Marvel One Shots

(Stony) (A) NCGR Pt. 2

Steves P.O.V.

It's been a few days since anyone heard from or saw Tony, and it seems like I'm the only one who notices that. Though it's not unusual, he's always locked up in the lab doing something-or-other, it still seems... Different this time. I don't know, I can't explain it, but something doesn't seem right. Call it paranoia, but there's something wrong with Tony. And I'm going to figure out what it is.

I started talking with JARVIS, well, before he suddenly stopped working after a few minutes of trying to figure out Tony. Which is definitely strange, even during upgrades he's never offline, it raises a huge red flag; however, Tony must have his reasons for turning off the AI, possibly repairs or a huge update. The sudden shut down surprises me, and probably all of the team, though no one comments and continues with normal activities as well as possible without the assistance.

That is, until a disruption occurs outside. There's police sirens and lots of shouting, and most of us couldn't possibly hear it from so high up, but me and Bucky have better hearing than anyone else and notice it immediately. We both race to the balcony to see what's going on, not sure if it's an intruder or paparazzi, maybe even Tony returning from whatever he was doing, but the sight is so much worse than I could've ever imagined.

It makes me sick to my stomach, my knees collapse and I vomit on the side of the balcony, dry heaving over it when my stomach expells all of it's contents, eyes blurring with tears and shock settling itself deep in my bones. I can distantly feel a hand on my shoulder, it must be Bucky, but it doesn't stop the tremors running through my body, doesn't stop the panic, and most importantly, it doesn't change anything. Tony's still dead at the sidewalk, motionless with crimson staining the cement, and motionless for once in his... His... Motionless for once. I throw up bile at the mere thought of it.

A few minutes later the rest of the team comes out to see what I'm so shocked about, broken over, and all of them go pale. Even Natasha, none of them prepared for the sight below the balcony. All of them go quiet, for once the tower stops buzzing with life, mourning it's creator, the genius held behind the walls and the heart of it all. Distantly it registers in my mind that's why JARVIS stopped talking, he mustve died with his creator, but nothing breaks through the mantra Tony's dead. He's dead, never to breathe again, and it's all your fault. No more smiles, no more banter or beautiful laughter, nothing. Only a cold corpse remains, you caused it.

The shock of our friends suicide hits hard, everyone dispersing somewhere to mourn and release their anger at the death, all except for me. I can't move, can barely breathe, and hope this is a nightmare that I wake from soon. I... I had no idea he ever felt so depressed, so broken that he would take his own life. Not even the constant presence of my fiancé can help make this any easier. Nothing ever could.

Minutes or hours pass, I can't tell at this point pass on the balcony before Bucky goes back inside, leaving me to collapse against the railing with the cool bars pressing into my face. My body goes limp, mind still trying to comprehend what just happened, not that I want to. I don't want to face reality, one without Tony's constant presence by my side, without his laughter and without his innate ability to lighten the mood. And fix things that went wrong.

My focus returns in small bursts, from what I can tell up here his body has been carted off to somewhere, I don't want to know where, and the blood has been cleaned off the sidewalk. Someone approaches and stands by my side, maybe watching me, maybe watching the ground, but I can't bring myself to care about who it is. The world has a dull tone to it now, all the joy sucked out of it and all that remains being the gray and the pain. A lone tear falls down my cheek, all the rest spent upon the initial shock, as it falls onto my shirt. The cold of the cement and the air combined with my wet clothing penetrates my skin, chilling my soul and sending it into further depression.