Work Text:
(Broken) Cartilage
Tony had never been squeamish. He’d once, laughingly, told them about walking Pepper through changing the arc reactor and then going into cardiac arrest. He’d also once noticed a piece of scrap metal sticking out of Steve’s side after a battle and poked at it, wondering at how his flesh had started to heal around it. (And then he “helpfully” ripped it back out of Steve’s side when he asked him to. Clint had screamed bloody murder and Bruce just turned on his heel to walk over to a miraculously still-standing trash can to vomit into it.) Tony had never been squeamish in anyone’s memories.
So when Tony swooned into Bucky’s arms after seeing blood dripping from Steve’s nose, they were quite surprised.
“…Should we ged himb dome sbelling salts?” Steve asked, lifting his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, then thought better of it.
“Do smelling salts still exist?” Bucky asked back, then awkwardly gave Tony a gentle shake in his arms. “Doll. Come on. You saw more blood the last time Clint fell off a roof.”
“Dony,” Steve said quietly, reaching out to gently pat his cheek. “Wake up.”
Tony’s eyes fluttered open a minute later, and he let out a confused sound as he looked back and forth between them. “What-? What happened?”
“Well,” Bucky began, smirking a little. “Doll, you fainted… straight into my arms.” When Tony blinked up at him blearily, apparently unable to find words, he continued, “You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”
Tony blinked up at him again, but now he looked offended.
“Are you ogay, Dony?” Steve asked, concerned.
Tony turned to look at him, then screamed, jerking up out of Bucky’s arms to point at him. “You!”
“…Be?” Steve asked nervously.
“I will never be okay again because of you!” Tony snapped, and continued to point at him. It somehow seemed incredibly threatening, considering Tony had been fainted only a few moments ago. “You made me listen to you getting your nose broken! I could hear crunching. I heard you say you could feel the cartilage that couldn’t get healed back together being pushed out through your skin.”
“…Dony,” Steve began placatingly.
“No! There’s no excuse for this,” Tony hissed.
“…Doll,” Bucky began.
“And you!” Tony exclaimed, whipping toward him.
Bucky looked at Steve and could tell from the glee on his face that his expression on his own was instant regret.
“You were the one that punched him! Right here in front of my face! How dare you.”
“We… we were sparring,” Bucky said after a moment. “In the gym.”
“YOU BROKE HIS NOSE IN FRONT OF MY FACE!” Tony bellowed. “And now Steve’s gotta be in pain until it heals!”
“…Id does hurd,” Steve admitted after a moment.
“Honey,” Tony said immediately, reaching out to cup his cheeks. “I’ll kiss it better.”
Steve shot Bucky the smuggest look he possibly could over Tony’s head. “Dank you, Dony.”
Bucky seriously considered punching Steve in the nose again. Or punching himself in the nose. He thought the latter might be more likely to get a kiss than the former.
Tony pulled Steve to lean down and carefully, gently, pressed his lips to Steve’s nose. Steve smiled a little, eyes drifting closed.
Tony pulled back, face stony, and said, “I could feel the cartilage moving under my lips, and now I am going to go throw myself off the top of the tower.”
“Doll, no!” Bucky exclaimed, laughing a little, as the smaller man turned on his heel to walk out of the gym. Steve and Bucky watched him go, smiling.
“Captain, Sergeant, Sir is actually going to attempt to throw himself off the top of the tower,” JARVIS said. His tone was incredibly snide. “Please stop him.”
“Tony!” Steve and Bucky exclaimed, and rushed after him.