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Tony curled up on the ground, shaking from the cold and pain. He was constantly drenched with water nowadays and it was hard to stay warm, especially with the electromagnet in his chest. The metal was constantly cold and almost felt like it was burning him.
Tony coughed and gasped at the pain in his chest. He tried not to think about his chest, of having his body cut open, having muscle and bone removed to make way for the electromagnet that had saved his life.
Tony almost wished Yinsen hadn't saved him. Death from shrapnel sounded unpleasant but being tortured wasn’t much of a better fate. He didn’t know how long his body would hold out.
Yinsen had done his best, but he hadn’t had the right equipment and the terrorists didn’t really care how well the surgery went, as long as he was alive.
As a result, his chest was a mangled mess of scarring and ached terribly. He had barely healed before the torture had began and Tony knew he was in trouble. The magnet made it hard to cough properly and Tony knew he wouldn’t survive if he contracted pneumonia.
And of course, these terrorists had chosen the one method of torture that was most likely to give him pneumonia.
Tony had accepted his fate by now, he knew he was gonna die in this cave. He just wished it didn’t have to be this drawn out.
One of the terrorists standing over him spoke, saying something in a language he didn’t understand. But he knew what was likely being asked.
He stayed silent, as he had been doing ever since the torture stopped. Sure, he was likely gonna die in this cave, but he wouldn’t give in, even if it would make his death more peaceful.
------
Tony gasped as he sat up in his bed. His hand went to his chest and he was relieved to feel the familiar metal in his chest. The arc reactor was much less invasive than the electromagnetic, but it still wasn’t pleasant to have a hunk of metal in his chest. Especially with the knowledge that his life could be ripped out of his chest so easily.
Tony shivered at the memory of being completely helpless and paralyzed as Obie loomed over him, stealing the reactor from his chest before leaving him there to die. Tony mentally shoved the memory away and touched his chest again. It was hurting as usual, and Tony sighed.
“JARVIS,” Tony said. “What time is it?
“It is 2:38 A.M. sir. You have only slept for 14 minutes since you last woke up and have slept a total of 58 minutes tonight,” JARVIS’ voice said.
Tony slightly relaxed at the familiar voice. “Why can’t I sleep, JARVIS?” Tony asked, rubbing his face. “Don’t answer that. I just…at least I could sleep in the cave.”
Tony thought for a second and eyed the floor. He slowly stood and grabbed his blanket and pillow and tossed them onto the ground against the wall of his room. He walked over to the wall and sat down before curling up on the floor. Once he was comfortable, he covered himself with the blanket. This strangely felt much safer although the lingering fear from his nightmare remained. His bed still felt unfamiliar and Tony felt much more on edge sleeping in the middle of the room rather than against a wall.
Tony didn’t exactly want to go back to sleep, but he hadn’t been able to sleep properly for weeks and was barely functioning. Tony had been holding himself together fine while he had been working on his suit and working on destroying all the weapons the Ten Rings had gotten their hands on, but Tony had immediately unraveled after the incident at the arc reactor facility.
Tony shivered again at the memories of fighting Obie and attempted to shove those memories away as well. He curled up tighter before closing his eyes and almost immediately drifting off to sleep.
------
Tony screamed into the water as the battery sparked in his hands and sent a jolt through his body. He instinctively inhaled and choked as water filled his lungs. He thrashed against the hands that were firmly holding him under the water. A roaring sound filled his ears and he couldn’t see anything through the murky water. He couldn’t even think. All he could do was frantically thrash in hopes of escaping the water.
But no matter how hard he tried, it was pointless. There were too many people holding him and he was completely helpless.
Yet still, he fought. He fought until his vision went black and his limbs went weak and only then was he pulled out of the water and tossed onto the ground. Tony curled up, coughing as his body expelled all the water from his lungs. His chest burned and he just barely managed to hold back a scream. Harsh, angry voices spoke above him and Tony sobbed as the men grabbed him again and dragged him back to the water.
------
“Tony?” a gentle voice spoke.
Tony startled awake and flinched at the sight of Rhodey hovering over him. Tony quickly gave Rhodey a smile, but Rhodey had clearly noticed the flinch and took a step back.
“JARVIS, we have an intruder,” Tony said.
“Very funny, Tony,” Rhodey said, unable to resist giving him a smile. Unfortunately his expression quickly turned serious again. “Tony, why are you sleeping on the floor?”
“It’s a new trend,” Tony said, nonchalantly. “It’s supposed to keep people out of your bedroom while you're sleeping.”
“Tony…” Rhodey said.
Tony sighed. “It feels more familiar,” he admitted.
Rhodey carefully sat down on the floor beside him and offered his hand to Tony. Tony hesitated for a second before taking the hand. Rhodey gently squeezed his hand. “What’s going on, Tony? You’ve been acting strange for weeks. I was trying to give you space, but it’s having the opposite effect.”
Tony sighed again. He should have known Rhodey would’ve noticed something was off, but he thought he’d been hiding it better. “I haven’t been sleeping well,” Tony said.
“Nightmares?” Rhodey asked.
Tony nodded, looking away from Rhodey's concerned expression.
“About Obie? Or…”
“Mostly the cave,” Tony said. Obie frequently made an appearance in his dreams as well, but nothing was quite as frightening as his dreams about the cave.
“I’m sorry, Tony,” Rhodey said, gently. “I can’t imagine captivity was a pleasant experience.”
“They tortured me,” Tony admitted. He glanced over at Rhodey to see the horrified expression on his face. “They wanted weapons and I wasn’t gonna give them any.”
“My god, Tony. I had no idea,” Rhodey said, sounding just as horrified as he looked. “If any of them were alive now, I would go kill them myself.”
“Well they’re dead and I’m free now. I should be over this by now,” Tony said. “I’ve been fine since I got back, and then all of the sudden after everything that went down with Obie…”
“You didn’t have a chance to process anything until now,” Rhodey said. “Come here, Tones. It’s okay.”
Rhodey moved closer to Tony and gently pulled Tony into a hug. Tony curled up against Rhodey’s chest and closed his eyes for a second. In Rhodey’s arms, he finally felt completely safe. Tony knew no harm would come to him as long as Rhodey was with him.
Rhodey was shaking and it took Tony a second to realize he was crying. “I’m sorry, Tony,” he said. “For what I said to you when you came to me for help and for telling Obie about the reactor.”
“It’s okay, Honey Bear,” Tony said. “You were worried about your job. And no one knew that Obie was behind everything.”
Rhodey shook his head but didn’t verbally respond. He kept holding Tony and pressed a kiss to his forehead after a minute. Tony tried to relax, but the ache in his chest was starting to worsen. Tony shifted uncomfortably and Rhodey’s arms instantly loosened around him.
“Tony? What’s wrong?” Rhodey asked, alarmed.
“Nothing, Platypus,” Tony said. “I think we should be worried about you right now. You are the one who’s crying.”
“Are you hurt?” Rhodey asked, rudely ignoring what Tony said.
“I’m fine, Rhodey,” Tony said, giving Rhodey what he hoped was a convincing smile.
“Tony…” Rhodey said.
Tony gave a heavy sigh. “It’s the reactor. It’s just a bit sore.”
Instead of calming down, Rhodey seemed to be more worried after hearing that. “The reactor? Do you need a doctor?”
“No, that’s just how it is,” Tony said. “A cave isn’t exactly an ideal spot for surgery.”
Rhodey was silent for a minute. “They did the surgery in the cave?” he asked slowly. “They didn’t take you to a doctor?”
“They had a doctor,” Tony said. “And he did the best he could with what he had.” Tony left it at that. He didn’t think he could bring himself to talk about Yinsen just yet.
Rhodey was silent for a minute, clearly picking up on Tony not wanting to talk about it. “Is there anything I can do to help? With the pain?” Rhodey asked.
“I…don’t know,” Tony admitted. “I haven’t figured anything out yet except not putting pressure on the area.”
Rhodey moved the arm that was wrapped around his front away and instead took his hand again. Tony already missed having Rhodey holding him, but he had to admit this was much more comfortable on his chest.
“Would you like to try to get some more sleep?” Rhodey asked. “I can keep you company.”
Tony hesitated. On one hand, cuddling with Rhodey sounded amazing and he knew he would likely sleep better. But on the other hand, he didn’t want Rhodey to see him when he inevitably had another nightmare.
In the end, his desire for sleep won out. He nodded at Rhodey and Rhodey stood before offering him a hand. Tony took the hand and stood, stumbling as a wave of dizziness hit him.
“Tony?”
“Just a bit dizzy,” Tony said. “It’ll pass, give it a second.”
Rhodey held onto his arm as Tony waited for the dizziness to pass. It took a minute for it to lessen enough for Tony to open his eyes. Rhodey helped him slowly walk over to his bed and helped him sit before going back over to the floor to pick up his pillow and blanket. He dusted them off before placing them back on Tony’s bed.
Tony and Rhodey both got settled into bed together. Rhodey didn’t wrap his arms around Tony, but he did move close to Tony so that Tony could curl up against him. It was just enough contact for Tony to relax.
Tony closed his eyes and further snuggled up against Rhodey. “Good night, Sugar Plum,” he said. He paused for a second. “And thank you.”
Tony felt another kiss being pressed onto his forehead. “You’re welcome, Tony,” Rhodey said. “You can sleep now.”
And with that, Tony let himself drift off again. He knew he would probably have more nightmares, but at least now Rhodey would be there to comfort him when he woke up.