⤷ may 4, 2012
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"How long?" Tony asks, averting his eyes from her. His faceplate slides back on, and Irina lets in a shaking breath.
They were going to nuke the city, and everyone inside of it.
"Three minutes, max," she hears Fury say, and curses under her breath. "The payload will wipe out Midtown."
"Shit," she mutters.
Tony turns back to her, and she meets his eyes beneath the glowing blues of the Iron Man helmet. She gulps, trembling lips parting as she gives him a reassuring nod. "Go," she urges.
Tony nods. "Remember; we talk after this!" He calls as he shoots up into the sky, disappearing down the city. Irina watches him go with a grim smile.
After he goes, she runs through the streets, following the sounds of fighting. She had to get back to her teammates, she couldn't fight alone with a hurt shoulder.
Thankfully, she finds Thor and Steve fighting alongside one another after turning just one corner. Steve goes down in a blast to the abdomen, letting out a cry of pain. Irina, biting back a whimper of pain, stretches out both hands and throws a ball of energy to the Chitauri on his side, jogging up to the two as the energy explodes, blasting away the aliens.
She kneels down beside Steve. "Captain," she exhales, breathing heavily with exhaustion; dust, blood and bruises littering her body all over. "Rogers, you alright? Can you get up?" She asks, checking him once over.
Steve glances up at her, smiling through the pain. "What, you getting sleepy, Roberts?" He snarks.
The ends of her lips flicker upwards, and she offers him a hand. Steve takes it, the both of them slowly standing up with hisses of pain. His baby blue eyes immediately dart to her shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asks.
She offers a crooked smile. "I've been through worse," she admits.
"I can close it," Romanoff's voice cracks through the comms. Immediately, at her words, Irina is at attention. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."
"Do it!" shouts Steve immediately.
"No, wait," Tony interrupts. Irina grimaces.
"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve says.
"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute," he says. Steve meets her eyes, and Irina gives a nod on confirmation. The bastards actually decided to nuke them. "And I know just where to put it."
Steve's eyes shine with realization, and it takes a moment of looking into them, but eventually, Irina does, too.
Tony was going to put the nuke in the portal.
But that meant...
"Stark," mutters Steve, "you know that's a one-way trip."
"Save the rest for the turn, J."
Irina shakily swallows, and slowly, she raises a hand to her comm, staring down at the ground. "Tony," she whispers, "remember, we talk after this," she says.
Tony doesn't respond, and Irina hears the roar of familiar engines. Looking up, she sees the Iron Man suit holding the nuke, flying overhead and heading for the portal. She purses her lips. "I — I work at a café right now," she says hastily, not sure why her voice was shaking, her heart pulsing loudly in her ears.
"I have been for the past four years. I make a killer cappuccino, and — and I like to do stupid latte art, too," she spills one thing after the other, watching him just narrowly turn at Stark Tower. "I have neighbours. A nice family. They — They've taken care of me. Shown me movies, kept me grounded. They live just in Queens, and — and I think their nephew would like you. He's a fan. A big fan. Iron Man's his idol, so after this, after — maybe I can treat you to a — a cappuccino, on the house, and we can —"
But she can't finish, because Tony has disappeared into the portal.
Her hands drops.
She feels something ache, deep inside of her.
A part of her, a part long forgotten and hidden behind walls of steel, weeps.
"Roberts..." Steve murmurs.
Irina shuts her eyes, feeling them burn.
And feels a single tear slide down her cheek.
There's silence, as Chitauri soldiers drop like ants from the skies of Manhattan.
"Close it," Steve mutters after a long moment.
Irina sniffs, lifting a hand and gliding away the tear with her thumb, brushing it away.
There's a low hum from above as the portal shuts, and she exhales.
"Son of a bitch," Steve's voice catches her attention. She glances at him and Thor, both of whose gazes are stuck up in the sky. Her eyes dart up, and she lets out a laugh of disbelief, spotting the suit flying back towards the ground.
Except...he seemed limp.
"He's not slowing down," Thor notes, beginning to swing his hammer. Irina begins to pull out energy from her fingers, keeping her eyes dead set on Tony's limp form.
Before either can catch the billionaire, the Hulk jumps in, catching Tony and sliding down the buildings and to the ground. Irina runs over, Thor and Steve not far behind. She pushes the suit over, grunting at its weight.
"Is he breathing?" Steve asks.
Thor rips off the faceplate like it's nothing, and immediately, Irina leans in, listening close and checking for breath. When she finds none, she lifts her head, meeting Steve's curious eyes and softly shaking her head with a trembling breath.
She leans away, rubbing a hand over her eyes and letting out a deep sigh. Her hands trembled, and she clenches them tightly together.
Iron Man had died.
Abruptly, Hulk lets out a roar, and a sharp gasp for air has her head shooting up immediately.
Tony gasps for air, looking at every one of them. At his signs of life, the Hulk lets out another loud roar, banging his chest in triumph. "What the hell?" Tony gasps. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."
Steve and her make eye contact again, breaking into relieved expressions as a smile stretches to her lips. "We won," Steve declares.
Stark lets out a sigh, tipping his head back. "All right, yay!" He cheers in a tired voice. "Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day," he looks over at Irina. "Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."
Irina lets out a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head as she looks down at him. "You're such an asshole, Stark," she chuckles.
Tony grins. "Told you, it's Tony," he retorts.
Thor looks up at Stark Tower with a grimace. "We're not finished yet," he says.
"And then shawarma after," Tony speaks up after a minute.
Irina laughs.
𓆩*𓆪
Loki crawls up the steps, bruised and injured as he lets out a grunt of pain. He lifts his head, pausing for a moment before letting out a breath. Slowly, he looks up.
Seven Avengers, each standing over him with a glare set on their faces. Barton readies his bow, an arrow ready right at his head, prepared not to miss. Hulk snarls, and Irina lifts an eyebrow at him, silently daring the god to make a move.
"If it's all the same to you," Loki says to Tony, "I'll have that drink now."
𓆩*𓆪
YOU ARE READING
𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕 || s. rogers & b. barnes
Fanfiction❝ ironic, really. a name meaning peace given to someone who only fuels violence. ❞ ❝ i don't think you fuel violence. ❞ ❝ you'd probably be the only one. ❞...
