Composure

After the Snap (Final)

It wasn't the first time that Captain America had found himself face down in the dirt, feeling like he had the snot beaten out of him, his body arguing with him in a refusal to get back up. It was reminiscent of the good old days, or maybe not so good, depending on your point of view. His tag line of being able to do this all day was quickly meaning less and less as the seconds passed, and the ground became almost a comfort because it felt real; for the first time since that damn snap, he actually felt something.

And that's what startled him into action. He felt alive.

"What the hell?" he mumbled, pushing himself up on shaking arms, leaning back onto his heels as he looked around at his new surroundings, only to find that they weren't new at all.

"Steve?"

"Buck?"

"How...what just happened? How did we get back to Wakanda? Are we alive? I feel alive, but that's worked out not so great for me before."

"I have no idea..." Steve sighed, continuing to search as far as his enhanced sight would let him. "Do you see anyone else?"

"No. Do you think Sam made it?"

Steve pushed himself up further, bringing himself to stand so that he could swat away the dirt that had gathered on his uniform. The cloth left behind had become permanently stained and ragged from too many years of use without upkeep, but it still deserved the respect of a good dusting here and there. "Sam?" he called out into the open air, biting his lip nervously as he listened for even the quietest answer. "Sam? You out there?"

"Wilson!" Bucky joined in, his voice carrying over Steve's. "If you're still dead I'm gonna be so pissed!"

"Helping or hurting, Buck?"

"Wils-" he tried to repeat, pausing at a flash of movement in his peripheral vision. "There," Bucky pointed into the near distance, "my idiot senses are tingling. That has to be him."

~~~

"Ugh, what happened?" Pete groaned, grabbing his head limply, the dizziness of the sudden shift in reality making his brain swim. He had yet to open his eyes, fearing that the sensation would only worsen; when he finally forced himself to look, he gasped so hard that he choked on the dense Titan air, coughing out the dust that hung heavily around him. "M-mr. Stark?!"

"Hey, kid," Tony smiled. It was a genuine, tear-stained smile, filled with relief that he was seeing Parker alive again after the devastation of watching him disappear through his hands. It didn't even matter that they were back on this god-forsaken planet, he was just so relieved to see him. Tony rushed forward, leaving Pete to reflexively take a step back in surprise, but he stopped when he realized what was happening. Tony reached out and grabbed the kid, pulling him tightly into a crushing hug as his emotions finally gave way. "Pete...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry that I couldn't stop it."

"It's okay, Mr. Stark...it's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"I never meant for any of this. I didn't want you here."

Pete stood silent and listened, but it became painfully clear that he wasn't sure of what to do with his hands as Tony continued to hold him. He awkwardly shifted and tried to hug back, but it ended up as sort of a pat on the back with his arms pinned by Tony's. "I'm sorry, too, sir. I should've...listened...wait," he pulled back, freeing himself from Stark's vice-like grip, "please tell me...that's not what I think it is, is it?"

Tony turned around and looked at the gauntlet, now mangled even more that he had used it again to bring this moment back, and to bring half of the universe back. He held out a glimmer of hope that it really was spent of energy this time, but he wasn't a man to rest on assumptions; not in something this immensely important. "Yeah, it is what you think it is, kid. How else do you figure that you're here now?"