Okay back, and UM. TONY. AND RHODEY. RHODEY LETTING HIM DO THIS. Trying to show this new Pepper that there is a world out there, that this isn't it, but they only ever reach the edge of the property, with Tony always watching and oh, how Rhodey never really forgives him, and Tony never really forgives himself for what happened to Pepper even though it was never really his fault in the first place. I love (and by "love" I mean I'm utterly heartbroken, but, you know) that the original Pepper's death was never tied to him, never tied to Iron Man, but because he cared about her, because he acknowledged it, he thinks it's his fault anyway, because when Tony loves something, it always ends up getting destroyed, like his parents, like Obie, like Pepper. He almost wants it to be his fault, so he can pretend like he had some sort of control in the first place, rather than ever acknowledge that there are some things he'll never know (like death, like grief).

Meta about Tony aside (because this fic makes me want to do that till the cows come home, but, wow, we've done that enough for a few days, haven't we?) this was gorgeous and a little wrong at the same time, like:

His hand rests on the side of your face, and out of curiosity, more than anything else, you press your lips against his fingers.

That makes me shiver. It's like Lolita and A.I. all rolled into one, disturbing package. Because he's her parent, but his love is far from platonic, no matter how much he wants it to be and oh is it terrifying to think of the rest of the world, of Rhodey, of Fury, letting him do this, letting him keep falling, because he's easier to control when he's trying to save one person, than when he's trying to save the world, and that is terrifying.

Gah. Is this finished? Can I rec this?