A: Okay, so I got reviews asking me tell what Clint and Natasha said in the last chapter, so here it is:
Clint: "You always fall for people when they're hurt."
Natasha: "Stop being so jealous. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it when I had a better shot. And I had a really great shot at it when I was working for Stark."
(I added the last part in. It was suppose to be in the chapter anyway...)
I'm gona try to write in different POV's so more characters can be included.
What happened to Tony? The wait is over...
Tony:
I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to tell her somehow.
Natasha watched me intently as I walked over to my night stand and pulled my wine bottle out of the draw. "Smell this," I said, handed her the uncorked bottle.
She sniffed the contents (syrup) instinctively before handing it back to me. Her face was expressionless, but I wanted to know what she was thinking. "Is it mixed with wine or medication?" She asked dimly.
"Both," I said, looking away from her. She was silent for a moment.
"Well that," she said, pointing to the bottle in my hand, "explains the sweet, but not the 'sour'. You better tell me whatever else your hiding."
I knew I couldn't tell her everything. Not even Rhodey knew everything. But there was something I could tell. "I...um, well..." I paused. I tried to talk, but my mouth wouldn't obey. I'd just have to show her.
I pull off my black t-shirt, revealing 2 large, crimson red wounds on my chest. 'God, it's bleeding again,' I thought. 'Must have stained my shirt. Good thing my shirt's black.'
I watched Natasha's expression slowly go from anxious to worried to pained. Her eyes were getting glossier by the second, but she blinked the tears away. She looked as if she had stopped breathing. But then, she noticed how I was staring at her expression and tried to regain composure.
"Come on Princess, don't give me that look. I know you've seen and been through worse," I said as her face regained it's normal color.
"Don't worry, Stark. To me those," she said, pointing at my wounds, "are nothing. We all know I'm not one for crying. But I know Pepper is." I tried to lose her gaze, but she grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to her. "Why didn't you tell Bruce about this? Did you even think about Pepper when you lied to Bruce? You know how she gets when your hurt." Natasha's hands found her hips as she started to pace back and forth.
"In my defence, I had no idea she'd be here today. I thought it would heal by the time she came here. I thought that she'd come later and finish all her important meetings. I thought..."
Natasha's next words stung, the truth fully sinking in. "Well guess what, Tony. She's on her way. She'll be here soon, and your gona have to tell her what happened!"
Natasha:
I can't believe Tony. I guess he wasn't thinking straight after what we just went through, but still. After Pepper had already seen him fall out of the sky? I know Tony is a bit obsessed with himself, but this level of selfishness I don't even expect from the devil himself.
"I...I don't wanna hurt her. This is my problem, not hers." Tony sounded guilty, gosh, he even looked guilty.
I tried to keep this conversation from going into the wrong direction. "How...When did this happen?"
Tony sighed sat down on his bed. "When the helicarrier was attacked, Rogers and I went to fix the heli carrier's engine. I went inside to fix the rotors and push them till they could spin on their own. Rogers was suppose to pull a lever that would allow me to get out before it shredded me. But he didn't. He was delayed. For 30 crucial seconds. By the time I got out of there, the rotors had dented the suit to the point that the thin, inner layer of metal slit open and cut through me. Only after I took off the suit did I realize what it had done to me."
I sat down on the bed next to Tony, his eyes trying without avail to read my wordless expression. Now I looked at the bruise on his cheek again. It had already changed from crimson red to blackened purple. I reached up and gently brushed my thumb against his cheek. I felt him flinch under my touch.
"How much blood have you lost?" The question slipped out of my mouth, having a mind of its own.
"I don't know," Tony said flatly. "Why don't you check the green bowl?"
Only then did I notice the lone green bowl sitting on Tony's vanity. I gave him a confused look before getting up and slowly walking over to vanity. But then, Tony got up and went into the bathroom. I turned around when I heard the click, only to see that he was gone.
The green bowl could hold a gallon of water, according to what Pepper had told me months ago. I slowly peered into the bowl, to anxious to wait. (What in the world?) I thought. The bowl was filled up to the half way mark...with blood.
Third Person:
Natasha ran up to the bathroom door and banged on it. "Tony! Tony! You better get out of the bathroom before I break the door down!"
Tony unlocked the bathroom door and opened it slightly. "Okay, you got me. Now pipe down, Princess before you hurt your fists."
Natasha backed up and Tony sild past her. "Tony, when did you loose all this blood?"
Tony shrugged. "I don't know."
Natasha sighed. "Sit," she said to Tony, motioning to his bed. She sat down beside him, damp paper towels in her hands. Avoiding his eyes, Natasha silently, slowly brushed the tip of the towel on the edge of the first wound. She felt Tony's body tense under her touch, his torso constrict, unmoving. She Finnish the first one without a single noise front Tony. But when she tried to start on the second one, he stopped her.
Pointing to the paper towel her Natasha's hand, he said sternly, "You better not touch me with that again."
Tony had tried to hide it, but Natasha could see evidence of pain in his eyes. "Tony, I know I shouldn't tell you this, but you have to do this if you want to hide this from Pepper." Natasha took hold of his hand. "At least, if you don't wanna hurt her."
"No, I don't wanna hurt her. Not ever...," Tony grimaced, thinking of the night that Justin Hammer and Ivan... had tried to kill him. Pepper had been there when the bombs were about to go off. Tony had saved her just in time, only to have her tell him that she was tired of working for his company and being his girlfriend. (While they were on the roof top, she said something like that). He remembered almost losing her and he didn't want to let that happen again.
As she started to clean his wound, Tony breathed in through his mouth, sharp intakes sounding like ssss's; and breathing out heavily, as if he was dropping all of his burdens to the ground.
Natasha finished soon enough and threw the paper towels away, her heart aching for Pepper and the pain she would face when she arrived at the Stark Tower. She admired Pepper's strength when it came to those things. The assassin couldn't imagine what she would do if Clint was always getting himself hurt.
Suddenly, J.A.R.V.I.S burst into life. "Sir, Col. James Rhodes and Miss Potts have arrived."
