Tony walked into the living room, a grin on his face as he noticed Erik laying on the floor. "Erik. Why are you choosing to lay on the floor when there's a perfectly good couch not three feet away?" He stepped closer, pausing for a second. Something seemed...wrong. "Erik? C'mon, the dead fish impression is getting old." Swallowing thickly, he crouched next to him, for the first time noticing the dark red blooming from Erik's shoulder, above his heart. No. His body whispered the word, then screamed it, rejection and denial flaring through him.
"Erik! Get up idiot! This isn't funny!" He shook his shoulders, slapped his cheek, holding back bile as the body of his friend laid there lifeless, cold and unresponsive. He hadn't even realized he was crying until dark spots dropped onto Erik's shirt, a pattern of small dots. "Erik, oh god..." Choking back a sob, he gathered Erik's cold form in his arms, clinging to him as he rocked back and forth, finally letting the cries and sobs rip from his throat.
"Oh god why?!! Why is everything taken from me?!" His gaze darted around, searching for something, anything to ease the pain. Only then did he notice what was in Erik's hand.
An arrow. An arrow made with no metal, that Clint had asked Tony to make. Realization hit him hard and he doubled over, pressing his face to Erik's still chest as he fought to breathe. 'My fault! It's my fault! I made the arrows, didn't even ask any fucking questions when Clint--' The internal monologue cut off, something dark brewing in him. Clint. Clint did this. His own team was responsible, had killed his friend, one of the few people Tony cared about. The darkness built until finally, something in him snapped.
He gingerly laid Erik back down, picking up the arrow as he stood. His mind reeled, pain and anger becoming the only thing he knew. He welcomed the darkness he had once tried so hard to resist, letting it consume him, become him. No longer did he pay mind to right or wrong, only vengeance. His next words were a hiss, a promise made to the memory of the friend who now lay at his feet, cold and silent. "They will burn for this."