Steve wakes up to thumping on his hand. He opens his eyes, annoyed, prepared to yell at Clint for another prank, before quickly jumping up.
He had fallen asleep at Tony's bedside and it seems he has woken up to Tony having a seizure. Steve presses the button that calls the nurse's station before moving to Tony's head.
"It's okay baby, don't fight it," Steve whispers, smoothing Tony's hair while using his other hand to keep him on his side.
Tony grunts against the oxygen mask, his limbs clenching and unclenching painfully.
A nurse opens the door and runs to the other side of Tony's bed, holding down the oxygen mask which was shifting as Tony seized. Another nurse runs in with a syringe and quickly inserts it into Tony's IV.
"Relax, baby, it's okay," Steve says softly as Tony's limbs start slowing as the medicine takes effect.
Tony's seizing stops except for a bit of shaking in his hands, and his right leg still kicks out on random intervals.
The nurses take his vitals before leaving to talk with the doctor.
Steve moves closer to Tony as his whimpers steadily get louder. "I'm here, Tones."
"S'evie," Tony whispers, tense.
"I'm right here baby, go back to sleep," Steve smiles, placing his hand over Tony's eyes.
Steve can see the mask shift slightly as Tony tries to grin before letting his body relax. In no time, he is snoring softly. Steve sits back in his chair heavily, the excitement of the moment finally crashing through him. He sighs heavily before taking Tony's hand and watching the man sleep with a frown on his face.
He is awoken an hour later by Bruce, Clint, Thor, and Natasha walking into the hospital room. While the room was large (it's Tony Stark's room of course), they did have to squeeze in a little close- Clint deciding to sit on Natasha's lap.
"Good morning guys," Steve says, yawning.
"Morning Captain," Thor smiles. Steve frowns at Thor's outfit. It was unnerving to see Thor in normal clothes, especially since he recognized the shirt from his own closet.
"Any changes?" Bruce asks.
Steve sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. "One seizure last night and another a few minutes ago. The doctor was considering switching him to the tube nose thingy-"
"Cannula," Bruce correctly.
"But his lungs are still having problems. They switched him to medication- no I don't know the name but i'm sure it's written down somewhere. I think that's it," Steve concludes.
Bruce nods before walking to the door to get Tony's chart.
"Has he woken up yet?" Natasha asks.
"He was up last night for a little bit, but he went back to sleep right after his seizure this morning," Steve answers.
Natasha nods. "Did you eat yet?"
Steve shakes his head.
Natasha pushes Clint off her lap where he barely avoids hitting the floor. "Clint, go get us food! Take Thor with you so he can help hold stuff." She orders.
"Hey! You could be nicer about it!" Clint glares.
Natasha smirks before tossing a few dollars at him. "There better be a blueberry muffin."
"I know," Clint groans, leaving the room with Thor following behind him.
"A black coffee too, please!" Bruce calls to the pair.
"Yeah, yeah," Clint rolls his eyes.
Inside the room, Natasha moves to sit on the other side of Tony, who sleeps on.
"Are you okay," she asks Steve softly, not removing her eyes from Tony.
Steve stares at Tony's hand in his. "I don't want him to die," he says, voice low.
Natasha nods. They both sit in silence for a few moments. Nothing is heard but the sound of the oxygen machine, the beeping of the heart monitor, and Bruce's mutterings about medicine.
Suddenly, Steve frowns as Tony starts squeezing his hand.
"Tones?" Steve asks softly.
Small noises come from Tony as his eyes scrunch up. He starts coughing and his head moves lazily. Both Natasha and Steve stand up to move closer.
Tony reaches his hand up and weakly moves the oxygen mask out the way. Before either of them could reach to move it back, Tony starts throwing up.
Immediately everyone jumps into action. Nastasha runs to grab a basin as Bruce and Steve help Tony to sit up when they hear the man choking on his sick.
Tony, limp in their arms, coughs up bile that rubs down his shirt and into his lap before Natasha thrusts a basin under his chin. A nurse walks in when the machine starts beeping from the low oxygen level.
The nurse rushes over to replace the oxygen mask with a temporary cannula while Tony's nausea starts to calm down. Suddenly, she notices something.
"Did someone come in here and change his catheter bag today?" She asks.
Steve looks down at the nearly empty bag. "No, not since yesterday."
The nurse looks alarmed. She walks swiftly out of the room. Steve frowns but focuses back on his sick husband who thankfully has stopped throwing up.
"Deep breaths, Tony," Bruce encourages as Tony's wheezes become audible.
The nurse walks back in. "I will have someone come change him and the sheets," she says, taking on the scene.
"That's okay, we got it," Steve says.
The nurse pauses for a second. "Okay, i'll have someone bring in a new gown and bed cover. He was due for a bed bath, would you like me to send in a nurse to do that?" She asks.
"No, we can do that too," Bruce responds.
The nurse nods before leaving, taking Tony's medical chart with her.
Steve and Bruce, Tony still breathing deeply between them, shared a look. While they were slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of cleaning Tony, they knew he wouldn't want some stranger touching him (or the arc reactor). In addition, they knew it would be much more comfortable for Tony who would probably be embarrassed in his vulnerable state.
They looked at the sickly man who was already on his way back to sleep. Steve and Bruce both laid him back down gently.
"Nat, do you want to-"
"I'm helping," she said firmly. She went to grab the materials from the nurse who entered the room.
"Try not to get his wire wet, and try not to rip out his IV," he said before leaving.
Bruce went to close the window blinds and door while Steve lifted up the top part of the bed.
Natasha went to the drawer in the room to grab Tony's hair supplies. She turned around with the shaver and shaving cream in her hands. "I got this, boys," she smirked.
Steve rolled his eyes, hoping Tony wouldn't be mad at them for this. He and Bruce started gently pulling Tony out the hospital gown, arm by arm. Without the cover, it was extremely obvious how much weight Tony had lost. His ribs were visible and Steve's hand could wrap around Tony's arm almost twice.
While Steve lathered the sponge and Bruce set up towels on the bed, Natasha started on Tony's hair using dry shampoo. She combed through it softly, since it had become matted up from his frequent resting. Tony whined a bit as the comb caught on a few tangles, but Natasha shushed him before rubbing his hair soothingly as an apology.
Steve and Bruce worked diligently to wash Tony with the sponge while avoiding the tubes and wires. They had to stop when Steve's hand got caught on the IV, but luckily it stayed in place on Tony's hand. When they reached the arc reactor, Tony's eyes shot open, immediately panicking at the touch.
"It's just me, it's just me!" Steve softly.
"S'eve?" Tony yawned.
"Yup, it's just me Tones. I'm just getting you cleaned," Steve smiled.
"Okay S'evie. Don' take it," Tony said, already going back to sleep.
"Never," Steve responded, resuming his light touch.
Natasha had cut Tony's hair after she washed it, making it lower than usual since he would most likely be staying in the hospital for a while. She also shaved his goatee leaving him clean-shaven. Steve thought he looked cute, but it was harrowing to see how vulnerable he looked without his signature look.
Natasha cleaned up all the equipment as they all finished. Steve put his hand around Tony's back and went to lift him forward when Tony yelled out.
"Stop, stop!" Tony yelled in pain.
"What happened Tony? What hurts?" Steve shouted, jumping back.
"My back hurts," Tony cried.
"But we gotta put your shirt on, baby," Steve frowned.
"No, leave it," Tony whined.
Steve looked at Bruce who shrugged.
"Okay, we'll leave it, but tell me if you get cold okay?" Steve said.
Tony nodded, wincing as he adjusted himself.
Once everything was clear they opened the blinds and the door again. Clint and Thor came walking in with trays.
"You locked us out!" Clint grumbled.
"Oh shut it," Natasha said, grabbing her blueberry muffin and slouching onto a chair.
"Foods cold now," Clint muttered, handing out trays to the others.
As they all sat to enjoy their food, a doctor came in followed by the nurse they spoke to earlier.
"Hello...Avengers," the doctor started, unsure.
Thor smiled and looked at the man's tag. "Good morning to you, son of Jones."
"Just Doctor is fine," the man says awkwardly. "I'm here for some tests. It should be quick so you can all stay."
They all nod as the doctor and nurse walk over to the bed. Steve gently rouses Tony by rubbing his shoulder.
"Good morning Tony," the Doctor smiles as Tony yawns awake.
Tony nods at the doctor, who walks over to the machines to take notes. "Replace cannula with a mask, his oxygen levels are still low- boost to 12 liters." The nurse nods, writing on the clipboard.
"Okay, I would like to listen to your breathing, can you lean forward for me?" The Doctor asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"His back is hurting him," Steve says.
The doctor shares a look with the nurse. "How about I take a look? Lets learn forward a bit Tony," The Doctor says softly.
The doctor puts his hand on Tony's shoulder to help him lean. Steve can't help but notice how big the Doctor's hand looks on Tony's malnourished body. Immediately at the movement, Tony winces.
"It's okay, baby," Steve soothes. Seeing Tony's eyes squeeze shut, Steve decides to get onto the bed and sit in front of Tony, so he can rest against him.
Steve cradles Tony's head into his shoulder as the doctor moves to get a closer look.
"I'm gonna apply some pressure, tell me if it hurts," the doctor instructs.
Tony nods silently.
The doctor pushes down lightly on several different parts of Tony's back, but it isn't until he gets to the lower back Tony starts wincing.
"Kelly, note that is experiencing pain in his flank regions," the doctor concludes.
Tony relaxes slightly when the doctor finishes.
"Now i'm going to test your breathing," the doctor says, putting on his stethoscope. "Take a deep breath."
Tony goes to take a deep breath but immediately starts coughing. He puts a hand on his chest at the pain.
"Try again, take a deep breath and hold it."
Tony tries and is able to hold his breath for about two seconds before he starts coughing again.
"Okay, just breathe now," the doctor says, still listening to Tony's back.
Tony coughs a bit before taking harsh, short breaths. Steve rubs his neck, noting silently how hot it is. He also rubs his hands through Tony's hair, marveling at how short it is now.
The doctor listens to Tony's chest as well before getting up.
"Thank you very much . I'm going to schedule you for a chest X-ray and a blood test. They should be by this afternoon," The doctor says, snapping off his gloves and starting to leave.
"Wait, what do you think is wrong?" Natasha asks.
"Yes, what is wrong with our shield brother?" Thor pips up, a bit of jelly still hanging off his mouth.
The doctor frowns, hesitating. "I heard a bit of fluid in his lungs, so I would like to check to see what could be the issue. In addition, decreased urination, flank pain, and nausea are all signs of early kidney failure, so I am ordering a blood test to see if that is the case." The doctor nods and flees a second later.
The team freeze at the information.
Tony, who was barely listening and trying to get his lungs to work again, feels tears flow down his back from where Steve was holding him. "It's okay, Stevie," he whispers.
Steve cries harder. "No it's not okay, you're supposed to be getting better," Steve cries.
Tony pulls away from Steve. "Look at this," Tony says, pointing at his arc reactor. "Now look at me."
Steve looks into Tony's sunken eyes. They are red, watery, and bruised but they look straight into Steve's soul. "I am Iron Man, Steve. As long as I got my Cap, I'll be okay," he says, a lopsided smile overtaking his face.
Steve looks down at their wedding rings. Steve's is a smaller replica of the arc reactor that's in Tony's chest, and Tony's is a tiny replica of Steve's shield. "Me too," Steve grins back tearily. Steve pulls Tony in for a hug.
Clint makes a throw up gesture at Steve's back and Tony sticks out his tongue at the archer.
The team walk over to join the pair. "Together," Natasha says, giving them a rare smile.
Even though Tony was confident in his words, he wavers a bit when they roll in the big dialysis machine two days later.
Please review. I haven't got any feedback, so I don't know if you guys are liking this story :(