Summary: The dying Tony Stark returns to Earth and reunites with Steve and Bruce. Post "Infinity War."

Reassembled
PenPatronus

Wakanda. 3am.

Steve Rogers was the only living being on the mute battlefield. By moonlight, he tossed the corpses of Thanos' mutated cannon fodder dogs into wooden wheelbarrows. Sector 17 of the shield was still down, so when the spaceship descended it flew right up to Cap's toes. The spent, exhausted, half-asleep Steve just glared up at it. He was in neither the mood nor the health to fight another battle. Behind him, the mourning city awakened in fresh panic.

The deafening engines thrust Steve's hair back. He squinted against the wind and watched, statue-still, as the familiar beam of light shone down. A humanoid silhouette descended gracelessly. The figure staggered a little bit when it landed. Then, waving upwards, the man said in a familiar voice, "Thanks for the lift, blue-and-purple lady. Much obliged."

Steve's stomach somersaulted. The light disappeared. The spaceship zipped away. It took nearly half a minute for Cap's eyesight to readjust to the darkness. When it did, he saw the supposedly long-lost Tony Stark standing ten feet away with his left arm wrapped against the left side of his stomach, and a relieved look on his face. "You're alive," both Stark and Rogers said simultaneously.

Tony's grin faded. "F-forgive me, Cap," he whispered as he collapsed.

Super-soldier speed catapulted Steve forward. He caught Tony by the right soldier and, surprised by the deadweight, shifted to cradle the body against his chest before lowering it gently to the ground (with inside of his left knee cushioning Tony's head). Instinctively, he started to hug Tony close, but Stark yelped at the pressure. Cap saw the dried blood on Tony's clothes. Fresh blood leaked from the left corner of Tony's lips and Steve, shaking, muttered, "Oh, God…"

Tony plastered his hand against the faded star in the center of Cap's chest. And, then, he went limp. His arm collapsed, but Steve caught his wrist and raised Tony's hand back up against his own chest. "I'm sorry," Tony whispered between red teeth. His body briefly shuddered. "For everything. Everything."

Cap didn't hear the footsteps approaching behind him. "I'm sorry, too. For everything."

Tony blinked. "Missed you," he said, barely moving his lips.

Steve nodded. His nose scrunched up and his lower lip trembled. "You, too. A lot."

"Forgive me."

"Forgive me."

Tony nodded. Steve nodded back. And, just like that, they were friends again.

"Tony!" Bruce slid on his knees the final three feet to Stark's side. "Oh, my god. You're here. You're—" The doctor frowned. "You're hurt?"

Tony gave his friend a joyful smile. "Bruce."

Banner shared a terrified look with Steve. "We gotta get him to a doctor. Tony—what happened?"

"Thanos. He… I've been bleeding internally for…" Tony's glassy eyes fixed on something beyond Bruce's face. "Not yet," he begged in a whisper. "N-Not yet…"

It happened, then. Just like that. Just like that his eyes stopped seeing. Just like that he exhaled and didn't inhale. Just like that his heart went still.

A sound part-sob, part-growl erupted from Bruce. Steve, arms shaking, pulled Tony's body closer and said so silently that he didn't even hear his own word, "No…" He looked up at the apathetic moon. "Not him, too."

More footsteps. A hand the size of a baseball mitt grasped Steve's shoulder. "We must restart his heart," Thor said anxiously. "Allow me to try."

A smaller hand landed on Steve's other shoulder. Nat. Cap obeyed her nudging. He released the body. He stood. He stepped aside. Faceless people around him walked back a dozen steps.

Thor knelt on one knee, gently cupped Tony Stark's cheek, then placed his hand over the nanotech reactor in the center of Tony's chest. With a bit of a smile in his upper lip he said, quoting the few hospital dramas his friends had forced him to watch, "Clear!"

Two surgeries and three days later, Tony Stark woke up. Five people circled him. Two helped him sit up. One helped him drink from a cup of water. The fourth frowned at a nearby beeping monitor. The fifth took Tony's reaching hand.

Tony smiled briefly. "Barton."

Clint, stone-faced, barely nodded his head in greeting. His hand was cold in Tony's.

Stark swallowed. "Your family."

Clint's nostrils flared.

Stark sought out Cap's eyes. "Pepper?"

Steve gripped Tony's elbow like it was a flower stem. "You need more rest."

Tony closed his eyes. More than one tear slipped through. "No rest." He looked at his teammates—at Thor and Natasha, Clint and Bruce, and Steve. "Avengers… We've got work to do."

The End