justprompts: Lies.
"He who tells a lie is not sensible of how great a task he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain that one." -Alexander Pope
It had just supposed to be a nap.
Since Dylan was staying for the weekend, Tony had done the whole charade of going to bed and pretending he really was sleeping. And not just on a couch in the workshop, but actually in his bedroom. His body had been so tired, though, that as soon as his head hit the pillow it hadn't taken long for him to give in completely and actually pass out into actual sleep.
The sleep didn't last for long, however. It never seemed to last.
What had been blissful darkness turned quickly into a ball of fire exploding right in front of him. Tony had tried to run back from it, away from it as quickly as he could, but it had been then that he heard them. Their voices. Pepper's. Dylan's. Rhodey's. At once Tony had tried to run towards them, tried to save them, but something had promptly lifted him off the ground and suddenly he was flying away from them surrounded by a chorus of gunfire that seemed to get louder and louder. And it hadn't mattered how hard he had tried to struggle to go back, and it hadn't mattered how he had tried to get to them, he kept getting pulled farther and farther away.
And then he had woken up.
The sound of gunfire had still been ringing in his ears when he got out of bed as quietly as possible and he tried to rush quickly down to the lab again no matter how much the room seemed to spin. His head kept pounding, but the nausea that had overtaken him was strong enough to distract him from anything else that could be going on in his body.
That was, at least, until the lights of the lab were turned on.
Jarvis had done it with good intentions, after all. It was programmed in him to turn on the light to give Tony easier access to the lab, but the second the light hit him, the nausea and the general uneasiness in his body seemed to win. Before he could complain, he rushed to the bathroom where the contents of his stomach quickly rebelled against any of his attempts to be kept down.
If it was easier to think in these circumstances, Tony would wonder what the hell was going on. He didn't remember drinking enough to actually be hung over the previous night - but, then again, hadn't he never gotten hung over before? What had been different now? The exhaustion? He hated himself for the way this felt, for how weak and vulnerable he felt as he revisited some of the days of his youth when he would mix too much alcohol while still learning the ropes, but the difference was that he wasn't young. Now he felt weary. He felt tired despite all his lies that he was fine.
God, he felt so fucking miserable.
When there was no more in his stomach to get rid of, and when the heaving seemed to subside, he forced himself up to wash up. Suddenly he couldn't be more thankful of the full bathroom that he had in the lab, because doing this whole little scene upstairs where he could be heard would cause more commotion than he ever wanted there to be over him.
As he undressed after brushing his teeth, though, he paused completely as he caught the sight of himself in the mirror. The shower was running, and the hot water was causing the steam to cloud the reflection, but he still saw it. The arc reactor. The skin around it. The scars. The...
No matter how nauseous he felt again, Tony just stood there for a full minute as his jaw clenched shut. His hands were clammy, he felt sick, but it didn't matter. He just stared before cursing under his breath and quickly getting in the shower.
Before the sun managed to come up, Tony was already showered and dressed. He still didn't look normal, but to force himself to try and get some resemblance of it he got into the suit and flew off. He would be back by the time everyone in the house got up, and business would continue as usual. They would have breakfast. They would work on plans for the expo. Tony would teach Dylan how to work on Robopanda even if the robot was still in the beginning stages. This part of the night, this rude awakening with the nightmare and the sickness, it would be forgotten. Brushed away. He just needed to run an errand, he would say if asked why he had gotten up so early. Something had come up at the very last minute.
There was just work that he needed to focus on, and a performance to do in order to keep acting and looking normal. There were other things they had to focus on, after all. His health... Well. He would figure it out on his own.
It had just supposed to be a nap.
Since Dylan was staying for the weekend, Tony had done the whole charade of going to bed and pretending he really was sleeping. And not just on a couch in the workshop, but actually in his bedroom. His body had been so tired, though, that as soon as his head hit the pillow it hadn't taken long for him to give in completely and actually pass out into actual sleep.
The sleep didn't last for long, however. It never seemed to last.
What had been blissful darkness turned quickly into a ball of fire exploding right in front of him. Tony had tried to run back from it, away from it as quickly as he could, but it had been then that he heard them. Their voices. Pepper's. Dylan's. Rhodey's. At once Tony had tried to run towards them, tried to save them, but something had promptly lifted him off the ground and suddenly he was flying away from them surrounded by a chorus of gunfire that seemed to get louder and louder. And it hadn't mattered how hard he had tried to struggle to go back, and it hadn't mattered how he had tried to get to them, he kept getting pulled farther and farther away.
And then he had woken up.
The sound of gunfire had still been ringing in his ears when he got out of bed as quietly as possible and he tried to rush quickly down to the lab again no matter how much the room seemed to spin. His head kept pounding, but the nausea that had overtaken him was strong enough to distract him from anything else that could be going on in his body.
That was, at least, until the lights of the lab were turned on.
Jarvis had done it with good intentions, after all. It was programmed in him to turn on the light to give Tony easier access to the lab, but the second the light hit him, the nausea and the general uneasiness in his body seemed to win. Before he could complain, he rushed to the bathroom where the contents of his stomach quickly rebelled against any of his attempts to be kept down.
If it was easier to think in these circumstances, Tony would wonder what the hell was going on. He didn't remember drinking enough to actually be hung over the previous night - but, then again, hadn't he never gotten hung over before? What had been different now? The exhaustion? He hated himself for the way this felt, for how weak and vulnerable he felt as he revisited some of the days of his youth when he would mix too much alcohol while still learning the ropes, but the difference was that he wasn't young. Now he felt weary. He felt tired despite all his lies that he was fine.
God, he felt so fucking miserable.
When there was no more in his stomach to get rid of, and when the heaving seemed to subside, he forced himself up to wash up. Suddenly he couldn't be more thankful of the full bathroom that he had in the lab, because doing this whole little scene upstairs where he could be heard would cause more commotion than he ever wanted there to be over him.
As he undressed after brushing his teeth, though, he paused completely as he caught the sight of himself in the mirror. The shower was running, and the hot water was causing the steam to cloud the reflection, but he still saw it. The arc reactor. The skin around it. The scars. The...
No matter how nauseous he felt again, Tony just stood there for a full minute as his jaw clenched shut. His hands were clammy, he felt sick, but it didn't matter. He just stared before cursing under his breath and quickly getting in the shower.
Before the sun managed to come up, Tony was already showered and dressed. He still didn't look normal, but to force himself to try and get some resemblance of it he got into the suit and flew off. He would be back by the time everyone in the house got up, and business would continue as usual. They would have breakfast. They would work on plans for the expo. Tony would teach Dylan how to work on Robopanda even if the robot was still in the beginning stages. This part of the night, this rude awakening with the nightmare and the sickness, it would be forgotten. Brushed away. He just needed to run an errand, he would say if asked why he had gotten up so early. Something had come up at the very last minute.
There was just work that he needed to focus on, and a performance to do in order to keep acting and looking normal. There were other things they had to focus on, after all. His health... Well. He would figure it out on his own.