Hello! I do think it's about time for a new chapter. Side note, pay attention to what Loki does this chapter. It's important. This one also has some medical stuff. Also, I Am Not A Doctor! So, I'm mostly going off of google for this. I'll see you at the end.


The call to assemble came as a surprise for everyone. It had been so calm for the past 3 or so months. So, it was a mad scramble for everyone to get suited up and out the door to Harlem where Loki was currently kicking up a fuss and animating cars like some fucked up version of Transformers.

They were quick to come up with a plan. The heavy hitters would work on keeping the cars away from buildings and civilians while the others got people to safety. It was working great other than the fact that Loki would go from rooftop to rooftop laughing at them all. But, Loki was also a trickster and a manipulator. He knew exactly what he wanted to do.

While Tony was flying around making sure that none of the rogue cars had made it down a heavily populated street he felt the suit loose power. With a shout, he fell the short distance onto a rooftop. Unfortunately, Tony landed a little funny and pain shot through his left leg. He probably jammed it. It was probably nothing. There was still fighting that needed to happen. So, Tony pulled himself up and turned around to test out the movement of the suit.

And that was when he came once again face to face with Loki.

"Stark. How has my last spell been treating you?"

"Piss off Reindeer Games." Spat Tony as he opened the faceplate of his helmet.

"Well, seeing as you're still here I think I need to try harder. I hear that you and the good captain have started courting." Teased Loki and Tony tried not to let any of the fear he felt show in his eyes.

"You leave him out of this!"

"Oh, but there's so much fun I could have. But, he is not my target. I had hoped that my last attack would be enough to destabilize the Avengers. I guess I was wrong. So, I'll just turn you into an even bigger freak Stark. So much that not even your beloved Captain won't love you anymore."

Before Tony could even question what Loki was going on about, he was hit in the stomach by a spell from Loki. It burled like hell and was enough to send Tony toppling off of the roof to the ground below. Tony scrambled in the air to try and reactivate the suit before he hit the ground. He didn't succeed. He hit the ground with a loud crunch as the concreate buckled beneath the suit.

Tony lay there dazed for a second before he felt it. The all-encompassing pain in his left leg. Tony screamed out in pain. The pain was so intense that he's completely forgotten about the pain in his stomach from Loki's spell. The only other time he'd felt this much pain was when he'd had open-heart surgery in that damn cave. The pain was the same as when his ribs were being broken.

So, Tony could only draw one conclusion. His leg must be broken. And, paired with the dizziness he was feeling, he must also have a concision as well as some bleeding. The pain was so bad that Tony had lost his fight to hold back his tears. Sure, he'd fallen in the suit before, but it had never hurt this much before. He was so out of it from the pain that Tony had failed to see that the battle had ended and the rest of the team were running towards him.

"Anthony, sweetheart! Tony!" shouted Steve as he dropped to his knees beside Tony. To Tony, the shouting sounded so distant. All he could do was reach over and clutch at Steve's hand as he tried a bit to calm down.

"Tony, can you tell us what hurts?" asked Natasha.

"…leg."

"Which leg?"

"Left…" Tony was starting to shiver a bit from the shock of the situation.

"Don't worry darlin'. We'll get you help. SHIELD is on their way with medical help. It's alright baby." Soothed Steve as he tried not to panic at what was happening. His Tony was laying on the pavement hurt and he couldn't do anything but offer comfort. If Steve could take the pain away he would. He just couldn't.

"We need to remove the suit before SHIELD gets here." Instructed Natasha and everyone nodded.

"Not the whole thing. With the way his leg is sitting the suit may be what's keeping things in place." Cautioned Bruce as he pulled on the spare clothing that Thor handed to him for after he de-Hulked.

The team slowly began to remove the suit while Steve gently held Tony and made sure that he didn't fall asleep. The pain was getting to be a bit much and they could see that Tony was struggling. Luckily, SHIELD was fast and the medics had arrived. Steve stayed by Tony's side the whole time. Nobody had the heart to separate the two lovers when one was hurt.

They loaded Tony onto a stretcher and onto the Quinjet so they could head to SHIELD Medical. Steve was there the whole time holding Tony's right hand as the doctors worked. They pumped Tony full of pain killers in an attempt to get him to calm down some so they could work, but no pain killer was better then just Steve being there.

The second they arrived at SHIELD there were doctors poking and prodding at Tony's leg. Tony ended up biting his lip in an attempt to keep from shouting out in pain. Steve squeezed his hand in reassurance in the hopes that Tony felt grounded by the gesture.

After some time and the partial removal of the leg plating, the doctors decided to do an x-ray to find out exactly how Tony's leg was broken. Steve was forced to wait outside so the doctors could do their thing. He could head Tony shouting out in pain every time they had to move him. It broke Steve's heart. His Tony was hurting and he couldn't do anything. Thankfully, soon enough, Tony was returned to his room and Steve was at his side while they waited for the doctors.

After only 10 minutes the doctors returned followed by one Dr. Helen Cho. She had joined the newly reformed SHIELD recently so she could perfect her cradle technology as well as to help with the more enhanced members of the Avengers when they needed medical help. She was a genius in her field and the Avengers were lucky to have her.

"Alright Dr. Stark, let's go over everything." Commented Dr. Cho as she gave Tony's chart one last look before she started.

"So, you've managed to break both your tibia and fibula close to the ankle. Unfortunately, you've managed to break both the bones in more than one place up the leg so we'll need to go in and surgically pin the bones back in place. As well, the bone fragments tore through muscles and ligaments so, I'll be using the cradle technology to help with repairs after the surgery. The whole procedure will take us about 2 hours including time in the cradle." Explained Dr. Cho. Steve was nodding along while Tony just lay there in fear. He really didn't like this.

"We'll be back in about half an hour to prep you for surgery. Is there anything I can get you for the time being?" asked Dr. Cho but Tony just shook his head. He wasn't allowed any stronger pain meds yet because of past addiction problems so there wasn't much he could do for pain.

The doctors soon left to go get thins ready leaving Tony and Steve alone in the room. Steve sat in the bed next to Tony careful not to jostle his injured leg. He didn't want to cause Tony any more pain. He gently held Tony's hand while running his other soothingly through his hair.

"How are you feeling Tony? Not in too much pain?" asked Steve with worry.

"I'm scared and in pain and everything sucks." Hissed Tony once again frustrated by his inability to lie. Fucking Loki and that fucking spell.

"You don't need to be scared, Tony. You're safe here. I won't let anything happen to you." Soothed Steve and that kind of pissed Tony off a bit.

"The last time I had any kind of surgery I was awake and my heart was being torn up! Of course, I'm scared!"

Steve's eyes turned sad at the statement. Sure, he'd read about what had happened in Afghanistan, but reading and hearing it from Tony were two different things. If the perpetrators of Tony's kidnapping weren't already dead then Steve would have gone off to finish the job.

"Anthony, I promise you that you will have proper anesthetic. I'll even stay with you to make sure you're asleep before they start."

"Can you even do that?"

Well, it turns out that if you get angry and possessive enough they will. Well, at least at SHIELD. They were lucky. Steve was currently the only thing keeping Tony from having a complete and udder panic attack the second he saw the medical equipment.

Steve didn't leave his side for a second. He talked in soothing words to distract Tony from all the IV lines and monitor being affixed to his body. But, Tony was still scared. He was doing a good job of not really showing it, but once the mask came close to his face, that was when Tony lost it.

"No! No! No! Please no! Please don't! No! I won't make you weapons!" shouted Tony as he thrashed on the bed. Steve was the one to hold him down and hug him.

"Tony, Tony. Shh. You're safe. I've got you. You're not in Afghanistan. You're safe." Repeated Steve over and over again until Tony began to calm down a little bit. The doctors reattached the lines that had become dislodged in Tony's panic and Steve kept talking to Tony to calm him down. It broke Steve's heart to see Tony so scared, but this was a medical issue and Steve had to stay strong for Tony even though he was scared too.

When the doctor brought the mask back, Steve kept his hold on Tony. He hoped that his touch would help Tony stay in reality. His head rolled back and forth a bit but this time the doctor was able to press the mask over Tony's face. Steve could tell that Tony was trying to fight it so he gave Tony some last words of comfort.

"Tony. You're gonna be ok. You can rest now. The doctors will take care of you, and I'll be right here with you." Soothed Steve as Tony slowly let the anesthesia take him under.

Steve was soon ushered out of the room. There were tears in his eyes as he was escorted back to Tony's room. The others were waiting for him there. Bruce had also called Rhodey and Pepper and both of them were on their way.

"So…?" asked Clint once Steve walked in.

"His legs busted pretty bad. He'd in surgery now. He was so scared before. He brought up Afghanistan and I just…" mumbled Steve as Thor got up and lead Steve over to the comfiest chair in the room so he could sit.

"Tony's strong. He'll be alright. Plus, he's got you and the rest of us." Spoke Natasha and everyone nodded along.

"I just want him to be ok." And with that Steve actually started crying.

It was a bit jarring for the others to see Steve cry. He very rarely did. But, this was proof on how much Steve loved Tony. He really truly loved him and wanted him to be ok. The others did what they could to keep occupied while Tony was in surgery. Rhodey arrived after the first hour and Steve filled him in on what was happening. Rhodey was just relieved that his little brother wasn't dead.

The others were in and out getting food and showering off from the fight, but Steve and Rhodey remained in the room. Neither would rest until they knew that Tony was going to be alright. Thankfully, after two hours a still asleep Tony was wheeled back into the room followed by a few doctors. They got Tony all hocked up to the machines he needed to monitor him before they left leaving just the two soldiers, Tony, and Dr. Cho.

Steve took the opportunity while everyone was busy to take a look at his boyfriend. He looked so much smaller lying there in the hospital bed. It would have been adorable if Steve wasn't scared for Tony. He also looked cold. He didn't have a blanket on and that allowed Steve to see the cast adorning his lower left leg. It was all clean and white and Steve knew that he would be drawing silly things on there to make Tony smile while he healed.

"Well, the operation and cradle usage was a success." Announced Dr. Cho and both Steve and Rhodey sighed in relief.

"So, because of the Cradle, the healing time will be decreased drastically. He'll need to stay in a cast for the next 8 weeks and then have physio after that, but it's better than the 4 months we originally predicted. Once Dr. Stark wakes up we'll go over all the care that he'll need going forward. For now, he just needs rest."

The two nodded before Dr. Cho took her leave. Tony was going to be ok, so now they would be ok. All the jitters in the room dissipated and everyone could breathe. Steve scooted his chair closer so he could take Tony's hand in his. He gently kissed his knuckles and rested his head there. Tony was ok, he could breathe.

An hour later, Tony slowly started to wake up. Despite the pain, he was in Tony came too with a small smile on his face. Steve and Rhodey were talking and Rhodey was sharing some funny stories from MIT. It was nice to hear that his brother and his boyfriend were getting along.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who put the Jell-O powder in the swimming pool." Mumbled Tony and everyone's heads turned.

"Hey, Tones. How ya feeling?" asked Rhodey as he moved a little closer.

"Leg hurts. Feel a wobbly."

"Don't worry baby. We'll get you all sorted out. Everything will be alright." Soothed Steve as he ran a hand through Tony's hair.

Tony smiled a bit and everyone else did too. Despite the injury, everything was ok. Tony would heal, Steve and Rhodey were getting along, Loki was still an ass but that was a given. Everything was going to turn out just as it should. As Tony fell back asleep he felt Steve crawl into the bed next to him and cuddle in close. After the day they'd had it felt just perfect to be curled up together. They both needed it.


So… how many of you did I kill with that Endgame reference? I'd say I feel bad but it upped the angst factor so… Also, the next 3 chapters will be NSFW! Just be prepared. I'll have more notes for each of those chapters so read them. I'll see you soon. -Shadows