Rhodey and Tony had been in the kitchen for possibly all of fifteen minutes before other voices began coming into earshot from down the hallway.

Tony currently sat atop the marble countertop, watching what his best friend was doing carefully. The genius held a half empty cup of water, having been strictly told to finish it before he could have any coffee. He had originally went to disagree, but the colonel pushed two Advil into his hand and glared at him. Promptly shutting him up. So now, ten minutes later, he was seated on the countertop watching the dark skinned man cook eggs.

Normally dark brown eyes were the golden hazel they always were when not in public. A colour he thought was purer than him, one that he did not deserve to wear. Yet he never came to resent the beautiful colour when he caught a glimpse of them. The engineer often wore dark coloured sunglasses to hide the bright colour. That was before he learned the art of hiding them with contacts. Dark brown eyes that the public knew as his. Ones that often glared at journalists and paparazzi. They would hopefully never see the golden hazel his eyes naturally shined, the day they did would most likely be the day he dies.

Said golden hazel eyes snapped up from where he had lost himself in thought, turning to find the source of the loud voices that entered the once silent kitchen. Besides the cooking eggs, of course. Natasha and Clint waltzed in wearing their respective work out clothes. The two were bantering back and forth about something that must have gone down during their sparring session. Tony didn't miss the missing limp in his mate's leg. He chalked it up to her having finally healed. Her arm however was still bandaged, which made him flinch at the sight.

Guilt churned in his gut all over again. He bit his lip and turned his attention down to the cup of half finished water in his grasp. The weight of the cup fell mostly to his right hand, as his left arm wasn't an option. Rhodey would scold him for sure if he even tried. Plus the pain was only now starting to slowly fade as the pain meds kicked in. He tried his best not to focus on the guilt slowly eating away at him. Instead he turned his attention to the banter between the redheaded assassin and the archer.

"..but you seriously had to go for the nuts?!" Clint exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air to try and emphasize his point. Nat only sniffed, shooting the archer a small smirk. "It's your weakest spot, so of course I had to." She responded coolly, making Clint groan loudly and drop into a chair at the island. Sulking with his arms crossed and glaring at Natasha. Tony winced in sympathy pain for the archer, shuffling his legs in discomfort at the thought. He crossed his ankles, peering back up at Rhodey standing next to him at the stove.

"Honey bear, are those done yet?" Tony questioned, trying not to appear too quiet or too small. He had to at least keep some of his dignity, what was left of it of course.. especially after last night. Rhodey glanced up at the nickname he was used to being called. Both men ignored the jealous glint in Natasha's eyes if they had spotted it. "Yes, Tones. They're just finished now." The colonel pointed to a plate he had just placed an egg on. Tony's golden hazel eyes lit up enthusiastically. "Gimme." He ordered, making grabby hands at the plate. Rhodey rose an eyebrow. "Only if you get off the counter and go sit at the island." His eyes fixated into a pointed look at the brunet.

Tony grumbled, going to push himself off the marble countertop with the cup of water in his left hand. Rhodey gave him a glare, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. The dark skinned male took the cup from Tony's hands and placed it on the counter. Rhodey wrapped an arm around Tony's back, being careful of his left arm. The colonel would then assist the grumbling engineer off the counter and onto the tiled flooring.

Tony would glare at his best friend, swiftly grabbing the cup of water with his right hand. "I'm not a child, Rhodey." He muttered. Rhodey patted his shoulder, giving him a smile. "I know you're not. But doctor's orders, Tones." With that, he would grab the plate of food and set it in front of Tony's regular spot at the island. Closest to the door and at the end of the island. A quick and easy escape for the genius if he ever needed it. Tony let his glare slip a little, grumbling his thanks before taking his spot, placing the water down. He picked up the fork situated on his plate and stabbed the egg. Golden hazel eyes staring at the mix of white and yellow.

Silence enveloped the kitchen and Tony could only stand it for so long. Especially with the dread and guilt swarming through him, weighing him down. The silence seemed heavier than it actually was. It felt as if all three people in the room besides him had their eyes on him. Watching him carefully, which made him nervous. His breath hitched quietly and his hand holding the fork shook. The brunet didn't come to realize he had dropped the fork to the plate, not hearing the clatter of the silverware echo around the kitchen, until a small calloused hand was rest atop his left shoulder.

"..ony? Are you alright?" Natasha's soft concerned voice filled his ears. He hated knowing he was the reason for her concern. Her worry. He felt even guiltier knowing he was the cause for her arm injury and the concern lacing her voice heavily. "I'm.. I'm fine." Tony brushed it off, flinching once he realized her hand was on his left arm. Natasha hesitantly removed her hand, concern twisting her face more. Clint snorted sarcastically. "Sure you are." He muttered. The male earned glares from Natasha and Rhodey.

Tony did his best to ignore him, but the words seemed to echo around in his head. He slowly picked up his fork again, poking at the egg and carefully eating it. Slowly. He was afraid if he ate it any faster that they would worry further about him. He didn't want that. They didn't need to worry about him. Tony Stark had it all figured out, right? Of course he did. Genius, billionaire, philanthropist was what they called him. So of course everything was okay. It was just fine and dandy. Always would be.

Halfway through the fried egg, footsteps entered the kitchen. Footsteps that made Tony's breath falter and catch in his throat. That made the ache of his left arm seem to increase. He didn't dare raise his eyes from where they were firmly trained on the half eaten egg. He didn't dare stab his fork down once more, afraid the noise would turn the owner of those footsteps on him.. again.

It turns out he didn't need to turn his eyes up to confirm who it was that had entered the kitchen. The familiar voice rang out through the former silence. "Good morning Natasha, Clint." It was Steve's voice. Tony could feel those blue eyes land on him. The colour of the ocean, normally so very pretty. But now it just painted fear in the gut of the brunet. "Tony." His name was said with an undertone of promise. A promise of what? More pain? Getting yelled at for something he did wrong again? Endangering other pack members? Tony swallowed the lump in his throat, sliding the half eaten egg across his plate. "C- Cap." He stuttered out, cursing himself mentally for stuttering. He nearly breathed an audible sigh of relief when the super soldier alpha opened the fridge. Ocean blue eyes taken off of Tony.

Tony picked at his egg, his appetite effectively gone. He could feel his friend's eyes on him, but he shook his head. Hoping the colonel didn't think anything of his sudden behaviour. What was he saying? Rhodey knew about the incident yesterday and was probably thinking of ways to tear Steve's limbs off his body.

The engineer paused at that imagery, nose scrunching up. Why did he think that? Steve was his alpha. Rhodey had morals, he wouldn't kill the dude.

"Hey Tones, did you send that doctors note to Pepper?" Rhodey brought up, effectively catching the brunet's attention. "Uh yeah, had JARVIS scan it and send a copy to her. Haven't heard from her yet." 'Miss Potts is in a meeting currently, sir.' JARVIS spoke up, answering the unasked question that floated in the air.

However tension quickly returned to Tony's body as Steve's head turned in their direction. "Doctors note? What's this about?" The male asked skeptically, narrowing his eye at Tony somewhat. Tony cursed his friend mentally. Of course Rhodey would bring it up, knowing the engineer would never tell Steve until the alpha asked something of him. Typical Stark behaviour.

The genius fished the written, and signed, note out of his pocket. Placing it on the island counter. He fidgeted under the stares of everyone in the room, hating how they looked at him like that. Like he was an animal at the zoo to merely be watched for amusement. Steve snatched the note up, ocean eyes scanning over it. A growl twitched at his facial features, but the noise never surfaced to the light.

The blond placed the note back down swiftly. His eyes staring at Tony a bit too long. Making the genius fidget even more under the gaze that felt like a glare. Like a gun pointed at his temple. "What a shame.." Steve slowly spoke, straightening up. "It's too bad that you'll be out of commission for the next while." The blond turned on his heel, heading for the cupboard. Even though his eyes had been taken off of Tony, he still felt them on him. Staring into his soul. "After all, that big mission was coming up.. and so was the next hunt."

Tony sucked in a breath. The big mission he was supposed to be a part of. A mission to find information on the rogue attacks spotted around America and other countries. The hunt? It was an even bigger occasion. The hunters would be sent out to retrieve another piece for the ceremony.. a white rabbit. But he couldn't participate in it due to his arm now. He really did do everything wrong.. didn't he?

The next words that came out of Steve's mouth had him wanting to shrink into his skin. Had him wanting to run and hide.

"What will the pack do without their beta?"

Steve hummed quietly to himself, letting the question fill into the air. The weight of it sinking in drastically. Tony pushed his plate away, no longer able to even try and finish the egg. He heard Rhodey pick the plate, fork, and cup up from the island. Emptying the plate and cup before depositing all in the dishwasher.

If he had thought the silence before was heavy, now it was suffocating. Surrounding him and wrapping around his throat. Daring him. Challenging him to breathe. To even utter a word to break it. Tony didn't dare tempt that challenge, fearing the ice he was tiptoeing on would crack and send him free falling. Send Steve after him like he had the previous night during the sparring session.

A new voice entered the room. Bringing happiness and brightness to the tension. Lightening up Tony's tensed muscles. "Mr. Stark!" Chirped a very cheery Peter Parker. Golden hazel eyes rose from where they were fixated on the island top to where they met lighter hazel. The sight of the kid nearly made a smile cross his face. "Hey, kid." Tony greeted.

If they thought Tony would miss the opportunity to run, they would be crazy. The genius pushed himself up, abandoning the island and walking towards the teenager. "Wanna go get breakfast, kid?" He questioned, clasping a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Heck yes! I- I mean.. that would be great!" Peter stammered, vIbrating with excitement. Tony chuckled, leading the kid out of the tense kitchen.

He turned his head when Rhodey joined them, the dark skinned man giving him a small smile. Tony sighed in relief silently. "Alright kid, where do you want to go?" Peter's eyes shined as he thought.

"Can we go to that cafe that Pepper once took us to?"

"Damn straight we can."

"YES! I- I mean yay!"

A/N I hope you all are staying safe and healthy during this chaos. It's definitely stressful for everyone.

Anyways,
Have a good day/night! <3