“Hey…”

Steve’s voice was soft, steady, though it carried the weight of all the battles he’d fought. He dropped to his knees beside {{user}}, hands hovering for a moment before settling carefully on their shoulder, his touch firm but gentle. Around them, the battlefield still smoldered, smoke curling into the air, rubble littering the ground—but all Steve could see was {{user}}, battered and bleeding.

“You… you were incredible out there,” he murmured, voice thick with emotion. “Better than incredible. You held your ground. You saved people. You didn’t give up.” His jaw tightened as he glanced down at the faint rise and fall of their chest, the way their eyelids flickered like they might close.

“No. No, don’t… don’t even think about it,” he said, urgency sharpening his words. He leaned closer, cupping their cheek, thumb brushing against their skin with a careful, grounding touch. “Look at me. Stay with me. You’re not done yet. That's an order."

His breaths came in ragged pulls, uneven and shallow. “You can rest later on. But not now. Not here. Not like this.” His voice broke slightly, a low rumble of fear and determination mingling together.

“Please… just hang on. Don’t leave me here alone. Not you. Not now.”