Logan sat there with her mouth hanging open in shock as Tony explained what it was in his chest and how it was keeping him alive. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, she couldn't believe what he had been through. Shrapnel from an explosive was inside of him, and this arc reactor acted as a magnet, stopping the sharp pieces of metal from getting to his heart and ultimately killing him. It was unbelievable, she couldn't process what he was saying.
Tony told her a man had designed it and put it in his chest, saving his life, and now he had to live with it for the rest of his life. Once he finished explaining it to her, he stopped talking and watched as she sat there in shock, shaking her head in disbelief.
''Y-you're okay now...right?'' she asked. ''It doesn't hurt?''
Tony shook his head. ''It's doesn't hurt, I'm fine.''
Logan kept shaking her head. ''I had no idea you...went through something like that.''
''I haven't told anyone. Well, only three people know about this,'' he pointed to his chest. ''but I haven't talked to anyone about it.''
Logan moved her hand up to touch the arc reactor, stopping before it. ''Can I?''
Tony put his hand around hers and pulled it to his chest, resting it on top of the metal circle. ''It doesn't hurt, I promise.''
''This is crazy.'' she shook her head again. ''I can't believe it.''
''I know.'' he nodded.
Before he spoke any more, Logan moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug as she held him close. Thinking about him going through that, seeing what he had to live with now, she just wanted to hold him close. This day had been way too much for both of them, and everything was taking it's toll. Logan had only just realized how much Tony meant to her and that she actually held these feelings for him, and now she had to hear about what he went through over those three months, it hurt her knowing.
''I can't believe I was over there...when this was happening to you.'' she told him quietly as his hands wrapped around her as well, holding her close. ''And I was reporting on it while you were...god, I'm sorry.''
''For what, not knowing? No one did-''
''For making stories out of it. Your misery paid my bills, and to think about that...it's horrible.'' she shook her head, pulling back from him a little bit. Tony didn't know what to say to her, so he just ran his hand along her back and pulled her closer. ''I'm sorry they did that to you.'' she told him, putting her hands on his face and lifting so he could look at her and know that she meant what she was saying. ''I know people say a lot of things about you, and I know that before you left I wasn't exactly nice to you and said some things, but you didn't deserve anything that happened to you, and I really wish it didn't happen.''
As she was talking, Tony was looking into her eyes and noticing how genuine her words really were. He couldn't believe there was someone like her out there, and most of all that she was here with him. He had just told her about something that happened to him that was completely out of her control, and she was apologizing to him for all of it because she knew no one else had. In his eyes, she was unbelievable. No one had ever been there for Tony like she was, and instead of looking at him differently because of the arc reactor in his chest, she embraced him, showing him that she only cared about him.
Tony reached his hands up to her face and pulled her closer until their lips met. Slowly, their lips parted and they became lost in the kiss, holding onto each other desperately. Once they broke apart, Tony rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes again.
''Thank you.'' he told her quietly. ''For uh, for being here...for me.''
Logan knew Tony wasn't good at phrasing his feelings, but he didn't have to. She knew what he meant, and she nodded her head in understanding and held him close once again.
''I want you tell me what happened over there.'' she ran her hands over his cheek. ''But not yet, you don't have to tell me it all at once, I understand. But I do want you to know that I will listen to everything you say, and you know you can trust me, I promise.''
Tony nodded in agreement, resting his head on her chest as she pulled him closer into a hug. She was telling him to open up to her, and he was accepting it, but he couldn't do it just yet. He had already taken so many big steps today, and Logan understood that, but they both knew that when the time was right, they would talk more about it. However, for now, they were just going to enjoy each other's company because it was all they wanted.
Logan walked up the stairs in her apartment building at around five in the afternoon after being at Tony's for most of the day. So much had happened in this one day, she just wanted to get in her apartment and go straight to bed to think about everything. All she knew was that she had feelings for Tony, and he had feelings for her, but other than that, the whole situation was confusing.
When she reached her apartment level, she quickly noticed a tapping on her door as she rounded the corner and found Drew standing outside, leaning on the wall as if he had been there for a while now.
''What do you want?'' Logan asked, walking up behind him and opening her door, walking inside and letting him follow.
''Where the hell have you been? I've been calling you ever since you left.'' he told her, closing the door behind him.
''Out. I needed some space.'' she looked over to him, throwing her keys over onto the kitchen bench. ''Is that all?''
Drew sighed. ''What is going on with you?''
''I told you. You're making up bullshit stories just for money, you know how I feel about that.''
''That's before all this happened to us, Logan.'' he shook his head. ''We're not amateurs anymore fighting to get a story, we're at the top of the food chain, people expect stories from us. Interesting ones.''
''I don't think that's a pass to write false ones.'' she scoffed.
''Seriously, what is the big deal?'' Drew asked, raising his voice. ''I've done it before, and you haven't said anything about it.''
Logan didn't know how to defend herself, but she wasn't giving in. ''I think it's just getting to a breaking point now Drew.'' she shrugged. ''I can't work with you if you're going to do this, sorry. I only got into this so I could do what I liked to do, and I liked it there for a while, but you've changed way too much.''
Drew shook his head. ''You're out? That's it?'' he asked. ''Because of one story.''
''It's not because of the damn story! The story was just the last thing I could take.'' she told him forcefully. ''Everything you do now is for a story, and you don't care about what you have to do or who you might be hurting in order to get it. I can't work like that, I've said that from the start.''
Drew nodded in understanding as he leaned back against the door, thinking. ''I need you, Logan.'' he told her honestly. ''I can't work with anyone else, we've got this thing and I like it, don't give up on it.''
Logan had to admit they did work really well together, and they had fun. ''I don't want to give up on it, but you know where I stand on the whole thing.''
Drew clapped his hands together. ''We can compromise.'' he told her confidently. ''You can read anything I write before I submit it, I promise. I won't make up stories, I won't.''
Logan rolled her eyes. ''Don't tell me all of this if you're just going to do it anyway.''
''I won't, I promise. Please, come on I can't work without you, I need you there. We're a team, a dynamic, can't do it on my own.'' he gave her a smile. ''Please. Just...come in to work tomorrow, I promise everything will be different.''
Logan sighed and ran her hand through her hair. ''Fine.'' she told him simply. ''I'll see you tomorrow.''
Drew gave her a huge grin before opening the door and walking out. ''You won't regret it Walker!''
''I better not!''
Once Drew was gone, Logan threw herself back on her couch and let out a deep breath, closing her eyes. She kept thinking about everything that had happened, and her mind was running wild with how things had changed so much. Rolling onto her side, she spotted the big file she had under her cabinet in the corner and instantly began thinking about something else.
That was the file she had kept since Afghanistan, with all the photos inside of things she had found and places she went to, things she saw, and then something caught her interest. Tony had the arc reactor in his chest now because of shrapnel that was inside of him, and Logan distinctly remembered the pile of small specs of metal that she had found while filming Drew over there, and how she put it inside her pocket and kept it in the files as well.
It had made her so curious that she got up and went to the file, crossing her legs on the ground as she looked through it. There were photos of burnt metal and destruction, as well as huge carts of Stark Industries weapons being hidden in villages. She thought about what this all meant, and she knew that the shrapnel she picked up was the same as the shrapnel inside Tony, and she knew that was the exact spot he was taken.
''Oh my god.'' she shook her head, realizing how much this photo held now that she knew what happened there.
For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off the photos she had taken, and she knew that Tony would want to see them as well, but she didn't know why she was feeling so strongly about it. It was like these photos held so much now that she knew about what happened to Tony, and she found them intriguing. She sat there for the rest of the afternoon, looking through all of the photos, looking to see if there was anything else she was missing.
''See, wasn't today better?'' Drew asked as they walked out of the office building the next afternoon.
Logan chuckled. ''I wonder how long you're going to keep up the 'innocent' act.''
''What innocent act?'' he asked, shocked. ''I'm all genuine Walker, one hundred percent. Seriously, if you didn't agree to stay, I would've got down on my knees and begged.''
''Really? Man, I should have held off for that.'' Logan shook her head, walking over to her car.
''So I should expect to see you tomorrow?'' Drew asked cautiously.
''I suppose so.'' Logan smiled. ''If there's a coffee waiting on my desk.''
''You got it!'' Drew waved before getting into his car as well.
Logan looked into the backseat as she sat in the car, making sure the file she brought with her was still in the car. She had brought it with her so that she could stop by Tony's to show him, but she kept wondering whether it was a good idea or not. It might bring back feelings that he doesn't want to remember, or it might trigger something, and she had to be careful.
The whole way to Tony's house, Logan kept arguing with herself over whether or not to show him the photos or not, she didn't want to push him into talking about something he didn't want to, but she felt like he had to see them, something wasn't right.
''Logan Walker has arrived at the premises, sir.'' Jarvis informed Tony who was down in the workshop.
He quickly put his tools down and secured the room before walking upstairs. Pepper was out doing something at Stark Industries, and Tony was glad to answer the door for himself. He hadn't seen Logan in almost a day, and even though he hated sounded like an idiot, he did miss her company despite them being together only a day ago.
''Hey,'' Logan smiled when he opened the door.
Tony's lips pulled into a slight smile as he held the door open and stepped aside for her to come in. ''Hey.'' he closed the door behind her. ''Shouldn't you be at work?''
''Finished early.'' she nodded. ''Well, I declared I finished early, anyway.''
Tony chuckled. ''They let you run the place down there?''
''Oh yeah, it's a part of my new deal with Drew.'' she told him. ''He doesn't write anymore fake stories, and I don't quit. It's a compromise.''
Tony grinned at her, moving closer. He still couldn't believe he had accused her of being the one to tell the tabloids about him, when he thought about it now, he sounded crazy. He couldn't help the feeling inside him as he heard that Logan was standing up for him, she was amazing. Tony stepped closer and put his hands on her waist, dipping his head down to give her a soft kiss as her hand rested on his chest.
Tony pulled away a short time later and realized that Logan's hand were resting on the arc reactor, tracing the metal circle in his chest with wonder. The blue glow radiated through his shirt and she stared at it, mesmerized.
''It takes a while to uh, get used to it, I know.'' he told her with a nod.
''It hums.'' she told him, pressing her hand against it more. ''I can feel it.''
Tony looked down at her hand. ''Yeah, it's weird.''
Logan shook her head. ''It's...comforting.'' she smiled, nodding her head. ''Yeah, comforting.''
Tony couldn't resist kissing her one more time, and she chuckled against his lips at his response to her words. For a moment they forgot about everything that happened, it was nice. Tony's hand ran down hers until they met with a file in Logan's hands. Tony pulled away and looked up at her with confusion and excitement.
''What's that?'' he asked, curious.
Logan looked down at the file worriedly and then back to Tony. ''Something that I've been wanting to show you, but I don't know if it's a good idea.''
Tony made a face. ''Okay...what do you mean?''
Logan sighed. ''I can't explain it, I have to show you.''
Tony nodded his head, looking at her seriously. ''Then show me.''