Today is the day I arbitrarily decided was Lara's birthday, so everyone please wish her a happy birthday, even though she only exists inside my mind!


Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

This wasn't the worst headache Tony had ever experienced in his life – the award for that easily went to the one he had in the days/weeks leading up to his aplastic anemia diagnosis – but it sure was an annoying one. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure it could be completely classified as a "headache." It was just a sort of throbbing, pulse-like sensation in his right temple. He tried pressing a couple of fingers against it, hoping that might ease it into stopping. It didn't. He just ended up feeling the pressure against his fingers as well as in his temple. When he realized that, he slowly pulled his fingers away from his head and frowned. It was clear nothing was going to change. At least, not until he was able to get away from this meeting.

Thankfully, they didn't have to face the board (yet.) This was just a meeting with a few people from SI's legal department, the head of HR, and the acting head of PR – a redheaded woman named Jane that already seemed to be leagues better than Freeman. Happy was also in the room, but that was more because Tony felt safer having him there. The reality of the fact that he and the other Avengers were attacked as setting in and was feeling a little shaken. It was terrifying that someone had the audacity to try and attack all the Avengers (minus Thor) at once and it wasn't hard to jump to the conclusion that if someone was bold enough to do that, they'd have no problem targeting him alone or SI. Although, supposedly all the perpetrators were caught and were in police custody, Tony wasn't entirely sure he could trust that, especially since the People's Unity Church seemed to be trying to factor themselves into the equation. So, he just felt better having someone in the room he could trust to get Pepper, Lara, and the other civilians to safety if everything were to suddenly go sideways. Besides, it was nice to have at least one more friendly face in the room; or at least a friendly face, period.

Both members of the legal team wore the same grim expressions on their faces as they explained that they didn't have much of a case for slander against Freeman. Slander was one of the hardest things to prove in court. There had to be solid evidence that the person had the intention to hurt or defame and while that might be as plain as day to anyone that he was trying to hurt SI and Tony's reputation, they needed tangible evidence that Freeman had done exactly that. Yes, they did have a recording of the press conference and an explicit transcript of everything that he had said, but that didn't prove his intent. They needed tangible evidence of that, too, and sadly, they didn't have that. Pepper and Lara could testify that they had spoken to him beforehand and were led to believe that the content of his speech to the media would be much different, that could all easily be dismissed as hearsay.

They also had to consider that the First Amendment protected Freeman's right to free speech and also probably the right to practice his religion, if his comments about a "day of reckoning" were in any way tied to his affiliation with the People's Unity Church. (Which they probably did.) As such, unless they were able to definitively prove that his words had irreparably hurt Tony and/or the company, they didn't have much of a case.

Obviously, that news had been disheartening to hear, but even before that the atmosphere in the room hadn't been anything close to cheerful prior to that. Pepper had sat at the head of the table with her hands folded neatly in front of her. She remained silent and was intently listening to everything the lawyers said, only speaking up when they finished and nodding when appropriate. It was clear that the situation was taking a toll on her. She looked paler than usual and even though she did her makeup as impeccably as she normally did, her eyes still looked tired. Just overall, she didn't seem like herself and she wasn't the only one.

Lara was clearly upset about something. Whether or not it had anything to do with the topic at hand, Tony couldn't be sure. He just knew the first time he saw her after breakfast that something was off. She had her hair tied up in an extremely tight bun that looked like it hurt, and she kept her gaze hard, no matter who or what she was looking at. As the meeting went on, Tony did notice that her hand kept drifting to the pocket of her messenger bag where she usually kept her personal cell phone. That eventually led him to the conclusion that it was something having to do with her ex. Once he figured that out, he felt the pulsing in his temple increase. He just hoped it didn't come to affect the workday. As much as he liked Lara, he didn't need her ex coming in to threaten her and cause problems. They already had enough problems to sift through. No one needed that.

Speaking of problems to sift through, by the time they were almost done with the meeting, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. However, it seemed the knock was just a formality because as soon it stopped, Cabe came flying through the door. Much like everyone else, she was clearly upset, but for her it manifested as clear and unbridled anger. Despite that, she was careful to gently set down the flash drive she was carrying down on the table as she walked up to it.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Potts," she said. "I have something you need to see." Pepper frowned.

"Uh, can this wait?" Pepper asked. "We're kind of in the middle of a meeting…"

"About Freeman, right?" Pepper's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well, yes." Cabe pushed the flash drive closer to her.

"This video was captured of him over our surveillance system," she explained. "You need to see it." Pepper took the flash drive before turning to the two department heads.

"Mr. Flenderson, Miss Watts, would you mind if we finished this another time?" Both were agreeable and headed out the door, which Happy shut behind them. Lara quickly pushed her laptop over to Pepper.

"Here," she said. "You can use this."

"Thank you," Pepper said gratefully. However, when she caught a look at the screen, her face scrunched. "You're still using Vista?" Lara frowned.

"It works fine," she insisted. "Just load the video."

Pepper did just that. Though, it clearly was taking longer than anyone would have liked. (You know, because it's Vista.) In the same amount of time, Tony had JARVIS locate the file Cabe had put on the flash drive and had him play it back on his phone. There was no audio, so no one was alerted to the fact that he already had the video up and playing, and Tony didn't go out of his way to tell them. Hey, that's what they get for forgetting the obvious.

The video was barely a minute long and was timed stamped for early in the morning two days before. Although one would expect surveillance footage to be grayscale and grainy, thanks to the miracle of JARVIS and Stark technology, the video was in perfect quality and full screaming color.

It started off as a still image of one of the emergency exits somewhere inside the parking garage under the Tower. Well, it wasn't really a still image. It was just that nothing was happening on-screen. That was, until Freeman stepped into frame.

Freeman slowly sauntered into the frame, clearly trying not to look suspicious. Tony could see that he was holding something cylindrical in his left hand, but it was small, and his hand covered most of it, so Tony couldn't entirely discern what it was. Freeman stopped in front of the emergency exit and turned around to scan the perimeter to make sure he wasn't being watched. Feeling he was safe, he turned back to the door. Without any hesitation, he pushed the bar to open the door. Surprisingly, the alarm didn't sound. Unsurprisingly, a flood of people in white robes, white polo shirts, and khaki pants came streaming in through the door.

The Peoples Unity Church. Although he was expecting it, Tony couldn't help the deflated feeling that came over him. For a moment, Tony leaned back and put a hand over his face. He tried to keep his breathing calm and even, but still the anger bubbled up. With no other way to release it, he ended up kicking one of the metal legs of the table. Hard.

"God damn it!"

"Shh!" Tony looked to his left to see that everyone had gathered around the laptop. Lara held one finger to her mouth and her gaze was sharp. With her hair pulled back so tightly combined with the narrow frames of her glasses made her give off serious strict librarian vibes. "The video just started."

"What is Freeman doing?" Pepper wondered aloud, her eyes not leaving the screen.

"Letting the Peoples Unity Church in." Everyone turned their gazes to Tony. "Spoilers."

Cabe sighed from where she was standing a few feet away from the others, but otherwise remained as stoic as always. Obviously, she had already seen the video, so she already knew what was going to happen. Everyone else, though, turned back to watch it all play out for themselves. Tony could tell when they got to the point where Freeman let the Church members in as there were a few muttered comments and Lara actually had to step away to take a few deep breaths, shutting her eyes and placing a hand against the back wall. Pepper had a similar reaction, bracing her hands together and leaning forward to press her forehead against them. Once she took a couple of deep breaths, she straightened up and composed herself swiftly.

"Is this the only video you have?" Cabe nodded.

"Unfortunately," she said. "I have people going through our backlog of security video right now. We've found a few instances of cameras near different entrances and exits suddenly going offline, but nothing that directly implicates one person other than this."

"Cameras going offline?" Tony questioned.

"Yes," Cabe said as she nodded. "It's been happening for the past month or so."

"And this is the first I'm hearing about it?" Cabe frowned.

"We made several reports to IT about it," she said. "But there seems to be failure in communications going on. I sent an inquiry about the reports today and according to the Head of IT, they never received any such reports and seem to have as much a clue about what's going on as I do."

"Yeah," Tony said. "That's when you call me." Cabe sighed.

"Sorry." It came out a little more begrudging than he would have liked, but Tony still shrugged in acceptance.

"It's not like anything can be done about it now," he said. "JARVIS, get a working archive of every time any of the surveillance cameras have gone offline in the last six months – barring anything dated September 4th, 2011."

"Right away, Sir," the AI responded.

"Alright," Pepper said, turning to look each of the legal people in the eye. "Is there anything we can do about this?" One of the legal people – a man with salt and pepper hair named Mr. DeMarcus – frowned.

"He can get hit with trespassing and aiding and abetting the commission of a crime," he said. "But that would fall on the NYPD, not us."

"What about violation of a restraining order?" All eyes went to Lara, who was turning around, pulling herself away from the wall. "Can he face any charges on that?" The lawyer raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a restraining order out against him?" he asked.

"No," Lara said. "But I have a restraining order out against my ex-husband, who is a member of that group and has been showing up at the tower with them and has tried to contact me while here." DeMarcus shrugged.

"That might be a second count of aiding and abetting," he said. "But it's probably not enough to make a difference." Lara muttered a harsh curse under her breath and started pacing the room while Pepper's eyes grew concerned.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What is the maximum penalty for all of that."

"In the State of New York," DeMarcus said. "Trespass against land is considered a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of twelve months incarceration. Meanwhile, accessories to a crime can face up to fifteen years in prison and that's usually reserved for truly serious crimes such as murder or bank robbery. With trespass, a judge is more likely to add a few years' probation to his sentence."

"What?!" Lara exclaimed. "That's insane!"

"No," the second person from legal spoke up. He was a younger man with freckles covering most of his face. "What's insane is that you're all acting like we can do something about this when we're corporate attorneys." The entire room fell silent. DeMarcus shot the younger attorney a sharp look. "What? I'm just saying what needed to be said." DeMarcus sighed.

"Mr. Moss is right," he said. "Although I can advise you as to what to expect, I am unable to press actual criminal charges against Mr. Freeman or anyone else. That would be the job of the District Attorney's office, which you seem to be forgetting."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. DeMarcus," Pepper said, holding up a placating hand. "If I phrased any of my questions to lead you to believe otherwise, I apologize."

"You're fine, Miss Potts," DeMarcus said. "That was more directed to Mr. Stark and Miss Conroy."

"I'm well aware you are corporate attorneys," Tony said. "That's what I hired you for."

"That may be true," DeMarcus said. "But you're over here leaned back in your chair and pouting like a five-year-old while your assistant is stalking around the room like the theme from Jaws should be accompanying her." Instantly, Tony put his feet back down on the ground and Lara came to a stop next to Happy. Neither her nor Tony dropped the disappointed looks from their faces. DeMarcus sighed. "There's nothing I can do here. Unless you, Miss Potts, want an update on our case against the Hay-Adams Hotel…" Tony's brows knitted in confusion.

"Case? What case?" Pepper shot out a hand to stop him.

"That's fine," she said. "We can discuss that later, privately…"

"Or we can discuss this now," Tony interjected. Pepper held up her hand in the stop signal a little higher.

"…After I've gotten a chance to talk to Mr. Stark about it," she said. "Is that okay with you?" DeMarcus shrugged.

"That's fine," he said. "But we have actual work we could be doing down in legal." Pepper's eye twitched at the annoyance in his tone, but still managed to look and sound pleasant.

"Of course," she said. "Thank you for your insight, Mr. DeMarcus, Mr. Moss. I'll get into contact with you about that soon." DeMarcus nodded as he and Moss got up.

"Of course, Miss Potts," was all that was said before the lawyers left. Once they were gone, Cabe crossed her arms and looked at the door before turning back to Pepper.

"Do you need me to stay for this?" Pepper shook her head.

"That's not necessary," she said. "Tony and I are adults. We are perfectly capable of having a civil discussion." Tony gave Pepper a side-eye and she responded by giving him a sharp, warning look. Cabe narrowed her eyes at both.

"Right," she said, before turning to Happy. "Hogan keep an eye on them. All three of them." Lara scoffed, but Cabe remained unphased. Meanwhile, Happy nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. Cabe then looked at each of them sternly.

"Behave," she warned one last time before walking away, shutting the door behind her.

Tony shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to fight with Pepper any more than she wanted to fight with him. So, he did her the courtesy of trying to calm himself down before he tried talking to her, especially since she didn't deserve to have all his frustration at Freeman dumped on her. Once he felt calm enough, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What case against the Hay-Adams Hotel?" Pepper took a calming breath as well, but otherwise didn't hesitate to respond.

"Last week," she started. "When you were missing, Steve, Dr. Banner, and Agents Romanoff and Barton went searching for you. They started their search by reviewing the hotel's surveillance footage. What they found was a video of you being thrown out of the hotel by management and the D.C. Metro Police. Romanoff sent me the video after she and the rest of the group got word that you were safe." Tony frowned, but it was more out of confusion than disappointment or anger.

"What?" Pepper gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know this is probably distressing for you…"

"I don't remember this," Tony cut her off. "This was last week?" Pepper nodded.

"Yeah," she said.

"And I'm only just hearing about this now?" Pepper frowned.

"I didn't think you'd need to be told about it…"

"I was drunk off my ass, Pepper," Tony said. "You can't expect me to remember anything!"

"Tony…" He turned to look at Happy and saw that despite his friend's warning tone, he had a genuine look of concern on his face. A glance back at Pepper showed that look mirrored on her face, perhaps doubly so. Tony found himself in sudden need of another deep breath.

"Sorry." Pepper nodded in acceptance. "So, I got thrown out of the hotel?"

"Yes." Tony shrugged.

"What did I do to earn that?" Pepper's eyes went wide.

"Absolutely nothing," she said. "The hotel called the police to break up a wild party and you somehow got caught up in the confusion. They threw you out by mistake."

"Mistake?" he questioned. "Are you sure about that?" Pepper frowned.

"Yes, Tony," she said. "We're sure."

"And you have a video of this?"

"Yes." A pained expression came across Tony's face. So, there was a video of him being a drunk jerk. That was nothing new. At least it wasn't a sex tape. Still, he couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself, especially if…

"Who's seen the tape?" Pepper's brow knitted in confusion. "Who's seen the tape?" Tony asked again.

"Uh…" Pepper looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall. "Me, Lara, Happy… Romanoff and Barton… I think Dr. Banner…?"

"What about Steve?" Tony tried to swallow around the knot in his throat, hoping beyond hope that Steve hadn't…

"Yes." Tony leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table in front of him and his head in his hands.

God damn it! Tony didn't know why he was so upset about that. Again, it wasn't like this was anything new. Steve had seen him at his absolute worst. Seeing him acting like a fool on a surveillance tape wouldn't change anything. Still, Tony somehow felt hurt. Not by Steve, but by himself.

Gently, Tony felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. He looked up to see Pepper giving him a soft, slightly said look.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That probably wasn't my place…"

"You're fine," Tony said. "I just… I…" He put his head back in his hand. What he wanted to say was that he hated himself, but he knew that wouldn't go over well. God, just when he thought he was starting to put that night behind him… It was just like one tiny step forward and one giant leap back. "So, you're suing the hotel?" He looked back up to see the tail end of Pepper's nod.

"Yes," she said. "And the Metro Police." Somehow, that made the situation feel much worse.

"And this is absolutely necessary?" Pepper looked shocked that he'd even ask that.

"Of course, it is," she said. "I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't."

Tony forced himself to nod. In all honesty, he didn't want Pepper (or, rather, the company) suing the hotel and the police. In fact, he still didn't believe that he hadn't done anything wrong. He probably did something off-camera that he didn't remember and that instigated that sort of response from both the hotel and the police. After all, he was wasted beyond all reason at the time. It wouldn't be that crazy to assume…

"You okay?" Again, Tony forced himself to nod.

"I'm fine," he said. "Pepper didn't look assured, but Happy beat her pressing further.

"You sure about that?" Tony felt the surge of guilt going through him increase as he looked at his friend.

"I am," he lied. The looks on both Happy and Pepper's faces told him that it wasn't being bought. "Look what do you want me to say? I fucked up horribly and I can't fix that, and I hate it, but there's nothing that can be done about it. Besides, I think we should be focusing on more urgent matters right now, like keeping Courtney Love over here from doing in her own husband." Pepper and Happy caught that he was trying to deflect, but before they could say anything about it, Lara took the bait.

"Okay," she said. "First of all, it's ex-husband, emphasis on the ex." Tony shrugged.

"Semantics," he said. "But okay."

"Secondly," Lara continued. "You don't understand exactly what Freeman did. He let a man who tried to kill me – a murderer – into the building where I work, into my proximity. I might be wrong; it might be the PTSD talking, but I perceive that as a threat. So, yeah, I have a right to feel scared and angry."

"We've fired Freeman," Pepper reminded her. "And the police and our security team are aware of the situation. More importantly, you've taken out a personal protection order against your ex. You've taken all the right steps. You shouldn't have to feel afraid."

"I'm not upset because I'm afraid," she said. "I'm upset because I shouldn't have been made to feel that way in the first place. He tried to kill me. I never wanted to see his face again."

"Wait," Happy said. "You said he's a murderer, but he only tried to kill you."

"Yeah," Lara said.

"So, isn't that only attempted murder?" he asked.

"Yeah, Lara said. "One count of attempted murder, one count of actual murder."

"So, what did he kill someone else?" Happy asked.

"Yes," Lara said. "And that's all I'm willing to say about it." Happy still looked a little confused, but Pepper held up a hand to silence any further questions.

"Regardless," she said. "I understand you're feeling scared and frustrated right now, but can you just take a step back for a moment and relax? The way you've been behaving is very alarming and unprofessional, and neither Tony nor I can have you acting this way." Lara shook her head and pressed two fingers to her temple. She tried to take a deep breath, but it came out rather strained.

"I don't think I can." Her voice was broken, and a tear escaped one of her eyes. Pepper frowned and moved across the room to comfort her. Now that he was out from under Pepper's watchful eye, Tony took the chance to escape.

Stepping out of the meeting room felt freeing. The air felt fresher in the hallway and most of the pressure left his body. Finally, he had the space to think clearly. At least, that's what the initially thought. Shortly after he stepped outside, he heard the door he just walked through open and close again. Turning around, he saw Happy standing there. Tony sighed.

"I'm not getting away with this, am I?" Tony asked.

"That was kind of low," Happy said. "Bringing up her ex like that." Tony shrugged.

"What can I say? I was desperate. I'll apologize to her later."

"Right," Happy said. "But what are you going to do about the video? Are you going to talk to Steve about it?"

"No," he said. "To be honest, I don't blame him or Pepper for watching the video. I just wish the video didn't exist at all." Then the lightbulb clicked in his head. "Wait…" Happy's eyes went wide as he caught on to Tony's line of thinking.

"Oh no, Boss," he said. "Pepper still needs that footage for the lawsuit."

"Well, I don't want her to sue," Tony said. "I just want this gone!"

He then took off in the direction of the elevator. He heard Happy call after him, but Tony ignored him. Once inside, he shoved his key for the penthouse into the proper slot and slammed his hand down on the "close doors" button so fast, it left a stinging feeling in his hand for a few moments. Bouncing anxiously on the balls of his feet, Tony awaited the elevator's arrival on the proper floor when JARVIS' voice came over the speakers."

"Sir, you have an incoming call from Col. Rhodes." Tony frowned.

"Not now," Tony practically groaned. "JARVIS, send him to voicemail."

"I'm afraid I am being overridden."

"Tony?" Rhodey's voice came over the speakers at the same time the elevator chimed to indicate it had reached the desired floor and the doors opened. Tony stepped out with his eyes squeezed shut, wishing that he had never given Rhodey JARVIS' override code.

"Hey there, Rhodeybear," he said. "What's up?"

"I just got a text from Hogan saying that you were about to do something stupid." Tony forced himself to laugh at that.

"Seriously, Rhodes?" he said. "That's why you called? Come on! When have you ever known me to do something stupid?"

"Galveston Beach, spring break 1988," Rhodey listed. "Your fortieth birthday party, that time you tried to use a plastic fork to pull a hot dog out of a pot of boiling water." Tony's face scrunched half in disgust, half trying to remember when that last one happened. "I'm sure Steve could give me some more recent examples." Tony shook his head, despite knowing that Rhodey couldn't see it.

"No need for that," he said. "I assure you that I'm not doing anything stupid. There's no need for you to worry. You can go about your – ow!"

Tony bumped against the glass a bit as he tried to push open the glass door separating the foyer from the hallway open. Trying to push the bar down, he found that it had give, but he couldn't open it. The door was locked.

"Enough screwing around, JARVIS," he said. "Let me in."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sir." Tony furrowed his brow.

"Why?"

"Because I override him and locked the door in front of you." Tony frowned, wondering how Rhodey could have so much access if he wasn't…

"Are you at the Malibu house?"

"Yeah," Rhodey confirmed.

"Should've known." Tony sucked a breath in through his teeth.

"Now what's going on over there?" Rhodey asked. "I just walked in the front door after two weeks of being out of the country and I get this text that you're going to do something stupid. Please tell me that no one stole your tech and now you have to go blow them up." Tony sighed and stepped over to a bench a few feet away.

"Thank fully no," he said. "I don't have to blow anyone up this time."

"Then what's going on?"

Tony then explained the events of the past two weeks. He had to condense it down a lot, but even the condensed version was quite shocking. Well, at least it sounded shocking to Tony's own ears. Rhodey didn't seem surprised at all, but that was probably because he had experienced many of Tony's drunken antics first-hand. It was all old hat to him, which only made Tony feel the slightest bit more guilty. It took a while to get it all out, and by the time he was done, Tony was sweating.

"Shit," was Rhodey's initial reaction. "Are you okay, though?" Tony swallowed hard.

"Ah, the age-old question…"

"Tony?" Squeezing his eyes shut, Tony shook his head and forced an answer out of his mouth.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I… I don't know."

"Do you need me to come out there?" The concern in Rhodey's voice was palpable, even over the phone. However, that didn't deter Tony from hastening his reply.

"No, no," he said. "You just got off a plane. Don't get on another one."

"I don't care," Rhodey said. "If you need me…"

"I'm okay," Tony said. "I mean, I'm not okay, but it's not urgent. You can stay where you are."

"You sure?" Rhodey questioned.

"I'm sure," Tony said. "I have Steve. I'm not in any immediate danger or anything."

"Have you been talking to Steve?"

"Yeah."

"Have you been talking to anyone else?" Tony frowned and remained silent. "I'll take that as a no." Tony scoffed.

"What else would it be?" he asked.

"You know, you could talk to Happy and Pepper about this," Rhodey pointed out. "They seem really concerned."

"Yeah," Tony said. "Concerned enough to file a lawsuit without even talking to me about it, first?" That was his real problem with this. She went ahead and did something that concerned him without his input, especially when there was video evidence which could end up online.

"Yes." Tony sighed.

"That can't be right," he said.

"Look," Rhodey said. "I agree that Pepper probably should have talked to you before going forward with this, but you have to admit that the hotel needs to be held accountable for their actions."

"What if their actions were justified," Tony said. "Who's to say I didn't do anything wrong? I mean, you know what I'm like when I'm drunk."

"Yeah," Rhodey said. "I do. I also know that if you were really that drunk and they wanted you gone, they should have taken you to the police station or the hospital; not throw you out on the street. Nothing you did could justify that. You understand that, right?"

"Yes," Tony reluctantly agreed. He hated no win situations like that. "Okay, I'll leave this whole thing alone, but I'm not going to be happy about it."

"I'm not saying that," Rhodey said. "I'm just saying think about it rationally and talk to Pepper before you do anything rash."

"I wasn't going to do anything rash." Tony huffed.

"Sure, you weren't," Rhodey said. "Look, calm down and don't delete the video just yet. Who knows? You might end up regretting it."

Tony really didn't think he would, but at the same time he had to admit that deleting the video might be the wrong thing to do. So, after he ended the call with Rhodey, Tony didn't try to get back in the penthouse, even though he heard the door unlock. Instead, he headed back downstairs to face the rest of the day, however painful that may be.


Special thanks to DiveTooDeep who commented and the guest who left kudos on AO3! It really means a lot!

Hey! Look! Rhodey is here! I finally managed to get him to sit down and co-operate with me in order to write the story! Isn't that fantastic!

Now, some of you might remember that I mentioned in a different author's note I mentioned I was going to do a separate Rhodey and Tony fic while I was doing this one, but uh... It didn't work out that way. I realized I couldn't separate that story off from this one without leading to a lot of confusion and just for ease of convenience for me, I sort of worked it back into this story. So, just so you know we're going to be taking a bit of a detour in chapters forty-six and forty-seven of this fic, but remember I'm doing it for character purposes and I really hope it doesn't derail the plot too much.

However, before that happens I should also let you know that I'm going to be taking another hiatus. It's not going to be as big as last time! Let me assure you of that! I'm just not going to be posting in November or December because even with the pandemic going on, I still have a lot going on other priorities around that time that take precedence, and I know I won't be able to write fast enough to keep up with posting. As of right now, I'm writing chapter forty-nine and I almost have all of January covered, so things are looking up. The last chapter that's going to be released before I go on hiatus again will be chapter forty-four on October 28th. So don't worry, we still have plenty more stories to go before we have to go on pause! Look forward to that!

Remember kids, I'm a human with learning disabilities and executive dysfunction, and I can only write so fast!


Originally posted to FFN on 9/24/20.