Requested by Melonhead15

///

Your stomach had been growling for three days. You kept pressing your hand to it, hoping to quite down the desperate sounds you were making. Food had run out four days ago, and you were now slowly but surely starving to death. 

"I am so sorry," whispered the man sitting on the floor in front of you. 

You looked at Tony, one of your oldest friends. You smiled slightly and shook your head weakly. "Tony, you gotta stop apologizing for the messes that I get myself in," you said. 

He swallowed slowly. "You shouldn't be here."

"And you should?" You raised your eyebrows. "Tony, I got on the ship by my own choice."

"Yeah. And now look at you." 

"What, I don't look good?" you teased. When he did not answer, you turned your head and sighed. But the sigh quickly turned into a cough. A deep, rough cough that was due to you not having water in eight hours. You'd already drank your ration. 

Tony did not hesitate to grab the steel bottle of water that he had next to him. He peered inside it. There was maybe a swallow left. He scooted forward and grabbed your jaw lightly, then held the lips up to your mouth.

"N-No," you protested, pushing him away weakly. 

"Stop," he said. "Just take it."

"But it's yours," you said. 

"Just take it," he repeated.

"Tony-"

He raised his eyebrows. "Hey. It's okay." 

You kept your eyes on him as you took the bottle in your fingers and took the last sip. You let it sit on your tongue for a few long seconds, savoring it. 

"There you go," Tony whispered, the hand on your jaw moving to comb through the tangles of your hair. "I don't know if you know this, and it may just come off as a huge surprise, but I wasn't really looking forward to watching you die. I think I much prefer it the  other way around, where I get to doze off and be watched. As disturbingly creepy as that sounds." 

You shifted comfortably as you swallowed. "Don't talk like that," you said. 

"Sorry," he replied. "I thought you liked my charming dark humor."

"Not this time," you said. "It just reminded me that one of us is going to have the pleasure of watching the other die." You grabbed his hand and held it. 

He looked down at your fingers. Breathing through his lips, he scooted closer until he was sitting against the wall. Then he wrapped his arm around your stomach and pulled you against him.

"Tony," you said, finding it was easier to speak without him staring at you all sad. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking... that I probably should have kissed you before I got on the ship," he said. 

"I was thinking that, too," you breathed.

"Hm." 

You turned so you could look at him. "So you don't have any other surprises for me, do you, Tony Stark?" 

"No," he said, sadly.

You nodded. "Alright. That's okay." 

He seemed to be choking back tears as you started to let your eyes close. You moved closer to him and started to relax. 

He held you close against him and kept his eyes open, watching you and losing himself in thought. In his mind, the battle he'd lost kept replaying. Over and over again. He could feel the sharp stinging of his own weapon going through his stomach and hear the ear-piercing scream that ripped through your throat and into the air. He could hear Thanos say, "I hope they remember you" and then see you jump at him, ready to kill him-

Why did he pull you back when you almost had him? 

He sighed and shifted. A pain shot down his arms and back. He grunted, and when you didn't wake up, he started to get nervous.

"___?" he said. He shook you gently. "Hey. ___?" 

You did not answer. He started to curse under his breath and he pushed you all the way off of him and put you on the ground. He leaned down and rested his ear on your chest. There was your heartbeat and the soft inhales and exhales of your lungs pumping air. He let out a breath of relief and then sat up and looked at you.

"Nebula?" he called. 

She appeared in the doorway at once. She saw you on the ground and walked up quickly.

"She's not gonna last much longer," he said. He struggled to get up on his feet, so Nebula helped him. "Think we can find a way to turn this ship back home?" 

"I think we can try," she replied. 

"Good. Then let's get started before I collapse on the floor, too." 

//

When your eyes opened, your eyesight was a little blurry. You realized that your head was absolutely killing you, and there was a cramp in your side that wouldn't stop. And more than that, your arms were cold - and Tony was not there.

"Tony?" you croaked.

"Hey, hey." He was kneeling in front of you. "How are you feeling?" 

"Kinda like I'm dying," you said, laughing once. "I'm sorry but... I'm kinda okay with that, too." 

"Alright, I'm going to ignore that you just said that. You're not going to die." He touched the back of his hand to your head. "Me and cyborg-blue chick from Avatar found a way to get back home."

You blinked. "Wha - how?" 

"It's a... long story. But I guess all I needed was a push. And I can't have you die, so I won't let you." He shrugged. "Simple as that." 

Your dry lips stretched upward in a smile. "Tony, now would be a good time to kiss me, you know." 

"Exactly what I was thinking," he said. He leaned in and kissed you sweetly and quickly, then he pulled back. He pointed his finger at you. "Now you stay here and you stay alive. Got it?" 

"Got it," you said. "I won't die."

"Thank you for your participation." He got up. "Three tickets for New York City, New York coming up."