tony stark whump

"it was never love."

tony is in an abusive relationship and the avengers r tryna figure out whats wrong

set after avengers; they all live happily in the avengers tower! all peace and love!

tw: abuse, suicidal shi idk 

~NO POV~

Tony Stark has had his fair share of relationships and sexual encounters. Search his name up and you'll find endless scandals (not irl guys we love tony) regarding his nights with women and men. If you search hard enough, it's likely you'll find explicit photos and videos that gave him the playboy name.

What people know of his relationships derived from those photos and videos, but also from lies and rumours. A lot of the people Tony slept with or dated liked to go running their mouths, ruining what little good was left of his name, and almost every time, they lied. Tony had been called a lot of things because of these lies.

Playboy, slut, manwhore, the lot. He was also called disrespectful, distant and unfaithful. Tony had never cheated, never would, and yes, he had his moments where he needed time and space, but he tried. It seemed like people never gave him a chance. All those relationships were bullshit, and there was never real love in any of them.

After Afghanistan, Tony dropped his old lifestyle immediately. The body he once flaunted with pride was now hidden with shame, because no one wanted to see a giant electromagnet in his chest, and he didn't want anyone to see it regardless. He became more focussed on changing SI and doing better, not wasting his life.

Then the Avengers became a thing, and he found comfort in having family, a real family, living with him. It was frustrating sometimes, having them around, but most of the time Tony loved having the Avengers in his tower. He had people in his corner, more than just Happy, Rhodey and Pepper, and he adored it.

But good things never last, and it was after he flew a nuke into space when things went wrong.

Pepper was a patient, loving woman. She spent two years with Tony after the whole Ivan Vanko situation at the Stark Expo. Tony was reckless, but he had a heart, a good one, and she loved him for it. And he'd always been faithful, and surprisingly wasn't frequently trying to get in bed with her.

She loved him for the man he was behind the media. And she could love him for the man in the suit too. 

But then he flew a nuke into space, and she remembered seeing the missed call after watching the news. She watched him fly into a wormhole and just barely come out, but he wasn't flying. He was freefalling in a titanium-alloy suit, and he wasn't conscious. She realised he called and she couldn't help but panic, her PA having to reassure her that things were okay.

She loved Tony, but with the stress of being CEO, she couldn't have the lingering fear that her boyfriend would put himself in a situation where he could die, and she'd never say goodbye. She loved Tony, but she had to put herself first.

Tony, of course, understood. He wasn't in the right headspace to be in a relationship after New York anyway. His PTSD, though he refused to admit he had it, was at an all time low, and he rarely slept. Pepper had enough to deal with, so he let her go.

He loved her enough to let her go.

Though he'd never admit it to her, their breakup was the start of a terrible time in his life. He told her he needed space from the company to deal with New York, and she understood fully. All she asked was that he call her every now and then, just to make sure he wasn't doing something insane against. Just so she'd know he was okay.