imaginatus | endgame open post

[ The struggle getting back to the Milano had been more than a little rough. Quill put the brunt of his focus on Stark, only stopping when he had to from taking on most of his weight, and sitting him down when they absolutely needed to. It was quiet getting back, interspersed with Peter offering small encouragements. Finally, a relieved: there she is.

Funny how it went, right? This guy showed up with all this flash and pomp and he didn't want jack to do with him. There was the fight, and then---he can't think about the fact that they lost. If he thinks about that, he'll think about Mantis, and Drax. Gamora. He'll wonder about Rocket and Groot. He can't do that. So, he does what he is able to do.

He gets Stark onto the ship, and to their little medbay that isn't even equipped for the shit they've been through, but it's something. Quill is banged up, but he didn't get stabbed by a big, purple, a-hole raisin. Lucky for them, he knows a little bit thanks to being raised by Yondu and the Ravagers. Maybe it's enough to get them some real help.

He sets him down on the rickety bunk they have down there as gently as he's able. ]

Okay, I'm gonna get you something for the pain first, and we'll get a better look, yeah?

[ Quill sets his jaw, lips pressed together thinly, and heads over to their---the gear. God, does this mean they're gone forever? What are they supposed to---Get it together, Quill. Gettin' all soft over here and for what? Can't do anything for them. Can do something for this guy, though.

He's got to. The idea of trying to do this on his own makes his stomach do flips, never mind the tight feeling in his chest. He grabs the injector and goes back to him. ]

Here we go. This is gonna sting a little.

[ The walk to the ship, despite all the stopping and going, feels like a blur for Tony. Maybe it’s shock. Maybe it’s the effects of the blade piercing through him. Maybe the adrenaline has already worn off. Whatever it is, it makes him lack focus. Sometimes it doesn’t dawn on him that Quill has said something until some time has passed by, but he can’t help it. It’s as if just taking one step after another is hard enough to do; if he lets himself think or do much beyond that, his brain is just not ready to process it. Not yet. Not when he just wants to go back, try to get Thanos back. Take me instead, he wants to tell him. Don’t take the kid. Don’t—

Of course, he knows it doesn’t work that way. He doesn’t even know where he disappeared to, although he has an idea, but now there’s the annoying question of what now. What do they do now? They had lost. Thanos had wiped the floor with them, and now...

He mumbles a quiet thanks to Quill once he helps him sit, and Tony unzips his jacket for easier access to where the makeshift ~~webbing~~ bandage is holding his skin together as much as it can, but even through it he can see the red seeping through. There should be a more emotional reaction to watching the wound that should have killed him bleed rather than take him out, but all he feels is guilt. He shouldn’t have been saved. It shouldn’t be him. Peter should be the one here, alive. Not him. Never him.

By the time Quill comes back, Tony looks pale but still awake enough to show that at least he’s not at the verge of passing out. ]

Yeah, it’s fine. You have, uh. bandages or something? I don’t know how much longer this thing will hold, and I don’t think I have enough nanonites to try to make more.

[ Quill has seen a lot of injuries in his time. This one isn't the worst, but it's not good. What they have on the Milano will get them by, but he needs off this hellscape of a planet and to a real medical facility.

First, he has to get him off death's proverbial door first, and then work on his ship. He knows she's too damaged to get far. He can get them into space, but then what? One thing at a time, Quill.

He gives him the injection for the pain, and carefully pushes the edges of his jacket away to get a look. He keeps his face blank, but it's--- He doesn't even have it in him to try and find some kind of shitty joke to say. They lost and he can still taste dust on his tongue, and feel Mantis disappear against his side. ]

I got a little better than bandages, but it ain't a picnic. At least it'll get this bleeding stopped.

[ Infection, though? He ain't got anything for that. He's seen stuff like that take down the biggest, meanest Ravager on the ship when they were too far out from help. This guy is tough, but he definitely ain't that. He keeps that bit to himself for now. ]

[ Tony doesn't even flinch when the injection for the pain goes in, his gaze lost on nothing at all. It's not shock setting in, although he's probably damn close to it. This part is just too familiar, considering all the shit he has survived in the past, and the shots or stitches that followed.

When Quill speaks, Tony just finds himself nodding slightly, finally turning back to him. ]

...thanks. [ It's quiet, but sincere. ] Whatever you have is better than what I have, so I'll take it. I'll help you, afterwards, with...whatever you need. I don't know much about spaceships, but I'll figure it out.

[ Because, resting? No. He already knows that won't happen, he won't let himself just sit if he can help it. Like Quill, his thoughts are already trying to drown him with the weight of them all. ]

[ The guys got nerves of steel, Quill will give him that. Not that either of them really have a choice in moving forward. It's the only direction they have. ]

That weird spray gunk stuff? Yeah, I got a clotting agent that'll at least get the bleeding stopped so you don't die while I fix my ship so I can get you to a real hospital from the closest jump point.

[ Quill gets into the kit, pulling out another injector with the clotting agent. He hesitates just a second. ]

Even with the anesthetic, this is going to do a little more than sting. Take a breath.

[ Once he does, he injects it, and reaches out to take the other man's shoulders in his hands to try and keep him from bucking and making it worse. ]

[ He huffs out a breath that's supposed to be a small chuckle, although there's not a whole lot of humor behind it. That would be some sort of hilarious turn of events, he thinks, if Strange spared him and traded the stone only for him to die, anyway. It's not funny, of course, but right now it just seems oddly ironic that it could be an actual possibility if they don't get the bleeding under control. ]

Right, yeah. No dying. That'd be...bad.

[ Tony looks up just in time to see the way Quill hesitates, and...well. That doesn't bode well. He doesn't say anything, though, and instead just takes a breath as suggested.

And, boy, was Quill not exaggerating. Apparently first aid from outer space hurts like hell, he thinks as his body unconsciously reacts to the injection. Despite his high pain tolerance, it's as if his vision blurs for a moment and, when he's finally able to focus, he realizes that he's leaning heavily against Quill's grasp on him. ]

I'm-- [ Good, he wants to say, but the word seems to get stuck in his throat. He swallows hard, moving slowly back so that Quill can let go if he wants to. 'I'm fine fine,' he's silently saying by doing so. 'I'm not going to collapse on you.' His hands are a little shaky - it's hard to tell if it's from the blood loss, the pain or the injection - but he just holds onto the edge of where he's seated as if that'll stop it. ]

...thanks.

And kind of a dick move considering I helped carry you all the way over here.

[ The humor is a little darker than he generally would go for, but his nerves are more than shot. The idea of losing someone, anyone, else after getting their asses spectacularly kicked is not an idea he wants to entertain. One thing at a time, he tells himself again.

Quill's helped with worse injuries with Yondu and Kraglin, not to mention a couple of the others that ain't with them anymore. No, it's really just he and Kraglin, and who knows if he's---His hands stay tight against Tony's shoulders until he relaxes a little bit, and moves away fully once he's leaned back against the bulkhead. ]

Sure thing.

[ He sees the shaking, and isn't sure if it's from shock, cold, or a little bit of everything. He offers a quick stay here a second, gets up and ducks away to come back with a blanket off his bed. He shakes it out, and draws it around the other man's shoulders. ]

There you go. Uh, I gotta take a look at things real quick, and try to get us back into space.

[ Tony doesn’t mind the dark humor. If anything, it helps especially since his brain is already not in a good space right now. He can feel himself slipping, and Quill’s quips help keep him from going off the deep end.

When he walks away, Tony tries to get his breathing to even out as much as he can as he glances around, as if to get used to his new surroundings. This place is definitely more welcoming than the murderous donut he had used to get to Titan, he thinks.

The blanket takes him by surprise, but he’s thankful for it and he can’t help but draw it close to him. Especially since the shaking isn’t going away. ]

Thanks. Do you, uh. need some help?

[ He doesn’t know how much he can help, but still, he wants to offer. ]

[ Quill can see the far away look in Tony's eyes. It reads all over his face, and he's seen that too. It's not good. None of this is.

He doesn't stay to see if he needs much else. They don't have the time. Well, this guy doesn't have the time. The blanket should help with the shock, once he gets them into space he can see about some warmer clothes. Space is cold, and this guys wearing some weird running suit it looks like. It's not gonna be enough. ]

You know a lot about spaceships and their engines? [ There's a hint of biting sarcasm to the question. ] I know my ship. I can get her going.

[ But the other Earth guy is trying to help. Probably as a distraction. He knows that feeling. He reaches up and rubs the back of his neck. ]

There's some structural damage. If I can find where Rocket put the building tool, I can show you how to use it while I work on the engines. It's not easy to use, though. Gotta be patient with it.

Think you can handle that?

[ By now, Tony isn't surprised by Quill's sarcasm, so when he makes that quip, he hardly thinks anything of it. Or maybe it's the blood loss, who knows. Either way, when he responds, it's not defensive in any way. It's more factual - and tired, because shit the adrenaline is draining quick - than anything else. ]

I may be from Earth, but I can figure out my way around an engine. So yeah, just tell me where to go. I can handle it.

[ He'll push through. He has to. As much as his body is starting to feel like it wants to just crash once and for all, he's not ready to let himself do it. He's almost afraid of what will happen once he stops moving, and the grief rears its ugly head once more. ]

...how long have you been living in space?

endgame open post

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