Summary: Missing moments between Tony, Bruce, and Steve during "Avengers: Endgame."

Nothing to Do But Rest

PenPatronus

When Tony collapsed, Steve dropped the reactor housing, sidestepped his gasping teammates, scooped Tony's body up in his arms, and sprinted for the elevator. Stark's corpse-colored body felt weightless. He was breathing, shallowly, but unconscious, completely. Heat radiated from pale skin. A thick layer of sweat blossomed out of his pores in the short time it took Steve to carry him to the facility's sickbay.

"This way."

Steve didn't register that Bruce was beside him until the doctor exited the elevator and gestured at a bed. He laid Tony down on his back and, at Bruce's orders, stripped him from the waist up and hooked up a heart monitor and a blood pressure cuff. Bruce applied electrodes and frowned at the computer monitors. The heart monitor started beeping—slowly. When the cuff deflated it revealed Tony's blood pressure—low. His body temperature was high. Fever.

"Third drawer down," Bruce said without looking away from the monitors. "Adrenaline, B12, steroids."

Steve stepped away from the bed, stumbled on shaking knees to get around the entering Natasha, and opened a medicine cabinet in the corner of the room. He found the adrenaline auto-injector and tossed it at Nat who caught it flawlessly, twirled it in her fingers, and then stabbed the needle into Tony. Steve handed the other two injectors to Bruce, not trusting himself to work the tools with such trembling hands.

"Bruce." There was warning in Natasha's voice. "His respiration rate."

"I see it," Bruce growled. "Nat, get another saline IV in him. Steve, get an oxygen mask on him."

Steve tried to be gentle but—dammit—his hands were just shaking too much. He got the mask around Tony's mouth and nose but snapped the strap against the back of Tony's neck when he pulled it around his head. "S-sorry," Cap whispered to deaf ears.

Bruce rolled a cart into the room and slid a sample of Tony's blood into a digital microscope. Bruce looked at the sample, muttered to himself, rubbed both eyes, and looked again. He pressed a few buttons and new schematics appeared on the monitor above Tony's bed. "Son of a bitch."

Steve couldn't take the suspense anymore at that moment. "Bruce," he said, "is he going to be ok?"

Silence. Bruce chewed on his bottom lip. Steve and Nat shared panicked looks.

Thick bandages covered the bottom left of Tony's torso. "Steve, roll him over onto his side." Banner peeled back the bandages to reveal the entry and exit wounds from the blade Thanos skewered Stark with. Bruce blotted the warm puss exiting the half-healed wound with a cotton ball. "Infection," the doctor sighed. "Oh, God."

"Tony?"

Pepper darted into the room, and Steve took that as his cue to leave. He backed out without taking his eyes off Tony's pale face. He backed out until he ran into a body. Someone, Rhodey, he assumed, took his elbow. Steve took in a stuttering breath as the team watched Banner work.

4am. Steve couldn't sleep. He found the infirmary dark and silent except for one light in the corner of Tony's room and a snoring Bruce Banner in a chair with his shoes propped up on the bed. Bruce started awake when Steve touched his shoulder. "Iz-ee ok?" Banner slurred. He shot past Steve and, instead of reading the monitor, used his hands to check on the sleeping Stark's pulse, breathing, and temperature. "I was dreaming," Bruce whispered, shaking his head like he was trying to get water out of his ears. "He's…He's ok," Bruce said, more to himself than Steve. Banner rubbed both of his eyes with two fingers. "God, Steve, how many times have we lost him?"

"Never." Steve said the word before he thought it. He said it too loudly, because Tony frowned and stirred in his sleep. The mask was gone and color had returned to his face, but fluttering eyelids were still gray. "We've never lost him," Steve said, softer. "And we won't this time." Bruce sighed. His chin fell to his chest.

Steve rested his hand on Bruce's shoulder. "You should get some real rest. I'll stay with him."

Bruce started to protest but he was interrupted by a deep yawn. "Hmm," he conceded. Banner looked at his watch as he shuffled towards the door. "His bandages need changed. There's ointment on the counter." Bruce stretched his arms over his head and yawned again as he shuffled to the elevator.

Steve turned to Tony. He was alone. Suddenly he felt…shy. That was the closest word to it. Shy and… scared? The silence needed filled. Steve almost started to fill it with words, but he didn't want to wake Tony up. He didn't want to wake Tony up, so he tried to be as gentle as possible when he changed the bandages. The moment he was done, a hand reached up and two fingers grasped his wrist.

"Pep?"

Steve sat on the side of the bed next to the bandages, careful not to touch them. "It's me, Tony."

Tony's eyes remained closed. He licked white, chapped lips. "Wha' hap-happened?"

"You fainted."

Tony's eyebrows bounced. "Passed out. Women faint. I passed out."

Steve chuckled.

Tony's Adam's apple bounced. "Thirsty."

Steve picked up the glass of water on the bedside table and put a fresh straw in it. He held the straw for Tony who emptied only half of the cup. Both men fell silent, then. Steve thought Tony had fallen back to sleep. Suddenly, his voice. "Meant to tell you…" Tony opened his eyes. He reached for Steve's hand and Steve took it in both of his. "After everything…When I walked out of that ship and saw that you were alive…I'm glad you're not dust."

"I'm glad you're not dust, too." Steve squeezed Tony's hand. He was surprised, then, to see tears fill up Tony's eyes. Steve reached over to the bedside table and plucked up a tissue. He waited for permission and then, when Tony nodded, gently soaked up the water on his cheeks.

"What did Bruce poison me with?" Tony laughed around the extra-large lump in his throat.

"You're ok. It's ok."

"Crying in front of Captain America. My father would be humiliated."

"Tony, it's just me. It's just me. It's ok. You've gone through a lot."

Stark paled another shade. "The kid. He disintegrated in my arms. There was nothing I could do."

Steve sucked his cheeks in, and then blew them out. "I saw Buck—" He immediately hated himself when Tony tensed at the name. "I saw, ahem, Wanda…"

Tony remained tense. His eyes narrowed. "I should go back to sleep." He started to take his hand out of Steve's but Cap held on tight.

"I'm sorry."

"You just said his name. It's not a big deal."

"I mean I'm sorry for… For what happened."

Tony relaxed. His throat worked quickly. "I'm sorry, too."

"Are we…" Cap bit his bottom lip and hesitated a full half minute before speaking again. "You and I… are we going to be ok?"

Tony didn't respond right away. Steve wondered if that was because he was so drugged up and emotional, or if he really was focusing on the question. Then he said, so very softly, "Eventually. Eventually, Cap."

Steve raised his head to the ceiling in both frustration and thankfulness.

"We've all lost so much," Tony continued, his voice starting to fade. "We're all we have left so… Yeah, Cap. Eventually." Tony shut his eyes. "Tired." His hand went limp in Steve's.

Steve nodded. "Do you want me to—"

"Stay," Tony said with a fierceness that surprised Steve. "When I dream I dream of Pepper. When I have a nightmare it's of you all turning to dust. Don't… don't let me wake up alone."

"I won't. I promise. I swear."

"We've got a lot of work to do," Tony mumbled, nearly unconscious.

"Rest, Tony." Steve set the hand down on the bed. "Sometimes there's nothing else to do but rest."

The End