Warnings: Minor swearing, anxiety disorder/attacks, PTSD, slash
Oh, and we're going to pretend that Civil War doesn't exist :)
Chapter 1
"JARVIS, you up?"
"For you, sir, always," came the familiar reply.
"Open the Hawkeye arrow updates file," Tony said with gusto that he didn't feel. "I need coffee. Butterfingers, make me coffee." The robot whirred as it executed the command. Tony ran a hand through his hair tiredly as he rolled his chair over to his workbench. The hologram of the arrow design had already been pulled up by JARVIS, and Tony looked at it skeptically. It was too bulky, which was why Loki had been able to catch one in New York.
"Sir, this is not the top item on your projects list. Miss Potts sent you an email yesterday morning outlining the necessary Stark Industries updates needed by-"
"I'm aware of that JARVIS," Tony interrupted as he dragged a few of the glowing parts into the discard pile. "I need to finish these arrows for Clint, and I have to finish my design for Natasha's new spring assisted switch knives. Have you finished the scan for possible bugs in the Stark phone's coding?"
"The scan is 81% complete and should be finished in one hour and fourteen minutes."
"Good, I'll check on that when it's finished. For now…" He enlarged the picture of the arrow. "Turn on playlist 3. Butterfingers, where is my coffee?"
The robot appeared at his elbow with his mug, and he took it gratefully, well aware that it was probably nearing two o'clock in the morning.
"Also, I should remind you that you haven't slept in approximately 51 hours and that your last meal was about-"
"Mute," was all Tony said, silencing the AI as his music began blaring. He refocused on the design, compacting the explosive wiring into a smaller, cylindrical tube that fit inside the arrow. As an afterthought, he made the explosives trigger faster. After building the prototype from the hologram, he ordered JARVIS to start producing an entire quiver of them for Clint. He moved the file to the "done" folder and checked it off his list, starting on a second cup of coffee as he began working on Natasha's knives.
"Sir, Miss Potts is requesting entrance."
Tony's head jerked up as JARVIS spoke. Turning the music down to a low hum, he rubbed at his eyes. "What time is it, JARVIS?"
"It is currently 7:53 AM. The temperature is 75 degrees, and it is partly cloudy with a humidity of-"
"Yeah, yeah, okay. When did Pepper get here?"
"She just arrived and came straight down. Shall I grant entrance?"
"Yeah, just conceal the suits so she doesn't get pissed at me again, will you?"
"Of course, sir."
Tony returned to his work, finishing Natasha's two switchblades, one for each hip. That way, if she lost her guns or ran out of ammunition, she had the small, easily concealed knives for self-defense. He almost forgot about Pepper until he heard a deliberate "ahem" from behind him.
He spun around in the chair, trying to act as if he hadn't been working non-stop all night… and for the past three days. "Pepper!"
"Tony!" she exclaimed sarcastically in response. "I can't stay long, I have to get back to the office." Pepper had moved out of the tower after they had broken up- it had been awkward for her to stay, especially with all the other Avengers living there. It was still kind of weird to talk to her, and she obviously felt the same way, since she jumped right into the purpose of her visit. "I came to collect the latest updates for the Stark phone."
Tony mentally swore, but immediately recovered. "The updates. Right. I'm currently working on the bug fixes, and the scan just finished not too long ago. I should be able to email them your way by tonight," he lied easily. He had completely forgotten he needed those today, and then he had ignored JARVIS when the AI had tried to remind him. Shit. He would have to start those before the SHIELD security revisions. He turned back to his computer and adjusted his projects list.
"Fine, Tony, just make sure you remember to send them to me. Take care of yourself, okay? Steve said you've barely gone upstairs in days, but I have to get going so I can't babysit you."
Tony rolled his eyes at her. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I just need to finish the phone updates and a few things for SHIELD."
"Okay. I'll be waiting for that email."
He mumbled a farewell before opening the Stark phone files and once again immersing himself in his work.
Tony Stark… not recommended.
Stop pretending to be a hero. The only person you fight for is yourself.
I shouldn't be alive. Unless it's for a reason.
Don't waste it. Don't waste your life.
"Yinsen!" Tony woke with a start, his head jerking up from the workbench. He brought his hands up to rub his face before burying his hands in his hair and tugging. The pain helped to wake him up. He needed a haircut, and without Pepper to do it for him, he would actually have to go to a barber.
As his breathing gradually slowed, he became more aware. "How long did I sleep, Jarvis?" he slurred.
"Four hours, sir."
Tony cursed. Four hours of work time, gone. It wasn't even as if he had gotten a good, restful sleep, either. He'd much rather stay awake than be plagued by the constant nightmares.
"Sir, Captain Rogers is currently traveling down the stairs and will be approaching the door in 15 seconds. Should I grant entrance?"
Tony cursed again. "No. Tell him I'm busy." But when he glanced up, he saw Steve already peeking in through the glass doors. He had to look like shit. "Whatever, let him in. Next time warn me earlier JARVIS."
He stood and went to get another cup of coffee, not acknowledging the super soldier entering the lab until he turned around with a full mug. He tilted his head cockily. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I came to ask you to come upstairs. Pepper is worried about you, and if you think none of us have noticed you basically disappeared for a week, you're mistaken," Steve replied. Tony almost laughed as he walked back over to his workbench. Of course they would notice that their main source of money had vanished.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine down here. I have everything I need."
"Really? When was the last time you ate?"
"This morning."
"Really?" Steve said, seating himself on top of one of the desks and crossing his arms. "JARVIS?"
"JARVIS, don't you dare-"
"Sir's last full meal was four days ago. Since then he has had an apple and about twenty-six cups of coffee." After JARVIS finished speaking, Steve looked pointedly at Tony.
"JARVIS! You're programmed to obey me!"
"Yes sir, but I am also programmed to ensure your well-being."
Steve sighed at Tony's stubbornness, shaking his head. "What about sleep?"
"Sir has gotten a total of about seven hours of sleep in the last six days."
"Mute! From this point on, you are not permitted to speak unless ordered to do so by myself. Understand?" He was met by silence. "Good."
"Tony. Please just come upstairs for a while. I don't know what you've been doing down here, but it's not healthy," Steve begged.
Tony sighed. "Fine, I'll come up for dinner tonight. But you should know that I'm just fine down here. I have a bathroom, a kitchen, a-"
"You clearly have not been utilizing them! Tony, just… we're worried about you, and we miss having you around. Even though you are an ass most of the time."
"Whoa, language!" Tony exclaimed, raising his eyebrows.
"Look, I'm serious, Tony. I'm going now, but I expect you upstairs for dinner."
"Got it, Cap. See you then." Tony watched as Steve left the lab and headed upstairs. As soon as he disappeared, he grabbed his towel and headed for the shower.
When six o'clock rolled around, Jarvis reminded Tony that he was supposed to be heading upstairs. He groaned inwardly but gathered a few things that he needed to bring up with him and left the lab for the first time in more than a week.
"Man of Iron!" a voice boomed as he reached the living area. Thor practically bounded into the room, followed by a calmer Jane.
"Hey, Thor, I didn't know you'd be here," Tony said, trying to act pleasantly surprised. To be honest, the god's enthusiasm and loud voice were giving him a headache.
"We are here for a visit, as we received news that all the Avengers are still congregated here. It is wonderful to see you again!"
"It's, uh, it's great to see you, too, Thor. Hi, Jane." The woman gave him a smile before taking Thor's arm and leading him over to the couch.
The rest of the Avengers were sitting around the couches, too, and Clint jumped up to meet him. "Whatcha got there?" he asked, seeing the quiver of arrows that was hanging from Tony's left shoulder.
"Ah, yes," Tony said. "I brought new toys, everyone! For you, Clint-" he handed the arrows over to the archer- "These are more explosive arrows that have been compacted into a smaller space and have a faster trigger." He handed Natasha a medium sized box containing the knives- "These are the new switchblades I said I would make you, in case you get disarmed, or run out of ammo, or are fighting an opponent where bullets are ineffective. They're also small and easy to hide and quicker to use in hand-to-hand combat. And for everyone else-" he dropped a box of earpieces on the coffee table- "a new comm system. This one is powered by an Artificial Intelligence similar to but less independent than JARVIS. If one of us gets injured or knocked unconscious, it will inform the rest of the team of the injury and vitals of the person. That way we won't be left guessing what happened if one of us goes down."
Bruce was the first one to speak. "Wow," he said, "is that what you've been working on all this time?"
"Yup," Tony replied. "as well as a few things for SHIELD and Stark Industries. I hope you enjoy your new gadgets, gentlemen and lady."
"Thanks," Steve said, examining one of the earpieces. A murmur of gratitude went around the room, as the superheroes examined their new technology like children in a candy shop. Natasha was the first to stand, walking over to the stove to take the pasta off the burner. She was a surprisingly good cook for an assassin, though Tony always feared poison in his food once SHIELD decided they didn't need them anymore.
The men immediately leaped up from the couch, grabbing their plates and lining up to scoop the spaghetti onto them. Tony rolled his eyes and followed them over to the overly large pot, finally able to acknowledge the hunger gnawing at his stomach.
Once they were back on the couches, JARVIS started listing all the movie options in his DVD library. Tony sighed, having forgotten that it was movie night. Eventually everyone had decided on Narnia, since Steve hadn't seen it (after being frozen in ice for 70 years, he had missed a lot). Once JARVIS dimmed the lights and started the movie Tony pulled out his Stark phone, turned the brightness down all the way, and started working on the updates again.
He had already written up propositions for two new apps and made slight adjustments to a few others, and he had finished interpreting the bug fixes. The exterior design had been finished weeks ago. Did he need anything else? He eventually decided to just send these to Pepper and add any other things if need be. He sent the email quickly, eager to start working on the security revisions for SHIELD. Fury had been on his back about it for days, and he was worried about what the director would do if he didn't finish them soon.
After HYDRA, a lot of the responsibility for security checks and updates fell on him, since Fury knew that there was less chance of Tony's systems being compromised. He also knew that he could ask Tony to do basically anything, and Tony would get it done. He enjoyed exploiting his greatest weakness- he was unwaveringly loyal and would do anything to make sure he stayed on the Avengers team.
Sure enough, a call from Fury caused his phone to vibrate right at that moment. He looked around quickly, and seeing everybody else focused on the movie, stood up and jogged to the kitchen before accepting the call.
"Tony Stark speaking."
"Stark. There are too many loopholes in the current security system. My hackers found another HYDRA bug today."
"Damn. Was it old or new?"
"Old. There's still no intel on whether they have reformed, so we don't think there is any current threat to the tech. But that's not the point- why didn't your system detect the bug?"
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "It could be a variety of different things, I mean it could be a virus, a particularly discreet loophole-"
"Spare me the details, Stark. Just fix it. I'll have someone send you the coding or whatever it is that you need."
With that, he clicked off the line. Tony sighed before grabbing another cup of coffee and heading back down to his lab. He was about to press the button when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Steve leaning casually against the wall.
"What do you want, Capsicle? I have work to do."
"What happened to the movie?"
"I just got a call from Fury, I need to hurry up on some tech for SHIELD. Why?"
"You said you would stay upstairs the whole time."
"Yeah, and you conveniently forgot to mention that it was movie night."
The elevator doors reopened on the bottom floor, and Steve trailed behind Tony as he headed back over to his computers. "JARVIS, pull up the SHIELD security design and any recent emails." He redirected his attention to the super soldier. "Look, I've just had a ton of work for the past few weeks. There are more and more demands for the SHIELD technology because of the Avengers, not to mention the responsibilities that have been dumped on me after the whole HYDRA thing. And I'm supposed to be running Stark Industries at the same time. This was the way things were for me before you all moved in, and this is how they're going to be now, at least until SHIELD figures itself out."
Steve sighed and turned back around to return upstairs with an expression Tony couldn't decipher. Honestly, he was touched by his concern but didn't appreciate people getting in the way of his work.
AN: I hope you enjoyed :) I haven't figured out an update schedule yet because I'm already writing a Harry Potter multi-chapter fic (which is my main priority right now) and this might take a backseat. Until I figure it out, please follow and review!