Chapter 75: Sharp Relief

December 11, 1943

God, it was so nice to be drunk again. Well, perhaps drunk was a strong word for it, but Bucky was somewhere between that and buzzed and feeling as good as one could after spending months stuck in a Hydra cell, walking one hundred and twenty kilometers back to allied ground, and then getting shot down by a hot thing in a red dress. He'd finished his drink and got another before deciding no, what he really needed was a cigarette, and stepping out into the cold December air and lighting up.

"Figured I'd catch you out here eventually. Predictable." came a familiar voice. He turned, lit cigarette in hand and hot air in his lungs, expecting to find the massive, new-and-improved Steve Rogers. Instead, he was met with the Steve he originally expected the first time around, still scrawny but looking a little more alive than he used to. Bucky blinked a few times, trying to make sure his mind wasn't playing any tricks on him. What was in this drink? Or this cigarette? Steve, true to form, laughed at the dumb expression. "Don't worry, you're not seein' things."

"Are you my Ghost of Christmas Past? Thought I had a couple more weeks for that." he said, deciding the best way to handle this was to empty his glass. It had been years since they'd listened to the radio show, but he assumed Steve (or the Ghost of Steves Past) would know it. Steve smirked, and even with his alcohol-addled brain, Bucky started putting the pieces together. "Nah, you're still that asshole from Brooklyn. Though I have no doubt you'd come back as a ghost to haunt me, if you weren't too stubborn to die."

"I've missed you too, Buck." Steve said, still sitting idly on the bench. But he wasn't bent over like before, resting his elbows on his knees so he could get more air in his lungs, or to lessen the pain in his back. He rested against the back, one arm draped next to him and his ankle resting on the opposite knee. He couldn't sit like that before, it made his hip dislocate. Bucky took another drag from the cigarette, if only for something to do with his hands. Something was different, off. But not necessarily in a bad way.

"You gonna tell me what's going on or just wait for me to figure it out? Cause I'll tell ya, that's gonna take a while." he said, going and dropping down onto the opposite side of the bench. He heaved a heavy sigh, looking skyward for a long moment before turning back to his friend. "Please don't tell me you're gonna rip your face off this time. I don't think I could handle seeing anyone do that again."

"No, no faces under this one." Steve said with a laugh. He had a look on his face that Bucky couldn't quite decipher, but one thing was obvious: he was hiding something.

"So if you're not the Ghost of Christmas Past, then who are you?" Bucky prompted. Steve eyed him for a moment, as if weighing his response, and Bucky took another slow drag before blowing the smoke into the night air.

"Ghost of Christmas future, I guess." he finally said. Bucky stared at him, slack jawed, and waited for him to say he was kidding. But he stared at him with that same serious face that usually meant they were about to get into trouble for something.

"Well, shit." Bucky replied, flicking the butt of the cigarette into the street. "Tell me, how bad is it?"

Steve grimaced. "Pretty bad. But it all ends up alright, I guess." he said. Bucky could tell he was trying not to give too much away; Steve always thought he was so sneaky, but Bucky could always read him like a book.

"I dunno. Looks like you got the short end of the stick." he said, vaguely gesturing at him. Steve let out a huff of a laugh, almost amused, and shook his head.

"Yea, well, could be worse. Modern medicine is a beautiful thing." he countered. Bucky perked an eyebrow.

"Like, Howard Stark kind of modern?" he asked. He couldn't just straight up ask what year this Steve was coming from, or how he got there, or everything that had happened. But maybe he could figure out the gist of things. Steve smirked, still amused by some inside joke that Bucky wasn't involved in.

"You could say that. Better, though." he said cryptically. Bucky rolled his eyes at that; looks like in the future, Steve got a little bit better at holding his tongue.

"But not good enough for you to stay? Or are you coming back just to warn me not to eat the slop they serve in the kitchens? Oh God, don't tell me I die of food poisoning." he always knew alcohol made him ramble, and now he had a million curiosities to voice.

"No, you don't die of food poisoning. I came back…" he paused again, searching for his words. Bucky knew how the time travel thing worked, supposedly. He couldn't give too much away, otherwise it might alter shit he didn't know about. At least, that's how it was in the books the blonde from the library told him about. "Not sure why I came back, honestly."

"What're you running from?" he asked, and he could hear the annoyance in his own voice. It had been a long few months, and he was tired of beating around the bush with his best friend. At least, this version of his best friend, who was somehow the same as the guy inside the bar and also the guy he grew up with. But he could see the lines on his face, the fatigue in his eyes. He couldn't have been older than thirty-five, but he felt much older.

"Lots of life decisions." he said, not hesitating or denying. "Been through a lot of shit, and now I have to give up being who I've been for the past...well, a long time."

Bucky scoffed. "Bullshit. You'll always be who you are, whether you've got that ridiculous costume or not." he said. He wondered what could happen that was so bad that it would make even Steve question himself. "You're the most unapologetic person I ever met. So you got lost the muscles? Whatever. You'll find another way to be a pain in my ass, I'm sure. Assuming I'm still around. I'm still around, right?" He was suddenly very concerned about this fact. Was that why Steve came back? Because Bucky was dead, and he was trying to fix it?

"Yea, you're still around. You're too much of a stubborn ass to die." Steve said fondly, though Bucky could tell that he wasn't done with his statement. "But you've been through some shit. A lot of shit."

"Yea, well," Bucky let the statement hang, trying to figure out exactly where he wanted it to go. The extra drink was starting to hit him now, and the seriousness of the conversation was weighing on him. His fingers itched for another cigarette, but he didn't want to bother going back inside to bum another one off Morita. "How's it end? Am I happy, where you come from?"

A genuine smile then. "Yea, you are." he said softly. Another weight lifted from his shoulders, and he breathed a little easier. It was starting to get cold, sitting on the bench; why hadn't he brought a jacket?

"Well then, whatever I go through gets me there, right?" he asked, another question burning underneath: is it worth it? Steve considered him for a long time.

"Yes." he said shortly. Again, Bucky knew there were tons of details that he was leaving out, facts that he had to leave out. He took another deep breath, the cold air clearing his head.

"Then I guess it's settled. And I'll see you on the other side." he said. Steve shifted slightly, and Bucky realized he didn't have a big coat on; was he getting cold too?

"One last thing." he began, and Bucky turned slightly more towards him. "Clearly I gotta give up the shield, back in my time. You want it?"

The way he asked made Bucky immediately balk. "There's gotta be another choice." he said. Sure, he was a good soldier, a good sergeant - but Captain America? He didn't know about that.

"There is. But I figured I'd ask my oldest friend first." Steve said with a shrug. With no hesitation, Bucky shook his head.

"You already know the answer." he replied. "I appreciate the sentiment, but we both know I'm better suited for second in command. Someone's gotta watch your six, since you're too dumb to do it yourself."

"That's what I figured, but just thought I'd ask." Steve said. Loud laughter rang out from the bar, reminding them exactly where they were. Steve jerked his head towards it. "Go. Have fun. I'll see you later."

"How much later?" Bucky got in one last question, but Steve just smiled and leaned over to embrace him. Out of habit, Bucky hugged him back, though he was still confused. This Steve got up and gave him one last nod before stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking away. Bucky pushed himself to his feet, almost dropping the empty glass he'd forgotten was in his hand. By the time he wrangled it, Steve was gone, as if he'd never been there.

He stared into the darkness, trying to decide if he'd really seen Steve or just had a wonky response to this whiskey that was definitely not of Irish make. Or maybe it really was a ghost? But he hadn't given him any warnings. He decided it had to be a hallucination; after all, it wasn't the first one he'd had in recent memory. Whatever shit they'd injected into him was probably still fucking him up. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that he was cold, and the whole night was weird. Finally, Bucky just shook his head, deciding that he needed to consult the bottom of another glass about this, cause time travel? Seriously, Barnes? What was next, aliens?

…

Present Day

Heat. That was the first thing she felt.

Mika opened her eyes and was nearly blinded by the hot Wakanda sun. She groaned, feeling the pain in her ribs (were they broken?) and the ache all over the rest of her body. That's when she remembered the battle and the snap, and she shot up into a sitting position, ignoring the lightheadedness and trying to scramble to her feet, her sword in hand. Her leg gave out from a massive slash across the front of her thigh, but before she could fall, a metal hand grasped her arm and righted her.

"Take it easy." Bucky said, his voice raspy, as if he hadn't spoken in ages. She reached for his other hand and he helped her stand upright, both of them looking around and trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

"Where's Steve?" she asked. Hadn't he been right there? "And Thor, and-"

"You two know what the hell is going on?" a familiar voice sounded from the woods, and seconds later Sam limped out to join them. T'Challa soon followed him, and it was clear his senses were turned to eleven as he tried to figure everything out.

"Something is wrong." he said. Across the glade, Wanda was pulling herself to her feet, her head turning every which way. Mika knew she was looking for Vision, but had a sinking feeling that she would not find him.

"Brother?" a voice chimed over the comms. T'Challa held a finger to his ear, growing very still.

"Shuri?" he answered. Mika's heart rose; if anyone had answers, it would be Shuri. He immediately took off running towards the palace, moving at a superhuman pace. Mika had no desire to try and keep up with him, looking instead to Bucky and Sam.

"He's right. Something is definitely off." Bucky said, his eyes going to the skies. "Where are all the enemies?"

Mika was surprised she hadn't noticed earlier, but he was completely right. There had still been hundreds, maybe thousands of enemies whenever they'd answered Steve's distress call. But now, they were all gone - and Steve was too. What had they missed?

They didn't have time to ruminate on the question, because the air next to them began sparking, and the sprk began tearing the space into a circle. Bucky shoved Mika behind him and Sam cut in front of her as well, both of them training their guns on the Asian man that jumped through the portal, hands out in a show of peace.

"I mean you no harm! I come from Captain Rogers, and Dr. Strange." he said, his voice lightly accented. Dr. Strange...where had she heard that name before? She gripped her sword tightly, the nanites biting into her hand.

"And what exactly did Captain Rogers say?" Sam asked, not lowering his weapon. Mika's heart was slamming against her broken ribs; she had a bad feeling about this.

"The final battle for our universe is here." he said, making them all pause. They all knew this, that's why they were out in the middle of the Wakanda forest. Why was he talking like it was new? "Thanos and his army have landed in New York, attempting to gain control of the Infinity Stones to kill half the universe-"

"Yea, he already did that." Sam cut in, looking like he wondered where this guy had been hiding today. "And look how well it worked."

"The first snap was five years ago." the guy said, and it was their turn to feel dumb. Five years? They'd been asleep for five years? "And they were able to bring everyone back. But now he's trying to do it again. Please, I'm sure you can get answers to your questions later, but for now we must go."

Sam looked to Bucky and Mika, perking an eyebrow. Bucky saw no reason to think the man was lying, and if Bucky believed him, then so did Mika. Then, Sam grinned. "Let's go save their asses again."

The man opened a portal again, and this time instead of seeing some unnamed place, they saw a completely destroyed landscape. Was this really in New York? There were no buildings, no trees or plants, only a dark, post-apocalyptic battlefield with horrid, prowling aliens running amok. Sam grinned, flexing his metal wings, and Bucky chambered a round and gave her a nod.

"Hey Cap, on your left." Sam said, and once the portal was fully open, they walked (or flew) through, hearing the sounds of everyone they'd fought with before as they joined. They could see Steve in the distance, alone and so covered in grime that he nearly blended into the burnt rubble around him. But they could definitely see the relief on his face as one by one, they joined him. Far across the battlefield, the giant monster known as Thanos sat, arrogantly appraising them. Then, with a murmured sentiment of assemble that echoed across the entire world it seemed, the battle restarted.

In Wakanda, she'd been able to hear the pop-pop-pop of Bucky's gun and know where he was. But it wasn't just Wakanda anymore, and the melee was so incredible that Mika couldn't keep track. She steeled her resolve, gripped her sword, and jumped into the fray. It wouldn't do well to worry right now; they had to win this time. They wouldn't get a third chance. Every pain she had when she woke up was gone, the adrenaline masking it. She could feel every rapid beat of her heart as she went in, an unnatural energy filling her, helping her take down enemy after enemy. She thought they'd been fighting their hardest before, but it turned out she had at least one more level to rise to.

She saw a glint of gold and light in her peripheral vision, and it took her a moment to realize that she was actually seeing the gauntlet. Clint picked it up, his eyes looking across the battlefield. Mika followed his gaze to see a van with a large machine in the back of it; that must be where he was trying to get it. She was distracted by a guttural growl to her right, and turned just in time to dodge an alien and drive her sword into its side. By the time it fell with a weak cry, Clint no longer had the gauntlet; it was instead with T'Challa. Mika watched as something flew through the sky, knocking him off his feet and sending the gauntlet flying. Without hesitating, she took off running towards him. She didn't know what she was going to do when she got to him, but she would figure that out later.

T'Challa was up a half a beat after he'd been knocked down, scrambling towards the gauntlet. The ground underneath it rose, obeying the man in front of him that was trying to take it, but the Black Panther climbed it just as quickly and pulled it to him at the last moment. That's when Mika was close enough that she realized what she had to do.

"T'Challa!" she screeched, hopefully loud enough that he could hear her over the turmoil. His eyes snapped to hers, and she didn't stop her running. In fact, she picked up her speed, tapping her sword so that it crawled back into her gauntlet and holding her hands out in front of her. T'Challa read her mind, taking the gauntlet and flinging it towards her in a perfect spiral pass.

A thousand years ago, Mika had told Bucky that she'd played every sport when she was a kid. What she failed to mention was that her last year of school, she'd managed to make the all-county rugby team. She hadn't played since she went to university, saying that she was tired of getting tackled. But as the gauntlet hit her hands, she grabbed it and tucked it into her body, the old habits of fifteen years ago somehow coming back. She wasn't as fast as she used to be, but she was certainly stronger, and she was running like a bat out of hell. She only gave the world around her exactly as much attention as she needed to avoid anyone, cutting and dodging and ignoring every bit of pain as claws barely grazed her over and over. Then, just like rugby, someone grabbed onto her ankles, sending her flying towards the ground. Turns out, falling on a metal gauntlet (with broken ribs) was a little bit worse than falling on the rugby ball.

She looked down to see the ground had been the thing to grab her, her legs up to the knees encircled by craggy rock and dirt. It bit into her, but she could barely register the pain over her panic. She had to go, had to keep running. But she couldn't run if she didn't have her legs. She could see the man from earlier - the one that had stopped T'Challa - as he floated towards her, which was somehow much more ominous than walking or running. She looked everywhere for Bucky, but she couldn't see him in the throng, so she just started wildly kicking and shaking her legs in an effort to get free.

"Hey! Up here!" someone called. Someone young. Mika looked up to see the kid from the airport in Germany, swinging through the air toward her. She waited until the very last moment before raising the gauntlet over her head and throwing it straight up, collapsing in relief as his web grabbed it in midair and snapped it back to him. He moved with a speed that she could never match, and she looked up to realize that she was double lucky; the man who'd trapped her had shifted his attention to the Spiderkid, and had unwittingly set her free from her prison. She pushed to her feet and thought about going after the kid, but the lines of aliens closed behind him. Even if she wanted to help, she couldn't; she'd already lost him in the mess. She looked back around, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she could spot Bucky.

She could see the flash of his gun five thousand miles away, and started making her way over to it. For some reason she felt like she'd been away from him for ages, though it couldn't have been more than a half hour, and she suddenly felt the panicked need to be with him again. He almost seemed to read her mind, as she could see the flashes getting closer to her at a much faster rate than they should. She dropped her sword into body after body, fighting her way through until she could see his gun, and the glint of his arm, and finally his face. For one moment, the area around them was still, though the fight raged on in the distance, and he roughly pulled her to his chest, crushing her broken ribs. But she didn't need to breathe, she just needed to know he was safe.

"Stay close, yea?" he asked, unable to verbalize anything else. Somehow, this battle seemed much more important than the one before, but she wasn't going to think too hard about why. She nodded, her face in his neck, and she breathed in the hot, sweaty scent of him for just a moment before pulling back away.

"Let's get to it, Barnes." she said with as confident a grin as she could muster. As she said it, a shooting star shot through the sky, crashing through one of the ships. Everyone seemed to stop and watch, and it took a moment for Mika to realize that it wasn't a star or an asteroid, but a person. She flew with stunning power and accuracy, taking out her enemies without mercy or hesitation. She grabbed the gauntlet from a terrified Spiderkid, flying straight and true towards the van. Mika's breath caught as she watched; she was close, so close! They were going to win this!

Then, the van blew up.

Magic Star Girl was thrown back, colliding heavily with a large rock. They could hear the loud bang even from where they were standing, and the world seemed to slow down as the glinting gauntlet rolled from her grasp. They stood frozen as Thanos picked it up.

But Thor would not go down as easily this time, immediately challenging him with not one but both of his weapons. When his strength failed for a moment, Steve stepped in. He had no sign of his shield, but that wasn't going to stop him. Thanos shot his fist out at him, the lights of the Infinity Stones shining, and Steve stopped him with his bare hands. Mika's stomach clenched as she watched, her heart in her throat as she begged any deity that was listening to let Steve live. Slowly, a swirl of colors snaked out from Thanos' hand, circling around Steve with deliberate tendrils. Steve's silhouette seemed to shrink, and as the colors disappeared, he was flung backwards onto the ground. Thanos raised his hand again, and Mika could barely yell Steve's name before he was swinging it towards him.

Magic Star Girl stepped in then, blocking the punch in an incredible explosion of light that had them snapping their eyes shut and blocking them with her hands. When the light faded, they watched through white-spotted vision as she fought him, the only person who seemed to hold their own against the guy. But even she was taken down in a flash of purple. Their last defense, Iron Man, stepped up then. The blue light of his arc reactor shone like a beacon, and Thanos turned to him like a big, terrifying moth to a very small flame.

He did not last any longer than the others, but something was different when he pushed himself up on one knee. She could feel the arrogance rolling off Thanos in waves as he held up his gauntleted hand. But...something was missing. It wasn't shining like it was before, and when he snapped…

Nothing happened.

Tony raised his hand, the tell-tale glint of the stones coming off his palm. Mika's brow furrowed; he couldn't possibly think he could handle it, could he? He was just a human, like she was. Even with his massive suits of armor, there was no way he would survive this.

And yet, he snapped anyway.

For the first time since they arrived, everything was quiet. One by one, everyone who'd been part of Thanos' army turned to dust, their ashes blowing away in the breeze. He'd done it. They'd won. But as Bucky took her hand and tugged her towards the rest of the team, she realized that Tony had paid the ultimate price. He was leaning against a rock and barely breathing; a blonde woman was with him, holding his hand and speaking lowly. Mika had a lot of negative feelings towards Tony Stark after the situation a few years go, but they all melted away. She didn't know him well enough to know that the only thing he ever tried to do was protect everyone, but she did know that that's what he had done today. Tony Stark had nearly ruined her life, and now, he had saved it - along with everyone else's. Mika now owed him more than she could ever repay him.

One by one, they sank to one knee, watching as Tony took his final breath. A hero, surrounded by his supporters. Next to her, Steve - or at least, a smaller version of Steve - wheezed as he held himself up. He refused to stop looking, refused to dishonor the fallen hero by lowering his gaze. They stayed until the blonde woman finally pulled away, speaking softly to no one in particular. The nanites of Tony's suit rearranged into a slender coffin, and without looking at anyone else, she turned and walked away with Tony hovering behind her.

Steve collapsed into a seated position, coughing deeply. Bucky reached out and, in a habit that hadn't been acted on in decades, slapped his back to help him out. For a moment she thought the affection would break him, but he somehow stayed upright. She was used to Steve towering above her, but now he was small, like in...some picture. Where had she seen a picture of him before the serum?

"Alright there?" Bucky asked, and Steve nodded in response. He sat himself up a little taller, not that it helped his new stature at all. Mika took a moment to look around her, and realized that someone was missing.

"Steve, where's Natasha?" she asked. The look he gave her explained everything, and her whole body went numb. After everything they'd won today, there were still losses. Steve sighed; he wanted to tell everything, but now was not the time.

"C'mon, I've got a place in the city. And someone who's been waiting a very long time to see you."

…

"Remember, you have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternate realities." Dr. Banner said, setting up the time travel machine. Time travel, holy shit. When did Mika ever think time travel would be possible? "You know, clip all the branches."

He started to say something else, but Mika couldn't hear him from where she stood with Bucky. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"I miss her." she said softly, in Romanian so that no one besides her sister would understand what she said. Bucky didn't need to ask who she meant, and just held her tighter.

"I know." he murmured. It was hard enough to realize they'd lost five years, but to find out that one of her closest friends had died in order to bring everyone back? That was even worse. She didn't even get to say goodbye. Any time the team had gotten together, Natasha's absence was glaring and painful. It had been a whirlwind of a few days, between cleanup and setup and Tony's funeral. She hadn't gotten to process everything, and when she finally did...it was going to be ugly. Really ugly.

Steve stepped away, still a touch unfamiliar with his new - or rather, old - form. He still walked like Steve, and talked like Steve, he was just...smaller. She heard Sam offer to go with him and help, and heard as he turned him down. This was his job, and he was going to see it through. Besides, he had modern medicine on his side now.

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back." he said, stepping up to Bucky. Bucky grinned, letting go of Mika so he could embrace his friend.

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." he said. The way they talked made Mika realize that it was some sort of inside joke, and it made her heart swell to see them like this again. Maybe, after all this mess, they could return to some sort of normalcy. He turned to Mika next.

"Keep him in line." he said, hugging her as well. She laughed, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair now that he barely came above her chin. When he got to Nicoletta, there was a pause. He was still taller than her, but just barely. She put her hands on his cheeks and he leaned his forehead against hers, and Mika suddenly felt like she was invading on something very private; they'd gotten close over the past five years it seemed. Nicoletta said something to him in German, and he smiled when he said something in response before going and climbing up onto the platform. They watched as the machine warmed up, heard as Dr. Banner counted down. Her heart skipped a beat as the lights flashed and Steve disappeared.

"Huh." Bucky said, more to himself than anyone. Mika looked to find him thinking really hard about something, and had an inkling that something wasn't time travel.

"What?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. He blinked a few times, solving the problem.

"Nothing just...something I thought was a hallucination at the time. Turns out it was actually real." he said, sounding slightly surprised. Mika went to question him further, but was interrupted by Nicoletta's worried voice.

"Shouldn't he be back by now?" she asked, her hands clutched together over her heart. Dr. Banner was typing away at the control panel, trying to figure out what was happening.

"He'll be back." Bucky said, and his confidence was enough to make them pause. He looked to the lake; the bench had been empty before, but now a familiar blond man sat on it, the shield leaning against it. Nicoletta started to go to him but Bucky stopped her, turning to Sam and gesturing his head towards him. Sam hesitantly walked over, going to claim the spot next to him. Bucky took Mika's hand as Steve held up the shield, and then handed it over to Sam. He held it reverently, his face both hesitant and emboldened. Then, he slid his arm into the straps, adjusting so they fit him.

"Sad it isn't you?" Mika asked in Romanian, and Bucky shook his head, holding her hand tighter.

"No, it should be Sam. It was always supposed to be Sam." he said. He still only had a vague inkling of a memory, but of this he was sure. He turned to Mika, taking in the brown of her eyes, the freckles across her nose, the way she smiled softly at him. His heart still swelled with love every time she looked at him like that. "I'm happy. And I'm better suited as second in command."

Yay we're out of the soul stone! Everyone survived...maybe? Now we have to deal with the fallout! The good thing about Bucky being in like 8.4 seconds of Endgame was that we could get through it all in one chapter! When have I ever done anything in one chapter?

I really hope y'all liked the way this arc ended, please don't hesitate to give feedback! I love hearing from y'all, it fuels me haha.

I'm going to try my best and update over the next couple weeks, but I am traveling for the next two weekends so I may not be able to. Either way, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

-XM