IRON RESOLVE

"Holy shit. What is that thing?"

Naturally, Tony had known that sleeping with Maya would involve revealing the Arc Reactor to her. Not many people were aware of its existence this time around, but then again, not many had been aware at first last time either.

In fact, the only person Tony hadn't shown it to before his death this time was Obadiah Stane. Even though he had been doing everything in his power to make the old man relax and let his guard down, he wasn't about to dangle that tantalizing of a treat in front of Obadiah's salivating jowls.

That being said, as expected, the moment he and Pepper had gotten Maya back to their suite, the clothes had started flying. And while Tony could have made a big fuss about keeping his shirt on to hide the big glowing battery in the middle of his chest, he didn't see the point. He already owned AIM, and through AIM, he owned both Maya and Extremis. If he was going to use Extremis, she was going to have to know eventually anyway.

…Contrary to what some might believe, Tony's first thought hadn't been to kill Aldrich Killian. He hadn't wanted to murder the man, even if that was ultimately what had happened. But in the end, Killian had left him no choice.

The first time around, it wouldn't be until almost a year from now that Aldrich would use a semi-perfect version of Extremis on himself—regulating his dosages and finally eliminating the deficiencies that had plagued his body all his life. Frankly, Tony didn't blame the man for wanting to walk without crutches. But he did blame him for everything else he'd discovered Killian had been doing.

Funnily enough, in the previous timeline, even Tony had been led to believe that Killian was the first human test subject for Extremis—that the man had bravely, heroically, or foolishly, depending on one's perspective, been the one to take the plunge and start human trials on himself.

That, as it turned out, was a lie. One that even Maya Hansen had been fooled by.

Thanks to JARVIS' upgrades, Tony's AI butler had been able to hack not only AIM's servers but also Aldrich Killian's private research files. And that was where they had found the truth.

Killian wasn't patient enough to take his time like Maya had been. He wasn't willing to continue animal trials until it was safe for humans as she had insisted.

Unbeknownst to his business partner, Killian had started human trials months ago—and not a single test subject had survived. The reason nobody, not even Tony, had heard about people exploding as a result was that Killian had been targeting the disaffected. He had been abducting homeless people from the streets, locking them in cages, and when they inevitably detonated because their bodies couldn't handle Extremis, the blasts were contained in specially prepared rooms.

What Tony had discovered—and what had ultimately forced his hand—was that Killian had been secretly developing Extremis alongside Maya's official research for almost six months. In that time, over two dozen homeless men and women had died in his pursuit of perfect health.

In the other timeline, it was obvious that Killian had only pretended to be the first human test subject. The moment he had dosed himself with Extremis had been nothing more than a well-crafted performance—designed to convince Maya of his conviction, his supposed willingness to do anything to complete her research. The truth was, Killian had only injected himself once he was certain it was safe. And then, as far as Tony could tell, he had erased any trace of his previous human trials and refocused entirely on working with Maya.

To quote a certain eye-patch-wearing spook… Maya and Extremis, yes. Aldrich Killian, no.

In the end, sending Killian off a rooftop to his supposed suicide and buying AIM to secure both Maya and Extremis hadn't been Tony's first choice. But it also wasn't something he would lose much sleep over.

Some men deserved death.

Stane. Killian.

And Tony knew the list wouldn't end there.

Ah, but he had gotten a bit off track, hadn't he?

Maya had asked him a question, and he had left her staring at his chest in wonder all this time. Smiling crookedly, Tony tilted his head to the side.

"It's an Arc Reactor, Maya. It's the only thing keeping me alive."

Maya's wide eyes darted up to his face as if to check whether he was joking. Tony had to admit, she looked good kneeling there on the bed in nothing but her bra and panties. But then, he knew he looked good too, stripped down to just his boxers—even with the Arc Reactor glowing in the center of his chest. His smile widened as he explained.

"It's basically a glorified magnet, truth be told. It keeps the shrapnel in my chest from reaching my heart and killing me. The original version was a car battery."

Off to the side, Pepper—who had also stripped down to her underwear—looked a little distraught at hearing Tony talk so casually about his experiences in Afghanistan. She always did. But this time, Maya was there as well, looking both horrified and hopelessly intrigued.

Reaching out, Maya brushed her fingers along the rim of the Arc Reactor. Tony let her. She wasn't about to damage it with a single touch. And yet, after a moment, she still pulled her hand back as if singed… or as if afraid she might hurt him.

Looking up into his eyes, Maya's breath hitched.

"That's horrifying. And spectacular."

Tony grinned and nodded.

"The work of an incredible man."

She looked a little exasperated at that.

"Yourself?"

But Tony just laughed and shook his head.

"Ho Yinsen. He saved my life—first with the car battery, and then with a heroic final charge that distracted our captors long enough for me to escape. Like I said… an incredible man."

Maya grew solemn for a moment, nodding at this information before looking back at the Arc Reactor embedded in his chest.

"This is why you want Extremis, isn't it? You're hoping it'll heal you? Push out the shrapnel?"

Tony hummed.

"Perhaps not by itself. But with the right people and the right tools… I'm sure it can be used that way. Extremis is worth more to me than just that, though. And so are you, Maya."

He couldn't have timed it better if he had tried. The moment the words left his lips and Maya jolted in surprise, Pepper stepped in, suddenly on her hands and knees beside Maya. She reached up and cupped the biologist's cheek, gently turning Maya to face her.

"Did we really come up here just to talk shop? I don't think we did."

And then Pepper was kissing Maya, and Maya was kissing her back.

Tony grinned at the sight—his beautiful, redheaded girlfriend making out with an equally gorgeous brunette genius. Not to undersell Pepper or anything—she might not have been a scientist, but she had been the CEO of Stark Industries for eight years, and she had done a damn good job.

Of course, Tony had meant every word. Maya was one of his regrets from the original timeline. The way he had handled the Mandarin, Killian, and AIM had been one of his greatest failures.

But Maya…

She had tried to warn him. She had come to him, trying to expose Killian early. And he had blown her off.

That wouldn't happen again.

This time, he was going to save Maya Hansen.

And if he happened to have his first threesome with his girlfriend and his newest employee along the way… well, that was just a bonus.

This version ensures better readability and flow while keeping the essence of your writing intact. Let me know if you'd like any further tweaks!