Battle Scars {An Iron Man FanFic}

Chapter 31: Trying Times

A/n: This is dedicated to @Agent_Ramirez !! I think you'll like this chapter ;) Well, least the beginning <3 

Wednesday Update At Your Service ;)

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Chapter 31: Trying Times

Tony's POV

"What are you doing?" Tony asked loudly, stepping forward. Edward shifted his gaze quickly, recomposing himself from his previous outburst, before stepping up to meet his dad's height.

"Nothing, I just figured, since she wasn't here I could check out what the heck that the thing was" Edward played off smoothly, smiling at Tony and then looking over to the device with curious eyes. "So, er what exactly does it do?"

"Surprised you couldn't figure it out on your own" Tony said, arms stretched across his chest.

"Well you know... I've only just got here" Edward responded, placing his hands in his pockets. He shifted around in his spot, a tell tale sign of his guilt.

"It's basically a charger; it delivers an electric stream into the pacemaker in her chest. Without it and without a charge, she would die. Her heart has become reliant on it, extremely reliant, as soon as it shuts off, she's gone."

"Well that's just pathetic" Edward muttered and Tony jumped on him in an instant. His arm was up against his throat, pinning him to the wall behind them. His eyes were livid, the muscles in his neck taut. The blue glow of his reactor shone through the small space between them and placed a blurry orb of light on Edward chest. But neither of them noticed.

"You took it, didn't you?!" he asked in a loud, terrifying voice. But he wasn't asking it so much as confirming it to himself.

"Dad listen" Edward managed to say but Tony put more pressure on his neck, cutting him off.

"No you listen! You could have killed her you fucking idiot. Would you really be prepared for that, having someone life on your head?" Tony was fuming; his eyes stared accusingly into their mirror, Edward's eyes that looked so much like a child beneath him. So much like a child who did something wrong, and knew it, but didn't know of the full extent.

"I didn't know, I didn't know she would die!" he managed to cry out, emotion in his eyes.

"You know she has a pacemaker, you know she has fricken heart problems! Why the hell did you take it?!"

"Because..." Edward started to say and tears were actually beginning to bubble out of his face. At first, Tony seemed completely shocked and taken aback. For a moment, he felt this sudden drive to comfort him, to wrap his arms around his son, to get him to stop. But as soon as he opened his mouth again, Tony remembered the reason he was there, the answer he needed to hear.

"I-I just needed you, okay? She was in the way and I needed you." He forced the last three words through clenched teeth, as he was trying to reign in his emotions. Tony put his hands down in utter shock and stared into Edward's eyes. "I needed you and all you would do was talk about her. It was only until you started downing on her, saying she wasn't smart enough, that I realized she could get out of the picture. For awhile I thought I wouldn't be smart enough either, that you may feel so dismissive about me too"

"I wasn't dismissive of her"

"You basically admitted that because she wasn't as smart as you, you wouldn't be able to form an amazing relationship with her. That she wasn't good enough, that's why she left! You drove her away!"

"That is not true" Tony said furiously, pulling out each word in his denial.

"It is dad!" Edward started again, his voice with pure accusation until the word dad touched his lips. "All you, you forced her out. You made her feel like she couldn't even compete with you, that she shouldn't even try. But from what you told me, it seems like she could, that she is capable. And because of that, she needed to go. I just had to set up the pick, you had the ball."