A/N: Sigh. I've had this stuck in my head for a while now, and I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to update any of my other fics until I get this one done. I have been working on my NCIS/Criminal Minds, but I'll admit that the new chapter is looking harder so far. So, I'm doing that thing where I write something else, hoping that my muse will stop procrastinating in the meantime. -_-

Summary and Notes: A lot of this will be a little bit obvious as things go along, but I wanted to get a few things out of the way just because. Obviously, this will take place during Avengers: Infinity War. This will be AU, considering the way things actually turned out. I always kind of wondered what would happen if it was a little different, Thanos wise. Two definitely important things...possibly a few more.

Tony and Steve will not be on terrific terms, but it isn't Civil War bad. It's more like a polite separation at this point but Tony's moved on.

Bucky has been with Steve for a good while now, along with the rest of the Rogues, as opposed to Steve just being with the others.

Steve will undoubtedly be more comfortable with technology by now, but as I'm not too sure about what SI tech is, it's going to be a kind of random thing sort of based on things seen in the Avengers.

Most importantly, this takes place before the first battle with Thanos (which will become more obvious later), but considering how things turn out it's kind of something that's important to remember.

To Everyone I Knew Before

Steve sat in his room, just waiting for what he knew was an inevitable battle with Thanos. He had a gut feeling that things weren't going to turn out well for him at least, and he had learned a long time ago to trust feelings like those. It had saved him several times, and the few times he had ignored it bad things had happened. Shaking the ominous feeling off for the moment, he wondered what he could possibly do about it. Knowing the threat that was coming was one thing, but knowing that he would probably not survive was something different. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he wanted to leave one last message if it did happen as he thought. With that in mind, he went to see the only person he thought could help him: Shuri. After describing what he had in mind along with the design, he looked at her and couldn't help but think that Tony would have probably liked her. She was smart, especially for someone her age, and could probably outsmart most of the geniuses he knew. It had taken a few days, but with her help, he had everything prepared and set in place where someone would be able to find them easily after the battle and give them to a specific person. It had been set up where it would scan the person and play it for them only. Call him paranoid, but maybe living in this time had just made him wary like that.

A/N: There are several people here who will survive that had been "snapped" during the battle with Thanos. So there's no need to remind me that I'm wrong about them being alive.

~After the battle~

Shuri sadly went towards the box that contained the last recordings and wondered how it was that he knew he wouldn't survive. So many people were gone now and it felt so quiet. She had seen several people that hadn't spoken since the battle a few days ago, but she had made a promise that if she survived she would give these to his friends. To his family. The last person she wanted to see was his best friend, who had secluded himself once more in a house far from the city. Seeing the state of the house, she understood why he needed to hear his friend's words to keep him from self-destructing. Seeing him in the corner of the room she quietly made her way over and set the box on one of the few things that had managed to stay upright. He looked up to see her opening the box with almost apathetic eyes. After taking out the first shield, she walked slowly towards him. It was a small shield, decorated like the original. The only difference was an inscription that read 'Til the end of the line' on the back. She had asked about it and he had just smiled, saying he'd know what it meant. Still, a little distance away, she held it in her hand and told him what he had to do to play the message before putting it on the floor. Closing the box, she started to walk away but paused.

"I was supposed to put something on the back. He said you'd understand what it meant."

Bucky flipped the miniature shield over and read it several times. Running his thumb over it, he nodded silently and she left him to listen to whatever his friend had to tell him. After he'd been scanned, a hologram of Steve came to life and smiled sadly.

"Hey, Buck. I suppose if you've gotten this that my instincts were right and I didn't make it. I've had this feeling for the past few days that I just couldn't shake. I know what you're thinking. 'Punk, you could've told me.' Well, I suppose that's true, but it wouldn't have made a difference. The last time I had a feeling this big was when you...well, I never could really get past thinking it was my fault. I think part of me still thinks I should've tried harder to look for you since I couldn't get rid of that feeling." Steve said with a haunted and yet extremely sad look in his eyes.

Bucky shook his head. It was just like him to blame himself for something like that. He always knew that he had blamed himself, just never this much. Before he could think too much about it, he heard Steve continue.

"I know you're going to feel lost and alone, Buck. I felt the same way for a long time. I want you to try and maybe help Natasha or one of the others, but especially Nat. I have a feeling that she'll need a friend at the end of all of this, and the two of you should get along just fine. I know you'll probably be trying to wonder what you did wrong, just like I did. So, that's my one last piece of advice, jerk. Leave the stupid behind and go with Nat or someone. 'Til the end of the line, right?" Steve finished, smirking at his friend before disappearing once more.

Bucky shook his head, smiling slightly. That punk always did like making sure everyone else was happy no matter what. Standing up, he put the device back in his pocket and walked out the door as Shuri had without looking back.

Til the end of the line, indeed.

Shuri had to repeat the process with Thor, Natasha, and Bruce. She made the decision to leave the box with Natasha, along with the rest of the shields that were still inside. They all had different designs, each one designed for a specific person. Natasha's had a picture of something looking like an hourglass; while Thor's looked like his old hammer, Mjolnir. Bruce, she had discovered, was one of the more difficult ones to design since the design couldn't be decided on for a while. In the end, they went for a more science-related theme, as opposed to his alter ego, Hulk. Puzzling enough, he had also had one made for Tony. She left, feeling a little lighter now that the burden was lifted off of her shoulders. She could tell by the sad look in his eyes before the Captain had left how sorry he was to have done this, but they both knew how necessary it was for everyone.

Natasha sighed as she looked at the seemingly innocent box, full of messages that Steve had left for all of them and she didn't have the energy to even touch it yet. After Shuri had left the box with her, Natasha knew that it was her responsibility to sort it out. She knew that she owed it to him, feeling like this was one last message and being given standing orders that he had known she would follow through with. As an interesting enough twist, she was surprised that Barnes had silently come to the compound. He was like a ghost most days, robotically doing things during the day and masking the hole left when Steve…left. She wasn't that much better, she knew, but it was obvious he would probably never recover fully from this. Steve had been his best friend, whereas she had only known him as a close friend for several years.

At first, she wasn't quite how to take him deciding to follow her back. However, after hearing that Steve had apparently told him as a last wish for him. After all, what could she really say to that?

She shook her head and remembered Barnes' fond and yet small smile, even if it was always forced. Apparently, Steve just didn't want him going into seclusion again and thought that was inevitable he would. In a way, it was the last act as his best friend that made him feel almost human. Looking at the box again, she knew that she couldn't put it off forever and needed to get them handed out and then listen to the message she herself was given.

A/N: I think that I'm going to do the different people in more or less as one-shots. This was just an idea that wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to write about something I'd never tried before. I'm more of a DC person with some characters, but I am already writing some things in that universe. Alas, this might not be complete for a while, merely because it is a little taxing to write. The last two Avengers movies will always be a difficult thing to write about, I think.