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Aug. 26th, 2018 09:26 pmHe promised Peter he'd talk about it.
He promised Peter he wouldn't drive himself crazy.
Tony couldn't even indulge himself in a good, unhealthy engineering fuge. There was nothing to work on. And there was no Pepper, who knew how to settle him better than he could settle himself. He had an upcoming therapist appointment, but that was just tripping his anxiety. He'd only spoken with her twice before, and once had been over the phone, and he wasn't sure she was right for him.
So mostly he spent nights laying awake in bed and staring at the blank white ceiling until he started seeing things and got up to read news articles that he didn't care about over a hot drink until he got drowsy and repeated the process over again.
There were other people he might talk to. They might not be Pepper, but they were available, and they cared.
Tony's decision finally landed on Karen.
There was something about her that made her ideal for running to in times like these. He felt a little guilty for it. But she was close enough to know some of his history, because a person couldn't come from that planet at that time in that universe without being familiar, and yet far enough away that it wasn't personal. Not like with Wanda, not like with Strange.
So she was who he called when he needed the company that night.
Tony told PEGGI to let her into the penthouse when she got there, before disappearing into the dining room that never got used for anything but the wet bar to dig through the liquor cabinet for cocktail supplies.
That kind of night.
He promised Peter he wouldn't drive himself crazy.
Tony couldn't even indulge himself in a good, unhealthy engineering fuge. There was nothing to work on. And there was no Pepper, who knew how to settle him better than he could settle himself. He had an upcoming therapist appointment, but that was just tripping his anxiety. He'd only spoken with her twice before, and once had been over the phone, and he wasn't sure she was right for him.
So mostly he spent nights laying awake in bed and staring at the blank white ceiling until he started seeing things and got up to read news articles that he didn't care about over a hot drink until he got drowsy and repeated the process over again.
There were other people he might talk to. They might not be Pepper, but they were available, and they cared.
Tony's decision finally landed on Karen.
There was something about her that made her ideal for running to in times like these. He felt a little guilty for it. But she was close enough to know some of his history, because a person couldn't come from that planet at that time in that universe without being familiar, and yet far enough away that it wasn't personal. Not like with Wanda, not like with Strange.
So she was who he called when he needed the company that night.
Tony told PEGGI to let her into the penthouse when she got there, before disappearing into the dining room that never got used for anything but the wet bar to dig through the liquor cabinet for cocktail supplies.
That kind of night.
