Long may you run (part 8)

Tony is actually the first one to speak because Iron Man is pretty unflappable.

'Where are we going?'

'Oregon,' Steve replies, gesturing at the holographic map displayed behind him. Clint gives it a short glance and sits at the control to set the destination, Quinjet has autopilot option for when they are high in the sky and flying straight so he'll have a closer look later.

They all feel the pull of the takeoff and it's quickly replaced by a slight lightweight feeling they get because the jet is moving so fast.

'What's in Oregon?' Spider Man asks, eying Clint sadly and Tony guesses it's is play to get some snacks since Clint is usually the one to have them hidden everywhere he goes. 'Last time I checked it was just trees. And some more trees.'

'We didn't get much intel, but S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the state HQ picked out reading similar to those from New Mexico when Phil and Clint were there,' Steve explains, glancing at the screen when the data is presented. 'Apparently a short time afterwards there was some kind of strange energetic interference – it's somehow similar to the one from the Tesseract. Possibly someone trying to visit us from outer space.'

'JARVIS, take care of all messages that might be sent to Nate to the best of your ability,' Tony says, his words not audible to anyone.

'Of course, sir. I will make sure you will not be disturbed during the fight.'

'Thanks, baby,' Tony replies and shifts all of his attention back to Steve and the data.

'… might be another wormhole, but there is no visible sign of that. So far Thor only appeared on the Earth when there was trouble following him and we must assume it will be the case this time. Oregon agents located him and informed that we'll be coming, he seemed pleased and relieved, according to their words. ETA?'

'Three hours two minutes,' Clint supplies from the cockpit. 'Don't rummage through the cupboards, Spidey, I'm gonna get something in a minute,' he adds loudly and Spider Man puts his hands behind his back and tries to look innocent, but he's kind of failing at it.

'I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. with have some updates for us before we land,' Natasha says firmly and moves closer to the screen to have a look at the technical data that she might understand better than Captain. Tony does the same and lets JARVIS talk.

By the time the Quinjet is on the ground, skillfully led by Clint's steady hands, the Avengers have some information about what's waiting for them and it's a monster from outer space.

'Seriously, J, when did I sign up for this shit? I mean, all the ops S.H.I.E.L.D. does, most of them are slimy and all, but this? Outer space? Like, a recurring theme?'

'S.H.I.E.L.D. is known as an agency that takes care of everything too strange and too difficult for everyone else, sir, not only simple homeland security they have in their name.'

Tony rolls his eyes, silently enjoying the A.I.'s sassy reply, and walks out of the jet after Steve. Everyone is in their gear, ready to fight any second now, enough though it shouldn't be necessary: there is only one monster – no one could quite put a name to it and Tony can't help but wonder if it's one of the bilgesnipe things Phil mentioned hearing about from Thor.

Thor made it follow him into one of the less famous Oregon caves, to lead it away from human settlements, and that means they'll be fighting inside, in the dark damp places, and Tony is very, very unhappy about that. Caves don't exactly mean flashback or panic attacks, it was just the first few days after being rescued, but he will never again enjoy the salty scent and mysterious light of crystal caves, not to mention something as anticlimactic as this.

But there is nothing he can do, so he takes a few deep breaths and follows the team inside; Steve says that he can hear a remote noise from deep within and he will lead the Avengers to it. One point for super soldier serum.

'J, remind me to never answer an assemble call again,' Tony grumbles, walking farther and farther into the darkness and trying to ignore the sound of water dripping all around them. 'I'll just stay in bed.'

'I will make sure I remind you those words,' JARVIS replies smugly and then flashes red on the HUD display where the armor's thermographic camera picked up some readings.

'I'm moving,' he tells Steve and then takes off, flying ahead carefully. Someone is following him, not to closely, but it's easy to notice the strange way the person moves, and that means it can only be Spider Man. Tony doesn't know how it works, exactly, but apparently the man has enhanced senses, so Tony isn't worried about him.

It takes him a few minutes to arrive at the place where he finds Thor and the monster-thing – that means the team will take at least twenty minutes to get there – and he only allows himself a second for analyzing the scene before acting because Thor is underneath the creature, probably close to being squeezed to death. Tony isn't sure Thor can actually die he way humans do, but he doesn't want to risk finding out in that particular moment.

Spider Man joins the fight maybe three minutes after Tony and it helps a lot because Tony is too close to being wrapped with the monsters tail. It's something similar to dragon, Tony knows by now, and that's so incredible and freaky that he has hard time believing that whatever's happening is really happening. It's a completely new kind of surreal.

The next few minutes are flashes and bangs and dizziness. The cave is completely dark, the only light is Iron Man's arc reactor but the blue glow it gives away is dim and pale. When Tony fires repulsors and when Thor uses the Mjornil, there space fills with almost blinding light that dies down too soon and Tony has to rely on his HUD to follow the fight. Every single sound, even the tiniest, echoes in the space several times, making the buzz almost painful; Tony is very glad for the helmet providing him some filter, but it'll mean headache anyway.

But that's something to worry about later.

Suddenly, Spider Man yelps in pain, the monster's claw grazing his arm, and Tony shoots it in the head and then flies away on top speed to avoid being smashed with the tail.

He allows himself about half a second of distraction to check if Spider Man is hurt too much too fight and to wish the other Avengers would hurry the fuck up because this is getting bad, this thing has entirely too many limbs – but the team is still a few minutes away, for sure, eight according to JARVIS – and the fraction of second is enough to get hit with something hard, throwing Tony into a wall like a rag doll.

Then he's deafened by a rumor of the rock crumbling and a very cold shiver runs down his spine because JARVIS shows him in color what's actually happening, and it's part the cave's roof falling down in pieces.

Thor manages to drag Spider Man away from the danger, Tony is on the other end of the space, the safe one, so he can see perfectly well how the entrance to the place is quickly being buried with rock. He blinks a few times, but no coherent thoughts come to his mind.

The entrance gets blocked within a moment and Tony stares, not being able to make a move, so JARVIS takes initiative and fires a special enhanced repulsor blast at the monster's head that is temporarily distracted by the mess that's happening around them. It falls to the ground.

'Is the beast dead yet?' Thor asks across the cave, his voice sounding obnoxiously loud, and Tony focuses on the information JARVIS is displaying for him.

'Not yet,' he replies and Thor nods – Tony notices the small movement – and then hits the creature's head with Mjornil. There is a terrible sound of bones being crushed, a blue-white glow – and the monster's body goes limp in a second.

'No heartbeat,' Iron Man's voice says. 'He's dead now,' he adds, somehow surprised by the fact that the alien thing even has a heart. 'And we're trapped.'

'That's not what I had in mind when I said I wanted some holiday time. Dark and wet isn't really my style, I totally prefer sandy beaches and margaritas in the sun,' Spider Man comments is his usual manner but his voice lack the strength and he actually hisses with pain when he stops speaking.

'You are both hurt, my friends,' Thor states solemnly. Tony would like to know how exactly he knows that, but it must be one of those Asgardian god things, just like recognizing people's unique signatures. 'Iron Man, can you reach us? We are closer to the entrance to this cave and if we want to get out, it will be our only way.'

'I can,' Tony assures Thor and lets JARVIS fly the suit to where the two other man are. The arc reactor's glow makes their faces visible, distorted in the blue light, and Tony can see Spider Man's heavily bleeding arm too well.

'You need that dressed immediately,' he states, wondering how are they supposed to treat a wound in such dirty and almost pitch-black place, not to mention the lack of proper medical supplies and the fact that Bruce, who is the team's makeshift medic, is on the other side of the thirteen-feet wide wall of rocky rubble.

'Thor mentioned you're hurt, too, Tin Man –'

'It's nothing,' Tony assures them in Iron Man's flat voice, despite the tingling warmth he can feel at the back of his head.

'You have a head wound, sir,' JARVIS apparently feels the urge to inform Tony of the obvious.

'How long before we can get through this wall?'

'It is difficult to estimate, but at least eight hours,' JARVIS replies quickly, his voice quiet and worried. Eight hours isn't that bad. It could be twelve or twenty or three days, or they could be completely buried now and therefore dead. Eight hours isn't bad. Even in a cave.

'You might have a concussion, sir,' JARVIS adds, his voice even quieter. Tony just nods stiffly, wincing at the sudden wave of pain. Okay. Not good at all.

'Let's dress that hand so that you don't bleed out,' Iron Man says, fishing some bandage out of the armor's many secret pockets. He might not have a full first aid it on him, but two or three of the most basic things may be useful in any situation. 'Besides, shouldn't you have like eight limbs? If you want to call yourself spider?'

'Been there, tried that, didn't work out,' Spider Man comments, obediently rolling up his sleeve over the elbow and revealing a ragged and deep six-inch-long wound. It looks nasty and Tony takes a few calming breaths before he hands Thor the bandage.

'It'll be easier for you to do the delicate work, the armor's gauntlets aren't as mobile as human hands and I can't feel pressure,' Tony says and Thor nods, kneeling in front of Spider Man. The only light is coming from Iron Man's chest, so Tony stands hovering over his two teammates the way that gives Thor can see as much as possible.

'Just a second,' Tony says before Thor starts wrapping the bandage though, a sudden thought jumping into his head. 'Spider man, what are the webs you make created with?'

'It's like – what kind of a question is that? That's one of my big secrets, in case you didn't get the memo,' the younger man replies, glaring.

'I just thought that if it's real spider silk – and I am not going to share this knowledge with anyone – it could have antibiotic properties and help this heal a little bit better. I'm sure you realize it must be infected. By an alien monster and this is not exactly a sterile environment.'

'I heal fast,' Spider Man says, chin up, and then huffs. Tony waits. 'You're right, Iron Man,' he says in the end, making Tony breathe out in relief. 'I didn't think you dabbled in medieval medicine though – let's do that.'

When then wound is dressed with the bandage, as well as it can be done under the circumstances, Tony let's himself sit and lean against a pile of rock, resting his back and his whole dully aching body.

'Do we have communication with the rest now?' he asks JARVIS, staring at the slightly blurry numbers and letters on the HUD.

'No, sir. The beast was giving off unknown energy and it disturbed all long-distance communications. I can scan this room, but I cannot access any satellites or external databases.'

'Fuck,' Tony swears, trying to ignore the headache pounding in his head. He's slightly dizzy and nauseous, it's just a bit worse than what he's grown used to feeling after a bad radiation day but it's worrying because of the wound he's got at the back of his head. 'J, head scan?'

'You do not have any fracture to your skull, sir, nor do I detect any signs of brain swelling. It seems that it is only a concussion,' JARVIS replies, making the word only sound like a joke. 'You are lucky.'

'Yeah, lucky and buried in a cave,' Tony replies, shrugging slightly, and then glances at the mini-clock on the edge of the HUD. JARVIS can detect movement on the other side of the fallen rock, which means the Avengers are trying to get them out, and honestly they should try to dig a bit from the inside, but Tony can't force himself to stand up and work.

Thor is maybe reading his mind because just a second later he speaks up.

'I will try to remove this obstruction, at least partially. You, my friends, rest.'

Tony doesn't nod, that would hurt, but staying silent means a yes.

Thor moves around, his heavy movements echoing in the now-smaller space. He walks into the darkness and Tony stares at the combination of JARVIS' heat readings and the blue light of the reactor reflecting in Thor's armor. The noise of the rocks moving is loud and repeats constantly, making Tony's head pound more and more, so he does sneak a painkiller out of another secret pocket and slides it into his mouth when he's sure no one is looking. Swallowing it dry hurts his throat a bit, but after a few minutes the headache lessens a tiny bit.

It takes a few more minutes before Thor stops. Tony isn't sure why, Thor never gets tired or hurts, not on Earth.

'Iron Man, are you faring well?' he asks, crouching in front of Tony.

'I, uhm,' Tony just says, pretty sure lying to Thor won't work.

'Friend,' Thor says, his face closure to Tony's helmet, in serious but hushed voice. 'I can tell that you are hurting. Are you sure you don't require our aid?'

'I can't,' Tony says truthfully. Spider Man is staring at them. 'Head wound,' he adds because they will be trapped in a cave for at least six more hours – even with the Hulk's help – in the company of a giant dead body from another planet. These things seem to bring people together.

'You do not wish to remove your mask,' Thor concludes, tilting his head a bit and Tony would swear Thor is staring straight into his eyes, hidden by the faceplate.

'Sir, I strongly advise someone take a look at the wound. Also, you should take deep breaths to help yourself with the dizziness. Do you understand?'

'I do,' Tony snaps, closing his eyes. 'I do. I just – I think I need to puke, J. This head thing –'

'You will not hold an antiemetic down at this point,' JARVIS points out before Tony can even think about suggesting one of the magic pills. 'It's an expected symptom of concussion.'

'I'm just –' Tony starts aloud, making Thor and Spider Man's heads turn towards him, but the nausea is too much. 'Sorry,' he adds and lets JARVIS move him on the other end of the cave, flying the armor carefully, so that they won't really see him; as soon as he's standing on his legs again, he tears the helmet off his head as carefully and as quickly as possible and throws up. It only takes a few seconds and then he's kneeling and clutching the helmet too tightly, taking a deep breaths and trying to get rid of the feeling like he's going to suffocate.

'Iron Man?'

Tony doesn't reply because Thor knows Iron Man is Nate and Nate doesn't speak. Instead, he fishes out a tissue and wipes his lips, spitting a few times to get rid of the acidic taste, and puts the helmet back on.

'I'm fine,' he lies, but it's okay. Everyone knows it's a lie.

'I insist that your well-being is more important than your quest to keep your identity secret, my comrade,' Thor says in his booming voice.

'J, will I die if no one checks this fucking cut on my head?'

'You will not die, sir, at least you should not. Nevertheless, it might be beneficial if someone looks at it.'

'An alien god.'

'Or Spider Man.'

'Like that's gonna work,' Tony scoffs. 'Wait, J – do you want me to let the Spidey know that Iron Man and Nate Rives are the same person? Why on Earth would you want that?'

'I never said I wanted it. Your words, sir.'

'Don't sass me now, babe. Why would you possibly want that?'

'… I want someone to take care of you sir,' JARVIS says quietly. There is still almost six hours before someone gets them out. 'You are breathing too fast. You are anxious. If it continues like this you might experience a panic –'

'Don't, J,' Tony cuts is firmly. He already feels like he's taking steps in a different reality and that's enough to deal with right now. And Tony thought caves were not big deal, but it seems that was before he got trapped inside one, he has to admit. It feels like the walls are closing in little by little and it's so dark. Dripping water everywhere, but at least the damp feeling of moist air doesn't reach inside the suit.

'I can reveal my identity if Spider Man does the same,' Tony says finally, not quite sure why he's saying those words. He would never do that under normal circumstances.

'How did I get dragged into – you knew?' Spider Man shrieks and Tony can imagine him pointing accusingly at Thor. 'You knew. You know. Whatever. You – ugh,' Spider Man grunts. 'No chance you'll just tell me, free of charge?'

'I think Iron Man proposed a fair trade,' Thor supplies, a smile audible in his voice. 'I would rather you took the deal, young friend. I would feel much more at ease if I knew you both are faring well behind your costumes.'

'I still don't get why do I have to be involved with this,' Spider Man says, sounding almost panicked under the joking attitude.

'Let me assure you that the stakes are high for Iron Man,' Thor says and Tony can imagine the god putting a hand on Spider Man's shoulder.

There is a long moment of silence.

'All right, I'm in,' Spider Man says finally. His words make a cold shiver run down Tony's spine as there is no backing away now. 'I'm gonna know and awe-some secret!'

'And it will stay that way,' Tony says in Iron Man voice, letting JARVIS transport him back to where Thor and Spider Man are. 'We turn around and take off out masks.'

Spider Man nods.

Tony gulps before he takes the helmet off with a hesitant movement, JARVIS telling him that he made the right decision just a second before Tony can't hear him anymore. Spider Man takes his red and black mask off, too, and when they turn face-to-face, they both blink.

'I – I am speechless,' Spider Man – the young man who is Spider Man – declares, staring at Tony-as-Nate with wide eyes. 'I just – you've been around the whole time! At HQ and S.H.I.E.L.D. and everywhere! This is – I can't even –' he stops for a second to take a breath and then laughs, his voice echoing painfully. 'You're brilliant, Nate.'

Tony just smiles a little and ignores the pang of guilt he feels because he's still not sharing the whole truth, far from it.

'Peter Parker,' Spider Man – Peter – says. 'But you, Iron Man, can call me Peter. And then I can call you – no. Ugh. That's actually not that cool because – never mind. I'll call you Nate. You really don't speak then, do you? I guess you don't. A shame. I thought we could talk –'

Tony smirks, taking a modified and Starkphone he always keeps on him, and starts typing.

'Same as always. Nice to meet you.'

Tony wants to mention something about knowing who Peter Parker is. Tony Stark has been following his research for a few years, admiring it and waiting for a moment Parker would apply for a job for Stark or Stark could ask Parker to come over work for him – but it's not Nate's story to tell.

'Does this have torchlight thingy?' Peter asks, eying the device in Tony's hand curiously.

'You want to see the monster?'

'I thought I could –'

'First, we need to aid our friend. Your wound is still seeping blood, Nate,' Thor says, using the name for about third time ever. 'Do you have any more of the medical supplies?'

Tony nods curtly and lets Thor and Peter clean his wound and dress it properly, trying to ignore Peter's inquisitive questions and comments about how bad his scalp looks, covered with dried blood and bruises, visible even on Nate's tanned skin.

Then they talk. Thor talks Peter out of a trip around the beast's body – Tony could never repeat the strange name Thor uses to describe it – and then manages to find fresh water dripping into a tiniest stream in one of the pitch black parts of the cave, so they all drink and it feels cool against Tony's slightly feverish body. He doesn't feel very bad, but the nausea is there and he's not up to walking around either, so he lets himself slump in the suit – he doesn't feel the dampness creeping up on his this way – and listen to Peter's rants. Thor doesn't try to remove any more rocks.

'I will hurt you further. It will not make a difference anyway,' Thor declares. Tony smiles at him, internally grateful for no additional reason to make his head feel even more like it's been split up in two.

Thor brings him more water and Tony drinks it gratefully. There is a supply inside the suits, but it really makes difference when it's a fresh spring one. Peter talks some more, playing with the loose ends of the bandage and looking as if he was ready to jump around.

JARVIS shows Tony the team's progress in getting them free – as much as he can estimate with the limited scanners – and Tony stares at the changing numbers. He throws up one more time and it makes JARVIS panicky and telling Tony that he really needs to see a doctor as soon as possible. Tony knows exactly what that means.

He probably dozes off once or twice, but both times Peter shakes his armored shoulder slightly and squints to see if Tony's pupils are the same size. It would be bad if they weren't, it's one of the most common signs of traumatic brain injury, but it seems to be fine.

The second time he almost panics when he realizes he's waking up in the middle of a fucking cave, but before he can hyperventilate, he feels Thor's big warm hand laying heavily on his shoulder.

'I am here, my friend,' Thor says quietly. 'We will be well.'

Tony nods slightly and doesn't offer an explanation about why he doesn't like caves at all, especially when he's injured and not able to leave. It's enough of a natural human reaction not to need an explanation.

When JARVIS shows it's approximately fifteen minutes before the team should get through the rock, Tony puts the helmet back on and Peter turns back into Spider Man. They wait patiently, discussing what S.H.I.E.L.D. might do with the space dragon's body, if they even manage to drag the limp gigantic thing out of the caves.

The first face to appear on the other side of the blockage is Steve's, of course, and he breathes out in relief when he understands what has happened; his super-eyes let him see pretty well in the dark. A few minutes later the hole is big enough for Tony, Spider Man and Thor to leave the cave and step into the well-lit passage.

'We were worried you were dead –'

'Until we realized the monster thingy would probably roar. Or make some other sound. Basically, give a sign it's alive,' Clint cuts in, grinning at Steve half-apologetically.

'Good to know you're all right,' Steve says even though he did notice the bandage on Spider Man's arm and the droplets of blood on Iron Man's armor. 'We need to get out of here and let S.H.I.E.L.D. take care of this mess.'

Everyone nods and follows Captain tiredly, and soon as they step outside, blinded by the sudden brightness.

'I will leave now,' Iron Man says and walks a few steps away, JARVIS already setting coordinates for Malibu; he doesn't feel like a long cross-country flight at all. The A.I. will call Doc and Pepper and Happy, finally able to connect to the satellites.

'It is all right, Captain. Iron Man was injured and he requires assistance and for the reasons you know of, he decided to leave as soon as possible,' Thor explains, watching Tony with a soft gaze.

'… okay,' Steve agrees, staring at the armor taking off and it's the last thing Tony hears.

Tony spends the next few days resting in Malibu mansion with Doc who flied to accompany him straight after he got the message. Happy wants to come, too, but it's not necessary and Tony tells him to enjoy his few calm days without his annoying boss because they'll have things to catch up on when Tony is back.

The concussion isn't very bad, the nausea and the dizziness are gone after Tony gets some sleep – with Doc waking him up every two hours to make sure he's doing all right – but the headache stays with him for three days. It's very lazy three days because it's required to rest both physically and mentally, so Tony is banned from the workshop and JARVIS keeps the TVs and computers and Tony's tablet off so that he doesn't strain his brain too much with thinking.

It makes Tony laugh, but it's kind of nice to end up listening to soft music and walking along the shore for hours during the day and at night.

He leaves Avengers a message saying he's okay and he needs a little bit of time to heal up and Steve replies about three seconds later, as if he was actually sitting by his tablet and waiting. He expresses his concern and wishes Iron Man a swift return to the team.

'Isn't this absolutely sweet?' Tony asks Doc at breakfast and Doc raises an eyebrow curiously over the newspaper he's reading. Tony can guess he's doing the chess puzzle. 'Steve. He's a worrier just like you guys, seriously, his head is always so occupied with other people –'

'Our heads are always occupied with you, kid, since you're a handful,' Doc replies drily, making Tony chuckle.

'I'll be a good boy –'

'You don't know how to be a good boy,' Doc teases. 'Now munch on your breakfast or I'm going to tell Happy that you don't wanna eat.'

Tony rolls his eyes and goes back to enjoying his waffle with fresh fruit, listening to the calm rustle of the newspaper and the faded sounds of ocean waves. The day continues calmly and unobtrusively and when Tony goes to sleep in the Mansion for the last time – radiation starts in two days – he lets himself enjoy the water's murmur coming through the open windows. He is cuddled under several blankets to keep himself warm; it feels so safe and good that he wishes he could just stay here forever.

Back in New York Iron Man spends half of the next night persuading Steve that's he is fine and chatting about S.H.I.E.L.D. gossip. The beast is being dissected in Portland HQ and only a handful of people should know that but secrets don't really exist in S.H.I.E.L.D.

'I'm glad they will know what the thing was. I was afraid you'd –'

'You said that about seventeen times tonight, Steve,' Iron Man's voice offers, slightly softer than usually. 'We're fine. Stop thinking that.'

Steve nods and changes the subject again. Tony can't stop wondering where Spider Man night be because they could have a talk – but Peter has basically disappeared.

A/N: Thank you for reading and all comments! I'd like to say hello to all new followers, I'm so very happy that you're here and enjoying this story. I will love you forever for any kind of feedback, especially on this piece since it's action and some of you may know that I don't feel very good at writing action, so I hope this piece wasn't too bad... There'll be more interpersonal relations in the future so for those who like that more, you have something to wait for, I hope :)