Wheelchair
When the huge ship landed in their front yard and their husband came stumbling out, Steve and Bucky could not help but cry. They ran, faster than they ever had before, towards Tony as he was helped down the stairs by a blue girl. Tony’s mouth was wide as he took in huge breaths and his whole body shook horribly. Just as the pair reached him, his legs collapsed, unable to hold his weight anymore. But that was okay, because his supersoldier husbands were there to catch him.
Tony was about 20 minutes away from death on that ship, and his body took care to make him remember. He often had moments where he would space out, his mind far from the compound, which would be followed by a severe panic attack where Steve and Bucky spend anxious minutes trying to coax Tony to breathe normally- his brain telling him the oxygen was gone from the room. In addition, Bruce brought in a CPAP machine for him to sleep with because he would be plagued by nightmares so vicious sometimes he stopped breathing during the night- the machine would force life back into him. Even so, Steve and Bucky would take shifts to watch over him while he slept.
Last night was one of those nights where Tony was constantly in the fits of a nightmare, unconsciously fighting Thanos before dying in space. Bucky and Steve woke him up four times, but each time he would fall asleep to the same fate. In the morning, all three of them were exhausted.
“Come on baby, time to get up,” Bucky said softly, turning off the CPAP machine. Steve was already yawning on the other side of the bed, but he could see Tony scrunching his eyes, trying to will himself back to sleep. “Tones,” he sighed.
Steve curled into Tony and tucked his nose into his husband’s neck. “Good morning, baby,” he whispered, kissing Tony lightly. The genius yawned and opened his eyes.
“How about a bath, yeah?” Bucky said. Tony wasn’t strong enough to stand in the shower for long so it was easier for them to wash him in the tub. Tony yawned again in response and closed his eyes.
Bucky huffed and lifted the man off the bed bridal style, prompting a small shout from Tony and a laugh from Steve.
All three of them ended up in the tub and they were lucky it was so large. Steve reclined with Tony on his lap while Bucky helped wash the sickly man. Steve spent his time gently shampooing their husband’s hair. It was damaged from all the time it went without washing so he made sure to massage Tony’s sensitive scalp carefully.
The bath didn’t take very long but they did spend time just relaxing in the warm water after they were all washed. Before anyone’s fingers could get pruny, they took Tony out of the tub and dried him off. He was already tired from that small bit of activity, but tried not to let it show. Steve and Bucky helped him slip on his clothes- sweatpants and a loose t-shirt with a grey hoodie on top. They put him in some soft, warm socks and gave him his iPad to fiddle with while they got dressed.
After Steve and Bucky put on a similar comfortable attire, they gently woke up Tony who had fallen asleep again on the bed. The iPad had tumbled to the floor, but thankfully it was not broken. Before breakfast, they decided to do Tony’s exercises so the man could rest after.
Steve took Tony’s legs and started stretching and bending them, while Bucky took the genius’ arms and moved them around in circle motions. They were instructed by the doctor to help Tony gain back strength by doing physical therapy. His muscles had atrophied during his time in space and this would help him get closer to normal. It was a slow road, but they tried to help as much as they could.
When they were finished, Tony was panting slightly, his body shaking from the exercise. Steve helped him move to the edge of the bed where Bucky grabbed him by his waist to help him stand. Tony’s legs could still not completely hold his body weight for long, but he was getting stronger every day. Even so, the genius frequently got upset with himself over the lack of progress. His husbands make sure to remind him how grateful they are that he is even alive, being in a wheelchair is the least of their concern.
While Bucky encouraged Tony to take a few shaking steps forward while he held him up, Steve pushed the wheelchair over to the pair. Tony was able to take about four steps before his legs gave out. Bucky slowly lowered the small man into the chair.
Steve ran a hand through Tony’s still-drying hair. “You okay, baby?” He cooed. Tony nodded and continued taking deep gasping breaths. Bucky lifted Tony’s limp legs onto the footrests and placed a blanket onto the man’s lap.
“How you feeling, Tones?” Bucky whispered when he saw Tony’s scrunched up eyes and his tense grip on the armrests. “Want to rest for a second?” He saw Tony nod softly, so he sat on the ground in front of the chair.
Ever since his struggle in space, Tony had brief periods of light-headedness and dizziness. Occasionally, he would faint or get bad migraines. They tried to help him when they occurred but there was usually no warning. Tony would be fine one minute and complain of something splitting his skull open the next. Bruce figured it had something to do with the low oxygen his brain received in space.
The three sat quietly in the room while Tony fought through his dizziness. Steve rubbed his husband’s shoulder for support and Bucky placed a strong hand on his knee to ground him. After several minutes, Bucky was nervous Tony was about to pass out when his breathing got heavy. “Stay with us, baby,” Bucky said softly.
Tony took a sudden breath and placed his hand on top of Bucky’s. Steve kissed Tony’s cheek when his eyes slowly opened. “Glasses?” Tony muttered. Bucky jumped and grabbed the glasses from the side table. He put them onto Tony slowly and the man helped him adjust them onto his nose. Bucky leaned down and looked into the genius’ eyes. “M’okay,” Tony said, shifting in the chair.
Bucky re-tucked the blanket and nodded. Steve took the cue and started pushing Tony out the door. Bucky walked next to them, holding Tony’s hand.
Everyone was happy to see the genius and Rhodey couldn’t help but come over to fist bump Tony as he was wheeled to the table. It was a good distraction for Steve to quickly pull out the table’s chair to make space for Tony’s wheelchair. The man got frustrated about small things like that- he would much prefer to shakingly transfer over and spend the rest of breakfast tense as he fought to not fall out of the armless chair everyone else was sat in.
Breakfast was made by Bruce and Natasha- a large table full of pancakes, omelets, bacon, and more. Bucky could already see Tony frowning at the thought of all that food, so he made his husband’s plate for him. He put on about four spoonfuls of eggs, two pieces of bacon, and a pancake. Tony’s face was tinted green as the plate was put in front of him, but Bucky gave him a pleading look.
Tony’s stomach had shrunk drastically during his time in space and now it was hard for him to eat normal amounts of food. Steve and Bucky had spent many hours in the bathroom, sitting with Tony as he vomited.
Tony ate about two spoonfuls of eggs and a piece of bacon before he claimed he was full. Bucky forced him to eat half of the pancake before he was allowed to be done.
Steve noticed and leaned towards Tony. “You want to take a nap?” He said softly, entwining their fingers together.
Tony huffed and fidgeted in the chair. “M’ not tired.” Steve knew Tony hated how weak he’d gotten and his lethargy was just another reminder.
Steve sighed before smiling and turning to the whole table. “Anyone down for a movie?”
The Avengers gathered on the couches and floor to watch a romantic comedy. Tony, who was snuggled in between his two husbands on the couch, sighed and allowed his eyes to slide closed. “Love you,” he murmured.
His two husbands smiled and gave him identical kisses on each cheek.