Steve charged forward toward Thanos. A wave of the people who had been, "unsnapped," followed behind him. Just at that time, Thanos's army was sent forward, and the two sides ran toward each other.
Though, Steve was greatly relieved to have Bucky back. He could fight comfortably, knowing that his friend had returned.
He slammed his shield into one of the creatures' backs. He flipped over and kicked it to the ground, slamming the shield into its head.
Smiling with satisfaction, Steve quickly spun around to meet his next victim. He did practically the same thing, though this one was slightly more determined.
The battle raged. Explosions were set off all around them, the sound of colliding swords and screeching weapons roared in his ears.
Of course, he was beginning to become tired of fighting. As he was sure everyone was. But this battle was one that couldn't be lost. The fate of life depended on it. And Steve was determined to get them a winning victory.
At this point, he had taken out 3 more creatures and saw Tony fly over him, blasting one with his repulsors with ease.
Steve kicked one of them down and used his shield once again. Of course, it was half-shattered, but it still did the job quite accurately. And it was better than having nothing at all.
Though, it did sadden him to know he was likely going to lose the shield. There's a chance that the shield would likely not be in this condition anymore by the end of the battle. Especially not if Thanos slammed his weapon into it. Again.
Steve took a running leap, slamming the shield down into another creature's head, kicking another one down and doing the same as soon as he landed.
He sighed to himself as he looked around. He spotted Bucky aiming and shooting at something behind him, which, spiking curiosity and alarm, caused him to spin around. He barely had time to widen his eyes before he raised his broken shield and thankfully managed to block the creature's incoming attack. Steve raised his foot and kicked it to the ground.
The sound of a weapon colliding with his shield caused him to spin around, then stumble backward quickly. Thanos stood over him, likely attempting to break what was left of the poor shield so Steve had nothing to protect him.
The shattered shield fell from Steve's grip, and Thanos's weapon met the side of his leg. He yelled out in pain and slammed his fist into the titan's head.
Thanks to his super-soldier strength, he managed to get Thanos to stumble backward. Tony and Sam, along with Rhodey, flew by to distract him, which also worked.
Steve took a step backward and tumbled to the ground, wincing as he struggled to lift himself off of the debris-covered ground. Blood steadily flowed down the wound from his leg. It was pretty deep, by the looks of it.
Footsteps echoed behind him and he turned to see Bucky walking toward him swiftly. He took a quick glance around before he knelt down next to his injured friend and set the gun down. "Hey.." Steve muttered, albeit painfully.
"Hey," Bucky replied softly. He glanced down at the wound on his friend's leg and grimaced. "Geesh, Steve.."
Steve gave a low chuckle and shook his head. "Yea- Ouch!"
"Sorry!" Bucky threw his hands in the air quickly. "But wounds hurt. Especially those caused by giant, sharp ass blades like the one Thanos has right now. And the one that could shatter vibranium like glass."
Steve knew his friend had a point. Bucky helped him get back to his feet so that they could retreat to somewhere safer. Unfortunately, Steve didn't see Thanos sneaking up from behind them, aiming the blade right at his back, until he suddenly looked behind him a few seconds later and let out a surprised yelp as the blade left Thanos's grip.
Bucky spun around, eyes narrowing as he shoved Steve out of the way. Unfortunately, that meant the blade had ended up striking Bucky instead. The bloody wound stretched from his stomach, almost up to his collarbone.
Thanos smiled anyway, and Steve instantly jumped to his feet, watching as Bucky threw the bloodied blade to the ground and gasped.
He stumbled toward Steve and fell into his arms, grabbing his shoulders tightly to stay upright. Steve swallowed painfully, shaking. The tears started flowing. "B-Buck-"
Bucky shakily lifted one of his hands and wiped some of the tears away from his friend's face. "It-It's okay..It's-" He let out a strangled gasp, followed by a pained moan as his legs turned to jelly. Steve lowered both of them to the ground and cradled Bucky against his chest. His hand flew to try to put pressure on the rapidly bleeding wound, but he knew it would prove useless. His hand came away stained with dark, red blood.
His eyes widened in horror and he looked back down toward Bucky's pale face. "N-No...I just-I just got you back."
Bucky coughed violently, small specs of blood flying from his lips. His glassy eyes drifted over slowly to meet Steve's. "'m sorry.." He breathed, hand twitching.
"No. It's okay," Steve said quickly. "God, don't apologize. Please.."
Bucky's hand lifted up, trembling badly, but still reached out for Steve's and managed to grasp it. He squeezed the tightest he could. Steve's hand instantly squeezed back in return. Bucky's gaze didn't leave his friend's face. "Are…" He took in a strangled breath and swallowed, a tear running freely down his face. "Are you okay..?"
Steve blinked at him twice. "Physically, yes. Mentally-" He let out a choked sob and lowered his head. "Hell no.."
Bucky raised his other hand and cupped the side of Steve's face. It was enough to make his friend look up, eyes bloodshot and tears streaking his face. He was about to tell Steve that it was okay, but he knew that that'd be a lie. He didn't know how things would turn out, he only knew that he was probably gonna die.
Bucky's expression softened after a slight grimace. Though hard, he wrapped his arms around his friend's torso and buried his head into his chest. Steve returned the embrace, resting his head on his shoulder.
His breathing came in struggled gasps now. It started to slow every minute that passed. Steve's suit was drenched in blood, which made Bucky's heart clench knowing that Steve would likely make himself suffer for this.
"Steve…" Bucky gasped, body shuddering slightly in his friend's grasp.
"Yea?" came the choked out reply.
Bucky swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled himself back slightly to look up pleadingly at his friend. "This...isn't your..fault.." He managed to force out. "P-Please don't...don't-" He felt darkness tugging at him, but he couldn't go yet. His breathing became quicker and more heavier as he gripped Steve's arm like a lifeline, eyes wide.
"Don't…" He pulled in a strangled breath. "Don't hurt…yourself.." He felt himself slipping away, metal hand gripping Steve's own tightly. "Please.." he breathed out hoarsely.
Steve just lowered his head and cried. "Bucky, please- Don't do this to me- BUCKY!"
The last thing he heard was Steve's panicked yells as he was swallowed into darkness.
Steve lifted his friend's body against his chest and sobbed. He could sense that people were watching, but didn't care anymore. He heard footsteps nearing him and he didn't even have to look up to know that it was Sam.
"Hey, man.." Sam sounded a bit choked-up as well. He placed a hand on his grieving friend's shoulder.
Steve still refused to look up. "I couldn't- I couldn't save him.."
"Hey. It wasn't your fault. He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this."
Steve knew, inside his stubborn mind, that Sam was right. But he finally laid Bucky gently onto the ground and looked up at Sam.
"God, man..I'm sorry," Sam pulled his friend into an embrace. Sobs shook Steve's large frame as he shut his eyes tightly and buried his head into his friend's shoulder.
Sam rubbed his friend's back. "I know how it feels.." A few tears escaped from his face at remembering Riley.
Steve could only nod jerkily in reply.
