Author's Note: Thanks to NewMoonFlicker, as always, for the words! In this section, 61 and 62 obviously go together. Also, I just realized that 66 and 68 are basically saying the same thing, oops. And...all but one of these is from Bucky's POV for some reason. Huh. Sorry, that means these are all pretty angsty! XD
Though here at journey's end I lie
in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
and Stars forever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
nor bid the Stars farewell.
- Samwise Gamgee, The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien
61. Hell
The demons who drag him down to hell wear many faces, so many that he even begins to forget his own, so when someone reminds him that he has a face, he runs away to go looking for it.
62. Heaven
The day his old self dies is the day he finds the path to heaven; the angel who leads him by the hand gives him a mirror, and he sees the face the angel saw all along.
63. Dislocate
In the time it takes to dislocate his shoulder, Steve could easily have killed him, and instead of putting him to sleep, Steve could have waited a few seconds more and strangled him to death; Bucky feels the ache in his shoulder and the burn in his throat, and realizes they're signs of love.
64. Black
For so long, he has worn nothing but black (the color of night, the color of silent death in the shadows), till he thought that was the only shade fit for him...but now, at the end of the day, he is dressed all in white as the cold closes about him in a forgiving caress.
65. Will
He will save me, Bucky thinks as they rip open his nerves and graft steel to his bones; Will he save me? the Winter Soldier wonders, trying to hold onto that face and name when all he can hear are the Words; but finally will is ripped away with a shock of electric fire through his veins.
66. Run
Everything in his mind tells him to run, but everything in his heart tells him to stay; in the end, he decides to follow his mind, because he doesn't deserve to be happy anyway.
67. Alone
No matter how many dead ends he runs into, no matter how many setbacks he faces, Steve never stops looking for Bucky—because he knows what it is to be alone, and he doesn't want Bucky to suffer any longer than he has to.
68. Unknown
It's not the fear of the unknown that sends Bucky away—he remembers how wonderful it is to be someone's best friend, to care and be cared for in return—but he runs away because he knows he doesn't deserve it.
69. Die
Growing up, Bucky knew his best friend would probably die young; in the war, he tried to prepare himself for a swift and bloody goodbye; but in the end, he lost Steve in a way he'd never even considered a possibility: by forgetting him.
70. Lost
The last memory he lost is also the first one he recovers: Steve calling his name.