So they're in their early and mid-twenties in this one.

Sam had no clue how he had gotten himself into such a shit situation, but there he was standing at the bedroom door, watching a sobbing Tony Stark. He was sobbing. Not only did he not know what to do about it, he also knew that he didn't have the option of accidentally making it worse by doing the wrong thing. Tony's boyfriend, Bucky, was notoriously over-protective. He may not have been quite as protective as Rhodey, but they were protective in different ways. Rhodey was more of an older brother; he was very firm in his protective, but it was more subtle and aimed towards helping Tony avoid getting hurt and comforting him when he was. Bucky, however, was protective in the "I will fight you" sense. Sure, Rhodey would fight for him if necessary, and Bucky probably comforted him too, but they both had their main modes. Then there was Natasha. She may not have seemed very fond of anyone, but anyone who knew her knew that she was very loyal and would literally kill for Tony, Bruce or Clint (in that order). Speaking of Bruce, he was known for explosive outbursts, if he was pissed off enough.

So basically, even if it was an accident, he was fucked if he made the situation worse. And it's not like he could leave the guy and come back; if something happened, he'd be blamed. So he had no choice but to call out and see how he could help,

"Ahem. Tony?"

"Go away!" He shouted.

"It's just me. Sam."

"I know who it fucking is! LEAVE ME ALONE!" At the last part of his sentence, Tony's voice cracked and it became more of a screech. Sam cursed under his breath,

"Should I get someone?" Their friends would be arriving soon, but he was at a loss as what to do until they came. They were currently in Thor's large apartment. Steve and Thor had gone to pick up some food and the rest of their friends hadn't even arrived yet. He'd assumed that since Bucky wasn't there, Tony wasn't either. Then he had gotten up to go to the bathroom and he heard the sobbing. It should have been weird that Thor didn't say anything, but if Tony was upset or didn't tell Thor why he was going into his bedroom, Thor wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone, but his "four protectors". And he might not even mention it to them. That's just how Thor is.

Sam noticed that Tony still hadn't said anything in return and he was about to ask again, then he heard a weak sniffling and a sigh,

"No." There was a pause, "Bucky."

"Okay." He hesitantly went back to the couch to get his phone, when he heard a rustling outside the door. Just then Steve and Thor walked in with two large pizzas and a bag of Chinese, their usual. Right behind him came Clint, then Natasha, Bruce and finally Bucky. When Bucky walked in, his eyes immediately began searching for Tony. Sam caught his eyes and attempted to discretely get him to follow him, "'I'll go get the sodas out of the kitchen."

"What do you want?" There was no animosity in his tone, but there was a bit of anxiety. There was that overprotective part. Tony must have told him that he'd meet him at the apartment.

"Tony's in the bedroom next to the bathroom," Sam explained and Bucky scowled slightly, wanting more of an explanation, "He's crying. I don't know why. It's nothing I did... but I asked him what I could do and he said to get you."As soon as he finished the sentence, Bucky was off and Sam took the sodas to their friends.

"Tony?" Bucky knocked o the door, before twisting the doorknob and opening the door, "I'm coming in."

When Bucky opened the door, Tony was no longer crying. He was wiping down his face to get rid of all the evidence that he had been crying.

"Hey, babe." Tony smiled weakly and artificially. Bucky knew immediately that something was wrong. There were two names that were "Tony Red Flags": babe and James. He only called Bucky James when he was beyond furious and or having a meltdown. And he only called him babe when something was wrong. When he needed help or comfort or something of the sort.

"Tones," Tony liked being called that, "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think that something is wrong?"

"You were crying. Sam told me."

"I didn't think he was actually going to get you," Tony mumbled, defeated. "Can't I just tell you later." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Yet, Bucky still smiled and nodded,

"Of course. Come go, let' go join the others."

"Can you tell?... That I was crying?" Tony asked before walking out. Bucky shook his head. If there was one thing that Tony is good at, it's putting on a good face.

"Ah, An-Tony was awoken!" Thor boomed and even though he corrected himself, Tony could barely suppress the involuntary flinch, "Did you have a nice rest?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Big Guy."

"Let he get this straight, Shellhead slept voluntarily?" Clint mocked.

"Well, it was more of a crash," Tony admitted.

"Yes. I carried him to my bedroom to sleep in peace."

"You carried him?!" Clint laughed hysterically.

"Okay Birdbrain, keep whatever joke you just thought of to yourself." Tony rolled his eyes dramatically and flopped down between Bruce and Natasha. To anyone else, it would look like he was upset with Bucky and didn't want to sit with him, but this was quite normal behavior for Tony. Bucky knew and understood that Natasha would probably always come before him in a way and that Bruce and Rhodey definitely would. Sometimes when Tony was upset, he'd choose to sit with Bruce and or Natasha over Bucky. Hell, there were times when he wasn't upset and Tony would still cuddle with Bruce instead. At first, Bucky had been jealous. Then he came to realize that these actions were purely platonic and that Tony needed them.

He curled his body into Natasha but then attempted to pull away when he saw Steve glaring at them. Natasha pulled him back in place and scowled at Steve. If Bucky wasn't jealous or upset, Steve had no right to judge.

"What movie are we watching?" Tony asked.

"Mad Max?" Sam said. "It comes highly recommended."

"Oh come one! No vote this time?" Tony groaned.

"Like what?"

"The Arrival?"

"Ugh, isn't that the movie about the linguist or something? No, I want to watch stuff blow up." Clint complained.

"Fine. Terminator. Alien. Mercenaries. Hell, any of the "Furious" movies." Tony listed off.

"Terminator. That is the American classic with Arnold Schwarzenegger?" Thor asked.

"Woah, you still haven't seen the Terminator?" Clint nearly shouted.

"I think we have our movie." Sam said, "Steve hasn't seen it either."

"Cool."

The movie was turned on and everyone began divvying up their food. Tony didn't move or show any interest in eating until Natasha literally shoved a container of rice into his hands. At some point in the movie, Tony began fidgeting and rubbing his chest. He was discreet enough that Sam, Steve, and Thor didn't notice. But Natasha and Bruce felt his mild shifts, and Clint was naturally very observant. Bucky noticed because he kept glancing over at him, worried about why he'd been so upset earlier. Bruce got up and summoned Tony with him to "get the ice cream" because he would have never admitted that he wanted to take some pain medicine, without Bruce or Natasha forcing him.

At the end of the night, Bucky sure that Tony got to his penthouse safe, even though he lived with Bruce, Natasha, and Clint. He told Bruce that they should be worried, then he made it to his own apartment.

"Hey, Tony." Bruce sat down next to his best friend on his bed, "Bucky told me you were crying earlier. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Tony... You know I can tell. Was it a nightmare?"

"I just... I was overwhelmed. I don't want Buck to break up with me."

"Tony, why on Earth would he break up with you?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"I... I don't want to talk about it."

"Tony if this is about-"

"Good night Bruce. If you want to stay in here, we're cuddling."
"Okay." Bruce lied down with Tony and decided that he would revisit the question later. He suspected what was wrong and didn't like seeing Tony in such angst over something that he shouldn't be upset about. But he wouldn't force Tony to have a conversation that he wasn't ready for.