I Need A Doctor - IRONSTRANGE

an accident

TRIGGER WARNING -
mentions of PTSD, nightmaries, and anxiety is mentioned in this chapter. if you are sensitive to these subjects, please read at your own risk. if you'd like a summary of the chapter due to the inability to read it, don't hesitate to message me!
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It's not like Tony pressed it on purpose. Especially it being exactly 3:24am.

After the deal was sorted out, Tony decided to get Strange a pager. It'd make things easier for the both of them, so that whenever Tony had to be treated, he could press a button and Strange would be alerted by an alarm that continued until shut off. Both agreed it was a good idea, so even while sleeping the pager was accessible for the both of them.

Which wasn't a good idea after all, on a night like tonight.

Tony has suffered from a lot of things in his life, but somethings just didn't leave after awhile. One of those things was his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,  which often messed with Tony. He was always on edge, which resulted in anxiety, reliving past experiences, losing sleep, and when he could sleep, nightmares most, if not all nights.

And tonight, was like most nights.

Tony woke in a jolt, gasping for air, gripping onto whatever was near by. He also slept alone, which didn't really help when he'd needed to be physically calmed down. So with him sleeping alone, waking up from horrific nightmares usually resulted in panic attacks.

So there Tony was, 3:24am, desperately reaching to turn on his lamp. There were many things crowding his nightstand, and one of them was the pager which he couldn't seem to remember existed in that moment. A button turned on the lamp, and a button also would set off the pager. So he clicked a button, and a light didn't go on. Pressed another button, the light came on. He was in his room. Not trapped in his nightmare. Tony finally began to take deep, slow breathes, beginning to regain his composition.

It wasn't until 2 minutes later that his phone started ringing, the caller ID reading "Strange."

"Fuck." Tony muttered to himself before answering the phone.

"Doctor, why are you calling me so late for? Drunk call?" Tony joked, even at his worst he couldn't resist throwing in a snarky comment or two. Especially to flirt with such an attractive person.

"Was wondering the same thing, since you set off my pager 3 minutes ago. At 3 in the morning. Do I need to set you a bedtime?" Strange added with a slight scoff. He never got much sleep himself, but being called so late wasn't something he was very keen on.

"Oh shit," Tony said glancing at his alarm clock before continuing "I'm sorry Strangs. I just woke from a bad dream and must've pressed the button on accident. I'm sorry if I woke you." Tony apologized in a softer voice, a voice that Strange wasn't so sure he'd hear so soon.

"It's okay, not like I was asleep anyways." Strange told him, reassuring that not much harm was done. "Do you uh, need me to come over?" He asked quickly. "Just to uh, check on you. Make sure all is okay?"

Strange had never really been the caring type. Especially for people he didn't know well. Especially for slightly egotistical men like himself. It was like looking in a cracked mirror. He didn't enjoy it.

But there was something different about Tony, something that made him care. Maybe going over for the night wouldn't be so bad.

"You don't have to Doc', just need to get back to sleep. If I can." Tony said, trying his best not to be a bother. He'd enjoy if Strange came over, but he wasn't sure he'd admit that just yet.

"Oh no I insist. I'm your personal doctor remember? It's not like I was sleeping anyways. I'll be over in ten." And then the line went dead.

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There are many things Strange excels at, which is of course the medical field. But he also had an insane concept of time. Strange arrived at Tony's house in ten minutes flat, a knock on the door waking Tony from his thoughts.

Rushing to the door, but stopping in a mirror along the way to fix his hair, Tony opened the door to see Strange, still looking as handsome as ever in the soft early early morning light.

"Come on in," Tony said with a soft smile, moving out of the door way. Strange then came in, he was wearing simple black sweats with a light olive green shirt. It suited him well, the colors of his olive skin working well with the soft green he wore. He also had a bag on his shoulder, which was a clear sign that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

And Tony was okay with that.

As he lead Strange to his bedroom, he heard Strange softly humming a song. A soft familiar old tune, making him smile.

"So I'm kinda a professional in the area and I was top of my psychology class in college, when I got my PHD and MD at the same time," Strange added to show off. "So you said it was a bad dream?"

"Uh, yeah." Tony said trying to avoid the subject. He never really talked about his mental health much with anyone. Even doctors.

"Do you get them often? Being in combat so much, I wouldn't be too surprised." Strange said, making his way into Tony's room, finding comfort on a couch.

"You don't, have to sleep there Doc." Tony said, trying to change the subject.

"Please, call me Stephen." He said, a soft smile curling on his lips. "Where do you suggest I sleep?"

"Anywhere you see fit I guess." Tony shrugged.

"Could I sleep in the bed? With you? If that's not weird or-"

"It's not weird." He said, patting the open spot next to him. "Come, lay down."

"Thanks." Stephen said softly, taking off his slippers before crawling into the bed with Tony. It was nice. A complete opposite of weird.

"So, as I was saying," He began to say before being interrupted by Tony, "We don't have to talk about this right now, it's late. I kind of want to sleep honestly."

"If you insist, Mr. Stark." Stephen said, a small yawn following his words.

"Please, call me Tony." He said, before his head hitting the pillow, his eyes fluttering shut.

The two then dozed off to a long awaited sleep, feeling more comfortable in eachothers presence than alone.

And for the first time in awhile, Stephen slept peacefully through the night with Tony next to him.