He managed to make it to the bathroom in time.

Tony Stark rested his head against the cool porcelain, trying to steady his breathing. The room seemed to spin around him a haze of white. He'd always hated this place. it was too light, too clean, nothing like how he would have decorated. He'd have gone for pale blues or greens, or anything less likely to reflect light, which was now making his eyes sting like crazy, less likely to show up dirt.

"Tony?"

Tony tried to pull himself towards the shower, convinced that Tiberius was back. He would be even angrier if he found him here, still a mess. The shower might buy him a few seconds before the storm broke, to show he had been making the effort to be ready, to be clean...The curtain would hide him, it might be a few seconds, before he was found.

"Tony, let me in."

He cringed. His legs wouldn't support him, when he tried to struggle to his feet, gripping at the toilet for support . His chest felt like it was on fire. His mouth was full of blood and bitterness , his back and ass ached. He could feel a throbbing pain from his right eye socket, and knew it going to be another black eye. .

"JARVIS override 01957052251!"

The yell from outside was echoing around his head, making it hurt worse than ever, so it took a couple of moments before he identified the code.

Tony blinked. That was Captain America's override code, what was he doing here? He had given him the override code for JARVIS after Pepper had gone, just in case.

His head hurt and didn't seem to be making the right connections, as he tried to think...

The Avengers had been fighting…Ahh. He couldn't remember. Some guy in a suit. they'd done well. Crimson...something. Dynamite?...No. Dynamo was probably on his way to the Raft now, but...Aaah. His head was pounding and it was hurting too much to think of that aftermath had been mess too, but some things , like Tiberius Stone yelling and tearing at him, were all too clear.

Taking down Crimson Dynamo had taken longer than he thought, and he'd flown off without waiting for team debriefing. That must be why Cap was here.

He had been late home , in spite of that. Tiberius had been angry…

The memory of the last two hours turned his stomach again, and he curled in upon himself into a fetal position, missing the bowl as he vomited all over himself and the floor.A vague part of his brain suggested that he should be grateful that Ty had stripped him, as he wasn't ruining some clothes, but it was hard to think like that, when his whole body hurt, especially his wrist, where Ty had grabbed him.

"Tony?" the voice sounded nearer, sharper, more concerned. He couldn't let anyone see him like this, naked, covered in blood and vomit and sperm. No. he wouldn't let Captain America see him.

He tried to back away, towards the shower. The door was partly ajar, but once you looked around it he was fairly obvious . But a shampoo bottle had been left on the floor, and he knocked it over, creating a dull thud against the tiled floor.

"Tony?" Steve was standing in the door way, looking around the room, until he spotted Tony, huddled in a corner.

Tony knew how he looked.

Bruises around his neck, upper arms, hips. His right eye red and already swollen, dried serum in his pubic hair, like a….

Like the disgusting little whore he was. That was why Tiberius had gone, to give him a chance to clean up, because no one except Ty would want a whore after they've fucked him.

But it had hurt so much he'd barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up.

"My God Tony, What happened? Who did this?"

His lips were bleeding. He hadn't noticed it before now, but as he tried to answer Steve's question, he was suddenly aware of it, as he could feel the blood trickling down them .

"Ty." was all he managed to gasp out.

Steve was kneeling beside him, looking at him, but Tony couldn't meet his eyes.

"It's O.K. Tony; we're getting out of here. Can you stand?"

He didn't think his legs would support him, but the thought of those clean hands over his disgusting body was more humiliation than he thought he could heap on this man, so he nodded.

Steve slid an arm around him to help, and he tried not to wince at the touch. Steve shouldn't have to touch someone like him.

"Come on. It's O.K. We'll take it nice and easy."

The words invoked memories of the last two hours, sending shooting pains to his wrists. He moaned whimpering in pain, as the world went dark.

***

Voices came to him as though from a great distance.

"Shoulder's dislocated…"

"Ribs six, eight, and nine fractured on the right…"

"Bruising extensive on neck, upper arms, and inside of thighs. Jesus how could anyone...?"

"…internal tearing constituent with other injuries…"

He couldn't tell how much time had passed, or where the voices were coming from, or even where he was.

Slowly, Tony opened his eyes. The room was dark, with fluorescent lights streaming in from the corridor that hurt his eyes, making him want to keep them closed. There wasn't much of anything in the room, he could hear beeps of machines, and voices talking in the corridor. He could see enough of the room,despite the difficulty with his right eye, to tell that he wasn't at home, and probably wasn't in a hotel, unless it was a very strange one.

Antiseptic felt like it was burning his throat, and there was a dull throbbing from his right eye . His right arm felt...strange.

He must be in a hospital , and the thought made the heart monitor next to him beep faster.

He'd been to hospital a couple of times after Tiberius had finished with him. It never turned out well.

Normally, Tiberius would be simply angry, and punish him once they were home. A couple of times he had been angry at the person who had brought Tony in, same as he was at anyone who he thought might have figured it out what was happening in the house...

He swallowed at the memory of Pepper. Of what Tiberius had forced him to do.

He tried to pull himself up, almost swearing at the stabbing pains in his wrist. Looking down, he noticed the sling on his right arm. A complicated fracture, especially if the pain killer label on the IV bag was any was quite a high dosage which might be why he couldn't process things. The sling was probably why the left side of his neck felt like it was being cut with a dull knife. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought. Maybe he'd passed out at the house and Tiberius had brought him…he dismissed that idea from his head as quickly as it had formed.

Tiberius had the names of three doctors on the East Coast alone who'd reset broken bones at three am, no questions asked. If he had passed out, he'd have woken up in his own bed.

Slowly he looked around the room, and spotted a man in a chair near the bed. He was asleep, his shield on his lap.

Shit! This was worse than bad. Tiberius was convinced enough that there was something going on between him and Captain America, despite his reassurances that he hadn't done anything more than talk to the man.

Then again, no one trusted a...Someone like him.

He was gasping now, fighting to get back in control and stop the monitor before it attracted any attention. the noise, or something had woken Captain America up. He looked around, apparently realising that Tony was awake.

"Tony." His voice was calm and steady and he held up his hands reassuringly. "It's O.K. You're safe. It's over."

He had to fight the desire to laugh, because if he started he wasn't sure he could stop.

It would never be over.

TBC