Oh, God...

[shieldborne]

Infinity War Open Post






THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

Drop me a prompt, or ask me to drop you a prompt. Open to doomy pre-IW foreshadowing, fix-it AUs, post-IW angst, character interactions that should have happened but didn't on-screen, crossovers, and whatever else anyone can come up with.

Comments

[starkingenuity]

The hurt Tony sees in Steve’s eyes is enough to make him look away. He shouldn’t allow that to happen, he needs to keep his back against the wall, but Steve has always managed to make him feel at ease and raise his hackles at the same time. He’s been able to fly off the handle because he knows the blond will (almost) always be the guiding light and the voice of reason. It’s terrible to be in this position, but Tony has never erred on the side of caution before he isn’t going to try now. The suit has powered down, FRIDAY is working on landing the quinjet, and there is nothing left for Tony to do but have this uncomfortable conversation.

His shoulders relax, and he glances up at Rogers almost experimentally, testing the waters as it were. The hurt is still there. He doesn’t like it.

“Oh gee, maybe because he’s you and he knows that he’d drop anything and everything to save James Barnes?” Not now, though. Now, Steve has matured a little. He’s hardened. And somehow, Tony knows he’s choosing him by leaving Bucky for his younger self. It feels good, a reversal of the battle they’d fought. It’s win-win for everyone, he thinks, because he’s obviously a better catch than a cyber armed, brainwashed soldier. “Barnes is next on the list. Or maybe it’s HYDRA and then Barnes. Listen, I don’t have the list, but he’s on there. We’re going to get him out. Or you are. You guys can discuss who does what. Right now, though, we need to keep aliens from completely invading earth, make sure that the Super Club has their inaugural meeting, and then destroy a few space rocks crafted when the universe began. So can we please get back on track here? The Avengers need you. You’re the first. You’re the leader. And if you’re out here listening to a stupid version of me, we are going to be in a lot of trouble.”

[shieldborne]

"He's family. He's all I have," Steve explains, unaware that explaining is the last thing he needs to do.

But he's seen the way Tony glanced away, some of the tension easing from him, the shifty-eyed awkward irascibility. There's something human about it all, something soft enough to shake him out of the blind fugue of shock and rage. He still feels like he's drowning in all of this. It's too much, way too much, but he's conscious of being present in his own body once more and rational enough to thank God he didn't actually hurt Tony.

"I don't know how the fuck you expect me to lead anything," he says, slowly letting him go and stepping back. "I don't belong here."

Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Once, twice. "I still don't like it. And he's not stupid, the younger you. He's arrogant, maybe he has some ulterior motives he didn't feel like sharing, but his heart's in the right place."

Okay, that's an unfortunate metaphor, maybe, but Steve is oblivious to that. "Sacrificing New York to save the universe--I mean, that's a fair trade, I guess, but that doesn't make it our place to choose it."

He frowns at Tony a little. "You're a genius, why can't you just reroute the door in space? Send the invading army somewhere else. Crash 'em into the sun or something. That'd send the message you want, wouldn't it?"