All Things Considered, This Was Unexpected

Shit

Tony Stark had been through 41 years of bullshit. He's survived, of course. He's gone through torture, he has experienced heartbreak and betrayal and even lived through a whole fucking alien invasion.

Even with the many downfalls in his life, he managed.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

He would say to anyone who would listen. He's doing great! Despite the reoccurring anxiety attacks. And his tendency to drink a little more than the average person. If you were like Tony Stark, burdened with a bit of alcohol abuse and a rough time keeping nerves down would be nothing to handle.

Even with 41 years of life under his belt, nothing prepared him for this.

Today, just like yesterday and the day before, he spent his time in the lab making adjustments to Mark VII. It'd been a month-and-a-half since Thor's psycho brother had his bitch fit, then decided taking over the world was the best way to handle his breakdown.

Pepper tries to keep him company from time to time. She has always been there for him. Without her by his side, he'd go down in flames. Most likely literally, but they were once upon a time. And Tony was okay with that. He liked pepper, loved her even. Even Anthony Stark knew that the relationship wasn't going to last. All Pepper got out of it was that she cared too much.

With a newfound sense of energy, he spent hours hunched over a workbench and moving circuits and wires. He didn't know if it was still morning, night, or a new day, but he loved this.

A miscalculated movement of wires caused a tiny shock that made him retract his hand. After that shock, every coming second told the worst story. A moment a heavy thud hit the floor, then a beep from the ceiling said that Jarvis would start the alarm for the danger of an intruder if Tony didn't neutralize the threat in the next 5 minutes.

Well shit.