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Word Count: 639

Never Give Up

"You know you're not alone, right?"

"I know that," Tony replied softly, trying to make Pepper believe he was okay, because he couldn't handle her knowing just how much he was trying to do.

It didn't work of course. She could read him like a book. Stepping around the mess in his workshop, she approached the many screens he was working on.

"Tones… you've been trying to deal with this yourself? All of this?" she asked, eyes scanning the screens.

She wasn't stupid, in fact quite the opposite, so he just nodded his head.

"Sweetheart, this is madness. You're going to kill yourself before any of this gets finished if you keep on at this rate."

Tony snorted, because did she really think he didn't realise that.

"I've got to get them home, Pep. Once they're here to pick up the slack… I don't matter. I can just… fade into the history books. But they need to be here to protect the world, because I can't do that on my own."

"Oh Tony."

…

Pepper tucked the blanket in and stroked a hand through his hair, sitting on the edge of the bed until he'd fallen asleep. It didn't take long.

It was frustratingly endearing, in a way, that he thought he had to go it alone despite all the evidence to the contrary. It was an inbuilt mindset that decades of proof otherwise hadn't gotten rid of.

It was just an innate Tonyness, and Pepper loved all of Tony—even the bits that annoyed the shit out of her sometimes.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was just past midnight. Not that it overly mattered, of course. Tony had few real friends, but every single one of them were loyal to him to the very end, and she knew none of them would be worried about the time when she explained what was going on.

They might not be the Avengers, but the Tony-Crew could get shit done too.

…

"How did you… how?" Tony asked, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair.

Pepper smiled up at him as Rhodey offered him a steaming cup of coffee.

"No matter what you seem to believe, help freely given is not a myth, you idiot," Hope told him from over her laptop screen. "And also, three heads are better than one. Four heads, now that you've had some sleep, will be unbeatable."

"I…"

"And this bullshit about fading into the history books?" Rhodey interrupted, cuffing the back of Tony's head gently. "Not on my watch. We may have a need for the Avengers one day, but for now, we got this, Tones. Okay? We've got your back, and also, we have a secret weapon."

"Oh?"

"Oh yeah," Hope said, with a sly grin. "We've got Wizards on speed dial."

…

"I did tell you that you could call anytime, didn't I?" Stephen Strange asked, arching his eyebrow. "Don't tell me that the genius forgot?"

Tony felt his cheeks heat and he shook his head. "No point bothering you when it's not that important."

"Your health is important," Stephen chided gently. "Helen and I have been working on that though, and we'll have you in better shape than you've ever been with a little bit of time and effort."

"Oh?"

"Oh yeah."

…

"How are you feeling, Sweetheart?" Pepper asked, sitting beside his hospital bed. He'd been prepped for the surgery Helen and Stephen had been working on, and was just waiting for them to collect him.

"Good. Nervous," Tony replied, squeezing her hand. "I don't know if I said this, but… Thank you, Pepper. I think you probably saved my life. Thank you for never giving up on me."

She smiled, and stood up, leaning over the bed to press a kiss to his cheek. "I never will."

Written for:

Build A Snowman: Step 2: Clock

Talent Show: Magician: "You've been trying to deal with this yourself?" / Clock / Myth

Insane: 20. Endearing