A/N: Warning: Mild Civil War spoilers ahead.
/\\/\\
"Why did you pull me from the river?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do."
He couldn't let him go.
Head bowed, hands clasped between his knees, Steve waited in the silence, thoughts swirling helplessly, wondering what he could've done differently to change the situation.
The Soldier stood there, blocking his path, eyes cold, hard. Face achingly familiar and yet so painfully different, so changed. He offered mute challenge, opposition to the light Steve had always up held, daring Captain America to cross the walkway and plant the chip that would ruin HYDRA's bid for global terrorization.
"People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen."
Levering him with a look, uncaring of the innocents at stake, the Soldier's lack of concern spoke volumes.
"Please, don't make me do this."
He'd only just gotten his friend back. After three years of searching, Bucky was no longer a ghost, no longer a whisper of a name that he knew. He was alive and real, flesh and bone tangible to the touch. He couldn't just give that up. He couldn't let Bucky give up the new life he was building for himself. He owed his old friend that much. HYDRA wouldn't sink its hooks into him again, not if Steve could help it.
In the other room of the warehouse, Bucky slumped unconscious, arm caught in the makeshift clamp they'd created. It'd been Sam's idea; one Steve had reluctantly admitted had been necessary. They couldn't tell who would be present when the other finally awoke: Barnes, or the Soldier. No one would believe that Bucky wasn't responsible for the bombing now. Not after the scene that had just happened.
"I'm not gonna fight you."
The crippled helicarrier shuddered around them; metal groaning as it bent and warped, sparks and ashes heavy in the air. Breathing hard, a trail of blood staining the corner of his mouth, the Captain forced himself to stand up straight against the motion of the swaying floor, eyes meeting the Soldier's squarely, the will to fight gone from his gaze. Letting the red, white, and blue shield fall from his grasp, it slipped through an opening in the floor, disappearing into the smoky sky below.
"'Cause you're my friend."
Pulling back halfway, a ghost of doubt lasting less than a second within his visage, a feral cry ripped out of him as the Soldier slammed the other man to the ground, trapping him. Bringing his fist up, wanting, no, needing to end this man's life, needing to end this mission, he answered roughly, "You're my mission."
Grabbing the helicopter skid, he fought to bring it back down to the pavement. The force of its pull had the reverse affect though as it dragged Steve along with it.
Realizing that vertical takeoff would be impossible with his unwelcome company, the Soldier changed tactics, driving the copter towards the edge of the landing pad, hoping to take the other man by surprise.
Faced with this new dilemma, Steve wrestled to hold on and maintain contact with the ground, mind racing as his window of opportunity to act came to a close. Making his choice, his muscles screamed, fighting against the whirling mechanisms as he pulled the helicopter back to the landing pad, uncaring of the fact that he himself hung suspended between the two in midair.
Eyes flicking back, noting that the man was still holding on to his vessel, irritation hardened his resolve as the Soldier switched direction again, driving the copter straight at his adversary instead.
Flesh contacted flesh over and over again as he repeated his words. "You're my mission!"
Slowing for breath, ready to bring the final blow and end it all, his actions were stayed as the other man whispered weakly, "Then finish it, 'cause I'm with you till the end of the line."
Pausing, shock resonating through him, the floor suddenly fell out from under them with a lurch. Grabbing a support out of sheer instinct, the Soldier watched as the Captain fell away from him.
Hitting the asphalt, propellers breaking and bending as they contacted the ground, Steve leapt onto the landing pad in time to dodge the wreck. Scrambling to his feet and into the cockpit, he made it in time to halt Bucky from escaping the vehicle. Wrestling his friend, motivated by the need to restore his friend's mind to his own, and stop him from causing any more damage in the process, the skirmish ended in a rush as the battered helicopter teetered drunkenly over the side, and fell with a sickening plunge into the river below.
Diving in after him, a distant word tickled at the back of Bucky's mind, something the other man, Steve, had said. Friend. Yes, that's what he was, his friend.
Reaching out...
...Reaching for his friend's unconscious form, Steve hulled him back to the surface and towards shore.
Dropping his limp burden, Bucky gazed down at him, emotions safely concealed behind his guard.
In the end, it wouldn't matter what the public said, or whether it was Bucky or the Soldier who woke up, Steve's actions had been decided long ago, a path he hadn't once deviated from. No, what mattered now was how Bucky would react when he realized he was a danger again. Even more importantly though, what mattered most was how Steve was going to protect him and prevent HYDRA from ever using his friend's mind against his will again.
Turning away, memories prying at the edges of his conscious, the Soldier realized distantly, 'He didn't let me go.'
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A/N: I'm sure others noticed the similarities between these two scenes, but I couldn't help but writing a comparison story. After watching Civil War, I've had so many one-shot ideas, but this one was the one that begged to written the most. For clarification, italic is the scene from Winter Soldier, bold is the scene from Civil War, and regular is present moment.
On a side note- I wrote this in a similar fashion to how I wrote my HTTYD comparison fic "He Won't Hurt You". Aside from fandoms and wordage, they could be identical.
Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!