ＩＭＰＥＲＩＡＬ ◼TONY STARK◼

ｔｈｒｅｅ

"You're insane, I hope you understand that,"

The heels that Audelia Motter wore clicked on the flooring of the Stark Industries warehouse as she paced back and forth in front of Tony Stark. He was leaning against the railing that kept everyone at a safe distance from the large arc reactor in the middle of the room, watching his best friend with a raised eyebrow.

"You've been telling me that since we were kids. Wait- aren't you the woman who has been telling me since I took over and brought you in that we shouldn't be making weapons-"

"Yes, but Tony we are a weapons manufacturer," Deli emphasized, finally stopping in front of her best friend. "Is part of me happy that you don't want to use our minds to make weapons anymore? Oh god yes. But logistically, you are putting everything on the line. Your company, my livelihood, everything that your father built and left behind for you-"

"And have you stopped to think that maybe that's the point?" Tony cut in, raising an eyebrow at her. Deli stopped as she watched Tony sigh, turning around to stare up at the arc reactor behind him. "I watched people die, Dell. You don't get that because you didn't come with me, and god am I glad you didn't. But you have to understand that when everyone around you is dead and there's a missile sitting five feet away, fired by terrorists, and your name is plastered on the side, it's going to make you rethink everything!"

The pair stood in silence. Deli staring at her best friend's back as he leaned over the railing of the warehouse. She wasn't there, that much was true. She was supposed to be there...and that scared her more than anything. She was spared from the horrors of whatever had happened the last three months, but her best friend wasn't.

Tony lifted his head at the familiar feeling of Deli's hand on his shoulder, looking up into her blue eyes. She gave him the smallest of smiles, her hand leaving his shoulder and tapping on his chest, knuckle clinking against the arc reactor.

"You know, when Pepper debriefed me on the way and told me about that thing in your chest, the thing that your dad and my mom created, I almost lost it. Then, I realized that it's the thing keeping you alive," she pulled away, looking up at the large scale reactor before her. "I don't know what you went through, and knowing you and your inability to speak your feelings, you'll probably never fully tell me. Tony the idea of changing the entirety of Stark Industries scares me but...I've got your back."

"Like in '86 when I made Dum-E and almost blew up my dad's lab?"

Deli let out a laugh, smiling fondly at the memory as she looked over at her best friend, who smiled back at her.

"Yes, exactly like then. This all scares me, but I'm going to be there with you every step of the way,"

The sound of the glass doors behind them opening up drew both Tony and Deli's attention. A sigh escaped the girl at the sight of Obadiah Stan's face, turning her back on his and taking a step away from Tony as he entered the warehouse.