Epilepsy
Tony did not like baseball, but Bucky did, so he was more than happy to go to the game with his boyfriend. In a New York Yankees t-shirt and hat, they both were very unrecognizable, which was another plus to attending the game in Tony’s book.
An hour in however, Tony was not so happy with his decision to attend. He was getting insanely hot under the heat of the sun and didn’t know where the food stand was since Bucky had been the one to get their food and drinks earlier and didn’t want to get lost in the huge stadium.
Tony took off his hat to fan himself. “How long is the game, Buck?” He asked his boyfriend, who was staring intensely at the field.
Bucky hummed in thought, “Most games are typically 2 to 3 hours.” Tony’s eyes widened but he held in a groan. “Why, bored already?” Bucky smirked and put his arm around Tony.
Tony sighed, leaning his head on Bucky’s shoulder. “No, I just don’t feel too good.”
“It’s probably because it’s so hot out.” Bucky took the hat from Tony’s hand and put it back on his head. He then took his own off to fan Tony.
“Thanks, baby,” Tony muttered, closing his eyes a bit. His head was starting to pound and the sweat had his shirt clinging to his skin uncomfortably.
Bucky kept rubbing his arm and Tony used it to ground him as his headache slowly tried to turn into a migraine. When Tony felt that familiar feeling of floating, he sat up suddenly, reaching in his bag for his medicine. He pulled out the bottle but his hands were shaking too much to open the cap. “B-Bucky?” Tony whispered, his head hurting too much to raise his voice any higher.
Bucky looked over but couldn’t hear Tony over the shouting of the game. Tony lifted his hand gesturing to the bottle so he took it from his shaking boyfriend. “Everything okay, doll?” He asked, concerned.
Tony shook his head, leaning back onto Bucky. Bucky could feel the worry swirling in his stomach, but he focused on the pill bottle. When Tony didn’t respond after he opened it, he rubbed a light finger onto Tony’s lip to get him to open up.
Tony swallowed the pill, opening his eyes in narrow slits and looked around confused as if he wasn’t completely sure of where he was. Bucky grew more concerned and pulled Tony closer. “Water?” Tony rasped.
Bucky leaned forward to grab the cup from the holder and brought the straw between Tony’s lips. Bucky frowned when half of Tony’s face seemed to sag, unmoving. The moving half of Tony’s lips grasped awkwardly at the straw. When Bucky noticed Tony’s eye twitching he understood what was happening.
Bucky put the cup back in the cupholder and put the chips that sat on his lap onto the ground. He pulled his boyfriend closer and tried to make him as comfortable as possible in the small stadium seats. He could no longer focus on the game, and instead focused on Tony’s eyes that were growing glassier by the second.
“Bu’y,” Tony slurred, sitting up.
Bucky helped lower him back down onto his shoulder. “I’m right here, doll. You’re okay.”
Tony’s eyes closed and his jaw started clicking. Bucky moved a piece of hair from his face and tucked it back under his hat. “Breathe, baby.”
Suddenly, Tony turned his face into Bucky’s chest and his body tensed. Bucky held his watch out, watching the time as Tony seized. His whole face was active- eyes blinking, nose scrunching, and mouth twisting. His neck twitched, the veins visible, and his hand beat weakly against Bucky’s chest. “Relax, doll,” Bucky repeated.
The crowd shouted wildly at the game, but Bucky could only focus on his seizing boyfriend. He wiped a bit of foam and drool that escaped from Tony’s mouth and held him closer as he started to twist out of the seat. “You’re okay, Tones. You’re okay, relax.”
About a minute later, Tony’s body started to relax until it was just his mouth that was twitching and his arm occasionally hitting Bucky’s chest. Bucky massaged circles into the appendage as he whispered softly into Tony’s ear over the loud game. “That’s it doll, you’re okay. Relax, Tones, I'm right here.”
It took another fifteen minutes until Tony was able to move his head from the crook of Bucky’s neck. He blinked slowly and his body was still limp, but he watched the game with slow-moving eyes as his body fought to awareness.
“Do you want to leave, baby?” Bucky asked softly. Tony hummed and tried to shake his head. “Okay then, just rest for a bit.” Tony nodded and settled on his boyfriend's chest.
A half hour after the seizure, Tony was feeling more like himself and was able to sit up. Bucky waited for the guy to come around and bought some snacks and another drink for Tony. After some time, Tony was more alert. “Who’s winning?” Tony asked when his mouth was able to work right.
“I’m not sure,” Bucky frowned, looking at the score. The last thing he’d thought about was the game. “Yankees I think.”
Tony nodded and curled further into Bucky’s side, chewing on a few pretzles. He stayed like that for the rest of the game and was pretty quiet in the car. Bucky knew Tony usually took a big nap after his seizures so the billionaire was probably ready to crash. As soon as they got into the car, Happy had seen the deep exhaustion in Tony’s features and had pieced together what had happened.
When the car was parked in the underground garage and they stepped out, Bucky had been too focused on grabbing their bags from the game to notice Tony’s slow movements. Happy ran to Tony’s side just in time to lower him to the ground as the genius started blinking rapidly.
Happy called him over to where he was helping Tony lean against the wall. Bucky ran over and kneeled in front of Tony. Happy had two hands holding the genius up as his body started to fold.
“Tones?” Bucky asked, watching Tony’s glassy eyes that continued to stare at nothing. Drool was continuously falling from Tony’s lips and the genius’ sunglasses were slowly sliding from his nose. Bucky pulled them off and dabbed at the drool.
Bucky saw Tony’s eyes flicker slightly, but he was still unresponsive. “Tones?” He called again softly. He looked at Happy, “Let’s lay him down.” Bucky and Happy slowly lowered the smaller man so that he was laying flat and put him on his side in recovery position. Tony groaned and his eyes blinked as he slowly came to awareness.
“Hey, Tones,” Happy said gently, rubbing his friend’s arm. Tony blinked a few more times and they watched him try to focus his eyes on Happy’s face. “You know you can’t sleep here,” he smiled.
Tony groaned again and his body started moving. Bucky helped the sleepy genius sit up. “We’ll get you to bed, alright? Then you can sleep,” he said.
Tony wiped at his nose before patting his face in confusion. “I have your sunglasses, doll,” Bucky said. As if he didn’t hear him, Tony continued weakly patting his pockets and looking around. “Tones, baby, I have your sunglasses right here, see?” Bucky held them up and still Tony continued to pat around.
Bucky sighed while Happy chuckled. “Lets get inside, Tony,” he said louder. He stood and started pulling on his boyfriend’s arm. Finally, Tony pulled himself up and leaned on Bucky to make his way inside. Happy followed behind with their bags.
The Avengers were all lounging in the common room when they got back. They looked up at the group’s arrival but simply waved at the look Bucky gave them. Tony didn’t even notice as he worked on dragging his feet and not falling asleep on the spot.
Happy lingered after the couple made their way into the bedroom and spoke to Rhodey. “Seizure?” The darker man asked.
“Two, I believed,” Happy grimaced.
Rhodey sighed and took the bags from Happy. “Thanks, Hap.” Happy nodded, waving to the rest of the group and left. Rhodey set the bags down on the table, seeing some of them had hot dogs and hamburgers for the team, and made his way to the bedroom.
He found Tony sitting on the edge of the bed, staring tiredly at the floor. The bathroom door was closed, so he figured Bucky was inside. The billionaire looked up when Rhodey entered the room. “Hey, Tones,” Rhodey smiled.
“Honey-bear,” Tony smiled back, running a hand through his messy hair.
“How was the game?” Rhodey kneeled down in front of Tony and started unlacing the billionaire’s shoes.
“Boring, but I think Bucky liked it.” Tony’s shaking hands worked on removing his watch.
Rhodey frowned at the shaking. “I heard you had two seizures?”
Tony huffed but nodded.
“Did you remember to take your medicine?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Yes Rhodey, I remembered to take the same pills I have been taking every morning since I was 10.”
Rhodey held his hands up in surrender. “Just worried about you, man.”
Tony sighed, guilty. “Well don’t be. I’m a grown man, platypus.”
“You’ll always be my little brother,” Rhodey smirked, pulling lightly on Tony’s hair. Tony ducked away, reaching out to hit Rhodey before he suddenly froze.
His hand, frozen in mid-air slowly fell to his lap and his face smoothed out, going blank. Rhodey put a hand on Tony’s cheek as the man grunted. “Tones?” The billionaire’s eyes grew glassy and he stared past Rhodey at the wall. He groaned, mouth falling open.
As his upper body started to sway, Rhodey helped him lay down. “You’re okay, Tones, relax,” he said softly, guiding the man to the bed. He vaguely heard the bathroom door open but was focused on his friend. Rhodey sat on the edge of the bed, his hand still rubbing Tony’s cheek gently.
Suddenly, Tony’s face started twitching. His mouth twisted, his eyes blinked, and his neck bulged. “It’s okay, Tony.” The small man’s arm moved, clenching and unclenching quickly.
Bucky approached, frowning at the grunts Tony let out. He stood in front of the pair and used a towel to remove the drool from Tony’s cheek and shirt. He noticed a growing wet stain on the front of Tony’s pants.
As quickly as the seizure started, it was over and Tony blinked to awareness, quicker than earlier. He whimpered and curled into the pillow. Bucky put his hand on Tony’s forehead, checking for a fever. He was growing more concerned at this being the third seizure of the day. Tony had epilepsy, but he hadn’t had more than one seizure in a day in months.
Bucky found no fever, and Tony seemed to be okay. While the billionaire dozed, Bucky and Rhodey worked on changing Tony. Bucky pulled off his boyfriend’s pants and soaked underwear while Rhodey rummaged through the drawers for pajamas and new boxers.
Together they helped slide the clothes onto an exhausted Tony before dimming the lights. They had Jarvis keep an eye on Tony while they met the team in the common room.
“Is it true, he had two seizures today?” Bruce asked as soon as they entered. Everyone looked up at them, worried.
“Three, now,” Bucky sighed. “I should call his doctor.” Bucky pulled out his phone and moved toward the kitchen.
“He okay?” Steve asked Rhodey when the man sat down.
“He’s resting now, it was just his normal absence one,” Rhodey said. “I think Bucky’s just concerned because he had more than usual. But I’m hoping it was just because of the heat of the game or stress.”
Steve nodded just as Bucky came back out.
“She said he should be fine, but just monitor him. She is working at the clinic right now, but if he has another one, or shows any sign of status epilepticus, then to call her back or call an ambulance- well in reverse order if it's the latter,” Bucky reported.
The team nodded. Bucky started to walk towards the bedroom but was stopped by Steve. “Bucky, I know you have to be tired. We’ll take turns watching Tony, you relax for a bit,” the super soldier said, leading his oldest friend towards the couch.
Bucky hesitated, but finally sat down with a sigh. He gave Steve a grateful smile as the soldier made his way to the bedroom. Natasha moved towards him and pulled his legs onto the couch so that he was reclined and then placed his legs onto her lap. Clint turned on a movie and Bucky let it fade in the background of his mind as he was pulled into sleep from the day’s emotions.
He awoke (he doesn’t know how much later) by Clint who was shoving him in the arm frantically. “It’s Tony,” the archer said, panic in his eyes. That was all it took for Bucky to wake up completely and run full speed towards the bedroom.
Rhodey and Steve were surrounding the bed while Natasha was in the corner on the phone. Steve looked up as Bucky approached but Rhodey kept his eyes on the figure in the bed.
Tony was in the middle of a grand mal seizure. His arms were crossed and jerking while his legs kicked out and his face was twisted toward the pillow. Every inch of Tony was moving in some way, almost rhythmically. Tony was letting out painful sounding grunts and foam and drool wouldn’t stop spewing from his mouth. “Time?” Bucky choked out.
“Going on five minutes now. This is his second one back to back,” Rhodey said, his voice full of tension.
Bucky kneeled by Tony’s head on the bed and placed a gentle hand on the billionaire’s cheek. “Hey doll, you’re okay,” he whispered. “I need you to calm down for me, baby.” Bucky used the towel by the bed to wipe some drool away but it wouldn’t stop. Tony moaned and Bucky prayed that Tony was not awake to feel the pain of the seizure. Tony typically is unconscious during them, but once in a while he retains consciousness, though he can’t talk, and he said the pain is absolutely horrible.
Bucky’s heart slowed down slightly when he saw Tony’s body starting to relax. Loud whimpers erupted from Tony’s mouth as his limbs fell to the sheets. His eyes slowly opened, though they were extremely glassy. “Tony? Tony?” Bucky called. The billionaire made no move that he had heard Bucky and his body was still besides for one of his hands that continued to clench and unclench.
Bucky pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend's cheek and went to rub his arm, when suddenly, Tony’s body tensed up and started shaking. Tony let out choking noises and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Again, the twitching started up. His body spasmed and flexed, and his neck twisted uncomfortably. “What’s the ETA on that ambulance?” Bucky asked the room.
“2 Minutes,” Natasha provided, staring at the bed solemnly.
When Tony started gasping for air, Bucky’s eyes widened and he searched for Bruce who was in the corner, trying to stay calm. “He needs oxygen,” Bucky said. Bruce nodded and raced out the room.
Bruce came back into the room a half second later and placed an oxygen mask over Tony’s mouth and nose. When Tony continued to gasp, Bruce shifted the billionaire’s head from where it was flexed unnaturally into the pillow and the gasping stopped as his airway became clearer.
Tony’s limbs completely extended, tensed up tight, and his body trembled. Rhodey and Steve helped hold him onto his side while Bucky wiped the foam away and spoke to him. “It’s okay, Tones. You’re doing great, just relax, baby.”
Tony was still seizing as the paramedics came into the room. Bucky rattled off Tony’s current medical records while Rhodey reported his past ones. As Tony calmed down from the latest seizure, they quickly strapped him onto the stretcher and brought him to the ambulance. As soon as he was inside they hooked him up to a bunch of tubes and wires, including an IV of anticonvulsants.
Tony’s doctor, Dr. Karly, met them at the hospital. The hospital had not allowed Tony’s team into his room, but as soon as Dr. Karly arrived, she gestured them in- glaring at any of the staff who tried to stop her.
As soon as Bucky entered the room, he ran to Tony’s side, happy to see that to see his boyfriend was no longer seizing, and pressed kisses to his cheeks.
Tony had what looked like a thousand wires attached to his head covered in a white knit cap. One of the wires peaked out of the cap and went down to Tony’s cheek. It was crossed by an oxygen cannula that snaked under Tony’s nose.
At Bucky’s kisses, Tony slowly became aware- his eyes opening in small slits and his fists clenching. He reached up to the oxygen cannula which tickled his nose and yanked at it. “Bu’y?” he slurred.
“I’m here, Tones.” Bucky pulled Tony’s hand away from the cannula that was now bent.
Dr. Karly huffed and walked over, replacing the oxygen cannula with a new one. She used pink tape to tape it onto Tony’s cheeks. “You’ve broken over twenty of these since I've known you, Tony. No more!”
Tony used what little coordination he had to pout and rub at it half-heartedly. “Don’ like it.” The team chuckled and Tony turned his slightly glossy eyes towards the group, just noticing them. He gave them a weak wave.
Dr. Karly pulled out her chart. “We’ve done a few tests and are just waiting for the results to come in to let us know what brought you into status epilepticus. In the meantime, we have you on Lorazepam and Diazepam which seems to be working.”
“When can I get out of here?” Tony groaned dramatically.
Dr. Karly’s lips flattened, used to Tony’s games. “As soon as the tests come in and we find out what caused the episode, you can go. So hope that it’s something simple.”
Tony gave her lopsided smile and tried to cross his fingers. With his limbs still lagged from the seizures, he couldn’t get his fingers to cross and ended up giving her a weak peace sign. Dr. Karly rolled her eyes and started walking out. “Get some sleep, Mr. Stark.”
When the door closed, the Avengers were silent until Tony’s head jumped up. “Hey Bird-Brain, can you go down to the cafeteria and buy all the muffins?”
Clint’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “All the muffins?”
“All the muffins,” Tony smirked. Suddenly he started patting around, looking confused. “Where’s my wallet?” He looked down at his hospital gown, shocked. “Where’s my clothes?”
Bucky rolled his eyes and reached for the bag filled with Tony’s belongings. He fetched the wallet and handed it to Clint. “Make sure you get me a chocolate one.”
Clint grabbed Natasha and raced down the hall, giggling in excitement.
As they sat, waiting for the results of the EEG and other tests, the Avengers talked while consuming as many muffins that would fit in their stomach.
In the middle of a conversation, Tony suddenly froze. His hand with the muffin slowly lowered and his eye started twitching. Before they even realized what was going on, Tony’s body started seizing.
Bucky ran over to the head of the bed and with Rhodey’s help, he scraped the half-chewed muffin from Tony’s mouth so he wouldn’t choke on it. The machines started beeping and soon Tony’s doctor and two nurses came into the room. The doctor checked Tony’s vitals while the nurses turned him onto his side. The doctor then used a syringe to insert more medicine into Tony’s IV. Gradually, his twitching slowed.
“I have the results from the test,” Dr. Karly started as the nurses helped Tony settle down. “It looks like low blood sugar caused the seizures.”
“What does that mean?” Rhodey asked.
“It means we are going to give him an IV of glucose and see if that helps. I also want to try him on a new medication that should help regulate his blood sugar. But after we monitor him for a few days and he’s okay, then you guys are good to go.”
Bucky let out a breath, relieved. After the doctors and nurses left, he and the other Avengers made their way to the bed where Tony was sleeping. Bucky pressed a kiss onto Tony’s forehead, grateful that his doll would be okay.