Kidney Stones
Tony tried to keep his whimpers quiet as possible. It was 4 in the morning and he was awoken by a horrible pain in his stomach that kept getting worse with every minute. He had a high pain tolerance but even this was reducing him to whimpers. He tried as hard as he could not to wake up Rhodey, but he couldn’t resist shouting when a particularly rough bolt of pain rushed through him.
“Tony?” Rhodey whispered into the darkness of the room.
Tony didn’t answer, instead biting his lip against the pain.
“Jarvis?” He heard Rhodey say and soon the lights were turned on, though a bit dim.
“Oh Tones,” Rhodey melted, sitting up. “What’s going on?”
“M’ Sorry,” Tony cried, a few tears slipping from his eyes.
“No, no. What’s going on, baby?” Rhodey frowned, grabbing Tony’s hand.
“I don’t know, Rho,” Tony whimpered. “I don’t-” Tony squeaked as pain radiated through his stomach and side. He squirmed in the bed and fisted the sheets.
Rhodey pulled Tony into his arms. “It’s okay, deep breaths, baby,” Rhodey coaxed Tony. The billionaire didn’t realize how thin the air was until Rhodey pointed out his lack of breaths. “Is it your stomach? Is it cramping?”
Tony nodded. “Is not cramps-” The genius froze again as the pain took over his body. “I’mma be sick,” he mumbled.
Rhodey’s eyes widened and he immediately jumped up. He pulled Tony to the edge of the bed but stopped when Tony screamed in pain, grabbing his stomach. “It’s okay, baby, you’re okay,” he muttered. He pulled Tony into his arms and placed him in front of the toilet just in time. Rhodey rubbed Tony’s back as his husband cried and vomited. “Jarvis, can you get Bruce?”
When Tony was finished, his eyes closed and he started to melt toward the floor. “Woah, hold on, baby,” Rhodey exclaimed, pulling him up and helping him lean against the tub. Rhodey moved to the sink and wet a towel before wiping Tony’s mouth. The billionaire’s face was creased with exhaustion and pain, but Rhodey didn’t know what to do.
Luckily, a half-sleepy Bruce stumbled in. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. He just woke up in pain and then he threw up-”
Bruce kneeled in front of Tony and started checking his vitals. “Where is the pain, Tony?” Tony whined in his exhausted state, lazily gesturing towards his stomach and side. “What does it feel like?”
Tony wiped the sleep out of his eyes and jumped as another bolt of pain stabbed him. “S’ burning and sharp,” he rasped.
Bruce lifted Tony’s shirt and felt around. “Does this hurt?” The scientist asked, pressing down on Tony’s tense stomach. Tony shook his head and Bruce frowned. “It doesn’t hurt when I press?” Tony shook his head again and shouted as the pain increased.
“Breathe, baby. Breathe,” Rhodey encouraged, massaging Tony’s hand.
Bruce pulled Tony’s shirt back down. “It’s not appendicitis, so that’s good. But I’m not completely sure what’s wrong. I know he doesn’t want to go to hospital, so I suggest giving him painkillers and waiting to see if it gets better,” he told Rhodey.
Rhodey nodded, though still worried.
“Do you need help getting him back to bed?” Bruce asked awkwardly.
Rhodey glanced at his 5’7, barely 150lbs husband. “I got him.” Bruce nodded, leaving, and Rhodey pulled Tony into his arms. He set him down on the bed and helped him get settled while Bruce fetched pain pills and water.
Tony spent the next half hour with his face pressed into Rhodey’s side, crying from the pain, while the military man rubbed his back. Luckily, Tony was able to get a respite from the pain when he cried himself to sleep.
Tony and Rhodey woke up exhausted the next morning. Tony’s stomach wasn’t hurting very much but he could still feel the ghost of that horrible pain in his stomach and side. Rhodey was happy he was feeling better but they both were still miffed as to what had happened.
Tony was also miffed at the pain he experienced when he went to pee that morning. He also was concerned how pink the bowl was when he went to flush but decided not to alert Rhodey.
The pair joined the team for breakfast in the common area. Other than the occasional glance of concern from Bruce, and Tony’s lack of appetite, they acted like everything was normal.
That was until in the middle of a conversation, Tony scooted his chair back suddenly, causing a loud scraping sound to overtake the room. Everyone looked towards him as he stumbled out of his chair and to the elevator. “Gotta ch-check something,” he mumbled. Rhodey squeezed through the doors just as they closed.
As soon as they were in private, Tony’s knees collapsed and the only thing that held him up was Rhodey’s firm grasp around his waist. “Same thing as last night?” Rhodey asked knowingly.
Tony nodded. “But also my back now,” he added. When the doors opened, Tony took a deep breath and slowly shuffled his way out of the elevator, eyes scrunched in pain. He made it pretty far with Rhodey’s help until another spike of pain stabbed through him and he fell to his knees.
Rhodey followed him down, rubbing his shoulders. “Breathe, baby. That’s it,” he said softly. “Let’s get you to the couch and i’ll fetch some medicine, okay?” Tony took a few more hitched breaths and nodded. Rhodey helped him stand and was forced to carry him to the couch when the genius’ legs wouldn’t hold himself.
Rhodey wanted to cry at Tony’s moans of pain from the couch as he searched the cabinets for supplies. He grabbed everything he needed and made his way back over. He melted seeing Tony squirming around as his body fought the pain. “Hurts so much, Rho,” he cried.
“I know, baby, I know,” he whispered. He helped Tony swallow pain pills and water before sliding onto the couch behind him. He reclined against the arm of the large couch and helped Tony rest against his chest. He slid a heat pack between them against the area on the side of Tony’s lower back that he said was hurting. Tony snuggled up to his husband and tried to will the pain away. Rhodey listened to his lover’s moans of pain and couldn’t do anything but rub his belly gently and whisper reassurances.
Twenty minutes later, Tony’s head went limp as he slumped against Rhodey. “Tones?” The darker man asked.
“I feel sick,” he slurred, eyes closed.
Rhodey noticed the slight green tint to his face. “You’re gonna be sick?” He asked in alarm, searching for a bag or garbage can he could grab.
“No,” Tony hummed. “I jus’ feel sick.”
Rhodey relaxed and ran a hand through his husband’s hair. “Do you want to move to the bathroom just in case?”
Tony groaned in response and snuggled closer to Rhodey. He jumped as another sharp pain ran through him. “This sucks,” he pouted.
“I agree,” Rhodey sighed, kissing Tony’s hand.
Suddenly, the elevator door opened and a frazzled scientist ran in. “Kidney stones!”
Both Rhodey and Tony frowned. “Excuse me?” They both said at the same time.
“You’re passing kidney stones,” Bruce said, walking further into the room showing them a bunch of papers.
“So what does that mean? How do we get the pain to stop?” Rhodey asked, ignoring the medical documents shoved in his face.
“Well…you can’t,” Bruce said, slowly moving backwards at Rhodey’s changing expression.
“Why not?” Rhodey growled.
“Because the stone has to pass on it’s own.”
“And how long will that take?”
“Any time from 45 days to a year.”
“What?!” Rhodey and Tony both screamed.