Rising From the Ashes • COMPLETED ✓

19.) Morning Dove: Tony Stark

TONY STARK - IRON MAN

July 12th, 2017, Stark Tower

"You could have saved us, Tony!" A bloodied Steve grabs my shoulders. I try to open my mouth to answer him. What's going on? I feel panic rising in my throat and an impending doom weigh down on my shoulders. Sound refuses to come from my lips. "You could have saved us," His bright blue eyes close after speaking and he slumps to the ground at my feet. 

I can do nothing but watch and feel my heart shatter. I can't let down the Avengers again. Gently, I lay Steve to rest near a pile of dirt, shaking my head as an apology. I carry on walking. I don't recognize this place. There's rubble everywhere.

Instantly, I'm slapped in the face with a flashback. My worst fear. I saw it with the help of Wanda Maximoff. And now, it's coming true.

"Tony!" A familiar voice screams. Turning around, I face Natasha. Her hair is covered with dirt, her face is decorated with a multitude of cuts and bruises. Nat's lips aren't in her signature smirk; but a grimace of anguish. Her suit has dark stains and Romanoff's usually piercing turquoise gaze is no longer as bold. "Get your head out of your ass, and lower your ego for one second." Natasha gestures to her wounded self. "This all happened because of you." She spits the last word out, like poison. Like I'm poison.

I furiously shake my head and run towards her. Natasha gives me one last glare, then falls right into my arms. Her body feels like a dead weight. Tears stream down my cheeks and fall from my jaw as I gingerly place her next to Rogers. I place two fingers on her eyelids to close her dull stare. I'm too late. I'm always too late.

When I blink my tears away, my eyes open to see bodies. So many bodies. Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Thor, Wanda, Vision, Sam, Bucky, Rhodey, T'Challa, Clint— and last, but definitely not least—Peter. My heart breaks even more as I run over to the stiff teenager. Kid, what are you doing here? 

His Spider-Man suit is torn apart and his wavy brown hair is clumped up. I can feel my vision spotting. I can't breathe. I can't see. Crumpling to the ground, I lay down next to Peter Parker and my team. The Avengers. All dead.

"Tony!"

A voice sears into my mind, like fire on paper. Pepper? Pepper. My eyes immediately snap open. My face is wet with tears, and my eyelids are puffy. "Pepper," I croak out with a dry throat. I latch onto her waist and hold her close to my chest. 

Taking a deep breath, I inhale her familiar fragrance and smile when I smell tomatoes. I'm now reminded of last night's dinner. We made pasta together. The image of Pepper and I mixing marinara sauce calms me down, but the tears keep running.

"What did you dream of?" She turns around slowly, facing me with gentle ocean-colored eyes. Her brows are scrunched up in worry.

"I—I had a nightmare," I hiccup. "Everybody was dead. Rhodey, Peter, Steve, Wanda. Everybody." I close my eyes, but the image of their torn bodies is burned into them. Pepper plants a kiss against my wrinkled forehead and runs her fingers through my hair.

Her breath tickles my ear as she talks. "I'm here, Tony. That's not real. You're okay. They're okay." She wipes the moisture on my cheeks with the tender brush of a hand.

I nod. "You're okay, too." Pepper Potts is okay. She's here, with me. One more tear falls from my chin. "I love you so much," I state, almost to myself more than her.

"I love you so much, too," She smiles against my neck. Her blonde hair is rumpled and the corners of her eyes crinkle as she beams at me. I can hear her heartbeat. I missed that familiar rhythm. I place a careful hand against Pepper's back and gradually pull her towards me. I lean in and kiss her nose, then her mouth.

Pepper Potts is okay. She is here, I repeat the two sentences in my mind. I'm comforted by her presence. Slowly, I can feel some of the tension release from my shoulders. "Good night, Tony Stark," She cooes soothingly, sounding like a morning dove.

"Good night," I mumble, half unconscious. I could listen to her talk all day.

For the rest of my sleep, I don't have any more nightmares.

Tony's worst fear. I hated that scene so much, but it really shows you just how much Tony Stark cares. He loves his team more than nearly everything.

Tony Stark has a heart. 

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