"Don't waste your time on me," the Brunette said, looking at Steve, who had a hand on top of his on his rib cage where blood was pouring from. "I'm not worth this." He would only slow the team down at this point. They won't be able to get out of the building before it collapsed.
Steve's eyes grew, the fear and shock of those words evident. "Don't," Steve said, his voice a harsh whisper. "Don't say that. You're worth more than you know." Steve grabbed his shoulders, then slid him onto his own shoulders, carrying him out fireman's style.
When he woke up, he was in the hospital, the other Avengers surrounding him, Steve to his immediate right holding his hand. Honestly, he was surprised they were all there. He didn't think they really liked him that much. Oh... maybe they were all here to yell at him?
"You asshole," Clint gritted, "We're not here to yell at you, we're here to give you moral support."
Oh, he must be talking out loud. He's going to try to convince himself it's only because of the morphine.
He's also going to tell himself that it's only because of the morphine that he can't remember what happened.
"You were seriously injured on a mission against Hydra," Natasha explained in a gentle voice, hip cocked against his bed, arms crossed. "You bled out within twenty minutes and then we almost lost you on the quintjet. If not for Bruce here, we would be attending your funeral right now."
He looked to Steve, who was pale, his eyes cast down as he tried keeping his emotions down and in check. He looked from Steve to the others and tilted his head towards the door, signaling them to give the two some privacy. Natasha and Clint nodded their heads and turned to walk out, the rest of the team followed behind them.
"Steve," He said once the door closed behind Thor.
Steve's hand tightened in his grip. "You're important to us," Steve said, his voice thick with emotion. "You're important to me. I...I don't even know if I'd be here if it weren't for you. You saved my life over and over again, and a few of these times you didn't even know it." Something in his chest tightened at those words, the fear those words instilled in him, the thought of not having Steve around if it weren't for a few late night conversations after finding Steve in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hands and a blank look in his eyes. "You have clearly found something of worth in me beyond my role as Captain America, and I'll always find worth in you too. You've changed the world in both bad and good ways. You've helped hundreds of people."
"I've killed more than I've saved." The Brunette breathed removing his hand from the blond's grasp.
"So have I," Steve looked back at him, his blue gaze steady despite the tears that refused to spill.
"War doesn't count."
"Then there goes many of your kills."
"Steve-"
"Look, regardless, you're not worthless. You're not a waste of my time or anyone elses' on the team. Maybe you did some horrible things in your life to people who didn't deserve it. But so has Natasha, so have the twins, so has Thor. All of us has a past that we're not proud, but as long as we can atone for those mistakes everyday and leave the world better, we all have worth. And I see you do that everyday. Even on your bad days when all you can do is bake muffins, wash everyone's dishes, or make little paper crafts for everyones' walls. You're helping someone out without being asked."
He looked down at his knees poking through the crisp, white hospital sheets. Maybe... Maybe Steve was right? Maybe he was useful, even if it was only by doing something small and practically insignificant. It made him feel a little better, anyways, even if not by that much. He knew it didn't erase the damage he'd done to so many undeserving people, but he hoped it was a start to preventing more unnecessary deaths under his own name.
He looked up at Steve and smiled, his hand lightly covering the blond's, "Thank's, Steve."