Hellfire

Safe in my Arms

The first thing Steve noticed before opening his eyes was the sterile and nauseating hospital scent. His fingers twitched, digging into a soft and warm blanket. He squeezed his eyes shut, the lights already too bright even as he had not opened them yet. He tried to move his left leg, a static feeling prickled through the damaged muscles, but no matter how hard he tried he could not lift it.

He heard the sound of a ticking clock mixed with a constant beep. It was far away, yet so recognizable. The sounds seemed to get closer as he heard a voice.

'Bru-... How's th...e a-.... oing?'

That voice... it sounded so familiar.

Tony?

'Is he-... yet?'

Steve tried to speak. His voice so soft he could barely hear it himself. '...n-y...?'

'No, h-... unconsc-'

There was someone else. They were talking. '...To-ny...?'

'Cap?' He heard the shoving of a chair and instantly felt fingers wrapping around his hand. 'Steve, hey, it's okay. We've got you.'

There was both relief and concern shadowing these words. A warm feeling imbedded itself deep within Steve's chest as he realized it was definitely Tony. He slowly opened his eyes, fighting against his heavy eyelids. His lips were chapped, mouth dry as he looked at the playboy. 'Hey... T-ony.' He looked over the man's shoulder, a weak smile of relief on his face, 'Bruce.'

'Hey,' Bruce smiled and practically flew towards the captain's side, reading the information from all kinds of monitors. 'How are you feeling?'

'I...' Steve looked at the ceiling, his head spinning as memories slowly faded in and out of his mind. 'Whe-where's Loki...? And Thor?' He looked at the playboy sitting at his side. 'Did we lose him?'

Tony frowned for a moment and looked at Bruce with a questioning expression.

'Maybe Thor's that other guy we found?' Bruce suggested in a whisper as he kept a close eye on their captain.

'... It's okay, cap.' Tony smiled, trying to sound as reassuring as he could. 'Thor is in the room next to you. He's-'

'He's here?!' Steve nearly shouted if not for his hoarse voice. He threw his blanket to the ground and started to scratch at his IV, trying to tear it from his skin. 'He can't stay here! We have to-! God, get these things off me!'

'Woow, Steve! Easy!' Tony quickly held on to the soldier's wrists as Bruce tried to guide him back in his bed. 'It's okay, he's unconscious. He won't be doing anything.' The billionaire's heart nearly broke at the clear distress in the blond's bright blue eyes. Steve still looked so young, lying in this bed, hooked up to all sorts of monitors. 'It's okay, Rogers. You'll be okay.'

The blond slowly calmed, trusting his friend's words. 'Loki,' He whispered softly as his head touched his pillow, his eyes closing as his world started to spin. 'Where is... what happened to him, Tony?'

'We found your ship, crashed, in Central Park.' Bruce placed his notes and glasses on a nightstand before sitting next to the genius. 'You were unconscious, we took you to S.H.I.E.L.D. infirmary. There was someone with you. Someone with black hair and blue skin.'

'Loki...' Steve let out a soft whine, his entire body bruised and soar despite the constant flow of morphine. His fingers twitched as a question burned on his lips. A question he hardly dared to ask, 'Is he...' He gulped, trying to control his trembling voice, 'How is he?'

Bruce sighed and opened his mouth, only to be cut short by the playboy at his side. 'He's doing fine.' Bruce looked at him with a frown, wanting to argue but Tony continued. 'I mean, he will be. He's unconscious now, but... He'll get back on his feet soon enough. We only found the two of you, so, no Thor, apparently.' Tony hoped that was a good thing.