self destruct sequence
Contrary to what Tony believed, Ivan was fully aware that he wasn’t the only of the two of them that had been affected by all this. Ivan had meticulously gone through everything pertaining to himself and Tony already, he knew exactly what was out there on them. He also knew, however, that nobody would be able to touch Tony legally, his army of lawyers would see to that. Physically, Tony’s tower likely one of the safest places in the world. Ivan knew it would only stay that way, however, as long as he wasn’t there.
Whatever Tony had coming his way didn’t compare to having spent over 50 years making enemies all over the world and having them all know right.where to find you. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t bring that kind of crap down on anyone, especially not Tony. It just wasn’t an option.
The questions didn’t make anything easier, and he let out a sigh as he gave answers that he knew would be equally dissatisfying to his best friend. “I can’t say. The less you know, Tony, the better. For your sake as well as mine. I can promise you that as soon as you can know of my return, you will. Beyond that, telling you anything puts you at risk.”
"Ivan, no one's gonna threaten me about you. I've been kidnapped before, tortured for months at a time, almost died, yeah, I get it." He was completely serious, but he might've been going over his head at this point. Tony would do anything for Ivan, and he understood that Pinstripe had full intentions of leaving and would come back whenever he could, but Tony just didn't want to let go. "You can tell me where you're going. No one's listening. No one's gonna kidnap me and torture me about you. You're as safe as you've been before."
Alright, that part was a lie, but Tony only said it to make himself feel a bit better -- teeny bit. "You don't need to tell me everything either, just tell me something, at least the city, hell, the general ten mile radius of where you'll be. I won't go after you, I won't find you, but if you need help I'll at least be able to get to you as soon as possible."
He was going to say that he was running out of friends, but honestly, he barely had real friends. Rhodey's been too busy to visit, Pepper's technically his assistant and co-head of the entire company, Happy's head of security, and well, everyone else keeps their distance or is doing their own thing. Tony had no one to talk to anymore, no one to call when he was distressed, no one to brainstorm stupid projects with.
Tony was scared of being alone again.
"Ivan, just tell me where you're going -- please."