p • r • e • s • s • u • r • e

Jesus, Tony

~a couple of weeks later~

Tony opens his eyes-which, for some reason, takes a considerable amount of effort. He's alone in his room, but it's clear someone has been here and he knows exactly who. A familiar coat is draped over the back of the armchair from his adjoined living room, as well as a battered copy of Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. He hears the toilet flush and for reasons he can't understand, he picks up his tablet on his nightstand and checks his reflection, trying to get his hair under control. The sound of the tap squeaking as it's turned off floats to his ears and he carefully drops his makeshift mirror back on the table, rests his head back on the pillow and watches a weary Bruce in the socks he bought him (they had bacon on them) plod back to the chair and seats himself with an air of resignation. The book is picked back up. The scientist's empty hand is shaking a little; the tea on the little side table next to the chair long cold. He sips it anyway.

"What part are you on?"

Bruce's eyebrows shoot up and suddenly, he's as animated as a four month-old puppy.

"Tony! You're awake!"

"Yeah...don't remind me..." He grumbles. Bruce just grins, slyly.

"How you feeling?"

Tony considers this.

I hadn't given it that much thought...

He reaches a hand up to his chest, relieved to find they hadn't gotten rid of his reactor. But something's not right.

It's...it's different.

Tony pushes against it, steeling himself for the familiar throb.

But nothing comes.

It doesn't hurt.

"Bruce..."

The engineer looks up at his boyfriend, who is elated.

"No more pain!" He exclaims.

Tony panics a little.

"Isn't it great?"

"Yeah, great..."

He presses harder and harder, feeling nothing but his entire rib cage shifting ever-so-slightly. It's as if the reactor's really a part of him.

This was never supposed to happen.

Blood rushes in his ears and Bruce is saying something about an implant and nerve damage.

"I have to say, Tony, it was...pretty horrific.''

"What was?"

"Well..."

The scientist removes his reading glasses and puts them in his lap with the book.

"The tissue surrounding the reactor...well, it was a mess. We were in the operating theatre above the OR when it happened...nobody trusted the doctors not to fuck up the arc reactor. But uh...yeah, you really did a number on yourself. They ended up doing something with metal, and your rib cage...anyway, there's no getting rid of it now, so I guess you got your way in the end."

No, no...

"I'm going to be like this...forever."

Bruce frowns.

"Well...yeah. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I don't...I don't know."

The scientist puts a dried-up leaf between the pages as a bookmark and closes the novel, putting it on the little bronze table with his glasses and walks over to sit on the side of the bed, next to Tony.