, Too
First time writing in about...10 months?
Only my third time opening tumblr during that time as well. I haven't read anything post-End Game, so I apologize if this had already been written. Any similarities to existing stories are completely coincidental.
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Tony's snap; ambiguous ending
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There was an odd peace that filled him once he realized what had to be done. It was strange. With all his other should-be-fatal-world-saving decisions, Tony had experienced a resolute terror.
This time, though, it was easy.
He thought of Morgan, of Pepper, of Peter and Harvey. He thought of his teammates who he always loved more than he wanted to admit. He thought of Rhodey. And Happy. He thought of everyone out in all the galaxies whose names he would never even know.
The pain was excruciating. Even worse than the reactor had ever been. But it wasn't enough to stop him. Every atom in his body protested. He had a moment of doubt. Would he be enough? Could he survive long enough to fix all this? He drew a wretched breath and the pain eased just slightly, tightness growing in his left hand.
It seemed appropriate to end his career with the same words that started it. His biographers would like that. No time to be wasted, he took a deep breath.
He snapped.
.
.
.
Tony realized that he was on his knees. The pain seemed so far away now. His left arm felt heavy. He looked down.
Staring back at him were two perfect blue eyes. Well, almost perfect. They had some flecks of green in them. As familiar as the eyes had become to him over the last 10 years, the figure they now stared back at him from was someone that Tony had only ever seen in black and white pictures.
A 95 pound shell of the Steve Rogers that Tony knew panted heavily, his left hand still clasped tightly in Tony's. Both of their flesh melted in with the metal of Tony's armor. Unable to release.
Tony didn't think that he would want to let go anyway. This felt right. He wasn't scared.
It was getting harder to breathe and he could see Steve's lips turning a gray-blue. Steve opened his mouth to say something but choked and coughed, blood now contrasting even more with the drab color of his lips. Steve managed to whisper, "Together."
Tony nodded. He could hear footsteps. He could hear Peter calling for him. He could hear Pepper in her rescue armor. It was getting harder to stay upright. He and Steve collapsed next to each other, foreheads touching. They did it.
Everything was getting fuzzy. Steve had stopped blinking and his shallow breaths were growing more rapid.
They did this together, too.