking his head and setting it down.

"Feelin' sick…" he mumbled. "Get a bucket out."

"Already?"

"No! I'm just saying it to make you walk around and do shit for me!" Tony snapped. "I feel fucking great, on top of the fucking world!"

Quickly, Pepper ran towards the bathroom and shut herself inside, looking for the bucket and trying to gather herself up before she went back out to face Tony.

He's not himself Pepper, you know this. Rhodey and JARVIS and Bruce all said he was going to struggle, and he told me he was going to act like an asshole. It's not him. He's going to get better.

"Pepper?" Tony asked as he knocked on the bathroom door. "I didn't mean that Pepper… Shit. Shit, I'm sorry…"

Pepper opened the bathroom door, and Tony stood there with the blanket around his shoulders, holding it up with his hands and his face hanging down. When he looked up, Pepper saw that he was crying.

"Fuck, Pepper, I'm sorry. You should leave, just leave me here. I don't deserve your help and I treat you like shit. You're just trying to help me, and no one's ever done that without having to and I'm treating you like this and you deserve better…" Tony rambled on, all the while not looking Pepper in the face.

"Tony, you've got to sit down," Pepper said, looking at him swaying in the doorway before sinking into the wall. He tried to take a step towards her but slid downwards instead, leaning with his back against the wall.

"'M'sorry. 'M'sorry you're always th' one to take care of my shit," murmured Tony. "I'm gonna treat you better, Pep."

Tony's head started to sink down to his chest and his eyes slid shut before he pulled them back open and looked her in the face. He spoke, and his voice broke.

"Help me, please."

A/N: I'm actually using my own experience to write this. Every person who goes through withdrawal is different, and the person that I had this experience with is whom I've modeled the withdrawal off. Please press that little review button!