His eyes flashed red.
For a brief second Tony could see what he'd done.
It wasn't what people normally associate with red. This did not mean anger. When he was furious, his eyes flashed green the way Bruce's did. And, just like with Bruce, that flash of green was terrifying and could send the strongest man to his knees. No. Red was when he slipped. His mask fell out of place and, for a brief moment, one could see how broken he was. How much damage had been done. This was a far more frightening colour than the furious green could ever be; the broken red.
Tony knew this was going to be trouble. He knew that red far too well, and knew what was to follow. At least this time it wasn't his fault.
Thor had come in to the lab looking for Tony. The engineer had locked himself in three days ago and the team was becoming concerned. He had been chosen to come down and fetch the man after Bruce was unable to talk him down. Basically the plan was he would carry Tony out kicking and screaming as, other than Bruce, he was the only one Tony would truly lash out at, would definitely forgive.
He hadn't known that another had been concerned with the billionaires condition and found his way into the locked room with ease. He hadn't known that the billionaire was already in the process of being talked down from a rather self destructive spiral. He certainly hadn't expected to walk in on Tony hugging someone tightly, the pair crying into each-other's shoulders, when he forced the lab door open.
When the door had opened Tony had flinched. The other man had spun around and began backing away as Thor raised mjolnir and began to shout, and Tony saw his eyes flash red before stepping between Thor and his target only to be knocked aside with enough force to send him flying across the room.
At this the other man screamed, running to Tony's side, the red returning to his eyes and remaining there as he clung to the genius in his arms, struggling to breath. When Thor attempted to separate the man from his friend he found himself on the other side of the room, ice holding him to the wall less likely to break than the wall itself.
The man held his love to his chest as he assessed the engineers injuries. No more were present than when he first arrived and he sighed in relief, the blue fading from the skin around his neck and hands. Tony's eyes opened just in time to see the red fade returning his eyes to the beautiful green he so loved to stare into. He raised a hand to the man's face checking for any form of injury before glancing over his shoulder to see Thor literally frozen in place.
"Was that necessary luv?" he asked, gesturing to the ice cube containing his friend and team mate.
"He threw you into a wall and did not stop, had he continued to attack me you could have been hurt. I don't care what he wants to do to me, but, you are off limits. Anyone who dares to so much as think about harming you deserves anything that comes of it."
"I think both the other guy and I can agree with him there Tony," Bruce said, stepping though the door and nodding at both men before checking Tony for injury, one hand on the other man's shoulder. "Sorry man, I tried to keep them out but Cap and Thor are hard enough to control let alone when it comes to your tendency to go days without food or sleep."
"It's all good Bruce, you couldn't have known he would be here when Thor got here."
"I knew he would come, I called him, I tried to convince the team that I had a plan to get you to come out, that I could get in here and talk you down but... You know how stubborn muscle bound blonds can be," the doctor responded smiling.
Neither man could help but chuckle at Bruce's statement. Once the chuckling had died down they shared a soft kiss before the man rose, taking both Tony and Bruce with him, and turned to the frozen, but still fully aware, God and drew the ice away leaving an angry Thor in its place.
Before the nord could say a word the men before him turned, arms around each other, and left the dumbstruck God alone with his thoughts.
"How could you?"