All Fall Down

Garbage Bag

     Tony stared at the ceiling and sighed. He drummed his fingers on the cot and bit his lip. Dr. Cho told him to rest but his nerves were wound impossibly tight. The nurse had said she was going to call home whether he assured her that he was fine. She had to let his parent know that he had to see the nurse. Dr. Cho had said he was lucky he'd woken up before they'd had to call an ambulance. Tony had almost passed out again at the thought. Howard was going to be plenty mad that he'd been called during work, but he would've been furious if he would have had to pick Tony up from the hospital.

     Tony shuddered and rubbed his chest. He had gotten lucky twice. Dr. Cho had wanted to use her stethoscope but that meant he had to take his shirt off, and that wasn't happening. Tony had resolutely denied her from seeing under his shirt and she gave up on the fruitless task to call Howard. His stomach couldn't handle the stress and his head was starting to pound.

     Tony picked his head up at the sound of Dr. Cho's muffled voice. She was talking to Howard. Tony's breath caught and he stumbled out of bed. He pressed his ear to the door but her voice was still muffled. Tony bit his lip and leaned harder against the door. He looked around and grabbed the empty juice box. He turned the knob and smiled softly at Dr. Cho. He shook the box and headed toward the garbage can.

     "Oh, I don't think he'll need to be picked up. The day is almost over-" Tony peeked over his shoulder to see Dr. Cho's cheeks turn a faint pink. "Well, yes, ma'am. I know he is his father but-" Tony shrank under the heated glare Dr. Cho aimed at her stapler. "I'll let him know then."

     Tony jumped when she slammed her phone back into the receiver. "Is he coming to pick me up?"

     Dr. Cho smiled sweetly. "No. He's sending over his secretary. Do you know her?"

     Tony nodded. "Pepper. Yeah, I know her."

     Dr. Cho turned away with a wave of her hand. "Okay, good. You can go now." She scrawled out a pass and handed it to him. "Just remember to eat something other than paella from foreign businessmen."

     Tony shrugged half-heartedly. "I can't promise anything. It was really delicious. Thanks, Dr. Cho." The woman waved over her shoulder and Tony took his leave.

     He shuffled down the hall with his eyes trained on his sneakers. Howard was sending Pepper here to pick him up. His stomach untwisted the slightest bit at the fact. Pepper was nice. Pepper wasn't going to hurt him for fainting in class. He was free until Howard got home from work. This was his little slice of heaven. Tony was picking up his things from his locker when he remembered his discarded homework in the gym. Tony glanced at his phone before heading back toward the gym. He held onto his backpack and mumbled under his breath about how stupid his body is.

     He cried out in surprise when he collided with something. His backpack exploded behind him and he lay sprawled on the ground. Tony blinked and turned his head up to see what he'd bumped into. Barnes crossed his arms and sighed. Tony's cheeks warmed and he looked away. "Sorry," he whispered. Tony turned to pick up clean up the mess and winced. His chest flared in pain and he bit his cheek. Barnes crouched beside him and held out a thick folder. Tony's eyes widened and he gingerly grasped the folder. "Oh. Thank you."

    "Don't thank me," he said. "I didn't do it for you. May sent me back to the nurse after I'd left."

     Tony nodded and shrugged weakly. "You still came back. So, thanks." He smiled at the other softly. Barnes nodded and started to walk away. Tony eased himself up and watched him go. His lip wobbled and he covered his mouth. He wasn't going to cry because Barnes was leaving. He's been left alone more than he cared to admit. That was idiotic and childish, and he was no idiot. He looked away and focused on putting everything back into his bag. Tony glanced up at the sound of footsteps and he smiled at the ground.