I know nothing about all the medical stuff that's in here, I just searched it up. Most likely none of it is correct. Don't try this at home and call a doctor if you need medical attention.

A week later, Tony woke with a groan. Rhodey and Mary had convinced him to get some sleep. He finally agreed and now he was on a regular sleep schedule. Today, he had woken up refreshed despite the pain. His condition was getting worse by the hour, it seemed, and everything hurt.

Blinking against the harsh morning light, Tony debated getting up and doing something productive or just staying in bed and wallowing in his depression.

It wouldn't matter, he figured. What's one more day to waste if he had nothing to live for and was literally dying, for heaven's sake. Besides, he was comfortable. His bed was warm and the pillows were just right. Maybe he could just stay here for a bit...

Mary and Peter's faces suddenly ran through his mind and Tony puffed out a breath of air, running his hands down his face. He loved them, yes, but he thought that the more distance he put between them, the less it would hurt when he left.

Dropping his arms and eagle-spreading his limbs, Tony turned his head to look at his calendar. It was fuzzy at first, but as it came into focus, a large red circle caught his eyes, right below a row of black X's.

Oh, right, he was going to die in a week. It was September sixth, exactly one week before September thirteenth.

Tony exhaled deeply. Well, if he wasn't doing anything, he might as well drop by Stark Industries and make sure everything was in order. His CEO, Pepper Potts, probably had everything covered but Tony just wanted to make sure. He had already talked with a 'really good lawyer' (that he didn't really trust) over the phone and got his final Will all sorted out. But seriously, there was definitely something off about that guy. He should probably go just to make sure his affairs were in order.

Finally deciding to get up, Tony gathered his thoughts and pushed himself upright, grimacing against his body's protests.

It felt like he had woken the day after a strenuous workout, except that he hadn't actually worked out since the car crash. Everything was sore and today, his chest hurt more than usual. Sitting up and swinging his legs off the side of the bed, Tony shook out his left arm, then rolled the same arm. His left arm was bugging him a bit but he literally and metaphorically shrugged it off.

Still too tired to function properly, Tony reached for his painkillers. He dumped the last few pills out into his palm and counted. Six would get him through the day at least.

Not caring if he overdosed, Tony quickly swallowed the six pills, reminding himself that he'd have to buy more soon.

Letting the medicine do its thing, Tony relaxed his tense muscles as the pain he had grown used to finally subsided. Standing up, he walked to his wardrobe and found an outfit to wear to his business.

Dark grey slacks with a matching grey suitcoat and a nice white dress shirt. White socks, black dress shoes, and a blue tie to complete the look.

Slipping his pants on, Tony got lost in his mind. He didn't particularly want to dress up all fancy and stuff, but he figured it would be unacceptable to show up at such a prestigious company like Stark Industries in sweatpants, a baggy shirt, and bunny slippers, even if he was Tony Stark and about to die, on top of all that.

An hour later, Tony walked into the SI lobby, dark sunglasses resting on his nose and a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee in one hand. Tony knew that he looked confident, healthy, and happy. Shaving had definitely helped, even if his hair was a bit longer than it usually was.

Smiling at interns bustling around the lobby and waving to some of the people he recognized, Tony eventually made it to the elevator.

Fortunately for him, the elevator was empty. He stepped into the elevator and was about to let the happy façade down when a pale hand stopped the door and in stepped two young boys- interns, going by the colors of both their badges. The elevator wasn't very small but it wasn't large either so Tony was forced to move aside for the two boys.

One had dark brown skin, a shock of black hair with brown streaks and warm caramel eyes. He wore a pair of white skinny jeans and a pale blue t-shirt with a small sticker on his badge that said 'they/them'. Oh.

Their friend was quite the opposite, flushed skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes, wearing blue jeans, a Captain America t-shirt and a red badge dangling from his neck.

Once they stepped into the elevator, the pair's eyes widened as they realized they were with Tony Stark. The shock seemed to wear off after a few seconds, however and they began to quietly converse in the corner while Tony busied himself with his phone.

"So, Chris?" The boy asked, obviously trying to be quiet but not really succeeding.

The darker skinned person answered in a hushed voice, obviously continuing a story he had suddenly stopped telling. "oh! Yeah, my cousin Chris told me about this... place he went to. His arm was completely crushed, it was going to be amputated but you know, he loves his piano."

The boy looked up at his friend. "So doctors told him his arm had to be amputated, but then it went to this place he told you about and his arm was completely healed?!?"

The person nodded. "Yeah." They confirmed. "It's crazy, man!"

Tony had tried to tune out their conversation but this 'Chris' guy they were talking about peaked his attention. A man with a crushed arm beyond repair, healed? Tony glanced at the boy and his companion, rubbing his left shoulder. Since he had woken up, his left arm was in quite a lot of pain and his chest was tightened to the point that it was a struggle to breathe.

The two continued to talk, the conversation shifting away from Chris -whoever he was- and his arm and traveled to magic mushrooms or something of the likes that college kids talked about these days.

'"I'm sorry, sir. You tried your hardest. I'm afraid that now, nothing short of a miracle could save you now. One 'miracle' I have in mind is listening to Dr. Watson and taking his suggested course of action." JARVIS replied, almost sullenly. But AI's didn't have emotions. Everyone knew that.

Tony sat in his chair, silent. He didn't even have the energy to reprimand his AI's sass. "What about... magic?" he finally asked hesitantly.

"I-... sir, magic is not real."'

The memory of his conversation with the AI hit him like the semi trunk all those weeks ago. "Wait," Tony started, not realizing he had spoken until the two interns looked up at him (or, directly at him, they were around the same height) with both fear and awe shining in their eyes. Tony instinctively took a step back to show he wasn't going to hurt them. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but eavesdrop. You mentioned something about your cousin, Chris, right?" The darker-skinned intern nodded. "His arm was.. crushed beyond repair." Another, less tense, nod.

"Where did he go, where did he get healed?" Tony asked hesitantly.

The black-haired intern swallowed. "Well, Mr. Stark, sir, I don't really know. He did say that he went to Kathmandu, Nepal."

Tony's eyes narrowed slightly. "Kathmandu's a big city, kid. The last time I checked, you can't fix a crushed arm so I'll ask again, where did he go?"

The intern's gaze jumped around the small compartment, refusing to meet Tony's harsh glare. "H-he did mention something along the lines of Kama-Ta. Karmen? No..." The intern looked down. "Oh! That's right, it was Kamar-Taj."

"Kamar-Taj..." Tony hummed. "A crushed arm, completely healed. Do you know if... if this place could bring someone back from the brink of death?"

It seemed that the universe either hated him or wanted to make a point because just then, the pain in his chest skyrocketed and spread like wildfire to his arm, shoulders, neck, and torso, but the worst of it was centered on the left side of his torso: right where his heart was. Choking at the sudden surge of pain, Tony doubled over, clutching his chest and waiting for it to pass. When it didn't, Tony's face screwed up and he slid to the floor, grabbing an elevator bar and gasping, clawing desperately at his chest.

The non-binary intern ran to his side, kneeling down. "Mr. Stark?" Tony couldn't respond, only shaking his head and groaning.

The brunette's brown eyes widened and he frantically looked around for something he could do to help.

Mere seconds later, the pain subsided ever so slightly and Tony could finally talk. "l-lab-" he choked out, hoping JARVIS understood his command.

JARVIS didn't respond, but the elevator moved faster, practically flying to the fifth highest floor in the tower.

The elevator stopped silently and the doors opened. JARVIS finally spoke, addressing the two interns. "Help boss to the couch in the corner; then get him to lay down." The male intern started talking to Tony, telling him that it was going to be okay, but Tony could barely hear him. The pain hadn't quite worn off yet but it was getting there and really taking a toll on Tony. Everything was fuzzy, as if he was looking at his lab underwater, he couldn't focus, everything was hot and cold and plainly just hurt. He was exhausted and everything hurt and his brain wasn't working properly.

Tony vaguely felt someone wrap his arm around their neck and hoist him to his feet. He tried to help as much as he could, but he only ended up stumbling and tripping over his own feet. Sweat shone on his forehead as the person practically threw him into the bed. If he wasn't so out of it, Tony would've made a sex joke.

"There are three medication bottles on Boss' desk. The red bottle is thrombolytics, the green is aspirin, and the orange is morphine, a common pain reliever. Give Boss three morphine pills, two aspirin tablets, and two thrombolytics with some water."

"Three morphine, two aspirin, and two thrombolytics. Got it." A voice said. Tony couldn't tell who it was and he whined, feeling like he was going to be sick. He heard the shaking of a pill bottle and a hand on his shoulder before he passed out.

The last thing he heard was a frantic shout of "Mr. Stark!" and everything went black.

~

For the second time that day, Tony woke up. But this time it was to someone shaking his shoulder. "Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark, wake up!"

"Uh, hey, hi, hello-" A blurry face came into view with black hair and caramel eyes. "I'm up, I'm up!" Tony groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position with the interns' help.

Once he was sitting, they handed him the seven pills he was supposed to take. Grimacing, Tony popped half of them into his mouth and swallowed them with a large gulp of water. He repeated his actions with the other half, wiping his mouth with his sleeve once he was finished.

"What happened?" Tony asked once he could focus again.

"It appears that you have suffered from a severe cardiac arrest. I'm afraid to report that your condition is worsening and I suggest immediate medical attention. Might I remind you of your two plans of action suggested by Dr. Watson? A heart transplant or-"

"JARVIS, mute." Tony ordered. "So, cardiac arrest, huh?"

~

Half an hour later and Tony had recovered enough to stand and walk around. During this time, he had learned the interns' names. The non-binary intern was Xander and the boy was Tom. Xander was 23, Tom was 22, and they were dating. Soon after making sure Tony was okay, Tom lost interest and began to snoop around the lab. Tony had only laughed at his actions and gave him permission to explore with the one rule that he not touch anything.

Xander, however, lingered. "Mr. Stark-"

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "Call me Tony. You practically saved my life, I think we're beyond 'Mr. Stark'."

"Alright." Xander rested their chin on their fist. "Mr- er, Tony, JARVIS said that your condition is worsening. May I ask what they meant?"

Tony stiffened. "It, uh, he doesn't mean anything. It's just, you know, side effects of literally running on batteries." He chuckled at his words, trying to shrug it off.

Xander didn't look amused. "Tony." They said, their gaze icy. "You asked if Kamar-Taj could bring a man back from the brink of death."

Tony swallowed. "Yes."

"And... whatever just happened, that cardiac arrest... It's you, isn't it?"

Tony looked away from the intern, refusing to meet their unwavering gaze. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!'

"You're dying." Xander blatantly informed. "You're dying and your scared. Terrified, even. You don't was to die. That's why you wanted to know about Kamar-Taj," Xander stood up and pointed a finger at Tony. "Because any healthy man with decades of life before them wouldn't have bothered asking. He would've walked right out of that elevator and moved on with his life. Yet you stopped, you asked, and you had a f*cling heart attack in an elevator. That's how I know it is you. Am I correct?" By then, Xander had advanced on Tony and their finger was jabbed into his chest, their eyes narrowed.

Tony, feeling quite afraid, turned to his coping mechanism. "Language." He muttered. It was something Rhodey had mentioned Captain America utter during a battle despite the WWII hero swearing more than all the Avengers combined.

Xander didn't find it funny and only pushed their finger deeper. Again, Tony would've made an inappropriate joke at the author's choice of wording but, quite frankly, Xander was starting to scare him and seemed the type to refuse to back down until they got the information they wanted.

"Tony, answer me. Am. I correct?" Xander hissed.

"I could get you arrested for harassment." Tony stated coldly.

"Mister Stark."

Tony looked away, closing his eyes. "Yes." He whispered. "You're correct."

The pressure of Xander's hand lessened as they stepped back. Tony still kept his eyes shut. "At first, I was like anybody told they were going to die. I fought. I tried to save myself. But nothing worked. Better, improved arc reactors? Nada." Tony took a shaky breath, wondering why he was practicing spilling his life story to an intern he barely knew, but the words just wouldn't stop. "I eventually lost hope. I accepted my fate. I made peace with the fact that I was going to die. But then, in the elevator, I stared death in the face and I realized... I realized that I wasn't ready. I don't want to die."

By the end of his speech, Tony realized he was crying as well, salty tears sliding down his cheeks and finding a home in his messy goatee.

"I don't want to die..." Tony choked out. He felt someone wrap him in a hug. Looking up, he recognized the person to be Tom. Letting out a strangled sob, he buried his face in Tom's shoulder.

"Xander, please," the words were muffled, but Xander still heard them perfectly. "Help me, I don't want to die. Please, tell me, how do I get to Kamar-Taj?"