Brain Damage

Ivan Vanko was still lying in the hospital, likely not to wake up for a few more days.

The race had ended abruptly, and Tony and Blake, both harassed by reporters, didn't care about making a scene.

One of them flew into the sky, while the other jumped onto the rooftop of a nearby building. A few leaps later, they disappeared from everyone's view, not caring about how many rooftops they damaged along the way.

...

That evening, on a yacht off the coast of Monaco.

Pepper had taken over Stark Industries, and the mess Tony left behind had kept her spinning like a top, running around the world.

So, as soon as she had the chance, Pepper took off with Happy, who had now become her personal bodyguard and driver.

This left Tony feeling a bit gloomy—mainly because of the two couples sitting in front of him!

Although Jane and Thor were in a legitimate relationship, Tony couldn't help but label them as another annoying couple in his mind.

"Blake, you should have told me earlier that you were bringing a date tonight. If I had known, I would have invited some lovely ladies to join us!"

Tony looked at Darcy, who was sitting next to Blake, with a face full of mock sorrow.

It started off fine, with Blake introducing everyone, chatting about Asgard and Jane's research in astrophysics. The conversation was pleasant.

But as the conversation wound down and everyone started to relax, the occasional affectionate gestures between the two couples made Tony feel a bit jealous.

"That's your problem. You used to invite girls without worrying about whether others had dates or not. By the way, it's true that you haven't had any girls around you lately!"

Blake frowned and thought seriously. It seemed like this had started around the time of the Iron Monger incident.

"You're not actually falling for me, are you? Oh God, strike this perverted jerk with lightning! I'm just a kid fresh out of school, and this jerk is almost forty!"

Blake looked at Tony with exaggerated disdain.

"Shit! My sexual orientation has always been perfectly normal. I've just been... busy lately. Upgrading the reactor, working on my armor, and joining that superhero club with you."

Tony's face, for once, showed a rare hint of panic!

Of course, Blake knew Tony wasn't really in love with him, but Tony's reaction piqued his curiosity.

"Something's up with you, Tony!"

Blake raised his glass, took a deep sip, and smacked his lips.

"Come on, tell me. What's going on? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"You're crazy! I'm perfectly healthy, it's just… Pepper. You know, the two of us…"

Tony, for once, opened up about his feelings for Pepper.

"Even though we haven't officially defined our relationship, there's always been something… I do want us to be together, but lately, we've both been so busy!"

Tony sounded frustrated, and more than that, a little scared.

There were plenty of women throwing themselves at him, so he never had to make the first move.

But when he finally met someone he truly liked, he didn't know how to express it.

Even though he knew Pepper had feelings for him, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Blake tilted his head, thinking back. It was much the same in the movies.

In *Iron Man 1*, Tony almost kissed Pepper once, but then they were interrupted, and later, he was confronted by a reporter about selling weapons to terrorists. He ran off to confront Obadiah instead.

Then, just before the press conference, he wanted to confess but didn't. It wasn't until the end of *Iron Man 2*, after saving Pepper during a critical moment, that they finally embraced on the rooftop, sealing their relationship.

One was outwardly carefree but inwardly insecure, too afraid to express his true feelings when he met the right person. The other, seeing Tony constantly surrounded by women, felt unsure about her own place in his life. So neither of them took the first step.

This was something outsiders couldn't help with, and tonight, Tony was destined to be alone with his thoughts and sorrow.

...

Ivan Vanko was in a coma for three full days in Monaco.

Shortly after he woke up, Blake and Tony arrived at the hospital.

"I saw the earliest design blueprints with the name Anton Vanko on them. Is he your father?" Tony asked as soon as he came in, not waiting for Ivan to speak.

"You have no right to say that name. Your family are thieves, robbers. Everything you have now should have belonged to the Vanko family!" Ivan replied calmly to Tony, as if he didn't mind that he had failed to attack Tony and was now a prisoner.

"It was your father who tried to profit from this technology. He wanted to turn it into a weapon, and my father stopped him. Anton Vanko made his own mistakes!" Tony retorted. After that, neither of them spoke, just staring at each other. They both knew this wasn't really about right or wrong; it was pointless.

After a long silence, Ivan suddenly spoke up.

"You lost, Stark! You lost from the very beginning! Hahaha!"

Ivan laughed so hard he could barely breathe, the handcuffs on his wrists clanging against the bed frame.

Blake and Tony exchanged glances, and Blake scratched his head awkwardly.

"Did he suffer some brain damage? I mean, I used a PVC pipe on him, sure, I hit him pretty hard, but come on, could it really be that bad? Did Thor smack him silly? Hey! What are you laughing about?"

Ivan, gasping for breath, replied to Blake.

"You should ask Stark how painful it is to die from palladium poisoning, hahaha!"

"Palladium poisoning?"

Blake feigned surprise as he looked at Tony, his face full of concern for his friend.

Ivan laughed even louder.

"Ha! Looks like your friend doesn't know about this. You should tell him what kind of side effects come from having a reactor in your chest!"

"Oh, damn! Tony, is this true? Why didn't you tell me sooner? We need to figure something out together. What are we going to do now? Let's go see a doctor, there's got to be a solution, right? Oh, my God!"

Blake played along with Ivan Vanko, but his performance was so exaggerated that it was almost comical.

Tony originally wanted to play along, but he couldn't hold it in anymore and shoved Blake aside.

"Your acting is way over the top. Even Broadway performances from a hundred years ago were more natural than that. It's disgusting!"

"Oh, really? Come on, it wasn't that bad. I even read *An Actor Prepares* by Stanislavski! I thought I did pretty well. What do you think, Ivan?"

Blake grinned mischievously as he asked Ivan Vanko.

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