Word Count: 2,650ish
Summary: Tony tries to get you to move in with him.
Warning: mentions of car crashes and torture
~~~
"I haven't, honey!" Tony shouted back from the kitchen. "Have you checked by the couch?"
"No! I could have sworn it was in here!" You continued your frantic search for it. "I'm going to be late to work," you muttered. "Great. Just how I want to start the new semester. Late."
"Here you go, Y/N," Tony said, entering the bedroom with the charger in hand. He slipped it in your backpack as he planted a kiss on your lips. "It was right where I said it was."
"Forever my hero," you smiled, giving him another kiss. "Thanks so much." You glanced at the clock. "Ugh! I'm going to be late!" You grabbed your backpack and rushed out of the room with Tony following.
"You know that you being late wouldn't happen if you just moved into the Tower."
"Tony... we've talked about this." You sighed as you grabbed the coffee he had already prepared for you off the counter. "I'm already treading a fine line just by dating a guardian of one of my students, I can't move in with you too."
"Yes, you've said that. But what I don't understand is why they would even care or need to know that you've moved in with me, especially since we're already dating."
"We just can't, Tony. Alright. Now, I really got to go." You gave him one last kiss. "Love you." Then you slipped out the door.
You and Tony had been dating for a few months now and, for the last couple of weeks, Tony wouldn't stop bringing up the idea of moving in together. It's not like you were scared to spend the night with him, you and him switched were you spent the night often. It was the fact that you were sit healing from the last man that you lived with. You felt awful for doing that to Tony, but you just weren't ready yet. And you weren't really in the mood to hear him promise never to leave you.
Tony understood your hesitancy, but he just didn't like being separated from you for too long. He still visited your class room at least twice a week for mainly that reason. And cause he was in awe of how amazing you were at teaching. You clearly put so much time and effort into every lesson and poured all your love into every student. And the kids loved you back.
After a long day of teaching, Peter stopped by your room before heading for his surveillance round around the city.
"Hey, Ms. L/N!" He greeted.
"Hey, Peter!" You replied with a smile. You were seated at your desk, grading some papers. "What can I help you with?"
"Oh, Mr. Stark asked me to drop this off to you before I headed out." He pulled a small, wrapped, box out of his backpack. "He said to open it when you were ready."
"Do you know what it is?" You asked, taking the package from him.
"I've got a guess."
"Me too." You sighed. "Thanks for dropping it off, Pete. And if you see Tony before I do, thank him for me and say that we'll be having a conversation the next time he sees me."
"Ya, okay." Peter nodded, turning to go. He paused at the door, turning slightly to look back at you. "You know, he really loves you right?" You looked up at him. "He just wants you near."
"This really isn't your business, Peter. I'm glad you care about him, but I really can't talk about this with you."
"I know. I just... I don't want to see you two separated."
"We're not going to break up, Peter. I don't know-"
"Just be careful, okay? Fear shouldn't be what's stopping you from following your heart."
Then he slipped out, leaving you staring at the small box in front of you. You slowly opened the box. Inside was a folded up note and a key. You picked up the note, unfolding it so you could read it.
Y/N/N ~ I know what's keeping you from moving in. I know you're afraid that I'll leave you. But, honey, I'd die before I left you. So, think about it. Here's a key to my bedroom as a symbol of moving in with me. (Since, you know, FRIDAY already has you keyed into everything.) Take your time and I promise that I'll stop bugging you about it. Nothing has changed though. I still love you with everything I have. I just want you near. (Part for your safety, part for the teams. If you know what I mean.) So, whenever you're ready, let's do this. With love, forever, Tony.
He really was the sweetest. You definitely did not deserve a man like him in your life. Or did you? Slipping the key in your pocket, you packed up for the day. On your ride home, you texted Tony.
Hey, T! Hope you had a good day! I won't be coming by the Tower tonight. I just need some time to think about the gift you gave me. Don't worry, I would never even think about breaking up with you. You're stuck with me there. I love you! And I'll see you tomorrow in class. Don't be late!
With a content sigh, you looked up from the back seat of the taxi you were in. You watched out the window as the driver took you to your apartment. You made a look of confusion though when you realized the driver turned a few streets too early.
"Um.. excuse me?" You tried to get the drivers attention. "You made a wrong turn." The man kept driving, with no response. "Excuse me? Where are you-"
You didn't get to finish it as another car came barreling into the taxi.
~~~
"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter greeted as he entered the lab.
"Hey, kid," Tony replied looking at some sketches as he twirled his phone.
"Rounds went well today. Saved a few cats from trees and ladies from cars."
"That's great." Tony seemed to be in his own world so Peter went and got settled into his spot in the lab. "Hey, kid..."
"Ya, Mr. Stark?"
"Did Y/N seem to take the gift well?"
"She didn't take it badly. She did already have a guess as to what it was. She did tell me to tell you that you would be having a conversation about it later."
"Later... but not today.... Y/N hasn't answered my calls all day. Though... she did say she needed time. Maybe she's just ignoring me."
"I wouldn't think too hard about it, Mr. Stark. If she asked for time, then she just wants time."
"Yeah... yeah, okay." Tony slipped his phone in his pocket and clapped his hands together. "Let's get to work then, Parker."
~~~
When you woke up, it took your eyes a while to adjust to the dim lit room around you. You were clearly in some sort of basement or abandoned warehouse room. Your arms were over your head, tied together with a chain hooked to the ceiling. It was chilly, especially since you were stripped down to your underwear.
From what you could tell, no one was in there with you, there was only one entrance and no windows. You didn't know how long you were hanging, but you knew the aching in your body wasn't just from the car crash.
After taking in your surroundings, you hung there, thinking about Tony. You hoped that he would notice your absence and that he would quickly find out where you were. You knew he would find out something was wrong when he came to class, but you didn't even know what time it was.
When the door finally slammed open, it startled you. A rough looking man, definitely taller and stronger than you, marched into the room. You immediately noticed the whip in his hand, but tried hard not to show how terrified you were.
"Tell me what you know about the Avengers," the man's low voice almost vibrated the room.
"No." You had tried to sound confident but you were pretty sure he could see right through you.
He took a step forward, releasing all but the whip's handle from his grip. "You will tell me what you know, or suffer the consequences."
With a shaky inhale, you responded, "I'll never tell you anything."
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."
~~~
Tony arrived earlier than you usually did, anxious to see you. He had made sure to bring a light breakfast since you usually didn't eat before coming to work. Luckily, the whole staff knew why he was here and had entrusted him with a key. He wanted, not so patiently in your room. Tony distracted himself with all the science instruments around and even began snacking on the breakfast he brought. He was so caught up in what he was doing, he didn't notice the time. The first bell rang, signaling all the students to head to class, and you still hadn't soon up.
"Uh, Mr. Stark?" A nervous kid called as he entered the room. "Where's Ms. L/N?"
"I don't know," Tony stated, calmly. Though on the inside he was feeling anything but calm. He waited until the second bell had rung before making a move to do anything. "I'm going to call her. You all begin on the experiment we started a few days ago."
The students nodded before beginning their work. Tony slipped out into the hallway and quickly dialed your number. Straight to voicemail. He tried again, to only receive the same result. Something was not right.
"FRIDAY, I want all information on Y/N's whereabouts yesterday," Tony ordered. "Grab anything you can. From her computer, phone, street cameras. Everything. Tell the Team she's missing and send the information to them as well."
"On it, Boss."
Tony peeked his head back into the room. Your students were working well on the experiment, so he took this time to go to the Principal and tell him what was up. The Principal quickly called in for a sub. Tony promised to keep him updated, for the students, as long as the Principal promised not to screw anything up in your classroom.
He rushed back to the Tower at lightning speed. There, the Team were gathered going through all the information FRIDAY was pulling up. It was another hour later when Natasha said she'd found something. It was footage of you getting into a taxi outside the school. The Team watched the taxi drive as FRIDAY switched the footage of the street cameras. Eventually, they got to when the cabbie made the wrong turn.
"That's not right," Tony muttered. "Why would the taxi turn there? She wouldn't have sai-"
Then the taxi was plowed into by a truck. Gasps were heard around the room.
"What the hell just happened?" Sam asked.
They watched as large, black van sped up to the scene. People dressed in all black rushed out of both the truck and the van. Tony let out a low growl as your unconscious body was pulled from the taxi and thrown into the van. Before they knew it, the van was off and the wreckage was being cleaned away, without the cops being called.
"FRIDAY, follow that van," Steve directed.
"Of course, Captain," FRIDAY responded, quickly pulling up footage to follow the van.
"My question, why would they take her?" Bruce asked. "She's just a school teacher."
"Who's dating an Avenger," Natasha added. "They must think she had information that could be useful to them."
They watched as the van made its way to an abandoned warehouse. Your body was not so gracefully taken out of the van and into the warehouse.
"The warehouse is located on the edge of the river in New Jersey," FRIDAY informed the Team. "From the time stamps I can conclude that she has been there for about 24 hours."
"I'm going to go rescue her," Tony stated, heading for his armory. "She can't be there any longer. I can't-"
"We know, Tony," Steve said, catching up with him. "We're right behind you."
~~~
You don't know when you stopped feeling the whips against your back, or when the man began on your front. But you knew it was bad. You didn't know how much longer you could go on before allowing your body to give in to the much wanted, and needed, rest. You hadn't given up hope that Tony would save you. You just didn't know if it would be before or after you had given up the ghost.
The man had just striked your stomach and was about to do it again when another man rushed into the room.
"Sir, it's the Avengers!" He frantically exclaimed. "They're here and they're attacking!"
"Send everyone out to stop them," the other man ordered.
"Stop them?! They're the Avengers! They aren't going to stop."
"Do as I say, damn it! Stop them!" The man turned back to you. "I guess our times almost up, sweetheart. Too bad..." He stroked your cheek. "You were fighting so hard."
The man grabbed onto your throat and you immediately began struggling for air. He slowly squeezed tighter and tighter. Suddenly, there was a blast from the doorway and the man holding onto you fell to the ground.
"Y/N!" Tony exclaimed.
He rushed to your side, helmet disappearing into his suit. His heart broke and his eyes watered at the sight before him. Quickly, he wrapped one arm around you while the other lifted up and shot the chains that were holding you up. You immediately collapsed into his arms. Tony positioned you so that he could see your face.
"Y/N? Y/N?" He worriedly called. "Honey?"
"T-Ton-y..." you croaked, barely opening your eyes.
"Yes, it's me. I've got you, honey." He swiftly pulled you into his arms and ran out to the quinjet, calling out to the Team, "I've got her."
"Good," Steve responded. "We've just finished up. We'll met you at the jet."
"Get ready to sped and tell Banner to set up the lab."
Once you were on the jet, Tony refused to let you go until you were at the Tower. Both him and the Team noticed the whip marks and how you were still bleeding. Bruce and the medical team were ready and waiting when they landed.
You were in surgery longer than Tony would care to admit. But you had made it out alive. It would be a long, hard road to recovery, but you were alive and that's what mattered. Tony had informed the Principal about what had occurred and the students immediately began sending cards and other gifts to the Tower. The Team made sure that your room was filled with them, knowing you'd want to see them when you woke.
Tony never left your side in the days that you were asleep. He was almost asleep himself when you finally decided to wake up. Your eyes could barely open, but you saw Tony leaning against his hand on the chair next to your bed. His other hand was wrapped softly around yours. Giving it the best squeeze you could, you pulled him from his almost sleep.
"Y/N! You're awake."
"Y-yes..." You said, almost too quietly for him to hear.
"I was so worried. How are you feeling?"
"Y-yes..."
"What?"
"Yes... I'll... m-move in... with... you... T-tony..."
Tony let out a soft chuckle as he brought your hand up for a kiss. "Sweetheart, I wasn't planning on letting you out of my sight again."