I Thought You Were Different

Korea

"Let me see it again," Nat said as she reached for your left hand across the breakfast table. "I just can't believe that Rogers could make something that gorgeous. I guess Captain America is a softie at heart."

"Excuse me," Tony joined in with a huff, clutching at his chest and feigning hurt, "I helped, thank you very much."

You pulled your hand back with a sigh and gave a sad smile as you looked at the ring again. Steve had been gone for almost a week, having left almost immediately after putting it on your finger. You hadn't had any time to celebrate it with him, and his absence was beginning to change your mood and your attitude towards your own progress. You were finding it more and more difficult to stay positive and you were fighting with Clint more than ever.

"Yeah, but we already knew that you were a softie, Stark," Nat chuckled, standing to clear her dishes away. As she passed by, she knelt down close and gave you an affirmative pat on the shoulder. "He'll be home today."

"Right!" Tony gasped, jumping up from his seat and pulling his phone from his pocket, his chair almost tipping over from the force. "I almost forgot! What time is he supposed to be here?"

"Um, like six?" she replied, looking at him with complete confusion, but now intrigued at what the notorious troublemaker might be up to. "Stark, what are you doing?"

"What makes you think I'm doing anything?" he mumbled, his focus directly on the phone in his hand and whomever he was frantically messaging.

"Because it's you."

"Pfft, lame." He shoved his phone away and walked towards you with an excited clap of his hands and a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, moving behind you to pull you away from the table. "We need to talk, sweetheart. You're coming with me."

"I'm on wheels, asshat. Does it look like I have much of a choice?"

~~~

"I've never attempted regeneration of spinal cord tissue. This would be highly experimental and there's no guarantee for success," Dr. Cho said through the screen overlooking the lab. "I don't foresee a complete recovery by this alone. It will still take focused therapy on your part, (Y/N), but it could greatly reduce the time of your rehabilitation."

"There's no guarantee of success, but could it do more damage?" you asked, watching the flashes of imagery and medical terminology in front of you, trying to take it all in.

Tony looked at Helen then at you, his expression changing from anticipation to worry; he hadn't thought that it might not be all good outcomes. He had been working with the doctor to build the equipment she needed to do this for you, and hadn't looked beyond his own excitement. "Hold on, if there's a risk to make things worse, then you're not doing this at all."

"We're working with spinal tissue. The nerve pathways are extremely intricate and delicate, so the risk of further damage is there." The doctor leaned closer and looked directly at you, her eyes soft but you sensed an eagerness from her; she was a pioneer and a researcher, and you saw the excitement in her eyes. "(Y/N), what do you think?"

It was all too much to take in. If it worked, you could possibly recover in time to walk in your own wedding, which looked like nothing more than a dream right now. But if it didn't, you could be stuck in that chair forever. You looked down at your hand and spun the ring around your finger, lost in thought and getting nowhere closer to a decision. "I need to talk to Clint."

Tony startled and turned to you with surprise, "don't you mean Steve?"

"Did I say Steve?"

~~~

You had to explain it only once, he didn't ask any questions, and he took only five seconds to give you his answer. You knew that going to Clint was the right thing to do.