Day 60
"Stark please wake up," Nebula whispered and shook the sleeping man's arm, "We need to leave."
"You should just go," Stark mumbled. There was small blood stain on the balled up towel, serving as a pillow, where the corner of his mouth touched it.
"I am not going to leave you here," Nebula insisted and shook him a little harder.
"You'll make it farther without me," Stark rasped, "I'll be dead in a few hours. There is no point."
"You won't be dead. I'm going to get you home," Nebula snapped, "Now please get up."
Tony didn't respond this time. Rolling her eyes Nebula pulled the dying man into her arms bridal stile, and stood up. She had meant what she said about him being the only thing keeping her going. If he died she would be alone again, and she hated the idea of that. Maybe a year ago she would have been okay with being completely alone, but things had changed. Her sister had changed her, shown her that it was best not be alone. Besides over the past three days she had become steadily more attached to the broken Terrian man who so obviously needed a hug. Nebula would have given him one, but she didn't do hugs.
"See that wasn't so bad," Nebula said sitting Tony in one of the seats of the ship.
"I told you to leave me," Stark whimpered, "I don't want to go back."
Nebula took a confused step back.
"What about Pepper? Think about her," Nebula reasoned. Tony had told her briefly about the woman he was going to marry.
He scoffed, "She's gone."
"You don't know that-"
"The universe has taken everything else from me, why would it spare me that loss?" Stark hissed between clenched teeth.
"Don't know," Nebula shrugged, "But if the chance that it didn't take her isn't enough, stay alive for me."
Tony snorted, "You don't want to be any closer to me."
"And why is that?" Nebula demanded.
"I fuck everything up."
She started the ship. Whether he liked it or not she was getting him home, "I don't believe that."
"Well you should."
"Why should I?"
"Because it's true," Stark stated angrily opening his eye. The were dull and hallow with pain. Nebula actually found herself wanting to give him a hug, "I can't do anything right."
"See I don't believe that either."
"You are pretty trusting in humanity for someone who was tortured their whole life."
"Excuse me?" That statement had hit the wrong nerve.
"I'm sorry," Stark muttered, "But now you see what I mean. I fuck everything up, even this."
"No you don't," Nebula argued, "You didn't fuck this up."
"Didn't I?"
Nebula just stared at him realization dawning on her.
"I mean isn't this all my fault? I mean if I had done something differently Thanos wouldn't have gotten the time stone," Tony rose to his feet, "I mean I pretty much did this!" Nebula could see tears beginning to well in his eye, "This is my fault! I didn't do enough. I wasn't ready. I knew- Damn it Nebula, I knew! I saw it coming! I could feel it! Now look at what happened!" He flailed his arms out, "Half of the damn universe is dead, including the people you called family! All because I was not fucking ready! It is my fault. In the end I couldn't even FUCKING DIE!" Tony was shouting now, "I could not even do the most simple easy task imaginable. I couldn't give up and die! I should be dead! Not half of the fucking universe!" Tony's shout died down into a weak whimper, "I couldn't even die to stop it."
He crumpled forward, and Nebula caught him.
"Why couldn't he have just let me die?" Sobs shook the man's shoulders, "Why couldn't I have just died?"
Nebula sighed. Tony may blame himself for what happened, but Nebula didn't. She blamed Thanos, not Tony for the death of the people she called family.
Tony gripped her shoulders and cried.
Nebula didn't do hugs, but she wrapped her arms around him, and guided him to the ground anyway.
He needed the hug.