The air in the garage seemed to freeze.
The soft glow from DUM-E's optical sensors was the only light in the dead silence, flickering, illuminating the fading joy and nascent confusion on Pepper's face.
Tony Stark, the man who always stood in the spotlight, armed to the teeth with sarcasm and arrogance, was looking at her with an expression she had never seen before. There was no jest in his eyes, no flirtation, only a raw, almost unbearable seriousness, and a deeply hidden… vulnerability.
"Help you?" Pepper's voice was a little hoarse. She repeated the words subconsciously, her gaze falling to where he was pointing at his chest.
There, beneath a thin shirt, lay Stark Industries' greatest miracle, and his lingering nightmare.
"Yeah, help me." Tony pulled his hand back, tugging at the corner of his mouth, trying to break the damn heavy atmosphere with a casual smile. "A minor technical maintenance. Swapping out… a part. It's simple, not much more complicated than charging DUM-E."
He said it nonchalantly, but Pepper's heart sank.
She was no fool. She knew better than anyone what that "part" was. It was the Arc Reactor that kept him alive.
"Tony, you should go to a hospital, see a professional doctor…"
"No." Tony cut her off, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I don't trust them. I only trust…" He paused, his eyes locking on Pepper's once more. "…myself. But my hands aren't exactly steady right now. So, I need a pair of hands I can trust."
The words rippled through her heart, one wave after another.
She looked at Tony, the man who had given her a job, who had given her a level of trust far beyond that of a secretary, and who had also given her countless troubles and headaches. But it wasn't until this moment, when he laid his most fatal weakness bare before her without reservation, that she truly understood the unique place she held in his heart.
The refusal died on her lips.
Pepper took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. What do I need to do?"
Seeing her agree, Tony visibly relaxed. He turned and walked to his workbench, skillfully manipulating something. Soon, he returned with a new reactor, one that pulsed with a brighter blue light.
"It's easy," he said, giving Pepper some "pre-op training" as he unbuttoned his shirt. "See this old one? Take it out. Then, put this new one in. Done."
He made it sound as simple as changing a lightbulb.
But when he fully unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the device of interwoven metal and flesh in his chest, Pepper couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
It was a grim, circular socket, the skin at its edges an unhealthy red. Countless fine wires and tubes extended from the device, coiling around his flesh like vines, disappearing deeper inside him. And in the very center of the device, the Arc Reactor, with its faint blue glow, pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
This was the first time she had seen this miraculous creation that sustained his life so closely, so clearly.
"Don't space out, Miss Potts," Tony's voice pulled her back from her shock. "Time is precious. The palladium core in this thing is almost spent, and I'd rather not go into cardiac arrest from a 'power outage' in front of my assistant."
Pepper's face paled. She forced herself to calm down, her hand trembling slightly as she reached out.
"Pull hard," Tony instructed.
Gritting her teeth, Pepper's fingertips touched the cold metal casing. She gathered her courage and pulled sharply outward.
With a *click*, the old reactor came free, leaving behind an empty, sparking cavity.
Tony's face instantly went a shade paler, his breathing becoming ragged.
Pepper's heart leaped into her throat. She fumbled to place the old reactor, still warm with his body heat and a faint smell of blood, on the nearby table. Her palms were slick with cold sweat.
"Good," Tony's voice was weak, but he remained composed. "Now, see the wire inside? Unplug it from the old connector."
Pepper leaned in. A wave of mixed scents—metal, ozone, and the faint tang of blood—assaulted her, making her stomach churn.
She fought back the nausea and, following Tony's instructions, reached into the terrifying socket. Her fingertips touched a bundle of sticky, slick cables.
"That's the one, the thickest one. Right, pull it."
Pepper held her breath, pinched the wire, and yanked—
"Argh—!"
Tony let out a pained grunt, his whole body lurching backward as he gasped for air, his forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat.
Pepper was scared out of her wits. Her hand went slack, and she froze.
"What… what did I do? Tony! Are you okay?" Her voice was laced with tears, her face as white as a sheet.
"Damn it… You pulled the wire for the electromagnet!" Tony squeezed the words through gritted teeth, the intense pain in his chest making it almost impossible to speak. The shrapnel was moving toward his heart.
A buzzing filled Pepper's ears, and her mind went blank. She thought she had killed him. Fear washed over her like a tidal wave, and tears began to stream uncontrollably down her face.
"Don't cry! Now!" Tony forced himself to stay conscious, roaring with all his might, "Put the new reactor… in! Now!"
His shout was like a crack of thunder, jolting the near-hysterical Pepper back to her senses. Seeing the agony on Tony's face, her survival instinct and her concern for him overrode everything else.
She hastily wiped away her tears, grabbed the new reactor from the table, and, acting almost purely on instinct, aimed for the socket in Tony's chest and shoved it in hard.
*CLICK!*
A crisp, clean sound.
The new Arc Reactor slotted perfectly into place. A bright, steady, and powerful blue light flared to life.
Tony let out a long sigh of relief, looking as if he'd just been pulled from the water, drenched in sweat. He leaned back against his chair, closed his eyes, his chest heaving.
The garage fell silent once more, save for Pepper's ragged breathing and the innocent flashing of DUM-E's light.
After a long moment, Tony slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Pepper, who was still in shock, tear tracks still wet on her cheeks, and a weak but genuine smile touched his lips.
"See? I told you it was simple."
Pepper couldn't hold back any longer. She gave his shoulder a light punch, her voice thick with residual fear and indignation. "You bastard!"
She didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. Her emotions swung wildly between the relief of survival and the anger of being toyed with. For a moment there, she had truly thought she was going to lose him.
Tony didn't flinch, just watched her quietly, letting her vent.
Once Pepper had calmed down a little, he pointed to the old reactor on the table and said softly, "That's… for you."
Pepper froze.
"Proof that Tony Stark has a heart," he added, his eyes filled with an unprecedented sincerity.
Pepper looked at the old reactor, then back at Tony, a hundred different emotions swirling within her. In the end, she said nothing. She just silently picked up the heavy metal disc and clutched it tightly in her hand.
"I… I'm going to step out," she said in a low voice, turning and quickly leaving the garage, her retreat a bit flustered, as if she were running from something.
Tony watched her back disappear through the doorway, the smile on his face slowly widening, tinged with a hint of triumphant cunning.
He had succeeded.
He hadn't just replaced the reactor. More importantly, he had made Pepper Potts touch his deepest scar, his greatest secret. From now on, their relationship would never be the same.
And just outside the garage door, in the shadows, a figure leaned against the wall, having heard everything inside with perfect clarity.
Paul had a lollipop in his mouth, a mature expression on his face that didn't match his age, as if he saw through everything.
He slowly pulled the lollipop from his mouth and waved it in the air.
"Tsk tsk, Dad's damsel-in-distress act is pretty smooth."
He turned his head, his gaze fixed on the closed garage door, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smirk.
"But just winning over Pepper isn't enough. This show is just getting started."