Stark's Weakness

Chapter 9

"Tony, please, you've been pacing for over four hours. Go get some sleep-" Natasha says from her chair in the corner then abruptly snaps her mouth shut as Tony shoots her a glare that would have melted any normal person's soul but just irks the Russian assassin. "I was just trying to help." She mutters as she sits back in her chair. "You were just trying to help? Really Nat?! Then how about explaining to me how Brock Rumlow is still alive and just kidnapped and is more than likely torturing the woman that I've fallen for! How about someone starts tracking his last known whereabouts so we can try and figure out where he is now so I can kill the son of a bitch personally!" Tony rages as he continues to pace back and forth.

He's frantic in his movements and as the Avengers look on he could do nothing but continue to pace until Thor steps in front of him. "Stark, you need to rest. You will be no good to her or you if you aren't on your A-game as you mortals call it." Before Tony can open his mouth to protest a bright green light smacks him full in the face and he drops into Thor's arms snoring as the entire room looks at Loki incredulously. "What?! He wasn't going to willingly go to sleep so I simply...hurried the process along." Loki says shrugging and looking as though he had not a care in the world. Four days later a loud scream from Tony's bedroom lets the team know that he is awake and highly pissed.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Tony screams as he storms into the kitchen confronting the very uncomfortable Avengers. "Come on, man! Thor was right! You would've been no use to her or anyone at the rate you were going. Hell, you'd already been up a full day and a half before that!" Sam finally says after everyone else goes completely silent in fear of pissing the tiny genius off. "I WAS OUT FOR FOUR DAYS! DO ANY OF YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! SHE COULD BE DEAD, DYING, OR BEING TORTURED AS WE SPEAK ALL BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT I NEEDED A NAP!" Tony roars at all of them causing them to flinch with the realization of him actually being right.

He stands there for a few tense moments and let the silence spiral uncomfortably and then says, "I'm going to be in the lab trying to find her. The only time I want to see any of you is if you have news that pertains to her or news that we're getting help finding her. If you come to the lab with the intentions of 'trying to calm me down'...I will have FRIDAY blow a hole through your chest with every suit I've got." Before anyone can open their mouths to say anything, Tony has already spun on his heel and stormed out of the room. He's halfway down the deserted corridor to the lab when he finally let the tears flow that he's been holding back for the better part of an hour. "Hold on, (Y/N). I'll find you and when I do I swear, I'll make them suffer until their nightmares seem like their happy places." Tony whispers as he finally sits at his workbench and puts his head in his hands.

True to his word, Tony never leaves his lab and anyone that asks FRIDAY about him upstairs is simply told the basics on his condition. That is until Steve gets tired of the tension that's thick enough to post selfies on Instagram and calls in the big guns. "Are you out of your rabid ass mind?!" Clint hisses at Steve from across the common room. "I must say, even I am failing to see a positive outcome in all of this, Captain Rogers." Vision says as he floats several feet above the floor.

"No. Steve is right you guys. The tension that Tony is surrounding himself with is starting to affect the rest of us too. I know that he loves her but he has to see reason. He's not sleeping, he's barely eating or drinking, and he won't listen to any of us. This is the only way." Bucky says as he sits on the couch with on leg over the other and his hands behind his head. "And you're sure you want to do this?" Dr. Strange asks looking at Steve for one final confirmation. With a hard swallow and tears in his eyes, Steve nods and leads Dr. Strange down to the only spot that has a clear view of Tony working in his lab.

As soon as Steve stops, Dr. Strange throws up his hands and opens a portal directly behind Tony who is so deep in his work that he doesn't hear the portal open or close behind him. What he does hear though is a voice that turns his already black heart to jagged ice that shatters into a million pieces as he turns and faces their owners for the first time since he was seventeen years old.

"I'm....hallucinating," Tony says weakly as tears begin to stream down his face as a soft hand reaches to wipe the tears away. Another hand claps him on the shoulder and he turns to look at the owner of that hand and slowly reaches a trembling hand up to touch first the hand that wipes away his tears and then the hand that claps him on the shoulder. As he touches the first hand, his eyes went wide with shock when he figured out that it was real, and there was warmth underneath the skin. By the time, he touched the other hand he was sobbing like an infant, so much so that, he didn't hear or see the door to the lab open and let one person in.

"Don't cry, Tony. It will be alright." A male's voice says that stuns Tony into silence. "Shhh, it's alright now. Mom and Dad are here, my darling." A female voice says. Before anyone can make a move Tony faints dead away and falls over onto his workbench with a thud as the figure in the back approaches and says, "Howard. Maria. It's good to see you again." The figures turn and on each of their faces a bright smile as first Maria then Howard reaches out and shook hands with the person. "Captain. It's good to see you as well. So what do you need our help with?" Howard says as he looks down at his son.