#ngl that smiley face is a big out of place right before that tw tag xD

[somewherebetweenrage]

@shieldretired​ sent me CAUGHT for Steve to catch Erik in their arms, after Erik collapses in the aftermath of using their powers for an extensive period of time

   Blue skies, white fluffy clouds, the retreating front line miles and miles away; everything felt fine, everything felt safe. Until it suddenly wasn’t. Erik knows more about warfare than a typical teenager, knows more about guns and bombs and death than anyone ever should, but he still experiences a moment of heart-stopping terror when the truck ahead of them explodes into flames. It’s pure adrenaline-fuelled instinct that has him flinging a hand out towards the heated metal fragments, mutation stopping them in mid-air before they can make contact with the truck he and Steve are in. The driver’s quick hand on the wheel swerves the vehicle to the left and brakes, flinging Erik against the side of the truck and forcing him to release the metal he’s holding, each piece dropping to the ground with a soft thud.

   Shock-filled silence.

   One breath. And another. And another. And another.

   And then the spell is broken, a confused mess of shouting and scrabbling for door handles. Erik ignores Steve’s instruction to stay in the truck, too-big boots hitting the dirt road as he takes off in the direction of the explosion. He has no idea if the men in that truck are alive — he doubts he can help them whether they’ve survived or not — but it’s not them he’s heading for. Carefully skirting the edges of the carnage, the boy comes to a stop on the road just in front of where the truck had been; he has no idea if he can do this, but he has to try.

   Eyes drift shut, and with a deep breath, Erik lets his metal-sense unfurl ahead of them, dipping beneath the dusty soil of the road to seek out any more landmines that await them. His powers have no finesse, no fine skills whatsoever, but none are needed as he drags a metal cylinder out of the ground and hurls it off to the side, flinching as it detonates in a neighbouring field. Another two swiftly follow. The fourth one is a struggle, the difficulty of distance and the distraction of approaching footsteps making Erik lose focus badly enough that the mine explodes in mid-air. The mutant can feel the presence of one more further down the road, just on the very edge of his senses, and without stopping to heed anything Steve might be saying he reaches for it. Fists clench as mutation strains against the weight, determined to unearth it through sheer force of will alone if he has to, desperate to help, to prove himself worthy of rescue. With his body and mind pushing the outer limits of endurance, muscles taut and head aching, Erik blacks out the exact moment the fifth landmine detonates.

#consider: erik travelling with them (Rather than beign sent away) cos he refuses to leave steve #i had so many ideas for this but this is the idea that stuck so i hope you enjoy #entirely up to you if you want to take this as a starter or a drabble :) #war tw #death tw #injury tw #gun mention tw #ngl that smiley face is a big out of place right before that tw tag xD #shieldretired #queue: we are the future #au #excuse my 5 million typos in these tags