Lol this isn't even a thousand words. :0 But! I hope you still like it. I also hope that y'all are doing okay during this quarantine. My dms are always open if you ever need a friend! Love you guys.
Disclaimer: If the characters fates were in my hands, Endgame would never have happened.
"Hey, Capitan," Tony called out as he stepped through the doorway and onto the roof. "JARVIS said that you were out here and-"
Tony's feet stopped at the same moment his heart did.
Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of seeing Steve Rogers standing on the ledge of his building, arms spread out as if he were mere seconds from-
"Cap?"
Nothing.
Tony took a tentative step forward, knowing that despite all of his tech, despite all of the precatuions he had taken to protect his team over the years, he had nothing for...this.
He had never planned on having to save one of his teammates from themselves.
Not like this.
"Hey, Steve?" He called out, and his voice was calm but the words scraped against his throat.
"Yeah, Tony?" Tony's breath hitched in his throat at the words.
They sounded so-
-so empty.
This wasn't the same person he had been joking with and teasing merely two hours before.
It couldn't be.
He refused to believe it.
"Whatcha' doing?" He tried to stay calm but the tremble in his voice was nearly enough to give him away.
Steve shrugged, but his arms remained outward. Palms up, as if he were accepting what was about to happen-
No.
No.
Steve may accept it but Tony wouldn't-
-couldn't.
"Thinking." Steve explained, but Tony could have sworn he saw his feet edge inches closer to the edge and his heart skipped a beat.
"Ya' know that most people do that on the ground, right?" He deadpanned, refusing to show how his stomach lurched when Steve swayed lightly in the wind.
If he fell now, Tony couldn't save him.
He could do nothing.
He wasn't sure he'd ever felt so helpless.
"I like the view." Tony gritted his teeth. So much for the subtle approach working.
"Steve, get down from there." Tony ordered, knowing that if there was one thing Steve couldn't disobey was orders and-
"No."
Silence.
"What?"
Steve sighed.
"You heard me, Tony." Tony stood there, dumbfounded and scared, and oh God, was he scared-
"Steve, don't do this. It's not-" He shifted closer. "This isn't the answer, okay?"
Steve barked out a laugh and Tony winced because it sounded so wrong and so harsh.
"Then what is, Tony? Because I can't seem to find it. And no matter how hard I try-" He stopped, shaking his head. "I just- I'm so tired." His words took on such a resigned tone that Tony took a few steps closer, arm outreached.
"I know you are, Steve. Believe me, I do. I've been there. I've worn that look." Steve glanced back at that, but soon returned his gaze to the lights below him. "But I promise you that this isn't the answer. So would you just, please come down from there?"
For a heart stopping moment, Tony feared that he wouldn't.
But then Steve was moving and Tony was helping pull him down - okay, maybe yanking - and then he was pulling Steve into a hug because God, what if he'd been too late-
He abruptly pushed him away, glaring at him and pointing an accusing finger in his face.
"You know what? Screw you, Steve. That was an incredibly selfish thing to do."
"I'm sorry."
"Do you know how much that would have hurt us all? Think about how we would've reacted-"
"Tony, I'm sorry."
"I swear to God, Steve-"
"I said I was-"
"If you would have jumped, I would have been right behind you."
"I-" Steve stopped abruptly, not even bothering to conceal the shock that filled his features at the admission. "Tony..."
"No, Steve. You're a part of this team, whether you like it or not. I'm not about to let you throw yourself over the side of a building over whatever you may be feeling, okay? None of us will let that happen. You're too important for that." Steve's face softened at the admission and Tony felt his anger dissipate as fast as it came.
"I'm sorry."
Tony sighed.
"I know." He rubbed a - still trembling - hand over his face. "I know you are. Just- just come to me next time, okay? Or one of the others. You honestly don't think we've felt the same way as you are right now? God knows I sure as hell have." Tony admitted and Steve paled.
"Tony-"
"Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago. Now," He started, throwing an arm around Steve's stiff shoulders and feeling him relax just the slightest.
Baby steps.
"Why don't you and I go inside and drink some whiskey and talk things out like Pepper is always on me about?" He glanced Steve's direction with a smirk and heard him chuckle quietly.
It wasn't much, but it sure as hell wasn't as hollow as the laughter that he'd heard from him before.
God only knew that he would be reminded of that later in his dreams.
"And if you don't wanna' talk, then I will. No way you could ever tire of my voice-"
"About that-" Steve started as they began to make their way back inside.
"Uh-uh! My voice is like a choir of angels. People fawn over it, ya' know?" Steve raised a brow. "Don't give me that look! People pay just to hear my voice-"
"Yeah. Sure they do, Tony."
"Was that sarcasm?" He placed a hand over his heart and gasped mockingly. "I never knew you had it in you-"
And so, life continued.
Things would change, and they'd both learn things about the other that they never could have imagined.
But Steve would be okay.
And in the comfort of that knowledge, Tony knew that he could be, too.
Would be.
Neither of them ever had to be alone, ever again.
And somehow that made it all worth it.
Ahh! Let me know if you liked it! Or just tell me how you've been keeping busy during quarantine. I just wanna' hear from all of you lovely people! 3