Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Written for Grandma Lizzy, for Drabble Game.
Word Count - 2949
A Week To Remember (A Week To Forget)
It was Loki's fault.
That seemed to preface a lot of what happened in Tony's life post becoming Iron Man and joining the Avengers, but usually it was something small. Like the end of the world as we know it.
You know.
Small.
…
"We'll get him back, Buck," Steve murmured comfortingly, patting his best friend on the back.
Bucky snarled at him, not even pausing in his pacing around the quinjet. Tony had been missing for three days, and that was three days too long in his opinion.
The battle that Tony had been taken from had been a mess from start to finish, and when it was finally over and done with, Bucky had wanted nothing more than to gather Tony up in his arms and spend two days in the penthouse suite, chilling out and watching movies and just relaxing.
Except Tony hadn't been heard over the coms for quite a while, and nobody had seen him for the last ten minutes of the fight, and Bucky was scared.
When they finally found the suit, half buried under a pile of rubble, Bucky had been horrified, and he'd feared the worst immediately. They pulled the suit from under the pile, using the override codes to get inside it as soon as possible, only to find it… empty.
There was no Tony inside the damaged suit, and Jarvis could only tell them that Sir had been hit with a spell delivered from Loki, and taken from the suit by three men.
Oh, and by the way? Tony had been deaged and was now somewhere going through god only knew what, as a child.
…
Tony didn't like the men who were swarming around the cage he was being kept in. They were mean, and if he even tried to ask a question they shouted at him.
Even his father had let him ask questions, even if at least half the time he was told to hush because they were stupid.
Stuck in the cage with no way out (he'd tried to pick the lock when the men weren't looking to no avail), Tony was scared, and he was bored, and he just wanted to go home to Jarvis.
Jarvis looked after him and was kind and answered his questions. Jarvis didn't mind playing with robots with Tony, or even with his Captain America doll that his parents had given him for Christmas.
Tony didn't really like the doll, but his dad told him he should try and be more like Captain America, and so he played with it so he could try and be like it but it never worked.
His dad was always disappointed that Tony wasn't more like the Captain.
He shifted in the cage, uncomfortable. As small as he was, the cage was cramped, and Tony just wanted out.
Why hadn't his dad saved him yet?
…
Bucky, done with Steve's orders to wait, punched his way through the wall, the metal in his arm crunching uncomfortable. Engaging the goons in a fight, it didn't take the Avengers long to get through their pitiful wall of resistance and Nat was punching in the code to where they believed Tony to be.
Bucky cringed when he saw Tony, locked in a cage like an animal for the slaughter. He walked slowly over, smiling when he saw Tony watching his approach cautiously.
"Hey big guy," Bucky said softly. "You wanna come out of there."
Tony nodded hesitantly.
Bucky eyed the lock for a minute before, with his metal hand, he ripped the chains from the cage, lifting the lid up.
"Come on, kid, let's get you out of here," he murmured, lifting Tony from the crate easily and settling him against his hip.
"Are you going to take me home?" Tony asked, staring at Bucky through wide chocolate brown eyes.
Bucky's heart broke when he saw the fear in them.
"Yeah, Tony. I'm going to take you home."
…
Tony didn't know what to do. The man with the metal arm had said that they were going home, but this wasn't home and he didn't know any of these people.
Except… except for Captain America.
He'd tried to talk to Tony on the plane trip, but Tony was horrified. After everything his father had told him about Captain America's goodness, Tony was scared to death that he would accidentally say or do something wrong and then the man wouldn't like him and his father would be so angry if that happened so it was better if Tony just didn't.
Instead, he'd stayed beside the man with the metal arm, playing with the plates on the back of his hand. At first he'd been scared to touch, but the man had a kind smile and he'd told Tony to go ahead.
But.
But the man had said that they were going home and this wasn't home and Tony didn't know where he was. He didn't know where his mother and father were either. And he wanted Jarvis.
He'd thought about screaming. He'd debated trying to fight his way away from them so he could try and find his way home.
But then he'd looked at Captain America and that same fear of disapproval from the plane had kept him where he'd been put, on a sofa in a large room, while the adults stood around muttering to each other quietly.
"Hey, Tony? Are you hungry?"
Tony blinked at the man who'd spoken to him.
"Oh. I'm Sam," he added. "Do you want to come with me and find something to eat?"
Tony shook his head, sinking back against the cushions because they were all looking at him and Captain America was frowning and Tony didn't know what he was supposed to want.
Why wasn't Jarvis here? Jarvis always knew what he wanted.
Before any of them could speak, another man walked into the room, and Tony's eyes widened when he walked straight over to him and crouched down in front of the sofa.
"Hey Tony, I'm Rhodey."
"Hi," Tony replied quietly. He immediately liked this man. This man had nice kind eyes and a warm smile just like Jarvis.
"How you doing?"
"I…"
"Go ahead, Tony, you won't be in trouble."
Tony pointed at Bucky. "He said he was taking me home," Tony whispered. "But this isn't home."
Rhodey looked at Bucky for a moment before he turned back to Tony. "This is your home now, Tony. You'll like it here. There's always going to be someone around to play with, and we've even got robots here."
Tony's eyes widened. "Real robots?"
"Uh huh," Rhodey confirmed with a wide smile. "You wanna go see them?"
Tony nodded frantically, his eyes alight with excitement.
…
Bucky watched Rhodey walk away with little Tony, his heart clenching at the cute giggle when Rhodey told him the names of the robots.
"What the bloody hell are we going to do?" he asked, turning back to the others. "How do we make little Tony back into my Tony?"
Steve shook his head. "We could have Thor come to meet him, see if he can get a sense of what spell Loki cast, or if there's any way to remove it."
Bucky rolled his eyes because no shit.
"I'm going to go and take a shower, and then we need to figure out what we're going to do. Tony's a child, which I'm assuming means things like bedtimes and toys and… whatever, need to be sorted out."
Steve nodded absently, turning to Natasha as Bucky walked away.
…
Rhodey was fun. He was just like Jarvis, in that he didn't mind sitting with Tony while he played with the Robots in the big lab, and he didn't shout at Tony, and he asked all kinds of questions about what Tony liked and didn't like.
When Rhodey said it was time to eat, Tony followed him into the elevator, and after a moment of hesitation, he raised his hand and slipped it into Rhodey's bigger hand.
He felt comfortable with Rhodey, but the other people were a bit scary and Tony wasn't at all sure about them.
They were all waiting when Rhodey took him into the kitchen and helped him up onto a stool.
"Okay, so, while we were chatting in the lab, Tony said none of you introduced yourselves, because you're all idiots, so how about you do that now so he doesn't have to keep explaining your appearances to tell me who he's talking about?"
Tony bit his lip to stop the giggle that threatened to erupt. He wasn't supposed to laugh at adults, he knew that.
They went around the room, telling Tony their names.
Captain America told Tony to call him Steve, but that wasn't right because he was Captain America.
The man with the metal Arm was called Bucky, and Tony couldn't stop the giggle when he told Tony it was okay to call him Buckaroo.
The pretty lady was called Natasha, and the other man was called Clint.
Tony liked Bucky and Natasha the best, after Rhodey of course.
He are the chicken nuggets they'd given him silently, as they talked. Sometimes they'd ask him questions, but Tony would just look down or look at Rhodey if it was something they'd already talked about. It was so confusing, because normally when his father had friends over, Tony wasn't allowed to talk.
These people seemed to have new rules, but it wasn't fair because Jarvis wasn't here to explain the rules and Tony didn't know what to do!
He worked himself up that much that tears were streaming down his face and he ended up choking on a nugget.
Rhodey was the one to rub his back, and help him sip water, and when he could breathe again, Rhodey lifted him from the chair and sat him on his knee.
"It's all a bit much for you right now, isn't it, Kid?"
Tony nodded, leaning tiredly against the solid chest of the man, turning his face in so that he could pretend the others couldn't see him.
Rhodey wrapped his arms around him and rocked him gently, soothing Tony until he fell asleep.
…
"This is a lot for him to accept," Rhodey said, looking down at the now sleeping Tony in his arms. "He's only a kid, and… from what he told me he didn't have the greatest childhood. Howard had a lot of rules and punishments for him and this… he's confused over what rules apply and what doesn't."
"What can we do?" Bucky asked, looking down at Tony with pain written all over his face.
"Just be patient with him, I suspect. It's all we can do. I'll stick around for a few days, and hopefully Thor will be here tomorrow with more information on what spell Loki used and how we reverse it."
Bucky nodded.
Steve was frowning at the sleeping child. "He seems… scared of me. I don't… I don't understand."
Rhodey sighed. He knew exactly why Tony was avoiding Steve, but how would he tell him with breaking Tony's confidence on the matter, or hurting Steve.
He shook his head. "Like I said, Tony didn't have the best childhood. Maybe just keep your distance unless he comes to you."
Rhodey got up from the table with Tony securely in his arms and settled on the sofa, partially lying down so he could stretch Tony out along his body.
He'd spent enough time cramped up in that cage.
…
Tony liked Bucky. He let Tony play with his metal arm, and he sat beside Rhodey and Tony when they watched movies and gave him chocolate and fizzy drinks.
Tony liked Natasha, because when he was tired, she had him curl up with his head in her lap and stroked her fingers through his hair.
And Tony loved Thor!
Thor was cool! He carried a big hammer and he was loud but he was fun and he tossed Tony in the air and caught him and he played Robot Wars with him with the mini robots that Rhodey had brought him. Thor was a lot of fun.
Tony had been with Rhodey and the others for four days, and he was getting more comfortable with them now. They were all nice to him and nobody shouted and he could play and play and not be told off for being too noisy.
…
"The spell will wear off soon," Thor assured him again, watching with Steve from the doorway as little Tony played with his toys in the living room, babbling happily to Rhodey and Bucky. "He is a cute child."
Steve nodded, his smile wistful. Tony was a very cute child, so inquisitive and bright and he clammed up everytime Steve was around. Steve hated it, and he wondered what it was about him that made Tony so scared.
He didn't wear his uniform around the kid, and he'd tried to join the others with him, but whenever Tony realised Steve was in the room, his happy chatter stopped immediately and he shrunk into the side of whoever was closest.
Sighing, Steve left the door way, heading towards the elevators at the other end side of the kitchen. As much as he would have loved to join the group in the living room, he really didn't want to make Tony uncomfortable.
…
Tony stretched, his joints creaking painfully. Blinking his eyes awake, he found himself looking up at Bucky from where he'd been using his lap as a pillow. Bucky was looking back with so much joy in his eyes that Tony wondered what on earth had happened.
"Hey, Buckaroo," he greeted cheerfully. "What are you so smiley about?"
"You… you don't remember?"
Tony blinked and shifted slightly, crying out in pain as he lifted his hand to his head, the sudden brain splitting pain a shock to his system. An influx of memories assaulted him and he stiffened as they all found their appropriate slots in his mind.
Bucky was running a hand through his hair, trying to ease his pain, but it wasn't working. And yet, as fast as it had come, it was ebbing, leaving behind an echo of pain and a week's worth of memories that Tony was finding it hard to believe.
"I… Loki turned me into a goddamn child?"
Bucky nodded. "He did. For a week. Well. eight days. And you were kidnapped for three of those."
Tony nodded absently. "That's… I need to erm…"
Sitting up, Tony gave Bucky a brief tight smile before he hightailed it for the elevator, ordering Jarvis to take him down to the lab and put it on lockdown.
This was… memories of being scared of Steve, and Steve's wounded looks filled his mind and Tony shook his head. This was too much.
…
"He's been down there for two goddamn days," Bucky raged. "Jarvis, has he taken the lockdown order off yet?"
"No, Sargeant Barnes, Sir still has the lab on lockdown, but he's fine. I believe he'll be removing the order sometime today."
Bucky slumped against the kitchen table. Steve watched him with pity, which only made Bucky want to get fighty, even though he knew it wasn't Steve's fault.
"If I get my hands on Loki in the next decade, I'm going to rip the little bastard's head off."
Steve snorted. "I'll help. Do you think Tony will… do you think he'll explain? Only, I don't… understand."
Bucky shrugged and then sighed again. "Please don't push him if he doesn't want to talk about it. If you chase him back into a locked down lab, I may have to strangle you."
Steve chuckled. "Fair enough."
…
"Hey you."
Tony pressed a kiss to his cheek when he entered the kitchen. He was about to pass Bucky to get to the coffee machine, but Bucky was faster. Looping his arm around Tony's waist, he pulled Tony into his lap, snuggling his face into Tony's shoulder.
"I missed you."
Tony ran a hand through Bucky's hair. "I know, I'm sorry I freaked out."
Bucky shook his head. "I understand. I just… I don't like not seeing you. Not seeing you sucks."
"I won't do that again," Tony murmured, kissing Bucky's temple. "Lemme get coffee. You heathens didn't give me coffee for a goddamn week."
"You were a child."
"Coffee."
"Child."
"Coffee trumps everything, Buckaroo. I have the worst withdrawal."
Bucky rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms back around Tony as soon as he returned with his coffee in hand.
"Steve wants to talk to you," Bucky told him after a minute.
"I thought he might," Tony replied with a sigh. "It's not as big a deal as I think it seemed at the time. My father was often saying that I should be more like Captain America, and then Captain America was just there and… I was scared of disappointing the man my father thought I should be like."
Bucky growled. "Howard was shit to you, wasn't he?"
Tony shrugged. "It is what it is. I got over my daddy issues a while ago though, so it doesn't matter."
"Uh huh."
"Where's my Platypus anyway? He took off now I'm not cute and dinky?"
"I resent that," Rhodey said from the doorway.
Tony grinned at him, leaping up from Bucky laps to hug his best friend. Tightly embracing him, he whispered, "Thank you," quietly in his ear, gaining an extra squeeze for his effort.
"So, what happened?" Rhodey asked, as he helped himself to coffee.
Tony's brow furrowed. "What happened when?"
"You were cute! What happened?"
"... You're an asshole."