Steve struck the ground with great force. What would usually come out as a broken bone for most, came out only a simple bruise on Steve's legs and arms.

Him and Bucky were both dealing with their own separate groups of Hydra agents. Well, the ones who remained anyway. Some chose to grip onto Hydra like a life-line, attempting to keep it alive and prevent it from disappearing from existence.

Steve swung his vibranium shield and struck an agent in the head. Most, if not all of them, were armed. Some with more heavy weaponry than others.

That agent collapsed to the ground in a heap, motionless. Unfortunately, they weren't dead. Steve would have loved to get revenge for what they had done to Bucky, but he knew that wasn't the right path to go down.

A gunshot fired, but the bullet was blocked effortlessly by his shield, simply bouncing off of it like a small pebble.

He spun around, kicking his legs in mid-air and sending 2 agents to the ground. Once he landed, he swung his fist and did the same to another. Bucky, he noticed, was holding his own pretty well. He watched at times as his metal arm collided with their enemies.

Steve grinned, continuing to focus on his own work upon knowing Bucky would be able to hold his own. He's been worried about him ever since Bucky began to stay with him more. There were times where he'd disappear for days or even weeks at a time. The period of time he was gone decreased overtime, though.

An agent caught him by surprise and he was blown into the wall. Once again, for a normal human, this could have caused extensive internal injury, joined by multiple broken bones. But thanks to the super-soldier serum, Steve wasn't brought down so easily.

He jumped back into battle effortlessly, smiling in satisfaction as his shield knocked out more and more agents. Though, he was becoming increasingly frustrated at how many there were.

He stole another glance at Bucky. The number of agents he was dealing with had decreased to about 5. However, Steve was dealing with a whopping 15. Most, interestingly, were focused on him, and not his metal-armed friend, who had worked for them for 60-70 years.

"Perhaps they want a different text subject," Steve thought.

He chuckled to himself at the thought. Why would they need him? They clearly knew they wouldn't be able to break him without a fight, which he was quite skilled at.

Suddenly, his group of 15 agents soon turned to 18 when the rest of Bucky's had joined in with his. Now, bullets were flying toward Steve rapidly as he struggled to pull his shield up in time. A few bullets skimmed along his shoulder, legs, and arms, but it didn't cause incapacitative damage.

Bucky quickly ran over to assist him, distracting most of the other agents while Steve gathered himself.

"These guys never stop," He huffed. His shield left his hand and collided with about 3 agents, knocking them unconscious. It then flew back into his hand after its targets were down. But there was still many more to go, unfortunately.

Bucky didn't reply straight away, but Steve didn't miss the grin his friend flashed him as his fist connected with another agent.

Steve felt a slight pinch in his back, not realizing he had been shot for a moment, as it took a few moments for the pain to start setting in due to the adrenaline.

He continued to toss down agents, missing some. Since the bullet striking him left only a small sting, he didn't realize what had actually happened until Bucky pointed it out.

"Steve!" He shouted over the chaos, features showing concern. "You're bleeding!"

Steve was stuck in a state of confusion for a few moments. "I am?" He placed his hand on his back and it came away, stained with dark blood. It was difficult to hold back a grimace.

"Damn.."

Bucky winced slightly at the sight as well, but quickly continued to attempt taking down agents. There were about 6 left, all of them being extremely stubborn in giving up. This likely wouldn't end nicely. But when does it ever?

The pain began to set in. It didn't completely incapacitate Steve, but it made it more difficult to move without the pain beginning to increase.

Steve was struck to the ground, being left extremely vulnerable without his shield, which was laying about 30 feet away from him.

Damn it.

He swallowed, accepting his impending death. The pain that was now starting to radiate more heavily from his back prevented him from getting up on his own.

Most of the remaining agents were aiming at him. Steve closed his eyes just as the gunshots rang out. The pain he was expecting never came and he slowly opened his eyes.

His heart stopped.

Bucky had apparently thrown himself, protectively, in front of Steve. He took the majority of the bullets, though only a few had missed.

Steve's eyes widened.

NO!

"Bucky-" the man looked down at him, and Steve noticed, with growing horror, the blood beginning to run from his friend's mouth.

Bucky collapsed, dragging in large gasps of air.

Steve grunted, struggling to his hands and knees and then forcing himself to his feet. The sudden rush of adrenaline seemed to completely rid him of the pain he was feeling. He grabbed his shield and instantly began taking down the agents, not caring whether the damage he did was fatal or not. He did understand that this was pretty much revenge, but he didn't care anymore.

The last agent ran out of the building in fear. Steve just allowed him to leave.

Bucky was on the ground. His back arched from the waves of pain that wrecked his body.

"Bucky!" Steve gasped, crashing to his knees and pulling his injured friend into his arms. "Come on, Buck..stay with me. Come on."

Bucky's panicked gaze flickered around until it finally locked onto Steve's face. Bucky's hand reached toward and grabbed Steve's like a lifeline. "Steve-" He gasped.

Steve looked over all the wounds that Bucky had taken for him.

Dear god, he wasn't worth it. He wasn't-

"Buck.." Steve whispered miserably. A tear rolled down his cheek, but Bucky's hand reached up, fingers shaking, and wiped it away. He let out an exhausted breath, coughed a few times, and let his head fall against his friend's chest.

"Bucky.." Steve started, voice shaking with emotion. "Why did you- You should have just-" Bucky's hand reached out, quicker than he expected, and gripped Steve's arm. He noticed that Bucky was close to breaking down as well.

"No.." His voice trembled, similar to how Steve's did. "You were gonna-" He swallowed roughly, "You were gonna die.." He lowered his head, keeping his grip on Steve's arm as blood continued to drip from his mouth. "'couldn't let that...couldn't let that happen.." He breathed.

Steve simply shook his head. "I wasn't worth it.."

Bucky's gaze shot up and he raised his head. Steve noticed the tears flowing down his face. "You don't-" He gasped. "You don't really think that do you?"

Steve didn't reply. His head simply lowered.

He felt a hand brush against his face and looked up again. Bucky was still staring at him, eyes bloodshot and mouth slightly open, blood still dripping from it.

"Steve.." Bucky's voice was shaking again. "You're worth it..P-please don't say-" He gasped, back suddenly arching with another wave of pain. Steve put his hand to the back of his friend's neck and gently eased him up once it was over. Bucky pretty much collapsed against Steve, breathing shallow. He groaned.

"Steve.." Bucky said again, this time Steve noticed how close he was to crying.

He gasped, then coughed violently, burying his head into Steve's chest and beginning to shiver even more than he already was.

Bucky fought to stay conscious, his eyes glued to Steve's face.

"Y-You're okay..right?" He asked.

Steve nodded jerkily. "I'm fine, Buck.."

He noticed Bucky smile and let out a weak sigh. "Good.." He swallowed.

Steve suddenly stood up, gripping Bucky tightly in his arms. "I am not letting you die."

Bucky let out a low noise of protest. "Steve-!" He gasped, clutching the collar of Steve's shirt.

"I'm not letting you die for me," Steve said again, this time a bit harsher.

Bucky let out a small, heart-wrenched sob that Steve didn't even know he was capable of making. "I'm s-sorry.."

"Don't you dare be sorry, Bucky," Steve replied. "I should be the one being sorry."

Steve rushed out of the facility that they were in, being careful not to jostle up his friend too much. When he glanced down at him, he was pretty much curled up, as much as he could be in Steve's arms, against his chest.

It'll be fine.. He tried to reassure himself.

It'll be okay.