Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers…if I did…*evil laugh.*
WITH TONY:
Tony took a deep breath, pressing his back against the closed door of Rhodey's apartment. Tony had let himself in with his copy of the key. Rhodey was in Iraq, doing some work as a negotiator and wouldn't be back for a couple of weeks. Pepper might swing by to water the pots and take one of her fiancé's shirts to sleep in, but that didn't bother Tony. He was planning on collapsing and falling asleep soon anyway.
With a slightly hitched sigh that betrayed the tears stinging his eyes, the 23-year-old fished his phone out of his pocket. He texted Rhodey, letting him know he was crashing at his apartment for a couple days. At least until he could get a flight out to Malibu, back to his old home. Then he texted Pepper, telling her not to expect him at work for the next couple of days. He would get around to figuring out if he was going to back completely out of the company or continue until he couldn't anymore.
Tony collapsed onto the couch, running a hand over his eyes with a tired groan and wincing when he tried to lean back on the couch. His back ached and his shirt stuck to his skin with blood acting as glue. God, how did things go so wrong? He hadn't meant to leave so violently, but Loki was nothing if not relentless when he wanted to know something. Loki had greeted him at the door with such a sweet kiss. Tony couldn't help but return it, knowing it was the last kiss he would ever get from his love. Then he had pulled away and told Loki the one thing he knew would break his heart.
START FLASHBACK:
"Hey Tony."
Tony closed the door behind him, turning to face his boyfriend. Loki grinned, catching Tony's lips with his own in a sweet kiss. Tony let his arms dangle at his side but pressed into the kiss lightly before pulling away. Loki's smile faded to a confused frown when Tony continued to stand silently.
"Tony?"
"I'm leaving."
Loki tilted his head to the right, following Tony as he made the trek to their room. He leaned on the doorframe, watching as Tony grabbed a duffel and started shoving it full with clothes.
"How long will you be gone? I thought Pepper said there weren't any business trips at the moment."
Loki took a few steps forward, wrapping a hand around Tony's bicep.
"Tony…you're supposed to be on vacation. You work to hard."
"It's not a business trip."
Loki let his boyfriend pull his arm away. Loki ran a hand through his black hair, tugging lightly on the ends as he moved to follow Tony out of the room.
"Then what is it?"
"I'm leaving. We're done."
"W-what? Tony?"
Tony stopped at the door, dropping his bag to the floor. He turned to face Loki, hard glare pulling at the skin around his eyes. Loki licked his lips nervously, taking a step forward.
"You…you don't mean that."
"I do. I'm leaving and I won't be back."
"No."
Tony shook his head slowly, turning back to the door. Loki rushed forward, grasping Tony's shoulder and wrenching him around. The brunette didn't pause in his retaliation, pushing the green-eyed man back with hard shoves to the chest. Loki didn't loosen his grip on Tony's shoulder, pulling him along. They ended up in the living room, facing each other. Loki's knees threatened to collapse and Tony lowered him onto the couch, exasperated frown on his face the whole time. Long, elegant fingers twisted in Tony's shirt.
"Tony…tell me you aren't serious."
The man didn't speak, merely stared impassively at Loki as he continued to create wrinkles in the gray dress shirt.
"I-if it's something I did. I can fix it! Goddamnit, Tony, say something!"
"What else is there to say? I'm leaving. You're staying. Do what you want with the things I left. The apartment is yours. The bills are taken care of for the next six months."
Loki looked up at his boyfriend- ex-boyfriend -with wide eyes. They had bought the apartment not even three months ago, a promise to each other for a forever and always. They had put off moving in together, wanting it to be a serious decision. Tony's brown eyes were like steel, staring at him impassively.
"Please let go of my shirt."
Loki stood suddenly, shoving Tony back forcefully so that he stumbled backwards over his own feet. Neither were prepared for Tony to fall onto the glass table in front of the couch, shattering it on impact. Tony didn't make a noise as he propped himself on his elbows, meeting Loki's stunned gaze. The green-eyed man rushed to help him up but was stopped by Tony standing and pushing past him.
"Tony! Tony, stop!"
The man was moving towards the door surprisingly fast for someone who had glass stuck in their back. Loki rested a light hand on Tony's shoulder, effectively stopping the man.
"Let me clean out your back before you g-go."
At the word go, Tony appeared to start. He spun around, shoving Loki into the living room wall with a surprising amount of force. Loki grunted, feeling the plaster give a little under his weight. Tony's steel eyes had given way to a sort of raging inferno Loki had only seen when someone Tony loved was in trouble. He'd never had it directed at him before and he was stunned into motion. The pale-skinned male grasped his boyfriend's face between his hands and yanked him in for a fierce kiss. Tony bit his lip roughly, causing Loki to let the kiss go as his lip split and blood began to run down his chin.
"T-tony…"
"Let me leave."
"No! Tony, please, you're not making sense! Everything was fine before you left this morning!"
Tony smirked sarcastically, causing Loki's stomach to clench at the unpleasantness.
"Things change. People change. They go new places, meet new people…"
The implication was clear to Loki. Tony had already met someone new, someone to replace him with. Loki fought the tears and pushed away the sadness, choosing instead to give into his anger. He brought up a hand and smacked Tony, causing the man's head to whiplash to the side. Loki's breath escaped him in a heavy pants and he reached to slap his ex-boyfriend again. Tony caught his wrist, holding it lightly.
"Stop it."
"No!"
Tony opened his mouth to say something but stumbled back when Loki's free hand socked him in the jaw. As Loki's wrist was still in Tony's grip, he tumbled after him, causing the both of them to tumble to the ground beside the couch. Loki banged his nose on the side, causing the right nostril to start leaking blood. Tony rolled out from under Loki, wincing as he stood and the skin on his back stretched. Loki lay on the floor, watching at the man left, slamming the door behind him. Then he stood, grasping the couch pillows and tearing at them angrily as tears began to run from his eyes.
END FLASHBACK:
Tony had stood outside the door for the next thirty minutes, listening to the sounds of Loki destroying their home. He felt relieved when he didn't hear the tearing of canvas; he couldn't bear it if Loki had destroyed all the artwork of the two of them. It had taken every ounce of strength he'd had to walk away from his apartment, leaving his love inside, broken-hearted and surrounded by the wreckage of their life together.
With a choked sob, Tony stood and moved to the guest bathroom. Once there he tugged off all his clothes save his boxers, letting them drop to the floor. He turned, trying to get a good look at his back in the mirror. Sighing when he couldn't, he reached to turn on the shower.
"Jarvis?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Call Bruce for me, will you?"
"Dialing Bruce Banner."
Tony sat on the edge of the tub, turning the water hotter so steam filled the room. He watched as steam covered the mirror, making his reflection disappear.
"Tony? Hey, you there?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry Bruce."
There was a moment of silence.
"Tony?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be having dinner with Loki right now?"
Tony's jaw clenched, tears stinging his eyes. He held them in, hoping it would get painful so he'd have something to focus on other than the fact he wasn't having dinner with Loki right now.
"Tony?"
"Bruce, how does one go about getting glass out of their back?"
"What? Tony, what did you do?!"
"Ah…got glass in my back?"
"Jesus Ch-"
Tony waited patiently for Bruce to stop whatever he was doing on the other end that produced such a clatter.
"So, can I just take a shower?"
"No! That'll irritate the skin…I'm heading over."
"I'm at Rhodey's."
A moment of silence.
"Ok. I'll be there in…15 minutes. I'll walk. It's quicker. DON'T do anything stupid."
"Hm-mh."
Bruce hung up abruptly. Tony appreciated the fact he didn't ask why he was at Rhodey's. Distantly, Tony knew he should turn off the shower and maybe take something for the pain. He didn't pay attention to that, choosing instead to just sit. With a desperation he didn't knew he possessed, Tony began scratching at his hand with a blunt nail to try and get himself to stop thinking about Loki. It wasn't until there was knock on the door that he realized his hand was bleeding and he had still been thinking of Loki.
"TONY! OPEN THE DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN!"
Tony scrambled up, knowing that despite Bruce's slight frame, the man was truly capable. The gentle, soft-spoken doctor had a secret strength that came out when he was angry. Bruce called it an adrenaline rush; Tony called it his alter ego. Tony opened the door to the bathroom and then trekked down the hall and around the corner to open the door to the apartment. Bruce's angry frown disappeared as he stepped inside.
"What the hell happened to you? You look like…shit."
"Gee, thanks Brucie."
Bruce rolled his eyes, shooing Tony in the direction of the bathroom. His glasses fogged up immediately with all the steam in the room. Bruce sat Tony on the closed toilet seat, leaving the bathroom door open and reaching to turn off the shower. The curly-haired brunette turned Tony so his back was to the bathtub. Bruce sat on the edge, leaning over to shift through the bag he had brought with him. He pulled out a pair of tweezers and a rag. After cleaning Tony's back of blood, he started pulling out glass shards. After a few minutes of silence, Bruce decided to speak up.
"So what happened?"
"I got in a fight with a glass table and I lost."
Bruce snorted in exasperation. Even when he was obviously hurting, Tony was still Tony.
"Ok, explain to me why you didn't have Loki deal with this?"
The muscles in Tony's shoulders tensed, becoming more pronounced as the man rolled them back.
"Stop it; I'm trying to pick glass out of you."
Tony offered a mumbled apology. Bruce sighed, glancing to make sure he got all the glass.
"Tony, please tell me what's going on. And hold still while you're at it, a couple of these need stitches."
A small grunt was all he got in reply.
"Tony."
"Loki and I broke up."
"Wha-"
"Well, to be honest, I dumped him. Just now. Literally less than an hour ago. At 4:23, right after he kissed me as a welcome home. Just like he's done every day we've been living together. It would have been four months in thirteen days…"
Tony continued to speak, though it dropped to a low whisper. Bruce was able to make out mumbled plans of a surprise on the anniversary. He finished stitching the cuts but remained sitting behind Tony, eyes staring blankly at the man's back. It didn't make any sense. Tony and Loki loved each other, everyone knew it.
"Tony."
"Uh, yeah Brucie?"
"Take a shower, but be careful. I'll bring you a change of clothes in a minute."
Tony nodded, standing and climbing in the shower, leg brushing Bruce's shoulder as he moved. Bruce stood, gathering the dirty clothes to put in the wash.
"Tony?"
"Hm?"
"Boxers?"
"Oh…right."
Tony shut the curtain, the boxers flying out a moment later. Bruce raised a brow at the forgetfulness, instead picking them up. He left the door open as he planned on returning with fresh clothes. As he went about his self-imposed duties, he thought about what Tony had said. He'd dumped Loki, whom had been his longest relationship by nine months and an odd amount of days. Everyone knew Tony Stark didn't do relationships.
Loki had changed him. They'd been friends for about a year before Tony got his head out of his ass (with prompting from Pepper, Bruce, and a few of their other friends) and asked Loki out. They had been a couple for about a year now. Actually, one month short of a year. Bruce sighed heavily. He knew he should check on Loki but he didn't want to leave Tony alone. It wasn't a secret that Tony liked to drink but it wasn't well known that when he was an emotional mess, he usually ended up getting his stomach pumped.
Bruce had known Tony since they were kids, their fathers having worked together at one point or another. Bruce had seen Tony lose it completely only twice. Once was when his parents died in the car crash. The second time was when he found out Pepper had been cheating on him with Rhodes, who wasn't quite the friend he was now, more just acquaintance. Now the three of them were the best of friends. Bruce mentally shook himself; he was getting off track. He pulled out his phone, glancing at the bathroom to make sure Tony was still busy.
"Hello?"
"Hey Pepper."
"Bruce, what's up?"
"Have you heard from Loki?"
"No, but I did get a text from Tony saying he wouldn't be into work for a few days. Do you know why? Is Loki okay? Did something happen? I have to call Thor-"
"Pepper! Breath."
"Okay…I'm okay."
"Nothing's wrong…well, that's a lie. You may want to call Thor. But do me a favor first?"
"Why would I need to call Thor? You're confusing me Bruce."
"The favor?"
"Yes, yes. What is it?"
"Get in the car and go check on Loki."
"Why?"
Bruce waited until he heard Pepper start up the car before he continued.
"Tony is at Rhodes' apartment with me. He dumped Loki."
"What? Why?! That stupid son-of-a-bitch, I'm going to kill Tony!"
"Don't worry, I'm taking care of it. I'm worried about Loki, but I can't leave Tony. Do me a favor and check on him? Call Thor too, let him know what's going on. He'll want to be there."
"Why do I have to call the Thor? I can't counsel him…"
"He's Loki's brother…it's either that or you call Jane, his girlfriend. But she'd probably just give him the phone."
"Good point. I'll take care of it."
"Thanks Pepper."
"No problem…is Tony okay?"
Bruce bit his lip. Despite Pepper's anger at Tony, she cared from him like a protective sister and a loving mother all rolled in one.
"He's probably better than Loki."
"Yeah…look, I'm pulling up to the apartment now. I'll text you in a few minutes, let you know how serious it is."
"Alright."
"Bye, Bruce."
The doctor (scientist first and foremost, though he hardly got any research done with all his volunteer work at the hospital) sat on the couch, listening to the shower run. He turned on the TV, settling on an episode of the Big Bang Theory for about thirty minutes. Fed up with the lame jokes and feeling hungry, Bruce moved to look through the fridge for any food. Tony probably eaten yet and even if he had, he needed some food to help his body replenish his blood count. Finding nothing edible, Bruce quickly placed a call to an Indian place nearby. After he hung up with the server, he moved to the bathroom door.
"Tony, I ordered Indian. It should be here in about thirty minutes. That okay?"
There was no reply. Bruce frowned. The shower wasn't running and there wasn't the usual sounds of someone getting dressed. Pausing for only a moment, Bruce pushed the door to the bathroom open. Tony was kneeling on the floor of the bathtub, hand clutching his chest. His breaths were shallow and deep, as though he couldn't get any air. Bruce hurried forward, placing a hand on Tony's neck to check his pulse. It was faster than it should be, which was at odds with Tony's shortness of breath.
"Tony, hey Tony. Look at me."
Tony lifted his eyes, licking his lips. Bruce's eyebrows furrowed when he noticed they were tinged with a light blue.
"D-don't wo…rry Bruc-cie. P-pass in a-a sec…"
Bruce frowned.
"Try breathing with your lips pursed."
Tony managed to give him a look that clearly said the fuck? Bruce slowly rubbed Tony's back, imitating pursed-lip breathing. Tony didn't bother arguing, instead copying the movement and continuing his shallow breaths. Bruce tried to keep track of time, estimating that ten minutes had passed before Tony was able to breathe at an almost average pace. Bruce stood, his knees cracking with the movement.
"Come on Tony, up you get."
Tony allowed Bruce to man-handle him out of the bathtub, numbly pulling on the clothes Bruce brought him. He was struggling into his shirt when there was a knock at the door. Bruce stood, moving to grab the door. He fished for his wallet, expecting the delivery guy. When he opened the door however, he got a stinging smack to his left cheek.
"Oh jeez, sorry Bruce! I thought you were Tony!"
"Ouch, Pepper."
Bruce rubbed his cheek lightly, pulling the door open a little wider to let the red-head pass. He scanned the parking lot of the apartment complex for the delivery guy and closed the door when he didn't spot anyone. He followed Pepper to the living room, where she stood impatiently.
"Where is Tony? I need to talk to him."
"No slapping."
Pepper mumbled an agreement as Bruce made his way to the bathroom.
"Tony, Pepper's here to see you."
Tony looked up from where he was sitting. He seemed to have given up getting his shirt on, choosing instead to leave his arms in the sleeves.
"Okay. Help me get this shirt on?"
"Leave it off. Let your cuts air before I wrap them for the night."
The genius gave him a small nod of acquisition, standing to leave the room. Bruce allowed him to brush past him, taking a deep breath as he flipped off the bathroom light. He returned to the bathroom, inwardly wincing at the confrontation. Pepper was glaring down at Tony, who was sitting on the edge of the couch.
"Pepper…"
The red-head ignored Bruce.
"Do you know where I just came from?"
"Work? Like always?"
"No, Tony. I came from your apartment."
Tony visibly flinched, trying to cover the movement by scooting farther back on the couch. Pepper raised her hands, gesturing in short, tempered movements that made Bruce think of someone imitating using a sharp, deadly sword. The red-head could be scary.
"I just spent the last thirty minutes comforting Loki while we waited for Thor to show up. I had to comfort Loki, who's one of the strongest, most emotionally balanced people I know. You want to know why?"
Tony mumbled something about knowing why. Pepper chose to ignore him, plowing ahead.
"Because of you! The only thing that stopped Thor from coming over here and kicking your ass was Loki sobbing into his shirt! Sobbing because you've been lying to him for the last year about how you felt!"
Tony shot up like a rocket, his eyes practically on fire in his anger.
"I never lied to Loki! Not once since I've known him!"
Pepper harrumphed, crossing her arms over his chest. Bruce took a step forward, seeing Tony sway lightly where he stood.
"Really? Then who is this 'new person' he says you met?"
Tony pursed his lips, obviously unhappy about sharing the information but knowing it was necessary.
"My doctor."
"Doctor?"
Tony licked his lips nervously. Pepper tapped her foot, re-crossing her arms and glaring angrily at Tony.
"Tony, I'm waiting. I want to know what the hell happened to make you break up with Lo-"
"I have cancer."
The room got very quiet, very fast. Pepper's mouth hung open for about a second before she reached up and smacked Tony harshly across the face. The force sent him falling into the couch, where he sat, his eyes wide and hand pressed to his cheek. Pepper's lower lip was trembling and her eyes filled with angry tears.
"I knew you were an asshole, but this is going too far. Loki isn't just some casual fuck, Tony. I thought you knew that."
Pepper stormed out of the room, wrenching the apartment door open to reveal a delivery boy holding a bag of Indian food. Pepper appeared to not notice him, as she turned around to scream over her shoulder as she grabbed her purse and coat.
"You better call Rhodey, Tony. He's not going to be any happier about this than I am."
Tony managed to stand, eyeing Pepper with something akin to betrayal and disbelief.
"Fuck you Pepper. I can't believe you're siding with him! Why would I lie to you?"
"And I can't believe you would stoop so low!"
Pepper stalked forward, pointing her finger at Tony angrily. Bruce eyed them wearily, rushing to pay the kid and take the bags. He tucked a ten dollar bill into his hand, mumbling his apology of the scene and closing the door swiftly. Pepper and Tony were practically screaming now.
"You always have and always will be a playboy! But really, I think you're just a manwhore!"
"What right do you have to judge me, you fucking cheater!"
Pepper leaned forward, poking Tony in the chest harshly.
"Back the fuck off Stark! We've been friends for a long time and I know how you work. Playing Loki for this long? That's a whole new level of sick, even for you!"
"I wasn't playing him!"
"Then why'd you break up with him?"
Tony fell silent, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously. Pepper began to walk away again, stopping just inside the doorway to face Tony.
"You know what he told me? He said you never once told him you loved him. At least you never lied about that. I think that would have killed him."
Pepper pulled the door open, not even turning when Tony called her name.
"Be glad Bruce called me Tony. I think if I had been any later, Loki would have already been gone. And then I would have killed you myself."
Pepper slammed the door behind her, leaving Bruce to stare at Tony. The man blinked twice before slinking to the bathroom, closing the door behind him gently. Bruce sighed when he heard the door lock. He moved to the kitchen, putting the food on the counter.
"Pepper, you could have handled that better."
END OF CHAPTER:
Kinda hate how I ended this chapter. Oh well. I AM NOT A DOCTOR, so don't take anything medical I say to heart. I did research and I tried…but I'm really not a doctor, sooo…how did you guys like the first chapter? Any good? Also, if you want Loki's POV on this…check out CherryPanda22 and her story Broken. It was her one-shot that gave me this story idea. Seriously, read it. It's amazing. xD
Review?
Eris-R-Renee
