"I'll carry you, hold still or it'll hurt more." steve/tony
Ummm. I couldnāt make up my mind, so hereās three little fills.
Steve keeps walking even though his leg is most likely broken in three places. If he was anyone else, he wouldnāt be walking at all.
Itāll heal, he tells himself, tells Tony when he hovers next to him in the Iron Man suit.
Iron Man lands in front of him, hand out in front of him and Steve thinks about the repulsors and about how much itād hurt right now.
āYou gotta stop, Cap,ā Tony says and his voice is commanding.
āYou gonna make me?ā Steve asks with a grimace.
Iron Man lowers his hand, āIād rather I didnāt have to.ā
Steve shifts and suppresses a hiss of pain.
āPlease," Tony says over the comm and Steve grits his teeth. "Youāre gonna hurt yourself. Come onāIām supposed to be the reckless one."
"Iām not leaving," Steve rasps. "The others need me."
"No," Tony tells him firmly, taking two steps forward. "I need you. I need you to give up this selfless hero act and let me take you back to the tower. Wouldnāt want that doctorās time wasted, would we?ā
"You called a doctor?" Steve leans heavily on his uninjured leg and looks at him.
"Yeah, generally people see doctors when their legs are broken. And me being me, Iāve got the best. Back at the tower. Waiting for you."
"Iāll take care of them," Tony assures. "Just gotta take care of you first."
He lifts Steve into his arms and Steve allows him to, holding onto the neck of the Iron Man suit. āIs that a promise?ā
"Yes," Tony says, even though he hates making promises. "The Avengers will save the day so Iron Man can show Captain America just how glad he is that heās alive."
"You love me," Tony returns, repulsors pushing them into the air and up out of danger.
Steve just hums. A warm feeling settling in his chest because itās true. Heās worried, but Tony wonāt abandon the team. Theyāve almost got it under control.
Later, Tony makes it very clear how serious he was about all stipulations of his promise.
Tony Stark is a stubborn son of a bitch and he knows it. He probably shouldāve assumed Steve is the same way.
Steve is half-covered in blood and itās mostly his ownāmaybe a little bit Tonyās but of course Tony bleeds, heās only human. Itās when Steve is bloody and can barely stand he knows theyāre lucky to have gotten out alive.
His suit is ruined. Heād had to abandon it when it came down to wriggling out of the depleted shell or getting crushed along with it. (He thought about staying there, letting the metal wrench around him and into him untilā But no. People were relying on Tony now.)
Tonyās going to get through this on sheer force of will. If it kills him later, it wonāt be with Captain Americaās death on his hands.
Steveās breath comes in harsh, wet gasps and Tony puts a hand solidly to his chest. āWhoa, whoa, whoa. Iāve got you,ā he says.
Cap laughs, but it turns to a cough partway through and Tony hates not having JARVIS in his ear to relay medical adviceāeven though the AIās voice would sound worried (and annoying) as he scanned Tonyās own vitals.
Tony swoops in under his arm and, reluctantly, Steve leans on him. Tony half-carries and half-drags Steve as the super soldierās feet continue to stumble him forward for another minute. Then, he goes limp.
"If you die, Iāll kill you," Tony says.
The suit is fried and Steve has to pull it apart with his hands to get Tony out.
"Donāt move, soldier," Steve says.
"Not a soldier," Tony rasps.
Steveās jaw tenses. āI know youāre not, Tony,ā he sighs. His eyes have gone all soft and worried and Tony realizes why Steve always calls him āsoldierā when heās hurt.
Itās easier for Steve to be at war, to pretend this is just the way the world works. Soldiers willingly put their lives at risk for their country and although every life may be sacred, another would always be there to take oneās place.
Steve hates facing the fact that thereās only one Tony Stark, only one person heās ever fallen so completely in love with. If he acts like Tony is just another soldier, it doesnāt hurt so badly. Steve can disconnect enough to handle it.
Steve hauls Tony into his arms and Tony goes willingly. He had almost died but only now is he scared.
Steve cares about him so much and Tony is just realizing what that means.
If something happens to him, itās Steve who suffers for it. That someone so good could give a shit about Tony Stark is a difficult concept to grasp, but he knows itās true.
"Iāll be okay, Cap," he tells him, his hand slipping off Steveās shoulder as he tries to gasp it.
Steve smiles down at him but it doesnāt reach his eyes, worry leeching at his strong faƧade. āYou better be.ā
"I will," Tony says. "Just for you."