Disclaimer: I own squat.

This chapter is going to get dark... You've been warned.

Chapter Ten: Blooming Red

Tony knocked back another drink as he watched the street life below him. Just what does Bruce think he knows about his life? 'He doesn't, that's what.' Tony swung his feet slowly in the air. He was sitting on the edge of the landing pad on the top of the tower, looking over the skyline of the city below. He had come up here about an hour ago, grabbing a bottle of scotch on his way. Damn Bruce. Damn him and all of his opinions. Tony just couldn't believe the man's words.

'Tony, how could you be so brilliant, yet so blind! I see the way he looks at you every time you say or do something amusing. Hell, he'll beam a smile when you just walk into a room!'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'The Hell you don't! I just want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you don't feel anything for him.' Bruce's voice quieted.

'Feel anything for who?'

'Stop playing dumb, Tony. You know I'm talking about Steve.'

'I don't know what I feel.'

No, there was no way. There was no way in Hell that it could be true. The world just wasn't kind enough to let someone like Steve Rogers have feelings for someone as worthless as himself. The man himself had basically told Tony, not even a week after meeting him, that he was worthless and that Steve could have no other feelings for him beside hatred.

'Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?'

'Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.'

'I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.'

He was right, too. That is the worst part about it. His childhood hero had told him these biting words, in front of others, and they were true.

Tony threw back the bottle of scotch once more, the empty glass sitting abandoned next to him. He looked at the bottle with a frown as it ran out. He quickly stood up and hurtled the bottle as hard as he could over the edge of the landing pad, watching it grow smaller until it disappeared into the darkness.

* STONY FOREVER *

The piece metal was cool in his palm. Tony felt the slightest bit of relief at simply holding the razor blade, though it was quickly losing its power over him as it sat motionless.

Fingers shaking by drink, not by fear, moved the razor blade to trace light lines across an exposed wrist. The movements cause a shiver of anticipation to pass over Tony, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging slightly open. Tony's eyes opened to focus on his wrist and the metal he held in his right hand.

Without hesitation the blade pushed hard against soft flesh, an almost invisible line following behind in its path. Red bloomed to the surface of his skin, and Tony stared in awe at its beauty. The buzz in his head cleared for a second, as did the pain in his chest. Line after line of blooming red followed the first, each one mesmerizing Tony with their brilliance.

'He wont be happy, you know. You should stop. You should tell him and let him help you,' a voice whispered to Tony from the back of his mind.

'No. No one will care, so what's the use on telling them?' he replied to the voice.

'He will care. You know he will,' it argued back.

'Why would he care? I feel so alone. I feel like nobody cares about me, that nobody would even realize if I was gone. Nobody would shed a tear, instead they'd feel relieved,' Tony continued, ignoring the voice's last comment. He drove the razor blade against his wrist again, harder than the others.

'I feel like I'm nothing more that a waste of space and it kills me to know that; that is all I'll ever be,' Tony finished.

Tony leaned his head back against his pillows. As Tony stared at the ceiling above him, his thoughts started becoming hazy. His head became heavy and lolled to the side, his eyes slowly recognizing the large windows that made up the wall in front of him. Tony's peripheral vision was quickly turning red as his blood stained the sheets beneath his body. Tony's last thoughts were of his smiling face before everything went dark.

A/N: Any thoughts? Please send me a review or any suggestions you may have. Thanks! -A