Again come the morning (part 8)

He gets to talk to Steve for a few minutes in the evening; it's too short but it's something. Iron Man is with his team all the time and JARVIS keeps updating Tony as they make their way through the data, even hours later Tony still isn't sure it's possible to use the information to prevent the portals from being created – or for anything, really. There is just so much of it and it's chaotic and random; it would make sense to those who collected it, of course, but it takes time for anyone else to decipher it.

'Everyone is all right, the portal is still open – S.H.I.E.L.D. teams are working on that,' Steve assures Tony, not saying it, but Tony's pretty sure Steve knows what he's been doing all day. 'Thor made a trip there and back; there doesn't seem to be more of those creatures on the other side. We need to figure out how to get rid of it in case something actually is out there.'

'Good job,' Tony smiles to himself, eyes scanning data relentlessly, even though they're itchy and he's tired and it's late. 'Everybody safe?'

'Yes. We did well.'

'Can't wait to see you,' Tony says when they need to disconnect; he can imagine Steve's smile well enough.

'Soon, hopefully. Take care,' he replies with a hint of mocking threat in his voice – there are so many things he must want to say, Tony can guess them – and hangs up.

Tony takes his meds obediently before being dragged to bed by Happy, when he starts dozing off in the 'shop. He isn't even mad at JARVIS for telling Happy.

When he wakes up, there is a text message from four a.m. saying portal out of Perth, and then another one from seven thirteen, another one in Siberia.

'JARVIS?' he asks sleepily, glancing at the wall where the time, weather, and bunch of Tony-requested random data is displayed.

It's eight ten.

'S.H.I.E.L.D. is managing the situation, sir, with the help of local agencies of similar field of work. There are alien creatures at both sides, being fought by your team and combat-specialized agents. We are winning both fights –'

'Casualties?'

'Several,' JARVIS admits simply; he never lies about those things, not to Tony. 'Both portals are at deserted sites, away from big settlements, it is lucky on that account.'

'Lucky,' Tony scoffs, and then takes a few breaths; he must be still running fever, he can feel the hotness on his cheeks and nape and he's all sweaty and stiff; the arc reactor is no help there. 'The team?'

'No one is injured.'

Tony breathes out, and in, and out again, before he attempts reaching out for his meds.

Moving still hurts. He remembers Levy's words: his body is fighting. Maybe a little too much to fight at once, Tony thinks, but he stops himself from laughing at the thought even though he'd like to; it'd just mean more pain.

'Talk to me,' he whispers to JARVIS after he swallows his pills; it'll take a few minutes for the painkillers to kick in.

The next few days are a blur; the portals keep opening all around the world, presumably where research stations are – were, maybe – S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know about more than half of those places, which, according to Hermes, made Fury very, very angry.

Tony gets to talk to Steve and other team members whenever they have a moment of rest, and he keeps his voice level and makes himself smile because it seems like they can tell if he's okay, so he pretends to be.

It's wrong, him being safely in New York, eating breakfast and going to the clinic for the late radiation course, then sitting in his cozy flat, while everyone is out there, barely managing to deal with the situation: S.H.I.E.L.D. can't be covering the incidents forever and by day five, which is kind of a record for portal-related incidents, the public notices something is very wrong and the media go crazy. Tony tells JARVIS to cut him off from that, he doesn't have the patience or the energy to deal with it.

In radiation day three, when Tony's back and wishing he never left his bed – the infection is gone now, he's still a bit feverish but it doesn't explain at all why he's still feeling so fucking terrible – JARVIS tells him there is a problem.

Tony's not sure he wants to know, his body seems out of control, it feels like he could spend the whole day on his back trying not to throw up, but he has to know.

'I have been following the data panel we have been working on recently while analyzing information for the deep space communications.'

'And?'

'I accessed Doctor Foster's research and managed to single out energy readings that appear not long before a portal opens, and it seems that there are several places where it will happen soon –'

'How many?'

'I can find five on the surface of the Earth, sir. There are three portals currently open and while they seem to disappear after approximately forty-eight hours, S.H.I.E.L.D. is running out of personnel to keep the sites safe. Hardly anyone else is prepared to do that.'

'We need to figure out a way,' a breath, 'to deal with forcing them to close, and it'll be all done –'

'You know it will not be easy, sir –'

'And get the other suits and go, J.'

'Excuse me?' JARVIS asks, sounding unsure at the sudden declaration. 'Other suits?'

'Like that time we had three out there at once, dealing with time-sensitive stuff,' Tony mutters, standing up and ignoring the bitter taste at the back of his throat, he's not going to spend the whole damn day throwing up. He dry-swallows some antiemetic, the dose still within acceptable range, and drags himself to the workshop. All the screens are alight with data and diagrams, JARVIS is ready, of course, that smug monster.

'Someone will be mad at you for dragging me away from my bed,' Tony comments with dry amusement.

'Trying to top you would be futile anyway,' JARVIS rightfully points out as Tony tried to find himself a comfortable position in his swivel chair; it's hard as his whole body feels strange, but soon he's too engrossed in his work to notice.

Happy comes by some time later, Tony isn't sure when exactly, and gives him a huge nutritional shake, knowing Tony well enough to tell he won't be able to eat anything right now, and he stays in the 'shop playing with the bots and reading in silence for hours.

Around seven p.m. Hermes contacts JARVIS who puts him through.

'You wouldn't know yet, but Nicky got some intel and things are about to get out of hand,' he says, sounding unusually serious. It takes Tony a moment to emerge from his train of thoughts and understand what the A.I. is talking about. 'They need more flying people.'

'So?' he asks, wondering if Fury has any orders for Nate; he's been updated about Nate's progress regarding the portals, including JARVIS' early detection signs, but that's not enough. 'Is that why we couldn't contact the team, are they in trouble?'

'Not yet, they are busy bees,' Hermes chippers, 'and I just wanted you to know.'

'Doesn't make sense,' Tony points out, rubbing his eyes, and suddenly realizes he's alone in the room and the doors are open. 'J, Happy – what time is it, what is going on?'

'We were talking about you,' Tony hears a familiar voice from the outside and a moment later Rhodey appears in the doorframe, looking happy and serious at the same time. 'And I heard Hermes – I want to fly and help. I know the armor you made for me is combat-ready and I'm sure you made JARVIS navigate it better than the Air Force me ever could.'

'You know me too well.'

'I do – wait. J, how many Iron Men do you have out right now?'

'Three. One officially, two invisible.'

'We've got some more suits…' Tony thinks aloud, glancing at Rhodey unsurely. 'You've never done that.'

'I'm a soldier, Tony. Have been for decades,' Rhodey states simply. 'They need help to keep it under wraps. We've got people panicking already, we can't afford to make it worse –'

'J, why haven't you told me?' Tony signs, only because Rhodey and Happy can't really sign and he doesn't want them to hear the questions, 'why haven't you told me what was going on? Steve is there, and everyone else –'

'We were working on something important, sir. I thought it would be counterproductive to distract you.'

'You're impossible,' Tony sighs, and then decides. 'It's your call, honeybear, the suit is yours. You can do what you want. And you, J, you get to decide, too. It's you in there anyway, not me. I'll just – I'll stay here. Working.'

'Sir –'

'I'm tired,' Tony says suddenly, shifting in the armchair, his body all stiff and achy. 'Save files, would ya?'

'I think I need to go,' Rhodey says, stretching out a hand to steady Tony as he stands up. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm never okay,' Tony smiles widely at Rhodey, raising an eyebrow. 'I'm sick.'

'Tony –'

'Go save the world,' he cuts in, not letting Rhodey say whatever he wants to say, he doesn't want to hear it now. 'Go save the world for me. Don't forget the stealth mode, sweetcakes.'

'Nicky will be happy not to know about more flying people,' Hermes offers before disconnecting, sounding awfully smug.

Rhodey knows Tony well enough to listen to him, but before he leaves for his place to get into the armor that's in his apartment, he gives Tony a strong delicate hug. It feels like bruises on Tony's body when Rhodey wraps his arms around Tony's frame, but it feels safe, too.

'You made all the suits, you idiot,' Rhodey whispers into Tony's ear before he lets go of him, 'whoever is inside, it's always you saving the damn world.'

It doesn't feel like that, Tony thinks, when he's listening to JARVIS' stream of words hazily, throwing up, trembling with the strange coldness he knows too well now, and exhaustion, and barely aware of Happy's warm hands steadying him and handing him electrolyte drink and medicine. He isn't sure he's even human at this point.

When Pepper comes over in person – they've been videoconferencing since Tony and Steve left for their trip as she was on the west coast since they came back and Tony firmly asked her not to change her damn important plans just to come and see him – for a moment Tony thinks it's just a hologram.

She is real next to him, though, when she kicks off her shoes and sits on the sofa. It's the living room one that Happy moved to the workshop to give Tony some new comfortable space as he refuses to stop working; it's enough to have a glance at any newspaper to know he can't stop, no matter what. Not to mention S.H.I.E.L.D. feed.

He is Tony Stark, right? If anyone can figure the portal thing out, it's him. Whatever is going on, he is still himself. He's still a genius.

'Any closer?' Pepper asks him, putting a big mug into his hands gently.

'We're getting there,' he says, resting his head on her shoulder. 'I'd have done this ten times already if I wasn't –'

'Stop right there,' she cuts in, shaking her head. Tony does shut up. She knows everything, doesn't she? 'Tell me about it.'

Tony smiles weakly, and talks and talks and talks.

She stays overnight and they are both woken up by JARVIS informing Tony there is a phone call for him.

'I can't believe the world is falling apart and we're just sleeping,' he mumbles, gesturing at J to tell him more.

'It's Mister Parker,' JARVIS says and Tony finds himself frowning. 'He says it's urgent.'

'You feeling up to this?' Pepper asks. Tony takes a deep breath and nods. 'I'll make some breakfast then,' she says, standing up and putting Tony's old dressing gown before disappearing.

'Nate, buddy, I know you've been working on the portal thing and I think I have something,' Peter's voice fills the room, almost too loud in Tony's ears. 'You know how I was working with Jane when she was staying at Avengers HQ, we talked a lot and some more, and then I looked over the analysis you sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. and I think I might have a clue – can I come over? It'd work much better if I could just show you, I'm not sure where to go from here but you'll figure something out, I know, what do you think? Science buddies?'

JARVIS waits a moment but when Tony says nothing, he displays a big flashing question mark on one of the wall screens, making Tony snicker in amusement and look at the nearest camera with really? written all over his face.

'Nate, man, are you there? I'm having a life-changing moment here, my name will be remembered for something more than dressing up in spandex, well, that is when people learn my actual name, and you won't say a thing –'

'It's not a good moment,' Tony says and JARVIS conveys it in Nate's official voice, making it apologetic but drier than Tony's own.

'… you alright?' Peter asks after a short pause, his words slightly unsure, 'come to think of it, I haven't really seen you for a while, not since before you left with Steve.'

Tony freezes and then realizes what Peter has just said.

'Sir?'

'Peter knows Iron Man is Nate,' Tony says, 'how does he know I'm not out there, in one of the suits? How the fuck does he know – does he, J?'

'It would seem so, sir, yet I do not know how it came to this.'

'Ask him,' Tony says tiredly, putting his head back on the pillow tiredly. It's almost pathetically funny, being enraged and stunned when you're still in your bed, too tired to move properly.

'You asked me once if I have a healing factor, back in the cave,' Peter explains when JARVIS asks, 'all my senses are enhanced. I can tell if there's a man inside the armor or if there isn't, and, by the way, you show me you A.I.-creating skills and think I won't figure out who helps you fly your tin cans? I'd trust you to be smart enough to make the tin cans fly by themselves. Easy.'

'Easy,' Tony repeats weakly, but he can't be really bothered to care at this point.

'Since it's your home, I'd guess you're in New York, and if you are, we can meet, right? There's no trouble in the US right now and you know I don't let anyone ship my ass out of the country, so I'm on standby in case something pops up in the area. Hence me working. Feels silly not doing anything while everyone else is trying to keep the world together.'

'Agreed –'

'So? Can I come over?'

Tony's heart damn starts beating faster when he considers the possibility – and then Pepper appears in the doorframe, leaning against it with a shake for Tony in one hand, looking at him questioningly.

'It's better if we just talk through Ijon, okay? He'll make it smooth. It's easy with the data transfer and everything; he'll even highlight what you might be pointing at over there.'

'Well, whatever works,' Peter agrees unhappily, and then adds, 'you sure you okay?'

'Yes,' Tony nods, still lying on his side, the duvet feeling wrong over his exposed skin, and he smiles at Pepper as nicely as he can manage. 'Go on, we've got no time to waste.'

It takes Tony two more days to figure out the way to shut the portals; what's a secret between him and JARVIS is that one of the suits, the one that's been still in experimental stage when the whole mess started, has been making trips to other parts of the universe.

And it always came back. A few times now.

'Fury will have fucking kittens when I tell him this,' Tony says smugly, smiling at J, as the suits sneaks into and out of a portal in the middle of Canadian wilderness. Who thought there would be bad guys in Canada.

'Congratulations, sir,' JARVIS says a few minutes later, and Tony beams; he's watching the live footage from the invisible armor as JARVIS pretty much switches the portal off and the shiny light column that's been there for a few hours disappears instantly.

It's just a matter of disturbing the energy flow within the portals, in the end, and no one but Iron Man in his arc reactor-powered suits can do it better. All the new armors have the-new-nameless-element cores which gives them an enormous amount of power.

'Easy,' Tony says, leaning back in his chair. 'Now we've got to do it with all of them and start figuring out how to stop them from even opening, right? We're co cool, J, so damn cool, aren't we?'

'Indeed,' JARVIS says with a hint of amusement. 'Shall I proceed?'

'Let S.H.I.E.L.D. know what's going on and do it,' Tony states, glancing at his right. He's been avoiding that but he can't ignore the pain rising in his body anymore. His abdomen hurts, making his chest feel numb and touchy, making him feel sick again. Again, again, again.

Doc said long ago that this is how it goes: sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days. There's no explaining it, there's only managing it.

Tony's been too sick and then too busy to have internal fights about the medicine since they came back from Paris, but it just hits, when the feeling of urgency disappears as he watches one portal after another die down, on one of the walls turned into a screen.

He talked to Levy briefly a few days earlier, after his morning radiation and before making Happy break speed limits to go back to work. She told him to just take all the meds he needs, since he has his prescriptions.

'We had a conversation about this a long time ago,' she simply reminded him, handing him a neatly folded piece of paper. 'If you need to talk to somebody.'

There are names and phone numbers and emails.

'Does it still make sense to keep trying, with the treatment and all?' Tony asked her just before leaving, pocketing the note.

'As long as you feel it does,' she said the words he's heard so many times.

'Is it even working?'

'It always is, at least a bit.'

'Would I feel better if I stopped?'

That made her pause for a moment.

'Possibly,' she said eventually, giving him a long look that's almost, almost sad.

By the end of the course he isn't sure it is worth it, it's just so bad this time, and he just wants to rest. Maybe sleep in, rest, and get to enjoy – well, anything, really. He'd enjoy any damn thing if he only felt better. He'd enjoy taking summer-scented breaths and working and cooking with Happy.

It's still not the right time to make the decisions, it turns out a few hours later. While Iron Men get rid of the portals that've been opened recently and S.H.I.E.L.D. tries to get on top of that with the media and governments, Tony is sitting with his eyes closed, steadying his breaths to keep down the shake that his body really needs right now, letting the bots pet him and letting JARVIS do his work.

It all seems under control until JARVIS suddenly speaks up over the soft music; it's almost midnight.

'Sir,' he just says simply, it's more than enough to get Tony's attention.

'J?'

'There is a problem we haven't foreseen.'

'J?'

'Director Fury was contacted by who we assume is a leader of the organization that was experimenting with the portals. They shed some light on their motives.'

'That's not a problem,' Tony states, tilting his head and skimming the last few lines JARVIS suggested for a code they are working on; the deep space exploration suits will need to have unique A.I.s running them.

'I will spare you the grand words, but it seems they are a group fighting against the slow destruction of the earth that, according to them, no one takes seriously. They want to save the Earth –'

'By inviting aliens here?'

'Apparently,' JARVIS keeps his voice toneless because the situation is too serious for jokes, but this calls for a disbelieving snicker, Tony thinks. 'By asking the aliens to help them rule the world in a way that will be beneficial for humanity.'

'Who the fuck believes in that bullshit?' Tony snaps, saving the files he's been staring at for the last minute. 'Don't answer that question. I used to think making weapons helps world peace,' he adds, chuckling darkly.

'Thanks to our early detection protocols they are unable to successfully establish any portals at this time,' JARVIS states the truth with a proud tone to his voice, and Tony smiles to himself. 'We still do not know where the leaders are so we cannot stop them from taking other actions –'

'Other actions…?'

'They claimed to have placed several bombs around Washington D.C., including the proximity of the White House. The president is being evacuated right now. The public knows nothing about this, of course; S.H.I.E.L.D. and government-related teams are on their way as we speak.'

'But?' Tony asks, ignoring the strange anxiousness that seems to fill his body.

'We cannot let the bombs go off. There is enough chaos as it is –'

'And that could be too much,' Tony finished the sentence, nodding in agreement, even if it feels surreal. He's been here, trying to breathe his way through one day and another and another. It's still almost too strange, knowing what's going on hundreds of miles away and not being there. 'What can we do?'

'I will ask Hermes and make sure to give you an update as soon as the teams arrive at the sites and learn anything.'

'Sure, baby,' Tony sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 'I think I need a long shower,' he decides on a whim; maybe it will help his achy body, getting soaked in hot water. It helped a few times before.

JARVIS speaks up again just after Tony wraps a fluffy towel around himself, enjoying the almost painful cold tiles under his bare feet; his body is just oversensitive these days but he's getting used to it. Slowly.

'Director Fury is on the line.'

'Patch him through,' Tony tells J with a frown, staring at himself in the mirror and running his hand over the smooth surface of his head. He looks like shit, he's well aware, but well, there's nothing that can be done.

'I need you,' Fury says in a low voice, with a sense of urgency that seems strange for him. 'Where are you?'

'Don't you keep track of your puppy team?' Tony asks before he can stop himself, it's probably not a good time, but he'd really like to know why Fury is asking.

'Are you on a Quinjet that's moving towards the USA, flying from Korea over the Pacific Ocean right now?' Tony keeps silent, giving Fury his answer. 'I think not,' Fury says with satisfaction that almost sounds like a relief around the edges. 'I need you in D.C.'

'The bombs?'

'I knew Hermes would tell you everything,' Fury barks, but then adds, 'yes. We have teams at the sites. They can't do anything. They can't move the bombs, either. It's smartly done and we don't want to risk.'

'Oh?'

'Those seem to be experimental weapons. They emit a signature remotely similar to the portals but not really, remotely similar to Loki's weapons last year but not really. They all have timers set for three hours and ticking. Apparently it's a test. The guys don't believe we can figure that shit out in as much as three hours, and so far they are right.'

Tony shivers.

'I need you here,' Fury repeats again. 'I don't know anyone else who can have any idea what to do with them and we fucking need it taken care of.'

'I'm home,' Tony says, closing his eyes and sighing. 'In New York.'

'I'm glad you're not over Pacific Ocean then.'

'I –' Tony starts, but he isn't sure what to say; nothing really matters at this point.

'Can you do that? Can you come here?' Fury questions in his deep low voice, softer than Tony has ever heard it, but he doesn't have the time to think about it right now.

'I'll be there in forty,' he replies, gesturing at JARVIS to hang up.

There is a moment of sudden silence ringing in Tony's ears, and then he lets the towel fall to the floor and reaches for his clothes, waiting for him on one of the shelves.

It's one a.m.

'Reminder for later: tell Levy I won't get to the clinic today,' Tony says, walking out of the bathroom and across the bedroom to get to his medicine cabinet. 'Check the dosage notes we made with Doc in case of emergency, show me, and don't tell Happy.'

'Mister Hogan will be extremely upset with you, sir.'

Tony nods in agreement, looking at the info JARVIS shows on the nearest screen and then into the cabinet, and takes out the antiemetics and analgesics – that should be enough to make him feel vaguely human and able to do his job – placing them on a night table in a neat row. Then he makes a second row to be hidden within the suit, just in case it all takes too long.

He swallows the pills, washing them down with some cold water, and then proceeds to the familiar and repetitive process of putting on Nate's disguise as JARVIS forwards all data S.H.I.E.L.D. is gathering about the bombs.

'So this is the big thing,' Tony laugh darkly as JARVIS wraps the newest armor around his numb body.

'Are you sure you feel up to it?'

'You ask as if it mattered, J, and it really doesn't, too much depends on whether we manage to deal with this. Open the window,' he adds, and a second later he's in the air, moving towards D.C. at top speed and doing a fairly good job ignoring the lightheadedness. 'Good job getting ready,' he mutters to himself, 'we'll be few minutes early.'

Halfway through the flight Steve calls.

'Director just told us what's going on, and then told me in private that you're going to solve this.'

Tony exhales. He's never expected this kind of consideration from Fury.

'Are you going to be there as Nate or as Iron Man?' Steve asks. That's it for not having to worry about the identity issues for once – but he gets it. It needs to be sorted out somehow.

'Iron Man,' he says. Steve, Natasha, and Thor know about Nate and Iron Man. Steve and Thor know he's dying. Steve knows he's Tony Stark. 'Tell them the other suit is my A.I. since it's the truth. Is that gonna be enough?'

'It has to,' he can hear Steve's reassuring smile in his voice. 'I'm worried about you. You've been –'

'I can do it,' Tony says firmly, pretty much reassuring himself as well as Steve. 'See you, Cap,' he adds warmly before he hangs up.

Happy isn't as nice when he shouts at Tony, the voice echoing in the helmet; Tony would claim it have him headache if only he wasn't on drugs that make all the pain a remote dull feeling all over.

'You're an idiot,' Happy says at the end, and Tony understands: Happy is just feeling helpless and that's the most awful of all feelings.

'I'd rather die fighting,' Tony tells him, 'it'd be easier.'

'Don't say things like that, boss,' Happy replies quickly. 'Pepper will kill me if I let you go without saying goodbye and you don't come back.'

'You're my favorite,' Tony smiles, glancing at the HUD, seven more minutes, approximately. 'See you in a few hours.'

There barely is time to exchange a word with Rhodey who is somewhere above the States, heading towards the same place as everyone else in his invisible suit. Rhodey has been around for decades, longest of all, and he knows Tony inside out.

'I know you can do it,' Rhodey says, not mentioning that the last time he saw Tony, he was physically sick with pain and too tired to walk down the stairs.

Tony can tell him everything.

'I know it's easy to forget that I am me. I forget it sometimes, too,' he says. 'But I'll be back in no time and I'll be on enough drugs to go for a fucking run with you, not just a healthy fresh air stroll like an old lady.'

'Kick their asses,' Rhodey replies, and just when Tony lands – the bomb by the White House, pretty damn close, Tony had to admit, no time for wondering how it happened – he adds, 'I just wish, after everything that's happened, that they knew it was you, saving them.'

There are wires and keyboards and mini screens built into the bomb and it feels like a fucking game, a sick game, but Tony grits his teeth and ignores it, focusing on getting his thing done.

In the end it's – surprising, how easy the bombs are to work out. Since everyone claimed they couldn't do anything. Maybe that's because Tony's been working on the portals too much recently and on weapons too much in his life, but it's just – simple. His thoughts are cold and logical and his mind completely focused, almost too quick to follow, with JARVIS' helpful input, and before twenty minutes pass, he knows what to do.

He takes off Iron Man's gloves and asks the S.H.I.E.L.D. man for tools, ignoring their stares. They seem surprised he's a human of flesh and blood which is funny in a twisted way because well, these days Iron Man usually isn't.

'Give me five minutes and we can move on – they are all the same, like you said?'

'Confirmed, sir,' one of the agents offers. 'Eight more.'

'We'll be done with them soon,' he promises.

By the fourth bomb, he's sick of the men's stares, a mixture of curiosity, amazement, and fear. By the sixth his hands are shaking – the medicine doesn't help with dizziness and the stiff weak feeling all throughout his body – and he has to pause for a moment before he resumes his work.

When he's finishing with the ninth, thirteen minutes before the deadline, his head pounding dully and body feeling all bruised from staying in unnatural positions inside the armor, he tells JARVIS, 'I want a victory cheeseburger to wait for me at home, I earned it, didn't I?'

'You did, sir, I will – Director Fury.'

'There is another bomb,' Fury declares, 'I'm sending you the coordinates. We've been scanning the area according to your specs.'

'On it,' Tony says, there isn't time to argue and say he didn't send them any specifications. It must have been JARVIS then, and JARVIS is Iron Man as much as Tony, so well. Fair game.

He's almost painfully tense when he gets to the site – there's awfully little time left.

'Calm down, sir. You can do it. You have a minute more than you need.'

'If something goes wrong –' he trails off, looking around; the area is still being evacuated and it's in the middle of the damn city and there's no saying how strong the blast would be –

'You've been in worse situations,' JARVIS reminds him simply.

'Not helping,' Tony snickers but that's a lie – it's a reassurance.

He isn't sure how, but he gets it done a full minute before the deadline, and when the bomb is disarmed, he closes his eyes and sways slightly; JARVIS as always is a step ahead and locks the armor's joint, steadying Tony.

'Stark?' he hears Fury's voice in the helmet, 'great job. Thanks.'

Tony doesn't reply, he ignores the agents talking to him and simply takes off, leaving them all with bewildered faces. JARVIS says the Avengers are headed to New York, two hours out now, since they wouldn't get to D.C. in time anyway.

It's almost five when Tony gets back into the workshop, the sun has just started to encompass the city with its bright and warm rays, cutting through the perfectly blue morning sky.

Happy is sitting in Tony's armchair with his legs crosses and resting on the desk, steaming burgers stacked on a big plate.

'Aaand you saved the world again, boss.'

'Sssh, it's a secret,' Tony replies with a grin, taking off the helmet in one smooth motion. He had enough time on his way back to calm down and hurray, his hands aren't trembling anymore and he's pretty sure he can even stand on his own, so he gives J the sign to unwrap the armor. 'Cheeseburgers?'

'You earned it,' Happy states, raising an eyebrow and pushing the plate across the desk.

'Don't give me that look, I can keep it down, I'm on so many things it feels like being pleasantly drunk –'

'I can see that,' Happy snickers, suddenly at Tony's side as Tony sways when the armor is not there anymore. 'Sit down,' he adds, leading Tony to his blanket nest, now moved to the other corner by the windows, with a view of the city. A moment later he sits down next to Tony, putting the plate with food between them. 'The kids worry about you when you go for a mission, especially nearly-suicidal when you're damn sick,' he whines between bites, 'They worry the same much about JARVIS, when he goes out as Iron Man, but J wouldn't tell you that – I thought I would, so that you know.'

'Mhm,' Tony mutters, chewing on his food. It even seems to have a flavor this time, a nice change from the last couple of weeks.

'By the way, I'm not going to forget you said you'd rather die fighting. Just for the record, I know it must have been frustrating to be unable to help but that one was a bit extreme.'

'Yeah, and true,' Tony mutters in agreement, swallows, and adds, 'I felt alive, it was fake but I felt alive…'

'We shall find a solution to that,' JARVIS quips in. Happy nods vigorously.

'For now, burger?' he asks, poking Tony and making him laugh; his skin still feels strange. But it doesn't matter now.

'Why not,' Tony decides, taking another one and biting in.

Steve's lips taste dry and sweet.

'I'll drive you to the clinic,' Steve says. It's the last day of radiation and Tony planned to skip it, but he doesn't feel he could do that to Steve now. It's just one time. 'And then we'll get ice cream. It's a lovely August here this year, I haven't had the time to appreciate it enough.'

'It smells like sweat and salt,' Tony declares, wrinkling his nose theatrically as he finishes buttoning up his shirt.

'And you love it.'

'I guess I do,' he has to agree. It smells familiar, in a good way, the stuffy hot air squeezing everywhere and feeling like a soft blanket.

He grabs a pair of sunglasses and puts them on in one of Tony Stark's swift practiced movements. Steve seems amused and gives him a quick kiss.

'You were amazing today,' he says when they are in the elevator. 'Impossibly reckless but incredibly amazing.'

'Why thank you,' Tony leans against Steve, enjoying the warm body supporting his.

'Please don't do it again,' Steve adds quietly, wrapping his hand around Tony's as they exit the elevator.

Tony offers him a smile and shrugs slightly, staying silent, as Nate would. He probably won't do it again but he doesn't want to tell Steve the real reason, not yet. It'll take a bit of time to organize everything.

For now they have their strange-scented summer mornings to celebrate.

'You have not shaved your head in three days, sir,' JARVIS points out on Sunday when Tony is getting ready to join the Avengers in Iron Man's suit for a late debrief. Steve is already there, having left early to have a chat with Fury before the meeting.

'Yeah,' Tony mutters, staring at himself in the mirror.

'Does that mean anything?'

'Well,' Tony sighs and turns around, stretching his arms above his head, a mischievous smile on his face, 'you guess, J,' he says, looking straight into the nearest camera, 'you guess.'

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this part! This last piece of Again come the morning, next time we'll meet with Corporeal ghosts.

Also, you too can guess what Tony has on his mind, and I'd be happy to read your thoughts! ;)