Scoliosis
Tony wasn’t born with scoliosis, it was a result of years of being hunched over desks, workshop tables, and being in the Iron Man suit that caused his spine to curve. It was after weeks of constant back pain and the observation of his abnormal posture that Sam dragged him to the doctor to get an evaluation.
In two weeks time, he was diagnosed with scoliosis, given a back brace, and scheduled for weekly physical therapy sessions. Even so, he did not inform any of the Avengers living with him.
Sam did not support his wish to keep his medical business in secret from the team, but he was a very private person and did not want to be seen as a liability in any way.
It wasn’t until the team planned a trip to the Six Flags amusement park that he regretted not telling them.
The group decided to take a large van so that they could all ride together. Tony and Sam had tried to convince them an RV, or even a limo-truck would have been better, but no one cared about the extra space.
The car ride was about two hours long, and 30 minutes into it, Tony was already feeling horrible. Every bump on the road, every turn, even just the trumble of the tires jostled his back causing pain to shoot up his spine. The van was just a bunch of rows so there was no place for him to stretch or move around, which made him far from comfortable.
Sam tried to help by subtly sneaking him tylenol and rubbing his temples when his headache grew bad, but nothing was working.
An hour into it, Tony was resting against Sam's chest weakly, and whimpering softly at every bump. The car ride was loud with conversation so no one noticed the pain Tony was in or saw the concern in Sam’s eyes. Finally, when a tear rolled down Tony’s face, Sam couldn’t take it anymore.
“Can we pull over?” He shouted up to the front.
Natasha turned down the music and looked at Sam through the mirror. “We’re almost there, can’t you wait to use the bathroom?”
“No, I really need to go. I think there’s a rest stop coming up, can we stop there?” He asked.
“Uh, I wouldn’t mind a bathroom break either?” Scott spoke up.
“And a snack!” Clint said.
“Fine,” Natasha sighed, changing the GPS.
When they reached the rest stop, everyone jumped out the car quickly seeing that the place had McDonalds and a Cinnabon.
Sam waited until they were all out before talking to his boyfriend. “Are you ready to get out? You should try walking a little.” Tony took in a shaky breath and nodded, wincing as the motion angered his migraine.
Sam slid open the van door and climbed out. He reached back inside to unbuckle Tony’s seatbelt. The genius groaned as he shifted his body to the side to face the door. Sam leaned forward, bracing Tony’s body against his. Once his boyfriend’s head was over his shoulder and he had an arm wrapped around his waist, Sam dragged Tony as gently as possible out the van.
Tony muffled his shout of pain into Sam’s shirt and pressed his face into his boyfriend’s neck. Tony vaguely heard the van door close behind him as he worked on getting his legs to hold his weight as pain from his spine shot down them.
Sam shushed him as they stood in the parking lot, waiting for Tony’s pain to eb away enough so that he could walk. Sam ran fingers through his hair pressed kisses to his cheeks.
Suddenly, the man realized something. “Where’s your brace?” Sam asked.
Tony sighed, knowing he was caught. “In the trunk.”
“Tones,” Sam said, disappointed.
“Don’t want them to see,” Tony muttered into Sam’s shoulder.
Sam sighed. “If you put it on, i’ll give you my hoodie so that no one can tell.”
Tony thought it over- he didn’t like wearing his brace, but he really really liked Sam’s hoodie. “Fine.”
Sam nodded, and pulled away. He kept his hands on Tony’s waist and helped the man walk to the back of the van. Sam opened the trunk, and lifted Tony so he sat inside. He helped the genius remove his shirt, knowing he wasn’t able to raise his arms above his head on bad days like this, and snapped Tony’s back brace around him.
Tony noticeably relaxed with the back brace supporting him. Tony closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as his shirt was placed back on and a hoodie was slid over his head. “Better?” Sam asked. Tony nodded and was helped out of the trunk.
He was noticeably steadier as they walked to the bathroom, but he still walked a but slower and stiffer.
Tony was quiet the rest of the way to the amusement park, cuddled in Sam’s arms as everyone else munched on their snacks.
They arrived a bit later than expected with the stop, but tickets didn’t have a specified time to arrive on them.
Sam spent the whole walk to the entrance trying to convince Tony to use one of those electric wheelchair things that the park allowed guests to rent, but Tony adamantly refused knowing he’d be all over the magazines if someone caught a photo of him in it.
The team all gathered by the water fountain in the park and planned out the order of rides they wanted to get on. Steve, Tony, and Sam had never been on a roller coaster, so the team decided to check out the Batman ride first. Bruce had also never been on a rollercoaster but he decided to stay and sit with the belongings at the exit to make sure the Hulk wouldn’t make an appearance.
Steve was not very excited to get on the roller coaster, whereas Tony was pumped. “It’ll be just like flying,” Tony said the nervous Captain.
“I don’t like flying,” Steve said, eyes narrowed. “I prefer to have my feet on the ground if I can help it.”
But when they got off the ride, Tony was the only one who definitely did not have fun. Again, the bad pain day made the jostling hurt way more than usual and the upside down part of the coaster had him seeing stars. Sam had to help him walk down the ramp to get off the ride and he winced with every step.
The team saw his grimace when they gathered together. “Didn’t like the ride, Tony?” Clint smirked.
“It was...nice,” Tony said. He didn’t know if he should say that he didn’t like it so he wouldn’t be forced to get on any more, or say that he did so that he didn’t get seen as a coward.
If his back wasn’t hurting he probably would have enjoyed the ride. Being in the air was his favorite thing he just wasn’t used to being so restrained like on the ride. His back would have been broken a long time ago if the iron man suit was as constrained as the Batman ride. He could barely breathe with all the buckles and padded bars holding him down.
“What a wuss,” Scott laughed, high-fiving Clint.
Tony glared but stayed silent. Sam pulled him close, levelling his own disappointed glare at Clint.
They forced him onto two more roller coasters before it was time for a snack break. Tony was dead tired by the time they walked to the snack stand. His head was spinning and his back was spasming while the group ordered.
Tony fumbled in his pocket for his card to pay for the group’s food but his shaking hands sent his whole wallet to the floor. The group stared in confusion as Tony stared blankly at the ground, not making a move to pick it up. Tony knew if he bent down he would literally not be getting up.
“The laziness,” Clint sang. A few of them chuckled and Tony’s cheeks blushed in embarrassment.
Sam, who was at the stand ordering, turned at Clint’s words. The man cursed and walked over to pick up his boyfriend’s wallet from the ground. The action only made Clint roll his eyes. “Whipped,” he scoffed at Sam.
Steve shot them his disappointed face. “Tony, Sam should not have to wait on you hand and foot.”
Something in Tony’s chest panged. He knew he was a burden to Sam, but hearing the words out loud made him want to cry. He looked up into Sam’s eyes. “Sorry,” he whispered.
Sam pulled him close, “Tony-” Before he could finish, the genius broke out of his arms and stumbled away. “Tony!” Tony didn’t turn around, the pain visible in his gait.
Sam turned around, a furious look on his face. “Don’t ever comment on our relationship- it’s between me and him, stay out of it.”
“But the team-”
“Fuck the team. What happens between me and Tony has nothing to do with the team,” Sam snarled. Sam gave them one more glare before turning around to walk after Tony.
Sam caught up with the genius who had made it pretty far before he was forced to collapse on a park bench. Sam could see the pain in his tense face and the way his knuckles were white from squeezing the bench.
Sam sat down slowly and pulled Tony’s head to his chest. He felt the tears dampening his shirt. “Sorry,” Tony whispered.
“Don’t apologize for anything. I love you so much, baby. So much,” Sam said softly.
His shirt got damper and he felt Tony squeeze his shirt in his fist. “It hurts,” he whimpered.
“What kind of pain, Tones?” Sam asked, moving his hand farther away from Tony’s lower back where he knew most of the pain originated.
“Spasms,” Tony gasped.
Sam cursed internally. Spasms were incredibly painful to experience, often rendering Tony unable to move because they hurt so bad.
Sam looked around trying to find a map. He didn’t know which was closer, the park’s medical center or the car. Sam felt Tony’s hot forehead and realized Tony was still wearing his sweatshirt in this hot weather. He tried to lift the hoodie off his boyfriend, but Tony started to whine. “Baby, I have to take it off or you’re gonna overheat.”
Tony whined, holding his hoodie down. Sam sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. He didn’t think he’d be able to carry Tony all the way to the car, but if the man sat in the hot sun for much longer, he would get sick.
In the middle of his panic, shoes appeared in his vision and he looked up to see Steve staring at them guiltily. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I shouldn’t have judged,” Steve said.
“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have called you lazy, Tony. You do a lot for us. In fact I should be at your beck and call,” Clint chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his neck.
Tony sniffed and nodded his thanks. His eyes met Sam’s who looked at him meaningfully. “Tell them,” his boyfriend whispered.
Tony gulped and turned towards the team. “I have sc-scoliosis. Which means sometimes…”
“Sometimes he needs help doing things,” Sam said. “He wasn’t being lazy, he was- is in pain.”
It wasn’t much of an explanation, but now wasn’t the time. Even so, the group nodded, looking even more guilty if possible.
“We are going to go back home, but you guys can stay and we’ll just call a cab-”
“No, we’re ready to go too,” Steve said, and the rest nodded.
Sam looked at Tony, “he’s not feeling very well.”
Bruce moved forward and kneeled in front of Tony. He checked his vitals and put a hand on his forehead. “You should take this hoodie off, Tones.”
Tony shared a look with Sam before giving in and nodding. Tony winced as Bruce and Sam helped him lift the hoodie over his head. He looked up, surprised, when no one gasped at his back brace. The group stared, but no one looked angry or disgusted, merely curious. Tony let out a breath.
When Tony tried painfully to stand, Steve stepped forward and lifted him bridal style. Sam helped arrange Steve’s arms so that there was no pressure on his lower back. He could still feel the spasms of pain at every step, but he bit his lip, trying to hold in whimpers.
The car ride was much quieter as Sam’s gentle fingers applied light pressure to Tony’s back and the man tried to go to sleep. Everyone in the group sent them concerned glances throughout the whole ride.
The rest of the day the group spent time in the common room, watching movies with Sam and Tony. Clint made hot water bottles, Bruce kept an eye on Tony’s vitals, and Scott fluffed Tony’s pillows every few minutes. Tony rolled his eyes at the mothering, but secretly he was grateful his team was so caring.