Chapter Text
Tony didn’t scream but he did cringe away from the door, curling up to make himself a smaller target while hiding behind Clint’s sturdy frame. He was brave but he was also done and unlike his first time in the cave, Tony had people he trusted who were trained to deal with situations like this, so he figured he could afford to be a little scared. Also he had no choice, he was mentally incapable of acting brave when he knew he was about to be tortured again.
“Had a nice holiday, boys?” asked Natasha.
“Tell me you have a jet ready to go home waiting outside,” replied Phil while Clint turned and scooped Tony up.
“I can walk,” gasped Tony, shaking and clutching at Clint’s shoulder.
“Not on that foot,” said Clint softly so only Tony could hear. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”
“Tony has bruised ribs,” reported Phil as they made their way out, ignoring the bodies that littered the halls, keeping alert to any threat that may have slipped Natasha and the SHEILD team she was working with. “Possible concussion, I want his wrists x-rayed, he was bound multiple times and I’m afraid that may have caused a stress fracture of some sort. His right foot is burned and will need medical attention as soon as possible to avoid infection. Also we need to keep an eye on his lungs, they used water and with his history of chest infections I want to stay on top of it.”
The ride in the jet back to the Tower was short and Tony spent most of it passed out – aided by both exhaustion and pain medication while the medical team worked on his injuries under the watchful eyes of Natasha, Clint, and Phil. Phil had Tony moved to the spare room on the floor he shared with Clint, the room most often used for any Avenger recovering from an injury. It had started as a bit of a joke, with Phil being such a mother hen when anyone was hurt that they started using the room on the floor, claiming it was easier for Phil to check on them. After a while, it sort of became a thing.
- Day 8 –
Waking came slowly but Tony found it enjoyable. He was warm and content and without opening his eyes he knew that Clint was sitting on the foot of the bed keeping watch. It should have been creepy – watching people while they sleep is a bit unnerving – but it merely sent shivers of something akin to joy down his spine.
“You’re approaching Edward Cullen levels of obsession,” yawned Tony, blinking his eyes open. “If you take three hours to kiss me like he did I swear I’ll punch you in the face.”
“There will be no kissing for a while,” said Clint with a grin, leaning over and helping Tony into a sitting position. “Besides, Phil called dibs on the first kiss.”
Tony blinked owlishly, caught off guard and still a little muddled from the pain medicine that was mostly worn off.
“I’m really sorry, I wasn’t aware that you two were trying to date me,” said Tony, cringing at his own honesty, wishing he wasn’t an honest drunk (or honest when high on pain killers). “Can we try the whole dating thing now that I know? And maybe in the future you just tell me things instead of trying to be subtle? Because I’m not really good subtlety.”
“Yeah, I kinda picked up on that,” said Clint with a chuckle.
The archer shifted and sat next to Tony, legs out on top of the blanket.
“So is this the part there we hold hands and shit?” said Tony, clearly uncertain on how to be proceeding with everything.
“No,” chuckled Clint with a fond smile. “Tony, we just got done being held captive. You were tortured. We’re not doing the dating thing until you’re better. Actually, let me rephrase. We are not doing the more physical side of dating until you’re no longer high on pain killers.”
Tony nodded, his head still fuzzy on what exactly was going on. They sat there for two hours, silent. With the medicine almost out of his system, the panic and pain were creeping back in equal parts. The genius didn’t realize his breathing was picking back up until Clint moved into his space. The archer slipped in behind Tony, slowly pulling the genius back to rest against his chest, one of Clint’s hands resting on Tony’s chest to feel his heartbeat, his other hand coming up and resting lightly on the side of Tony’s neck, monitoring his heartbeat, making sure not to restrain Tony’s hands in any way.
“Alright, it’s okay,” said Clint softly. “It’s all over. You’re safe, I’m here. I’m right here. You’re in the Tower and I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
For 15 minutes Clint repeated variations of those words, allowing Tony to follow his voice back to reality. Reality filtered back into Tony’s brain it shards. Tony tried to focus on the sensation of callused fingers resting against his neck and another couple of fingers tapping out a phrase in Morse Code. Words were being said but the tapping was what Tony focused on. He liked the tapping, he tapped when he thought. It was a small release of energy, a way to focus his brain because his body had an outlet for its energy. The tapping in this case was grounding.
“Are you tapping out the lyrics to “Be a Man” from Mulan?” asked Tony, still shuddering.
“No,” said Clint, his voice still soft near Tony’s right ear. “I’m tapping out the entire movie line for line, you just started paying attention when I hit that song.”
Tony chuckled weakly, letting his head fall back to rest against Clint’s shoulder, revealing a line a neck.
“How are you feeling, Tony?” asked Phil, entering the room, carrying a tray of food that would feed a small army or a very hungry archer, mildly hungry agent, and not hungry but forced to eat genius.
“Tired,” said Tony.
Phil looked at Clint, searching for more information. Clint raised an eyebrow and nodded down at the genius still resting against him. Phil set the tray down and sat on the edge of the bed. Tony didn’t seem to want to move out of Clint’s hold and the archer didn’t seem inclined to make him. Phil let a soft smile show as he stared fondly at the pair of men. This was what he had desired for months. Phil was the type of person who enjoyed taking care of others and while Clint needed his care Clint also wanted to be the one to provide care. Finally it looked like they would have someone to release their caring natures on, because while Tony provided for everyone he loved, it was in an entirely different way and the genius would have two people in his corner at last to look out for him in an entirely new way.
“Think you could eat anything?” asked Phil.
Tony eyed the food with misgiving; he was hungry but his stomach rolled at the idea of food. He knew that he should eat – it had been a long time since his last real meal – but he also didn’t want to throw up on the two men he was possibly pursuing a relationship with. That would be mortifying and then Tony would have to move to another planet.
“Try the smoothie,” suggested Clint. “It’s not heavy and should sit easily in your stomach.”
With a soft sigh, Tony took the cup with the lid and straw, trying to ignore the way his wrist and hand throbbed in the black brace. His left hand and arm were wrapped in a cast, having been more seriously broken at some point – Tony couldn’t remember when that happened. The smoothie was actually delicious, the cool substance soothing Tony’s still sore throat. Tony took two more tentative sips before setting it down to let that little bit settle in his stomach before pursuing more.
“You should get some rest,” said Phil while he ate a grilled cheese sandwich.
“No thanks,” said Tony, shuddering at the idea of the nightmares he knew were awaiting him in his sleep. “I’d rather talk about this whole relationship thing.”
“He’s rather fixated on it,” said Clint helpfully.
“Okay,” said Phil, knowing that Tony was just trying to postpone the inevitable and willing to play along for a time. “What exactly do you want to know?”
“How is this going to work?” asked Tony.
“It’s going to take a lot of work,” said Phil with a smile. “Communication is key. We should have told you before about our interest but we didn’t know how and honestly I thought you knew. So that was on us but we’re going to learn from that and fix it. Talking is essential though. I know that I want a long term relationship, not a fling.”
“Same,” said Clint. “So get that out of your head right now.”
“Get what out of my head?” asked Tony, nose scrunching adorably.
“That thought that we just want a quick fuck and then we’ll dump your ass because that’s not the case,” said Clint bluntly, squeezing Tony just enough to let the genius know he was serious but not enough to bother Tony’s sore ribs.
“I’m not good at relationships,” said Tony.
“Not true,” said Phil immediately. He was going to put an end to that self doubt as quickly as he could. “You’re incredible at relationships. You have managed to draw enough people into your world that care the world for you and have become a family to you. Colonel Rhodes is the first person to prove that to be true. He personally vets every person who seems like they will be a part of your life for any amount of time. You have fantastic friends, family. You’ve had a rough run with romantic relationship but that doesn’t mean you’re bad at them, it means they didn’t work out.”
“So who says this will work out?”
“There’s no promise that it will,” said Clint. “You willing to try regardless?”
Tony thought about it. It was an awfully large risk to take, dating his two best friends and teammates. But he would also be dating his two best friends, which would be fantastic. He had never tried dating his best friends before – Rhodey was like a brother and Pepper didn’t count, their relationship was more complicated.
“Okay,” said Tony softly, as though he was afraid that if he spoke too loud it would break the world.
“Perfect,” said Phil. “Now will you please get some rest?”
“No,” said Tony, even as his eyes closed.
“Movie it is,” said Clint softly while JARVIS started a romantic comedy quietly in the background.
Phil moved so he was sitting against the headboard with Clint, Tony still resting against Clint’s chest. It was comfortable.