He holds Tony close, stroking his hair the way Sherlock had done a moment ago. It's what he knows his team will expect to see. It's also the first time in a while now that he's had Tony this close without a single guardian-inappropriate thought crossing his mind.

"No," he says, almost before Sherlock is finished speaking. He watched the fight as it unfolded. "On the off chance you're not concussed, I'd like to keep it that way. They know they're on a deadline to get back."