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THE stench of antiseptic and artificial fragrances intoxicated (Y/N)'s lungs, almost suffocating her. She hated the smell of hospitals with a passion, nothing but bad memories coming to her subconscious mind. When the ambulance had arrived on the scene, she had been too quick on her feet and jumped inside without thinking of what might follow after that, and she couldn't just leave Rhodey right now. In some way, this was her fault, and she did not want to leave things in a bad place with him if. . .if anything worse happened.

Right now, Rhodey was being moved into another room for a magnetic resonance, and this gave (Y/N) the opportunity to go into the restroom before she was forced to be alone with Tony. With a sigh leaving her lips, she pushed inside the restroom and started to wash away the red stains of blood in her hands, ones that she had gained after helping the paramedics carry Rhodey into the ambulance. She did her best in washing it off, her hands trembling at her failed attempts, since she didn't want this to be stained in her forever. Her hands began to itch from the harshness of her scrubs, but that didn't matter to her.

Once she saw all the red pool down the drain of the sink, (Y/N) was able to release a breath she had been holding and dried her hands. Her head began pounding, and as much as she hated the pain of it, she couldn't focus on it right now. There were worst things in her mind than stupid headaches. Especially considering that Ross got his hands on her friends that didn't made it out of the airport with Steve and Bucky. She, on the other hand, was lucky to buy herself enough time, part of her mind coming up with an escape plan, and the other thinking quite rationally. Maybe, she could fix things in a much calmer way.

When (Y/N) walked out of the restroom, she was going to make her way over to an empty chair and sit in silence, but she didn't make it that far. A hand grabbed onto her forearm before she could take another step, and when she looked back to face them she locked eyes with Tony's brown irises. His eyes were sullen, like they usually were nowadays, and his arm was in a sling.

"We need to talk," he told her, his voice monotone.

(Y/N) removed his hand out of her arm since she had felt chills run down her spine. "Yeah, we do."

In order to find a spot in a crowded hospital that would give them a sense of privacy, they were forced to stay outside by a balcony. None of them had spoken a word since they closed the door behind them, and neither of them wanted to be the first to speak. The tension could be cut with a sharp kitchen knife, and it was Tony's time to wield the knife.

"The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1," he began, his tone gaining more emotion than before. "Extreme laceration to the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis."

"I guess this is now the part where you tell me it's my fault," (Y/N) didn't dare to lift her head up from staring at her nails, trying hard in not making her voice crack.

Tony inhaled a sharp breath. "(Y/N) — "

"You don't owe me an explanation. I heard you loud and clear."

"I — I was mad. I was angry from watching Rhodey lay in the grass unconscious and I took it out on you. I know it's not excuse, but I just wanted to let you know that I didn't mean it. Never had and never will."

He raised a hesitant hand and tried to place it on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and took a step sideways so he wouldn't touch her. The action stung in both of their hearts, but (Y/N)'s was also blinded with resentment and pettiness, so she was able to shut it down before she could make it noticiable on her face.

"Steve's not gonna stop," (Y/N) decided to change the subject, knowing that if she kept thinking of the past event, she'd probably break down and cry. "And I know you far too well to know that you won't either. I hate to say this, but Rhodey's gonna be the best case scenario to make this stop."

"You — " Tony did his best in biting down his tongue, not wanting to say something he'd regret.

"I'm done picking sides, all right?" (Y/N) turned around enough to look in his direction. "I'm tired of it, of this. We all played this wrong."

"'We'?"

"For God's sake, Tony! Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one goddamn second?"

Silence filled the room after that. (Y/N) was now fully facing him, glaring eyes locked onto his ashamed ones. She was exhausted — so exhausted — of having to fight with him. She wanted to go back in time and mend things between them, but the only way forward was to make some sort of amend. Even if she thought it was too soon for it. Still, she wasn't going to renounce to what she believed was right, but what she wanted to do is clear the air with him. God, all she wanted to do was enjoy a quiet, peaceful day with him by her side like before, where things were much simpler.

"Ross told me how you bought yourself time before they locked you up like the rest," Tony spoke up again, tired of being surrounded by silence. He readjusted the sling in his arm and turned his body to face her too.

"Yes," she nodded, her hair bouncing with the movement of her head. "I told him that I'd give him the location to where Steve was going, but before I needed to talk to you."

"Why?" Tony questioned her, his eyes melting when they fell on her. "After everything that's happened. After everything I said. Why did you want to talk to me?"

"Because, like I said earlier, I know you," she said in a much calmer tone than before. The change in her voice calmed Tony down a little. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still mad at you. I'm gonna need better than a simple apology to make up for what you said, but I know for a fact that you don't want to fight with Steve anymore, and I know he does too."

She took a step forward to stand closer to him. His hot and nervous breath was fanning her face, and she almost broke out in a smile because of it. "So, I'm here with you instead of already being in the other side of the world, trying to make you open your eyes and tell you that it's not too late to solve this peacefully."

Tony was sure that if he opened his mouth to say something, it would come off as something a boy with a school crush will say. He gathered enough nerve to speak up, clearing his throat.

"God, what would I do without you?"

"Probably already be dead."

He chuckled. "Well, thank God I'm not."

Before either of them could say something else, Tony's watch beeped from its position. The sound alerted him, and he pulled his wrist up to press on the watch's screen and see what had caused the alarm. Both him and (Y/N) saw different crime scene photos taken in some sort of hotel bathroom, and this made them share concerned looks.

"What am I looking at, FRIDAY?" Tony asked out, knowing his AI was able to hear him.

"Priority upload from Berlin police."

A hint of realization flashed behind Tony's eyes, and when he turned back to face (Y/N) with an apologetic expression, she brushed him off.

"Go," she advised. "We'll continue where we left up when you come back."

"You mean you're not going to be on the other side of the world by then?"

"I. . ." (Y/N) struggled to find the appropriate words, and she couldn't figure out what to say. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "We'll see in the next 24 hours."

they're healing !! it's going to take some time, of course, but they'll get there.
get ready for wholesome content during homecoming !!

-see you soon, bex