Tony Stark (in_extremis) wrote in oh_marvelous, @ 2013-12-16 21:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | z: om1: !complete, z: om1: affiliation: stark enterprises, z: om1: character: pepper potts, z: om1: character: steve rogers, z: om1: character: tony stark, z: om1: location: new york |
Arrest
Characters: Tony, Pepper, Happy's spirit
Setting: Maria Stark Memorial Hospital
Content: Mostly chilled out.
Summary: Happy's been in the hospital for weeks, his attacker hasn't been brought to justice, and Tony is released just in time for everything to get worse.
They were released as Director Sitwell made the announcement, while the press committed to the story were crowded around him and far away from the bay where Tony tugged at the cuffs of his jacket, trying to pull the wrinkles out of it from the long stay in a dusty back room. Hammer sauntered passed them, but Tony only saw his shoes, refusing to meet his eye and gliding casually around the other side of Thor, focused on his own inventory. That was a goddamn joke, that Hammer couldn't be held accountable for everything that he did, that everyone got to see what he did and Tony just had to take the humiliation for nothing.
"You can--" he started, too loud as he tried to push passed it and find his focus, and had to physically shake himself to start again and look up to Thor. "If you need a place to stay, you're welcome. For as long as you need, I mean, I won't be there, so..." Tony held Thor's gaze for as long as he could bear it, hoping it felt half way normal before he had to bite his lip and glance back down at his cuffs, brow furrowed with intent as he cleared his throat. "I have stuff to do, so, just, tell me what you decide," he said and started for the hazy, outdoor light, the sun already low in the sky and hidden behind the clouds. It wasn't nearly as much of a relief as he thought it would be. It was still sweltering hot out when he had gone in there, and today snow coated the ground, leaving Tony blowing into his bare hands, hunched around himself in his linen jacket. Pepper wasn't answering calls, and Rhodey had been gone for months now, but Tony rapidly skated away from Thor's big, warm presence.
There was a lot of things Tony wanted to do. Pizza came to mind, a single word as he stepped out of his cell, which had been quickly been overtaken by an overwhelming demand for a fucking drink as every call he made to Pepper went unanswered. If no one was around, if no one knew yet where he was, did it really matter what he did? He had an indeterminate amount of absolutely free time, for once in his life. Tony stopped for a moment, at the edge of the river where the cold wind blew maliciously straight through his clothes, his hands pressed against his warm breath and the suit chilling further with every gust in his bones. What Tony needed to do took precedence. Running away could come back into play later.
They started out guarded at the hospital, insisting he 'wait here, sir. One moment, sir', until he pushed his hair back with a frustrated laugh, the cold that had brightened his nose and cheeks warming away in the lobby enough to leave him pale and, apparently, less crazy and more recognizable. Then it was 'this way, sir, through here, sir', until he was standing stiffly at Happy's side, the nurse explaining in a soft voice how he was doing well, considering, and the procedures they had attempted, and how all they could do was wait. Tony wasn't really listening. He kept nodding, hoping she would go away, but it was a long time before she was quiet, and then longer still until she left Tony to slowly bring a chair close to Happy's bedside and sink down heavily into it. There was a sizable addiction recovery centre in the hospital, Tony had made sure of that. Maybe they had open meetings, too.
He wasn't sure how long he had sat there before there was a knock at the door, a different nurse this time, carefully asking, "Mr. Stark?" It was nearing dark when he came in, and now the windows were black, leaving him blankly considering the mechanical rise and fall of Happy's chest in the cold wash of the lamp above his head. "I'm sorry, sir, it's just, there's been a...I thought maybe you should know. It's Mr. Hogan's wife, she was just brought in."
Things could always get worse, Tony knew, especially when he wasn't paying attention. He should have pursued it, when Pepper never answered. He should have thought about it for a second. Now we was shouting at anyone who tried to say 'I'm sorry' to him outside of the operating room, could hardly hear himself demanding, "Just keep her alive, I don't care if you have to reach in with your bare hands, just do it! I can fix this, just do it!" He wasn't going to be locked away for months just to have someone to mourn when he came back. Neither Happy nor Pepper deserved this, deserved to suffer for Tony's continuous mistakes. If he could get them both out of this, he promised God or the Universe or anything that was listening that they wouldn't have to go through Tony's shit any more. "Twenty minutes-- ten, just, keep her alive. She'll be okay. I'll fix this."