Drowning
Tony would do anything for his team, not just because he literally had the money to do anything, he genuinely loved making them happy. So when Steve and Clint had the idea of having a team bonding day at the lake like Clint used to do with his kids, he couldn't say no.
Tony bought out a huge lake for the day along with an obstacle course on the water and a huge inflatable. Even though he spent the days leading up to it having mini panic attacks thinking about just how much water and danger lay in the murky water, he was happy for the team to enjoy their retreat.
It took Bucky an hour to coax him out of the car.
Then another half hour before Tony was willing to sit down at the picnic table several feet from the edge of the lake.
By then the team was already playing in the water, swimming and splashing each other. Tony could see Bucky looking a bit longingly at the fun though his boyfriend sat stuck to his side. “You can go, Buck.”
Bucky looked at him in surprise. “No, i’m fi-”
“James, go have fun,” Tony said firmly.
Bucky gave him one last look before giving the genius a kiss on the cheek and he ran towards the water. Tony watched with a smile as Bucky sat on the huge inflatable balloon and Steve jumped on the other end, catapulting the soldier into the air and splashing into the water.
A shiver forced itself through Tony’s body as he imagined what James was feeling- the water pushing around him, clogging his ears and his nose, unable to tell up from down, wondering where the air is and if he's allowed to get any of it. No I won’t build a Jericho!
Tony shook himself from the dark place he was traveling to just in time to see Bucky rise from the water with a bright smile on his face. “Again!” He shouted happily, swimming back to land.
Tony rolled his eyes. My little daredevil.
The next few hours went smoothly. Aside from the several times Clint made fun of him for not getting in the water, Tony was enjoying himself.
Until Bucky left to use the bathroom.
Tony could barely comprehend the moment Sam and Clint snuck behind him, grabbing his limbs and carrying him to the lake.
Tony fought and shouted but it was all drowned out by the laughter of the goofballs carrying him. Quick flashes of Afghanistan caused his body paralyze itself in fear as he tried to dictate which was reality.
Clint and Sam placed Tony, who was now shaking silently, onto the end of the inflatable balloon. “Go ahead, Steve!” Clint smiled.
The supersoldier looked a little hesitant. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Clint rolled his eyes, “Now jump!”
Steve nodded and jumped up into the air as high as he could.
Natasha, who was walking back to the lake with Wanda holding drinks, only had a second to take in the scene and yell “Wait!” Before Steve’s massive supersoldier body collided with the end of the balloon and Tony went soaring into the air.
The group watching could pinpoint the exact moment Tony realized what was happening by the way the color drained from his face and he started flailing in the air. They heard him scream just milliseconds before he belly flopped into the water, forcing the air from his lungs. Even Sam and Clint winced.
Natasha ran over and slapped Clint on the arm. “Why would you do that?”
“It’s just a joke, calm down,” he huffed.
“It’s not a joke! You know Tony is afraid of water,” Natasha said frustratedly.
“No, he’s just a wuss that’s all!” Clint scoffed.
“Guys?” Wanda said hesitantly.
“Did you even read his folder, Clint?”
“Yes, I read some of it.”
“Some of it?” Natasha said, face almost red in anger. “Well did you miss the part-”
“Guys!” Wanda interrupted again.
They all froze and turned to her. “He hasn’t come up,” she said, pointing to the murky water.
Tony didn’t remember much after being launched into the air. He remembered looking down and seeing the endless vast of water below him before smacking what felt like concrete. From then on he only remembered the darkness of the cave, the yelling of the terrorists as they screamed their demands, and the feeling of them holding his head under the water. Only this time, they didn’t drag him up by the hair when his vision started turning black.
“Tony?” Bucky said, walking back from the bathroom. He noticed the group standing by the edge of the lake so Bucky walked over, catching the end of their conversation. His eyes widened. “What did you guys do?” He growled, eyes glaring.
When no one answered, Bucky turned angrily and dove into the water. Natasha smacked Clint again before hopping in.
“I thought he knew how to swim at least,” Clint shrugged sheepishly. The two guilty men dove into the lake to help the search.
Wanda helped Steve crawl off the inflatable balloon and they both looked from the top of the lake. Wanda tried to use her powers to feel for Tony in the dark water.
Bucky popped his head up, frantic. “I can’t find him, where did you last see him?”
“He landed somewhere over here, but I can’t see either. The water’s too murky,” Natasha answered.
Bucky swam over to the area and started swimming around. The water was greenish brown and was extremely thick. Bucky knew the seconds were ticking to find Tony before it was too late. He swam and swam and swam but he couldn’t find his boyfriend. Bucky came up with desperate tears in his eyes. “I can’t find him.”
The other Avengers poked up empty-handed. “We gotta keep looking,” Natasha said firmly.
“Hold on, I think I got him,” Wanda suddenly shouted. They watched the red tinges of magic flow from her hands, she sweated with the effort. “He was really deep, I can’t lift him much higher in the water,” she said, straining.
“I can help, where is he?” Bucky said frantically.
“About 5 feet to your right,” she gasped out.
Bucky looked to his right and noticed small bubbles coming to the surface he quickly dove down into the water. He felt something touch his ankle and he grasped onto Tony. Wanda fell to the ground from the effort when she felt Bucky pull against her magic.
Bucky broke the surface with Tony in his arms. The team gasped at how blue the genius looked.
“Fuck, someone call Bruce. Bring Tony here, fast,” Steve said.
Natasha swam over and helped Bucky swim Tony to the edge of the lake. From there, Sam and Clint helped lift Tony out of the pool and to Steve.
Bucky could barely drag himself out of the lake from how hard he was shaking. He watched with wide eyes as Steve breathed into Tony and performed CPR. Clint and Natasha dried Tony off with towels while Sam kept feeling for a pulse.
Bucky collapsed by Tony’s head, crying. “Come on baby, wake up. You gotta wake up, Tones,” he whispered brokenly. He ran his fingers through Tony’s wet curls and kissed his forehead. “You can’t leave me, doll, you can’t.”
Wanda tried to help by trying to guide the water out of Tony’s body with her magic, but only a few droplets would come out.
Bucky barely noticed when Bruce arrived, but he started shouting when the scientist shocked his boyfriend’s chest with the AED, having never seen it before. Tony’s lifeless body jumped as the shock traveled through him. “You’re hurting him, you’re hurting him!” Steve had to hold his friend back as the soldier went to rip off the wires from Tony’s chest.
Bucky was cut off when suddenly, a weak gasp erupted from Tony’s mouth. Bucky broke free from Steve’s hold and moved back to Tony’s side. He helped Bruce roll Tony over as the genius started throwing up water. “Hey doll, I'm right here, okay? You’re gonna be fine.”
Tony groaned in pain, but his finger twitched at hearing Bucky’s voice. He laid motionless as the water drained from his lungs, his face slowly gaining color. Everything was foggy and blurry but he could hear his Bucky and that was all that matters. Even if his lungs were screaming and he couldn’t move and he hated being wet and his stomach felt like he got smacked with a boulder, he still had his Bucky, so he knew things would be okay.
“He needs to go to a hospital,” Bruce said.
“No,” Tony whispered weakly, eyes still closed.
“Do you know how much bacteria is in lake water? How many illnesses he can get from swallowing it?” Bruce frowned.
Bucky’s face went blank as he gathered up Tony and the mountain of towels. Bruce placed the oxygen mask on Tony’s face and carried it behind the soldier as he walked.
“No, Buc’,” Tony pouted weakly. He was limp in his boyfriend’s grasp, unable to even hold up his head.
“Baby, please, I came so close to losing you, I can’t- I can’t,” Bucky’s lips trembled so he leaned down to kiss Tony’s forehead instead. Tony finally settled down, coughing quietly in Bucky’s arms as the man brought him to the car.
Tony ended up staying overnight at the hospital. They had to test him for any illnesses caused by the murky lake water as well as the damage done to his body from the impact of the belly-flop. Luckily they found no internal damage but he did have large bruises across his abdomen and chest.
Tony was plagued by nightmares of his kidnapping mixed with the memories of his downing. Bucky eventually crawled onto the small hospital bed and cuddled Tony in his arms to get him to sleep.
So when the group came the next morning to apologize, they found Tony curled up in Buckly’s arms, wires and tubes strung across the pair. They may have snagged a few photos.