carry you

chapter six

Steve wakes, Tony above him with the shield. "You lose this again, I'm keeping it."

"What happened?" He groans. His first thought is you, and he searches, taking stock of his surroundings. Who stands, who is missing.

You're in the latter group.

"You mess with time, it tends to mess back. You'll see," Tony says.

He doesn't have time to linger on it, but reminds himself you're capable - grateful you had been training with Nat for a long time now, and confident she wouldn't have left you unprepared.

He shuts out the what-ifs and worst case scenarios, trusting you to take care of yourself the way he trusts the rest of his teammates. He doesn't have time for anything else, because he has to move.

He follows Tony through the wreckage, his gaze landing across the impending battlefield and landing on Thanos. He moves to stand between Tony and Thor, his teammates. His brothers.

"What's he been doing?"

"Absolutely nothing," Thor says.

"Where are the stones?" He asks.

Tony answers. "Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn't have 'em."

"So we keep it that way," he says. It's his only mission now.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor watches him across the field and Steve can feel the anger rolling off of him in waves.

"Yeah," Tony says. "I don't much care."

"Good, just as long as we're all in agreement," Thor holds his hands up and the thunder rolls in.

****

You shift, groaning at the pain in your side.

Lights flicker, painting your surroundings in red, making it difficult to take stock of things. You're not even sure where you are.

"You okay?" It's Clint, but you can't find your voice to answer. "Hey," his hands search you, feel at your neck and your sides. You're not sure what he finds, but he must decide you're okay because he's pulling you up slowly into a seated position.

You wince, but let him help you stand.

"You okay?" He asks again.

You take a mental note, filing away the spots that hurt knowing you'll feel them tomorrow, assuming it comes, but it doesn't seem like anything serious. You'll live, so you nod. "I think so..."

The corner of your eye catches the shine of the gauntlet, and you bend down to pick it up.

Clint stills, taking in your surroundings and you both hear a low growl. There's movement. "Run," he commands.

You don't question him, you only know you need to keep the stones away from the footsteps marching toward you rapidly. You run the opposite direction, as fast as you can while navigating the rough terrain. You don't look back, afraid to lose your footing. You can hear the telltale signs of arrows being shot. You flinch at the explosion you hear next, feel the heat of the flames on your back. You can feel Clint close behind you.

He spins you toward him, clipping something onto your belt when suddenly you're being launched upwards. He is just behind you, and when he sees that the space beneath you is clear you both roll onto your back. You're exhausted, scared, and you don't want the responsibility of the gauntlet, but you remember Nat pushing you, reminding you that the real thing is relentless and unforgiving.

"Now what?" You ask Clint, your breath heaving.

He holds out his hand, and you give him the gauntlet, relieved to let go of the responsibility. "Now you're an Avenger," he says.