✷ ✷ ✷ ɐılnɾ ✷ ✷ ✷ (hurlyburly) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-08-04 14:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | julia wicker, tony stark / iron man (mcu) |
Who: Tony Stark (MCU) & Julia Wicker
What: Tony finally gets that IW update and some super fun surprises. Like an injury from Thanos and an engagement to Pepper Potts his friends might have forgot to mention. Oops.
When: Early, early Saturday, August 4th
Where: Tony’s bedroom
Warnings: Injury, PTSD flashback, potty mouths (thanks Syfy!)
Status: Complete in gdocs
Tony wasn't foolish enough to think he would be spared the memories of his encounter with Thanos. He might have hoped a little that he was immune, given the fact that three months had passed since everyone else woke up with memories of events they had not experienced. For a time, he even thought his reason for not acquiring the memories was because he was dead. But then Nebula arrived and told him that it was worse than that. He hadn't died, but almost everyone else had. When the memories came, it wasn't so much in a dream like he had expected. Instead, he had simply gone to bed and woken up with the the memories in his head, as if they had always been there. Except that he knew they hadn't. And the heaviness in his chest felt as real to him in the moment he awoke as it had sitting on what remained of Titan. And there was something else too, a burning in his abdomen that felt white hot. But it wasn't the pain of the wound that sent him gasping for air, his pulse racing, the room spinning, the sweat beading on his brow and soaking through his t-shirt. Nor was it the familiar yet entirely unexpected feeling of a new arc reactor in his chest. Not even the recollection of his reconciliation with Pepper, of proposing, of wanting to start a family with her, while Julia slept in his bed beside him. It was Thanos' voice, ringing in his ears as if the words had just been spoken only seconds ago. "When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they remember you." It was Peter, clinging to him, pleading with him, "I don't wanna go, sir. Please." Apologizing to Tony, when he was the one who had failed the kid, had failed everyone. Tony reached out, inadvertently nudging Julia as he gripped the sheets of the bed beside him on either side, his breaths coming in short, strangled gasps. It had been a couple years since he'd had an anxiety episode quite like this, and that realization in and of itself made it even harder to breathe. The rational part of his brain told him he was safe, that there was nothing he could do for the man whose memories he had just received, because he had already tried. But his subconscious raced, stirring up feelings of fear, self-doubt, regret, anger, hatred, love, betrayal. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, but wound up gasping for breath instead. Julia was a light sleeper. She’d stirred slightly when she felt Tony tense next to her in bed. The mattress was likely the most expensive thing she’d ever slept on in her life, but the shifting of the sheets had alerted her. By the time he nudged her, Julia’s eyes were open. Not that they weren’t prone to nightmares. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for one to wake up. Each of them had their rituals when they did. It took her two seconds to realize this was something different. Julia bolted upright. “Oh fuck. Tony?” It almost looked like an arc reactor. There was a light radiating from Julia’s heart, just under one of Tony’s graphic t-shirts she had fallen asleep in. Julia’s hands began to glow as well as she placed them on him. It worked for Kady during her near overdose. Marina said Julia had healed her scars and nicotine addiction. “Come on, come on,” Julia pleaded, to what she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing or how she was doing it. She’d avoided using that power since she arrived on the cruise ship, but now she wished she’d tried looking into it further. “Please fucking work.” And she tried, but her spark of divinity wasn’t strong enough. The light went out. Tony still looked he’d fallen straight out of one of their nightmares. “Goddamnit!” she shouted. Julia exhaled through a thoughtful frown. The injury looked extensive. She could try it again? Rubbing her fingers against her palms, she tried connecting to the mysterious power source again but nothing happened. Tony was suddenly aware of Julia's hands on him, and he felt his pulse return to normal, and the tightness in his chest fade. His mind still raced, overburdened with new memories and all of their horrible implications, but the physical effects of his anxiety were abating. The same could not be said for the pain in his abdomen. His eyes fluttered open as Julia cursed her powers. He loosened his grasp on the sheets and tried to sit up, but the throbbing pain from his wound kept him lying prone. "Fuck!" he gasped under his breath as he laid his head back down on his pillow. He didn't have the benefit of the adrenaline coursing through his veins like he'd had on Titan. “Tony? Don’t move.” Julia combed her fingers through his hair briefly. It was a helpless gesture. The light wasn’t coming back. She didn’t know how to activate it. Unlike a spell it sometimes just happened. It could sometimes be used to cast spells. It sometimes didn’t do a damn thing at all. “J.A.R.V.I.S.?” Julia called. Was she supposed to have J.A.R.V.I.S. get an ambulance? Julia gingerly tried to get a better look at the wound. Tony wasn’t bleeding out. There was something in the way. “What the fuck is this?” she asked. Rhodey or Bruce might know what to do. “How may I assist, Miss Wicker?” came the calm voice of the A.I. Tony was struck with the urge to swat her hand away, but he didn't. "I'm fine," he mumbled through gritted teeth at both Julia and J.A.R.V.I.S., and made another effort to sit up. He managed to prop himself up on his elbows then slid back enough so that he was supported by the headboard. He was only sitting at about a 30 degree angle, but it was enough for him to look down and visually inspect his stomach. The wound was still filled by the seething spray he had dispensed on Titan. He tapped the arc reactor on his chest in answer to Julia's question. "Nanotech suture spray. Don't worry. It'll hold." He wasn't sure for how long. It had never been tested quite like this. “Damnit Tony, would you stop? Just stop fucking moving.” The last thing wanted was to watch him make it worse. For something to break and see just how serious and fatal his wounds were. It was impossible to see or know what kind of internal damage there might have been. She knew basic first aid. That knowledge wasn’t going to cut it here. She was upset because she cared and because she was mad that there didn’t seem to be anything she could do. “J.A.R.V.I.S. can you please get Rhodey or Bruce?” She wasn’t sure what they would be able to do, either. Bruce didn’t seem like he was that kind of doctor but hopefully either one of them had a clearer head and would actually know what to do in this situation. Her eyes were stuck on the new arc reactor. There were other differences in Tony’s appearance. His haircut was slightly shorter. It was hard to tell what else had changed. “And turn on the lights?” she asked. "Relax," Tony retorted in a tone that was unlikely to inspire calm. He wasn't angry at Julia, just the situation in general. The memories he hadn't asked for; being stuck with the physical changes that came with them; needing help, but not wanting to accept any. He looked up at Julia, clad in one of his t-shirts, worry in her eyes. He felt like he had deceived her, even though he had no way of knowing he was playing her false when they started up together. That none of the others had seen fit to tell him of his impending wedding to Pepper seemed like its own cruel act of betrayal. "Don't bother," Tony chimed in immediately after Julia's request of J.A.R.V.I.S., "though hit the lights." There was something to be said for having veto power over your own A.I. "Rhodes isn't here anyway." There were several teams in the field for the black ops group, and Rhodey was camped out at the Facility for the duration. The overhead lights in the room switched on. "Just give me a minute." For a moment, Julia’s expression went vacant. In place of the arc reactor she saw an empty, bloody hole in Tony’s chest. Reynard the Fox sat next to Julia on the bed with Tony’s heart in his hand, sniffing at it, his mouth bloody like the day he’d been summoned. Relax, Julia, Reynard said with a smile. Julia closed her eyes and when she opened them, the false vision was gone. “How long will the nano spray hold?” Julia said. She could not completely work out all of the alarm in her voice, though she was doing her best to stay calm because panic wasn’t going to help either of them. She could see other differences in the light now between Tony’s face and before, though it was hard to say how much of it was due to the pain he was in. Tony noticed Julia's reaction, but assumed it had to do with him. He closed his eyes as well, just for a moment, and tried to work out the best course of action. The last thing he wanted was to be fussed over. But dealing with it on his own, however appealing, was not a realistic option here. "Indefinitely." He opened his eyes. "In theory." Using all the strength he could muster, he sat up and turned to the side so that she could see the exit wound on this back. If she hadn't realized he had been impaled before, she would now. Stephen Strange had told him how his encounter with Thanos had gone, but Tony had kept that bit of information to himself. He obviously couldn't do that any longer. "It was my own weapon," he admitted before he realized what he was doing. He looked down and shook his head. "My own armor. Killed by the thing that was supposed to protect me. Would have made a poetic death." “Jesus Fucking Christ,” Julia hissed. Julia’s fingers were very gentle whenever she touched him now, not for comfort but being able to get a better assessment. “I can’t heal this. It’s too -- I don’t have that kind of power yet.” "This is not on you, Shrubwitch." Gritting his teeth, Tony swung around so that his feet were hanging off the side of the bed. "I'll figure something out." A hospital was out of the question. He would never be able to explain his injuries, nor the tech that was keeping him from bleeding out. He could wait, see if the nanobots could repair the wound. They had never been tested on something so extensive, but there was a first time for everything. Reaching out for help was not an option he even considered. “Where do you think you’re going? Tony, I swear to god, I will enchant the sheets and tie you to the bed if I have to. Just tell me what you need and I will get it. There has to be someone who can fix this.” They had a community of wizards and technical geniuses. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Tony’s invention was amazing, or believe its ability to keep him alive in the short or even long term. She just didn’t want to see him suffer. This was on top of a memory update that she only knew so much about. One problem at a time. The first was the physical pain and injury. Then she could… listen? Julia knew she couldn’t do much and it frustrated her. Tony tried to shoot her a flirtatious grin at her comment about tying him to the bed, but between the pain of his wound and the conflicting relationship statuses now contained in his head, it wound up looking more like a grimace. Tony wasn't sure what he needed. Not really. Under normal circumstances, he would experiment, work out a solution on his own. But these weren't optimal conditions. "Fine. Bring in the biochemist. See what his take is." He trusted Bruce and his medical opinion. Julia stared at him, as though trying to decide the best course of action. Mostly she was trying to decide if she should leave him alone for even a second. For her own peace of mind, she didn’t like the idea. “Just stay put,” she asked. It wasn’t quite begging or pleading. She was trying to keep her worry in check until Tony, beyond being impaled and saving himself with his own ingenuity, gave her another reason to. Julia picked up her pants from the floor of the bedroom and slipped them on quickly. Padding out of the room, she went to knock on Bruce’s bedroom door. |