So, I know I should be working on my other stories, but I actually have a good excuse this time. My connectivity stopped working so I couldn't get to my work. That meant no Into the Past which has been started online and no Life Isn't Our Style or anything else because all the info and what happened last is all online. So instead, I typed this up. Now, I've just found out that connectivity is back so I'm quickly publishing it. This is about Tony and his fear of water. I hope you enjoy! Oh, and I do not own the Avengers.

Tony knew when his fear started. That was easy. Before Afghanistan, he had to go swimming at least once a week. It was like an addiction. If he didn't, he was grumpy until he slipped into swim shorts and dived into one of his Olympic-sized pools. But after getting back from the desert, he couldn't get in. He wanted to so badly, but if he did… Tony didn't know what would happen, he just knew it wouldn't be good.

Tony didn't know when Pepper and Rhodey figured it out. He did know, however, when he found out that they knew. They were at the beach in Malibu and Tony just stood there, staring at the waves with fear and longing in his eyes. Then he looked up and pushed the moment away with a laugh and a smile, telling them to bury him in sand. But he saw the look they shared, the one that spoke of an agreement to cooperate; he saw the pity in their eyes when they turned to him. He pretended not to see it and flopped down in the sand, ignoring the heat against his back and how all he wanted was to run and jump and laugh and splash in the cool waves.

Tony knew when he found out what would happen if he submerged himself in water. It had been a long day working on his suit, recovering from the poison, ignoring Shield, and he just forgot. He went by habit, just letting his muscle memory take over. And before Afghanistan, before he was afraid of water, Tony would run a bath and soak when he was this tired. So he filled the tub and, without a second thought, climbed in. He had just sat down when his fear emerged, screaming at him to get out and what are you doing. He jolted, trying to stand up and get out of the tub, but instead he slipped. He crashed back down and his head went under and he wasn't at home, he was in a cave, with his arms tied behind his back and there were people holding him down and what were they saying he didn't understand and he was screaming and thrashing so loudly that they were pulling him up and he took a deep breath and opened his eyes but when had they closed and why was there red hair and he was hyperventilating he couldn't get enough air and he fainted. When Tony woke up it was only a few minutes later but it felt like a day. Pepper was leaning over him with concern in her eyes. He was lying on the floor next to the tub and he spared a second to wonder how before he saw Rhodey. Then he remembered that Rhodey had been over talking to Pepper. He was so embarrassed about the episode that he just pushed himself up, refusing their outstretched hands, and stumbled away and to his bed. He didn't care that he was wet or that they both camped out on his floor that night, he just wanted to sleep. He wanted to forget, even though Tony knew he never would.

Tony thought it was ok that Shield didn't know of his fear. He thought it didn't matter. At least, until the Avengers were needed to fight Torrent, a new super villain who was literally made of water. Tony thought about it for a bit, but eventually dismissed the idea of not doing the mission. He would be in the air, Torrent wouldn't even come close to touching him. What Tony didn't count on was Torrent being able to fling balls of water that would then enclose around him with enough pressure to get into his suit. He didn't expect it, and when the water reached his head, Tony screamed and thrashed. The armor constricted him even as it moved with him, there were voices echoing in his ear, calling his name, but the water was everywhere and he was nowhere he didn't know where he was but it was hot and cold and he couldn't breathe why wasn't he being pulled up were they actually going to kill him this time what was happening his arm was being pulled but he wasn't leaving the water why is th-… Tony awoke with a splutter and he heaved himself onto his side to throw up the water he swallowed. He belatedly realized that might not be a good idea, then noticed that it was ok because someone had removed his mask. Thor, he recognized vaguely as he noted that the Asgardian was soaking wet. Then he bent over, coughing, and the Avengers were forced to move back as the Shield medics pushed through, lifting Tony onto the gurney made specifically for his suit. He could hear his teammates calling in the background, but the sound vanished as he once again fell unconscious.

Tony knew when he found out that the Avengers knew. He woke up again and was met with the white sterile ceiling of a hospital instead of clear blue sky. He glanced to the side and smiled when he saw his teammates passed out in the soft plush armchairs that he had bought the first time one of the Avengers was hospitalized. Then Fury was storming in, a furious scowl on his face and a protesting nurse following him and only visible before the door slammed shut before her. Around Tony, the Avengers startled awake and reached for their weapons, only stopping when they spotted Fury. Then the director was shouting, his voice a booming roar that reminded Tony of the water thundering around his suit, and he couldn't stop the flinch that shook his body. Fury quieted at once, paused, and then started speaking again. He wasn't shouting, but the words were just as sharp if not sharper. Why didn't Tony tell Shield he was afraid of water? And not just afraid, he had a huge phobia! The director was quiet after thirty minutes, and he stared at Tony, clearly expecting an answer. In a response that wasn't Tony Stark, he lowered his eyes and stared at his lap. He didn't have a reply. Then the door slammed, and Tony looked up to see Fury gone and his team staring at him. Tony looked down again. He heard a sigh, some rustling, and then quiet. The genius didn't have to look up to know that the Avengers were settling in around him. Sighing, Tony closed his eyes and sank down into a lying position.

Tony knew he could sleep easily with his team by his side, regardless of any fear, because they would protect him.

I hope you all enjoyed. Please review!