Car Crash
Tony was taking Bucky and Steve for a ride in the city. Because of their hero status they did not get out much in fear of being mobbed by crowds, but Tony still wanted them to experience the beauty of modern day New York City.
He drove them past Times Square, Central Park, and even to Brooklyn. Just as they were driving back on the highway, music blasting as they sung their hearts out, the car in front of them suddenly screeched to a stop, causing Tony to swerve.
Everything turned to slow motion as they crashed into the truck next to them. It was hard to see, but Steve recounts both their car and the truck tipping over and rolling down a hill. The feeling of weightlessness would have almost felt blissful if it wasn’t accompanied by the fear of death choking their throats. Somehow in the chaos, Steve’s world went black, oblivious to the final crash of them hitting the ditch.
Steve woke to someone pleading his name. It was a desperate tone that he only recalled hearing several times in his life, each time it was in the face of emergency, or worse- death.
“Please wake up, Steve. Please!” Steve peeled open his eyes and immediately cringed at the pain in his body. “Steve!” He slowly turned his aching head to see Bucky in the middle backseat.
The man was gripping the shoulder that was attached to his metal arm, which Steve noticed was crushed. Bucky was gripping his teeth from the pain, but otherwise looked unharmed.
Steve took catalogue of himself. His leg hurt, which he concluded was because it was crushed under the front of the car. His head was also bleeding slightly, which explained the slowness. He looked next to him and noticed the side window was cracked and red, which means he must have smacked his head against it during the crash. He also noticed two of his fingers bent weirdly. He didn’t realize he had been staring at them for a long time until Bucky finally leant forward and smacked his arm.
“Steve, snap out of it!” Bucky grunted, now gripping his torso. “Tony needs help.”
“Tony?” Steve slurred. The name was familiar. Steve turned towards the driver’s side and screamed. “Tony!”
“Don’t touch him!” Bucky shouted. “Look at his back.”
Steve froze from where he was reaching out to shake the man. Tony was face down on the dash, the broken wheel digging into his chest. His body was covered in blood, most of it coming from a gash in his head. The cut was large enough that they could physically see the split in his scalp. Just like Steve, Tony’s legs were crushed under the car.
But what Bucky was referring to was the bulge in Tony’s back. Looking closer at it, Steve had to bite his lip against the instinct to throw up. There was definitely a bone poking out of Tony’s back. “Shit!” Steve cursed. His mind suddenly defogged and his heart started pounding.
“Tony? Tony!” He screamed.
“No!” Bucky grunted. “Don’t wake-”
The car erupted with screams.
“Tony baby,” Bucky tried to sooth.
“It hurts, oh god,” Tony slurred. His shoulders twitched as he tried to flail in panic.
“Don’t move Tony,” Bucky pleaded.
“Bucky!” Tony cried. “Stevie, help!”
“Fuck,” Bucky cursed when Tony started panicking further. He needed to do something. He could feel his ribs slowly knitting themselves back together but they still hurt badly. Swallowing back the pain, he used his good hand to slide himself out of the car. He immediately threw up upon standing, but he quickly wiped his mouth and stumbled to Tony’s side of the car.
His door was gone, but Tony’s was still attached and dented. With strength he didn’t know he possessed in his weaker arm, he wrenched the dented door away from the car. Once the door was off, he was hit fully with Tony’s screams. Next to him, Steve swayed as his head started to hurt from the loud noise.
“Tony, listen to me,” Bucky said firmly, kneeling next to Tony. The man was still bent over the dash but his head was turned to Bucky. Tony’s eyes finally opened upon hearing Bucky’s voice. “I need you to calm down. Deep breaths.”
Tony’s chest still heaved quickly, but he unconsciously started calming down as he stared into Bucky’s eyes. “It hurts B,” Tony whimpered.
“I know it does, I know it does baby,” Bucky said softly, trying to will back his own tears.
Bucky looked over to the truck driver. From the odd angle of the man’s neck, he knew he was dead. He searched his pockets for his phone and sighed realizing he left it at home. “Steve?” He called. Steve always had his phone on him.
Steve’s head turned towards him. “I need you to get your phone out of your pocket and call 911,” Bucky instructed. Steve blinked for a few seconds but nodded.
Steve slowly searched his pockets for his phone.
“B?” Tony whispered. Bucky turned just in time to see blood pour from Tony’s mouth.
“Fuck!” Bucky shouted. Tony started coughing and a wheeze latched onto his exhales.
Steve looked over and went even paler at the blood. “Steve, hurry!” Bucky shouted.
Bucky grunted as he ripped off his shirt and held it onto Tony’s head to try to stop the bleeding. Tony screamed at the pressure and squirmed. “Please baby, don’t move,” Bucky pleaded desperately.
“Hello? We were in a car accident,” Steve said to the operator. “On the highway. I don’t know where-”
“Exit 5A,” Bucky provided.
“Exit 5A,” Steve repeated. “Someone already called them. They’ll be here in 2 minutes,” Steve told Bucky.
“You hear that baby? 2 Minutes. You just gotta hang on for 2 minutes,” Bucky said desperately, almost collapsing in relief.
Tony’s eyes fluttered as he coughed up more blood. “You hear me, Tones?” Bucky pleaded, holding Tony’s face. “Keep your eyes open, they’re almost here.”
“B’y? S’vie?” Tony slurred softly.
“We are here, Tones,” Steve said, leaning closer to the pair. His pinned legs wouldn’t let him move much, but he was able to place a gentle hand onto Tony’s shoulder.
“I love you,” Tony whispered as his eyes finally closed.
“No goodbyes, baby,” Bucky cried. “You’re gonna be fine.”
“Wake up, Tony,” Steve screamed as Tony’s body went limp.
The two supersoldiers didn’t even notice the red and blue lights illuminating the dull ditch as they cried.