Heart • Iron Man 1+2

Chapter Five -Edited

Bella jogged down the steps to the garage, jumping down the last few stairs with Pepper trailing behind her. The strawberry blonde chuckled quietly, shaking her head at her friend's antics. "You're both just as childish as the other," Pepper laughed. "You're perfect for each other."

The doctor offered a playful scoff, pressing her hand to her chest in fake offense. "I wish i was still a kid. At least then my schedule wouldn't switch up every two weeks," she said.

"They switched you back to night shift?"

"Yeah. I feel like it should come with a mandated nap and snack time."

Pepper arched a brow before a call shattered their back and forth dynamic. She gave Bella a apologetic face, holding the cell up, before heading back up the steps.

Bella sighed but pushed the door to the garage open. She let it swing closed behind her as she casually slung her bag down on a desk by the wall. Looking up, she found herself stunned to silence.

Tony practically hung in he middle of the room, his feet just barely hitting the ground, a red and gold suit being painfully pulled off his body.

"What the hell?" Bella breathed, starring at the metal suit. Tony whipped his head over to her.

He opened his mouth to say something before biting his lip. Tony contemplated his next words for a long moment, making faces as he did. "Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." He offered a raised brow.

She frowned as her eyes caught on ever scratch and scar on the metal skin he wore. "What were you doing? Tony, are those bullet holes?"

Tony paused, a wince violently wracking his body when the machine ripped another piece of metal off his body. "Training thing with Rhodey," he said, sending her a pained smile.

"You're lying. Why are you lying?" Bella crossed her arms over her chest. He scanned over her face silently noting the worried Lily to her voice. Tony sighed and stepped down off the platform.

"Reasons," he sighed. His tone made it sound questionable even to his own ears.

"Tony."

He sucked in a breath, gently griping her shoulders. Tony tipped her head up with two fingers until she was looking at him instead of his chest. "Look, I can't tell you. At least not everything." Bella gave him a look, shoving away from him. "Yet! I can't tell you yet!"

Tony reached out to catch her hand and pulled her back to him.

"It's ridiculous that you think I'm going to let you leave it at that," she said sardonically. Her brown eyes flickered across his for a brief moment, catching on the glitter of metal bits across his nose. Bella sighed shaking her head as she came to terms with being out of the loop. "Fine, fine, but you're submitting to an exam when you get out of that damn metal skin of yours."

Tony grinned brightly, bounding back to the platform to get out of the suit. He turned back to face her as the last piece peeled off him. Bella rolled her eyes and headed back into the house.

"You're lucky I tolerate you," Bella grumbled under her breath. She threw up a hand to Pepper, tossing a passing comment over her shoulder, before stepping out the door.

Arabella tucked her wallet back into her purse, a plastic bag hanging off the crook of her elbow. She'd needed a few things before she would ever get to stitching up the cut that sliced over the bridge Tony's nose.

A box of gloves, suture needles, and stitching thread. Luckily there was a military surplus store in Malibu that she knew had medical supplies in stock.

The buildings LED's lit up the parking lot as she dug for her keys. They made the small puddles across the lot glitter but the few shadows seemed darker.

Bella's entire body was on high alert from the time she left the store to when she got in her car. The flashlight on her phone wasn't doing anything to ease the nerves that had spiked up since she'd missed a call from Pepper at checkout.

She paused not far from her car and crouched slightly to peer underneath before jumping in the front seat.

Bella pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, a sigh tearing through her lips. Her eyes squeezed closed for a second before snapping back open as a shudder went down her spine. "Something's wrong," she murmured to herself mere seconds before her phone broke the relative quiet.

"Bella!" Pepper shouted through the line causing her to jerk the speaker away from her ear. "Where are you!?"

Bella snorted, snapping her seatbelt over her chest. "Getting some med supplies, why?" She asked, quickly starting her car and swinging out of the parking lot.

"You need to get to the house."

"Is something wrong?" Bella glanced over her shoulder as she merged over a lane. She tilted her head, pressing her phone against her shoulder, and clicked through the radio stations on her stereo till she found the right one.

Pepper didn't reply for a moment. Her silence only put Bella more on edge. "Obadiah's gone crazy! Rhodey's on his way to the house now. Just please get there!"

"I'm on my way now," she said quietly. Her brain had noted the way Pepper sounded out of breath—scared even— and come up with the worst possible situations for what she could mean. "Give me like ten minutes."

"Hurry."

The line went dead and Bella clicked it off, tossing it into the passenger seat, before dodging through traffic to get to the backroads.

Approximately ten minutes later, Bella pulled up in front of Tony's mansion. She slammed her door shut, practically sprinting to the door. "Tony! Rhodey!" She shouted as she slid to a stop in the living room.

Her eyes flickered over the room. The rug was out of place like someone had been dragged over it and the glass top of the coffee table was cracked.

"Down here!"

She let out a breath of relief and bolted for the stairs. Rhodey stood at the bottom of the steps holding the glass door open. He nodded towards the middle of the lab where a very pale Tony slouched against his desk.