Tony stood up and stretched, every muscle groaning in complaint. He wasn't surprised. He'd been in the same room for days now. He refused to leave your side. The last mission, you'd been far too headstrong to listen to Tony when he told you to wait for backup. You were determined to save the people the enemy held hostage and the window of opportunity was closing quickly. So, you went in alone and got hurt. You'd been in the hospital since and Tony? He'd been right there with you.

In truth, Tony hated hospitals but he wasn't about to leave you. He wanted to be there when you woke up. He just had to be. Tony had been in love with you for years. He didn't even admit it to himself at first. He had been with Pepper at the time. When he and Pepper broke it off for good, Tony fought his feelings for you still. It wasn't until his last party before the mission that he finally admitted to himself how he felt. Now, he was petrified of losing you. What if you never woke up?

The brunette billionaire breathed a sigh of relief when he heard you moan. He glanced over at you, grinning at the sight of your (e/c) eyes opening. "Ugh." Tony was back at your side in an instant with a glass of water. "Nice and slow, Sweetpea." Once again, you didn't listen and a moment later, you were choking on your water. Tony rolled his eyes.

"When are you going to learn to listen?" he asked with a sigh. "Probably never," you fired back with a scratchy voice. You forced yourself to sit up and look at Tony. "How long have I been here?" Tony looked at the date on his phone. "A week." You nodded slowly before letting your eyes scan Tony's haggard form. "And how long have you been here?" Tony chuckled. "A week." You shook your head. "Go home and get some sleep, Tony."

"No way. As long as you're stuck here, I'm going to be here with you." You groaned again. "Tony, you hate hospitals. Go home." Tony took your hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "No, Y/N." You quirked a brow. "Now who's not listening?" you quipped with a smile. Tony let out a tired laugh. "Touché. Still doesn't mean I'm going home. Now, I'm gonna call the doc and get him to look you over." After giving your hand another squeeze, Tony got up and headed for the door.

"I'm sorry, Tony." The man stopped in his tracks and looked back at you. "I'm sorry for being so stubborn. I should have listened to you. I...almost died." Your eyes welled with tears and Tony came flying back across the room. "Hey. Sweetpea, look at me," Tony ordered softly. You looked back up, trying to dry the tears flowing down your cheeks. "You're alive. And you gave us a chance to save those hostages. That's what matters." He kissed your forehead and smiled at you.

You returned the smile and then you did something that surprised Tony. You pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Tony froze, unsure of how to process what was happening. You pulled back slightly, but Tony followed your lips once he pulled himself out of his daze. You giggled and Tony sat up. He didn't want to hurt you. Clearing his throat, Tony rose from the bed. "I'll get the doc," he told you with a smile.

When the doctor told you he wanted to keep you another week at least, you almost threw a fit. Tony could see the fire in your eyes and carefully stepped up to the bed. "Thanks, Doc." The doctor took that as his cue to leave. You'd never seen a normal man move that quickly before. "Tony, I don't want to stay here another week. I want to go home." He gave your hand a soft squeeze. "I know. But look, I'll be here every day."

And he was. Tony would come to your room before you woke up in the morning and wouldn't leave until after you fell asleep. You had feeling he would have stayed all night it you hadn't made him promise to go home and get some sleep. Your days were filled with card games and testing out Tony's new gadgets. Tony would order in lunch and dinner for you knowing that you hated hospital food. The days seemed to passed quickly and before you knew it, it was time to leave the hospital.

"Finally," you cheered when you were able to set foot outside. Even the sounds of bustling New York were like music to your ears. Tony took your hand in his and lead you to his car. "Hey, Tony?" He glanced at you as he opened your door."We haven't talked about what happened. The kiss." Tony fought his smile and shrugged. "Do we need to? Or should we say it was the beginning of something new?" You grinned. Something new. You liked the sound of that. "I think it's the beginning of something a long time coming." Leaning over the car door, you pressed your lips to his.