It had been three weeks since Steve had learned of the Marcunni but he had not seen Tony again. The marks had completely disappeared and that oddly made Steve uneasy. As though, it was the one proof that Tony had no choice in what his body did. And according to Rebekah, that's what it was. The marcunni, who was now long gone, had allowed Tony to be aware of everything while it was possessing him. The genius saw and felt the sex with another person. He slowly was weakened by the lack of food and water. Rebekah had even said that Tony must have fallen out of reality and lost awareness weeks before they found him.
Steve had listened patiently to her, staring down at Tony before just leaving. It was told that no matter what Tony did, he would never be able to fight the demon but for some reason that just made Steve madder. Not at Tony... just at everything. A thousand questions swarmed in his head. All of them unanswered.
Finally, Steve returned to SHIELD medical. He sat beside Tony.
He didn't hold his hand as he once did when they were married.
He didn't cry as he once did when he was unsure if Tony would wake up.
He didn't kiss his forehead as he once did when he hoped that a loving touch would coax the genius awake.
He didn't tell stories of what Tony had missed as he did when Tony would sleep for hours and hours in the pure white room with the pure white sheets.
No. Steve just sat there. Staring.
He did that for a good few hours. Bruce had come to check on him and ended up staying. Clint stayed in one of the vents, dangling his hand down for Natasha to hold as she polished her gun. Thor even visited from Asgard.
It seemed oddly familiar... a feeling they all missed. Together as one hoping for the recovery of one of their own. A team again. The Avengers.
It was Clint who decided to end the silence...
Not that he ever got the chance.
The Avengers sat paralyzed as a long flat beep rang over the room and a certain blue glow stopped glowing.