Tony found himself scrambling on all fours to the brunette, lacking a better option he was forced to remove the gauntlets and apply pressure to the bleeding with his hands and God was there a lot of blood, rushing out of him like goddamn fountain, warm and thick as it spilled onto the pavement under them.

"God, Oh God. Bucky stay with me! Do you hear me? You're not done yet!" Tony yelled at him.

Bucky turned his face from the sky to meet his bright gray-blue eyes to Tony's deep brown ones. He opened his mouth to speak but all the came out was more blood followed by coughing a sputtering before he was able to rasp out

"I was supposed to get married in a week..." He laughed weakly.

"Fuck Bucky! You ARE getting married in a week! Medevac is on its way, you can't quit now! For fucks sake think about Steve!" The words just tumbled out of Tony's mouth one after another.

"Will..you..." It was getting harder for Bucky to breathe but he continued anyways.

"Will you...tell Steve that I'm sorry...I'm sorry I won't make it home this time...and that I love him...ever since we were stupid...stupid kids...more than anything...I love him."

Tony could hear the helicopter landing somewhere behind them, doctors, surgeons and nurses running to them urgently. But he couldn't comprehend much through the ringing in his ears as he stared down, unblinkingly at the man who had everything he'd ever wanted now draining out on a nameless street in the middle of a wasteland.

Things got hazy after that, when he came back around again Tony found himself in a hard plastic chair in a hallway of a SHEILD medical center in New York. They must have transported them directly to the fully equipped hospital dictated to SHEILD and only SHEILD, they most likely didn't have the luxury of laying over on the Helicarrier given the severity of Barnes' injuries. Bucky...he couldn't remembered what happened after the helicopter landed. Did he die? Tony lifted his head, which to his pleasant surprise wasn't sore or aching like he'd expected. He realized it was because the warm soothing thing it had been resting on wasn't the pillow he assumed it was, it was Tiberius' chest. Taking more care to actually figure out where he was and what was happening Tony surveyed his surroundings and determined that yes, this was a hallway in a SHEILD med center in New York and yes, he was wrapped in the reassuring weight of Ty's arms with his head tucked comfortably into Ty's chest. Tony took the smallest millisecond to appreciate that Tiberius had even brought a blanket to cover him with too. Due to Tony's increase in movement, Ty started to stir before opening his eyes. He blinked rapidly the at harsh florescent light before stroking Tony's hair and looking down at him.

"You're awake." He smiled sleepily at the dark haired man in his embrace.

"Yeah." Tony smiled back.

This. Everything about this was perfect.

"What happened? What happened to Bucky?" Tony asked knowing that the moment couldn't last. Not here.

"Shhhh." Ty pressed a kiss into his hair.

"It's alright, everything's alright now, baby. You've been checked over and you aren't hurt, barely even a scratch. Agent Barnes was rushed into emergency surgery the minute you guys arrived. The operation lasted quite a few hours but he's going to be just fine. He's recovering in the ICU."

Tony let out the breath he'd been holding since the empty road in Russia as Ty continued.

"Agent Coulson called Captain Rogers and I immediately. Both of us of course dropped everything and got here as fast as humanly-or in the Captain's case super-humanly possible. You were insistent on waiting outside the ICU so here we are and Captain Rogers has yet to leave Bucky's side since he's been allowed to see him."

Tony took a deep breath as he felt the weight lift off of him.

"He isn't awake yet but do you want to go in and see him?" Ty asked.

"No, I don't want to barge in there after the Hell they've been through today."

Ty gave him an understanding smile, for someone not in the superhero biz Tiberius seemed to get it much more than the other "Non-heroes" he's been with.

Tony leaned up kissed Ty on the mouth.

"Let's go home, I'm beat."

He wasn't an idiot. He knew this good mood Ty was in couldn't last and he'd slip up or Ty would have a bad day and the bruises would come again. They always did. He didn't deserve this in anything more than small doses and he was dead set on enjoying it while it was here. It was the day before Steve and Bucky's wedding when it all came crashing down again. Tony was down in his lab tinkering when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey babe." Tony greeted without turning around.

Ty wrapped his arms around Tony's shoulders after setting the Gin and Tonic he'd brought down in Tony's hand. Grinning, Tony tossed back a mouthful of the beverage. Ty kissed his temple then down his neck and onto his collarbone as the smaller man finished his drink.. The blonde's hands pulled Tony's t-shirt up over his head and tossed it aside. Tony spun around on the stool and ran his hands through his boyfriend's hair.

"You know I tried so hard, right?" Ty mumbled.

"What?"

"Your pretty little CEO, I tried so hard to ignore it. To let it go."

"Pepper. Her name is Pepper."

"Hm, you were at the office late three nights this week. I really tried to let it go, darling. I did."

"I was working Ty. I had to catch up on some things I missed while on that mission. Pepper wasn't there at all it was just me, I can have JARVIS show you the-"

Tony was unable to finish his sentence due to being slapped so hard his jaw popped. Tiberius pushed him onto the smooth concrete floor, straddled his hips and started slipping his hands into Tony's jeans. Tony's own hands shot up grappling with Ty's trying to get them out his briefs.

"No!" Tony pushed the force into his voice.

"Engaging Subitis Salutem Protocol." JARVIS' voice filled the room.

Tony had never heard that one engaged before but he knew what it was. Emergency safety measures that would not only alert the Avengers of the emergency but also release a non-fatal microbial gas through the ventilation system that would render anything that could breathe paralyzed for three straight hours. Thus keeping him safe until help arrived. It was a protocol he put in place after Obadiah stunned him and plucked the Reactor right out of his chest.

"Disengage." Tony shot back.

"Sir-"

"Override. Initiate manual shutdown."

The came silence as his AI, DUM-E, Butterfingers and U all powered down against their will. The last thing he needed was the Avengers storming in and seeing this and once they knew it wouldn't be long before the whole world did, for God's sake he still at least a shred of dignity left.

"There's my good boy." Ty smiled sweetly as he brushed his hand through Tony's hair.

He leaned slid his hands back down below Tony's navel, running a finger down the trail of dark that disappeared beneath the waist of his jeans. With one hand he undid the button and zipper.

"Ty, no." Tony pushed his knee up to put some space between the two of them.

Ty placed his palm on Tony's thigh and leaned back a little, something glinting in his eyes and Tony started to feel light headed dizzy. His head rolled off to the side a little which made Tiberius smile.

Then it clicked, the Gin and Tonic he'd been so eager to inhale was drugged. There was no getting around the affect it was starting to have. He clenched his hand into a fist while he still had control of his limbs and slammed it into to Ty's temple making him lose his balance for just over a few seconds. Ty straightened back up as he rubbed the tender area slowly, Tony glared up at him- slightly proud of his handiwork.

"Oh Anthony, I love it when you get rebellious." Ty brought the hand the struck him up to his soft lips and kissed it.

"You have no idea what it does to me." He finished in a purr.

Tiberius rested his cheek in Tony's now relaxed hand. Tony could feel all his strength leaving his body and each breath made him impossibly tired, he could feel the drug taking him over and so could Ty. With what he had left, he attempted to pull his hand back but Ty was much quicker than him in this state. Ty gripped Tony's wrist tightly with one hand and the spot just below his elbow with the other, twisting violently in opposite directions until a sickening snap was heard. Tony writhed and shrieked as the pain shooting up his now useless arm whited out his vision. The excruciation coupled with the drug in his bloodstream efficiently dropped him into unconsciousness.

Tony woke up after an undermined amount of time in an ordinary ER- New York Presbyterian if he wasn't mistaking- so no SHEILD or Avengers ended up involved at least. His harm was secured in a cast and sling over his chest. Tiberius was nowhere to be seen. Then the curtain that provided privacy from the other beds was pulled open and then closed again as a nurse entered his...well, it wasn't a room...so... square? She entered his square.

"Good afternoon Mr. Stark. How are we feeling?"

"Great, you guys must have me on the good stuff."

The nurse shifted her weight, not out of unease but out of a show of experience.

"Mr. Stark are you aware of how you got here?" She asked.

"Yeah I uh- a prototype I was working on got a little out of hand." He laughed lightly.

"Your boyfriend, Mr. Stone said that he found you downstairs clutching your arm after he heard a commotion and came to check on you."

"Sounds about right."

"However, we found indications that suggest there were additional activities that took place."

"Oh the bruises and...?" Tony found himself unable to finish that sentence.

The nurse kept her eyes on him.

"We got a little hot and heavy this morning, that's all." He recovered.

"I see." She had probably seen countless cases like this, she knew what really happening.

She told him was free to be discharged and waited outside for him get dressed, when he finished she escorted him towards the waiting room where she said Tiberius was waiting. She stopped just short of turning the last corner making him do the same.

"Mr. Stark..."

Her voice was soft and low as he looked at the petite woman.

"What you do in your personal life and how you choose be intimate with your partner is entirely your own business. But if you ever find things getting...out of hand, please call us."

Her smile was warm, empathetic and so sad. Tony brushed her off with a thanks and grinned his blindingly enthusiastic grin. He turned the corner and sauntered to Tiberius who was waiting for him with soft eyes and a gentle smile. The taller man hugged him being mindful of the overall aching that still throbbed throughout Tony's body.