Burnt While Cooking
It was one of the rare times Tony and Steve were home at the same time, in fact all the Avengers seemed to be home from their missions. Carter was so happy to have both of daddies home, so to celebrate Tony decided to cook his son’s favorite food- spaghetti.
As soon as the idea was mentioned, all the Avengers had wandered up from their individual floors to the family floor in anticipation of the home cooked meal. Tony’s spaghetti was extremely delicious due to his special italian spices and his grandmother’s traditional recipe. Carter was not the only one excited for the meal. Bruce decided to make baked zucchini chips and garlic bread in addition to Tony’s entree. The Avengers put a movie on in the background while they broke out a bunch of board games.
Tony set the water to boil before joining the game of Monopoly cuddled against Steve. He had Carter in his lap who was occupied with playing with the game pieces. Bucky was also on Tony’s other side and the genius was helping Bucky cheat by guiding the soldier on which properties to buy. It was not long before Carter got bored and left Tony’s lap.
It was no secret Tony was the best at monopoly, he was practically born into the game. He got really competitive and focused leading to Steve having to practically push Tony off his lap to check on the bubbling water.
Tony grumbled but finally stumbled up and walked to the kitchen. Just as he rounded the island, his heart stopped as he saw his son reaching on his tippy toes for the boiling pot’s handle. His shout made the situation worse though because the boy jumped, knocking the pot, and if not for Tony’s quick reflexes, it would have covered the small boy. Tony jumped right in time to knock Carter out of the way, letting the pot spill on himself, but effectively keeping his son out of harm’s way. But after he felt the scalding water coat almost half of his body, he knew no more.
Steve jumped up at Tony’s shout just in time to see the boiling pot of water fall over and cover his husband along. The sound of Carter’s cries and hot sizzling, the view of misty smoke, and the smell of burning flesh quickly flooded his senses as he ran over.
Tony stood frozen at the stove. The only movement was his body’s involuntary shaking and Steve was frightened to look. He reached Tony just in time for the man’s body to go limp. Steve, who’s hand was on the back of Tony’s head, carefully lowered Tony flat with the help of Bruce and Clint who were at his side. It was then he finally got a god look at his husband.
The scalding water had burned Tony’s bottom half horribly. His legs, which were exposed below his shorts, were bright red and quickly swelling. The bottom half of his shirt was wet but stuck to his stomach. The water had also splashed his hands and arms, and if Steve wasn’t sure Tony was in a lot of pain, the intricate patterns of red and pink on his arms might have been pretty.
In his intense observation of the burns, it wasn’t until he heard a grunt that his eyes wandered his husband’s face. Tony’s eyes were squeezed shut but blood was dripping from his mouth as he bit through his lip. Steve’s eyes widened and he quickly moved up to Tony’s face.
“Tony, baby, look at me, open your eyes,” Steve called frantically. He vaguely heard Bruce shouting orders to the other Avengers but he was too focused on his husband.
Steve tapped Tony’s face lightly when his eyes simply tightened and tears squeezed out. “Baby, please, look at me,” Steve pleaded.
Finally Tony’s eyes wrenched open. They were bright red and watery with tears. “There’s my genius,” Steve forced himself to smile. “Take a deep breath now, okay? I know it hurts, you can scream all you want.”
Tony’s breath hitched but he kept biting his lip and forcing down whimpers. When Steve went to ask again, Tony quickly moved his eyes to something next to them. Steve followed his gaze and saw Carter staring at them from the edge of the kitchen. The little boy’s lip was wobbling as he took in the scene and his big blue eyes were shining with tears. A multitude of emotions flooded through Steve but he quickly forced out “Clint, can you take Carter to his room, please?”
As soon as the door to the elevator closed, Tony let out a loud sob that had Steve kissing the man’s face. “It’s okay baby, I know it hurts,” Steve said softly.
Steve watched as Bruce laid a cool cloth over the burns and pulled out a first aid kit. Natasha was on the phone with the ambulance talking frantically in hushed tones.
It was then Steve noticed Bucky. The man was standing, staring at the scene with an unreadable expression. Steve connected eyes with his oldest friend and called him over with his eyes.
Bucky snapped out of his daze and walked over, kneeling next to Steve and over Tony. Without prompt, he uncurled Tony’s fingers and forced them to relax with his own hands. “Hey Tones,” Bucky said in a low voice. “Did I ever tell you about the weekend I spent in Wakanda last month for a mission?” Steve watched Tony shake his head and take another round of breaths while focusing on Bucky’s voice. In reality, Bucky did tell Tony all about the trip when he got home from it, but Steve knew Bucky’s retelling of Tony’s favorite place on Earth would help calm him down.
While Bucky talked, Steve moved towards Tony’s legs next to Bruce. “What’s happening?” He asked the doctor quietly. While the burns were still bright red, some of them had started peeling and the swelling was becoming more noticeable.
“Ambulance is coming up the elevator now. It looks like second-degree burns but I don’t know for sure,” Bruce said sadly.
Steve nodded his thanks and moved back towards Tony as the paramedics came in.
It was painful to watch the medical professionals peel Tony’s shirt from his stomach, but not as painful as listening to Tony’s screams as his burnt skin clung on tightly to the fabric. Despite Tony’s hands being burned, he squeezed Bucky’s fingers tensely as he fought the pain.
They loaded Tony onto the stretcher but before they moved him to the ambulance, the genius asked to see Carter. Tony was still in pain but Steve could see he was fighting to keep it off his face as the little boy was summoned and carried over to him.
“Did I hurt you daddy?” Carter’s bottom lip wobbled.
“Of course not, baby,” Tony smiled, pointing to his body which was covered up by blankets, not unlike bedtime. “Daddy’s going to be gone for a little bit but I want you to be good for your papa, okay?”
A few tears leaked from Carter’s eyes. “Can I come?”
“No, you have to keep your papa company, he gets lonely remember?” Carter nodded, glancing at Steve. “But i’ll be back soon, I promise.” Tony’s smile wobbled a bit but he kissed Carter on the forehead.
“What about the spaghetti?” Carter asked.
Tony let out a wet laugh. “We’ll have spaghetti when I get back, okay?” Carter nodded and waved softly as Clint carried him away from the stretcher.
Steve gave his husband a kiss and nodded at Bucky, who nodded back meaningfully before following the stretcher. He wanted to go with Tony but he knew the genius would rather him stay with their son and make sure he was okay. He trusted Bucky to look after Tony.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, the group all let out a distressed sigh. Finally, it was Carter’s voice that forced them all out of their thoughts. “Can we make shawarma for daddy?”