Chapter 3
Tony woke up to see the worried faces of all his team members looming above him.
“ Please tell me nobody kissed me” He said trying to lighten the mood
The collective relief of his team mates was palpable. He got up with Clint’s help.
He was feeling giddy with relief. Not only did they win the battle, they also survived. In a fit of hysteria he suggested
“ Does anyone know what shawarma is? There is a place round the block that sells that thing, want to go?”
They all looked at him like he had finally lost it. Steve lifted an eyebrow before visibly thinking what the hell and said “ Sure why not”
That is how the Avengers found themselves eating Shawarma, uniform and all, in a small diner that had surprisingly survived the attack. The patrons were either shocked enough or used to New York’s general weirdness that they served them without many questions.
A ringing disrupted the calm that had settled over the group.
“Who brought their phone to the fight?” Natasha asked seemingly finding new levels of absurdity despite her long experience with SHIELD.
Tony blushed despite himself.
“ In my defence, my suit has a call option so technically I couldn’t have come without my ‘phone’”
“You are telling me that your suit is ‘ringing’?” Steve asked looking at the suit like it might explode
“ For lack of a better term, yeah. If it was fully functional I would just get a notification from Jarvis but right now most of the energy reserves are being used to ensure that the suit is still mobile despite its weight”
Bruce gave him a tired but impressed look.
Without the headpiece display, Tony didn’t know who the caller was but he was curious so he accepted the call.
“ Hello?”
He heard a shuddering breath on the other side
“ Tony you PIG HEADED IDIOT!”
Tony recognised that voice. He had a minute to be grateful about the fact that he had lived a considerably long life because this was surely when he would be butchered. Brutally. Especially considering the last message he left. He looked heavenwards to beg for mercy from any deity that was listening.
“ WHAT IN HADES WERE YOU THINKING?!”
Tony cringed.Greek cursing was a sign of definite doom.
“-FLYING to outer space without backup. Aren’t you supposed to be a GENIUS?”
“ Perce-”
“ -And free falling from a closing portal, If Hulk hadn’t caught you, I would have had to scrape the roads for your remains YOU ABSOLUTE IMBECILE! ”
“ Liste-”
“-and that message? That goodbye and I won’t be able to properly thank you?”
Tony could hear hitched breaths and heart wrenching sobs. He couldn’t bring himself to talk
“ Is that any way to tell me you love me you bastard?”
At this point he could tell that all the anger was replaced by overwhelming relief
“ Please tell me you are okay. That-”
“Percy, I am okay.”
A shuddering breath
“ I love you”
“ Where are you?”
“Remember that Shawarma place we saw when we were going to my place, the one you said looked like it could barely serve 10 customers, the one you wanted to go to?”
“Yeah..”
“All of us crashed here”
“Stay right there, I’ll see you in 15 minutes”
Tony smiled as the call disconnected. He looked up to see the surprised expression of the avengers.
“ So you have a boyfriend” Natasha asked picking up another roll to look casual
Tony simply nodded.
“ One that you love? Like is he supplying you drugs or something? You didn’t just sleep with him and move on?”
Well, Tony thought, he couldn’t really blame Clint for coming to that conclusion. Heck if someone told him a year ago he would have laughed and then taken that person to an asylum himself. Now though, it was just a fact. Tony loved Percy. The earth goes around the sun.
“ I did sleep with him once but that doesn’t change the fact that I love him”
“Danm, the sex must have been phenomenal then”
Tony smirked “ can’t really deny that”
“The man of Iron finally found a worthy mate?” Thor asked
“You could say that”
“Hearty Congratulations friend Stark!”
“Um.. Thanks big guy”
Tony was expecting to feel anxious or even scared. He had just declared his feelings not only to the subject of those feelings but also to an entire group of people he barely knew. Yet he was feeling content despite knowing that Percy may or may not return his feelings he was happy for having declared them.Maybe one of the side effects of a near death experience.
His musings were cut short by the sound of the door opening. All of them looked to see who the newcomer was.
Percy was breathing hard. His black hair was dusty and had unidentifiable things in it. His shirt was torn in many places and his pants were shortened in a way that did not look intentional and his shoes had seen better days. Bleeding from various cuts and sea green eyes bright with unshed tears Tony had never seen a sight more beautiful.
Tony didn’t know when he stood up but the next thing he knew, he had an armful of sobbing doctor.
“I love you too you utter cock,Gods help me I love you” Percy was muttering into his suit
“Don’t ever do that to me again.You are not allowed to go to places where I can’t go,clear?”
How Percy managed to look intimidating and worried at the same time with tear tracks on his face was beyond him.
“ Crystal” Tony replied, cradling his face.
“ Please do continue ignoring us, it’s not like we mind or anything” Clint drawled from behind them.
Tony sighed, introductions were in order he supposed.
“ So you have been dating for a year?” Steve voiced the question in everyone’s mind
Percy laughed “ Not exactly. We knew each other for a year. We never even went on a date”
“Hey!” Tony exclaimed, indignant “ We went on 3 dates!”
“We did?”
“You just didn’t know they were dates”
Percy looked like he did not know what to do with Tony.
“ You don’t have to stay with him,Dr.Jackson, you seem like a genuinely nice guy. It’s too late for all of us though but you can still escape.” Clint stage whispered into Percy’s ear
“ I have a feeling I am going to regret it many times in the future but I do have to make sure this idiot lives so I am just as stuck as any of you, and please call me Percy”
Tony was not pouting.
“I like this one” Natasha said
“ If everybody is done, can we leave?” Tony asked eager to get some control of the conversation.
Percy smiled at him knowingly and took his hand.
This might not be so bad after all.
After 2 weeks of continuous work, New York was starting to look like it’s old self again. The displaced people were temporarily relocated to various safehouses and Stark tower was itself housing a lot of people. Following this lead many other buildings were being offered as temporary shelters by different companies.Clearing all the debris and dealing with Chitauri technology was another mammoth of a task which did not seem to end any time soon. After the Battle everyone crashed at Stark tower and nobody mentioned leaving yet. Tony was surprisingly comfortable with this development especially since Percy wasn’t leaving and Tony was a little paranoid about his safety now.
“ But what if the building collapses?”
“Tony-”
“This wouldn’t be the fist, there are so many collapsing-”
“TONY!”
Tony stopped mid rant
“I understand your worry, I really do. But I cannot be under house arrest for the rest of my life Tony. I will not be gone for too long. I just need to check in with Triton to see if everyone in Atlantis is okay. Moreover he is worried and he doesn’t have to be. You’ll see me for dinner, okay?”
Tony knew he was being irrational. But he couldn’t help but think of worst case scenarios of Percy lying somewhere hurt and helpless while Tony sat here clueless.
“Why don’t you come with me?” Percy said seemingly sensing his hesitance
Tony’s smile was answer enough.
Percy’s brother was horrible, Tony decided. What sort of name was Triton anyways?
You are a grown man Tony, act like it Pepper’s voice said in his head.
He scowled. It wasn’t his fault. Triton was being an ass. The whole time Tony was there Triton ‘Tri’ Olympian was glaring at him whenever Percy was not looking. ‘Tri’ also had a hand around Percy’s shoulder, like he was trying to keep Percy away from him. When Tony held Percy’s hand Triton growled. Honest to god growled, and all Percy did was look worried and ask if his throat was okay.
All that he could maybe tolerate but he was absolutely pissed when ‘Tri’ oh so sweetly suggested that Tony should go wait outside because the brothers had some ‘family matters’ to discuss and Percy agreed.
That is why Tony was fuming and pacing outside the closed door wishing more than anything that he could punch that smug bastard in his perfect teeth.
When the door opened and a pale Percy stumbled out Tony regretted not punching the smug bastard as soon as he met him.
Percy swayed and Tony moved to quickly help him onto a chair worry for him overriding his anger.
“ Hey,” Tony said, kneeling in front of the younger man. “ What happened?”
“Give me a minute” Percy whispered
“ Take him back Stark, he will need rest” That obnoxious bastard said
Tony stood up in righteous anger
“What did you do to him?”
Triton looked at Tony like he was deliberating something. He then turned to Percy and said something in a language he did not understand.
[“do you want him to know?”]
Percy responded back in the same language
[“at some point I will tell him everything, just tell him why I am like this now”]
Tony looked between the two of them
“What’s going on here?”
Just then Percy groaned and rushed to the bin in the corner. Both Triton and Tony ran to his side. Tony held him as he heaved a couple of times before he stood up and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, body going slack.
Tony was so stunned he just supported him till Triton lifted him bridal style and propped him on a sofa.
Triton looked resigned like he had seen this often and brushed back his hair from his forehead.
“He has been through too much when he was younger.” Triton began “When he finally reached 20 years of age he was so traumatised, living normally was impossible for him. We all tried doing many different things to help him but nothing seemed to help. It broke our heart to hear him cry out asif in unimaginable pain yet be able to do nothing about it.”
Triton turned towards him “ Then suddenly one day he walked out of his room and wished us all good morning. We were so shocked it was like seeing him before it became so bad. We acted like it was normal for a few days worried that the progress he seemed to be making may get hindered. Then we noticed that he seemed to have no recollection of anything that happened for the past 4 years at all. On taking him to a doctor we discovered that he was suppressing his traumatic memories because it was all too much. He might remember it all one day or he might not but sometimes he gets these recollections which leave him like this” Triton said gesturing to the supine form of his brother.
Tony was shocked.He did not know what to think.
“ I know my brother loves you and he feels you do too. I do not think you deserve him but if you ask me no being is worthy enough to deserve my brother.”
“Frankly I don’t deserve him. I don’t know why he chose me when he could have anyone he wants but I do love him. I don’t know how but I will help him in any way I can.”
Triton looked a bit more satisfied at that
“I will be watching you Stark, My brother trusts you. Don’t give me reason to doubt that trust.Now take him back ,as I mentioned before he will need to rest.”