Avengers Stories //Oneshots//

New Year's Sparks

So, I don't know if this fic belongs here or in my Tony and his Kids book, but I'm just going to leave it here. *places it on the ground and walks away.*

             December 31, 2013

Tony scrubbed his hand across his face and through his hair, glancing at the clock once more. 6:30 in the afternoon. How long had it been since he last slept? Actually, that didn't matter. What mattered was the loading bar on the blue hologram in front of him, the rectangle slowly filling up white as Jarvis ran the simulation of his latest possible solution to their current Extremis problem with Pepper. Killian may have made it less explosive and more stable when he used it on her, but Pepper and Tony did not like the fact that it was currently thrumming through the strawberry blonde's veins, threatening to set fire to anything she touched if she didn't stay relaxed and in control.

He was glad that since it was the holidays there wasn't much Stark Industries work to do. Pepper insisted on handling what there was because not doing the work made her antsy. He understood that. He got anxious when he couldn't tinker the same way she got when she couldn't do any paperwork. So, they spent the days after Christmas in his lab, her sitting on the couch with a computer and binder while he ran his simulations, hiding his frustrating each time one didn't work.

Every night, Pepper would drag him out of the lab so they could eat dinner together, watch a movie, and go to bed. He still didn't sleep as much as he should, but he was getting more than before. His nightmares didn't leave him alone, new ones having been created that involved the love of his life falling multiple times, but Pepper would shake him awake and he would talk about it. His girlfriend would comfort him until he could relax again, sometimes even going back to sleep as he listened to her heartbeat, knowing she was safe and alive, even if there was foreign fire in her body.

There wasn't any more work to do today and Tony insisted he wouldn't blow up the lab if she left for a few hours, so Pepper was currently spending some time with her younger sister, Bianca. The genius was glad they were getting the chance to catch up after so long apart. Pepper had texted him earlier that they were going to go do some shopping and get a spa treatment, and his bet was that they were getting the latter right now.

A soft 'bing' interrupted his thoughts. He shook his head, trying to get rid the exhaustion that was covering his mind like a blanket, preventing him from focusing. He hadn't slept much last night, constantly staring up at the ceiling as he listened to Pepper breathe beside him. His calculations and tests were saying that he was getting closer and closer to finding a solution to Extremis and his fingers had itched to get to the lab all night, but he hadn't wanted to leave Pepper alone after all they had been through. He wanted her to wake up and see him after so long of waking up alone due to his nightly building in the lab before the Mandrian Incident. He was trying to change for her, because she deserved so much better than him.

His final simulation was in its last stages of testing, a spinning circle forming on the middle fo the screen. Tony waited impatiently, one hand absentmindedly fiddling with a loose thread coming from the sleeve of his MIT hoodie. The genius was wearing what he called his 'comfy clothes' which consisted of his well-loved hoodie, black sweatpants, and an old pair of sneakers. He glanced over at the small electronic box that currently held the liquid he had created. It would hopefully be a good antidote. It had to be.

"Testing done, sir," Jarvis said. He turned his attention back to the screen as the conclusive data came rolling onto it. His eyes zeroed in on the answer and he felt his heart jump into his throat, excitement temporarily pushing away his tiredness.

Simulation: Successful.

He pressed a button on the metal, sleek box and it opened, revealing the purple liquid that would rid Pepper of the Extremis in her veins. Pulling on his gloves, he grabbed a syringe, filling it with the substance. He placed it in a cold containment unit to preserve it, yanked off the gloves, and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply as relief filled his chest. He did it. He really did it.