"You know, you didn't have to be so rude to him," Pepper said at dinner that night. She took a sip of her wine and then looked over at Tony. He knew that look. She was disappointed in him, but hey. He was getting tired of people telling him what he should be doing about this anxiety. Right now, he was handling it. It wasn't out of control like they all made it seem.
"Sorry," Tony said with a mouthful of cheeseburger. He chewed and swallowed. "It's just, I don't need him coming in here and telling me what to do about my anxiety. Pep, I can control it. It just takes some practicing."
Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Practicing? No, it doesn't. You need to see someone about this."
"I did."
"Bruce doesn't count. I'm talking about an actual therapist. You may need to be on medication for this." Pepper took another sip of her wine and then leaned back in her chair. Her eyes met with Tony's, and he found it hard to look away. She had a point, but he wouldn't admit that. He wouldn't admit defeat just yet. "Tony, I'm worried about you. I don't want you to do what you did last time. You were reckless and put everyone in danger."
Tony sighed. "Yes, I know that, Pepper. I know that I put you in danger. I was stupid. Just... please let me deal with this how I want to deal with this. I promise I'll be better soon." His eyes were almost pleading. All he wanted was to be left alone abou this. It would only get worse if people kept bringing it up.
Pepper sighed. "Fine, Tony. Do what you want." She took her plate and brought it to the kitchen.
"Nailed it," Tony sighed.
Tony sat down in the lab late at night, finding that he didn't want to go to bed quite yet. He knew that Pepper would probably end up coming down soon to coax him into bed, but he just wasn't tired. Too many things were on his mind and just staring up at the ceiling all night wouldn't help anything. If he wasn't going to sleep, he was at least going to try to be productive. The mechanic sat on a stool, tinkering with the mask part of a new suit that he was building. He needed to be prepared in case anything were to come up and he needed a suit.
The mechanic's mind began to wander as he tinkered. He started to think about Pepper, the suits, the Avengers, and even more. It wasn't fair that he couldn't be on the team anymore. One tiny thing was wrong with him and suddenly he was unfit to work. He wondered what the rest of the team was thinking about it. Bruce knew all about the anxiety before anyone, and he knew how to react to something like that. But the others were different. Thor probably wouldn't get what they were talking about, and he really didn't know how Clint or Natasha would react. Maybe they were all just forgetting about it right now.
Hell, they probably didn't care that he wasn't on the team now. Tony had always been pretty sarcastic and sassy with them. They probably cheered when Fury told them he wouldn't be joining the team again. They probably already had him replaced.
Breath caught in this throat again and he dropped the part of the armor.
"Sir, I suggest you go get some rest now," JARVIS spoke up.
"Not now, JARVIS," Tony replied. "I'm busy."
Tony breathed out when JARVIS decided to not speak again. He picked up the helmet and sat it back down on the workbench. He began to work in peace again for a few more minutes.
"Sir, Harley is on the line," JARVIS said.
The mechanic sighed and picked up his cellphone. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? It's late. You have school tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah," Harley replied. "I just wanted to check in. See how you're doing."
"Well I'm fine."
"Yeah, whatever. How's the anxiety? Seriously."
Tony sighed loudly, trying his best to make it obvious that Harley was already getting on his nerves. "Not talking about that right now. Go to bed."
Harley asked, "Did you get medication yet?"
"No, I didn't."
"You should be on some. Can I come visit you?"
"What? No. You have school and I don't think your mother would allow you to come to New York."
Harley sighed over the line. "Just to check up on you."
"You really aren't going to be much help. Just hearing your voice makes me have an anxiety attack." When Harley went silent over the line, Tony sighed. "Sorry, kid. It's just not a good time right now. I'm dealing with a lot. You really should head off to bed right now. You can call me tomorrow or something."
The young boy was silent for another few moments and then spoke up. "Alright. Fine. Bye." He hung up the phone, making Tony run his hand through his hair, getting frustrated.
Needing to get out of the tower, the mechanic began walking towards the new suit that he had now finished. He stepped into it, feeling comfortable right away. The suits always made him feel comfortable, even if it was full of weapons and was very dangerous. He put the helmet on and was immediately greeted by JARVIS. "Alright, let's fly, JARVIS." He shot up, going through the opened part in the ceiling to get outside. Right away when he started soaring up into the sky, he began to feel better. This was a great way to clear his head. Just him and the suit as one, flying up to the stars. He flew a little bit lower, smirking as the people on the sidewalks began to cheer him on. He then flew up towards the sky again, stopping mid-air to take a look at the city that never slept.
"Beautiful night, isn't it, JARVIS?" Tony asked.
"Yes, it is, sir," JARVIS replied.
The mechanic smirked again. "Alright. Let's head back before Pepper freaks out." He flew quickly back to Stark Tower. As he flew, he let his mind wander again. So what if the Avengers didn't want him? He would start his own super bad-ass team. One that wouldn't have so many goddamn rules. Yeah, it would be much better than the Avengers. No spangly outfits, no assassins that scared the living crap out of him.
The suit began to jug and slowed down.
"Sir, I'm afraid the suit is going offline," JARVIS explained.
"Offline? How could it go offline?"
"The suit was not prepared for a flight this fast and intense. The new design is just a prototype."
"Right. Prototype." Tony grumbled. How could he have forgotten that this was only a prototype?
The offline message showed on the screen and soon the mechanic found himself falling to the earth, faster and faster by the second. He shut his eyes tightly, soon impacting with the roof of Stark Tower. The roof crumbled under the weight of the suit hitting it so hard, falling into the living, and then the kitchen. There was a scream heard in the tower as Tony pulled the mask off his face. "Ugh, that sucked."
Pepper came running into the kitchen, obviously startled by what had happened. "Tony! Oh my god." Her face went from concerned to frustrated when she noticed that he was in a suit. She sighed. "You're back to your old ways. Just accept that and get help! You can't keep doing this!" With that, she turned around and walked out of the destroyed kitchen, running a hand through her hair.
Sorry for the late update. Haven't been feeling all that great, so I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. And thanks to everyone who has left so many awesome reviews! You're all amazing.
Leave more reviews so I can update c:
