See how she's holding up

The purr of the engine comes to a stop as Tony takes out the key from the ignition of his car. He sits there for a moment, hand on the handle of the car door, before turning to look at Katie. She's sitting stock still next to him, eyes glazed over and looking out across the parking. Despite the occasional crunch of gravel meeting the other tires of cars that pass, Tony's sure that Katie isn't registering any of it.

"Uh, Katie?"

He waves a hand in front of her face and earns a small gasp from his best friend. She blinks a few times and moves a hand shakily to unbuckle the belt keeping her in place.

"D-d-didn't mean to space out on you. It's just... a lot's happened since we left this morning."

There's no mistaking the bitterness of her tone.

"Are you feeling okay? You seem kind of-"

But before he knows it, Katie has already thrown open the car door and stepped out. Frowning, he undoes his own belt and goes to follow her. She's already halfway across the parking lot when he pushes the his door closed behind him and he has to jog to keep up.

"Hey! Wait up!"

But Katie's already zipped up the stairs to the landing of their floor as Tony practically trips over himself on the concrete steps to reach her.

"Katie, I know it's a lot to take in, but if there's something I can do to help..."

She whirls around now, eyes burning with anger and it causes Tony to take a step back.

"Why'd you lie?"

She doesn't need to explain what she means.

Tony gestures her towards his own apartment and Katie's eyes flick between him and his unspoken invitation. She stomps over to it, reaching an arm behind her as she motions for the keys. Tossing them into her palm she shoves them into the lock and swings his door wide open. Tony follows her through the threshold and only taking a moment to lock the door behind them. Throwing herself down onto the couch, she folds her impressive forearms and crosses one leg over the other, nostrils flaring.

"What was I supposed to say?" Tony says, suddenly feeling just as emotionally drained as he did hours ago when he'd woken up. "'Sorry, Katie. I know that I've been pretty busy but it looks like I came from a parallel universe to this one, and the other me didn't make it. Don't worry, though. I'm still pretty much the same person.'"

"That would've been better than having to have your boss tell me that the Tony I know is... is..."

Katie stops a moment, bringing her eyelids down, scrunching them against each other. She sucks in her breath.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?"

Tony stares down at the ugly blue carpeting that he's always hated.

"No," he whispers quietly. "I guess it doesn't."

"So now I'm stuck with you."

Tony knows that Katie's angry. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, she goes on the warpath and without even realizing it knows how to cut deep with her remarks. He'd watched it unfold many times before now, but it'd never been directed at him.

"Stuck with me? Are you kidding me? You think I like being here?"

Tony can feel his own voice beginning to rise. This isn't the time nor place for getting upset, but he can feel his emotions begin to bubble to the surface of their own accord.

"Try to imagine for a moment that something you thought you knew about the world got flipped on its head, like **** was suddenly something everyone could do and not get punished for it. Think about how it'd make you feel to be stuck in a place where that's just how it is and there's not a single, solitary thing you can do about it."

"Did it matter to you when my Tony died?"

"...What?"

"Did you think about it at all what it meant that you'd killed someone, even if it'd been yourself?"

"I... guess not? I'm still here..."

"Then how is it any goddamned different to the scenario you just asked me?"

Tony can feel his teeth begin to grind together.

"What the fuck is your damage? I've traveled to a completely different world where nothing makes sense and the one person I thought I could trust is making me wish I just didn't say anything."

"You and me both."

Tony opens and closes his mouth several times, trying to properly articulate a response. All the while Katie's glare is the only thing to keep him company.

"Bet if I'd just bottled it all up and then killed myself once I couldn't take it anymore, you might've given a shit then."

Katie, in an instant, suddenly begins to look more like a deflated balloon than a woman. Her glower stops, her eyes fall to the floor just as Tony's had, and she shakes her head slowly.

"I shouldn't have..."

"You meant it," Tony says, trying to keep his voice from cracking. Katie puts her head in her hands.

"Maybe a little," Katie admits between her fingers. "But do you want to know something, Tony?"

Tony hesitates for a moment, unsure of where she's about to steer their conversation. Part of him wants to tell her to just walk out of here and never look back, but another part of him is beginning to feel guilt from his omission.

"Thrill me."

"I made a promise to myself when we were in middle school. You were two grades below me but I never forgot how you beat up Richie Marcus when he wouldn't stop making fun of me during lunch that one day because I was too fat. You even went into the principal's office for it, remember?"

Tony can. The memory of giving Marcus a black eye and knocking one of his teeth loose is still fresh after all these years.

"After that, I never wanted to be a victim again; I wanted to be strong so that no matter what the world threw at me, I'd be ready for it. So I started eating better, exercising, and asserting myself. I never stopped either. Know why?"

Tony pauses, considering her words, before ultimately shaking his head.

"I wanted to return the favor to the underclassman of mine who hadn't simply rolled over and taken it like I had so many times before. You saw that something was wrong and did something about it. After you showed me, everything about life seemed to get better. I didn't feel miserable all the time and my grades used to be horrible before that. I even had friends for the first time in my life and... I had you."

She takes off her glasses and stares at him, folding its arms in her lap.

"I loved - love - you, Tony. Ever since that day in fact. You changed my life and I can't repay you for it. I don't know how I could even if I tried. But now you've gone and done something so stupid, though, that there's nothing I can do."

Katie's eyes begin to water and Tony's own inner fire sputters out. He hates seeing women, especially his best friend, tear up and wants nothing more than to go to her and hug her but it doesn't seem appropriate given everything up to this moment.

"You're... you're telling me that you can't love me back and that just..."

The tears fall freely now, running down Katie's face and she sniffles a few times, fighting the snot beginning to form in her nostrils. Tony's heart feels like it's being ripped into a hundred thousand different pieces.

"I had dreams about asking you out, going on all these different dates together, getting married, having kids. Fuck, I even named my flesh light and dildo after you. How sad is that?"

Perhaps in another instance, he might've laughed at that but Tony says nothing, trying to let her finish.

"Now... now it doesn't matter. I was scared for nothing because you don't want to get involved with me."

The fat, ugly teardrops continue to stream down her cheeks and she brings her knees up to her face, sobbing into her jeans. Tony stands there, unsure of what to do or even say. It's true that the thought of what Katie has should make him disinterested but a part of Tony doesn't care at this point. He's made Katie cry - something he'd never consider letting others do - all in the span of one morning. The feeling that it leaves him with is disgust, both at the circumstances that have led him to this point and his own actions.

"That's... that's not true," Tony counters. If he doesn't get these words out now, he's afraid he won't find them again. "I never told you, but I never went after other girls because... because I wanted you to notice me. I know that sounds lame, but it's true."

Katie lifts her head up, eyes looking at him curiously. Her tears, at least, Tony has noticed are beginning to slow.

"You were everything that I wanted. Smart, strong, gentle, all that. You were my best friend too to top it off. I really had it made. But I never went the extra mile because I was too much of a coward to make the leap. I thought you were out of my league. You know, that you'd turn me down. You could have anyone you wanted so why settle for less?"

His best friend sits still as a statue as he walks over to her, wringing his hands.

"Now I know that I've been reading it all wrong and that makes me feel even shittier. You waited and I didn't say anything, maybe didn't even give the impression I liked you back. Well, I do. I love you too, Katie."

This is it.

Now or never.

Tony leans in, his face hovering in front of hers, as he tentatively brings their lips less than an inch apart.

"I don't want to be alone here, Katie. I told you that last night and it's still true. If I have to... adapt, then I will. I know we can get through it together."

He kisses her and he can feel Katie's hands bring themselves to the sides of his head as she leans in, aggressively meeting him and working her tongue into his mouth. The kiss doesn't last long but it seems as if it goes on forever between them, playfully catching up on years upon years of unspoken attraction. Tony's even proud of the fact that for a brief second Katie whines contentedly before getting back to their make out session. For a moment he forgets all about his current situation and it's just the two of them there, sharing spit and getting lost in it all.

When they at last break apart, Katie nibbling on his lower lip as she parts, she presses her forehead against his.

"You won't have to be alone, Tony. Not ever again."