Split Personality

Chapter Twenty Four

Tony's POV

The night sky in Wakanda was a thousand times better than the one in New York. I think it is because there are not a lot of skyscrapers. I tried my best to calm myself down after what T'Challa told me. Why would he even suggest the last option? If Steve picks it then we lose him forever, but if he only suggested two then Steve would most likely pick the second one! I groaned and dropped my head into my hands, I wanted to scream, I wanted to throw my gauntlet off the roof. My eyes started to hurt as tears started to form, I didn't want to lose my best friend, yes we had our disagreements in the past but that is just how we are. I just wish I could convince him that we can fix him, I just hope he doesn't pick the last one or I will blame myself for the rest of my life.

"Now what are you doing up here?" I jumped a bit at the sudden voice behind me. James sat down next to me, "You ok?" I could tell he was also crying, his eyes were puffy and red along with his face. I slowly shook my head, I couldn't hold the tears back anymore, they started to fall off my face, "No!" I didn't mean to shout but I can't deal with this, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell..." He placed his hand on my shoulder, "It is ok. I understand. I would also scream and yell if I knew what my best friend was going to pick..." I widened my eyes after he finished, he sounded so broken and hurt, I could tell he wanted to cry but he didn't. I scooted a bit closer to hug him so he at least knows that I care. He started to actually cry, I haven't really seen him cry like this before so I am guessing he has been holding in his pain for so long.

I ran my fingers through his hair, "It will be fine James, trust me." I felt him grip the back of my shirt and his muscles tense up, "It won't be. Steve is in pain, I can't do anything to help him. The only thing I can do is just stay in the same room as him." I continued to brush his hair, he slowly relaxed the longer I did it. The door to the roof opened and Clint walked out, his expression left a pit in my stomach along with him motioning for us to follow him. I quickly nodded to show that I saw him, "Come on James, the team needs us really quick." He pulled away, his face was a little less red and he seemed to be calming down, "Fine...Let's go."

*Time Skip*

Both of us followed Clint down to the main room where everyone else was in. None of them had happy expressions on their faces, which made me uncomfortable. "What is going on?" I tried my best to mask how scared I was to hear what they had to say. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, everyone was uneasy, apparently no one knew what was going on. T'Challa took a step closer to everyone before looking down at his tablet, "Rogers' condition has gotten worse. I don't think his mind nor his body will be able to handle the pain that will occur. I reckon that he won't be able to live on like this for much longer." I could tell that everyone in the room was about to fall over in shock since almost everyone had to grab onto something to steady themselves. I placed my hand on my torso, "So what does that mean for him? What will that do to him?"

He handed me his tablet so I could look at it, "The longer this goes on, the more we will lose of him. Sooner or later the Steve we know and love will forever be gone." The pit in my stomach grew, I felt like I was about to hurl, I never thought this could ever happen to someone before. "I informed him that he needs to make a decision today or tomorrow. We can't wait much longer or we might lose him." I gave him back the tablet before I dropped it. I found the armrest of the couch so I could sit down before my legs gave out. I couldn't even think straight, my mind was spinning with the different thoughts I had, all of the questions that need answers, the concerns that just need to go away. I could feel the atmosphere in the room change from questioning what was going on to concern for either me or Steve or maybe both.

The whole team grouped together behind me, "I don't even know why you would even suggest death for him. You know he will pick it." Natasha's voice started to become shaky, something I didn't even know would happen to her. I got up and walked towards the window and looked over the city. I didn't even know what is going on anymore, I wanted to convince him not to die but I know when he picks something he stays with it. "We can't decide for him, we have to let him do it." T'Challa sounded hurt saying this but he was right, there is nothing we can do. I worked up the courage to walk to the room where Steve was at. "Tony where are you going?" James asked me as I was walking out.

I didn't say anything since I would start crying but I did hear him follow me. I picked up my pace to where I was almost running down the hall. When I reached the room where Steve was the door was open and he was sitting on the floor near the window. "Steve?" He jumped a bit when I said his name, like he wasn't expecting anyone to walk in. He turned to look at me, his eyes were red and his skin was really pale, "Hey Tony..." He sounded awful, like he was smoking seven packs of cigarettes a day. When I got closer to him I could see that he was barely breathing. "How are you feeling?" I sat down next to him. He wasn't moving very much which is very concerning.

James sat down on the other side of him and placed his hand on Steve's back. He didn't lean towards him which was surprising but he did pull us both closer to him. We both gave him half hugs as he started to cry, "I'm sorry guys..." He was having such a hard time breathing, he must have been in so much pain from what happened to him. Both of us didn't know what to say, we didn't want to set him off again. T'Challa walked in front of us and sat down on the ground, "Do you have your decision made up Captain?" Steve slowly nodded his head, "Yea I do." James and I stared at one another before standing up to follow T'Challa and Steve out.