Chapter 9
Love Hurts
Tony paced back and forth through his workshop, his head pounding. He ruffled his hair as he tried to focus and shot a quick glance towards the lifeless body that was still on the floor.
He had to get rid of it and he had to come up with a lie for what had happened and why the soldier was gone.
Wait, no, not a lie. It was just… bending the truth, just an innocent story to protect the one he loves and who will, in time, love him. It was all for the better. It was all for Steve.
'Sir,'
Tony looked up, being pulled from his thoughts by a mechanical voice. 'What Jarv?' he snapped.
'Captain Rogers Is moving towards your workshop, sir. He seems to be quite restless.'
'What?!' Tony shouted and cursed under his breath. He had to think of something and quick. 'J! Deploy Mark Seven and have Mark Thirteen on hold, now!'
Tony stood up straight, the Mark Three Iron-Man suit wrapping flawlessly around his body within seconds. God, it has been a long time since he felt the cold metal against his skin. He flinched as the mask hit his face roughly, now remembering that Mark Three was not yet 100% optimized. He opened his eyes and saw the second suit, Mark Seven, standing proudly in front of him.
'Mark Seven ready for orders, sir.' The AI spoke.
'I see, thanks.' Tony hastily walked over to the Soldier, the iron boots sounding loudly against the marble floor. 'Jarvis, open the closet for me will you?' he grabbed Bucky by his cold wrists and dragged him towards the large weapon closet. 'Fuck, this guy's heavy,' he muttered, using the strength of his suit to shove the body onto a pile of armory prototypes. 'J, close the door, now.'
'Certainly, sir.' J.A.R.V.I.S. did as he was told, hiding the soldier's cold body behind thick doors. 'Would you wish for me to tell Captain Rogers that you are currently unavailable?'
'Depends,' Tony sighed as he walked over to Mark Thirteen, his hands nervously clenching and unclenching as he stood in front of the shining machine. 'How long till he gets here?'
'It will take him an approximate two minutes and 12 seconds, sir.'
'That should be enough. Jarvis, set a timer for one minute, starting now.' Tony took a deep breath, his voice sharp as he spoke. 'Mark Seventeen, engage. Attack me, no weapons, Close Quarters Combat only.'
The dark grey suit lit up at Tony's command. It charged towards him at rapid speed, grabbed him tightly by his upper arm, causing the metal of Tony's suit to dent at its strong hold. Tony winced as he automatically fought back but he managed to restrain himself just enough to take some serious damage. He endured his creation's assault for a full minute, shouting at it to stop as the timer J.A.R.V.I.S. had set went off. With his suit now half torn and his body bloodied and bruised, he commanded the AI to send the Mark Seventeen back to its original station.
With whatever strength he had left, Tony limped out of his workshop and went up the stairs. He panted softly as his head throbbed, scoffing at himself as he realized he might have taken it slightly too far. Oh well, better safe than sorry.
Tony looked up, hearing the captain's bare feet tap against the cold marble floor in the distance. He took a deep breath and then shouted, 'Steve!'
'Tony?' The blond called out, frowning as he saw his friend in his all too familiar suit, or at least, what was left of it. 'Tony, have you seen-' Steve started but his heart seemed to stop beating for a second as he laid his eyes on the playboy. He ran towards him, catching the man just before he would fall to the ground. 'Tony, what happened?! Who did this?!' he asked desperately, already feeling Tony's warm blood sip through the cracks in his suit and onto his hands.
'Steve, I'm- I'm sorry,' Tony panted as he tried to get on his own two feet again. 'It's Bucky, I tried to stop him, but-' the playboy flinched, letting out a genuine cry as parts of his armor penetrated his skin.
'Wha… but- Bucky…?' Steve stammered as he tried to understand the words he just heard, his eyes shooting back at the playboy again as he heard him gasp. 'No, no, Tony, don't be sorry,' The blond said as he fought bravely against the tears that were stinging in his eyes. 'I'm the one who should apologize. I-I should never have asked Bucky to come here, I should have-!' He stopped himself from rambling by taking a deep shaking breath. 'Where's he now?'
'He ran off, I don't know where, he didn't say,' Tony let himself slumber in the captain's strong arms, his head resting against the man's chest. 'God, I'm so sorry Steve, I really didn't want to fight him. I-I'm so sorry.'
'That's okay, it's okay now.' Steve gave a nod and carefully placed the playboy on the floor, letting his back rest against the wall. 'I'm sorry Tony,' he whispered as he looked at his blood-stained hands and shirt. 'But I have to go after him.'
'…What?' Tony asked puzzled as the blond stood up. 'Steve, it's the middle of the night! It's dark and freezing, literally. Y-you can't go out now, you'll never find him!'
'I'll have to try,' Steve said as he turned his back towards the man. 'I'll be right back, Tony, I promise, I just- I have to find him.'
'Steve, wait!' Tony shouted but the captain was already out of sight before he could say anything else. He sighed deeply and let his head rest against the wall. 'Jarvis,' his voice was soft and weary. 'Make sure we can track him down.'
Steve stormed outside while putting on his coat, the fresh snow crackling underneath his heavy boots. He tried to look around, but the blizzard that was raging through the trees made it nearly impossible to see. He cursed and looked at the snow beneath his feet, gritting his teeth as he saw no footprints. It must have been the blizzard that had wiped the tracks, or so the captain thought.
'Bucky?!' His cry was hardly audible over the howling winds. 'BUCKY!' he shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping that, despite his better judgment, his boyfriend would respond.
Tears started to form in his eyes as the cold winds remained to be his only answer.
This could not be happening. Bucky could not leave, not now! Not now they finally talked, not now things finally seemed like they were getting better.
Steve took a step forward, wanting to go into the forest that surrounded the compound in pursuit of his boyfriend, but he flinched as the icy wind hit his face. He glared into the distance, gritted his teeth and started to run.
He shouted the soldier's name till his voice was hoarse. He ran till his legs could no longer carry him. he forced his body to keep moving at top speed till he heard his own heart beating loudly in his ears.
He searched, though the snow made it impossible to see. He shouted, though the winds made it seem like he was mute. He cried, though the cold made it feel like his tears froze directly to his skin.
'B-Bu-cky…' Steve panted heavily as he finally came to a stop and leaned against a tree. 'Please, please I beg of you,' he looked at his numb fingers through heavy lashes, noticing how the first digits had started to turn pale and blue. He then glanced around himself, only now realizing that he had no idea where he was. The footprints he had left in the snow disappeared right in front of his eyes, the usual paths and marks that would normally give him an indication to where he was now covered in the thick layer of white powder.
Steve slowly let himself slide to the floor with his back against the tree. He folded his arms against his chest and pulled up his knees, making himself as small as possible.
God, he was scared.
Scarred of the wind that was violently howling and twirling around him, the freezing temperatures slowly penetrating his body, but most of all, scared of never seeing his boyfriend again.
Steve fought bravely against his heavy eyelids, knowing that if he'd close them now, chances were he'd never open them again. He wondered how long he had been out here now that his body had stopped shaking and his heartbeat seemed to grow slower with every breath that he took.
'Bu…cky…' he whispered one last time as he breathed out. The sound of rocket boots closing in being the last thing he heard before losing conscious.