Set after Avengers, before Iron Man 3 and Winter Soldier.

Don't own anything except a heart that loves its superheroes and villains.

Matters of Detonation

The sun beats down on him with a desert heat and his body produces sweat that leaves his discolored and bloodied skin looking desolately polished. The asphalt is hot against his unclad, battered knees where he's knelt in the middle of a city street somewhere he can't recall, and for everything to be so damn hot, he's trying to figure out why his body shakes as if he's back on ice. He wraps his arms around his torso slowly, and wishes that the man who did this hadn't just left him naked except for in a pair of shorts.

Another shiver dances through him to a rhythm he can't hear for the sound of the oxygen being pumped into the mask covering his mouth and nose. It's laced with something, has been for days, and it leaves him in the state he's in now, disoriented and weak. His breath is harsh against the plastic as he pants out another puff of air causing it to fog over. The sweat running down his face pools at the edges of the mask, causing an itch he can't bring his arms up enough to scratch, so he shakes his head instead.

It's not forceful, because nothing he does can be, but it's pitching him forward and he can't stop the descent because his hands aren't listening to his brain's commands. He squeezes his eyes tightly, or as tightly as his feeble muscles will cooperate, while preparing for his skin to grate against the shattered glass covered ground in front of him, but a quick, and painfully loud, "Hey, hey, hey," is in his ears and he somehow manages to become rigid like every time before when that voice has called out to him.

"Easy, Capsicle. Can't have you falling over just yet. I'm not ready to be turned into a puddle."

He opens his eyes wearily to try and find where the voice comes from, but sweat trickles into them and burns his eyes more thoroughly than a stinger from a wasp ever could. The mask on his face rattles as if he's suddenly said something, but for the life of him he doesn't think he did.

The voice comes to him again as if responding to whatever it is he doesn't know he's said, and it's not as loud, or painful as all the other times before. "Just a little bit longer, Steve. I promise. We're going to get you out of this."

The mask rattles again, but this time he knows why. The this that the voice tells him that they're going to get him out of isn't just the mask. It's the thing that prevents him from taking off the mask. It's the bomb strapped to his chest that the mask is wired to. It's black with a small flashing red light on it that makes him angry every time he catches a glimpse of it, but there's only two ways to get that light to go away and one of them leaves him in a star spangled mess splattered all over the street he's kneeled on. He's fine with the light for now.

"Steve. Hey, Rogers! Look at me. Come on," the voice encourages while something tan wiggles and snaps in front of his bleary line of sight.

Steve manages to lift his head once more and has to try very hard not to jerk back at the sight of Tony Stark kneeling down in front of him as if he, too, has a bomb strapped to his chest. He lets his eyes wander down just to make sure he doesn't, but realizes that he isn't looking at the Iron Man suit. Only when he sees the blue from the arc reactor glowing through a t-shirt, does he glance back at the billionaire.

"Will you quit jumping every time you look at me? You're hurting my ego," Tony says as if they are simply sitting on the couch in Stark Tower arguing about another TV show Steve doesn't understand, or want to.

Steve shakes his head, and it's nothing like the annoyed movement either one is used to. It's desperate and pleading, and he adds on a shaky, "G-get away," just to be sure Tony knows exactly what he's referring to.

"No can do, Spangles," Stark replies probably before Steve stuttered out the last syllable. "We just found you after three days. Not gonna let you off your leash for a while there, Sparky. Bomb or not," and Tony's head suddenly tilts as if he's thinking, but Steve knows that it's just for show, because the billionaire's mind works too fast for such postures. "What is it that you and Bucky used to say...to the end of the line."

Steve's rigid once more, wincing as his mind back pedals too fast at the mention of his best friend. He opens his eyes again, and he thinks he can see snow falling down around them and hear the soft rhythm of a moving train. He watches and listens as if it has charmed him and he suddenly sways dangerously. But there's an abrupt sound of a train whistle loud in his ears and he jerks back violently at the pain it causes both physically and emotionally. He sees arms flailing in front of him, but he is surprised to see they aren't Bucky's. Instead, they are Tony Stark's.

He becomes still once more, realizing that if he jostles the thing on his chest too much they'll both be puddles in the street. He pants harshly against the mask again while trying to focus on what Tony says.

"Damn it, Rogers! Don't do that again! Whatever the hell that is, Do. Not. Do. It."

Steve manages a ragged breath before shaking his head, "P-please...go away. It's...an order."

"Sorry, Cap. I think it's a rule. When the leader is strapped to a bomb, he can't give orders. Sounds right."

Steve wants to argue, but suddenly another shiver runs through him and it's so violent the mask shakes again without him realizing what he's said to cause it to do so. He prays it's not the groan, or God forbid a whimper, that Stark thinks he made because the man is saying, "Alright, take it easy, Buddy," like the Captain is every bit of the young man he looks like, but it's followed closely by a shout that isn't directed at him, "How much longer?"

Something about Banner and Thor and finding the detonator is shouted back, but he can't be exactly sure because the world is flickering like God is flipping a light switch on and off. He feels himself swaying again, and he just knows he won't be able to still himself this time with Stark's voice or not. He lifts a trembling hand from the ground and moves to push Tony away with whatever strength he has with a battered hand, but it must have looked like something else entirely because instantly Tony's hand was wrapping around his and he was saying things like, "I gotcha," and, "Pepper's going to be jealous if the paparazzi gets a load of this."

Steve tries to pull away, but even he knows it looks like his arm just spasmed so he's not as agitated as he should be when Stark moves more slowly than anyone ever thought possible to guide the limb back down to the ground. He doesn't let go of the hand though as he slides his knees against the shattered glass covered ground so that their knees are practically touching.

Steve is too busy trying to plead with God to keep the lights on, that he only catches Tony say, "-do this slow, okay," before there's a hand around the back of his neck and his head is being guided to the man's shoulder. He all but collapses against him, shoulders sagging, arms laying flimsily around his own torso, and head turned away from the man's neck because of the mask. However, when he remembers the lack of the Iron Man suit because he can feel the shirt he's leaning against soak up some of the sweat beading on his temple, he wants to lean away, but can't. So, he says, "no suit," and puts enough of something in it that the other man knows it's a question.

"You were a bit more out of it when all this started...weren't overly fond of me coming towards you," Tony says, and if he mentions something about the Captain being scared, Steve doesn't hear it... or pretends he doesn't. "Doesn't matter though, not gonna need it. Fourth of July is months away, and I hate fireworks. So no exploding on me, okay?"

Steve begins to nod against the shoulder because he's finally found the true answer to the question, "Big man in a suit of armor...take that away and what are you?", but jumps wildly instead, because the thing on his chest beeps. He feels Stark tense, and does his best to do the same with his trembling muscles. They are both silent as they wait for another beep, but nothing happens until the billionaire shouts at whoever that whatever they are doing needed to be done yesterday...or days ago.

Silence settles over them again, and Steve manages to let his eyes wander around the part of the street he can see and is relieved to see that it is deserted, but the thing beeps again and he's reminded that he's rested against a suitless Tony Stark. He wants to tell him, order him, to leave but all that comes out is, "I don't...don't like fireworks either." Another violent shiver quivers him, and it's all he can do to not let the mask shake again because his muscles protest fiercely at being unsettled. He turns his head, carefully so the mask doesn't bump the man's shoulder, because he just can't stand to look at his reflection in one of the windows on the building beside them.

"Gonna strap his ass to the largest bottle rocket and send him over the moon," Tony mutters more to himself or somebody Steve can't see, but the Captain responds with, "I want to be there when you do."

"Oh, you're going to light the fuse," Tony says, but as much effort as he put into it to get Steve's mind off of everything else, the beeping starts up again and this time there's more than one.

Steve manages to pull away from Tony and shove him back, causing him to lose his balance slightly. "Go. Please, go!" His voice, however muffled from the mask, is still just as desperate and forceful as he needs it to be, but it's not enough and Stark makes damn sure he knows it never will be, because the man is back to being directly in front of him with an expression that looks like he wants to beat the living hell that made Steve react that way out of his team leader. Steve shakes his head desolately, "The end of the line was a long time ago."

"Maybe, but this is right here and now and if you ever try to pull shit like that again...," the man trails off as his expression appears to soften while the beep takes over in the silence. Then, "I'll...send Dummy after you," it's such a ridiculous threat to follow such an angry remark that Steve can't help but laugh pitifully.

But he catches Tony's gaze again after a moment and shakes his head. He replies softly, "The world needs Iron Man." The man himself grins and nods once jerkily before glancing off at something behind Steve. He looks back and as easily as possible ruffles the Captain's hair as if he truly has forgotten that Steve is technically older than him. "And the Avengers...our fam-...we need Steve Rogers." The beeps speed up in the following silence, but neither of the men move until Steve says, "I'm sorry."

Steve swallows thickly and fights against every instinct he has to close his eyes, because the bomb is beeping so fast he can't tell where one stops and the other begins. He knows it's going to blow and he wants so badly for Tony to just leave that there's something other than sweat rolling down his face and pooling at the edges of the mask. Then, as if it never made a sound the beeping stops. Stark blinks at him in the silence, as if he feels guilty for something Steve can't fathom, before he looks up at something.

The Captain can't help but jump when he hears another voice from up above him say, "If you two are done with dramatics, Banner managed to defuse the bomb with the detonator and Thor's got that asshole ready to be struck by lightening."

As relieved as he should be, Steve can barely breathe even with the mask supplying laced oxygen. He chokes on it, coughs violently and his body shudders with every jerk of his shoulders. He hardly hears Tony mutter, "Bird brain gives us good news, and you gotta go proving everybody wrong like usual," before there's a sound of somebody sweeping glass away and hands are guiding him to lay down on the ground. He sinks into it as much as he can regardless of the heat burning his bare skin, or the coughs still shaking him.

"Just give me a second, Buddy. Alright? I'm getting it. I'm getting it," Tony reassures as he tinkers with the defused bomb. His coughs are diminishing, but it has nothing to do with being able to catch his breath, because the oxygen coming through the mask is laced with something different now. He tastes it and smells it. His head lolls to the side and he's back to staring at his reflection in the massive window of the building beside them and he can see Hawkeye standing above them gripping his bow so fiercely it might break.

"Come on, Rogers. Stay with me! I was serious earlier. Dummy is going to be your constant companion, I swear to God. Damn it!" Tony yells as he fumbles with the device. Steve watches his hands shake in the reflection, and knows all to well what that means. He manages to turn his head back to Stark before raising his hand, albeit slowly. Tony pauses long enough to watch where Steve's hand is going and when it lands on his arc reactor, the man looks down at him with wide eyes.

"Y-you built that..." Steve whispers before his arm sags back down to the ground and he knows that Tony understands what he meant because the man's hands quit shaking and a few second later the bomb and mask are taken off of him and thrown very far away.

He can't take a deep breath yet, but the pure oxygen he does manage to take in causes him to gag because it's been days since he's breathed it. Hands are gently, but quickly rolling him onto his side as he dry heaves and coughs, until he's guided by the same hands and voices to breathe slow. It takes seconds longer than any of them would have liked, but Steve's rolled onto back again and breathing better. Harshly, but better.

He stares up at Tony, because it's the only thing he can bring himself to do, due to the drugs or near death experience he's not sure, but it's probably a little bit of both. "Thank you."

Stark shakes his head and then Steve feels him pat the side of his face. "Don't thank me. Dummy's still chaperoning your ass."

AN: I'm leaving this incomplete for now because I might add a second chapter telling the story from Tony's perspective if you guys are interested. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!