Steve and Bucky made it onto the quinjet after the events in Siberia. They were now heading toward Wakanda, where T'Challa had offered them shelter.
They had seen Tony emerge from the bunker just as the aircraft lifted from the ground and flew off. Steve could easily see the large amount of anger on his face as he stared at them, suit crippled and broken from the blows Steve threw.
He did feel guilty..Tony was his friend, and he should have told him sooner. God damn it, he feels like such an idiot for not telling him.
To think all of this could have possibly been avoided if he had just straight-out told Tony, instead of waiting months, if not years, to tell him, just makes Steve feel even worse.
God, he already had enough on his mind.
He set the quinjet on autopilot as he went to check on Bucky. His face was paler than usual, which was likely due to the shock of losing his metal arm. Steve was unsure if Bucky felt it; if it felt like losing his flesh and blood arm all over again, but he did know that his friend was in pain,
"Hey.." He lowered himself next to him.
Bucky glanced up. He quickly replaced his pained grimace with a smile. "Hey…"
Steve's gaze drifted to the ground before he drew in a shaky sigh. "How are you holdin' up?"
Bucky shrugged. "Not bad.." He replied. "Looks like I'm one armed again," A shadow of a smile flickered across his face.
Steve didn't reply and then continued to stare at the ground. It must have been a while because once he looked back up, Bucky was eyeing him with a frown. "What's up?"
The super-soldier sighed and leaned back against the quinjet's wall. "If I would have just told Tony sooner..None of this wouldn't have happened."
When he didn't get a reply straight away, he continued. "My friends wouldn't be criminals..Tony possibly wouldn't have been this mad. You wouldn't have gotten injured.." He trailed off.
Bucky's flesh arm rested on Steve's shoulder. "You really need to stop beatin' yourself over things that ain't your fault, punk."
Steve only gave a soft chuckle and glanced down at the floor again. He then stood up and pat his friend's shoulder. "Get some rest, pal."
Bucky glared at him. "Only if you get some, too."
"I will," Steve promised as he headed back toward the front of the jet. Once everything was set, he retreated to the long bench opposite of Bucky's. It was long enough for him to lay down on, and wide enough for him hopefully not to roll off in the middle of the night.
When he glanced over, Bucky was already soundly asleep. His chest rose and fell with ease despite the ordeal both went through about an hour earlier.
He found himself to be more exhausted than he thought, and ended up falling asleep within a range of 5-15 minutes. Though, unfortunately, the dream wasn't pleasant.
Steve watched in horror, as Bucky was thrown over the side of the Siberian Bunker. Tony turned back toward him, helmet lifting up.
His face was bloodied and covered in bruises and cuts, but Steve could see the rage flowing through him. He stormed up and grabbed him tightly around the neck, choking him.
The scene shifted. They were on the quinjet, but Tony had come and, once again to his horror, opened the back of the aircraft and threw Bucky straight out.
"BUCKY!" Steve practically screamed until his voice was hoarse. "Bucky, no!" He stepped back as Tony neared him.
"Tony, please! I'm sorry..I should have told you sooner- I'm sorry, please-"
A metal gauntlet wrapped around his throat and squeezed. He was struggling to bring in air. Even so, it wasn't enough to satisfy his body's needs.
"P-Please-"
Steve jolted awake violently, gasping for precious air. He sighed in relief as he saw Bucky still asleep, and alive, opposite of him. Apparently, he had only been asleep for 2 hours, which was barely enough to satisfy his body's exhaustion. So instead, he just sat up, hands intertwined on his lap and head hanging low.
"Steve?"
The super-soldier's head jerked up to see Bucky rubbing his eyes tiredly. The man blinked sluggishly before his gaze rested on Steve.
Tears were staining the man's face, which gave Bucky no doubt that something was troubling him. His heart clenched at the sight. He got to his feet, walked the short distance across the aircraft, and sat down.
"Sorry.." Steve whispered miserably. "..for waking you.."
Bucky shook his head and placed his flesh arm on his friend's shoulder. "Don't be.. What's wrong?"
Steve shook his head as a pitifully weak smile crossed his features. "It's nothing.." The smile vanished. "Just a nightmare..have plenty of those. They don't bother me."
Bucky stared at his friend's bloodshot and tear-filled eyes. He definitely wasn't convinced. "Like hell they don't bother you. This one did. Talk to me."
The only response he got was a broken-down and stifled sob. Bucky's expression instantly fell and he wrapped his remaining arm around his friend and pulled him against his chest.
Steve's hands clenched desperately at the back of his vest. It took a few minutes for him to gather himself, but he spoke without moving from their embrace. "'s about Tony..and-" He swallowed and started to explain the details. "Threw you out of the side of the bunker...went up to attack me. Scene changed, he threw you out of the back of the quinjet..came up to choke me.."
Bucky instantly pulled back, remaining arm moving up to cup Steve's face. His thumb wiped away some stray tears. "Hey, hey.. None of that is your fault. Like I said before. And it was just a stupid dream. I'm still here, see? This ain't the touch of a dead man." His hand moved down to squeeze Steve's own, who returned the gesture. "He didn't throw me out of the bunker or the quinjet. Hell, he's not even here. You deactivated his suit."
Steve's eyes met Bucky's own. And Bucky felt his heart shatter at his friend's miserable and hopeless expression. He didn't say anything.
"It's going to be okay, Steve..I promise," Bucky gave him the warmest smile he could muster and pulled Steve in for another embrace.
Steve lowered his head onto Bucky's shoulder. It was a few minutes before he finally said something.
"I know.."
