Chapter Text
The team was scattered in a field somewhere in upstate New York, frigid evening winds whipping against any exposed skin, snowflake crystals caught in the currents acting as miniature barbs. Around them and half-buried in the snow were the remnants of robots that had been crossing from Canada towards DC, with an ultimatum from one Justin Hammer claiming the drones would take over the US government. Naturally, the Avengers had heeded the call and assembled to save the day once again. Today’s world-saving sacrifice of the day involved a powerful EMP blast that knocked all of the drones offline when they’d threatened to overwhelm the team.
That also meant knocking all of their own tech offline, including Sam’s wings and Tony’s suit. Sam had at least had the opportunity to land just before the EMP struck; Tony had been so surrounded by drones that Thor and Hulk had to tag-team catching him and bringing him to the ground safely amidst the rain of robot debris.
Steve, who had been on the eastern outskirts of the field and taking down straggler drones with his shield whenever they broke off from the main group, booked it to the center of the field when the EMP went off and all the drones dropped like stones. He slid to a stop with only a minor collision against Hulk, stumbling a half-step as he assessed the scene. “Everyone alright?” Though the question was addressed to the team, it was no secret to anyone that the Captain’s focus was immediately on the arc reactor Tony wore.
“I hate EMPs,” were the first words out of Tony’s mouth when Thor ripped the faceplate of the suit off. “The reactor’s fine, I think. Stop looking at me like I’m about to die.”
Beside Steve, Natasha breathed out a sigh of relief, which seemed to lift the heavy tension that had hung in the air.
“I shall help you remove the suit,” Thor declared.
“Wait, no— actually, yeah, you do that,” Tony said, changing whatever his original decision had been. “Just please, try to be gentle with it. Like I taught you last month, remember?”
Beside Steve, Sam muffled a snicker. The Captain regretted he hadn’t been there for “train Thor how to take off the Iron Man suit” day; he’d been away on a different mission, but from the way Sam and Natasha have described it, it had been quite the spectacle. There were supposedly videos, but Clint guarded his copies jealously and JARVIS claimed Steve lacked “sufficient permissions” to view the official security tape recordings of the event.
To Thor’s credit, besides the ripped-off faceplate (a common casualty), the only other damage the suit experienced from the removal process was a few broken clips on the boots.
“Alright, that could have gone way worse,” Tony commented, picking himself out of the open suit and standing up. He rubbed his hands together for warmth, shivering, though he was fortunate — he had worn a coat over the undersuit and hadn’t had the opportunity to take it off before suiting up. “So, let’s get somewhere with at least an ounce of civilization?”
“The jet will probably be down for a bit, but there’s a town a few miles south-east of here,” Natasha informed, gesturing towards some specks of light in the distance against the darkening evening skies.
“I’ll grab our archer friend and meet the rest of you there,” Thor declared.
“Mind giving me a lift, too?” Natasha asked.
“Of course, my lady.” And with that, Thor was grabbing her, and the two were off.
Hulk picked up the empty Iron Man suit. “Hulk take this to Avenjet. Then meet in town.”
“Can I hitch a ride?” Sam asked quickly, shivering violently, his uniform in tatters and revealing skin in many locations. “I th-think I have a spare coat on the j-jet.”
“Here, take mine,” Tony offered smoothly, already taking his coat off and offering it to Sam.
“Are you sure?”
“Sure I’m sure. I’ve seen strippers show less skin than you are right now, and they were in a much warmer environment.”
There wasn’t really much argument from Sam after that comment; the young Avenger took the offered jacket and didn’t complain as he caught a ride on Hulk’s shoulder. “I’ll see you both in town!” Sam called out as they left.
That left Steve and Tony in the field. The cold didn’t bother Steve much, but he could tell that Tony had downplayed his own situation in light of Sam’s; although Tony’s undersuit was undamaged, the man was definitely shivering.
“Nice night for an evening walk, at least,” Tony said, looking out towards the distant town.
“Which part, the falling snow or the harsh wind?” Steve asked, gaze focused on Tony.
Tony turned his head, meeting his gaze. “The part where we survived and now get to walk away without any injuries.”
“Besides you getting frostbite.”
Tony frowned, defensive. “The hell was I supposed to do, Cap? The kid was—”
“I’m not saying you did the wrong thing, Stark,” Steve interjected, waiting a half-second to see if Tony would interrupt back before continuing, gaze softer. “But you should take better care of yourself, too.”
“That an offer, Captain?” Tony took one step forward, shortening the gap between them.
“What kind of offer are you asking for, Stark?” Steve, all too used to these games, didn’t back down.
“Well, you’re warm,” Tony pointed out, reaching out to place a hand on Steve’s arm. “And you’re strong and fast.”
“And?”
“Carry me to town?”
Steve didn’t know if the situation was hilarious or depressing. (They’d been dancing around something for a while now; for a moment, he’d almost thought they’d address it for once.) “Yeah, I can carry you.”
Undeniably, Steve ended up carrying Tony Stark bridal-style across snow-covered fields, though if anyone asked, it hadn’t been like that at all. Neither of them planned to mention the truth, that it had been exactly like that .
“Hey Rogers?”
“Yes?”
“You alright?”
“Yes, why?”
“Your heart’s racing.”
“I’m carrying you.”
“You’re not running particularly fast—”
“I’m carrying you .”
Tony paused, blinking. “I don’t see why that would…” He trailed off, then, “Hey, could you set me down for a moment?”
Steve obliged, part of him wondering if he’d been reading the signs wrong, if he was about to get a verbal lashing.
“For the record,” Tony said, stepping closer to Steve, until they were practically chest to chest, “You’re not the only one who’s got a case of racing heart.” Tony took Steve’s hand in his and guided it to his chest, just above the arc reactor.
Steve also noticed something else. “You’re shivering again.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Steve pulled Tony in close against his chest, sharing his warmth as they shared a kiss in the snowy twilight.