he burns, from the inside out. the infinity stones are too much for a regular human to handle, and the iron man suit could only do so much. so he burns.
human inventions aren't adequate enough to combat cosmic damages. super soldier blood transfusions do nothing. gamma infused hulk blood also has no effect. extremis is a lost cause.
the entire right side of his body barely functions anymore. and his face. oh god, his face. it's so damaged, so scarred, tony can barely look himself in the mirror anymore, let alone expect others to look at him without cringing away.
he builds new armor. gone are the flashy colors. no more red and gold. just plain old gunmetal grey. gone are the nanobots. no more skin-hugging technology. just cold hard planes of metal. back to unflinching, terror-inducing steel, like the suit he wore when he flew out of that cave over a decade ago.
he hardly ever takes it off. it's the only way he can get his body to just move. it's life support. it's a high-tech prosthesis.
he's just so ashamed. sure, he's saved the world. but while everyone else lives on, he's barely surviving. so he covers himself up the best he can. with the armor. then with a cloak, so he looks a little softer, a little more inviting. not that it matters, when he hardly lets anyone see him anymore.
he stops wearing red. he can't even look at that color anymore, when all it does is remind him of the day he couldn't just die.
what's the opposite of red?
people looked at iron man and saw hope.
now people look at anthony stark and see doom.
steve rogers doesn't die.
he lives a happy life, with the one who got away, and returns to his timeline knowing that he's fulfilled his lifelong dream and he can rest well knowing what it's like to grow old with the love of his life.
except that wasn't actually his dream.
he goes back to the future and finds out the man he's in love with is still alive, and if he plays his cards right, steve might just get to spend the rest of his life with tony.
but steve is old. and he's dying. the rest of his life could only last so long.
and tony doesn't even want to see him. tony doesn't want to see anyone.
so steve begs. he sends messages through friday. notes under the door. anything he can think of, he tries.
"please, give us a chance."
it takes longer than steve has time for, but he finally wears tony down. when tony opens the doors to the lab for steve, he hands over three vials filled with molten orange liquid.
"extremis. modified and enhanced trifold for a super soldier. it's a risk, but if it works, you'll have at least another fifty years left."
his muscles come back. his wrinkles disappear. his hair darkens from white to gold.
steve picks up tony, armor and cloak and all, and spins him around in joy. he's so happy, he lights up from within.
literally, he lights up. his skin glows orange. he's dangerously hot to the touch. he breathes, and smoke escapes his mouth.
but becoming a human torch is a small price to pay if it means he gets to be with tony.
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