Clint had been the only Avenger to get visual confirmation on how Tony had been doing for the past several days. And in the grand scheme of things he hadn't seen much. Several wrappers and boxes that hinted that Tony had eaten more than blueberries. And wires. Every surface had seemed to be covered in metal, wires, cords, or any combination of half finished tech. Just before Jarvis shooed him away he caught sight of a sleeping space that looked as if it had been used. Of course, tossed about blankets didn't necessarily mean sleep. So Clint couldn't be sure when Tony had last slept much less how much sleep the man had gotten.

Bruce had caught a glimpse of Tony right before he entered the lab. Bruce tried to say something but Tony hadn't seemed to notice. Tony had simply passed him by as if they had been strangers in the street.

Steve made Tony waffles. It had been so late at night that it was considered morning. The sun wasn't shining. The birds weren't tweeting. Not that Steve would have been able to hear them either way. Tony didn't particularly like the sound of birds in the morning so he had made certain the sound couldn't permeate the building. In fact most sound couldn't travel far in the building. It was quiet almost too quiet. And of course Steve would notice things like how far each sound would travel at 4:32am. Of course he would be up and making waffles, that would be ready for anyone who found them. Of course he worried about Tony but he wasn't going to live his life marking the man's every move. So he was pretty much the only one in the whole tower who didn't worry when Tony disappeared into his lab.

Natasha wasn't one for sitting around. She could of course, especially when she wanted to. She just found that being active was more fun. In most cases it suited her better. So several times a day or night she would try and break into the lab. Sometimes trying to bribe her way past Jarvis with a tray of cheeseburgers. Other times she tried to pick the lock, so to speak. But neither way had gotten her into Tony's lab. And all she ever saw was him practically bouncing from table to table doing whatever it was he had been trying to do.

If one didn't count Clint's vantage point from the air ducts, Pepper always got the closest to getting into Tony's lab. Sometimes she even managed to get in. Though Clint didn't like to count those times because Tony had been so out of it Jarvis would have let anyone in to check on him. And of course there was the rather small detail of her not being a member of The Avengers so her involvement in the game didn't matter. Everyone else contested that point. pepper was involved in Tony's life and therefore was a crucial part of the game. Nat reasoned that Clint was only upset because Pepper had beaten him at his own game.

Jarvis had to tell them when Tony left the lab. According to his coding it wasn't completely necessary. But to end the little game the rest of the tower seemed to have it was more then necessary, it was the only way to get them to stop worrying. Jarvis really had no other choice, he told them the game was over, Tony actually went outside.

When Tony had left for Tea and Potions with his army of bags, Natasha had been out for a walk. Of course she had been profiling people as she passed them. And she had been planing another attempt to get into the lab. But then just like always the game ended. Jarvis said Tony went out for coffee. He said Tony was out for coffee near her location. So she did what any of the other Avengers would have done. She decided to make a detour on her walk and head over to Tea and Potions.

Natasha had meant to surprise Tony. Maybe get a tea or a cookie. She certainly hadn't meant to be the one getting surprised but that's what happened. She opened the door, heard the quiet little jingle it made. And the second both feet were off the threshold she saw them. Loki and Tony kneeling on the floor. Kneeling in the middle of this sort of run down looking coffee shop. Yet she seemed to be the only one noticing anything.

She carefully made her way to a table far enough away so they wouldn't take note of her. Yet Natasha was close enough to hear snippets of what was happening.

She could understand what was happening. Of course Natasha could understand that Tony seemed to be helping Loki through an anxiety attack. That what he was doing was somehow working. She understood that he called Loki darling as if that was a normal thing for him to do. What Natasha couldn't understand was why any of it was happening. She stood up without a sound and walked back toward the door. Before she left she turned, took a quick picture on her phone, and sighed. If anyone was going to sleep with the enemy it was meant to be Stark. She just wished it hadn't been this enemy. As she walked back to the tower she sent the picture to every Avenger with the message: We have a problem.