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givemeacrownofwords · 5 years ago

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The Best Friend (Part 12)

A/N: Well hi there! It has been pretty much 6 years since I have posted anything on this blog. It’s been way, way too long. A lot of things have happened to me in six years. I’ve been in my first long term relationship, finished college (bachelors and masters degree), landed my first real job, moved out of my parents’ house, pulled through my depression, and the list could go on. The one thing I haven’t done that I should have been doing all along was writing. About a month or two ago an old follower of this blog reached out to me about “The People We Were”. I was so proud and excited that someone still remembered my fanfics even after all this time. I want to get back to a lot of things that I’d been writing, including that fic in particular, which has always held a special place in my heart. But I recently discovered that I had an unfinished chapter of this fic, The Best Friend, sitting in my old writing folder. It seemed like a good place to begin finishing my old work (the irony). It’s with great excitement and anticipation that I finally post this, to whoever is still out there and following this blog. I missed writing so much and I’m hoping that this will be the true start of me getting back to it on a regular basis. Now that I’m done rambling, hope you enjoy!

**Summary: Andrea (Andy) Kent has known Tony Stark since she was a little girl, they are best friends and she is intimately involved in the Iron Man project, but what will happen when her work on the suits puts her in grave danger?

Part 12:

Tony’s POV:

It was only as he was running toward danger that Tony realized he was completely unarmed. Luckily, Rhodey had incapacitated a great deal of Twist’s men on his way to setting him free and leaving with Andy. Tony managed to grab a pistol off an unconscious body slumped against the wall and continued briskly down the hallway after checking that it was fully loaded. He scoured the whole compound, kicking down door after door and searching room after room. Twist was nowhere to be found.

Finally he heard footsteps. He cocked the pistol and raised it in front of him. One of Twist’s goons seemed to be running desperately for the exit and had found himself straight in Tony’s path.

“Freeze meathead.”

The man stopped in his tracks and raised his hands above his head.

“Where’s Twist?” Tony demanded, resting his finger on the trigger so that this guy knew he meant business.

“Don’t shoot me!” the henchman cowered, “He’s already gone! He got in a helicopter with a couple of men and took off with the suit!”

Goddammit, Tony thought, and he stepped up to the man and punched him square in the jaw with the pistol. It had been a gut reaction, done out of anger and frustration, and the man instantly dropped to the floor unconscious. Not only had Twist near killed his best friend, he’d gotten away with a suit. That was a big problem, and Tony knew he’d have to answer for it to SHIELD if he didn’t get it back.

He swiftly found the exit to the near deserted compound and ran out onto the dirt clearing in front of it. Tony collapsed onto his knees in exhaustion and put his head in his hands. He didn’t even look up again until he heard the Iron Patriot land in front of him less than an hour later.

“He got away didn’t he?” Rhodey asked matter-of-factly once he’d lifted the metal faceplate of his suit.

“Yeah,” Tony responded flatly.

“And he’s got Mark 42?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit,” Rhodey cursed sharply under his breath. He then gave Tony a hand and got him up out of the dirt.

“How’s Andy doing?” Tony asked concernedly once he was back on his feet.

“I managed to get her to a hospital right outside of Boulder. She’s stable and conscious. That girl’s tougher than she looks,” Rhodey gave him a reassuring smile. Tony smiled back, happy to hear that and relieved that his friend hadn’t said another word about his missing suit.

“Think you can get me there?”

Andy’s safety was Tony’s top priority right now, not his worries about SHIELD and not the suit.

“You bet,” Rhodey replied reassuringly, reaching out his arm for him.

Tony latched on to the suit, and with that, they took off into the quickly darkening sky.

Andy’s POV:

Andy felt like she’d been hit by a truck. Every inch of her body was sore, she could barely sit up, but she was alive and conscious and safe atop a hospital bed, and she couldn’t be more grateful for it. Pepper Potts was sitting directly at her side, holding tight to her hand.

“Before Rhodey left I had him phone SHIELD with the coordinates of that compound. They’re sending Clint and Natasha, and Fury is going to get on the scene as soon as he can too,” Pepper explained to her nervously, giving her hand a squeeze. Andy could tell that she was worried about Tony, and truthfully she was too. She only hoped Rhodey got back in time to help him escape the compound before Twist pulled any more of his dirty tricks.

“I know it’s going to be ok,” she replied to Pepper weakly. Andy had so much more to say to her. She knew that Vin had stirred up problems between her and Tony, and it was all her fault. With a violent tremble, Andy tried to sit up. Pepper attempted to stop her but she pushed up with enough force to finally do it.

“I want you to know Pep…” she turned to the other woman, who looked like she hadn’t slept in days on her behalf, and her stomach did a guilty backflip inside her, “I need you to know…there was never anything like that between me and Tony.”

And there never will be, she also thought internally. Andy had been so wrong to love him like that, to want him to be any more than a brother to her, her best friend. It was Vin who taught her that, even if it had been in the most demented and sickening way possible.

Pepper sighed audibly, she sounded both exhausted and relieved. The thought of it had clearly been weighing on her deeply, but she knew Pepper wouldn’t have come all the way to Colorado if she felt that there was even a ghost of a chance that Andy had betrayed her like that.

“I know,” she responded softly with a gentle smile.

Suddenly, the two women heard a commotion outside the door to the hospital room.

“Mr. Stark I can’t just have you barging in on a patient like this! Ms. Kent is in very fragile condition and it is my advice that she not be crowded while she’s still in recovery.”

“No one’s going to crowd her because I’m going to be the only one going in there,” Andy heard Tony retort, to the objection of several other voices surrounding him.

Upon hearing him outside, Pepper immediately got up and ran through the door. Andrea watched her embrace Tony tightly and give him one of the deepest kisses she’d ever seen since he’d gotten back from New York. Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Rhodey all stood close by.

Andy made eye contact with Fury through the open door and he began to approach her intently but Hill stopped him with a hand to his chest. She thought she heard the SHIELD agent ask him to give her some time, and he looked like he wanted to fight her about it.

“Don’t you get it? If we don’t find out where this Twist bastard is today then he’s completely lost to us. And so is that damn suit,” Fury’s irritation was directed both at Tony and at Agent Hill.

“Clint and Natasha are holding Vin at the compound. I doubt Andy knows anything about where Twist was going to go next, but I bet you anything that he does,” she continued to insist to Fury.

The SHIELD director shot her and Tony an angry look before disappearing from the doorframe and down the hospital wing. Andy heard him check in with Agent Romanoff through his earpiece as he walked away. Hill quickly followed in his wake and Rhodey too, listening to the doctor’s orders to give her space.

Andy finally watched Pepper take Tony’s hands and touch her forehead to his. They both closed their eyes and stood there like that for a moment before Pepper pulled away and took her leave down the hallway too. Then Tony turned and walked into her room.

They hadn’t really spoken to each other since their fight on the day she was kidnapped. So many emotions washed over Andy at the same time in seeing him again, the strongest one being relief for his safety.

He was slow to approach her bedside at first, and he was giving her the type of smile that she had become very accustomed to when they were kids. It had “apologies for getting you into trouble, but you’re the one who chose to be in my mischievous company” written all over it. Andy returned it, weakly but genuinely, and tried to sit up straighter than she had been before. The pain and weakness she felt all over her body made her wince and tremble.

“Hey, hey, hey, take it easy,” Tony finally sat by her bedside where Pepper had been a few moments ago and encouraged her to stay laying down.

She listened and they were silent for a full minute, concentrating on the whirring and beeping of the hospital equipment rather than the unsaid words between them. Tony was the one who finally broke the silence.

“I’m just so glad you’re ok…” he breathed a sigh of relief and put his hand on hers, squeezing gently.

Andy knew she should have felt ashamed, Vin and Twist had broken her down and finally told Tony the truth about how she felt about him. Instead she felt freer than she’d ever felt in her entire life.

“This isn’t your fault Tony, it’s mine. You were trying to protect me and I should have taken it more seriously. I put you in danger, I hurt Pepper, and we lost a suit…”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Mark 43?” Tony quickly interrupted her, but not in anger. He had an amused look on his face, and he was clearly trying to distract her from her apology and her feelings of guilt. She was so grateful for that.

“It was supposed to be a surprise…” she chuckled weakly and hesitated

a moment before asking, “Well…did you like it?”

“Come on Andy, I loved it!” he exclaimed too loudly. Some nurses peaked into the room through the window to make sure everything was ok before moving on with their rounds on the hospital floor.

Andy let out a laugh, allowing her heart to be light for the first time in what felt like a really long time. Her joy got caught in her throat when she remembered that the design was lost for sure now, or in Twist’s demented hands.

“What are you going to do about Twist?” she asked Tony seriously.

He was silent for a moment and he looked thoughtful. His brows furrowed and she saw anger flash in his eyes. “SHIELD will make sure he’s neutralized,” his response was flat, he was clearly holding back. It would have been obvious to anyone listening that he was lying.

Tony was still clutching her hand and she squeezed back now supportively. “They’re going to need your help, they always do,” Andy replied.

Tony laughed dryly, unable to hide how he truly felt. “Always calling my bluff, ever since we were kids.”

“Come on Tony, Twist made it personal. He used Vin to do that. And I’m not going to take this laying down anymore either. I should have been stronger in there from the beginning, I let them both get to me.”

“But you were strong Andy. I never treated you the way I should have…but you’ve always been there for me.”

Andy’s heart filled up hearing that. Tony wasn’t one for apologizing but she knew that’s what he’d just done, in his own way.

“You will always be my brother Tony,” she replied steadfastly.

Their eyes met and nothing more needed to be said. They both knew that the rest of it all was history.

Not a second later they heard a commotion in the hallway again. It was Fury, arguing with Agent Hill once more about coming in to talk to her. Andy saw him close to the doorway and before Tony could react she beckoned him in. That was all the permission he needed before he bolted past Agent Hill and straight to her bedside.

“Before you say anything Agent Fury I think I have an idea of where Twist might be. He was the one who tried to kidnap me in LA. And he had to have had it in with the cops because he was released way too quickly after he was arrested. He’s got some sort of connection to the town and it might be a good place to start.”

“But would he be stupid enough to go back there when he could go anywhere else in the world?” Tony was the one who responded and Fury nodded in agreement.

“He has a buyer for the suit. I think he was trying to throw us off the scent by coming all the way out here. And trying to draw us all away from home base.”

Fury looked skeptical for a moment, while Tony beamed with pride and excitement at the new lead Andy had given them. “She might be right,” Fury finally conceded, “I’ll see what Romanoff and Barton got out of Vin and then we’ll regroup to LA.” With a sweep of his black trench coat he made his way toward the hallway. He turned and gave Andy a gentle look before saying, “Just try to stay out of trouble for now won’t you Ms. Kent?” He waited for her to nod in agreeance before disappearing around the corner. Agent Hill, who had been lingering outside, trailed quickly behind him.

Andy waited until she was sure Fury was out of earshot and then blurted to Tony, “I’m coming back to LA with you. There’s no way you’re taking down Twist without me.”

He looked shocked at first but for some reason Andy knew he wouldn’t disagree, and she wasn’t wrong. “We go back together,” he began cautiously, “as long as you’re well enough to fly. I’ll talk to Pepper, she got here in the company jet. And just so you know, if you’re joining this fight it’s only so I don’t let you out of my sight for a minute until it’s over and Twist is done.” It was a quick, no nonsense answer and Andy knew it wouldn’t get any better than that.

“I’m on board,” she replied.

“Alright, I’m going to get Pepper and Rhodey and we’re out of here.” Tony then left the room just as quickly as Fury had only moments ago.

Back to LA to find Twist, to get the suit back, to end this.

And I’m finally going to get to fight back.

#the best friend #part 12 #tony stark #tony stark fanfiction #rdj #rdj fanfiction #robert downey jr #multichapter

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givemeacrownofwords · 11 years ago

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The People We Were (Chapter 11 Preview)

A/N: Well, hi there. I know I've gone MIA the last couple of months and for that I deeply apologize. In order to sort of make amends for that I'm giving you guys an uncompleted Chapter 11 of TPWW as a preview. I've gotten several messages to my personal blog asking about it as well, so I'm happy to oblige with at least a taste for now until I get my fanfiction footing back to finish it up. I thank everyone who's been following this fic from the beginning and the new readers as well. I love you guys <333

**Special thanks to nothingsbeenthesamesincenewyork, without whom I'd never have been able to get this far with the fic. She beta'd pretty far into what I've got written here for you and she completely deserves the mention.

Chapter 11 (Preview):

On the morning of the vow renewal ceremony I woke up with my stomach turned inside out and my heart pounding like a war drum inside my chest, but I barely even had time to think about how nervous I felt before Sunny came by the house to pick me up for our hair and makeup appointment. Rob was still sleeping peacefully in bed at the time and, after I’d completely collected my things to bring out with me, I couldn’t help but just stand there and watch him silently for several moments. We’d become even more distant, if that was possible, in the last couple of weeks, since I’d found out that Tom would be at the ceremony, and it was effecting Robert more and more every day. He came home wanting me, but all he got was the ghost of the woman that he once knew, cold and dead inside. What killed me even more was that he still tried, he loved me enough to keep pulling even when I pushed him away.

Despite the fact that we were actually there for around three hours, the salon appointment with Sunny flew by far too quickly. By noon I was back at home, being greeted by Robert fixing the cuff links on his tux. We had to be at the venue in an hour so I quickly got into my dress, a strapless, deep purple chiffon gown that ran down to my ankles. Rob zipped me up while straining to make a joke about how he’d rather be taking me out of my clothes than putting me in them. It was difficult for me to force a laugh as I grew more and more apprehensive by the minute, so I remained silent and turned around to take his tie, which he’d left draped lazily across one shoulder in obvious anticipation for me to fix it.

Rob cleared his throat and I could feel his eyes boring into me, eager to meet mine, but I adamantly avoided them. It was only then, as I pulled the material across his neck, that I realized how badly I was shaking. I swallowed hard, fumbling rather clumsily with the tie, frustrated at how I was unable to get it properly knotted the first time around. Taking a deep breath, I attempted it again and managed to succeed even though the sudden trembling fit that had overtaken my body didn’t lessen one bit. Robert noticed it and I could tell he was trying to bite back his worry, but in that moment he never vocalized his concern.

Still feeling rather unsteady, I made my way in front of the full length mirror that stood several feet before our bed and picked up a string of pearls that were sitting nearby on the dresser. I put the necklace on myself and then glanced over the emotionally exhausted looking creature that stared back at me in the glass. Suddenly, I saw Robert step up behind me. He took my waist and planted a brief kiss on my neck before raising his lips to my ear.

“Are you gonna smile for me today baby?” he asked softly, squeezing my hip in some manner of support while I felt my heart stop in my chest at the surprisingly tender question.

I lowered my head in embarrassment, but a moment later Rob chuckled and tilted my chin back up with his free hand. “There it is,” he teased warmly, and it was only then that I realized, his question had actually made me grin.

I couldn’t help but giggle myself, and I responded by sticking my tongue out at him in the silliest manner possible. Robert didn’t hesitate, now that the opportunity had presented itself, to quickly close the space between us, taking my tongue into his mouth so he could entwine it with his own. I moaned in shock, but also in total elation at how good it felt for us to mutually want each other for the first time in months.

When Rob finally broke the kiss, I couldn’t keep a straight face, even if I tried, as he ran his hands admiringly up and down my sides. His eyes sparkled with happiness, and he was thoroughly enjoying how we were finally touching, laughing, playing, like our normal selves again.

“Careful where you stick your tongue sweetheart,” he joked with a mischievous grin.

“Don’t tell me you were unhappy with where it ended up,” I replied, biting my lower lip slyly before pulling away to gather our things from the bed.

Several minutes later we were out the door and in Robert’s car on the way to the vow renewal. The entire ride to the venue my anxiety, which had been briefly forgotten back at the house, returned full force to consume me. I kept my head down and played with my hands as Rob tried to keep up conversation, hoping that I would be as responsive to him as I had been at home, that this was the turnaround point and we would finally be ok. But he was disappointed yet again. My walls came back up thinking about Tom, and the kiss was on loop inside my head in the most haunting way possible. I saw the other man’s smile, heard his voice, imagined his lips on mine, and simply wanted to be sick.

After a torturing forty five minutes of anticipation we made it to the seaside country club where Sunny and Mark would be getting married for the second time in their lives. Once we’d parked and gotten out of the car Robert grabbed my hand and knit his fingers in between mine. The gesture made my heart jump in my chest. I didn’t want him to feel how my pulse quickened the closer we got to the building or the fact that my whole body was still shaking in frightened expectancy of the rest of the day to come.

The venue was absolutely gorgeous, and it had been Sunny’s first choice for the ceremony. The first time we came to visit it together I was entranced by the fact that it looked like the former home of a wealthy LA producer from the 1950’s converted into a catering hall, the awe inspiring backdrop of the Pacific Ocean completing the absolutely perfect ambience of the place.

Once we got inside we were greeted by an ecstatic, overexcited Sunny, ready and dressed for her big day. Mark was already in the ceremony room, with the few guests that had arrived early to the event as well as his own father and mother. I looked warily around at the others that were filtering in, not too many as of yet, but I acknowledged with not a little anxiety that, eventually, Tom would be one of them. My stomach did another backflip and I squeezed Robert’s hand all the tighter. I could tell that he noticed, but he was too busy making small talk with Sunny to comment at the moment.

“Are you nervous?” I heard him say to her with the hint of a laugh as I craned my neck to scour the entrance of the place anxiously for incoming guests yet again, “Should I be warning Mark about any sort of runaway bride situation?”

Sunny chuckled. “Where would I run to? He’d probably come back home just to find me cooking dinner for him and the kids.”

I turned my head back toward them and laughed as well (though a little bit halfheartedly), for the mere sake of normalcy, and so I didn’t seem so distracted. This caused Rob to glance at me with a slightly disconcerted look on his face. He knew me too well, he already sensed that something was wrong, that I was putting up a front for Sunny and Mark on their big day, but that would never work with him. I felt him take his hand out of mine and wrap an arm protectively around my waist. As Sunny pulled away for a moment to chatter with her mother about where a certain relative would be sitting at the reception, Rob put his mouth to my ear.

“Are you alright Sarah?”

My eyes widened and I swallowed hard. It had been two months of abnormal behavior on my part and he had never asked that question before. “Of course I am,” I quickly lied, attempting to pull away from him and make my way towards Sunny in avoidance, but he caught my wrist and pulled me back again.

“Hey,” Rob whispered gently, getting so close to me that the bottom of my dress was brushing against his legs, “I just want you to be happy.”

I tried so hard not to cry, the hardest I’d ever tried, biting my lip and swallowing so as to relieve the bittersweet sensation that was going on inside my chest. I nodded my head at him and Rob gave me a small smile before saying that he should head inside to be with Mark. Once he’d departed, giving me a short peck on the lips beforehand, I went and stood by Sunny and her family, who were all fawning over her and the beautiful venue and her wedding gown. I joined in, happy for the welcome distraction, averting my eyes from the entrance to the venue as much as I could for fear of locking eyes with Tom when he eventually walked in, and luckily I didn’t get a glimpse of him at all.....

TO BE CONTINUED

#the people we were #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston #rdj #robert downey jr #rdj fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic

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