Bucky stared at Steve with wide eyes as Tony turned to stare at the screen.

"What the hell is this?"

There was the sound of a gun, then the car that Tony's parents were currently occupying swerved off the road, slamming into a pole. Flames erupted from the hood as a motorcycle then appeared on the screen.

Howard climbed weakly from the vehicle toward the man whom he thought would help them.

The Winter Soldier lifted Howard's head up, metal arm pulling back, ready for a punch when Howard seemed to recognize him.

"Sergeant Barnes?"

Bucky swallowed hard as Tony turned slowly and stared at him in horror. He then focused back on the screen, where the Winter Soldier slammed his metal fist repeatedly into the man's face, until he fell dead on the ground. He then dragged him, throwing him into the front seat of the car to make it seem as it had only been a mere car accident.

Then, he walked to the other side, where Maria was sitting. She was staring over at her dead husband in terror.

The Winter Soldier's metal arm lowered and grabbed her by the neck, choking her. He didn't even cast a glance at her.

Once the deed was done, he walked over, pulled out his gun, and shot the security camera.

Bucky swallowed and gripped Steve's arm tightly. Tony slowly turned around and stared at them both for an eternity. When he spoke, his voice shook with emotions.

"Did you know..?"

Steve didn't know whether to pull his punch or just say it. But, Tony definitely knew lies when he heard them. "Yes."

Tony stared at him in horror, then turned to Barnes.

"You have to understand, Tony. It wasn't-"

"I DON'T CARE!"

The helmet came up and Steve was instantly blasted backward. Bucky fell to the ground from the injuries he had sustained, which made it easier for Tony. "Steve!"

Tony stormed toward him. "You'll regret what you did, soldier."

Bucky winced at that. But soon, Captain America's shield came flying and struck Tony's helmet. He turned and stared at Steve, who was now running toward him.

"Don't you get it? He isn't the soldier anymore. He's tired of war and he's tired of fighting!" Steve tried to reason with the enraged man as he pinned him against the wall.

Iron Man just glared back. "That doesn't change a damn thing, Rogers."

Steve's eyes widened. "Yes it does! You're too focused on revenge to see it. Tony, please. This isn't gonna change what-" He screamed in pain when a charged up blast slammed into his abdomen. He fell, his hand pressing against the bleeding wound.

"Steve!" Bucky desperately inched toward his friend until his metal arm landed on Steve's leg, which he used to push himself up.

Steve blinked twice, then looked up at Tony. "Please.." He croaked.

Tony's fist collided with Bucky's stomach. The man instantly doubled over, coughing blood onto the ground. His breathing turned into desperate gasps, his body trembling.

"Bucky! Tony, stop- TONY!" Steve got to his feet and slammed his shield to block a killing blast from Iron Man. It threw Iron Man into the wall, delaying him for a few moments.

He crashed to his knees, rolling Bucky onto his back. The man's hands reached out blindly, until they found Steve's hand, squeezing incredibly tightly. "Steve.." He choked, attempting to pull himself upward.

Steve helped even though Bucky quickly laid most of his weight on him. He didn't mind.

"Bucky..Oh god..Buck-" Steve went to wrap his arms around him, Bucky trying to reach out to do the same, but Steve was thrown backward. Iron Man quickly grabbed his throat and slammed him into the ground.

Steve groaned, rolled over, and pushed himself to his feet just to see Tony grab Bucky and slam another fist into his stomach, then let go.

Bucky gasped. More blood flew from his mouth as he coughed violently. "NO!" Steve yelled.

He stumbled toward Steve while pulling in small gasps of air, pain assaulting his lungs with each breath.

Steve fell to his knees, then caught Bucky, who let himself fall into his friend's arms. Each breath wrecked havoc on his body.

"Bucky," Steve choked out painfully, pulling Bucky against his chest and wrapping his arms around him. Bucky's shaking hand reached out and landed on Steve's. Both of them made eye-contact, but Steve couldn't help but let the tears begin to flow heavily down his face.

Bucky's breathing began to quicken as more blood dripped from his lips. His face was uncomfortably pale.

"S..te...ve." Bucky muttered slowly. His metal hand clutched the back of Steve's shirt.

Steve turned to Tony. "Help! Please- Tony, help him."

The man only shook his head and walked away and Steve broke down into sobs.

Bucky gave a bloodied smile, then a painful wheeze, before resting his head against his friend's shoulder. "'s okay.." His eyes went glassy and lost focused, but quickly returned once Steve gave him a desperate shake.

"Stay with me, pal..Til' the end of the line remember?" Steve croaked, tightening his grip on his best friend, who continued to cough out blood.

Bucky drew in another wheezy breath.

This is how Steve must have felt like when he had asthma.

"Til' the...end-" Bucky gasped. "Of the…" his hand slowly began to slacken, but he made an attempt to raise it up to Steve's face. "Line.." His fingers brushed Steve's cheek, before falling to his side, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Steve let out a half-choked sob and clutched his friend to his chest. Bucky was only unconscious, but without the Quinjet, which Tony had likely taken so they couldn't get back, they were stuck there.

Deciding it was late, and feeling hopelessly exhausted, Steve laid down. His eyes slipped shut and he fell asleep without realizing he would actually end up going into a coma.

When he awoke, he still felt terribly tired, but he felt sore as well, as if he hasn't moved in weeks. Blinking open his eyes, he noticed that he was in a hospital. Strangely, he felt weak. When he first let himself go unconscious, he felt fine. Bucky had been in worse shape.

How long was he out?

Once his vision adjusted, he could make out the white walls of a hospital and the steady beeping of the different medical devices stationed around him.

Slowly, but painfully, his head turned. He was half-surprised to see Bucky sitting in the chair next to him, half-asleep. As far as he could tell, Bucky looked fine, except for a few bandages around his torso and stitches in his lip and above his eyebrow.

The next breath he took in was a weak wheeze, which caught Bucky's attention.

A relieved sigh and half-choked sob escaped him as he realized his friend was awake. "Steve! Oh thank god.." He instantly reached down and hugged him the best he could.

Steve gave a weak smile. "Hey, Buck..how long was I out?"

Bucky sighed. "About 3 months. Took me about 2 to completely recover."

Steve blinked. "Oh.."

"Hey, it's alright though. We're both fine."

Steve then asked the question that had been bothering him, pretty much, all day. "I thought you were way worse off than me..Yet you recover before I do. What the hell happened?"

Bucky fidgeted a bit. "Well, we both had pretty bad internal damage, so apparently we both got put into comas from what I heard. You took longer to wake up..Scared the living hell out of me."

Steve winced. "Sorry.."

Bucky gave a soft smile. "I'm fine. Just glad you're okay."