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Previously: Ed, Tony, Pepper, and Happy all went to Monaco for the Grand Prix Historique. There, Pepper found out that Tony had hired Nathalie Rushman as his new personal assistant. Tony also decided to be a driver in the race where he was attacked by Ivan Vanko. Ed stepped in to help until Pepper and Happy showed up with the Iron Man suit. The problem: cameras. Cameras EVERYWHERE.


May 23rd, 2010 – Monaco – Pepper's POV

Pepper should have known this trip would not have been simple… She didn't know why she had even brought her hopes up about it…

And now…

Of course, unsurprisingly, Ed had adamantly refused to be taken to a hospital or even let a doctor take a look at her for any severe injuries.

And, lie as she might, Pepper knew Ed had gotten hurt…

It nearly broke her heart seeing Ed sprawled across the road during the attack, struggling to get up. And, when she had…

Pepper needed to remember to keep some form of composure.

She had lost most of it in the car but… She was CEO now. She needed to portray herself better than that.

Her resolve was almost short-lived seeing the… damage on Ed.

The young adult's prosthetic arm had signs of electric burns, darkened lines wrapping around the forearm as the limb itself hung, unmoving, at her side, her sleeve almost completely burned off.

But… The rest of her…

Pepper truly wished Ed would let someone look at her. The rest of her clothes were singed and torn, a bruise already forming on her forehead.

And Pepper was sure there were more cuts and bruises hidden underneath that Ed refused to talk about or even acknowledge.

However, the way she held herself and winced as she walked was a clear indication that Ed was worse for wear than she was leading on.

And it pained Pepper.

A lot.

She just wished Ed would do something about it and stop being so stubborn.

The problem was, Pepper was almost worried that if she did insist about Ed going to see a doctor that the young adult would either throw a fit, grow violent or even run away.

All options didn't sound very pleasant…

Therefore, as Tony and Happy went to the prison to interrogate the man that had attacked them, Pepper had shepherded Ed to another car Nathalie had waiting for them to drive them to the hotel first and then the airport.

There was not point in staying in Monaco longer than necessary…

Pepper still couldn't believe though that Tony had gone behind her back and hired Nathalie as his personal assistant. The nerve he had sometimes! He knew she disapproved of that option from the very beginning but, of course, Tony Stark did exactly what Tony Stark wanted to do, not listening to anyone else.

Yes, she had been annoyed, irritated, maybe had even wanted to give Tony a verbal lashing but, considering all that had happened, Pepper needed to move passed it and utilize the extra set of hands.

Once they were back in the USA, Pepper knew there was a lot of work to be done…

She wasn't looking forward to it.

However, first thing first was that, she needed to get Ed onto the airplane before the young adult collapsed.

Pepper was scared that it almost happened when they had arrived at the airport. As the two women got out of the car, Ed stumbled badly, just catching herself on the car door with her good arm as she stared straight ahead of her.

"Ed, what's wrong?" wondered Pepper, hoping it wasn't about getting on the plane or about her health. She had warned the young adult earlier and it shouldn't have been a surprise to her. But… if it was because of her injuries. Pepper was almost ready to man handle the young adult to a hospital.

"Who's that?" asked Ed slowly, still staring at…

Oh! Relief washed over Pepper as she explained, "That's Nathalie. Nathalie Rushman. Tony's new personal assistant." She hoped she managed to keep the bitterness from her voice.

Ed slowly nodded before leaning slightly closer to Pepper, asking in a hushed tone, "And… we trust her?"

That… That was a good question.

"To an extent," replied Pepper, listening to her gut and Ed nodded in understanding.

Besides, Nathalie still had a long way to go to earn said trust: this had only been the second time they had crossed paths.

"Miss Potts," greeted Nathalie, nodding towards Pepper. "The jet will be ready to depart the moment Mr. Stark arrives."

"Thank you, Nathalie," said Pepper, holding onto Ed's arm as she led her towards the jet.

Nathalie's gaze flickered towards Ed and, after a moment of hesitation, Pepper added, "This is Evelyn. I'll explain more on the way home."

Ed just nodded in Nathalie's direction before pulling herself up the jet's staircase. Even though Pepper could have scolded Ed for being somewhat rude, Pepper could also tell the young adult looked ready to fall over at any moment.

The quicker they got onto the jet, the better it would be overall.


It had been a few hours since they had taken off and Pepper readjusted her position in her seat once again, staring in disdain at Senator Stern's sweaty face on the small screen across from her.

"It's – it's just unbelievable. It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man has no idea what he's doing. He has – what? – a teenager defending him?" the Senator even scoffed, shaking his head. "And he thinks the Iron Man weapon as a toy. If I didn't know better, I'd say we were back in grade school," he continued and Pepper faintly heard someone at the doorway behind her.

Considering Nathalie had said she would be working in the other area, Happy with the pilots and Ed…

Pepper knew it was Tony standing behind her.

"I was at the hearing where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for 5 to 10 years." Pepper took a deep breath, shifting once again. Of course, whatever Tony had said would come back and bite them in the butt… "And here we are in Monaco realizing, 'Uh oh, these suits exist now'. They exist and, not only was Mr. Stark ill-equipped to deal with it, him and his… what? Child? Bodyguard? Put innocent lives in danger."

"Mute," came Tony's voice from behind her and the sound turned off, even if Senator Stern's awful face remained on the screen. "He should be giving me a medal, that's the truth."

He placed a covered plate on the small tablet in front of Pepper, pulling out some utensils wrapped in a cloth napkin from his back pocket, setting them down too.

Pepper eyed the covered plate and then Tony, some worry setting in. "What is that?" she asked hesitantly.

"This is your in-flight meal," he explained, lifting the cover to reveal… Yes, that food. Pepper wasn't 100% sure what the meat was as it was almost drowning in… sauce? Or was it the egg? Mushrooms and spinach also covered some of the plate and those at least looked cooked.

But…

Pepper furrowed her brow, remembering that everyone else had been busy so… "Did you – did you make that?" she asked, unable to stop a small smile from forming.

Tony shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "Yeah. Where do you think I've been for three hours?" he asked, glancing across the middle aisle. "Would have brought something for Sleeping Firecracker over there but she's still sleeping."

Pepper followed Tony's gaze to where Ed was curled up as best she could on a seat they had reclined enough for her.

And her metal prosthetic arm was placed on the opposite seat. Because of how it had short-circuited on the racetrack, Tony had suggested they remove it in case it did some damage to the port while they flew back.

Surprisingly, Ed didn't put up a fuss and, once her arm was off, she was almost instantly asleep and had been for the last… three hours if Pepper took Tony's word for how much time had passed.

It was still hard for Pepper to see Ed, the bruise on her forehead having turned an ugly shade of purple and she knew there was more injuries hidden from the way Ed had held herself and had moved.

With a deep breath, Pepper returned her focus to Tony. As much as Ed hid her problems, Tony did so as well…

Just the fact that he had decided to cook something for her.

Something… Something may not be right…

There was… a look in his eyes.

And that stunt he had pulled in Monaco, deciding to take over driving the company's race car had not eased the worry in her mind.

"Tony," started Pepper softly, catching his attention, "what are you not telling me?" She paused as he stared at her and she could tell the gears were turning in his head. "What aren't you telling us? Does she know?"

She motioned towards Ed with a tilt of her head but… there was silence from Tony as they continued to stare at each other.

Pepper was almost sure that she wouldn't get a completely honest answer from Tony…

"I don't want to go home," he finally said softly. "At all. Let's cancel my birthday party and… We're still close to Europe. Let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?"

Pepper chuckled, remembering the stay they had had at that fancy hotel few years ago. "Oh, yes…," she sighed. She was almost surprised Tony actually remembered it with how he had drunk in the past.

"It's a great place to," he paused, glancing out the window for a moment, "be healthy. Give Short Stuff time to rest up."

Even though the idea was very tempting, Pepper knew the amount of work that awaited them – or more her – when they landed back in the USA. "I don't think this is the right time. We're in kind of a mess." And that was putting it lightly…

"Yeah, but maybe that's why it's the best time," he countered Tony. "For all of us."

"Well…"

"'Cause then we –"

"I think as CEO, I need to show up," she explained, cutting him off before he could continue to argue his tempting point.

"As CEO, you're entitled to leave."

"A leave?" repeated Pepper. She had only been CEO for less than a week!

"A company retreat."

"A retreat? At a time like this?"

"Just a ride. Well, I'm just saying, to recharge our batteries and figure it all out," he added softly, no longer meeting her gaze.

Pepper stared at him for a moment, her gut telling her that there was something that Tony wasn't telling her but… if he wouldn't tell her…

What more could she do?

"Not everyone runs on batteries, Tony," she whispered, smiling sadly, holding on to a shred of hope that he would open up.

He just smiled back at her, not adding to that statement.

It just added to her worry…

Why had she been saddled with such emotionally stunted individuals…?


May 24th, 2010 – Malibu, California – Rhodey's POV

Rhodey was NOT having a good day and, as he drove through the night, his grip tight on the steering wheel, he knew that it still wasn't over, not by a long shot.

He had spent HOURS on the phone and in different meetings after what had happened in Monaco, the fight and the fallout of said fight considering that Ivan Vanko, the attacker, had a functioning arc reactor.

Tony had promised nobody had even been close to that type of technology and yet… Tony had almost gotten killed on a racetrack by someone WITH said technology.

The irony of the situation did not go unnoticed by the US government…

And…

Rhodey wondered what would have happened if Ed hadn't happened to be watching the race nearby, if she hadn't been there to fend off Vanko long enough for Pepper and Happy to get there with the Iron Man suit.

Rhodey hadn't witnessed the fight against Obadiah several months ago and, during the break in at the mansion, JARVIS, and therefore the cameras, had been down so Rhodey had no idea what Ed had done to fend off the intruders.

All he had seen had been the consequence and the injuries from both fights.

This time around thought, in Monaco, he, along with the entire world, had had a front row seat to what she was capable of.

Those cameras didn't miss ANYTHING.

And Rhodey had to admit, it had been damn impressive.

The way she had weaved and dodged, the hits she had sent that mostly landed and then… The fact that she had GRABBED the electrified wire before it hit her or Tony behind her had been a level of experience that Rhodey had not expected.

Yes, Rhodey was damn thankful she had been there and he was now acutely aware of how capable she was. He was not going to underestimate her ever again.

No wonder she had been a part of Captain America's team!

However, even though Ed's presence and identity were an issue, it wasn't the biggest problem at the moment.

Tony and the Iron Man suit were…

And that's where Rhodey was heading to as he pulled up to the Malibu Mansion.

He had gone over the future conversation he needed to have with Tony over and over again, figuring out all the different arguments that Tony could bring up. He knew his best friend overly well and he knew the next couple of minutes were going to be tough.

Taking a deep breath, Rhodey exited his car, marching up the front steps and into the mansion. He spotted the backs of Pepper and a red-headed woman, both on the phone, talking quickly, laptops on their laps and the television on in the background.

Hearing only brief pieces of the conversations, Rhodey knew they must be dealing with the fallout of the attack in Monaco and… He clenched his fists, not seeing Tony anywhere, helping them.

"Where is he?" asked Rhodey almost bluntly.

Pepper and the red-headed woman turned around. As the latter said, "He doesn't want to be disturbed.", Pepper cut in quickly with, "He's downstairs.".

Of course, Pepper would be honest and she also seemed annoyed of his lack of presence upstairs.

"Can this man still protect us if he is the one that needs protecting?" wondered the reporter on the television and Rhodey took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

He had heard that same question multiple times that day already…

Almost as if whoever was talking to Pepper had asked the same question, she replied, "Iron Man never stopped protecting us. The events in Monaco proved that."

Hopefully she actually was answering the person and not the reporter on the television… Rhodey wondered just how long she had been dealing with all this before he had arrived and it made him angrier. This was a big problem and the cause of said problem was nowhere to be seen.

With a huff, Rhodey turned heel and marched downstairs, determined to at least get Tony to HELP. Then he would get on his case about the suit.

Punching in his code, he swung open the door, scanning the lab quickly and spotting Tony sitting in one of his vintage cars, staring at a series of screens.

"Tony, you gotta get upstairs," he said with a strong voice, one that got soldiers to follow his orders, "and get on top of this situation right now."

But, of course, that voice never worked on Tony… He would need to try a different tactic. With a determined stride, Rhodey walked closer to his friend, changing his tone.

"Listen, I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up the PCH, knocking down your front door and taking these." He pointed at the series of suits on display, hoping – praying – that Tony would even do something. React!

ANYTHING!

Instead… He sat still in his car, almost as if he hadn't heard Rhodey.

It was a good thing Rhodey was as stubborn as his friend.

"You said nobody else would possess this technology for 20 years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday. It's not theoretical anymore."

The problem was… There was STILL no reaction from Tony and Rhodey was losing his patience. He bridged the gap between them, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder to at least try and grab his attention. "Are you listening to me?"

It took a moment before Tony tilted his head back to look at Rhodey who was taken by surprise. Tony's face was pale and sweaty, his eyes glazed over and unfocused.

A heartbeat later, Rhodey leaned forward, worry filling him. "Are you okay?" he wondered gently.

Tony grunted faintly before smiling at his friend. "Let's go," he said, shifting over to the opposite side of the car.

Rhodey leaned back, eyeing Tony closely before deciding to make his way around the car to –

Damn!

Tony had taken a mere two steps out of the car before his legs buckled under him and he stumbled onto the side, barely holding himself up.

"Hey! Hey!" Rhodey was by Tony's side a moment later, swinging an arm over his shoulder. "You alright?"

Tony shrugged but mumbled, "Yeah, I should get to my desk."

Rhodey took a deep breath before doing just that, every worse case scenario going through his mind as to the reason Tony looked and acted this way. Had something happened in Monaco that he didn't know about? Had it been something from earlier?

"See that cigar box?" asked Tony as they approached the desk and Rhodey spotted it and answered affirmatively. "It's palladium," he added as he dropped heavily onto his chair with a grunt.

Palladium…

Rhodey wasn't sure what that meant as he opened the box, seeing a line of… palladium apparently. The first few slots were empty while –

Tony had taken out his arc reactor, holding it out towards Rhodey.

The part that was inside Tony's chest was… "Is it supposed to be smoking?" asked Rhodey slowly, staring at the arc reactor, trying to piece together what exactly was going on.

"If you must know, it's neutron damage," explained Tony. "It's from the reactor well."

Rhodey gently took the arc reactor from Tony and gingerly pulled out what he assumed was palladium as it was a carbon copy of what was in the cigar box.

His heart hammered as he stared at the heavily corroded piece.

"You had this in your body?" asked Rhodey, attempting to keep his voice even. Tony, however, didn't answer, deciding instead to turn away from his friend and stay quiet.

The reaction was nothing new for Rhodey but, what was, were the blue lines he spotted at the base of Tony's neck. Those didn't look any better than the corroded palladium and Rhodey had a feeling it may be all connected…

"And how about that high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?" he asked as he replaced the old palladium with a new one.

"Road rash."

Rhodey sighed as he handed over the arc reactor, wondering why Tony was lying and hiding so much. Yes, he had done so in the past, on multiple occasions but, this time…

Something felt different.

Rhodey leaned back, resting against the desk as he crossed his arms and stared intently at his friend, trying to figure out what he was hiding.

Rhodey wasn't stupid: whatever was happening with the arc reactor and the palladium had to have some correlation with Tony's current state. Had the attack in Monaco made it worse? Possibly but Rhodey didn't have enough information to go on.

And Tony wasn't sharing.

A part of Rhodey wondered if anybody else knew or had an inkling of what was going on. Maybe they could compare notes to figure this mystery out.

However,…

Rhodey was almost certain Tony didn't mention anything to Pepper, Happy or Ed. He would most likely actively hide all of this before he brought it up to someone else.

That's how he had been ever since they had met and Rhodey was almost certain that it wouldn't change, no matter how much he hoped that it would…

Rhodey continued to stare as Tony shakily grabbed a water bottle that was filled with a green smoothie looking liquid, taking note of that mentally as well.

It could all be connected but that damn stubborn man didn't want to share or bring it up.

Tony glanced behind him, noticing Rhodey still hadn't moved before turning back quickly. "What are you looking at?" he wondered, trying to not sound nonchalant.

It wasn't working though.

"I'm looking at you," replied Rhodey matter-of-factly as Tony took a gulp of his drink. "You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and its unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone."

Tony took a deep breath before saying, "You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do. But you've gotta trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing."

Rhodey just stared at his friend a part of him wanting to believe him but…

Another part wondered if, for the first time, Tony was truly in over his head.

The problem was… As always, Tony being so stubborn and so set on doing all of it by himself was not helping the situation.

Was he digging himself a deeper hole by… being himself? By deciding that he didn't need anyone's help?

"We can still help you, Tones," whispered Rhodey but Tony just smiled, going back to his bottle.

With a silent sigh, Rhodey massaged his face, finally pulling his attention away from Tony and glancing around the lab. He needed to keep his cool because him blowing up would send all his work down the drain.

Then, he would definitely need a hand in getting Tony to open up.

Speaking of hand…

Rhodey spotted Ed's prosthetic arm on a further work bench, the one that had clearly been used in Monaco.

The burn marks on the metal from when Ed had grabbed the electrified wire stood stark against the shine of the rest of it. It had been her new arm on top of that…

"How's she doing?" asked Rhodey, finally looking away from the prosthetic and back to his friend.

Tony glanced back, putting two and two together when he also saw the prosthetic. He shrugged, taking another gulp of his drink. "Pepper has her on bed rest considering Short Stuff never wants to go to the hospital."

Rhodey was sceptic though, knowing the young adult's reputation. "And she's actually listening?"

Tony smirked at that question. "Valid point but Pepper thought of everything: she has JARVIS monitoring her whereabouts. Right, J?"

"Miss is currently in her study," replied JARVIS matter-of-factly.

"See, shockingly listening for once," added Tony with a shrug.

"What is the world coming to?" mumbled Rhodey, shaking his head. "We just need to get you to start listening to us too and the apocalypse will truly be upon us."

Tony smirked but didn't respond, instead, taking another gulp of his drink. Rhodey, on the other hand, thought over the fact that Ed was not only listening to the adults in the house but was staying in her room as well.

Had she been that hurt? To the point of not being able to move possibly?

Rhodey eyed his friend for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Are you going to at least share what's going on?"

Tony smiled, standing slowly and heading off… somewhere.

Rhodey sighed heavily, pushing off the desk. "I truly do hope you know what you're doing," he said sincerely before walking off.

He didn't plan on leaving just yet though: he had wanted to do one last stop before heading home.

Pepper and the red-headed woman were still on their respective phones when he reached the top of the staircase so he headed further into the house without bothering them.

Reaching Ed's ajar bedroom door, Rhodey knocked and waited a moment before there was an acknowledgement from further inside.

Walking in, Rhodey glanced around, taking in the messy state of the room as he headed to the adjacent study.

Ed was at her desk and leaned back as Rhodey entered, sending him a wave and a, "You look tired. You talked to Tony I'm guessing?"

Rhodey nodded, leaning against the doorframe as he studied in what state Ed was in. There was a difference between seeing, well somewhat seeing, her on television, and then seeing the aftermath in person.

She had a bad bruise on her forehead from where Vanko had headbutted her and some leftover scratches on whatever skin was exposed. Which wasn't a lot considering she was wearing sweat pants and a large hoodie.

"He's stubborn. Like you," said Rhodey which earned him a look from the young adult. "You can't deny it. I know Pepper has you on bed rest. I'll just ignore the fact that this isn't technically a bed."

"Want me to thank you?" she asked, going to cross her arms but she seemed to have forgotten she was still missing one of them.

She just leaned on her desk and sent him another look instead.

Rhodey hid a smile at her antics.

"So, want to be more open with how you're doing?" he asked after a moment.

"Sore but I'll be fine," she replied with a shrug, glancing at her desk and shoving some papers aside. "Nothing life threatening to have any of you worrying about me."

"That's not overly comforting," mumbled Rhodey with a sigh before deciding to change the subject, knowing he wasn't going to get a better answer from Ed nor will he be able to change her overly stubborn mind. "So, what are you working on?"

Ed shoved a few more papers aside, frowning slightly. "Uh… Palladium mostly, at the moment."

That made Rhodey's ears perk up and he straightened. Palladium? That element that had been corroded inside of Tony's arc reactor?

"Why?" he asked quickly, nearly making Ed jump at the suddenness of the question and the near urgency in his tone.

"Uh… I was asked to," she began slowly, frowning in his direction. "Why? What do you know?"

Rhodey couldn't believe it. When he had thought that he could MAYBE compare notes with someone, he hadn't thought it would happen THAT night!

"His arc reactor's palladium is getting…," it took him a moment to remember the correct terms, "neutron damage from the reactor wells."

Ed's eyes went almost comically wide as she nearly threw papers onto the floor, seeming to search for… something.

"Hey, what does that mean? Do you know?" asked Rhodey, taking a cautious step towards her.

It didn't seem like she heard him though as she scanned a piece of paper, tossing it aside, picking up another one, tossing that one and –

"Ed! What is wrong?!" called out Rhodey, making her jump in surprise.

She took a shaky breath which didn't ease Rhodey's mind.

Something was NOT right…

"Neutron damage," repeated Ed slowly, her gaze flickering back to her papers. "It changes the… the…" She swore in German, massaging her head in frustration. "Composition of… in this case, the palladium. And that…"

"That…? What? Is it bad?" asked Rhodey quickly.

Ed didn't answer as she stared at the papers. "I… I don't know yet. Probably not good…"

Rhodey thought back at how Tony had looked down in the lab, at how pale and unfocused he had seemed. Could…? Could that be linked to the neutron damage and palladium?

"He didn't look okay downstairs," whispered Rhodey, catching Ed's attention. "He looked sick."

The young adult breathed deeply, nodding shakily. "I…" She hesitated her brows furrowing before turning completely towards her desk. "I have some research to do," she mumbled, almost more to herself then to Rhodey.

But then, something clicked for the man. "Wait, you're supposed to be resting!"

"Too bad."

"Ed."

Either she didn't hear him or she was ignoring him.

Rhodey breathed deeply, massaging his head before saying, "Keep me in the loop, will ya?" He still didn't get a response though. "Ed?"

"I will remind her, Colonel," stated JARVIS. "She does have a habit of tuning others out during her research."

Rhodey breathed deeply once again before nodding. That would be the best he would get apparently. "Thank you, JARVIS. Goodnight, Ed."

There still wasn't an answer so he left the room, more worried about Tony than when he had started…


Some time during the night – Ed's POV

I honestly didn't know what time it was. It was late. Or early. I didn't particularly know or care.

Either way, no one was awake and it was pitch black outside.

It didn't matter though.

I…

Slowly pushing the lab door open, I stepped inside, looking around, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light from the still open screens spread out a little everywhere that cast a bluish glow across the room.

And then I spotted Tony, fast asleep on the lone couch in the room.

I hesitated, staring at the rare sight: Tony was ASLEEP. I couldn't exactly place when the last time I had seen that happen. He functioned on too much caffeine and not enough rest. Usually.

But… Now I knew why he was tired, why he had looked sick when Rhodey had shown up earlier.

Even his crazy decisions made sense.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly headed in his direction. It had taken a lot of time and of talking to myself to even find the courage to come down here.

It had taken just as long to figure out what to say.

And now that I was there, in the lab and several meters away from him… It still didn't know what to say.

My slow steps in his direction didn't give me much time to sort through my thoughts and… He was asleep. I could come back later. Rhodey had said he had seemed tired. He should get as much rest as possible… But…

He hadn't told us.

He –

I paused, spotting a wooden box on one of the desks.

Since when did Tony keep a WOODEN box down here?

Everything was metal!

Curiosity got the better of me and, glancing towards Tony once more to make sure he was still asleep, I quickly and quietly made my way over towards the box.

Inside was a row of… something.

I picked one up and held it up to a screen light.

Palladium.

My alchemy knowledge may be rusty but I could still identify metals.

These must be for the arc reactor, what Tony had wanted to find a replacement for.

And…

A few of them were missing.

Or more, they had probably been used.

Glancing around and then under the desk for –

There.

It was been hidden in a waste bin amongst many other things but those weren't of interest: I was more focused on the old palladium piece.

Shit…

It sometimes sucked being right…

The palladium was corroded. The damage was clear on it.

And that was causing –

"First eavesdropping and now, snooping. You do have some bad habits, Short Stuff."

I slowly turned around to face Tony who had woken up at some point. He stared at me, his gaze going from me to the old palladium in my hand, his usual smirk gone.

"This is why you wanted to find a replacement," I stated slowly, holding out the piece. Of course, though, he didn't answer and anger began boiling inside me. "Why didn't you just tell me? Do you think I'm stupid? That I –?"

"Of course not," snapped Tony, cutting me off. "Or I wouldn't have asked you to look for one. It was a risk that you'd find out why."

I gripped the corroded palladium tightly. "Then why just not say anything? Why did I have to find out about palladium poisoning this late?" Because if it was having the effects that Rhodey had mentioned this whole issue of POISONING wasn't recent. It didn't magically get this bad down one day to the next.

It could easily have been months.

Tony his this for MONTHS.

And he couldn't deny it because I clearly remember when he started drinking that weird green liquid that I now understood help slow the poisoning. That green liquid had started a week after returning from New York City.

In fucking MARCH.

We were in MAY!

Tony though, just sighed heavily. "I'm guessing Platypus mentioned neutron damage to you?" he mumbled, massaging his face. "A slip I shouldn't have let happen…"

Fucking shit. I truly did hate being right sometimes. He was truly hiding this! "You… You weren't going to tell anyone? What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Stop yelling… And why make all of you worry? I nor JARVIS could find a substitute for the palladium. I'm guessing you haven't either."

I opened and closed my mouth at that statement because… it was true. After having put all the puzzle pieces together – FINALLY – I doubled down for hours, going through every avenue of research I could think of that I hadn't tried before. There weren't many but I was still thorough about it. I hadn't wanted to believe that there wasn't an option. My stubbornness hadn't wanted to just give up.

But…

"I'll take your silence as me being right, like usual," stated Tony, rubbing his arc reactor.

That was something he had done more and more often the last couple of months and I cursed myself for not noticing it more as a hint that something was wrong.

"So, why fight the inevitable?" said Tony with a sigh. "I'll just live how I want to while making sure everything is set for after."

"Everything is… set…?" I repeated slowly, my eyes wide.

I… No.

I… I knew what the consequence of palladium poisoning would be, especially long exposure at a steady rate. Like having it INSIDE your body as it decomposed.

But…

I didn't want to believe that that was what was happening but… from how Tony was talking…

"And that's why I didn't want to tell anyone," sighed Tony softly, sending me a look. "And does Pepper know you're ignoring her bed rest order?"

"She's sleeping in another guest room," I answered slowly, still thinking about what he had said, going over –

"She doesn't know, does she?"

I shook my head before tossing the palladium back into the waste bin and making my way over to the couch, flopping onto it next to Tony, sighing as I did.

We sat in silence for a while as I still digested the news that I didn't want to acknowledge.

Why…? Why did…?

"You know," began Tony after a while, catching my attention, "for a prodigy, it did take you a while to figure it out."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "Not my best, I guess…," I mumbled, lifting my legs onto the couch and readjusting my position. "But what if –?"

"We've exhausted pretty much every possibility out there," cut in Tony calmly. "You, JARVIS, myself. If we couldn't figure it out…"

I breathed deeply, staring intently at the ground. Even if I had heard what he had said, my mind was still racing, trying to come up with… something. ANYTHING!

There must be an element or molecule that –

"Just a heads up," began Tony, making me jump. "Easy Short Stuff. Stop those gears in your mind for a bit. I can tell you haven't stopped thinking of a solution but –"

"I won't stop. Especially not because YOU said so," I snapped back. That almost got a smirk from him.

"Fine, Miss Stubborn. But don't come crying to me when Pepper gets mad at you for the mental and physical state you'll be in…," he glanced at his watch, squinting slightly, "later today. Good grief, did jet lag hit you that hard?"

I just frowned at him, huffing as I wrapped my arm around my legs and leaning my chin against my knees.

I couldn't imagine sleeping at the moment though.

"As I was saying," began Tony again and I thankfully didn't jump a second time, "as a heads up, there's an account for the mansion, set up to take care of everything for several decades. You live here or not is up to you, you do what you want with it."

Uh…

"What are you talking about?" I asked in German. Maybe I actually was tired because, whatever he had said –

"You get the house. This house," he answered and I nearly choked.

I was… WHAT?!

"What. The. FUCK?!" I exclaimed, my breathing ragged. "You've just given up like that?! Talking about what would happen if you –"

Tony stood suddenly, walking away towards –

"You're seriously going to start drinking now?!" I yelled after him, knowing what lay in that corner of the lab. "You've just decided that –?"

"Prodigy, you are not tonight, Short Stuff," sighed Tony, pouring a glass of alcohol. "Pepper got the company. Of course, you'll get something too."

Pepper… Pepper… Company… CEO…

How stupid could I be to not realize WHY he had done that?!

"But –"

"Just stop, Evelyn. I'm not in the mood to argue."

My mouth hung open at that last statement, especially considering the fact that he had used my full name and… his tone…

Taking a deep breath, then another.

Even a third.

By then, Tony had made his way back close to the couch and held out a glass of… whiskey to me.

"Our little secret for now?" he asked as I stared at the glass and then at him. "Pepper has enough on her plate as it is. Let's not add to it just yet."

I didn't like it. I truly didn't but…

Tony… He was… was…

Dying.

"Fine," I mumbled, slowly reaching for the glass.

But that didn't mean that that would stop me from looking into finding some sort of solution.

Tony may have given up but I definitely wasn't going to.

I had the title of most stubborn Howling Commando to live up to apparently.

And I was not going to let someone else die on my watch, not when I could do something about it.


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