A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is so late, but there's been a lot going on.

This chapter picks up right where the last one left off! I hope you guys enjoy! :)

Chapter 16

"What?" Tony exclaims, jolting so hard that Steve nearly drops him.

"Tony, be careful," Steve says as he regains his grip on the man.

"But, Steve, someone is attacking my tower—our home!" Tony protests to his boyfriend before turning to Natasha. "Did he say anything else?"

"All he said was, "Oh my Thor, someone is attacking Stark Tower! Man, of course, they had to wait until I was trying to "channel my inner Beyoncé"—whatever that means," Natasha explains. "Rhodey went on to say that he was trying to evacuate all the civilians in the nearby area. He also informed me that Fury knows and has dispatched Agents to assist."

"We need to move," Coulson responds. He pulls out his phone and types in a number before placing it against his ear. "Hill? It's me. I'm going to need for you to transport the well Avengers back to New York. Romanov will fill you in." He hangs up before he gets a response.

"I can't come?" Tony says in a neutral tone. The brunet silently curses himself. He really does hate that tone.

"No; like I said, you and Barnes need medical attention. I'll be taking you both to London," Coulson answers.

"But . . ."

"Tony," Steve interjects gently. "You need to go. I don't want you to get worse."

The brunet huffs again. He knows damn well he's not fit to fight, or do anything really, he just hates the thought of being left behind or ignored. Usually when that happens, someone better replaces him. Tony sighs. He knows the Avengers won't replace him, but he can't stop himself from thinking like this. He's had these feelings since childhood. Tony mentally rolls his eyes.

Thanks, dad.

"Steve is right, Tony. We need you well again so you can build us a new house," Natasha says.

Tony snorts. "You certainly know how to make a man feel loved, Nat."

"Oh, you know me. I'm a regular fluff ball of fun," Natasha deadpans.

The group of five reaches the other Avengers, who are still in the same location that the battle with Skull took place. Hill is pacing and talking animatedly on the phone; Bruce is clothed and looking around twitchy and nervous—for what reason, Tony has no idea. Bucky is leaning against a rock, with his eyes closed and looking like he's about to pass out; and Clint is sitting next to Bucky and glancing around the area.

The archer is the first one to spot them. "Oh God, Tony, are you okay?"

"I've had worse," Tony responds.

"Hey," Bucky says. "I'm not the only one who looks like shit."

"Can it, Barnes, I'm still better looking than you" Tony responds in a teasing tone.

Bucky grins.

Tony furrows his brow. It might just be him, but Bucky's behavior seems odd. Not only did a church fall on him, and he's playing it off like he fell off his bike and got a little scrape, but he just found out that someone he considered a friend was working for the enemy the entire time and he seems fine.

That bitch is hiding something.

Tony knows from experience that holding in your emotions isn't good—all it does is lead to self-destructive behavior that could end in death. He knows that Bucky wouldn't go to his best friend for help. The genius is almost a hundred percent sure that Bucky believes Steve would do nothing but blame himself for everything that's happened. He's not wrong, Steve would put all the fault on himself instead of blaming the people actually responsible. Tony takes a breath, realizing that he's going to have to try and get Bucky to talk with him. The question is: when?

"So, what's the plan?" Clint asks.

"We have a situation," Natasha says in a grim tone. "Stark Tower is being attacked."

"What?"

"Impossible."

"It's happening. Iron Patriot is on the scene with Shield as backup, but they won't be able to hold the area forever," the assassin continues. "Coulson will take Tony and Bucky to a hospital in London to get treatment. Agent Hill will take the rest of us to New York to assist Rhodey."

"Let's get ready," Coulson says. "Capt—Steve, Thor, bring Tony and Bucky to my jet."

"Steve," Tony begins.

"Sorry, honey. I know you want to come, but you need treatment," Steve says. "Plus, someone needs to keep an eye on Bucky so he doesn't hit on all the nurses."

"Oh, please. Stevie, I know how to behave myself," Bucky says as Thor falls into step with Steve. The brunet is once again being carried piggyback style.

"No, you don't," Steve says fondly as the group of four reach Coulson's jet.

The back portion of Coulson's Quinjet is opened. Steve and Thor walk on board, paying careful attention not to jostle the two men they're carrying. They enter the main area of the jet where horizontal seats that are placed against each other line the walls with a large space in the middle for walking around. The pilot's chair is further up the walkway and nestled between two walls. The Agent himself is sitting in his chair prepping the jet for flight.

"You can lay them both on the seats behind me. Make sure they're strapped in tight. I don't want them rolling around midflight," Coulson says without turning around.

"You got to admit that'd be so cool," Bucky says as Thor attempts to get the man settled.

Steve carefully lays Tony down on the seat and straps him in. He looks around before grabbing a parachute bag and placing it under Tony's head.

Tony smiles. "You take such good care of me."

"You deserve it," Steve says. He places his hands on either side of Tony's head before leaning down and giving the brunet a quick peck on the lips. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Only if you do that again."

Steve smiles and leans down again. Before the blond could move away, Tony pulls him in for a longer, more passionate kiss.

When the two do part, Steve gives his boyfriend a flirty smile. "You're making me not want to go."

"I don't want you too," Tony says before bringing their mouths back together.

After a few moments, Steve pulls away and gives Tony a loving smile.

The brunet sighs happily before attempting to make himself comfortable against the hard seats. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Tony is able to steal a few more kisses from Steve before Coulson interrupts.

"Alright, you two, get out," Coulson says. He has since risen from his seat and is standing in the same area as the four Avengers.

Steve and Thor exchange a quick look before complying, saying their goodbyes to their comrades and heading for Agent Hill's jet.

Coulson, satisfied, returns to his seat. He closes the back of jet and makes any final preparations.

"Psst," Bucky whispers. "Psst. Tony."

"What?" Tony whispers back, amused.

"Road trip, whoo."

The genius smiles while Coulson raises the Quinjet into the air, and heads for the City of London.

Tony sighs as he lounges in his hospital bed, bored out of his mind, and glancing around the room with disinterest. The walls of this room are bare, save for the one to Tony's left that has a large window, which shows a spectacular view of the sun setting over the London skyline. Twin beds occupy the room, both uncomfortable and plain. Both beds have a Cardiac Monitor and an I.V. drip on either side that the nurses check constantly. A night stands rests between the two beds with a digital clock, a lamp, and a fake flowerpot sitting on top.

There are three random chairs in the room: one is placed in front of the nightstand, and the other two are on the other side of the room next to the window. A small black television hangs on the wall, with the channels constantly cycling.

The brunet turns to the rooms other occupant. "Bucky, you've gone through those channels a hundred times. They only have standard cable here."

"I know, but there's nothing to do here! I'm so bored!" Bucky says before tossing the remote onto his bed.

The door to their hospital room opens and Agent Coulson walks in with several files in his hands. He closes the door behind him and walks over to the chairs next to the window. He settles down in one of the chairs and places his files on the other. "How are you two feeling?"

"Hungry."

"Tired."

"I'll bet," Coulson responds. "You two have had a rough day."

After leaving the battle site, Coulson rushed Bucky and Tony to the City of London. The bumpy flight consisted of the two Avengers trying not to jostle their injuries, and roll off the seats despite being strapped in tight. Thankfully, it didn't take long to reach the hospital. Coulson is one of Shield's best pilots alongside Natasha, Clint, and Agent Hill.

As soon as the Quinjet touched down on the helipad, the two brunets were immediately surrounded by E.R. staff members, and loaded onto stretchers. One of the paramedics attached an I.V. drip to Tony's arm and pumped him with anesthetic. He faded out of consciousness, hearing Coulson giving orders to the doctors to not mess with the arc reactor or Bucky's bionic arm.

The rest is a blur to Tony. He woke up in a hospital room, with Bucky by his side still unconscious. Coulson was lounging in one of the chairs on the other side of the room, reading through some Shield files, unaware that the brunet was conscious.

Tony looked down at himself and cringed. His left arm is in a cast and he feels lightheaded, nauseous, and incredibly sore. The brunet doesn't have any pain, save for a dull throbbing in his head. He's going to have to ask the nurses for more medication when they return.

Not long after Tony awoke, a doctor entered the room and engaged Coulson in conversation. The Doctor handed two clipboards to the Agent with the results of Tony and Bucky's operations.

Bucky has four broken ribs, and a twisted ankle, just as Natasha determined from earlier. Tony has a mild concussion, three broken ribs, some minor eternal bleeding (that's been dealt with), and a broken arm. The Doctor recounts their injuries with slight amazement in his tone as if he can't believe that the pair are alive at this very moment. Tony briefly wonders what excuse Coulson made up to explain their injuries.

Tony hears Bucky sigh from the other side of the room, which brings the brunet out of his thoughts.

"So, Coulson, why are we here?"

"A bungee jump incident. You both decided to jump together, didn't account for your combined weight, and the cord snapped," the Agent explains. "You two fell hundreds of feet and miraculously survived."

Tony raises an eyebrow. "That Doctor believed I went bungee jumping?"

Coulson smiles. "Everyone has their price for keeping secrets."

The Agent glances at the clock before gathering his files and rising from the chair. "Visiting hours are over now. You two should try to get some rest. You have a long recovery ahead of you," he says. "I'll see you both tomorrow." Coulson bids the pair goodnight, before exiting the room.

"He's right, we should try and get our nap on," Bucky says.

Tony shakes his head fondly. "Goodnight, Bucky."

"Goodnight."

The genius settles down and tries to make himself comfortable. He's so used to having a warm pillow named Steve to sleep on, that Tony doesn't know how he's going to manage to get some rest tonight. Tony sighs before closing his eyes, trying to imagine the feel of his boyfriend's arms surrounding him.

They don't see Coulson for a few days.

The Agent slips into their room early on a Friday morning, just as the sun's rays are rising from the horizon.

"And where the hell have you been, Mister?" Tony says, actually managing the startle the Agent. Neither man was able to sleep the night before, so they decided to stay up talking and making jokes. When they heard the door open, they pretended to be asleep in the hopes it was Coulson trying to sneak in.

"Yeah, you said that you would be back tomorrow and that was three days ago," Bucky says. "What the hell, you can't go around and give us false hope like that."

"Sorry, I had matters to attend to at Shield's London Headquarters," Coulson responds. "I do have two bits of good news. Number one, the Doctors have returned to me your personal items. Number two, I have new information on the Stark Tower Situation."

The Agent walks over to the beds and hands each man a Ziploc bag, containing the items that both men had on them during the battle. Tony now has his phone and wallet back, while Bucky has his phone and a half-eaten sandwich.

"Dude, don't eat that, it's been days," Tony says as he watches the other man eyeing the sandwich with interest.

Bucky frowns while continuing to stare at the sandwich.

Tony shakes his head and looks over at Coulson, who is sitting in the same chair that he sat in the other day. "If these are the items we had in battle, where is my armor?"

"Captain Rogers insisted that he take the ruined armor back with him to New York," Coulson answers. "I have no idea why though."

Tony tries his hardest to repress the smile that is attempting to crawl over his features. When they first got together, Tony told Steve that in the event that something happens to him, the blond is to secure his tech and keep it out of Shield hands. The brunet was hoping that they wouldn't have to come to such an event, but he's fortunate that Steve always keeps his word.

"And what about Stark Tower," Bucky inquires, forgetting about his half-eaten sandwich. "What do you have?"

"The assailant is still unknown, but Hydra is our prime suspect. Our theory is that Red Skull used himself as a distraction so that part of his organization could take down the Avengers Headquarters in the hopes of crippling your effort against him," Coulson explains.

"Stark Tower, and the structures on either side, was completely destroyed during the attack. Colonel Rhodes said that the building stood for maybe an hour before collapsing in on itself. Thankfully, no one was injured or killed. Rhodes, the NYPD, the National Guard, the FBI, and Shield were able to evacuate everyone, within a three block radius, in time."

"Shield is working closely with the Government to explain the motives behind the attack. All the public knows is that the attack happened, and that we are working to bring the people responsible to justice. Since Stark Tower was directly attacked, many people are theorizing that The Mandarin has returned."

"Impossible," Tony says speaking up for the first time. He watched Pepper eliminate Killian, himself. No one could come back from that—not even a genius.

"Again, it's just public speculation," Coulson says. "You do have a lot of enemies, Stark."

"Yes, I do, but none of them have the balls to attack me directly at my home," Tony says. "Plus, I wasn't the only one lived there. Any one of us could have been a target."

"As much as I hate to say it, I think Skull was coming after Steve," Bucky chimes in. "Ever since he busted me out of that Hydra base in Germany, he's been on Skull's radar."

"Do you think he could have been after you as well?" Coulson asks.

Bucky shakes it head. "No; Even though I was the direct cause of delaying his plans, I would never be as big a target as Captain America."

"And if the Skull knew that Cap was living in Stark Tower . . ." Coulson says before trailing off.

"It had to be Hydra," Tony says. "There's no doubt."

"Yeah, I mean, where would you hit a man where it will hurt the most?" Bucky asks.

"His home," Coulson responds. "Dammit."

"What about the wreckage?" Tony asks. "If this is true, we can't let Hydra get a hold of my tech." Or Shield, for that matter. Who knows what either corporation would do with Stark technology in their hands.

"Captain Rogers is personally leading the cleanup effort," Coulson answers with a slight eye roll. "Again, he insisted."

Tony allows a smile to cross his features. Steve is so good to him.

Coulson clears his throat before continuing. "Agent Hill has informed me that it could be weeks before everything is cleaned and cleared away. Shield has twenty-four hour guards posted at the site of the wreckage to discourage any persons from thinking of trying to pull any kind of criminal acts."

The Agent opens his mouth to continue speaking when his phone rings. He pulls out the device and checks the caller ID. "Excuse me, I have to take this," he says before quickly standing, and exiting the room.

Bucky sighs heavily.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay, buddy," Tony says, hoping he sounds more convincing to the other man than he does to himself.

"I know, it's just . . . I had finally found a home. A place where I truly felt like I belonged," the soldier shrugs. "And now, it's gone."

"You know, Stark Tower is like a phoenix. From its ashes, a new one will arise."

Bucky smiles at the analogy. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'll build us a new home and it will be better than the old one. I promise."

"Will it . . . have a water slide?"

Tony laughs. "You bet."

The door to their room opens and Coulson reenters. "I have to attend to matters at the London Headquarters. Will you two be alright?"

"Yeah, we'll be cool," Bucky says.

"Just come back tomorrow," Tony says.

Coulson smiles. "Will do. I'll see you both tomorrow," he says before exiting the room.

"I don't know about you, but I really want to talk to the others right now," Bucky says.

"Same," Tony says before pulling his phone out of the Ziploc bag Coulson brought. "Which Avenger should we call though?"

The pair exchanges a look.

"Steve," they say at the same time.

Tony turns on his phone, glad to find that the device was not damaged during the battle. Pepper was right: the only two things that will survive a nuclear war will be cockroaches and Stark phones. The brunet dials Steve's number and puts his phone on speaker. He places the device on the nightstand between himself and Bucky.

The phone rings four times before Steve answers.

"Hello?"

"Baby?"

"Tony?"

"And Bucky," Bucky says with a grin.

"Hey! How are you guys feeling?"

"Better than we were four days ago," Tony says. "It's still going to be at least a month before we can come back to New York though."

"That stinks, but at least you two are resting," Steve says.

"Is that Tony?" the pair hears over the line.

"Piss off, Clint, I'm on the phone," Steve says.

"I want to talk to Tony!"

"No—hey!"

"Guys, it's Natasha," the assassin says. "Tony, your boyfriend, and the bird are idiots. I'm putting you on speaker."

"We are not idiots," Clint protests.

"Well, one of us isn't," Steve says.

"It is troublesome that the food here is so unappetizing," Thor says, cutting off Clint before he has the chance to respond to Steve's comment.

"Yeah; for a multi-billion dollar organization, they should be able to afford some decent cafeteria food," Bruce agrees.

Tony furrows his brow. "Where are you guys?"

"At Shield," Bruce says. "We've been living here the past few days."

"No one should ever be resigned to living at Shield," Tony says, with slight disgust in his voice.

"Where else should we go?" Natasha asks. "To the crappy apartments that Shield supplies for us?"

"No," Tony says. "My family has a mansion on Fifth Avenue. I usually don't go there because that's where I grew up and there's too much of my father around for comfort." He takes a breath. "We could possibly make it the Avengers Temporary Headquarters. At least until I can build another tower. And yes, we can call this one Avengers Tower."

"Score," Clint calls.

"You'd really do that?" Steve asks.

Tony knows he's not talking about the name. "Despite the fact that I have a lot of bad memories there, you guys could help me make better ones." He really means that. Having his friends, the Avengers, and Steve in his life now almost makes up for all the shit he had to deal with in the past.

Except for the time when a certain parent missed him in the science fair. Come on, a five year old kid enters a college science fair and wins? That's fucking impressive, Howard.

"You really have been a good influence on him, Captain," Natasha says. Tony can hear the smile in her tone.

"Nah, that's all Tony," Steve says with pride laced in his voice.

Tony smiles. "Hey, honey, can you do something for me?" he asks. "Well, two things?"

"Of course," Steve says, sounding concerned. "What do you need?"

"Can you go to the . . . wreckage, and see if you can find Dummy?" Tony asks. "I know it sounds stupid, but—"

"It doesn't sound stupid at all," Steve interrupts, saving the billionaire from trying to explain how much that dumb robot means to him. "I'll try my damnedest to find him."

Tony smiles, feeling elated. He's so lucky to have this man as his partner.

"What's the second thing?" Steve asks.

"I'm going to need for you to upload JARVIS to the mansion's systems," Tony says. "There's a version of him still on Shield's servers. You're going to have to download him onto a USB drive. Then, bring him to the lab I have at the mansion, and upload him from there."

"Oh, and don't worry about the install at the mansion, babe, JAR—" Tony cuts himself off before sighing. "I was about to say, JARVIS will help you with that."

"I'm sure I'll figure it out, Tones. After all, I am dating the best engineer in the world. I'm pretty sure I've picked up a thing or two."

"Universe," Tony corrects with a fond smile. "Best engineer in the universe."

"Aw, Stevie, if only you could see his face," Bucky teases while wearing at grin. "He's completely smitten."

"Shut it, Barnes, or I'll push you out the window."

"Oh, yeah? With what strength?"

"I'll show you in four to six weeks. Just you wait."

"I will. Patiently."

Steve's laugh from the other end of the line causes both men to grin wider. "Okay, I have to go now. Clint is about to start eating a potted plant and I don't like the look Natasha is giving him. I'll talk to you soon?"

"Of course."

"Totally."

"Okay. I love you."

"Which one of us are you saying that too?" Bucky teases. "Because, dude, I love ya like a brother, but Tony is right here."

Bucky's comment isn't even that funny, but everyone bursts into laughter, regardless. Tony has to clutch his ribs at the pang of pain he feels from laughing so hard. Due to their injuries and the severity of the trials, it's been too long since the Avengers have been able to have a carefree laugh like this.

"Bucky, you shit," Steve says as he's trying to calm down his laughter. "Director Fury just walked into the room and he's looking at us like he regrets every decision he made that's led him to this point."

"Hopefully, starting with that hair-do," Tony says, which causes another round of laughter.

"Ha-ha," Fury says over the Avengers laughter. "Now, get off the phone and into the debriefing room. We have shit to discuss that does not start with my fashionable hair-do."

"He's so offended," Natasha says.

"It's actually quite funny how sensitive he is about his hair," Bruce chimes in.

Clint snorts. "What hair?"

That comment sends another quick burst of laughter throughout the Avengers.

"Baby, we really have to go now. The Director is giving us the stink-eye," Steve says, sounding like he's trying to hold back more laughter.

"Okay. I love you," Tony says.

"I love you t . . .," Steve says. "Clint says he loves you more."

Tony snorts. "I could literally hear Natasha's eye roll," he says before hearing the assassin's laughter ringing over the line.

"Okay, bye you two. Have good night."

"Goodnight!" The two men chime at the same time.

Steve hangs up and silence fills the room as the two men look down at Tony's phone, which is sitting on the nightstand.

"I miss them," Bucky says, with nostalgia laced in his voice.

"Yeah," Tony says feeling a pang of longing himself. "Me too."