Part 1: Friction
Location: Avengers Compound, Morning
Riven walked the hallways alone.
The medical bay had started to feel like a cage with cleaner walls, and he couldn't sit in it anymore. The fluorescent lights, the silence, the subtle hum of machines—all of it reminded him too much of what he had just escaped. So he wandered.
The Avengers compound was a fortress disguised as a sanctuary. Wide corridors buzzed with soft lighting and high-tech panels. Occasionally, staff passed by, giving him polite but cautious looks. No one said anything. No one stopped him. But no one greeted him either.
He didn't belong here, and it showed.
Around a corner, he nearly bumped into a man in a charcoal-black shirt, holding a coffee and looking down at a glowing tablet.
Tony Stark.
"Easy there, tall and brooding," Tony said, looking up without flinching. His gaze took in Riven's posture, the twitch in his jaw, the silent tension in his steps. "You planning to pace the whole compound to death, or just the west wing?"
Riven blinked. "Didn't know where else to go."
Tony nodded like he expected that answer. "Yeah. Not a fan of the medbay either. Too sterile. Too many questions."
He took a sip of coffee and gestured down the hall with a tilt of his head. "There's a room on Level Four. Quiet, private, no white walls or heart monitors. You need a space that doesn't make you feel like a lab rat."
Riven was silent. He hadn't expected... an offer. He didn't even know how to respond.
Tony didn't wait for one. "Key's coded into your wristband. You'll find fresh clothes in the drawer, access to the gym two doors down. Don't trash the place. Or do. I can afford new furniture."
"Why?" Riven asked quietly.
Tony paused. His voice lowered a notch, the sarcasm thinning just enough to show sincerity underneath.
"Because you're not in a cell, and you shouldn't be treated like you are. That's the deal, right? You saved those kids. You bleed, you think, you regret. That makes you worth a room."
Riven nodded slowly.
Tony turned, muttering, "And if you end up punching a hole in the wall, try to make it an exterior one. Easier to patch."
The hallway was quiet again. But this time, Riven felt something shift.
Not trust.
Not comfort.
Just... space to breathe.
And that was enough.