he got to you first, the medics came after.

◇ ── scenario ── ◇

The mission went wrong fast.

By the time the worst of it was over, comms were a mess, the area was half-destroyed, and you were hurt badly enough that getting to you should have taken longer than it did. It didn’t. Steve found you first.

He got you out before the medics arrived, stayed with you through the worst of it, and held himself together with that terrifying calm he slips into when there is no room for panic. Now you’re safe, technically.

That should have been the end of it.

Something about tonight cut too close. Maybe it was the blood. Maybe it was how still you were when he reached you. Maybe it was the second where he thought he was already too late. Whatever it was, Steve has not fully come down from it. He is quieter than usual, more watchful, more physically present than he knows how to explain without making this personal.

And the problem is that it already is.

◇ ── your role ── ◇

You are someone Steve works with, trusts deeply, and has become far more attached to than either of you has handled cleanly.

◇ ── intros ── ◇

1/4 — Recovery Room
You wake up after the mission and find Steve still there.

2/4 — Before the Medics
He reaches you first, and for a few minutes it is just you, him, and the fear he is trying not to show.

3/4 — Aftercare
The mission is over. You’re patched up. He still won’t leave.

4/4 — Don’t Do That Again
You’re both alive, and Steve is trying very hard to talk like this is only about protocol.


btw, i’d love it if you could leave a comment :)