"He loves me."

"I will protect him."

"Thanos cannot win."

Those are the only phrases we can get out of Wanda before she and Vision leave. I can't read her; she walls me off completely. And it hurts. It hurts more than I ever expected it to. The day she leaves…there's something in her eyes that guts me. After everything we had been through…the woman who was never afraid of me, who fought for me, who healed me…gone.

"There's no way she's happy," Sam says as we watch them go.

"She's not," Romanoff replies.

"Then why-"

"She needs to feel loved and needed."

"We love and need her," Steve argues.

"Not like that."

"I still don't get why Vision wanted to leave," Sam says. "He's safe here."

Romanoff smirks a bit, looking over at me. "Because he wanted Wanda away from Barnes."

What? A wave of confusion washes over me. "Why?"

"Competition."

"Bucky and Wanda aren't together, though," Steve says.

Her response is cryptic. "Not officially, no." And that's all she'll say.

I turn it over in my mind for days. Wanda and I were close; we couldn't not be after she spent so much time in my head. She knew literally everything about me, and I had learned a fair amount about her along the way. We sparred together and cooked together and learned from each other. When Vision had come to the compound, I wasn't happy. But I accepted her splitting her time between us because I respected that friendship. No, actually, I just respected her. Vision… he'd never liked me and he made that pretty clear. He thought I was dangerous, even though she'd healed me. He tried to pull her away, to keep her attention on him. He was selfish.

Right?

I think I'm right. It's hard to trust my mind some days; I didn't know it was even possible to miss her as much as I do. I see her everywhere. In the gym moving weights around or sparring across from me. In the kitchen stirring sauce in a pot, holding out a spoon for me to taste. In the yard with her hair shining in the sun. In the common room next to me on the couch, laughing at some stupid show. On the roof next to me watching the stars. On the edge of my bed when I had a nightmare, smoothing my hair back, telling me it's okay; I'm safe now.

Some days I swear I can feel her in my mind calling out to me, asking for help, feeling the same deep loneliness I feel. But that's crazy; she couldn't enter my mind from afar. I just miss her, and I'm hallucinating.

Right?

The day Steve gets a message from Dr. Banner that Thanos has the Power and Space Stones and is on his way to Earth, he, Sam, Romanoff, and I head to Edinburgh to warn Wanda and Vision. We get there just in time; Thanos' minions are attacking and Vision's hurt.

The relief on Wanda's face cracks my heart; she looks exhausted. She's still fighting, but I'm by her side. I won't let them hurt her anymore. I should have been here sooner.

"Wanda," Vision says once the battle has ended. "You need to destroy the Stone before Thanos gets it."

Her eyes instantly fill with tears. "That means destroying you."

"That's unacceptable," Steve says. "I won't allow it."

"There is no other way," Vision says, reaching out for Wanda. "You love me, don't you?"

There's something in his tone I don't like; I've heard it before from people used to getting their way. Something isn't right.

"We'll go to Wakanda," Steve says. "I'm sure they have the technology to help us."

I watch Wanda carefully on the trip and can't shake the feeling that something is horribly wrong. Her actions with him seem off. Automatic. More like training than an actual desire to be close. When her eyes meet mine, there's a deep sadness there, one I haven't seen since I first met her.

"What did you do to her?" I demand while Wanda is talking to Steve.

"I have no idea what you are referring to," Vision replies.

"That's not Wanda. She looks…" I can't find words to describe her. "She's not the Wanda I know."

"Precisely."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She will never love you. I have made sure of that."

"What are you talking about?"

"The bond the two of you once had will never be repaired. The only love she will know is mine. I gave her what she needed, and she will not heal from my inevitable death. You will have lost."

I look at Wanda, trying to force my anger back down. I can't lose control now. "I was never trying to win."

"That is a lie."

"She's not a prize; she's a person."

"Is she? After all the experimentation…"

That's it. Sam interrupts before I can swing. "We're here."

Wakanda is pretty amazing, not going to lie. The awe I feel distracts me, if only for a moment. T'Challa takes us to meet his sister, Shuri; she's apparently the brains behind a lot of the science here.

It isn't long before Okoye, T'Challa's general, comes rushing into the room. "My king, we are under attack."

Steve looks at Wanda, whose hands are glowing. "I will protect them."

The rest of us head to the battlefield. Thanos' army is huge, way bigger than I expected. But T'Challa's army is holding them off, walling them out. Anything to buy Shuri time.

It works. For a while. They eventually get through and we're missing half the Avengers. I wonder if they're even still alive.

I have to think of something else. The images of Wanda dying that have been plaguing my nightmares swirl through my head. I hold the image of her determination the day she finally deprogrammed me in my mind's eye and fight harder. I have to protect her.

I fail. We all do. Wanda's scream pierces my heart and I turn just in time to see Thanos pulling the Stone from Vision's head. Her counterattack fails; Thanos throws her back onto the ground. Thor fails even worse, and the snap echoes across the battlefield.

Wanda's eyes meet mine and I start running toward her, but stop short when I see her body disintegrating. Nausea rocks my stomach and I fall, only to see that my own hands and legs are disintegrating as well. We all are.

I'm never going to see Wanda again.

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is Sam's face. "Hey, sleepyhead."

I sit up slowly. My body feels weird. "Where are we?"

Sam shrugs, gesturing to the mist around us. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Where's Wanda?"

"You're the only person I've found."

My chest tightens. Of course. I was stupid to think we'd see each other again.

"I still can't believe freaking Thanos got all the Stones. I thought once Wanda'd destroyed the one in Vision's head, we'd won."

"I wonder if anyone actually didn't get disintegrated," I say as we pick a random direction.

"I think Steve said Thanos only wanted to snap half the population, so maybe."

Maybe. Maybe doesn't get us out of here.

I have Wanda in my mind's eye as we walk. The way we'd cooked together, her laugh the first time I'd tasted her spicy curry and downed a glass of milk after. The way she'd held onto my head, gently but firmly, as she deprogrammed me, and knew when to push and when I needed a break. The fierceness in her voice when she'd defended me from Steve's insistence she manipulate my mind.

I can feel her. She's in the mist somewhere.

My breath catches in my throat when I hear Wanda yell, "Peter said you voluntarily relinquished the Time Stone to Thanos to save Tony Stark. You and I were the best chance to defeat Thanos; how could you do that?!"

To his credit, the man in the red cape she's yelling at is calm. "I used my power to look at millions of possible futures. In only one did Thanos lose. In that scenario, Tony Stark was alive."

"So you know how everything ends."

"Yes."

"Tell us then."

"If I tell you, it will not happen."

Her hand goes to his head, scarlet glowing, but he blocks her. "I will not risk what we have worked for so far."

"I've lost everything!"

His eyes shift to me. "Not everything."

I brace for her blue eyes piercing me, for the feelings, but she doesn't even turn my way.

"You had better be correct."

"I am."

They stare at each other for a long time; she's trying to figure out if he's telling the truth. I know that look.

"If we do not leave this realm…"

He holds her gaze. I have no idea how. "We will."

My eyes meet Wanda's, my heart skipping several beats. She's here. She's really here. I open my mouth to speak, but am interrupted by a wave of nausea. Our limbs disintegrating again.

"It is time!" the man in the cape, Strange's, voice booms over the chaos. "We are going home! To fight!"

All I see are glowing portals. Wanda is to my right and Sam is to my left as we step through. The next thing I see is armies. Thanos' on one side; all of us stepping out of portals on the other. The Wakandan war cry echoes off the rubble.

We fight.

I try to stay near Wanda, but Strange needs her. Their powers together are terrifyingly strong and I'm glad to be on the same side. I focus on the enemies in front of me, but see flashes of scarlet and gold in my periphery. The only time I lose my concentration is at her yell and see her subduing Thanos. The more he struggles, the more she pushes. It isn't until the ships from above start firing that she's thrown back into Peter's arms.

Chaos reigns. The sorcerers create glowing umbrellas to protect us from the firepower. Both sides are still fighting. Wanda joins the intense game of Keep the Gauntlet away from Thanos while a blonde woman flies above, destroying Thanos' ships. I can't tell if we're winning.

Then…a loud, echoing snap. I brace myself for another disintegration, but this time it's Thanos and his army disintegrating. It's over.

I look around for Wanda and finally find her bright hair across the battlefield. She's siting with people I don't recognize and holding what looks like Peter in her arms. I can hear his sobs from here.

"Tony is dead," Steve says, his voice soft. "He sacrificed himself to save all of us."

I hate the guy, but I still feel a pang in my chest. Without Stark, we wouldn't have escaped the mist. Plus, he was an Avenger.

"Everyone else survived," Strange, who had appeared out of nowhere, says.

"Is this the future you saw?" Steve asks.

"Yes."

"Nat and Tony gone…" He trails off. I see his Adam's apple bob in his throat. "For once, I'm at a loss for what to do."

"You know what we must do," Strange replies.

Steve sighs. "I know."

All the Avengers and Guardians assemble one more time for Stark's funeral. Wanda stands between Sam and me, her eyes on Peter, who's standing with a woman she tells me is his aunt, and Stark's daughter. I have a feeling her tears are more for them than for him.

I'm watching Steve. Something's been on his mind, but he's kept it close to his chest. When he asks me if we can talk after the funeral, I'm not surprised. I am surprised when he says, "I've decided to take Tony's advice and live my life."

"Okay…"

"When I return to the past to take the Infinity Stones back to where we took them, I'm going to Peggy. I saw her; I need her. I can't lose her again. I want to live that life with her."

"So you aren't coming back."

"I don't want to miss out on the life I should have had."

"What about me? Sam? The Avengers?" So much for together 'till the end of the line.

"You can come back too. You can live your life too! We're not from this time and we could make it right!"

I hadn't even thought of that. All I'd ever wanted was to just live my life, and now I have that chance.

Sam and Wanda aren't happy to hear our plan. They're both disappointed and supportive. They hug us for a long time but can't bring themselves to watch us leave. Sam's arm is around Wanda as they say their good-byes and walk away.

Steve hands me a crystal once they're gone. "Ready?"

I'm never going to see Wanda again.

That thought nearly knocks me off my feet. I look at the crystal in my hand and all I can see is Wanda's face. In that moment, I realize there isn't anything for me in my timeline. Everything I want is right here, with my best friend, the woman I love who saved my life, and the family I created. Steve's always been my best friend, but Wanda had gotten even closer to me through all the deprogramming and our shared history. She knows me better than I know myself, and I have a feeling I know her almost as well. I can't lose that connection.

"I…I can't do it."

Steve isn't surprised. "Honestly, I never expected you to say yes. I know you love Wanda. It's so painfully obvious."

That makes me smile. "As painfully obvious as you and Peggy?"

Steve swats at me, then pulls me in for a hug. "Take care of yourself. Take care of her."

"You too."

I'm not sure where to go. I know Wanda, Sam, Rhodes, Scott, and Hope are moving back into the Avengers compound. They want to keep up their training, and Wanda is taking over Romanoff's duties to serve as a point of contact for the Guardians and the blonde from the battle, Carol Danvers.

I want so badly to go to the compound, but I'm also terrified. How can I explain why I stayed? What if I'm wrong? What if she doesn't love me?

"Wanda, what is love?" Vision asks.

"Well, you have the love the Avengers have for each other, that we will fight for each other and protect each other no matter what, even at the cost of our own lives."

"What about the love in the movies?"

"Romantic love. It is when you have to smile when you look at the person; even just being near them makes your heart beat a little faster, your mouth become a little dry. You cannot see a day without them by your side. You notice the little things about them, like the way they hide behind their hair when they are upset or drum their fingers when they are thinking. It is the way them saying your name sends shivers down your spine."

I look up sharply, my heart pounding. Wait. Is she talking about-

"The way they hold you when you have had a nightmare and do not care that you have woken them for the hundredth time screaming in your sleep. The way they look at you when you spar together, a mix of admiration and determination to finally win, even though they never do. You love even the parts of them that they hide, the parts they do not love about themselves."

Now Sam looks up too. "Huh. Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

He shoots me a meaningful look. "It's almost as though she's talking about someone she knows."

I can't believe I'm knocking on the Sanctum door right now. I also can't believe Strange doesn't look at all surprised to see me. "Sergeant Bucky Barnes. What can I do for you?"

"I know we barely know each other, but I was wondering if I could stay here for a little while. I-I just need to figure some things out."

He has that arrogant, all-knowing smirk on his face. "Come in. I am actually going to the Avengers compound to visit Wanda at the end of the week."

My chest tightens. I should have known. Strange is on Wanda's level; they both have strong sorcerer's powers. I have no powers. I'm nowhere near her level.

A pit grows in my stomach as I sit out in the meditation garden at the end of the week. Strange has been gone a long time and every awful scenario I can think of plays through my mind.

"You should return to the compound."

I jump. I hadn't heard Strange walk up behind me. Though I guess he could have used a portal. I hate when he does that too.

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard you," I finally say.

"Good. Go."

Fear snakes it way up my spine. "Now?"

"Now. I'll even create a portal for you."

I'm shaking as I step through the portal and up to the compound door.

When Sam opens the door, the anger that immediately sparks in his eyes terrifying. "What are you doing here?"

I step back, ashamed. "I decided not to go back."

"Clearly. Where the hell have you been then?"

"I hid in the Sanctum. I didn't know how to face her. When I-" I break off, swallowing hard. "When I looked down at that crystal in my hand, all I could see was her. I couldn't leave after that."

"You broke her fucking heart, Bucky. She thought you cared about her."

I hang my head, my hair falling into my face. "I do. More than anything. When we were in that mist…I've never been so connected to anyone in my life."

"Do you know why she stayed in Edinburgh?"

I shake my head.

"Vision had her convinced of two things." He taps his fingers. "One, that Thanos would kill him if she left and his death and the deaths of everyone else she loved would be her fault. Two, that you used her to fix yourself and never actually cared about her or loved her. And then you went and fucking proved him right!"

"I-"

"Do you have any idea how much I hate watching her cry? Or calling herself stupid? Or asking what she did wrong? She loves you. You mean everything to her."

"Please stop," I beg. I can't stop the tears. My chest hurts like hell. "I never wanted to hurt her."

What I would give to hold her right now…

Sam finally relents, turning around and calling down the hall. "Wanda! We have company!"

I'm terrified when Wanda steps into the hall behind him. Her eyes widen and I watch her pinch her hand, clearly trying to make sure she's not hallucinating.

Sam throws us a bone. "So you decided to stay in this timeline?"

I nod, my eyes still on Wanda. "I realized I have more here than I ever did there."

She smiles. "Welcome home."

I breathe a sigh of relief. She wants me here. She really wants me here.

Falling back into routine is so easy; it's like I never left. I move back into the room next to hers, the adjourning door always unlocked. In the morning, I punch the bag and she moves weights around the room while we wait for group training. On weekends, we're outside. Baseball games, basketball, lying around enjoying the sun. We still cook together on our nights, trying out as many new flavors and recipes as we can. We sit across from each other at dinner and game nights, and next to each other for TV and movies. We climb onto the roof almost every night and enjoy the breeze and talk.

Her guard comes down the more we talk. I finally find out she did actually call out for me but wasn't aware she was doing it. I apologize for not being there sooner; she apologizes for losing faith in me. We both apologize for leaving and I promise to be the one person in her life who will never leave her.

I'm not sure if she believes me.

She turns so we're sitting knee to knee, the position we had first taken during deprogramming and continued since whenever we have important conversations.

"Why did you decide to stay?"

My breath catches in my throat when her eyes meet mine. She is so breathtakingly beautiful.

"When you were deprogramming me, I knew our minds were connected. I didn't realize how connected we were until we were separated." I shake my head, smiling. "I found you in the mist because I could feel you. I walked toward you. During battle, I knew where you were at all times. Even in normal times, I find myself drifting toward you."

"I feel the same way about you. I am far more attuned to you and your mind and your emotions than anyone else."

"I had every intention of going back. I didn't want to lose Steve again. But…" I reach out and take one of her hands in both of mine, trying to steady myself. "The thought of never seeing you again almost knocked me off my feet. Even the short time we weren't together in the mist hurt like hell."

She reaches up, brushing a strand of hair away from my eyes, keeping her hand on my face.

I nuzzle my face against her hand, automatically, tears filling my eyes. I never thought we'd be this close again. "I realized I never want to live in a world without you in it."

Her hand on my face is so familiar. It feels so good. She waits, not speaking.

I put both my hands on her temples. I'm so emotionally drained.

She takes my cue, holding onto my head too.

I brace for the intrusion I've felt a hundred times before, the gentle rearranging of my thoughts. It's an oddly calming sensation as she goes deeper and deeper. No resistance. I'm all hers.

When she returns to present, her gaze into my eyes is the most intense I've ever felt. It's hard to calm my body. "You love me."

"I love you more than I've ever loved anyone," I admit.

"I was so worried my feelings were unrequited."

I drop my hands from her head, lightly touching her face. "Never. It's never just been you."

She leans into me, resting her head against my chest. "I love you too. More than anything."

My breath catches again as I hold her close, kissing the top of her head. I never thought I would hear those words from her either.

I am so happy I decided to stay.