A mile in my shoes

Chapter 17

The evening had been pretty hard on everybody. Tony and Hope were able to bring Pepper to one of the guest rooms and get her to sleep. She was clearly not in a good state, pretty out of it. Tony was deep in thought, his mind racing through the possibilities. Clint had clearly done something wrong and needed to pay for it. The rogues were somewhere in Europe, and they weren't very good at hiding. Natasha had probably tried her best to keep her team on the down low, but Steve Rogers was never discreet or able to resist what he perceived as a good cause when he saw one. Nobody else was capable of helping the little guy, of course.

Proving that the body swap had actually happened and that Clint was in full control of Tony's body at the time would be a next to impossible task. It was unlikely that any judge would be willing to hear such an unusual claim, and even if they did, it would be even harder for a jury to believe it. Tony's well known reputation as a playboy would likely be used against him. They would just laugh at that. Ultimately, it would not help Pepper and would potentially harm the other women who had been involved with Clint. This was nothing short of a nightmare. Difficult and very frustrating situation all around.

"I should be sorry for wanting to remember. Even though I knew what he was doing, I didn't even consider all those women. It was on the front page everywhere. I should regret my choice but I don't. Not really and I don't feel good about it."

Tony had never openly expressed so many emotions before, and they weren't pleasant ones. He had never wished such a fate on anyone, not even his worst enemy. They could all have gone back to their normal lives, none the wiser. If they had never found out, they could have continued with their lives without suffering the immense pain that came with knowing the truth. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to regret it. Perhaps Natasha was correct when she mentioned his ego. He was being selfish. He wanted to be happy, but his happiness would come with a price.

"Me neither."

Laura took him in her arms, hugging him close. They were standing in the common room like that for a while. They should have gone to bed, without a doubt, but the situation was delicate. They both likely needed rest. Tony and Laura couldn't sleep in the same bed right now, even if they only wanted to sleep and nothing more. The children would probably not care all that much. They were very close to Tony, but not so much with Clint, if they ever were. But it wouldn't be very nice to Pepper. She had been through enough lately. Of course, she was aware that Tony was no longer hers, but that was no reason to bring it up first thing in the morning. Tony felt he had already been selfish enough, and didn't want to add to anyone's pain.

The situation was complicated. Tony and Laura still felt a strong need to stay together just for a while longer. Their relationship had a strange start, but that didn't make it any less intense and close. Relationships based on intense experiences, he had heard, never work or last. Tony wanted a long-lasting relationship with Laura, forever, until death do them part and all that. He wanted to take a chance on love. Perhaps it is time for Iron Man to slow down, not stop helping people entirely, but to be on call only for true end-of-the-world emergencies.

Tony didn't want to end up like Clint, who was always gone somewhere, risking his life. Of course, people would occasionally require his assistance, which he would provide. He didn't want to sacrifice his personal life for it anymore. The majority of his time should be spent on Laura and the children. He would not spread himself thin like he used to do, doing everything for Stark Industries while bending himself backward for the Avengers.

Tony was still surprised by how strongly he felt about Laura. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and he would admit to himself, if not everyone else, that it was both a surprising and good feeling. He was determined to make it work.