This was where Bucky drew the line. He knew that all along he promised Steve that he was with him until the end of the line, but that was before unimaginable things had happened to the pair of them. Here Bucky was, still feeling as if he were fresh out of the 1940s, about to watch his super soldier best friend fight for his right to live in 2016 against a man in an iron suit, aptly known to the world as Iron Man. No matter how much Bucky believed in his best friend and admired him for sticking by his side despite the man he had been when Hydra had him under their control, Bucky just couldn't let Steve walk into this mission. It was suicide. If one of them was to sacrifice themselves for the other, it would be him. He had a lot to make up for. To Bucky, this was the only way that he hoped to be able to redeem himself.
He knew what his plan would be days before he decided to enact upon it. Seeing how fierce the battle between them and Stark was getting, he knew that he would have to intervene before it cost Steve his life. Bucky felt that his life wasn't worth Steve's. To Bucky, it really wasn't worth anything at all. Steve could try to convince him all he wanted that his actions hadn't been his own. If that was the case though, why could he remember each and every assassination that he'd committed with absolute clarity? Even though he had been Hydra's puppet, he was still left with the festering scars; scars that he didn't even dare tell Steve about. He was a monster that was merely trying to redeem himself. The hero that he had been had died that day when he fell off the train and into the cold grip of the enemy (quite literally in that regard).
Turning his head to the side as he lay in bed, he saw that it was a quarter of six in the morning. If he was quick about it, he'd be able to get in and out of the bathroom, and leave before Steve could muster up the will to get out of bed. He smirked softly up at the ceiling as he rolled his head back to stare upwards. Even though Steve had the body of a super soldier now, he still acted like the old Steve that he knew from time to time. He still hated waking up and getting out of bed in the morning just as he had before. It made him smile whenever he knew that the old Steve hadn't left; that the perks of being the way he was now hadn't affected him nor ever would.
Sitting up, he quietly slipped out of bed and walked out of his room towards the bathroom. Before he got to the bathroom though, he made a pit stop outside the door of Steve's bedroom. Standing still in the hallway, he could hear the soft snores that Steve was letting off, smiling softly to himself. He reached out a hand and pressed it flat against the door before gently pushing in inwards so that he could sneak inside. As he crept on tiptoe towards Steve's closet, he noticed Steve lying asleep on the bed. He was lying on his left side, sprawled out slightly. The blanket lay half on and half off him; his mouth hanging open slightly to allow the snores to continue escaping. He looked so peaceful that it brought Bucky to a stand still for a second. It hurt him to know that soon he would lose him forever, but he immediately consoled himself with the fact that he was doing this to protect Steve. To Bucky, Steve was worth it to him. He vowed he'd always protect Steve, and even though he was breaking one promise, at least he would be able to keep that silent vow.
Opening the closet as quietly as he could, he squinted his eyes slightly to look for his target of interest, as if the mere action of squinting his eyes would help him find what he was looking for faster. He eventually did find what he was looking for and withdrew it from the closet. Holding his find close to his chest, he moved silently back the way he had come, happy to see that he hadn't disturbed Steve's rest at all. As soon as he left Steve's room, he made his way down the hall to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Lying what he acquired in Steve's room aside, he moved to look at himself in the mirror over the bathroom sink. The pale yellow light from above showed him his rat's nest of a hairdo that he had had ever since Hydra had gotten a hold of him. He supposed that was to be expected after being frozen for decades. He reached up a hand to pick at a tangled lock of his hair, sighing once he was able to see how matted it truly was. He didn't know why he hadn't cut it long before this. Steve kept telling him it was fine, but he should have known that it wasn't. Steve saying that something was fine was his automatic response at times, it seemed. It was his way of avoiding a truthful answer to protect the other. Just like Steve had told him numerous times that the situation between he and Stark was "fine". Bucky smiled sadly then as he shook his head, turning to make his way towards the shower. Bucky knew that it was far from fine.
After taking a long, hot shower, he stepped out and wrapped a towel about his waist. Moving towards the now steamed up mirror, he swiped his hand over it a few times to clear a spot to view himself before reaching towards the cabinet for a comb and a pair of scissors. It was time that he did something with his hair. He winced as he tried his best to comb all the tangles from his hair before bringing up the scissors to begin cutting it off, watching as pieces of his hair fluttered towards the white tiles underneath his feet. Within a couple of minutes, Bucky had his hair looking more like it did in the 1940s. He smiled softly. At least he was able to see his old self for a bit. It slightly eased the pain caused by his horrendous deeds. Only slightly though.
As soon as he finished staring at his reflection, he moved towards what he'd taken from Steve's wardrobe. The item that he had taken was his Captain America garb. He delicately began to dress in the uniform, looking in the mirror after he had pulled the mask over the top of his head. Unless Tony were to gaze at him rather closely, he wouldn't be able to tell that Steve didn't lie underneath the mask. He had cut his hair enough so that none of it slipped out, and his chest was just as muscular as Steve's. Luckily Steve's uniform had long sleeves and gloves, so he was able to disguise the fact that he had a metal limb. He just had to pull this off. He just had to.
He left the bathroom shortly after and made his way towards the front door, not without first grabbing up Steve's shield that lie resting there. He wrapped his hand around the strap on the back of the shield before turning to take one final look at Steve's house. A tear or two slipped free from his eyes then, and he internally chided himself for that fact. He had told himself when he had first thought up this plan that he wouldn't allow himself to show weakness, and here he was doing just that. He knew that if he started to weaken that he would never have the strength it took to carry out what needed to be done. Taking a deep breath to be able to gather his nerves, he managed to make himself calm down enough to be able to turn and walk out the door, closing it quietly behind him; closing the door on another chapter of his life.
Bucky watched the sun rise as he waited on the rooftop for Stark to show up. He was leaning up against the wall as he tilted the shield he still gripped side-to-side a bit to reflect the sun. Using Steve's phone the other night, Bucky had arranged for Stark to meet him on the roof of Stark Enterprises today at seven in the morning. Stark had thought that Bucky was Steve since he used his mobile, and agreed. However, Bucky could tell that it was starting to become after seven and he still hadn't shown up. He muttered under his breath. He didn't understand why Stark was running late. He had told him to meet him on top of his own building after all.
He was jerked from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind him followed by a voice that said, "Well, look who did decide to show up to the rodeo after all."
The sarcasm alone was enough to let Bucky know before turning around that Stark had arrived. Sure enough, Tony was slowly approaching him, dressed in his Iron Man suit. Everything but his face was currently covered in the armor. Stark's eyes roamed Bucky up and down, causing Bucky to wonder if Stark was already able to see through his facade. He straightened his posture and met the other's gaze as he replied, in the way that he thought Steve would, "I am not one to break a promise."
That garnered a smirk from Tony then as he now stood within several feet of Bucky, coming to a complete stand still.
"That's rich coming from you. You've broken your promise to help the Avengers. You and your do good attitude had to mess the dynamic up. You're a vigilante now, Steve. Don't you get that? Is Bucky really worth your reputation?"
"No..." Bucky said immediately, sincerely feeling that way about himself, "But I promised him that I was with him 'til the end of the line. He's my friend."
"So was I once..." said Tony, almost sounding a bit saddened by the fact. "I used to be your friend, but now it appears as if I'm your enemy. Steve, this needs to end."
Gripping the shield tighter in his hand, he shook his head from side-to-side.
"I won't just turn a blind eye to Bucky, Tony. It's not going to happen."
He was sincerely surprised that Tony had yet to comment on the sound of his voice since it was different than Steve's. Perhaps Stark was too wrapped up in the moment to realize it. Besides, he was trying to keep his sentences as short as possible. This was the only way that he'd be able to redeem himself and protect his best friend. He was ready to do his duty.
"Don't make me do this, Steve. I really don't want to."
"I won't give up on Bucky. I just won't."
Tony sighed then, merely shaking his head as he made the mask go over his face to complete his Iron Man getup. The war was about to begin, and Bucky already knew the battle would be short lived. He deflected a few shots from Stark with the shield to make it convincing before twisting the shield away from his body to reveal his chest. This move caused one of Stark's blows to hit him square in the chest and collapse to the ground. The pain that came with the blow was enough to make him gasp, dropping the shield onto the rooftop.
Tony stood absolutely still then as he watched him writhe in pain, panting heavily as his eyes gazed upwards at the sky above, which was gradually getting sunnier by the minute. The mask came away from Tony's face then and he moved to walk over to him, kneeling beside him. His face held a look of genuine sorrow as he looked at what he thought was his fallen friend.
"I'm sorry..." said Tony softly, something that he rarely ever said.
"Don't be…you did what needed to be done..."
Before Bucky could stop him, Tony reached up to take his mask off, gasping when he saw that the person lying, dying, in front of him wasn't Steve, but Bucky Barnes, the man that had caused all the problems in the first place. Tears trickled softly down Bucky's cheeks as he gazed at Tony; his attempts at breathing becoming even weaker.
"Take...take care of Steve. Make sure he doesn't...wallow in grief. Help him live life...let him know...let him know that none of this was his fault...it was mine...tell him that I was with him...'til the end of the line..."
His eyes left Tony's face after those words left his lips, looking back upwards at the blue sky overhead. His last thought was a memory of when the two of them had met. He watched as the clouds, in his mind, formed the image of him helping Steve to his feet and then offering to help clean him off and buy him a bottle of pop. Watching the cloud versions of himself and Steve walk happily towards the shop, he allowed himself to release his final breath. At least he had died protecting his best friend. He wouldn't have it any other way.