A/N: This is slash just to remind you. Tony x Steve
The cirumstances are left to your imagination.
Iron Wings
Blood seeped through the slashes on his star-crested blue uniform, his bare skin showing on his arms and chest where the material was torn away. He pulled himself up against a slab of broken pavement, short of breath.
The man inside the red and gold exoskeleton knelt beside him, and with a raised finger, began sealing the soldiers chest wound with a low intensity laser. He retracted his helmet and glanced at Steve's strained expression before returning his attention to the wound. "What's this? A super soldier with no super regenerating capability?"
If Steve had been in any other mood, he would have chuckled. "I'm fine Tony. Just go help the others."
Tony looked at him with warm eyes. "But then we'd miss the chance to exchange some well crafted insults."
Steve looked away, eyes narrowed, mouth a thin line. "You pretend nothing's happened like a child too stubborn to admit when he's afraid."
Tony's gaze lowered to his task again, his lighthearted expression somewhat dimmer.
Steve flinched and let out a groan. "Will you stop that." He scowled. "It feels like you're burning a hole through my chest."
The laser disappeared, and Tony looked at him with reserved impatience. "There's blood literally gushing from you. What do you want me to do? Lick the wounds clean? Just lay there and stop fidgeting like a squirrel so I can get this over with."
The soldier's eyelids sagged, and he softly sighed indicating his submission. The laser flashed back on, and he clenched his teeth as the pain returned.
They were quiet for a moment until Tony Spoke. "Any one of us could have made the same mistake."
"But it wasn't anyone else. It was me. So I have to live with it." He shook his head and stared at the surrounding rubble. "So many lives lost. If I had done something differently – thought harder, planned ahead–"
"Almost done–"
"I was so stupid!" His anger forced him to stand, but it was seconds before the pain buckled his legs.
Tony reached out and grabbed Steve with both arms as he fell backwards, but he too fell backwards and his metal body crashed into stone. They laid there amidst a cloud of dust. Steve was breathing heavily, back against Tony's chest and wrapped in his arms.
"That was...unexpected," Tony said through coughs.
Steve sat up, pulling away from the arms around him, his head bowed. Tony sat up behind him, his chest plate against the soldier's back.
"Steve."
"I thought it would turn out like before. I'd sacrifice myself and everyone would be fine, safe. But it didn't."
Tony held his shoulder. "You can't go around throwing yourself at the wolves the second things get bad. Yeah we're super heroes and there's some kind of unwritten code that everyone believes we follow." He paused and sighed. "It doesn't mean you gotta live your life by it."
Steve looked sideways seeing one of Stark's eyes lingering over him. He faced forward again.
"Let me finish."
Steve remained silent and unmoving. He didn't deserve his help.
Tony let out a long breath. "This might sting."
It took a moment for Steve to realize the gentle touch sliding over his shoulder was Tony's tongue. It did sting quite a bit as it passed over a cut, but Steve was too overcome by bewilderment. He swung around, as much as his wounds allowed. He stared at Tony, eyes wide.
Tony looked back as if unsure of what to do or how to respond. He slowly leaned toward the soldier, eyes darting back and forth from Steve's eyes to his lips.
Steve didn't want to pull away. Their lips met softly, their eyes open. They were still for a long moment just touching. Steve pressed his lips harder, and Tony wrapped his arms around him. He didn't know what would happen once Tony let go. He didn't want to know.
