[Finally it's here. So i hope you liked it, sorry not much action here but enjoy... and don't forget to leave comments. That way I can improve and the story too. Cheers.]
Tony opened his eyes and saw the credits were rolling on the TV screen.
"What did I miss?" he asked with a grumpy voice.
"Half of the movie Tony," Pepper answered chuckling.
"Oh," he said, surprised. "Was I out that long?"
"Yep," she answered.
Tony smiled. "So… How was the half I missed?" he asked, trying to make conversation with her.
"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect that ending, so sad," she answered. "But was a good ending anyways."
Tony got up. Before he could do or say anything else, he was interrupted by Pepper.
"I'm glad you're fine, Tony," she said. "I was worried. But for now I have to go."
Tony's eyes widened and his mind collapsed. "Wh-what? You have plans?" he asked, confused.
"Not exactly," she answered. Concerned by the way he was looking at her, she added, "I'll just let you rest. You really need some sleep, Tony."
"Me? Sleep?" he protested. "I already did both. What if we go out for a meal or something?"
"I-I don't… I'm not… I mean, I'm not hungry."
Tony was starting to get frustrated again. Pepper was pushing him away, or it was something he created from the beginning. He wasn't sure.
Damn it! Well, I'm being selfish after all, but I don't want to let her go, either. She has been with me all this time. It didn't matter if I was about to wreck the company or if I was too drunk on an important speech I was giving. She helped me get rid of all my one night stands without complaining. So what's different now?
Does she know my condition?
No… No it can't be.
Maybe… Maybe she is tired of me, I can't blame her.
I need to talk to her. I need her to listen to me. But I don't want to tell her my condition, either. That would be worse than all the shit I have thrown at her. That's not fair to her. She is already too worried every time I'm out for a mission.
Maybe… I need to talk to someone.
Pepper left the room and went home.
The next morning, Happy got there very early to help Tony with his training. After they finished, Tony was exhausted and sat on the coach.
"Are you ok boss?" asked Happy, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I need you to help me with something." Tony was getting pale. He looked sick.
"Wh-what do I need to do, boss?"
"Get…" Tony found it hard to breath. "Get the box I have in my workshop. It's the brown one on the desk."
"Got it." Happy didn't hesitate and ran downstairs into the workshop. He stood in front of the desk full of things and papers. The computer screens where on and everything looked confusing. Happy looked around to look for something in the "shape" of a box.
"Box, brown box… Here!" He found it and rushed back to the coach. "Here boss." Happy said, handing the box to Tony.
Tony opened the box and took out a palladium battery. Showing it to Hogan, he said, "This… This is killing me."
"Excuse me?" Hogan asked, surprised about his bosses statement.
"Let me tell you … for now this keeps me alive, Happy," Tony said, "but it's killing me very slowly. I…" Tony became silent for a moment and replaced the battery from his miniaturized arc reactor. "No one knows this, and I want to keep it that way. But since you are the only one I trust and you are the best in the business, I need to talk to someone."
"I'm listening." Happy felt a knot on his throat. He didn't know where this conversation was going or what else to expect since in his mind it was hard to attach the words Tony Stark and death in the same sentence.
Come on? My boss and best friend is Iron Man. How in the world could Iron Man die or get sick or anything? No…wait… He's still a human being. How can people forget that little fact? Damn it!
"Well …" Tony said, "I fabricated this arc reactor and it runs under palladium batteries. So I just change them and I can keep fighting evil with Iron Man. But…"
That last word echoed on Happys' mind. He looked at Tony in horror. Horror at seeing him so helpless and there being nothing he could do about it. So he sat next to Tony and waited for the rest of the conversation.
"There's a little problem. Palladium is toxic." Tony took a deep breath and finally he felt a little better. The change of the battery helped a little for his health. "It's like poison. I thought the concentration in my blood would not be a serious issue. Would give me the time to figure out a solution to replace palladium batteries with something non-toxic. Most important … not have to use batteries that I would need to replace over and over and over."
Tony made eye contact with a terrified Hogan. Happy was starting to get where his boss was taking the conversation. "But?" Hogan asked.
"But…" answered Tony. "I'm running out of time. The palladium for some reason is poisoning me faster than I expected. The batteries are being changed more often, which is not good. And the worst is … I haven't figured out the solution for this problem."
Happy was speechless for the first time in many years. Tony always looked to him for advice, to help him get out of his constant and multiple "Stark-crisises," or simply just have someone listen to him. But this time was different. Too much information to digest. And most important … his boss was telling him he was dying?
"Are you sure you can't figure this out on time?" Hogan asked.
"No, I'm not," Tony said. "Failure this time wasn't an option. I think I'm just being realistic."
"How long?" Hogan asked him.
"Couple of months," Tony answered, avoiding all eye contact with Happy.
Both were silent for a long while, avoiding eye contact. Just sitting there, Hogan felt like at least he was doing something for Tony. He felt so useless! He always had helped and protected his boss. But now … this was beyond him.
"I-I ... Would you like me something to do for you boss?" Happy asked nervously.
"Yes, take my will to my attorney," Tony answered. "I rewrote it… Then, take my entire art collection to the local art museum. I already spoke to the director and she was pleased with my donation."
"What else can I do for you, boss?" Happy asked with a very cut off voice.
Tony made eye contact with Happy and answered, "When I'm gone, please. Hogan… I ask you to take care of Pepper."
"Yes boss, I will." Hogan told Tony in a very low voice that sounded almost like a whisper.
Tony just smiled at him.
When Pepper got to the mansion, Happy was arriving at the garage as well.
"Good morning, Ms Potts," Happy said with almost no interest.
"Good morning, Happy," Pepper answered, puzzled. She could see that Happy was depressed for some reason, no matter that he hid behind his black shades. "Is everything all right?"
Hogan tried his best to hide his concern about the little chat he had with his boss hours ago. "Yeah, yes, I'm just… I'm fine Ms. Potts."
She gave him a concerned look, but he avoided all eye contact. Pepper left him in the garage/workshop and went upstairs to get Tony ready for his schedule. When she got there, Tony was already dressed. He was drinking coffee while barking on his phone and typing on his laptop. She waited for him to hang up.
"Good morning Mr. Stark, for today…" She looked through a bunch of papers she held in her hands. "You need to sign these. And prepare the speech for the MIT graduates."
"Yeah, I know," he said. "I'm just finishing that."
He knows? Wh-what did he just say? Did he just say he was finishing preparing the speech? What's going on here?
"Excuse me?" Pepper squeaked.
"Yeah," he answered. "I just finished the speech. Give me the papers to sign."
Pepper gave him the papers. She was confused and felt she was in an unknown dimension or something. He signed them and gave them back to her.
"Is there anything else, Miss Potts?" Tony asked.
"No, that's all Mr. Stark." she answered, still in shock.
Ok… this is strange. One day he tries (miserably) to tell me about being his superhero girlfriend. Then the next he ignores me and pushes me away? What the hell is wrong with this man? I mean, I know its Tony Stark… I know him. He always was fooling around with me. But it never was serious till that night…
But come on, its Tony. I know how he is with girls. This can't be THAT serious. Or can it?
Tony was at his workshop viewing some Iron Man designs when Happy arrived. He stepped out of the car and gave Tony a small box.
"Hey boss, this is for you," Happy said, handing the package to Tony. "It's from the director of the art museum."
"What's this?" Tony asked.
"Open it, and we'll found out," Happy answered with a smile.
"Good point." Tony opened the little box and inside was a little iron man action figure and a note asking him if he would like to become patron of the museum.
"Well… I didn't expect this." Tony gave the figure to Happy. "Here, it's all yours."
"Boss…" Happy took a deep breath and made eye contact with Tony. "I understand how you feel about this… well that thing." Happy pointed to Tony's mini arc reactor on his chess. "And, well, when you're Iron Man, you're also risking you're life, boss. I mean, you know than the clock is ticking against you about that palladium thing. But Iron Man … it's like Russian roulette. You'll never know if you would be able to come back in one piece or not. I'm not saying you're not capable of kicking those assholes asses. What I'm saying is that you never know what can happen. But in this case, with your little gizmo, you are."
Tony raised an eyebrow. Happy rethought his words so Tony could get his point.
"What I'm trying to say is that you're not the kind of guy who just gives up just like that," Hogan said. "Or you need that one of those crazy weirdoes make you do some devise to destroy earth, and because you are… well you. You decide to do completely the opposite?"
Tony smiled at him and answered the uneasy Hogan, "You know something Hap? You're the only one who can make me feel like an ass."
[Well Happy doesn't do much on the movies, and he is an important character... so im using him to not left him neglected... i want a driver/bodyguard like him heheh]