p • r • e • s • s • u • r • e

Burned Out

They continue talking, and the engineer's stomach growls oddly. He puts the pizza aside.

Bruce leans in, but before he can say anything Tony cuts him off.

"It's greasy. I'll eat something later."

He can tell the scientist doesn't buy his excuse, but he gets away with it for now.

Tony forces himself to join the conversation, just putting his mouth on autopilot like he used to.

Half an hour later, he can't stand it.

Steve is up grabbing a beer for Clint, while he, Bucky and Bruce are in a heated argument about...Tony isn't even sure.

"Hey, I'm gonna...I'm gonna go rinse off."

"Ok. See you tomorrow morning?"

"Ehh I might come back. We'll see." He wasn't.

"Well, g'night Tony."

"Night."

"You ok?" Bruce whispers.

"Yeah."

Bucky and Clint wave as Tony stalks off upstairs to his room, grinning until his back was turned.

As soon as his bedroom door closes, he slumps.

God, this is exhausting.

He reaches to take his shirt off, then remembers the cast on his arm. Tony rolls his eyes.

"Shit."

He walks over to the couch and falls backward, gritting his teeth as the cushions hit his broken ribs.

Right, forgot about that.

Tony looks down at his chest and thinks.

He presses on the reactor.

Okay, not too painful at all.

He keeps prodding, then stops.

Let's try this.

The engineer taps the left side of the glowing module twice, and nothing happens for a few seconds. Then, shocks ricochet around his bones and he squeezes his eyes shut.

It only lasts half a minute, though, and he breathes out through pursed lips.

"Huh," is all he says.

"Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm good, J."

"If you say so."

He does it again, only this time the pain is twice as intense, and a full minute. He chokes back a cry.

"Holy shit. That...wasn't supposed to happen," he croaks.

Tony shakes his head and stumbles off the couch, wondering how many times he'd have to do it to kill himself. Not that he would.

Obviously.

He calls Butterfingers over and manages to pull his shirt off, the robot's claws around the hem of the garment.

Tony drops his pants and grabs a watch from his drawer, activating the waterproof shield around his plaster cast.

The engineer clumsily pours shampoo in his hair and lets it wash the rest of his body.

Soon his watch starts flickering and the Low Battery message flashes, so he turns off the shower and dries himself off. He tosses his towel in his closet and changes into sweats, unable to put a shirt on.