Saving Tony (Tony Stark x Reader)

Chapter 38 - Reach For The Sky

You drop Tony's hand as you approach the medical wing. You appreciate him being there but you're just...crowded. You need space.

Tony senses this and stays several paces behind you as you soldier forth, ignoring the pitying glances of the medical staff as they pass by. You don't want their pity. You're...you're fine.

But every step gets harder to take as flashes of the day before start playing in your mind. The beeping. The pulsing. The rushing. The stillness. The pleading. 

You tighten your jaw and bite your cheek - not letting the memories play in too high of a definition - holding them at bay, keeping them fuzzy. 

You put one foot in front of the other, keeping your chin down until you reach the white double doors that lead you to the morgue. 

He's in there. He has to be. 

"Y/n," a gentle voice calls out from behind. "If you're not ready...you don't have to do this yet."

"I put him in there, Tony," you say softly. "I need to see him." 

You move before Tony has a chance to argue with you. Squeezing your eyes shut and taking a deep breath, you raise a single hand, pushing the doors open. Immediately the sting of formaldehyde and ethanol in your nose lets you know you're in the right place. 

"Hello. Can I help you?"

You look over to the diener, a balding man of fifty with gray tufts of hair at the side and a silly purple and yellow spotted bowtie around his neck. You let out a weak, involuntary laugh. You don't know why, but you know Mateo would have liked him.

"I'm um...I'm here to see Mateo Gonsalves," you say.

"Ah. Yes. Good lad," the doctor says jovially, waddling over to the storage spaces until he reaches one about midway down the wall. "Here he is. Room 14."

The diener reaches out, curling his fingers around the cold, metal handle of the storage door. But the moment he touches the panel, your stomach lurches.

"W-wait," you say, your voice breaking as a sudden wave of doubt washes over you. 

The diener looks up at you curiously, but his expression softens immediately upon seeing your face.

"Oh dear," he says. "You must be Dr. L/n. So young."

Your lip begins to tremble as a tear forms in your eye.

The diener pulls away from the storage door and clasps his hands gently in front of him, giving you a soft, kind smile. 

"My dear," he says quietly. "This young boy...he was not going to survive his injuries. I know. I saw the extent of the damage."