Innocent Bystander | T. Stark ✔️

five ▼ a long talk

Juliet sat on her bed, knees pulled to her chest. Her fingers were wrapped and twisted in the blanket covering her. The fits of shaking that spread like a tremor from her head to her toes had persisted since she'd returned from the base despite her attempts to calm herself.

The nurse grit her teeth. Her thoughts raged mercilessly in her aching head, replaying her time at the base without relenting.

It had all happened quickly, like the blink of an eye, yet it had still managed to haunt her for the last two hours. She couldn't seem to rid herself of the terrified and helpless feeling clawing at her mind. The image of the woman's lifeless form and her dark words shadowed her every thought.

A light knock at the door caused her to look up. Tony stood in the open doorway, a solemn expression coloring his features.

"How are you holding up?"

Juliet pursed her lips. "I'm just trying to...process it all."

The hero sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. "I shouldn't have put you in that situation. It was-"

"Tony ," she stopped him, her voice firm. "Going with you was my choice and you shouldn't blame yourself. You can't."

A silence grew between them before Juliet spoke again. "So that's what your life has been like? Not fully understanding the threats, watching people die?" She hadn't meant to sound as hopeless as she did, but the weight of her thoughts had become too much.

He didn't respond, but the deep sorrow in his eyes was all the confirmation she needed. Another wave of fear passed through her and she squeezed her eyes shut as her hands began to shake.

Relenting, Juliet reached to the top of her nightstand, behind a picture of her and her smiling mother, to retrieve a small orange bottle. She fished inside to pull out a circular tablet. Tony watched her, a questioning look in her eyes.

"You're not the only one with anxiety," she said with a faint smile, slipping the pill between her lips.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He held his hands up. "I know we aren't best friends or anything but if you get to know what goes inside my messed up head..."

Chewing on her lip, Juliet's fingers wound their way into the fabric of her blanket again. Tony slowly came to sit beside her on the bed. She knew he had a point; she couldn't expect him to share his worries if she wouldn't do the same.

"I'm terrified of the world," she started, not meeting his eyes. "I'm terrified of the people in it, of loosing the ones I care about. Sometimes not knowing where I'll be in a year or even a week freaks me out." She sighed as hot tears stung her eyes. "It might not seem like a lot, but it's enough to turn my world upside down some days."

"How do you cope with it?"

"My mom told me not to waste my happiness worrying about things I can't change. It was the last thing I thought I wanted to hear, but it's been working," she turned to look up at him. "That isn't what you need to hear, is it?"

"Not worrying is something I can't afford to do. I have to anticipate things before they happen. If I don't, people get hurt."

Her voice was small and soft as she spoke. "But you can still be happy."

The corner of his lip twitched into a grin. "Maybe."

"You could do something normal, something that doesn't involve aliens and chrysalises. Just to clear your head."

"Like what?"

"Would you consider getting a puppy?"

Tony shook his head with a laugh. "Yeah, no. Besides, I already have Dummy."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"What's the game plan?"

Tony arched a brow. "Isn't it your job to supply the game plan?"

"No need to be a sassmouth , Tony."

Tony sucked in a breath, his eyes trained on the ceiling. He hesitated before saying, "I know a place."

"Do share, boss."

"Someplace nice," Tony said with a smirk. "You'll see tomorrow, Jules."

He left the room with nothing more than a comforting smile over his shoulder. She leaned back into her pillows, savoring the relief of a weight off her shoulders. Besides her mother, the nurse had never shared the struggles of her anxiety with anyone. But with Tony it felt right, like he could understand.

And she couldn't help but wonder if she would come to need him just as much as he needed her.