Tony Stark rose to consciousness with an unfamiliar heaviness on his chest – no, not just on his chest. In his chest. He had been left in a locked room, on a filthy table as his captors waited for him to rise to consciousness. He opened his eyes to a blueish glow that was blinding in the gloom. He screwed his eyes shut again, attempting to gauge where he might be. The middle of a desert in the hands of people who were not happy with him, was as far as he got. He opened his eyes again, ready for the glare this time, and managed to inspect his chest properly. There was pain around the edges of the clean wound, but Tony was still clueless as to how it got there. He started to push himself up, and succeeded in sitting. He thought he might try standing next, but as he began to gingerly press his toes onto the floor, a voice stopped him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?" Tony challenged, squinting into the inkiest darkness of the room in an attempt to see his cellmate. He didn't have to bother though, the man stepped into the feeble glow of the single overhead bulb. "Because," said the stranger in his soft tones (he was clearly from England) "I spent hours calibrating the electromagnetic frequency of the magnet in your chest, and it still needs precisely 58.2 minutes to become fully stable. I can't have you dying because the electromagnet has shocked your nerve endings and killed you!"

"What would you care? Why would you do this?" Tony asked, immediately suspicious.

"I do it because I am forced to, just as you will be forced to build these people your weapons. It's simple; if you or I do not comply with what they want, they'll kill us." Tony studied his cellmate as he was talking, and there was something infinitely strange about him. The other man probably noticed Tony staring, but paid him no attention.

"What's your name, anyway?" Stark growled.

"They call me Gigolo Joe usually...rather vulgar if I say so myself, I much prefer Joel. That's my real name."

"No surname?"

"No. Or at least if I was given one, I can't remember it. I know who you are, Tony Stark, billionaire playboy, weapons mogul."

"Gigolo Joe? That's a bit..."

"Why do you think I have that nickname? I know you're thinking it. It gets lonely in a rogue organisation. Attentions soon turn to a pretty boy." Joel didn't say this in vanity. He merely stated a fact. Tony was still intrigued.

"Where did you come from? So that they caught you and brought you here?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"What? You want me to sit here for an hour silently? I might stand up out of boredom!"

"Fair point. Are you sure you want to know the truth about me? I've noticed you trying to work it out."

"Yes, yes, please tell me!"

"I was part of a military experiment, not too many years ago. They wanted to create the 'perfect soldier', as they seem to be obsessed with doing-"

"So you're a robot?!"

"Well, partly android yes. I am human for all intents and purposes, aside from the fact that some of my organs are artificial. My heart is mechanical, my brain is enhanced with some artificial intelligence; mathematics, science and so on, I am fairly indestructible. But I am a failed experiment. The neglected to remove my human nature, emotion and so forth. And I can feel pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness. When the military found out I wouldn't completely obey, they threw me into the middle of the desert. I was found by the people who have us here and...my purpose is to give pleasure now." Joel shrugged, but there was a flicker of hopelessness in his eyes.

"The British military made you? Your accent..."
Joel smiled. "They can't help but show off their work...making sure everybody knows where I was made, even though nobody is really supposed to see me."

So now Tony knew the truth. Not that it had been hidden for long, but he was glad he did. Joel really was pretty. Big blue eyes, thick blonde-brown hair and full lips.

"Why do you let them take advantage of you?" Tony demanded suddenly, after endless minutes of silence.

"Because I have no choice. If I don't comply, I'll be killed." Joel paused for a few seconds. "I'm dying anyway," he mumbled softly, sadly. Tony heard though.

"Why?" he asked, tone much gentler now.

"Because they want me to. They did something to my heart when they brought me in, so now if I cause myself too much stress, it will kill me. It's running out anyway, because of what they've done. The thing is, I can't fix myself, and I don't know what they did."

Tony Stark said nothing, but he put a hand on Joel's shoulder. Joel closed his eyes for a moment, before clearing his throat and walking away.

"Do you know what they did to my heart?" Tony asked after him – even though he could only go to the corners of the room.

"They didn't do anything. At least not on purpose. Your body was dangerously full of shrapnel from the explosive that hit you, and your heart had been pierced. It was vital you lived, so I had to do my best. And the only possible solution was to um..." Joel stopped, but the look Tony gave him made him carry on. "Remove part of your heart and replace it with a power source combined with a magnet, so your body can carry on, and the smaller bits of metal I could not remove will not move anywhere and cause you harm."

Before Tony could ask any more questions, voices were heard in the corridor. Joel pushed Tony down onto the table again "Delay their knowledge of your consciousness for as long as possible!" he hissed, retreating back into the corner of the room. The door banged open, and the rogue soldiers stormed in. Tony watched with half an eye as the leader pushed Joel against the wall, holding him by the throat, so he could barely talk. "Has he woken yet?"

"No, he hasn't." Joel was trying to remain calm, but Tony heard a tinge of panic in his voice.

"Well, you know why I'm here don't you?" the leader snapped. Joel nodded, biting his lip.

For the next few minutes, the cell was filled with Joel's cries of pain and protest as he was shoved into the stone and violated.

When the soldiers left, Tony pushed himself off the table, not thinking about the electromagnet's frequency, and knelt beside his friend.

"Are you all right?" he asked, worry creeping into his voice, though he tried his best to detach himself from people. He paid no thought to that now.

"Fine, fine," Joel gasped, picking himself up from the floor, and leaning against the wall, turning away from Tony as he attempted to sort himself out. There wasn't anything Tony could do to help, and it frustrated him. "They want you to build them a Jericho missile." Joel said eventually. "So they can harm their American enemies. I'm supposed to help you."

"No. Nope. I'm not doing it. We're getting out of here."

"Oh yes? And how exactly do you propose to do that? Do you think I haven't tried? I'm called Gigolo Joe because I've been fucked by just about everybody here," Joel spat, bitterly.

"Technology is my area of expertise," Tony said coolly. "I'm Tony Stark after all."

They spent hours drawing potential plans for potential machines, none of them really having much chance of success. Until Joel fell asleep, and Tony watched him, protectively. Super soldier. Indestructable. Perhaps Tony shouldn't build an offensive weapon. Perhaps he should make himself a defence. He scribbled furiously, taking measurements.

When their captors came to see if he was awake again, they explained what they wanted, and asked what he would need. Tony gave them a list of what he wanted to make the suit that would allow him to become an iron man, and some parts specific to a Jericho Missile, to avoid suspicion.

For a few days, he and Joel worked together, intricacies before the bigger details, but the rogue soldier group saw no missile. So they came up with a scheme of their own. As Tony slept, Joel was dragged off. He served no purpose to them any more anyway, and he was thrown out into the Saharan wastes. The stress would very likely kill him finally.

Joel however, was determined not to die. He wandered the desert, sitting in shade, searching for water with minimum effort.

Tony was shouted at, told his friend was gone. He shouted right back, and went to creating his iron suit, even more determinedly before, thinking only of getting Joel back now, though not stopping to think why. Finally, it was done. He bolted himself in (noticing the loss of a second pair of hands even more prominently) and broke the door. Fending off his captors was not easy, but Tony was sustained on the fire of the anger that consumed him. He screamed curses and insults, smashing whatever stood in his way, before eventually blinking behind his mask at the sunlight. The few moments he stood still, glad to be outside, were the moments he was caught up.

Ironic, being injured by your own weapons for the second time.

Tony lay in the sand, in a metal suit, with the sun beating down, dragged away from wherever he had been before, and left for dead. He tried his best, but he just didn't have the strength to pull the suit from him, or pull himself out. The blessedly cool night came, and Tony let his head fall and he slept.

He was woken before the sun rose, by a weight lifting from his arms, legs and chest. He couldn't see anybody in the gloom, but someone was there. "Wha? Who?" was all he managed.

"It's me, Tony," the part-android said with a smile, pulling the mask off Tony finally. "You can sleep again now." Joel soothed. So he did.

Some hours later, the sun rose, and so did the two men. They wandered, barely speaking, not knowing where they were going, but knowing they must find rescue if there was any hope for survival. Tony did not forget Joel's words about dying, and noticed when Joel stumbled, or stopped still with no explanation. He would rest early, sleep longer than Tony, and it worried him. Joel had saved him, dragged him through the scorching waste when he wanted to give up with no regard to himself - but there was urgency for Joel.

Luckily, when someone famous and important is reported missing, rescue party after rescue party is sent. And after five days, a helicopter found Tony. He cried out, happy beyond belief to see it, and that it had seen him. He gripped Joel's arm as it landed, smiling for the first time in so long.

Joel said nothing. He managed a vague smile. Tony allowed them to be led away by the rescue workers. Joel's arm fell from Tony's hand as he collapsed on to the sand through sheer exhaustion and a critical condition. The helicopter, the rescue was unimportant now. Tony wrestled himself from someone's grip, and knelt beside Joel again, shouting. "Put him on the helicopter! Take him home! I need to fix him, I need to fix him, Joel please don't die on me, c'mon!" and endless babble of incoherent pleas. He wouldn't let go of his friend as they were taken home.

Tony Stark was not hurt. The hospital discharged him, and he ignored the press' requests to talk about it. He laid Joel out on a table in his workshop as soon as he had slept enough to be back to normal again, feeling a faint hum in the chest, which gave him a small hope. For hours, days, Tony Stark worked on Joel, the part-android. Delicately cutting his chest with a scalpel, and inspecting in detail the mechanisms and parts within. A bone skeleton held Joel's artificial organs, and Tony only saw Joel as human, really. It took him a long time to work out what had been done to Joel, until eventually he found a gap in the intricate workings of Joel's heart; that did not fit with the efficient use of space in Joel's chest.

They had obviously taken something. And on further inspection, it turned out to be an energy converter; Joel's heart was being powered, but the energy was being lost and wasted. Tony spent another few days designing and building a tiny microchip that would heal his patient.

Finally, after countless nights of working until he was falling asleep at the table, Tony was finished. He took Joel to a spare room, and laid him out on the bed; the anaesthetic Tony had been using (Joel was mostly human after all) still keeping Joel asleep, but probably not for long. Joel's clothes were torn and filthy, Tony noted, and so gently ripped them from his body, laying a tshirt and some jeans of his own out on a chair by the bed. He left the room silently, and collapsed into his own bed, finally addressing the thought of why he had done so much for Joel.

When sunlight pierced the cracks in the curtains, Joel stirred and opened his eyes slowly, taking a few moments to remember why he was there. But...how? He had died, hadn't he? In the sand, happy knowing Tony Stark would be safe. Evidently not, and he felt better than he had in a while. He was no longer dying, he knew. There was only one person that could have done this. He smiled to himself.

After a few minutes, Joel got up, and pulled on the clothes left out for him. Though they were washed, a faint smell of aftershave still clung to them. The jeans came right to the bottom of Joel's feet; Tony Stark was an inch or two taller than him. They fit well enough though (Joel's hips were slightly narrower than Tony's, but a belt sorted that out). He looked in the mirror and smiled again.

He was about to leave the room, when Tony Stark came in, to check if he was awake. "Ah good, you're conscious," he said, checking Joel's forehead for a temperature. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I have for months, thank you."

"Good. My hard work must have paid off."

"Yes...thank you so much. For everything."

"No, thank you. I had to repay you somehow. I suppose this means we're even now."

"Yes, of course." The cool hand on his forehead felt good. Joel's mind wandered to what those hands might feel like all over...before he mentally shook himself. No. You can't think like that. The silence stretched, until the house owner cleared his throat. "You may, of course, go anywhere in the house, use anything I have, but please don't mess anything up in the basement. Can you find your way around by yourself?"

"I'm sure I can, thank you." Joel smiled as Tony left, and Tony smiled back. The awkward thoughts came to Joel again, but then memories of his time as prisoner, the nickname 'Gigolo Joe' made him swallow hard. He didn't want all that again.

For an hour or two, he wandered around Tony Stark's immense house, looking into all the rooms, until he found the library. It was as big as a public library in a city. Joel's eyes widened at the masses upon masses of books. He certainly would never get bored in Tony Stark's house. The man in question was sitting in the middle of his library, and he looked up when Joel came in.

"Hello, again." He said.

Brilliant chat up line. Good going. Tony cursed to himself. He had dwelled on his feelings for Joel all night, and confronted them, with some reluctance. But the resistance his mind put up only lasted until he saw Joel; his sweet personality, his good looks. "I was just looking in some technical manuals. I like to build things."

"I saw." Joel was shy, all of a sudden. But then he remembered this was his friend he was talking to. "I was just going to read a book...I hope you don't mind." Tony gave him a 'don't give me that over-polite crap' look, and went back to his own manual.

Joel wandered the shelves for a few minutes, before seeing something he wanted, on one of the top shelves. He spent an embarrassing minute stretching, reaching, getting it with the tips of his fingers, but only succeeding in pushing it further onto the shelf. An arm reached and got the book, passing it to him. Joel blushed; he hadn't realised Tony had noticed. "Thank you," Joel said again, stupidly, and sat on a different table to Tony, on purpose, so he wouldn't be distracted, though his artificial heart was still returning to its normal BPM ratio.

Joel began to read, absorbing himself in literature, a favourite pastime of his. He did not notice the other man leave the room. That was, until Tony's hand was on his shoulder, and he passed Joel a mug. Tony took a seat opposite Joel, and smiled again. That smile. That was what distracted Joel.

"I made you a cup of tea."

"Thank you." That was all he seemed to be saying at the moment. He took a sip of the hot liquid to revert his attention somewhere else.

"No problem," Tony grinned again, drinking his own tea. Joel relaxed a little, and they both went back to reading their respective books.

Days passed in happy friendship, nights awkward, when Joel wouldn't sleep for reasons he couldn't work out. When Tony would wake up, stunned and needy in the small hours of the morning after a dream he shouldn't have been having (the reluctance was back when Joel wasn't around), about a certain houseguest, the thoughts of the dream pushing Tony further, until he was rocking with shamefully good orgasms.

After a particularly good day spent playing a variety of sports with Tony, Joel's feelings got the better of him. He lay, staring at the ceiling, contemplating. He was mostly human, but he had been created and treated like a piece of metal. Which he was not. He had skin, feelings. Tony was the only person that had behaved like he had. Tony cared about his human feelings. Feelings. Of longing. Joel's bed was cold and empty. It was now or never.

Silently, Joel slipped from his bed, and out of his bedroom. He knew well enough where the other man slept, and he headed there, wondering, unsure if it was the right thing to do. But he was so lonely. Memories had been surfacing. Joel found the door to Tony's room, and silently, infinitely slowly, pushed the door open, and closed it behind him. Tony Stark was asleep, and Joel was glad. What the hell was he doing here? But Joel would not go back now. He had seen hints of what Tony thought; caught his eyes lingering a moment too long, a touch that lasted too long to be an accident.

Joel padded across the room, and sat beside Tony, laughing at his nerves. But soon enough, the open window made him cold, and he swallowed, and gently, slowly, so as not to wake the other man up, Joel buried under the covers, lying close to Tony's back.

He was happy here. Joel wanted to be here. Tony smelled good, of the nice aftershave that was on Joel's borrowed clothes, and a musk that was just Tony Stark. He turned to his back in his sleep, so Joel could see his handsome face as he slept. Reckless now, Joel ran a hand through the dark hair. Tony stirred, and Joel snatched his hand back. But soon, the other man was still and quiet again, only the sound of his even breathing left. Joel's own breath was shallow, and quick, his underwear uncomfortable now. Joel blushed, but he was not ashamed any more. He knew this was what was right for him. The part-android leant down, and pressed his lips to the other's, breaking away quickly. Tony stirred again, and Joel moved back a little, lying back onto the pillow, not touching Tony any more, closing his own eyes.

Tony kept stirring, until he was awake. Something had woken him, and he wasn't sure what. Until he stretched a little, and his hand brushed against something warm. Shit! What had he done? He was surprised, and backed up against his pillow quickly, before registering that it was Joel in his bed. And Tony had not brought him here. He smiled to himself, a proper smile, knowing what Joel knew: this was right.

Joel was almost asleep, when he felt the cool palm on his face. He opened his eyes, and saw Tony's face in the darkness. Joel smiled a little. "I was lonely," he whispered. But a finger was pressed to his lips as knees were placed either side of his hips. Tony leaned down, and captured Joel's lips properly. He moved his kisses along Joel's face, until his mouth was next to Joel's ear.

"So was I." He whispered, before Joel turned his head and caught their lips together. Tony looked down at Joel again, and stroked a few strands of hair away from his face. "You're so beautiful," he murmured, stroking Joel's face, until the man under him held his wrist and kissed his fingers.

Tony closed his eyes and pressed into Joel's perfect lips, before rolling them both over so Joel was above him. Tony held Joel's wrists, clearly in charge; Joel didn't mind. He wanted it this way. Tony was pressing up into him, and hands were on Joel's shoulders, snaking their way down his sides and onto his hips. Tony hesitated at the waistband of Joel's underwear. Joel shot him a questioning look. "I saw what they did to you. I don't want to hurt you." He murmured, moving his hand to cup Joel's cheek, with a concerned look in his eyes. Joel leaned down and kissed him sweetly.

"You won't," he said, sounding more confident than he felt. But the corners of his lips twitched into a smile, his hand tracing its way down Tony's chest and stomach, resting his palm on Tony's needy cock. He did want this.

Tony needed no further encouragement, and his fingers slipped quickly under the waistband of Joel's boxer shorts, playing with the elastic until Tony slid them off, down his legs, Joel copying with his. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Tony asked again, determined to look after his guest. Joel's eyes darkened with memory, but they looked into Tony's darker ones and Joel's heart missed several beats. He nodded. "Yes. I want this, I want this with you Tony Stark." So much adoration was in his eyes and in his words.

Tony drew Joel into a deep kiss, Joel's face in Tony's hands, Joel's lips parting for the other. Tony outlined Joel's teeth with his tongue, nipping at his bottom lip. Joel fell into the kiss eagerly. They broke apart and smiled, Tony reaching in his drawers for the tube he always kept there. He looked again at Joel for confirmation, before slicking his fingers. He put one arm around Joel, who had raised himself up to be on his knees (Tony did the same) before gently using his fingers to stretch and prepare Joel, palm spread out on his back, kisses to his neck to reassure him that he was going to try his very best not to hurt him.

"Deep breaths," Tony advised, readying himself and pushing into Joel, as easily as he could manage. Joel tensed before Tony was fully inside him, and closed his eyes tightly. "Just relax," the one in charge said, with a kiss. Tony's soft hands on Joel and his murmured encouragements worked, Joel's breathing slowed and he gradually relaxed. Tony Stark was eventually hilted in Joel.

Joel's eyes watered and he bit his bottom lip at the pain before Tony kissed him gently, his hands on Joel's hips, supporting him. Tony's kisses moved from Joel's lips, down his neck, across his shoulder, until Tony was kissing his breastbone, hands trailing lower. He pushed forward, and Joel gasped, but not totally in pain. Tony's tongue began to explore Joel's chest, abusing a nipple. Joel's hands tangled in Tony's hair, twisting a few strands out when the darker haired man pushed forwards and brushed Joel's previously ignored hard-on.

Tony's skilled hands worked to the rhythm of his careful thrusts, slowly, to let Joel become accustomed to it. Tony sped up, jerking saltwater from Joel's eyes, but also making him intake his breath sharply again, as Tony's angle hit his prostate, and Tony's hands touched him in ways nobody had ever bothered with before. Joel's eyes closed and he was reliving one of the many times of complete abuse and pain. He became rigid in Tony's arms.

"Joel?" the part-android was shaking now. "Joel!" he took Joel's chin in his fingers, locking their eyes together. Joel's were still watering, only partly from discomfort. "Joel, it's okay, it's me." Joel came to his senses and took another deep breath to let Tony carry on. His head bowed as he took Tony's thrusts, throwing back when Tony ran his fingers up and down Joel's cock. "Look at me," Tony commanded softly, when Joel began to tremble slightly again. He looked into Tony's eyes that were for him, full of attention for him only.

"You're not back there," Tony whispered. "I'll never make you go back there again, I promise." The dark haired man's fingers wrapped around Joel's erection, moving faster now, as he pushed faster, Tony feeling a coil of heat deep in his stomach, close now. Tony went back to kissing Joel's chest, making both of his nipples stand out as he traced one with one hand, and kissed and licked the other, changing every so often. Joel moaned, still feeling the pain, but feeling Tony hitting the sensitive spot inside him and touching him tenderly more.

Tony breathed quickly through his nose, as he sped up impossibly, drawing frantic kisses from Joel before his hips jerked forward and he spilled inside Joel, "J-Joel!" he stuttered quietly as he came. Tony's head lolled against Joel's shoulder, but he did not stop the motion of his fingers. Joel made hitching gasps, before he too came with a sound like a broken sob.

Tony pulled out of him, kissing his lips tenderly, and pulling Joel into his arms. They lay down, and Tony faced Joel again, fingertips brushing the involuntary tears from his eyes. Tony offered Joel a smile, and Joel gave a shaky smile back, pressing closer to Tony's chest. "Thank you," the dark haired man whispered, with a kiss to Joel's bare shoulder.

Joel still felt a little tainted, but it was only habit. Tony had been considerate. Fingers stroked their way through Joel's thick hair, and Joel leaned into the touch, curling against the warm body next to him, loneliness gone now. Tony's chin was resting on his head, and his hands were rubbing Joel's back. "I love you," Joel murmured, drifting off to sleep.

He didn't see Tony's slow smile.