”Is this it?”
Through the staticky line of their short-range comm link, Clint’s voice sounds as exhausted as Steve feels. They’ve been searching the islands for a couple of weeks now and they’re clinging to hope by the skin of their teeth.
”I really hope so,” he sighs and wipes sweat from his face. ”I’ve had my fill of the subtropic temperatures for a lifetime.”
”So you’ve…lost your cool?” Clint quips and Steve forces out a chuckle. The comment is glib and exactly something Tony would’ve said, but now it falls flat.
”Boys, I think we got lucky,” Tasha calls out from Steve’s left. She emerges from the thick vegetation and holds up a piece of red metal.
Steve allows himself a short moment of panic because Tony’s suit isn’t supposed to be in pieces before ruthlessly shoving his feelings down. He nods and says, ”Let’s go.”
They had been back from their deep cover mission for exactly seventeen minutes when Steve learned Tony was missing.
”What do you mean, ’missing’?”
”It means exactly that, Captain,” Hill had said coolly, her hands steady on the Quinjet controls. ”I don’t have the details but shortly after you left, Stark flew to Singapore for a scheduled SI meeting. Apparently, he decided to go on a sightseeing flight.” Hill had glanced at Steve from the corner of her eye. ”He lost contact to the Stark satellites somewhere around Indonesia.”
”I thought that was impossible,” Tasha had said slowly.
”JARVIS seemed to agree,” Hill had said. ”He’s the one who contacted us. And by contacting, I mean he took over the Helicarrier conference room. Dealing with a panicked AI that powerful was certainly interesting.”
With Steve, Tasha, and Clint on a mission that required absolute radio silence, Thor off-world, and Bruce on a retreat off the grid, SHIELD hadn’t had many options. They had contacted Rhodes and Pepper, of course, but apart from offering advice, they hadn’t been able to help. So far, all SHIELD had managed to do was to comb through the small islands with no results.
”Shit,” Clint had muttered.
”Hill, we need to—”
”At ease, Captain,” Hill had interrupted as they emerged from the clouds and saw the familiar sight of the Helicarrier. ”You have fresh gear waiting for you."
”—tain, three mi…s left…eat signature…interferen…”
”Copy that, JARVIS,” Steve says, hoping the AI can hear him through the interference.
”I hate this place,” Clint grumbles. ”Fucking jungle with the fucking freak magnetic fields…”
Steve agrees. The small cluster of islands has already proven trickier than it should, what with the odd interference that not only cuts them from JARVIS and messes with their short range comms, but also renders Clint’s hearing aids useless. No wonder JARVIS hadn’t had much success in locating Tony.
They continue to the left towards the heat signature JARVIS had been able to detect, and the closer they get, the more signs of life they see. Traps to catch small animals, paths cut into the bushes, bowls to gather rainwater, and odd knickknacks that have TONY written all over them. Encouraged by the clear signs of the man they’re looking for, Steve picks up the pace and before long, reaches a clearing.
And there, right beside a smoking structure that looks a bit like a collapsed forge, stands Tony.
Steve’s shoulder slump with relief and he strides forward, only to be stopped when Tony whirls around with a scowl.
”Where is it?” He asks.
Steve blinks. ”What?”
Tony rolls his eyes. ”Oh, please. You promised to wear a kilt if I finished the windmill in time to catch at least a couple of hours of sleep. I went to bed—or, well, straw mattress but who’s keeping track, not me—and I expected to see you in a skirt today. Instead, I get,” he twirls his fingers at Steve, ”this.”
Steve closes his mouth with a snap. ”Tony…” he starts, frowns, and tries again. ”Tony, I wasn’t here yesterday.”
Tony rolls his eyes and mutters something under his breath before turning back to work on what seems like a piece of partially burned wood.
Taking a hesitant step forward, Steve says, ”Tony, we’ve come to take you home.”
When he doesn’t react, Steve takes another step. ”Did you hear me?”
Tony’s shoulders tense up and he spares a small glance at Steve without turning. ”Yeah, I heard you. In fact, I heard you the first time, ages ago.”
What? Steve mouths and shoots a bewildered glance at Tasha who has stayed out of sight with Clint. She meets his eyes with her lips tightly pressed together. It’s not a good look on her—when Tasha gets worried, things are either bad or getting worse.
”Besides, didn’t we talk this over already?” Tony mutters into his hands. ”Yesterday, right? Or the day before that. Whatever, it doesn’t matter.”
Tasha steps forward and says, ”Tony, it’s time to go home.”
This time, Tony drops whatever he was tinkering with and whirls around with wide eyes. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything, just stares. Then he nods slowly, just once, and sits down.
”You’re new. So, it’s time, right? That’s why you’re here. You and Cap.” He blinks rapidly, lets out a shuddering breath, and swallows. ”I mean, it’s not like I didn’t expect it. I started seeing Steve after eight days or so, so I guess it was just a matter of time until I started hallucinating you, too. But I have to say I was kinda expecting Rhodey?” Tony tilts his head and frowns, a vacant look in his eyes.
”Tony,” Steve says again, not caring a bit how his voice cracks.
”No, I knew you’d be the first one, Cap,” Tony says with a bland smile. ”Because how else would I get the chance to spend time with the love of my life unless stranded on some remote island?”
Steve can’t—
”No, Tony, God!” He rushes to Tony’s side only to jerk back when Tony flinches from him. He forces himself to calm down, kneels in front of Tony, and raises his hand slowly. Tony’s eyes are wide with a mix of hope, dread, and resignation and when Steve so very gently cups his cheek, Tony stays stiff for a good while.
And then he slumps like his strings had been cut, keeling over to Steve’s waiting arms.
And Steve wraps his arms around him and swears he’ll never let go.
”Home, Tony. You’re coming home.”