And now for a heaping dose of fluff to cleanse the palate after the roller coaster that was the past few chapters.
Chapter 21: Budapest
Tony put off that difficult conversation with his father for as long as possible. Which, it turned out, was indefinitely. His parents didn't come to visit again, so he didn't have to confront Howard in person, and whenever they called it was only his mother on the line. He didn't have a mandatory follow-up with Dr. Wilson, so the issue simply fell to the back of his mind.
Parker remained visibly shaken for a few days after the Code Silver, but he continually improved until he seemed almost back to normal. Fortunately, everyone was coping pretty well, at least as far as Tony could observe. He had no idea what each of them had discussed in their private session with the Falcon or whether they were receiving any other extra help to handle what had happened. The only noticeable difference was any kid got escorted anytime they left the ward to go to the chemo clinic or anyone's office. Tony wasn't sure if this was a temporary or permanent change in security protocol, but it wasn't that drastic, all things considered. It was better than being placed on permanent modified lockdown.
On the next therapy dog day, they brought even more guests than usual. Rocket and Groot were accompanied by four more dogs, much to the delight of everyone but Steve, who holed himself up in his room and said he wasn't going near anyone until they all showered and changed clothes. The extra caution helped him avoid another episode like that from the day of Bucky's surgery.
A stocky boxer with a dark grey and reddish brindled coat named Drax waltzed right up to Tony and demanded attention. Once Tony began petting him, he laid impossibly still. Quill was practically enamored with another dog called Gamora, staring into her eyes as if she held the answers to all life's questions. Clint and Natasha snuggled with a blue Australian Cattle Dog called Nebula. Bruce, who actually showed up to dog day despite not usually doing so, gently stroked a sleek black dog with pointy, white-tipped ears called Mantis. Thor played a rough game of tug-of-war with Rocket while Parker and Nick monopolized Groot. Bucky skipped the dogs to hang out with Steve so he wouldn't be completely alone. It was much easier for everyone here to get their fill of puppy love with more dogs to go around.
"Are they all going to come every time?" Thor asked eagerly.
"That's the plan, yeah," Maria told them. The level of excitement in the room kicked up a notch. The only person who could ever say no to more dogs was Steve, but he wasn't here to complain. It wouldn't affect his routine on dog days much anyway, although Tony felt bad that he couldn't share in the joy of this prospect. Maybe the staff would arrange something special for him too; he didn't deserve to be the only one without a reason to be excited just because of his allergies.
"How was your session with Dr. Wilson?"
Tony looked up and found Bruce sitting across from him, one hand on Drax's flank while Nick turned to pet Mantis in his absence. "It went okay. He obviously didn't diagnose any deep psychological problems or I'd be going back for seconds, wouldn't I?"
"I suppose. I know he talked to everyone after the Code Silver, but I remember mentioning that you should speak with him about what you told me the other day. I guess I was just wondering if you made any progress on that."
Tony was surprised yet moved at the genuine concern in Bruce's voice. Though he didn't entirely appreciate digging up the issue of his father again. He explained, "We talked about it a bit, and he gave me some decent advice." What he didn't say was how he all but refused to heed said advice.
"That's good to hear. The Falcon's advice has worked for me at least nine times out of ten; I can vouch for his skills in this department."
"Thanks. How about these new dogs?" Tony asked, changing the subject dramatically. He hoped he didn't u-turn the conversation quickly enough to raise suspicion.
"It's fantastic that they're bringing even more. I'm sure sharing two dogs among so many people isn't easy." Bruce and Tony fell silent and listened in to the conversations going on between their friends as the various dogs played and cuddled with everyone.
"I wish they had this many dogs the whole time," Clint said. "More dogs equals more happy. This many dogs could have made even going to Budapest less horrible."
"What did he just say?" Tony asked quietly to Bruce. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know," Bruce whispered back. Apparently they weren't the only ones confused by Clint's statement.
"You went to Budapest? When?" Natasha questioned.
"Twice a few weeks apart during my first year or so of treatment. It sucked."
"Why did you go to Budapest and not stay here?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Quill chimed in. "Since when have you ever been to Europe?"
"Yeah, Clint, when did you travel to Europe?" Tony and Bruce asked too.
"It's just an expression," Clint explained.
"I've never heard that expression," Thor said.
"That's because he made it up," Nick stated. "He's really the only one who ever uses it."
"That's not true," Clint countered.
"Yes it is."
"What does the expression mean?" Tony asked.
"Going to Budapest means having abdominal surgery," Clint informed them.
"You need a better expression," Quill said bluntly.
"Yeah, what does that even mean?" Tony questioned. "What's the connection?"
"I call it going to Budapest because you're not allowed to eat for a while afterwards and you get so hungry," Clint explained matter-of-factly.
"That does not make sense," Natasha said.
"Yes it does. Budapest is the capital of Hungary, and not being allowed to eat makes you hungry. Hungary, hungry. Got it?"
"I think your analogy is very complicated," Tony said. "But I admire the creativity behind it."
"Thank you. I hope none of you ever have to go to Budapest."
"I have been there," Natasha said blatantly.
"Have you been to the real Budapest?" Thor asked. "How far away is it from your hometown?"
"I do not know, I have not been. I have been to Clint's Budapest."
"It's the worst, isn't it?" Clint asked, enthusiastic to have an empathetic companion. Natasha nodded emphatically. "Honestly I'd take any amount of pain or nausea over starving for two days."
"Hunger was worse," Natasha corroborated.
"I get that my gut needs to heal from being messed with, but adding hunger to pain and tiredness is a lethal combination."
"Well now I consider myself lucky it's only my chest that'll ever be opened up," Tony stated.
"That doesn't sound much better," Thor remarked.
"Well none of it sounds good," Parker said with a hint of nervousness.
"Of course not. It's just a matter of what's worse," Quill said.
"Budapest," Clint called.
"Yeah, that." Quill pointed back at Clint.
"I'm starting to feel like we need a city nickname for every type of surgery, just to balance it out," Tony said.
"I second that," Quill said.
"Steve's the ultimate authority on this, but I'm leaning towards anything related to lungs being Buenos Aires," Tony joked.
"Buenos Aires, Argentina?" Bruce asked. "Why?"
"It means 'good air' in Spanish. Lungs move air. Seems fitting."
"I guess so," Parker said.
"Brain surgery could be Anchorage," Quill pointed out.
"Why?" Thor asked.
"They have to anchor your head to the table," he explained.
"That sounds awful," Parker said.
"It wasn't that bad. Just four little holes."
"I have to ask because this has been bugging me forever," Tony finally spoke up about a question that had been burning in the back of his head ever since he found out about Quill's brain tumor. "Were you awake or asleep for it?"
"Asleep! Definitely asleep," he answered firmly. "I wasn't a good candidate for awake, so they just sacrificed removing some of it to avoid cutting out parts of my brain I still need."
"Are you sure they didn't cut out anything important?" Thor asked teasingly.
"Very funny," Quill spat. "Yes, I'm sure."
"I like Anchorage and Buenos Aires," Clint said. "But there's still more we need to come up with."
Natasha smirked. "I have one for open heart."
"What is it?" Tony asked.
"Warsaw."
Tony burst out laughing. "I love it."
"I don't get it," Thor said, confused.
"Because…because they have to saw…the sternum open," Tony managed to explain between giggles.
"First of all, that's horrible," Bruce stated.
"Not as horrible as the one I just thought of," Parker said with a nearly malicious smile.
"Oh this I've gotta hear," Tony said.
"Bucky is the only one of us who's been here," he began.
"I don't like where this is going," Quill said cautiously.
"Cleveland."
Not even Bruce could contain his laughter after that one.
~0~
Tony stared at the collection of cards in his hand. Two wheat, one brick, and one sheep. He let his gaze fall across the board in front of him, at Steve's road that intersected his own and Steve's rather formidable collection of cards. Tony knew he was about to build a settlement and cut off Tony's longest road, which would result in Tony losing two points. He had no means of stopping him if Steve decided to cut him off, so he needed to regain the points some other way. He was no longer a novice at Catan, after that disastrous first game he'd played plenty more and even won a few. Today he faced off against Steve, Nick, and Thor, with Bucky and Clint refereeing. The referees of this game took on the collective name 'Council of Catan' because it sounded official.
Nick rolled for his turn and Tony picked up an additional card, a wood this time. Now he had enough for a settlement, so if Steve held off on bisecting his road he could take over the spot on his next turn. He could only hope. Nick set down enough cards for a settlement and placed his own little blue house along his road—but he placed it only one space away from one of Thor's, which was forbidden.
"Nick, that's against the distance rule," Bucky informed him, holding one half of the rule book while Clint held the other in front of their faces.
"So?"
"You can't put a settlement that close to another settlement," Clint added.
"That's a dumb rule."
"We didn't make them up; we're just enforcing them," Bucky said.
"Nick, just put it somewhere else," Thor told him.
"I don't want to. This spot is on a six."
"I know it's a good spot, but nobody can build there," Clint repeated.
"You all asked us to referee, and that's exactly what we're doing," Bucky said.
"Yeah, they're the Council of Catan and they have final say," Steve added.
"I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."
"You can't just ignore a Council of Catan ruling," Tony said. He knew; he'd tried to sneak in subtly illegal moves on multiple occasions and he always got caught. Gravesen residents took their jobs refereeing very seriously.
"Fine," Nick spat. He moved the settlement another space farther along his road and set it down on an intersection between a twelve rock and a ten sheep. It certainly wasn't a good spot by any stretch of the imagination; Tony could see why Nick fought so hard for the other one. "Your move."
Sure enough, Steve cut off Tony's road and smugly snatched the Longest Road card from him. Tony stuck his tongue out at him. "Very mature," Steve said. On Tony's turn, he rolled a seven, immediately moved a robber to Steve's most productive hex, and stole a card from him. Catan almost always turned into a game of petty vengeance, and this round was no exception.
"Where's Natasha?" Tony asked after a few more turns. Clint almost never refereed without her.
"The OR," Clint replied bluntly.
"Wait, what? Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine. That's just where they need to take her to administer spinal chemo," Bucky explained.
"Spinal chemo?" Tony had never heard of such a concept. He thought it was all intravenous or oral.
"Yeah. It's a part of her regimen, to kill the leukemia cells in her spinal fluid," Clint said. An explanation for such a complex medical issue sounded alien coming from a ten-year-old's mouth, but after six years Clint knew more about the specifics of this kind of thing than many pre-medical students.
"She'll probably be down for the count with a lumbar puncture headache for the rest of the day," Bucky added.
"But you know she said no to sedation again, so at least she won't have to sleep off anesthesia," Clint said.
"She's crazy," Nick sighed. "Never accepts sedation if it's optional. I can't imagine doing half the stuff she does unless I was drugged up to my eyeball."
Tony ruminated on his use of the singular for a second before he recognized that Nick had twisted the expression 'drugged up to my eyeballs' to suit his own situation. The corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement.
"The resources in this game are so primitive. Why can't I settle on a hex that produces something useful like Midazolam?" Nick asked, turning back to the board.
"So what I'm hearing is that we need to write to the producers of this game and request they make a hospital version?" Steve said.
"I'm not wasting my Make-a-Wish on hospital Catan," Clint insisted.
"Me neither," Bucky said.
"Wait, how many of you have a Wish?" Tony asked. Clint, Bucky, and Nick raised their hands.
"Lucky," Thor spat.
"And you haven't used it yet?" Tony continued.
"No, I spent mine right when I got it. I was only six, so the concept of patience did not exist."
"What did you get to do?" Clint asked.
"I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Nick stated.
"Very funny," Bucky said. "But really, how'd you spend it? I need some inspiration for when I eventually do mine."
Nick mimed sealing his lips and locking them, flicking the key away.
"Is he serious?" Thor asked.
"You're not going to tell us?" Tony confirmed. Nick only smiled.
It's unfortunate that I have to say this right after sharing the publishing schedule, but I'm going to be without internet for the next few days and I won't be able to post on Wednesday like I planned. I'm sorry, but I'll share three chapters next week to make up for it.