written about a year ago for the prompt: "If you were in the ocean and you saw something that was about to blow up, what would you do?"
title from the song camisado by panic! at the disco
sorry it's so short and sad!
Tony leaves Steve floating helplessly in the water, far enough away that he won't get hurt, but not so far that he can't see Iron Man fly onto the cargo ship.
"Tony, you don't-"
"Yes I do, Steve, and we both know it. This is my tech, and I can't let it slaughter innocent people- not again. If there was a way to remote detonate this ship I would, but there isn't. It's better me than half the East Coast."
A beat, and then "I'll finally be a real hero, Steve." Tony chokes, half laughing, half on the verge of tears.
"Tony, please," Steve begs, and he doesn't think he's ever sounded so desperate in his life.
"I love you." Tony says before his comm link cuts out and there's nothing but the roar of one thousand and one pieces of arc-powered technology exploding in the middle of the Atlantic. Steve tastes salt water and scorched metal, and closes his eyes.