Title: Lateralus

Summary: "Here goes nothing," he reassured himself, briefly wondering if his bad karma had somehow latched onto the blonde. How else would he have been able to get through a bombing practically unscathed while the poster boy for patriotism and righteousness was lying on the ground trying desperately not to die, his life spiraling out of his control?

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Title and lyrics are Tool's.

Warnings: Blood, gore, semi-dark/dark themes, swearing, yaoi, poor grammar/spelling/etc.

I was listening to the aforementioned song at it hit me at how well it suits Tony (in my opinion).

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be; reaching out to me.
Lets me see there is so much more
And beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope.
Watch it bend.

Tool: "Lateralus"

Dazed, chocolate brown eyes flew open as he gasped and sat up quickly, the darkness of his vision exploding into a bright white before fading into colors. Brilliant shades of reds and yellow bloomed before his eyes, the edges blurring into purples and dark blues, bringing a smile to his face as he could make out the twinkling of a single star amongst the colors, signaling that the sun was either in its earliest stages of setting or late stages of rising. At first, he heard nothing, the lack of noise aiding in the tranquil surroundings he found himself in. Little by little, sound returned to him and Tony frowned as he heard the wind whip over and around him, carrying a hitched gasp with it. His dark eyes looked around the expanse of the sky as he tried to place the sound. The sides of sleek and rattled skyscrapers came into view, making the genius frown even more as the world widened around him.

The sound came again, sounding much more wet and far more desperate. He knew that sound; he had heard it before but he could not exactly place it. Tony let his head fall to the side, his eyes widening at the sight of blood on the ground and a body lying right next to him. His heart sped up in his ribcage as he looked over the still body and the dark pool that surrounded it. He could barely make out the figure but the brightly colored clothes alerted him that it was not someone important to him so he discarded the importance.

As his eyes swept over the deserted street, taking in the sight of more bodies wearing identical clothing, his mind quickly placed them under casualties of war; the enemy that was finished and needed to be swept under the rug for the good of the people of New York. The hitched sound of air and liquid hit him again and Tony staggered to his feet, his head throbbing as he rose unsteadily. Reaching for his head, the brunette frowned when cold metal touched his temple. Looking down at himself, he smiled at the reds and golds that met his eyes, informing him that while he was still in his suit, he was missing his helmet.

Glancing around at the dry and dirty asphalt immediately around him, Tony took in the cracks that seem to radiate from where he was standing, guessing that something had thrown him into street. His helmet lied on the ground nearby, but the sound persisted in his ears, the sound growing more urgent as he tried to place it. Turning towards his right, he nearly collapsed at the sight that met him. And, suddenly, all of the previous events hit him like a ton of bricks.

His mind brought back the mission that Fury had sent him on with Captain America; Thor was still in Asgard, Bruce was not deemed necessary, and the assassins were on a separate mission. They were supposed to stop a group of criminals from terrorizing the citizens of Manhattan. From the looks of things, they had succeeded in that part. Tony's eyes were trained on the leader of the Avengers, watched as blood-stained lips parted in a wheezing hitch of breath, fingers tugging weakly at a metal pole that tore through his chest and into the ground, pinning the blonde to the asphalt. His dark eyes moved along the length of the pole, looking at the sign that sardonically hung front the tip, the grimy white letters still crisp against the red backdrop, spelling out "STOP" for all to see. It was a mockery of the situation but also fit the circumstance quite well. He swallowed thickly when his gaze returned to his Captain, stomach churning in repulsion at the red that stained his usually pristine uniform, leaving the vibrant colors warped and hidden underneath the substance. Dirt and dust clung to his form as dark irises moved further south, taking in the sight of his bright boots squirming against the asphalt in an attempt to gain traction. The genius could see that it was a futile attempt but was probably the actions of a man that was going through shock.

He limbs felt as though they were rooted to the ground while his eyes moved over the blonde's sordid and pinned body, taking in all that he could see all the while praying that it was not really in front of his eyes. The wheezing breaths continued, drawing his attention to the source of the sound. Bloodied lips were parted to drawn in air and Tony could not help but wince when Steve coughed weakly, fresh blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth as small droplets mottled his ashen lips. He could feel his heart beating in his chest as a ringing sounded off in his ears, the sounds around him intensifying as the severity of the situation hit him. He could hear flames crackling nearby as something crumbled to the ground, he would feel the warm wind at his face was he breathed in the dusty air, sirens sounding far in the distance while the sound of Steve's rasping gasps faded underneath the overlapping sounds that filled his throbbing head.

Mustering up all of his control, Tony hurried over to the blonde man, his suit feeling weighed down as he crossed the short distance, seeing the damage up close and personal. The rusted metal was off center, barely missing the center of his star and missing his heart but obviously going through one of his lungs. He looked down at the man that he recalled from the black and white videos that his father had collected and wished that no one had actually found him if it would have spared himself from the sight in front of him. He could see the blood that stained normal pearly-white teeth, gathering in between his teeth to form a macabre outline.

"T-T..." the rasped breath returned and gloved fingers continued to scrabble at the rusty metal sticking out of his chest.

"Fuck," Tony breathed before he dropped to his knees beside the felled Captain. "Fuck, Steve." He forwent calling the blonde by his last name or any other nickname, knowing that it could very well be the last thing that he would ever say to the injured veteran. "You-you stay with me, Steve," the brunette choked out as he reached up to move blonde hair off of the Captain's forehead, grimacing at the sight of a deep gash that lined his temple, covering the other half of his face with a river of red. "Can you do that? Tell me you can do it." His voice was a plead but Tony could not help the relief that filled his body when he got a jerky nod in return. He knew that he should have run back to his helmet and called for help, but his mind jumped to the more practical thought the Captain would have had the good sense to bring his communicator as well.

Reaching over for the blonde's ear, Tony wondered what had happened to the cowl that usually covered a good portion of the first Avenger's face. Letting that thought fall to the wayside, he plucked the small device from Steve's ear, trying not to focus on hoarse breathing that was coming from the undisputed leader of their makeshift group of armed crazies. Quickly activating the small item, the genius sent out a call for help and nodded to reassure himself when Fury reported that he would have a medical team at their local in one minute. He tucked the transmitter into Steve's belt before gently running his metallic-covered fingers across the rusted metal pole.

The sight of red and gold filled his vision from his suit and his stomach revolted as his mind conjured up the comparison between the red of his suit and the red of the Captain's blood; the gold of his suit and the honeyed-blonde of Steve's normally immaculate hair. Swallowing back the nausea that threatened to leave him emptying the contents of his stomach, Tony looked back at Steve, startling to find a pair of glassy eyes staring back at him. "You keep going," he reminded the blonde, smiling softly when he got another shaky nod. "Good. Remember that." Dark brown eyes turned their gaze back onto the stop sign's pole as he curled his fingers tightly around the metal shaft, steeling his nerves as he swallowed thickly. "You still with me, Steve?"

"Y...y...y..." the soft voice rasped out in a stutter, making Tony cringe inside.

"Here goes nothing," he reassured himself, briefly wondering if his bad karma had somehow latched onto the blonde. How else would he have been able to get through a bombing practically unscathed while the poster boy for patriotism and righteousness was lying on the ground trying desperately not to die, his life spiraling out of his control? He pushed things until they broke and then tried to put the pieces back together. Steve tried to keep everything together; to keep everyone from falling apart and going at each others' throats. Even if that meant frustrating his teammates of being laughed or even given incredulous stares. Clenching his jaw tightly, Tony pulled all of the strength that he could muster from the suit into the movement, his arms straining as a wet squelch and rasped shriek of pain hit his ears.

He was briefly reminded of the ghastly shrieks from the ring wraiths in the Lord of the Rings movies that he had finally gotten Steve to agree to watch with him. The sound was choked, almost breathless, and definitely higher in pitch as it shook down to his core. Tony wondered if that was how people would sound if left to suffer at the hands of a slow death. He looked down at Steve's face as he continued to pull on the rusted metal, closing his eyes tightly against the sight of him even though it continued to haunt his mind from behind closed eyelids.

Normally vivid eyes were clenched tight against the agony that he was sure to be in, fingers grasping at the metal as it slid out of his chest, leaving flakes of rust in its wake as blood clung to the rough surface of the metal. His mind morbidly speculated if Steve was still kicking at the ground, unable to hear if he was over the sound of the breathy wail that was certain to plague his nightmares.

The metal suddenly gave way as it pulled free and Tony tossed the heavy weight to the side, ignoring the loud clatter as the sirens grew nearer. The sound was distant in his mind as he reached down and pressed his hands firmly against the gaping hole in the soldier's chest, trying to keep as much of his blood inside of the wounded body as he could. "You still there, Steve?" Tony asked in trepidation, the only sound coming from the blonde Captain was a hitch breath. Chocolate eyes had opened and looked at his face, taking in the ashen skin as he wheezes met his ears, the sound was much more joyous that the sirens that grew even louder. Two blue eyes fluttered open, revealing the glazed-over orbs that met his own eyes.

Relief that the Captain had managed to remain conscious during the removal process filled Tony's being. Bloodied lips parted once more and the brunette quickly leaned down before pressing their lips together, not caring about the warm blood that was certain to stain his lips as well. He found that he was just grateful that Steve was still alive and breathing.

Consequences be damned. He could deal with those later.

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