Tony is awoken by the hot sun bearing down on him. His arm arches as he raises it to shield his eyes.
His head is pounding and his throat is dry. Carefully he rolls himself onto his side, despite his body's protests. He digs his fingers into the dirt with a choked groan as his body screams at him.
"Fuck" he coughs.
Tony looks around the place, trying to work out where he was and what happened.
He seemed to be in a forest. Tall trees and shrubs surrounded him. Some looking broken and smashed. Bits of his armour lay around him. He had crashed, apparently.
Tony did his best to try and identify them, but really, a tree was just a tree to him. He doubts any amount of wilderness training Steve put him through would change that. He had no idea where he was.
The bird song was just as unhelpful to him. As hard as he tried to place them, it only made his head pound.
But, in the distance, he heard a sound he could identify. The sound of a crackling fire. Too big to be a campfire.
Tony pushes himself up onto his feet. Should he go towards the fire, hoping it was the crash site? Or should he flee in case it was a wildfire?
If it was the crash site he would like to salvage what he could before it was destroyed. There were some things he knew about survival, but surviving would be easier if he could signal for help.
He listened carefully to the fire, doing his best to block out all the other sounds. He heard it then, the distinctive, 'Snap, Crack' of burning machinery. It was the crash site.
Tony quickly picks up the important parts of his armour that had broken off, and sets off, following the sounds of the fire and the path of destruction. Looking at all the broken trees, the split ground, he was thankful for the protection his armour gave him. He was sure he wouldn't have walked away from this otherwise.
He follows the path he had created with his fall up a steep incline, using the trees to help pull him up. The only thing that keeps him going is that he can hear that he is getting closer and closer to the fire with each passing moment.
When he reaches the crash he sits down to catch his breath. He stretches out his left leg that was throbbing with pain in time with his head.
The jet had crashed in what looks like a raised clearing, some sort of natural hill. Well, it was a little bigger than a 'hill', it certainly felt so climbing it. He had a feeling the clearing part was due to the crash more than anything else. From his spot on the ground, he eyes the jet and the area around it.
The wreck didn't appear to be too bad, the fire wasn't all that big or all-consuming. He had made bigger ones in his lab. The jet was a write-off, there would be no fixing it, but it was fairly intact. There was a large hole in the side where one of the HYDRA's missiles had struck them. The left wing was gone, and the tail was crushed and bent. The jet's windshield was broken on the pilot's side. If he were to guess, he thinks that he must have been ejected from the jet and shot down into the forested area below.
Seeing Steve's side intact puts him at ease. He was sure that Steve was fine. Tony remembered Steve wearing his seatbelt right before the crash. Tony hadn't had time to put on his seatbelt before they took off from the Hydra base. Sometimes you just didn't have enough time to put on a six-point harness when you were being shot at. He was safe enough in the armour anyway. He survived the crash, so really, looks like he had won all future debates with Steve about buckling up while in the armour.
He wonders where Steve was, the man didn't appear to be here. But if he wasn't around the site, he was probably looking for shelter or trying to find him.
Tony sighs, picking himself up off the ground. His options looked like this: Try and find Steve in the forest, which probably wasn't a great idea. Wait around the crash site for Steve, knowing he would return for supplies. Or try and find shelter himself.
The best option looked to be waiting. But he wasn't just going to sit around and do nothing. He was sure there were things to salvage from the wreck.
Carefully he entered the jet. The fires looked to be dying down, so he was sure he was safe enough. On the inside, the jet looked a little worse off than it did from the outside. Most of the walls were caved in and scorched. Some parts had even melted away or had been fused together. It was like a giant fist made out of fire had squeezed the jet.
While he was sure Steve was fine, he quickly made his way to the front of the jet… just to make sure.
It was a mess. It looked like the nose of the jet had caught the ground at some point then straightened out. The floor was twisted and bent. The console was detached on one side and was cracked and split apart. One side of the console was sticking up into the air and throwing sparks. But Tony was sure that something was able to be saved from that.
The seat Tony was seating in was gone. But Steve's seat was still there, intact, and was empty. The seatbelt was missing, Steve had likely cut it away to get out of the seat. Tony breathed out a sigh of relief. Steve was fine. He was probably out there looking for shelter or help.
He pulls the fire blanket from the wall and lays it on the ground in front of the console. Wrapping the parts up in the blanket would be easier than carrying them all in his arms. Tony drops to his knees with a groan, ignoring the burning pain in his legs, and gets to work. He wasn't going to be in here for long. He just needed to get the part and take it outside, fix it in the shade of the trees.
Tony worked quickly to remove the communications system and a few of the saveable navigational parts. Grabbing a few spare bits and a couple of good wires just in case they were needed as well.
His legs ache as he gets up, using Steve's seat as leverage. He picks up the blanket with the parts and leaves the cockpit.
Before he leaves the jet he checks the one remaining supply cabinet. Steve had probably cleared it, but it was worth a look over.
To his shock, the cabinet looked untouched. He was sure Steve would have gathered supplies before getting out of the jet. The jet was burning. Steve would have taken everything he could and put it somewhere safe nearby if he couldn't carry it all with him.
Was he captured? Did HYDRA find him? Had they tracked the Jet here?
He takes in a deep breath and holds it. Then lets it out slowly. No. If HYDRA had found the jet, it would have been all too easy for HYDRA to follow the trail of destruction to him. He would have been captured too. Steve was fine. As unlikely maybe he had left the supplies for Tony to gather while he looked for shelter. Or help.
But he knows that Steve wouldn't have left their only supplies in a burning jet. Biting down on his lip, Tony grabs all he could and stuff it into the blanket.
On his way out of the jet, his foot collides with a bit of metal. Tony looks down, looking for what he kicked.
The floor of the jet is red with blood. Tony's stomach twists anxiously. No, Steve was fine. He had to be.
He quickly leaves the jet and looks around. He should stay here and wait for Steve to return. He knows that. It was a better idea than having two people wandering through a forest looking for each other. But his anxiety was building inside of him, threatening to boil over. He looks around for any sign of which direction the man could have gone. But finds no clue.
Tony walks over towards where he had come from. It was probably the most noticeable place to sit.
But before he reaches the spot he notices a red boot sticking out from behind one of the blushes. Close to where he was sitting earlier. His stomach turns in on itself with a nauseating slosh.
He recognises that boot.
Steve.
He rushes over, dropping the supplies on the ground beside the man.
Steve was laying face first in the soil. The ground was wet and red with the man's blood. Carefully as he could, Tony rolls him over. Bile crawls up his throat at the sight of the man's chest.
He was sure the only thing keeping Steve's chest together, keeping the man's guts from spilling out, was the damn seatbelt twisted into his flesh. With the man's healing, his body was already starting to hear around the belt, almost appearing to fuse with it. In some places, Tony couldn't tell what was Steve and what was seatbelt. The rest of Steve's injures looked fairly minor at a quick glance. Or were at least minor in comparison.
"Shit," Tony says. Digging through the supplies he gathered for the first aid kit he had found.
He quickly becomes more and more frustrated when he can seem to find a blade or scalpel in the kit. Tony pours the kit over the ground and pushes the contents around, searching for the tools he needs desperately.
"What kind of fucking first aid kit doesn't have a bloody knife?" he cries. 'I guess HYDRA doesn't have the budget to maintain their first aid kits'Tony thinks to himself, letting out a bitter laugh.
Tony grabs one of the broken parts of his armour and tests the edge. It was probably sharp enough. With the shard in hand, he rushes over to the jet. He holds the part over one of the fires, watching the metal turn red hot.
When the metal was hot enough, Tony returns to Steve. As he had hoped, the heated shard cut through Steve's uniform with some difficulty.
Steve's skin parted like butter under the hot metal. With shaking hands, Tony worked carefully to remove the belt from Steve, desperately trying not to think about how deep his hands were in the man's guts.
He was glad the blade partially cauterising the cuts he was making, it made things a lot cleaner, easier to see what he was cutting. Glad that he was only going to get so much of Steve's blood all over him. Glad that his hands weren't entirely red with the man's blood. Glad that safe inside the armour, he couldn't feel its slick warmth seeping into his clothes, onto his skin, as it has the soil beneath them.
Partway through, Tony drops the blade, leaning over Steve to throw up. What little he had in his stomach coming back up fast, burning almost as much at the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
When there was nothing more to bring up he gets back to work on Steve.
Tony finally frees the belt from Steve and throws it away, not wanting to look at it any longer. He gently stitches Steve back together to the best of his ability with a handful of what looks to be plain, old, office stationery staples.
He uses what little bandages there were to be found in the sad excuse for a first aid kit. Then tares strips off the fire blanket to finish the rest of the job.
"I swear, if you die on me, Rogers…" he says, pulling the makeshift bandages a little tighter around Steve's chest.
"Fuck" Tony whispers. "You're not meant to bleed like this Steve. You should have healed over by now. You always have to be such a contrary bastard, don't you? Shit"
Desperately Tony looks around him for some sign of civilisation. A city, hopefully. A small town. But there was nothing but trees. "Looks like we're going camping." He says "Without tents or sleeping-bags, or… anything else really"
Steve doesn't respond.
"C'mon, Cap. I need you here. I'm not good at this stuff. You're Mr. Survive-it-all. I-… I don't know what I'm doing"
He looks around the area for any sign of civilisation or shelter, but to no luck. All he could see was forest.
Deciding to try their luck he heads north. He ties their supplies around his shoulders like a backpack and picks Steve up into his arms. He walks into the forest, putting one foot in front of the other, reminding himself to keep going. He keeps walking, even when his legs threaten to give out underneath him. Even when the sun starts setting and his hope is fading fast.
Tony keeps walking until he comes across a cave. He never thought he'd ever be happy to see a cave again. But in that moment, he could cry. Quickly he enters the cave and sets Steve down on the flattest surface he could find.
He sits down beside Steve, pressed up against the man's side protectively. Tony removes the supplies from around his shoulders and sets them down. He pulls out the salvaged parts from the jet and starts making a signal.
As the sun sets and the light disappears, memories from another cave fill his mind. 'It's different this time', he tells himself 'Everything's going to be fine'.
It wasn't just Rhodey looking for him this time. He had a whole team out there that he knows is searching high and low for them. A family.
It was going to be okay.
It's been a few days since the crash.
Tony was sure he had fractured his wrist, he had definitely done something bad to his left leg.
Steve had yet to wake up or move. He was worried. He had never seen the man so still for so long.
His stomach rumbles with hunger. But there was nothing to do about it right now. He had tried to hunt for food, but it had been unsuccessful. Instead, he'd been making do with leaves and roots that hadn't seemed to cause him any trouble yet. Deciding to ignore his stomach, Tony pulls the communications system towards him. Hoping to try and send out another distress signal.
Tony nearly drops the device in shock at the sound of a car horn. He puts the device down on hurries over to the entrance of the cave.
He raises a hand to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight and looks around for the source of the noise.
Not too far off he spots a ranger's jeep. He sees Clint sitting in the truck bed, waving at him with a bright grin, shouting something he couldn't make out. Nat sits in the front seat, talking into a radio.
Tony quickly heads back into the cave and gathers up their stuff, packing it all up in the fire blanket.
Something heavy lands at the entrance of the cave. Dirt and dust fall from the ceiling of the cave. Tony turns around to see the War Machine armour standing there. Tony's lips pull up into a smile. Their family was here to bring them home.
The End
Notes: For the Cap/Iron Man Tiny Reverse Bang 2020
Code Name: Gold ~ (Round 5)
Inspired by Into the Light by Lets_call_me_Lily.