Talkative

Tony hides out the rest of the week holed up in his room, and they shouldn't really be surprised by this. He only shows up once, and it's after he fixes the hearing aids and stomps back in, chucks them at Clint, and leaves in the same huff of annoyance. Phil came early this time for his check-in. He must have gotten wind of the commotion and Tony hiding again. But he couldn't get Tony to come out. After checking in with the team, he even went down the hall to check on him. Given the interaction, Phil returns later in the week, this time with Fury. Since Tony wouldn't come out for him, he gets to deal with Fury this time, and it's whether he likes it or not. Fury doesn't stop while Phil does; instead, Fury beelines down Tony's hall. It's followed by shouting and cursing, so Tony is clearly unhappy with coming out. When he does show up, he's being dragged in by Fury by his arm, who's easily ignoring Tony's firey temper and protests.

"Okay, what happened?" Phil asks them he didn't get much out of them last time either

"We actually don't know either," Clint admits, rubbing the back of his neck a bit. All they knew is Bucky pissed Tony off somehow after he won the bet.

"Let go!" Tony snaps, trying to yank his arm back from Fury's grip

"Explain," Fury says, much more commanding than Phil and ignoring Tony.

"Not you," Fury says, covering Tony's mouth when it opens again.

"Bucky said he thinks he did it on purpose," Sam sighs, but he's not sure what Bucky meant by that.

"Did what?" Phil asks, though he's pretty sure he already knows

"The rumours," Bucky says bluntly.

"Really," Fury says, now interested, and Phil makes an all-knowing face, also impressed.

"You really have been watching him from the beginning," Phil says, one hand on his hip, almost surprised that Bucky was this committed.

"Well, yeah," Bucky grumbles and Tony picks up a muffled flurry of what he assumes is cussing him out.

"You know," Natasha says dryly. There was no other option. They clearly knew

"We do," Fury says simply, tentatively taking his hand off Tony's mouth and giving him a chance.

"Most of the rumours and his failed team placements are all Tony's doing. He did things on purpose or played into things so he could twist his image and build up the rumours so he could sabotage or get out of placements and interactions," Phil explains to them as Tony glares daggers at him, venomous words on the tip of his tongue.

"But he couldn't here. Because Bucky had the head start from Frost and is annoying and clever at this kind of thing," Steve sighed. He knew his best friend wasn't just figuring out a puzzle. He's been trying to unravel Tony's web of lies.

"Frost had warned him, and Bucky's own curiosity about observing Tony while he wasn't fully aware of what was happening quickly increased the head start. So you are correct. He's much farther along than anyone has ever been allowed to be," Phil tells them as Fury covers Tony's mouth again when he opens it.

"Is that why you changed the deal to a bet?" Bruce asks Bucky, recalling the event

"Frost said not to let him control the narrative, and if Sam had kept going, he probably- no, definitely- would have," Bucky says, knowing Tony's muffled sounds are cussing him out.

"How'd you figure it out?" Fury asks, giving Tony a warning to shut the fuck up or else

"I asked about the rumours and then if he was fucking around with us, and he just blew up. Told me if anyone was fucking around with someone, it was us to him, and we weren't worth that kind of energy or that if I hadn't listened to her, things would have gone like all the others had," Bucky explains to them, filling in on what Sam had just missed when he found them.

"Well, it's Bucky," Clint huffs, not all that surprised he found that all out.

"No one told Tony, though," Natasha says smugly. It's clear Tony never bothered to look into them, which shows just how little he cared about the situation and figured this would follow every other time.

"Ow man," Sam says, actually a little hurt by the fact Tony saw it pointless to know anything about them besides their names and powers, which were probably spoon to him anyway

"Yes, I did do this on purpose," Fury snarks back at Tony as he's somehow able to decipher the muffled words.

"I didn't think it would be this quick, no," Fury answers Tony's muffled words and a dirty look, pointing angrily to the team.

"Still don't understand how you know what he's saying," Phil mentions off-handedly, watching the pair.

"You set him up," Bruce says slowly in surprise. It seems like the rumours of Fury and Tony might actually be true.

"I'm too busy to babysit him all day," Fury huffs, taking his hand back, and Tony looks rather offended by the comment.

"And you want us to?" Clint grumbles, but he is smiling a little bit because it clearly gets on Tony's nerves

"No, really, no," Phil shrugs a little, though they will have to if this continues.

"I don't want to be here," Tony snaps, going back full circle and ignoring everyone but Fury.

"I don't care." Fury sighs a little with a slight eye roll

"Do we get a say?" Bruce asks them, though they know they really don't, whether they agree or not

"Sure," Phil says, curious about what they'll choose, but even if they say no, they have to wait out the year.

"We don't mind babysitting," Clint says, grinning. This could be fun, only on a purely annoying Tony basis.

"No!" Tony shouts, glaring at him

"So what is this really about? What do you really want out of this?" Natasha asks them as Clint sticks his tongue out at Tony

"Nothing." Phil shrugs a little, but he has that look in his eyes like he's at work. " We're just interested in where it could go," He adds.

"So, an experiment," Natasha says, unimpressed by the real reason for this whole debacle.

"Thanks for fixing the hearing aids, by the way," Sam says to Tony, who looks close to pitching a fit.

"I lost," Tony grumbles, that snotty brat attitude in full right now.

"Still, you did it, and we appreciate it," Sam says. They all know he didn't have to do it just because he lost, but Tony honoured his word and did it anyway.

"So you've decided to participate fully now," Fury says. This means the team will actually do the work properly.

"No! Now they're gonna wanna do it," Tony almost whines loudly. Gesturing wildly to them with his free hand

"Yes, we've been over this. So let them," Phil huffs with a roll of his eyes.

"Not so fun on the other side, now is it?" Fury tells him, and Tony's jaw tightens as he grits his teeth angrily

"Can we try this again?" Bruce asks them. Hopefully, amused, and yes, they get no choice but to ask like this makes them feel as if they do

"He'll do it," Fury says, meaning Tony will return to not hiding in his room.

"Well then, have fun," Phil chirps and starts nudging Fury out the door.

Once the door is closed, Tony's head snaps to the side, his gaze angrily turning on Bucky, who had just whistled at him. He's quick enough to catch whatever was thrown at him and finds Bucky has thrown him a piece of candy. Tony looks at it, still angry but a little more confused, raising a brow slightly at the plum-flavoured candy in his hand.

"We'll see you tomorrow?" Bruce offers him, wondering if Tony liked the option of being asked even if he also has no choice.

"Fine, it's not like I have a choice," Tony growls, his fist tight around the candy as he goes back to his room.

"You know, if you ignore everything else, he's pretty cute," Natasha mentions gently, getting a few grins.

"Angry kitten," Bucky mutters teasingly from his spot on the loveseat.

"Oh my god!" Clint crows with laughter

It gets a couple more laughs before the group continues with the rest of the day. There is yet to be a plan, but they have a new approach. With the new kick to their gears, they're able to see it from a new angle and a different side to Tony, making it fun. Plus, they have no idea what's real or not about him, and now they're all interested in the puzzle that's landed in their laps. Tony has basically become a clean slate, and if Phil thinks this could be a good thing or worth a chance, why not see if he's right. Tony's moods don't change so easily. They find out when the next morning comes, and he's still clearly annoyed and stewing in it. He keeps himself holed up in a corner on the chair, away from them, as much as possible, which is fair and not unusual at this point. They wait a bit, Steve makes breakfast, and everyone makes a plate and eats. Steve had figured Tony would grab some when they were done and out of the way, but he didn't. This leads Steve to point out the fact he's never seen Tony actually eat anything, and the others agree none of them have ever seen him eat. Bucky makes a bold decision and goes over to the fridge to find something that Tony might actually eat. He finds the yogurt tubes and grabs one out. There's no sense wasting more if Tony won't end up eating it anyway. He goes back halfway to his seat and Tony's chair, where he has a clear view and path to Tony. Once he's there, Bucky whistles, making Tony glance over at him just in time for Bucky to throw the tube at him. Tony catches the tube and gives him a confused, annoyed look, but it's muted and disinterested as he turns his attention to the tub. He does his normal checkover but doesn't open it; instead, he brings his attention back to Bucky.

"What?" Tony snaps at him a little

"Eat it," Bucky challenges him and crosses his arms over his chest.

"No," Tony huffs, not in the mood, and goes to put it down on the ground.

"It's blueberry?" Bruce says he's noticed Tony's favourite mug, while cartoonishly large, is made from pottery and has blueberries drawn all over it, which means it might be important

"Fine," Tony grumbles after fact-checking it again.

Bucky just rolls his eyes at Tony's difficult personality and makes a slight face to the others once he's turned around and headed back to his spot. The others smile a little, and Bruce's hint is right. It seems Tony favours things that are blueberry. As for Tony, he rips the top off, discarding it wherever it lands, and starts to drink it. He keeps the tube between his teeth so he can do it hands-free for the most part. He's almost finished the new ban design and wants to complete it sooner rather than later. It just needs some tweaks here and there and a simulation test before he can send it to SHIELD, who will do the building since his workshop privileges are still suspended after the last incident. He'd love to just hide in the lab, but with it suspended and the fact he can't hide it doesn't make it possible. The incident itself was actually him having an attack alone, and since then, they want him where they can get to him easily, and it can't be missed. Taking a minute, Bucky notes that while Tony doesn't like them close to him, he doesn't seem to mind catching the things tossed to him. There isn't much hesitation, and maybe it's from surprise, but Tony could just not catch anything, and yet he does. Finding something to do and escape the boredom, Bucky tests the theory throughout the day. He throws random things at Tony, sometimes whistling before to get his attention, other times not. And unlike the usual routine, Tony is the only one to leave, and the others hang back with Bucky. They'd noticed what he was doing and were curious about what it was all about.

"Out with it," Bucky huffs once Tony is gone for the night.

"What were you doing? I mean, not the whole tossing, but like yes? You know what we mean." Steve sighs. He's still warming up to Tony; his usually distant best friend is awfully busy.

"Testing something," Bucky shrugs, simply making them work for it.

"Like?" Sam huffs, being the one to push

"He's not hesitating to catch whatever I throw at him," Bucky points out to them.

"Wait, yeah, he does," Clint says, realizing it now after looking back.

"But he doesn't want us anywhere near him or picking up what we leave for him until we're gone," Sam adds to Bucky's theory.

"So he doesn't take things handed to him. Maybe the whole catching thing was trained into him. I wouldn't put it past SHIELD to do something like that," Natasha adds, thinking of the water bottle and Bucky's offerings.

"Let's start there, then," Bruce says, already getting a bunch of ideas and coming up with his own experiments.

So the next day, they all give it a shot, and sure enough, Tony tends to seemingly catch whatever is thrown at him. Not everything is looked at or used. Sometimes he just catches and drops it or tosses it away from him, but he catches none the less even without paying attention. That same morning, Bruce left Tony's favourite mug out for him in the usual spot by his chair on the ground and what he thinks is the way Tony likes his coffee. He watches as Tony doesn't stop but slowly goes around it, giving it a questionable look before curling up in his chair. It only takes a few minutes before Tony picks it up, does the routine of deeming it safe, and takes the first sip. Tony seems to like it purely because he doesn't get rid of it and keeps drinking it. Occasionally, a conversation picks up, and Tony participates in it, and they notice Bucky interjecting at times. It works. He manages to distract Tony enough to veer him from the current flow, cueing the others they're getting caught up in what Tony wants. This time, they don't wait for Tony to leave; instead, they order pizza and hang out to talk; Tony does take the offered pizza.

"How do you know so quickly? The whole conversation thing," Bruce asks him, genuinely curious where they're getting tripped up.

"I just watched him enough, that and the fact you can see it in his eyes," Bucky says. Tony had hardly faced them, but Bucky had chosen a spot where he could see enough of Tony's face to see it.

"Yasha," Natasha says, not fully believing him just yet.

"I paid attention to when Phil, Frost, or Fury talked to him when they were around," Bucky says; there wasn't much, but he was looking for the cues.

"Okay," Clint says, thinking about it, but he doesn't see what Bucky did.

"Must you?" Tony sighs dramatically, finally addressing them talking so openly about him

"Not now, princess," Clint snarks back at him.

"At least you chose a close enough title." Tony sniffs a little, not bothering to pay them much attention, more interested in his screen.

"Yeah, yeah," Clint grumbles, shoving another slice of pizza in his mouth.

"What's another word for clown?" Tony hums to himself, but it's clearly about Clint, which makes said teen scowl

"Jester. How's the throat?" Bruce chimes in to see if he caught what Bucky has been catching when Tony talks

"What's it to ya'?" Tony grumbles, effectively switched off from Clint, but he's clearly better, as his voice is back to normal.

"I can't be worried? Hearing about it isn't something so easily overlooked, you know," Bruce huffs, and it's true.

"Nice one," Sam mutters quietly enough. Tony doesn't seem to pay him attention.

"Move on," Tony snaps back at Bruce.

"I don't think so, darlin'," Bucky says pointedly, almost wondering if he can curb the annoyance seeping into Tony's voice the more he talks to them.

"And here I was, enjoying your silence," Tony says frankly.

"Bucky has a point; we are going to talk about it at some point," Bruce says, a little amused.

"And get fucking used to it; we're gonna talk about yah," Bucky says, flipping off Tony a little

"You sure have a nasty attitude for the boy scout's sidekick." Tony sneers a little, not much anger, more annoyance

"Fuck" Sam coughs after choking on his pizza thanks to laughing at Tony's comment.

"Steve," Clint laughs, pushing the bigger teen joyfully.

"Really?" Steve sighs, annoyed at him

"Now, now, kitten," Natasha throws back at Tony with a smirk.

"That came from you, didn't it?" Tony says to Bucky, irked

"Why you gotta look like one then?" Bucky snarks back, copying one of Tony's usual tones

"Insufferable," Tony grumbles and gets up, finally leaving for the night.

It gets a few more laughs, and later that night, Tony finally finishes the design, and the simulation is checked out. Given that it all went well and was done, Tony sends it off to the shield workshop to get started on its actual building. Since he doesn't get to do it himself, he has nothing else to do and no more distractions to keep him away from the others. Even so, he keeps coming out. This time, like all the others, he's down before anyone else. He'd showered that morning before putting his towel over his head on his still-wet hair. He really hates drying it. Instead, Tony messes around with a little desk robot he found in the storage closet a while back and just remembered about now. However, it seems he wasn't the first up because Steve and Bucky came in from the track outside only a few minutes after he sat down. They must have been running or doing something else stupidly athletic, being the athletic asshole they are. Steve cooks while they wait for the others, and Bucky helps, but it mostly just annoys Steve until he kicks Bucky out of the kitchen. The others are down and hanging around for Steve to finish, and Tony can feel Bucky's eyes watching him closely.

"What?" Tony half snaps and half groans, tipping his head back until he can glare at Bucky

"Come 'ere," Bucky tells him, nodding towards the kitchen, not biting the bait Tony has laid out.

"Why?" Tony snarks back, annoyed as he rolls his eyes

"Come here," Bucky says, dropping tone to a cooler, more serious one.

"Bucky?" Sam asks everyone else, put on edge by the change in Bucky's tone

"Seriously? What?" Tony groans as he rolls off the chair and onto his feet before stretching his arms over his head

"That worked!?" Clint asks, shocked as he looks between the two

"Move you're fucking feet; you're worse than my sister," Bucky says, rolling his eyes and muttering that last bit.

"Huh?" Bruce says, completely caught off guard and trying to figure out how that actually worked.

"Closer," Bucky huffs when Tony stops closer but not anywhere close to the others

"No," Tony says, crossing his arms, daring Bucky to play this any further.

"Fine. I guess that's progress," Bucky says, and Tony rolls his eyes.

"Here," Bucky says, tossing something at Tony.

"A muffin?" Tony says as he catches it

"You made me get up for a muffin!?" Tony barks loudly, appalled.

"I'm gonna make you get up for a lot of shit," Bucky says. It might be a warning, but he's also doing it to tick Tony off a bit.

"So, share," Natasha says, wanting to be included in the plan. Tony huffs back to his chair.

Bucky considers his options and whether it would be good to share everything he knows right now with the others. Will Tony react to it? Will the others? Or should he just keep it to himself for a while longer and give them pieces whenever he wants?

"Yasha," Natasha says, getting a little annoyed.

"Baby steps," Bucky settles for with a sigh.

"And so it starts," Clint says, grinning as Tony flips them off from over his shoulder.

It looks like they will have to pay even more attention to how Bucky interacts with Tony and when the adults are around. They still need to catch up to be close enough to be on Bucky's level. Tony does eat the muffin, though still hesitant, but maybe less so by things given to him by the others. Because Bucky has done the most offerings, Tony is getting the idea that it won't really do something, maybe without setting him back. On a good note, Tony seems more than used to being stared at or constantly having eyes on him and, more specifically, them. He's no longer seen as tense or tightly wound when he's around them, but that doesn't change much else. He still doesn't like them close or to be handed things; he doesn't really leave his chair or talk to them. But he doesn't mind them being around him, and they've gotten used to being out and in their spaces. Bucky seems to be wanting to test the water not just on Steve but Tony too. He starts by seeing how far he can push Tony. They all know where the line is, and so he does things on purpose. Something he knows Tony doesn't like or is comfortable with. The biggest one he tests is the proximity to him, so anytime he walks past Tony and his chair, he gets closer and closer. To their surprise, he gets within arm's reach of Tony before he finally snaps at them.

"Knock it off," Tony snaps, finally twisting to throw one of the caught pillows he's got at Bucky. Of course, he knows Bucky is doing this on purpose.

"Took you long enough," Bucky huffs as he catches the pillow thrown at him

"Go bug someone else," Tony growls at him, his hot temper building up quickly with how obvious Bucky is making his mission to bug Tony as much as possible as he takes advantage of that Tony can't hide.

"Spill your secrets already, sugar, and maybe I'll stop," Bucky says, being overly cheeky with a wink because he knows Tony won't do that and has to suck it up.

"What happened to your first approach?" Tony grinds out quickly, going from annoyed to angry

"I'm bored," Bucky shrugs easily. Besides, Tony gives him more information and clues when he gets fired up.

"So? Go bug wonder bread or some shit!" Tony shouts at him and points at Steve, who balks a little

"Stevie? Nah, he's an old man at heart," Bucky says, making a face as the others laugh, and Steve rolls his eyes.

"Don't drag me into this," Steve says, annoyed at being put on the spot.

"No, no. If it gets us somewhere," Clint probes, still chuckling a little bit

"Give me that," Tony snaps, yanking the pillow from Bucky's hand and getting off his chair.

"Again!?" Sam cries out, ducking to avoid getting nearly hit once again by something Tony has thrown at someone, but this time, it hits Clint square in his face

"No bitching! Why are you always in the fucking way!?" Tony shouts at Sam, though he wouldn't have been mad at the teen if he got beaned rather than someone else

"Me!?" Sam shouts, offended, as Clint angrily puts away the pillow after it hits him

"I'm the one who got hit in the face!" Cint barks, shoving Sam a little

"Boys," Natasha groans from her spot on the armchair, safely out of the way of this mess.

"May-" Bruce tries to cut in but stops when Bucky shakes his head a little, wanting to see how this plays out.

"Don't be a baby; it didn't hurt that much," Tony scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest as Bruce scoots closer to Natasha.

"That's not the fucking point, dude!" Clint barks back at him

"At least you got the pillow! Last time he threw a fucking book and nearly hit me!" Sam snaps at Clint. All three are stuck in this mess and getting more and more heated.

"So!?" Clint snaps back at him

"It's harder, you fuckwit!" Sam argues back at him loudly

"So is getting hit, you morons," Tony scoffs at the stupidity between the two.

"This isn't some fucking competition, you asshole!" Clint yells back at him

"Now it fucking is!" Sam shouts, making a point, seeing no going back and too caught up

"Please, I had an abusive dad," Clint snaps, knowing Sam didn't and assuming Tony didn't either. Sure, they were villains, but that was it really.

"So have I! You're not special bird brain!" Tony barks back at him

"Oh really!?" Clint snaps back, not believing him

"If you're so much better, then why don't you fucking share something, Stark!" Sam yells at him

"Please," Tony sneers, not so easily tricked into letting that information out.

"See! Nothing! You got nothing on this Stark, you and your golden spoon!" Clint snaps at him

"You can't possi-" Sam starts to add on, but Tony cuts him off.

"Fine, you wanna know something!? Has yours ever sewn your mouth shut!? Cause I think fucking not," Tony barks back at them.

"Tony," Bruce says quietly, utterly horrified.

Tony freezes his next argument, dying on his tongue as his eyes widen a little; that was not what he meant to say at all. No one knew about his parents in general, let alone the things they had done to him while they still had him. The colour drains a little from his face, and his stomach twists into knots. Tony flees from the room back down his hall as quickly as he can without full-on running away, but once he's out of sight, that does turn into a run. The team is left in a sickening shock. Howard Stark, the Howard Stark still loved by many and held as a worldwide role model, was abusive and has sewn Tony's mouth shut at least once. And Tony was probably placed in SHIELD due to that and the other abuse he had experienced during his time at home.

Tony slams his door shut behind him, forgetting to lock it like he usually does, his heart and mind racing. He's rightfully freaking out. This was huge, after all, and he never wants people to know about it, and he can tell stories about why and how things went badly. A memory of the needle has been brought up from it all as it flashes in his mind, making Tony cover his mouth with both hands. It triggers an attack, and Tony can't deny he had a part in this one coming on. Lurching forward and slamming his hands down on the ground in front of him, Tony starts to choke and gasp, feeling the fit twist and pinch around his throat and lungs painfully. He tries his best to calm himself down, but it's too late. The fit is getting away from him. It hurts, it really fucking hurts, and he can't get a proper breath. Roughly grabbing his throat with one hand. Tony squeezes his eyes shut as the copped taste fills his mouth. He's unaware of what is happening around him until it's too late. Someone's hands are on him, and he's being pulled up and held against someone to stop him from curling in one himself. His head is held up by one hand on his forehead to help keep the airway open, never mind how much Tony wants to curl up or how bad the pain is.

The team had gone after Tony, not sure what to do once they found him, but they couldn't just leave it there or him alone. Something feels wrong, and it only grows the closer they get to Tony's room or where they think it is. As they get close enough, they can hear him coughing and choking, and their minds instantly go to an attack, just like Phil had explained to them. Luckily for them, Tony hadn't locked his door, letting them in easily when they reached it. Bucky, being the first one through the door, grabs Tony hurriedly but also gently, getting Tony out of his curled-over spot. He holds Tony against him, forcing Tony to sit up and not hunch in and closing off his airway even more. Bucky tries to follow Bruce's panicked instructions as Sam calls for Phil on his cell. Everyone isn't sure what to do, and Tony isn't able to tell them, so they do the best they can. Tony manages to open his eyes a little, but his vision isn't the clearest thanks to the watery eyes, but he can tell it's Bruce in front of him. He never meant to cue Bruce into searching, but Tony looks to where his medi-pen should be. However, Bruce notices and whips around, digging around Tony's stuff. The drawers of his desk looking for whatever Tony was trying to see. Natasha helps him quickly, jumping in, and after a frenzied minute, Bruce finds it under the bed, half hidden by one of Tony's hoodies. It's like an EPI pen, but Bruce recognizes it from the textbooks. It's a pen made for manipulators like Tony, and he quickly uncaps it before stabbing it into Tony's thigh like a regular EPI pen, hoping to god it works.

"Bruce," Clint squeaks a little strangled as Tony starts to cough up more blood.

"I don't know, I don't know," Bruce says so quickly he's almost tripping over his words.

"Phil's on his way!" Sam announces loudly from the hallway

"Come on, come on," Bucky mutters as if it would make the medicine work faster.

"Thank god," Steve grumbles. Obviously, Tony can do it alone, but he wouldn't have made it to the pen, and it could have been so much worse.

"I think it's working," Natasha points out, having been watching Tony like a hawk.

At least Tony's choking is dying down a bit, and his breathing isn't as harsh or violent. Mostly, it seems like he's just gasping, trying to take calmer and deeper breaths, struggling to still fill his lungs enough. It's not easy. His throat is still tight now, scratched to shit, which makes it painful to breathe and swallow. By the time it takes Phil to get there, he's broken a dozen speed laws, but he comes in hot. Shocking them by only getting there ten minutes after he hangs up with Sam and making what Tony thinks is a new response record. Tony's breathing has become shallow, stuttering breaths. Still, they're deeper, and overall, it seems the attack is over, and he's just recovering as he tries to calm down fully.

"Tony! Guys!" Phil shouts, running down the hall toward them

"Phil!" Sam calls back, still freaked out but very relieved to see him

Phil is glad the others were there. It's actually a huge relief to see them there. Steve and Sam are in the hallway just outside the door, flanking it on either side. Inside the room, he finds the rest of them. Natasha is sitting just inside the doorway opposite of Bucky with Tony. Bucky is seated against the foot of Tony's bed with Tony still against him, his hand still holding Tony's up and against his shoulder. Tony looks worn out at best, sweaty and blood speckled on his lips as a stream seems to be drying up as it runs down his chin. The pen still sits beside his thigh where Bruce had administered it, now empty. Finally, Bruce is sat against Tony's dresser, cleaning his glasses, a nervous and calming fidget he gets in situations like this.

"Good job, guys," Phil says after taking a breath and patting Steve's arm.

"Yeah," Is all Steve can say. They know they all have a part in causing the attack in the first place.

"Tony," Phil says, stepping into the room.

"Not dying," Tony makes out between hitched and panting breaths.

"I'll bring more pens," Phil notes softly, eyeing the one on the ground.

"Please," Bruce says, tired but serious.

"Right then. I got him, James, Tony's hands," Phil says, and Bucky lets Tony go while Phil offers his hands to Tony.

"Oh fuck" Tony grunts as he takes them.

"Bruce, can you go into, I think, the third drawer, please, and see if you can find the M.V.?" Phil asks of him, not realizing Bruce probably has no idea what he's talking about

"Is this it? The vape thingy?" Bruce says, grabbing it and holding it up as Phil steadies Tony, who's on his feet now

"Yeah, that's it. Looks like one, but no, he just wanted something that didn't scream medical equipment or be too obvious," Phil says fondly, amused as he takes it from Bruce.

"Well, it works," Clint huffs. They would have had no idea if Phil hadn't just told them.

"As long as it does something," Natasha breathes out.

"That's two," Phil says, handing it to Tony, who takes it and puts it in his mouth.

"You're fault." Tony wheezes around the M.V. in a cloud of vapours as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"And ours, actually," Sam admits, a little guilty and sheepish.

"Easy idiot," Bucky huffs when Tony steps back from Phil, but he's unsteady. Bucky puts out a hand, easily reaching the back of Tony's leg to steady him.

"Fine, fucking touch me then," Tony grumbles, glaring down at him after another hit, but he has no energy to react to the touch.

"We had a fight, actually, and Tony might have said some things he regrets, and well yeah, now we're here," Clint tells Phil apologetically as he wrings his hands a little

"Well, it is the best way to make him say things he'd rather no one knows about," Phil says, but it makes them feel a little better about it.

"I happened to bring up Daddy, dearest." Tony grimaces, but thanks to the pen and the M.V., he's already feeling much better.

"Yeah, that'll do it," Phil says. He clearly isn't a fan of Tony's father, but they could have guessed that based on what they know now.

"Hand," Tony growls, lightly smacking away Bucky's hand a little more gently than he had originally intended.

"Don't ever do that again," Bruce says seriously, but he smiles when he notices the small face Bucky makes behind Tony's back.

"Whatever," Tony grumbles, feeling like shit, but he knows what comes next.

Tony pulls down the sleeve of his hoodie to cover his hand more before wiping some of the sweat off his face. The M.V. is finally out of his mouth- or, at least, held in his free hand. All eyes are, of course, still on him, but Tony can't bother to care at the moment.

"Cho's gonna want to see you," Phil sighs, knowing that Tony actually likes Cho but still isn't going to be happy about the visit.

'Can we just not?" Tony offers, annoyed, and it clearly shows on his face, strong enough to not be hidden by how tired he is

"Tony," Everyone drags out, making Phil laugh softly for a moment.

"Fine," Tony sighs, annoyed, but a teeny tiny part of him finds it just as amusing as Phil does

"But," Tony adds before anyone else can say anything else, "I'm not going anywhere; she wants me? She can come here," Tony finishes, not leaving room for arguments.

"That will work, I'll bring her by soon." Phil laughs a little. He knew Tony would bring things into more of his control.

"Can I try it?" Clint asks sue him he's curious about the damn thing as Tony puts it back in his mouth for another drag

"Go for it," Tony says, a tiny hint of amusement in his voice as he tosses it over.

"You fucking flavoured it!?" Clint laughs, taking off guard when he takes a little drag

"It would taste like shit otherwise," Tony says bluntly, and well, the obviousness gets pointed out.

"Right, pass it," Sam says, making a grab hand.

A few more of them try it before it returns to Tony, who wipes it off a little and puts it back in his mouth. Phil watches it pass around with a little smile, happy to see that Tony might actually enjoy himself around the others. His attack has totally changed everything, and they seem to be a lot closer. Still, then again, if Tony can fight with someone and turn it around again, well, he's usually more accepting of that. Tony's too quick and smart-mouthed, so if he thinks you're too easily offended, can't argue back, or move on from it, he doesn't see the point in trying to know them. Which is why they chose this set of teams besides the obvious lack of placements for them. The downside is they just put all the hot heads together, each with a massive amount of stubbornness, fiery tempers and smart mouths, but it could be good for them. They don't need to worry about Tony getting bored or making someone quit; the others don't need to stress about setting someone off cause they'd just fight it out. So, really, what could go wrong, right?

"You put all the hotheads together? That's why you picked us?" Bruce says as if he could read Phil's mind, finding it a little funny

"Well, I mean, besides lack of placement, who else could put up with him" Phil huffs, shrugging a little while he smiles

"I feel like shit," Tony voices, bringing it back to himself as he tips his head down his sleeve-covered hand to his forehead and sticks the M.V. into his pocket.

"Sit down then, please," Steve sighs as Tony groans and coughs a little

"He said sit nicely." Bucky tsks and pulls Tony back a little by the hem of his shirt

"They have a point," Phil says softly and backs Tony up some more just by entering his space more.

"I'm doin' it," Tony grumbles, really wanting to roll his eyes, but it would only make his migraine worse.

Tony easily lets himself be backed up until his legs hit the bed, and he sits down on the edge of it. Once he's sat down, Phil steps out to grab Tony some water, and Tony rests his elbows on his knees and keeps his head bowed. He'd taken out the M.V. again, and it hangs loosely from the hand covering his eyes. There is still a wheeze as he breathes, but it's not bad, just noticeable, and even though he's trying not to show it, he's very clearly not over the attack. It's become second nature for Tony to hide anything and everything from people, specifically him being sick or hurt. Hopefully, things will change a little when things calm down again, and the scare gets moved on. No one wants any more guilt even though it's not really their fault that Tony had the attack, but you know it kind of is. Phil returns with the bottle of water and hands it to Tony, who looks at it a little reluctantly before taking it. Needing his hand back, Tony puts the M.V. in his mouth and uncaps it before taking it back out and taking a drink. The first time they'd seen him accept anything handed to him and without his little routine. Wincing a little, mostly in his face, as he takes the drink, shows that Tony's throat is shredded again, probably more than last time. Phil isn't sure about leaving him here after two attacks so close together, not to mention he should be under supervision. Phil still doubts anything will come from it, but it's better to be safe than sorry if there is another chance of something happening. Tony being alone is his normal after the attacks to recover away from eyes before he'd rejoin the others. Sighing a little, Phil thinks over his options. The team picks it up but says nothing, and Tony just ignores everyone else.