When You Were Never Mine

Don't Ask

Hospital coffee was the worst. It took a little bit of effort to not cross the waiting room to sneak away the unwatched Starbucks cup that one of the doctors had foolishly set down on the check-in desk. Tony would bet anyone that the sludge in his cup had sat stale in the pot for days without notice, but honestly, he didn't actually care that much, either. Once he stopped to think about what other options there were, it began to taste a little better.

He could be dead right now. You could be dead. Steve could be...well...he wasn't quite ready to go there just yet. Steve could be wherever he is, doing whatever it is that dinosaurs do in their free time, so long as it was nowhere near you. Of course, he didn't feel like he had much right to be near you, either.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah," Tony jolted from his thoughts, standing quickly and tossing his cup into a nearby garbage, "that's me. How's she doing?"

"Very well. She woke up about fifteen minutes ago, so you can come back to see her if you'd like."

"I would, thanks." He paused and waited for the nurse as he held out his hand for her to take the lead as she passed by to another door just past where he had spent the last four hours, nearly immobile in the most uncomfortable chair he could find. She was ridiculously young, and he fought the urge to venture a guess at her age. A small groan escaped his throat as the numbers ran through his exhausted mind; he was probably old enough to be her father. His aching joints and muscles fully agreed and ridiculed him, and the thoughts washed away as quickly as they came. "Will the doctor be coming by to fill me in on taking care of her once I get her home?"

"Um, well, about that..." she smiled nervously, "I don't think that you'll have much to do, Mr. Stark."

"I'm sorry?"

"I have a sneaking suspicion that by the time we get to her room, she'll be dressed and ready to leave. She's not anxious to stay any longer than she needs to."

"That sounds about right. I'm sorry, she doesn't take well to being told what to do if she doesn't want to do it."

"We considered the use of restraints."

"Oh, I'd pay real cash to see that," Tony smiled genuinely, "can we still make that happen?"

"I heard that!" you called out to them as they approached your door. "Even with only one good arm, I'd like to see you try."

Tony's smile only grew wider at the sight of you, fully dressed in your own clothes just as the nurse had predicted. He hurried to greet you, his arms out to take you within them, only to stop inches from connecting, pulling back as if you were suddenly breakable to his touch. "Now, honey, be nice to the nurses. They have the best drugs."

"Then grab some on the way out. I'm ready to go."

"Hey, slow down. You just got out of surgery, and your brain is still a little scrambled. My fault, by the way, very sorry. I'm sure you feel fine right now, but it won't take much to wear you out. We're in no rush-"

"Maybe you're not," you interrupted, "but I just want my own bed, and my own pajamas, and a shitty movie marathon. I want some time to feel like life isn't this mess that I can't find a way to dig us out of. Everything is so broken."

"So are you, (Y/N)," Tony answered, with a gentle tone and his smile gone. "I'll take you home right now, but you need to promise me that you'll actually rest, and let your body heal. I know how you get when you put your mind to something, and I'm not having it. Not this time. I'm in charge, understand?"