tony is a notorious packrat when it comes to intellectual property, so his previous work on extremis is still available to him, digitized years ago. he has everything pulled up when pepper steps into the workshop, his hand raising silently in acknowledgement, the other scribbling down notes. biology isn't exactly his strong suit, more of a mechanic than anything else, and he might need to get bruce banner's help the further along he gets.

she sits up slowly and watches him get up, the burns on his back bright red against his tanned skin. “i’ll make some breakfast. breakfast sandwiches?” she suggests, yawning quietly.

"sure, that sounds good," tony replies, moving to the dresser. his briefs and jeans are easy, but when it comes to a shirt... he manages to get a worn mit shirt on, but it's obvious that he's in pain as he limps to their door, holding himself oddly to keep the fabric from rubbing. "i'll be down in the 'shop."

pepper presses a kiss to his shoulder. “take painkillers when you can. it’ll help with the inflammation.” she closes her eyes and forces herself not to apologize for the hundredth time. he’s forgiven her.

"i will," tony promises, turning his head against the pillow so that he can look at her with sleepy, bloodshot eyes. "love you so much, pepper," he sighs, and then he lifts his arm from her and pushes himself up onto his knees so that he can get out of bed. he tenses once he's upright, eyes closing against the pain, but forces himself onto his feet.

pepper smiles softly and shifts closer to him, his arm holding her down. “sorry,” she murmurs, brushing her fingertips over his shoulder. “just wanted to put some ointment on your back.”

"hurts," he admits sleepily, his skin warm under her fingertips. "i'll get up in a second. go down to the 'shop."

she gently applies the medication to his burns, trying to swallow the nausea when she recalls that her hands did this to him. she closes her eyes and exhales, rubbing the ointment into his skin until her hands are clean and then returning to her spot in bed next to him.

tony starts to stir when she settles back into bed, his arm lifting and landing heavily across her abdomen, pinning her. "stop moving," he mumbles, pressing his face into the pillows to block out the sunlight.

pepper slides out of bed as quietly as she can and slips into the bathroom to get the first aid kit. she finds some burn salve — tony would often burn his fingers when working on the earlier suits — and pads back to their bed. he’s snoring quietly and she rests her hand gently on his back to see if he wakes. if she can get this done while he’s asleep there’s a better chance it won’t end up all over the sheets.

tony doesn't stir as pepper's hand brushes against his back, though goosebumps rise in the wake of her touch. he hasn't slept since malibu, not properly, and he really is exhausted. once he wakes, he'll devote himself to extremis until he's come up with a solution.

pepper sleeps soundly for the first time since they got to manhattan. she reaches for tony at some point in the night, her hand on his arm when she rolls over to find him in her sleep. but when she wakes up the next morning she feels considerably more composed than she has the last few days.

tony is snoring softly into the pillows, the burns on his back livid and blistered in the morning light, sure to scar. his forearm twitches under pepper's hand, fingers tapping briefly against the sheets, like he's typing something — at work on extremis even as he sleeps.

pepper rests her hands gently on his, feeling the reactor digging gently into her back as he breathes. she matches the soft pace with her own, and soon she feels her lids drooping heavily with weariness. she shifts her legs against his, body settling into sleep.

"god, i love you," tony murmurs once pepper is asleep, lax in his arms, her breathing deepened. he breathes in the scent of her shampoo, her hair tickling against his nose. it's late — or early, depending on perspective, nearly dawn. he waits half an hour before untangling himself from her and gently arraying himself on his stomach, his head turned so that pepper's back is what he sees as he falls asleep.

pepper lets him arrange her under the fluffy duvet, tucking the pillows around them until they’re in a cozy nest. she really is exhausted, even with extremis coursing through her veins. “okay,” she murmurs quietly as she tries to settle down her racing mind.

"yeah, okay," tony says, breath warm against her ear, his body spooned up against hers, legs tangled together. he holds her fearlessly — pepper could have ran him through with a sword, and he still would've crawled hands and knees bleeding across the floor to get to her. "love you, baby. just breathe with me. we're okay."

pepper blushes as darkly as the burns on his back. she hides her face against his neck. “oh god, please don’t ask me to give you more burns as a kink,” she groans softly.

"i won't, because it hurt like the dickens," tony tells her cheerfully, his hand now caressing down her spine. "i'm gonna figure out extremis, baby, i promise. first thing in the morning, i'll go down to the 'shop. but..." now it's his turn to manhandle her, getting her into bed, in his arms, under the duvet with the pillows surrounding them. "for now, you're gonna sleep. and i'm gonna hold you til you do." and then he'll have to sleep on his stomach, he thinks sadly.

pepper settles on his lap, being ever so gentle as she runs her fingers over his skin. they trace the circumference of the reactor’s casing, her eyes still closed against the bright glow. “i never meant to hurt you,” she says softly. “i love you so much.”

"i love you, too," tony replies, not tense at all as pepper's fingers circle the reactor, the sensitive skin surrounding it. he kisses her slowly, his hands brushing up her sides. "made me come, actually," he says against her lips. "at first. felt good."

pepper lets him pull her closer to him, but she’s still feeling uneasy about everything. “i’m so sorry, honey,” she whispers in the darkness. she closes her eyes, the glow of the reactor still discernible through her lids. “i just needed to feel okay and i was selfish and didn’t think about what would happen…”

"i'm okay," tony says, grunting as he lifts her up onto his lap. he takes her hands, chilled from the ice, and presses them against his chest. his heart beats steadily against her palm, the reactor thrumming quietly. "you're okay. it's just some burns. i've had worse. touch me, baby."

pepper’s hands are trembling with anxiety and panic as she tends to him, almost afraid to touch him. she switches to tend to the other burn on his back, which isn’t as bad as the other but is still starting to blister slightly. second degree at worst, but still incredibly painful which just makes her feel even more disgusted with herself.

she’s glad his back is to her so he can’t see the tears tracking down her cheeks as she gently wraps the freezing bag of ice in her discarded pajama top so it doesn’t stick to his skin, before gently applying it against one of the marks on his back.

tony shudders at the bag of ice against the burn, even muffled by the fabric of her shirt. the chill is a relief, his breath huffing out of him in a pained groan, pressing back into the ice. "it's good. that helps."

pepper nods, her expression empty and broken. she’s dissociating now as she shuffles to the edge of the bed and reaches for the bag of ice. “sit down, baby,” she says quietly.

tony sits down on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, elbows propped up on his knees. his back is a broad expanse before her, the skin red and angry, her hands bubbled into blisters in a deep burn. "it's okay," he murmurs to her. "it's okay, pepper. it's just a burn."

pepper is shaking as she watches him go, the glow fading from her skin. tony needs to figure out a way to fix her, to remove extremis, or she’s never going to be able to touch him ever again. the thought makes her ache.

in the kitchen, tony's fumbling hands manage to grab hold of some ice, but it's impossible for him to hold them properly against the burns. he groans, returning to their bedroom, looking at her pitifully. "can you help me ice them?"

pepper can feel her eyes burning with tears, her worst fears coming true. tony turns his back to her and she can see the red handprints on his back, the skin blistering slightly. “i’m so sorry,” she whispers. “i shouldn’t have — i was so afraid of hurting you.”

"it's okay. it's okay." he keeps saying that, and god, his back hurts. tony reaches up to press his hands against his face. "it's okay, pepper." she's not screaming, so she hasn't charred him down to the bone, at least. he limps towards the bedroom door. "i'm gonna get some ice."