Tony was walking to the kitchen to get something else to eat when he almost tripped over as someone stuck their leg out. 

"Tony!" a voice slurred, and he turned to see Eleanora flopped on the couch looking not well at all. 

The guy who had been sitting beside her conveniently chose that moment to stand up and move away, so Tony quickly took his seat. "You okay?" 

"I don't... don't feel so well," she groaned, and he shook his head in exasperated amusement. 

"You have had a lot to drink." 

Eleanora shook her head, though. "Tha's not what I... s'mth'n in my drink... feel super weak..." 

Tony's blood ran cold and he furiously scanned the room for the guy who had just been sitting there, but couldn't spot him. "Shit... okay... why don't we get you somewhere quieter-" 

"Think 'm gonna be sick." 

His panic rose as he helped her onto to her feet and slowly shuffled to the bathroom, her weight growing heavier and heavier as she grew weaker. He decided his ensuite would be the better option as the main bathroom was rather busy. 

"Okay... there you go," he sighed as she settled herself in front of the toilet. "How are you feeling?" 

He placed a hand on her shoulder, however she jerked away, eyes wide. 

"It's just me," he held his hands up, yet she still moved further away from him until she was pressed against the counter. Tony swallowed and ran his hand through his hair anxiously, a deep uneasiness in his chest rising. "Lenny, c'mon. Let me help you." 

Eleanora just curled further into herself, gripping the edge of the toilet. And although he was admittedly hurt by her fear of him, he was more disturbed over why she would be. 

"'M fine. It's my business if I feel the need to smoke and drink and sway... and it's my problem if I have no friends 'n feel I wanna die," she mumbled. 

Tony stared at her for a moment at a loss for words, having no idea how to deal with this situation. "I don't care what you think is your business, I'm not leaving you like this." 

Eleanora suddenly jerked forward and heaved, although nothing came out. She groaned softly and rested her cheek against the toilet seat, which made Tony cringe. "Don't- don't do that," he said softly, lifting her head off of it, heart clenching when she flinched slightly again. 

"Did you do this?" she asked weakly, staring at him tiredly, defeatedly. The question made his heart stop. "I'm sorry for snapping at you the other day, but-" 

"Wait, what the fuck? No, I didn't do this, why the fuck would you think I drugged you? Is that really what you think of me?"

Eleanora shook her head, eyebrows furrowing. "No... sorry, I dunno why I said that. I think... I think that you put up a front to hide the fact that you feel vulnerable and you're kind of a dick sometimes, but I don't think tha's really you. 'Cause I've seen you... seen you geeking out over Star Wars 'n nerding out over science shit 'n getting angry 'n upset, but you never show that. You hide what you're truly feeling with arr'gance and narc'sm  and it's like a people filter. And I get it... but I also think you would be happier if you let people in once in a while." 

Tony let out a heavy sigh, but gave her a soft smile. "Why do you think I'm here? Anyway, you can stop psychoanalysing me now." 

She smiled weakly, but it rapidly dropped again as she leant forward, head in the bowl and threw up. Her hands shakily reached up for her hair trying to get it out of her face, although rather unsuccessfully. Tony pulled the hair tie off her wrist and (with difficulty) pulled her hair into some semblance of a ponytail so it was out of her face, relieved that she wasn't flinching away from him anymore. After throwing up again, Eleanora groaned and leaned slightly into Tony's side. 

"I'm gonna go get you some water," he told her going to stand up, although her hand sluggishly reached to grab his wrist and she looked at him pleadingly, eyes darting over to the doorway. 

"Please don't leave me alone... I don't wanna... I can't..." 

"Okay, okay," he quickly amended. "Let me just... shit." 

"Tones, you down here?" a voice called from the hallway and Tony sighed in relief. 

"In here, Rhodey!" 

Rhodey appeared in the bathroom doorway, eyes widening when he saw Eleanora. "What happened to her?" 

"Fucking roofies," he spat. "I don't even know who would've... there was some guy sitting next to her when I found her but he took off and I didn't realise what was really happening until he was gone." 

"Doesn't matter now. She's safe. What do you want me to?" 

"Can you please get some cold water? She's thrown up a couple times already." 

"Yeah, of course. I'll be back in a minute," Rhodey nodded, disappearing again. 

"I'm sorry," Eleanora sighed, making Tony frown. 

"What the hell for?" 

"I shouldn'a gone so hard... wouldn'a happened if I stopped earlier." 

"This is not your fault, Lenny. Not at all. I don't know who the fuck did this but I'll find him and break his fucking neck." 

"Nora? Shit, she okay?"

Tony turned to look at Katie, who stumbled into the bathroom and knelt down on her other side. "She got roofied," he answered grimly. 

The redhead let out a soft groan and started rubbing Eleanora's back soothingly. "You'll be okay... No one's gonna hurt you."

He remembered Eleanora telling him that she and Katie weren't very close, but he could tell just from the expression on Katie's face that she cared deeply about the girl.

"Tony!" a high-pitched voice in the doorway called, and Tony closed his eyes for a moment before turning to face Maddie with a strained smile. "What are you doing in here? Come out and party." 

"I'm kind of busy right now," he replied, giving her a weird look and gesturing to Eleanora. 

"She'll be fine, we've all been there," Maddie insisted. "C'mon, it's your birthday party."

"Uh, no, I'm not leaving her." 

"It kind of feels like you're prioritising her..." 

Tony couldn't help his scoff, "my friend had been drugged and is throwing her guts up, you are fine, of course I'm prioritising her." 

Maddie blinked at him, evidently not having expected that response, before she started twirling her hair in her fingers and licked her lips. "I'll make it worth your while..." 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he blurted out in anger. 

"Excuse me?" 

"Can you leave, already?" Katie groaned before he could respond. "You're so fucking annoying." 

Suddenly Rhodey appeared in the doorway again, cup of water in hand. He took one look at Katie, Maddie and Tony and shook his head, "get outta here, Maddie." 

The girl looked indignantly at Tony, waiting for him to defend her, but he just handed the water to Eleanora and folded up some toilet paper for her to wipe her mouth with. He heard Maddie let out a frustrated huff before storming out of the room, leaving the four alone in the bathroom. 

"She always like that?" Katie scrunched up her nose, causing Rhodey to let out a laugh and nod. "What a bitch. And you're dating that?" she looked to Tony with an expression of disbelief on her face. 

He let out a cough and scratched the back of his neck. He knew the girl could be pretty blunt at times, but it seemed alcohol had inhibited her filter entirely. He ignored the smirk his best friend was shooting him. "Um, yeah." 

"I thought you were meant to be a genius or something." 

Tony huffed out a laugh. 

"You know what this is making me realise?" Eleanora croaked after another vomit. 

"That drinks should never be left unattended?" Tony suggested. 

"That men are the scum of the earth?" Katie piped up. 

"No... I already knew... both those things. You guys are nice though, you're good. Tucker's kinda mean though... he bruised my arm when we got back from spring break. Anyway, I'm realising that I need to chew more, that is wayyy too chunky." 

Tony would have been disgusted by the remark if he wasn't so distracted by the bruise thing. He exchanged a look with Rhodey, heart beating harder as anger bubbled up inside him. It was clear that Katie had no idea about it as she was staring at Eleanora, mouth agape. He knew that taking advantage of Eleanora's lack of filter wasn't right, but he couldn't hear something like that and ignore it. 

"How did he bruise you?"

"We were- we were arguing and then he jus' accidentally squeezed my arm super hard... really hurt. Kinda scared me, to be honest... think it scared him too, he didn't mean to." 

Tony swallowed, mind racing. 

"Oh my gosh, why are there maggots?!" she suddenly cried, looking into the toilet bowl, which made Tony frown and reluctantly glance into it too, almost gagging at the sight. 

"That's rice, you had it for lunch, remember?" 

"Oh yeah.... wait, when did I have corn?" 

"Please stop or I'm going to need to vomit too." 

Eleanora just cackled and Katie let out a drunken giggle. 

"I'm gonna grab some more water, stay with her, will you?" Tony asked Rhodey, who nodded and took a seat on the floor near Eleanora beside Katie. 

"Did I ever tell you about that time at MIT when Tony did a streak across campus?" he heard him ask as he walked out. He felt a little bad about leaving Rhodey to look after two drunk girls, but he didn't seem to mind. 

After topping her cup up with cold water because he remembered her telling him once that 'room temperature water is horrid, cold water is where it's at', Tony made his way back to his ensuite, however, Maddie then latched onto his arm. "Hey, baby, come dance with me!" 

"Maddie, I just told you, I have other problems right now," he said flatly. 

"You can't be serious." 

"My friend was fucking roofied-" 

"James and that other girl can babysit her. It's your birthday party, I don't see why you have to-" 

"You realise this isn't because I feel obligated to, right? I care about her and want to make sure she's okay." 

"And what about me?" Maddie demanded. "Do you care about me?" 

"Stop acting like it's you or her, she's scared and you're just bored." 

"You know, that's actually a good idea, Tony. Me or her?" 

"What?" 

"Me or her?" she repeated. "If you go back in there, you pick her and we're done. Otherwise you can stay out here and actually have fun." 

Tony stared at her in disbelief, puzzled and furious at the ultimatum. "I'm not picking her over you Maddie, I'm choosing to look after my sick friend rather than ignore her and fucking dance! Grow up." 

With that, he stalked off towards the bathroom again, leaving Maddie behind. He knew that he'd have to deal with that later, but he really had other priorities. Eleanora gratefully accepted the water, taking deep breaths between slow careful sips from the cup. 

"How are you feeling?" Rhodey asked. 

"Better... I- I hate this feeling, though. Like... I know alcohol makes me do dumb shit 'n makes me lose control of myself but this is a whole other level... like when you're trying to run away in a nightmare but can't get your legs to work... scary." 

Tony wasn't sure how long he, Rhodey and Katie spent in the bathroom keeping Eleanora company, but the noise coming from the living room started to gradually die down at the same time that Eleanora grew sleepy and eventually curled up on cold tiled floor with her head in Katie's lap. The redhead looked close to falling asleep herself, but was seemingly keeping herself awake for Eleanora's sake

"I think someone's ready for bed," Rhodey raised an eyebrow. 

Tony nodded. "Alright... let's... let's just put her in my bed for the night. C'mon, Lenny, you wanna go to bed? You gotta get up first." 

She just let out a loud groan. 

"Come on.... I know you hate being picked up but if you don't move, I won't have another choice." 

Another ambiguous noise. 

"Okay... Wanna give me a hand, guys?" 

With the help of Rhodey and Katie, Tony managed to get Eleanora off the bathroom floor and onto his bed. Immediately, she curled back into the fetal position. 

"Do you wanna crash here?" Tony asked Katie, who started to shake her head, but then looked distrustfully at the two boys. "You're welcome to stay, but if you wanna go back to your apartment, I promise I won't let anything happen to Lenny." 

She looked between them before shaking her head. "I'll go home. But I'll castrate both'a you if you- if you fail to keep that promise. 'N I'm studying vet science, so..."  

"Noted." 

"I'll make sure she gets back safely," Rhodey offered, then looked over at the redhead. "If you want my company that is..." 

Katie looked him up and down with a rather severe lack of subtly and nodded, making Tony snigger. "Lead the way, good sir." 

"I think people have started going home. I'll take this one back and make sure there's nothing major that need cleaning up," Rhodey offered, and then glanced at Eleanora. "And see if anyone saw anything. Maybe someone knows who did it." 

"Thanks," Tony nodded, pulling the covers over her. 

"It smells like you," she murmured as the other two left. 

"Is that... a good thing?" 

"It's a very good thing, you smell really good." 

"Okay," he chuckled. "Well, I'm gonna go see if-" 

"Please don't leave," she whispered, so quietly he only just caught it. "I'm scared... and really alone. Fuck, I'm lonely. Fuck'n parents... making me think everything is a competition... putting career above everything... I haven't enjoyed my life, y'know? I wanna have fun... like on spring break." 

"We've got plenty of time to do fun stuff," he promised. "We can do whatever you want." 

"Go on a boat?" 

Tony snickered. "What?"

"I've never been on a boat before... looks scary but kinda fun." 

"I've got a yacht." 

"'Course you do." 

Tony grinned, although it faded when Eleanora sluggishly rolled onto her back and frowned up at the ceiling. "You know how you said I was a good judge of character?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I thought I was too... now I don't know what to think." 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Turns out he has a fiancee," she stated not needing to specify who, and Tony's heart dropped. "I kinda suspected he was cheating but it turns out I was the mistress and I had no idea. And I feel like I can't be upset because I'm the one ruining her life." 

He sighed heavily and sat down on the bed beside her on top of the covers. "You can't honestly believe that. You're not in the wrong at all if you had no idea. He's the one ruining the relationship, not you, and you're certainly allowed to be upset." 

"I think I'm more angry than sad... kinda knew we weren't right near the end. But he's always been so f'ckin possessive 'n jealous 'n then to find out I'm just the side bitch... it's a bit shit." 

Hearing Eleanora refer to herself as 'the side bitch' made Tony clench his fists, knowing she deserved far more than that. He'd been trying to calm his anger, but as Eleanora wiped tears from her eyes, stoic expression faltering, he felt the storm pick up speed. 

"So yeah.. that's what's new with me," she continued lightly, pulling the blankets up higher. She then glanced at Tony sitting on top of the covers and lifted them up slightly - an invitation. 

"I'm good," he shook his head, lips quirking upwards. 

"Aren't you cold?" 

"I'm fine, actually." That was a lie, he was kind of cold, but considering what had happened to Eleanora that night, the last thing he wanted to do was overstep any kind of boundaries. 

"M'kay," she mumbled, curling up tighter, eyes fluttering shut. 

"Get some sleep, Lenny," he said softly, moving to stand up, only for her eyes to snap open in panic and dart over to the doorway.  "I'm not leaving. I'll just be right here," he hastily assured her, gesturing down on the floor between the bed and the door. 

A frown formed on Eleanora's face. "You can't sleep on the floor, it'll be cold 'n uncomfortable. This bed is massive, just-" 

"I'll be fine, see?" he promised grabbing a blanket and a pillow off the bed and showing them to her before throwing them on the floor. "It's not a problem, honest." 

"Okay... G'night, Tony." 

"Goodnight, Lenny." 

Tony lay down on the carpet and covered himself with the blanket, already plotting a thousand different ways to kill Tucker, as well as whoever had roofied Eleanora. Thoughts raced through his head as he tried to process everything that he had learned that night. 

It didn't take long before he heard Eleanora's breathing even out and slight snores escaped her. When he knew she was asleep, he got out of his makeshift bed and left the room to help Rhodey. 

"Sorry, man," Rhodey shook his head as he tipped a dustpan of broken glass into the bin. "No one I asked saw anything." 

Tony clenched his jaw wondering how it had happened. It was at his birthday party, in he and Rhodey's own apartment, full of people that he invited. And he was the one who had encouraged Eleanora to drink and then told her to slow down- 

An icy chill washed over him when he remembered cutting her off, remembered taking away her cup and putting it down, only for her to take it back and down it a few minutes later. If he hadn't interfered, her drink would have remained in her hands, safe. 

"Tony..." Rhodey sighed knowingly, coming up to him and putting a firm hand on his shoulder. "This isn't your fault." 

"I invited all of those people, I-" 

"We both know that's not true. There's gate crashers at every party and considering who you are, there were definitely quite a few tonight. And even if it was someone you did invite, you couldn't have known." 

Tony shook his head. "Lenny knows how to protect herself, she always takes her own drinks to things and she never puts them down. I was the one that took her cup away from her and put it down, I never thought that..." 

"Exactly. You didn't know, this isn't your fault," Rhodey insisted. "And Nora's okay, that's what matters. There's not point lingering on what could have happened or whose fault it was. I know it's hard for you... but stop making everything about yourself." 

Tony gave a weak laugh before letting out a heavy sigh. "Maddie and I are done... I think." 

"Wait, what? And what do you mean, you 'think'?" 

"When I went to get Lenny another glass of water she asked me to dance with her and asked why you couldn't 'babysit' her and why I wasn't prioritising her. And then she told me to choose between her and Lenny and said 'if you go back in there, you pick her and we're done' when Lenny was literally throwing up. So I told her to grow up. I mean, who does that?" 

Rhodey let out a low whistle. "Wow. Yeah, I'd imagine she's not coming back. You okay?" 

"Yeah, fine. It's kind of a relief, to be honest," he admitted. "She's exhausting." 

He could feel Rhodey watching him closely for any sign he was lying and shot him a tight smile. 

"Well, I don't disagree with you, and I barely talked to her. Now get some sleep, we've got a big day of cleaning tomorrow." 

Tony smiled slightly as Rhodey clapped him on the shoulder and headed to