The End of the Game
Version #2
PenPatronus
Steve Rogers had never run so fast, or so clumsily. With embarrassing inelegance, he tripped his way across the battlefield and caught Tony as he collapsed forward. Stark's chin landed on Cap's left shoulder and only stayed because Steve grasped the back of his head and held him. They fell together, slowly, Steve careful to keep the trip as gentle as possible. Cap, after successfully rearranging their limbs for Tony's ideal comfort, held his friend half in his lap, half upright with the back of Tony's neck cradled against the inside of his elbow. Steve tossed his cowl aside and dragged wet fingers back through his hair—fingers wet with blood, he realized, too late. Tony's blood. Already the pool beneath them was deep. Too deep. Dust floated around them like they were in a dark snow globe. Sitting inert in the dirt beside them, the gauntlet and Infinity Stones glittered in what light remained. Mocking beauty.
Steve wrapped his left hand around Tony's. "You're ok," he said, out of breath and gasping. "Tony, you're ok. You'll be ok."
"Liar," Tony croaked fondly, the word spoken so very differently than the accusation five years before. Tony trembled so hard it felt to Steve like an earthquake. "Cap, I—"
"I'm sorry," Steve interrupted. "About everything—everything that has happened between us. About… About your parents. Forgive me." Everything felt hot: the air, the cracked Iron Man armor, Tony's skin, the blood… "Tony, please forgive me."
Tony managed a smile. "Forgive ME," he insisted. His voice was barely louder than a breeze.
"You—" Steve's words caught in his throat. He struggled to clear it. "You saved us. Tony, you saved us all."
A figured landed in Steve's peripheral. He looked up to see Thor standing there, his head cocked to one side, analyzing the scene. Half a minute passed and then Thor set Stormbreaker down in front of him, and knelt on one knee. Bruce jogged over. The Hulk gradually retreated until it was just Bruce there, arm mangled from his own use of the Stones. Banner approached Tony almost on tiptoes as if he was afraid his own footsteps would cause his friend more pain. "Oh, my god." Banner collapsed to his knees on Tony's right. He reached out to touch him then retreated, thinking better of it, then reached out again. Bruce settled for resting his palm on the arc reactor in the center of the broken armor. "Oh god, Tony…"
Steve held Tony closer. "Is there any way…?" he whispered, begging the doctor. The tears that overflowed from Bruce's eyes answered the question. Blood streamed from the corner of Tony's mouth to his collarbone. Bruce wiped it away with his sleeve.
"Tony?" Clint came sprinting full speed to them. He stopped just past Thor, then backpedaled behind him, shaking his head slowly. He looked down at his helpless hands, then raised them to his face.
Tony returned his attention to Steve. "Listen to me," he whispered. "I found it. I found a l-life. With Pepper. With Morgan. Find one." Tony swallowed and his voice got even softer. "Steve, you can rest now. You all can."
Cap shook his head. He choked on the third syllable when he said, "Without you?"
Tony looked at him with fondness. His breathing was slowing.
Steve heard it, then. The silence. Only the crackling of nearby fires was audible. He looked around. Thor still knelt on one knee and Clint mirrored the pose beside him. Behind them, hundreds more, the survivors, they were all kneeling as well as if before a king. Rhodey and Peter, Wanda and T'Challa, Sam and Bucky… Everyone. Some held up a salute. Some braced their fists against their chests. Some bowed their heads all the way to their chests. All mourned the universe's hero.
Steve wanted his friend to see their gratefulness. "Tony, look." Steve shook Tony's body a little. "Look, Tony."
"Steve," Bruce gulped.
Cap didn't want to look down. He didn't want to look into his friend's unseeing eyes, but he had to. He knew what to expect—how many bodies had he seen on how many battlefields?—but the absence of life in Tony Stark still startled him. Steve's lower lip trembled. A tear traveled down his cheek and landed right on Tony's.
And Cap cradled Tony's cheek and said what the hundreds of kneeling men and women were saying. "Thank you."
The End