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There was only so much that any of them could carry.
Any pockets Natasha had were full of bullets and spare widow bite charges, maybe a dagger or three. Nothing really fit in Thor’s armor, and there was little space in Clint’s uniform, his pockets full of cords to restring his bow in emergencies. Bruce, was well, the Hulk, and designs to give him pants to withstand the growth spurt was hit or miss, so he couldn’t carry anything.
Tony’s armor had almost everything the team could need, extra comms in the fingers, widow bite charges and bullets in the back under a panel, extra string for Clint in a panel of his leg-
They had designated Steve as the food carrier for the ravenous appetites they fought, and his spare pockets besides his battle gear were crammed with granola bars, tubes of glucose gels for extreme cases. Sure the Avenjet was fully stocked of everything plus some, but they always got separated from it so they had to carry what they could, just in case.
Tony’s armor was blasted and torn away in parts from the close combat these aliens insisted on, the undersuit showing in patches, wires sparking around the holes.
“Fuck.”
Tony awkwardly twisted to try to see his side, gingerly dipping the fingers of his gauntlet towards the injury, pulling back with blood. He glanced around to see if anyone had seen or heard him, freezing when he saw Steve staring at him.
He was able to give an awkward wave before he dropped to one knee, quickly collapsing forward as the blood started pouring out of his suit.
“Tony what’s- oh my god.”
Natasha had come up behind Steve, freezing along with him as they stared at Tony.
“Hey, s’help here? F’st aid kit imma back pocket.”
“Manual release. I’ll guard your back, Steve.”
“ STEVE.”
Her yell finally started him to motion, and he ran to Tony, dropping his shield as he reached for the manual release with shaking hands.
The armor didn’t want to come off entirely, and he tore it off to get to the wound, which was getting angrier by the minute.
“J’m Dar.” Tony choked out weakly.
“The Jem Hadar of Star Trek were infamous for their weaponry that prevented blood from clotting. Sir must think the blast was something similar.”
Steve nodded mutely, not like Jarvis could see, finally getting Tony out of the armor, his body already a bit limp, his face pale. There was a first aid kit in a pocket sewn into the back of the undersuit. Steve had to hold back a delirious laugh. It was a small key-chain kit, perfect for treating normal, everyday injuries, not a man with blood pooling by him.
“Thor, we need your cape.”
The Hulk had replaced Natasha as guard, and she had joined Steve, squatting by him as he stared uselessly at the wound.
“Captain, it would be advisable to keep him awake.”
Steve nodded again at Jarvis’ words, reaching to brush Tony’s hair of out his face.
“THOR, WE REALLY NEED SOME CLOTH HERE.”
“S’vived worst then this.”
“Honey, my uniform is getting soaked with blood.”
“Mmm.” His eyes drifted closed, and Steve shook him, getting a rough elbow to the side from Natasha as more blood leaked out.
“Stay with us okay?”
The ground shook as Thor landed abruptly, Tony making a low pained noise.
“Here my- Odin’s beard.”
“Worse th’n looks, point br’k.” Tony smiled, or tried to smile.
“Hey, we need some muscle out here or Tony won’t be the only one injured.”
Thor took off at Clint’s words, slightly crooked as he adjusted to the aerodynamics of not having a cape.
“It hurts, St’be. M’sleepy.”
“I know, but you’ve got to hang on.”
Tony gasped loudly in pain as Steve took a piece of Thor’s shredded cape, pressing it into the wound.
“Y’r hand shakin.”
“You’ll be alright, you just have to stay awake.”
“Hey St’be?”
“Yeah?”
“G’ess I’m r’d white ‘n blue now, we’re matc’n”
Nervous energy bubbled into Steve's throat as he barked out a strained laugh, quickly switching to tears.
“I’ll b’kay, got you.”
“Correction, you’ll be okay because I’m here. He’s useless.”
Natasha shoved Steve out of the way, pressing a fresh make-shift bandage into Tony’s side.