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Tony really, really hated the jungle. Jarvis had muted his tirade of expletives before the comms went out when the Avenjet had started to go down in some kind of dampening field or EMP pulse. Tony had hung from Thor’s arm as he carried Bruce, Natasha and Clint using grappling hooks. Steve had jumped at the last moment, having tried to save the plane before they landed in the middle of nowhere.
We need another flying Avenger.
He had watched as Steve nearly fell straight into a tree, scraping against every branch on the way down, his uniform ripping. Natasha miraculously caught him before he got to the ground, grumbling loudly enough for them all to hear.
Natasha and Thor were poking through the rubble of the Avenjet for anything useful, hoping for a first aid kit and emergency supplies, including food. If Bruce had left any. This was, or would have been, their third mission in as many days, and they always forgot to restock the avenjet.
Tony had said he was perfectly fine lying immobile in his suit, but Natasha had insisted on cannibalizing it to maybe create a beacon that could get past the dampening field.
So now Tony was pacing around with nervous energy, trying to not get stung by a million mosquitos. Trying to not remember when his dad had dragged his Mom and him on a ‘vacation’ that turned out to be a wild-goose chase search for Captain America.
He wouldn’t be this far South, Howard.
Well, we searched the North Pole, so what would you suggest?
Don’t raise your voice like that in front of-
They had eventually gotten separated from their guide, wandering through the jungle for days, Tony and his Mom both getting sick as Dad got more frantic and frustrated.
So no good memories.
He heard water and was about to hightail away, knowing it could very well be the breeding ground for mosquitos, when he caught a flash of brilliant red. Steve’s uniform.
The hard armor of Steve’s uniform had mostly protected him, but he had ended up with quite some bruises and a few ugly gashes. He had been sent away under Natasha’s stern glare to disinfect the wounds with water while they searched for first aid materials. Clint had suggested cauterizing the wounds with lightning-heated metal, which had gotten him a hit on the head. Do you want to set the whole jungle on fire and let Thor make lightning?
Tony had seen Steve’s muscles, highlighted through a clingy, sweaty shirt, but…
The guy was so reckless, walked out of so many dangerous situations alive, was so…Captain America, it was hard sometimes to remember he was human. Fragile, in a sense.
And Beautiful.
Walk away, walk away. Tony stared transfixed at the muscles rippling gently on Steve’s shoulders and back, his face calm and serene.
Steve had just tilted his head up to drink some of the water from the waterfall when some went up his nose, causing him to sneeze.
Now, if you are staring at someone you should not be staring at, especially not aroused- Steve had fallen twenty feet before Natasha caught him, scraping on several branches- you do not laugh when they sneeze high-pitched. Or loud enough for them to hear. Tony realized the noise had actually come out, and he high-tailed out of there as Steve’s head snapped up again, blinking through the water to see where the laugh had come from. He caught a brief glimpse of Tony before he disappeared into the gloom.