Chapter 12

Bucky and Steve had established a better working plan for Steve and his team to follow so they were never apart for too long and Sam and Natasha had a nice vacation spot set up.

The two super soldiers were even starting to explore more pop culture together.

He introduced Steve to 50s movies and they watched a movie a night to make sure they got to experience all the classics.

One night they were sprawled out on Bucky's bed watching Casa Blanca on his tablet. They were lying on their stomachs propped up on their elbows.

The main female character was told to go to her husband instead of the man she fell in love with during World War 2. The man on the screen touched the woman's chin, "Here's looking at you, kid."

Bucky paused the movie, "Am I Rick?"

"What?" laughed Steve.

"Was I Rick? Did I steal you away? Or am I Victor, the dedicated type, the one you are supposed to be with?" asked Bucky.

Steve sat up, "From the movie? Our life is not Casa Blanca."

Bucky joined him sitting up, "C'mon it's similar. Two people, doomed from World War 2, I came back into your life after you thought you lost me and I thought I lost you...did I steal you from...from Tony?"

He let out a deep sigh, "Buck ...no, of course you didn't. I've loved you my whole life. You can't steal someone that already loves you"

"But you loved Tony. Right? Can't you steal someone back when they were yours before?"

Steve gave him a pained look, "We've been through this..."

"I know. So who were you meant to be with and who was supposed to let you go?"

"I am where I am supposed to be. Why does any of this matter how we ended up together?"

"I just...watching these movies has taught me you can't help who you fall for. There wasn't a chance in hell for us back then. I was always going to end up going to war...also we had to sneak around constantly, people would've killed us if they found out. Didn't you sneak around with Tony too?"

"Buck…" Steve groaned, giving him a pretty frustrated look, "You know I don't like to talk about Tony."

Bucky pouted, "I'm sorry...I just wonder about these things because...I wonder what it'd been like if you hadn't found me before the other guys. I wonder if you would have still been with Tony...if I had not helped you fight him."

With an exasperated sigh, Steve rubbed his bearded jaw, "What do you want to know?"

"You never really mentioned that much about him. I read...other couples discuss their past partners all the time." He said, kind of embarrassed he had been looking at that kind of thing. Ultimately, he needed a reference for how things worked now with relationships.

Shaking his head, Steve told him "You don't even like to use that word, couple, besides we aren't like those people you read about on the internet, Buck."

"Sure we are. I mean...we're trying to be, right?"

Steve could see the unsureness in his face and took his hand and nodded at him, "Yes."

"I have to read about what things are normal or not. I don't really have much to go off of, but I know we should be able to talk about anything."

"You're right."

Tucking his hair behind his ear, Bucky said "Could you just...tell me what it was like?"

They were now sitting across from each other on the bed.

Steve chewed the inside of his cheek, already feeling embarrassed. "What it was like..."

Choosing his words carefully, he said, "For you...did he make you happy? Was he good to you?"

"We...happened because of a mixture of fearing for our lives, neediness, and...convenience I suppose. It seemed like he wanted to make me happy, but...I don't know, we didn't want the same things. He wanted too much from me and I didn't even know what I wanted at all. He was there for me in a sense that we were on the same team. When I was upset about Peggy passing away, he was there for me...but he wasn't on board with helping you at all, even when I knew we were being tricked at that compound."

"So what was the biggest problem? The accords? Or me?"

Steve blew out a deep breath, "Um...I don't know. It kind of all happened at once, they found you were still out there, I got tipped off, the accords were explained to us, then I went to find you. It was all so fast."

"In the hotel room in Germany...did I...complicate things even more? Be honest."

"No...maybe a little, but Buck we were always going to break things off one way or another. He only wanted me when his girl didn't want him...it was all a matter of right place, right time. Then, if you recall, he tried to kill us."

Bucky looked sympathetic, "I mean, I also did some rotten stuff to him. I can't really blame his distrust of me."

Steve sighed and shook his head, "It's not about who did what to who….it was how he handled things when they got rough." He searched Bucky's face for satisfaction, but didn't find it.

Softly, Steve started to say "Alright, look…." he rubbed Bucky's shoulder where the metal met skin. That made a soft moan come out of the long haired man. "I've only had feelings for a few people in my life. You know that." he finished.

"Sharon?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed in response, "No. I used to think I didn't have real feelings for you. I just thought we were close and all that stuff we used to do in our apartment was…..I don't know...practice or something for girls?"

"We always came up with a 'reasonable' excuse for it, remember?" smiled Bucky, still enjoying a shoulder massage from Steve's strong hand.

"Yeah, I guess we did...but after you, I fell for Peggy because...well, she wasn't the biggest fan of me at first, but I found out later she was just strong willed. That's what I realized I liked about her. That's what I like about you too."

"Then you fell for Tony?"

"I mean...for a time I thought I did, yes."

"He doesn't have a strong enough will for ya?"

"He does, don't get me wrong, but...it's not the kind of strength that I need."

Bucky stopped Steve's hand on his shoulder by covering it with his own, "It wasn't love?"

There was a pout pulling at Steve's bottom lip through his beard. "I mean...I used that word...but it may have just been companionship and...infatuation I guess." Steve wasn't sure if that was the complete truth, but telling Bucky how much he wondered if he still loved Tony would not make anyone feel better.

"I see." nodded Bucky, looking into his eyes, trying to give him a supportive expression.

Steve started to seem a little embarrassed admitting all of this to him. It was even more embarrassing since they had been "official" for a while now and they never talked about this kind of stuff.

"It's okay." Bucky couldn't help but tell him, "I'm relieved to talk like this with you. We used to share everything and it came so easily, we should be even closer if we're...together."

Steve brought Bucky's skin hand down to cradle it between his, "Right...right. I just don't want to...talk about how much of a tramp I have been lately."

Snorting with laughter, Bucky said, "A tramp? Listen Punk, you have GOT to quit letting that Catholic guilt bubble up so much. You know you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You risk your life for others every day since you were born, Steve. As far as I'm concerned, you should be able to do whatever you want with that perfect body of yours."

Steve couldn't help but smile a little, "Sure, you would say that just because I'm doing things to YOU with this body."

"I don't care how many people you did things with. I don't even care what kind of body you have, it's not a big deal."

"Did you have a lot of people then?" Steve said looking down at their hands.

Bucky shrugged, "You talking about people I fucked between mind swipes or assassination missions?" he said sarcastically.

Steve rolled his eyes and squeezed his hand. Bucky's blush on his cheeks wasn't visible through his dark beard but it spread all the way up his forehead. He refused to make eye contact as he said, "I didn't really get with anyone because I...was being tortured around the clock. They tried to use sex as a manipulative reward system once, but I wasn't 'responsive'."

Steve looked concerned as he stared over his face, "You mean-"

"They kept bringing in women…." said Bucky, finally looking back at him with a sad smile, "I didn't want a woman."

"Did they...hurt you...like...force-"

"No one molested me, Steve, no. They stuck to mind wiping and beatings."

Suddenly Bucky was pulled into a tight hug. His metal arm slid around Steve's waist and he sat his chin on his shoulder, "Hey, c'mon I did okay. Remember I had all those dames back in the day? I had my fair share." joked Bucky.

Steve pulled back with a single laugh, "Shut up."

"Seriously though," said Bucky, slipping the other hand over Steve's waist, "you know why I went out with all those girls right?"

"Tell me." Steve said, looking deep into his eyes.

"I was in denial. I thought about you every time I was with someone and the things you and I did before...thinking about you is what made it even possible. Also, booze made it easier to picture you sometimes." Bucky said.

That made Steve's eyes go wide but he melted immediately, "Really?"

"Yes, really." smiled Bucky, looking down at Steve's pouty lips,

"I used to think you were pretty when you were just a scrawny little thing, now look at you..."

He admired Steve's surprised expression turn mischievous.

Steve noticed Bucky's face becoming dark with want, "Aw, here I am thinking I was the practice for the girls. Seems like they were practice for me."

There was a smaller distance between their mouths when Bucky replied, "Not the way we do it..."

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that. Why don't we...switch places?"

Bucky sat back suddenly with a sly smile, "Really?"

Steve looked a little flushed and nervous, but excited, "Yeah, I mean...I'm able to actually handle it now. Why not?"

Getting on his hands and knees, Bucky surged forward to grab Steve's head and kiss him forwardly, "What're we waiting for then? Let's go."

Steve's eyes rolled back in his head when Bucky started to kiss his neck, "Just like that?"

"Ofcourse Stevie, you know I would love to be inside you." he whispered heatedly in his ear.

A whimper escaped Steve's lips, "Buck..." He acted like he was embarrassed by the dirty talk but he actually loved it.

Knowing the game, Bucky replied in a deep voice, "You have been thinking about how good my cock would feel, haven't you? I bet you are so tight and perfect...mmph." He laid a few kisses behind his ear.

Steve moaned and laced his hand in the back of Bucky's hair.

"Mmm yeah...I love when you make noise for me. I want to see how loud you get when I fill you up..." groaned Bucky, pushing Steve to lie on his back.

Steve pulled Bucky's head up to kiss him roughly, moaning into his mouth.

"I love you." Steve said.

With a side smile, Bucky replied, "I love you. Now take your pants off."

"Real romantic." sighed Steve with a smile. They removed his sweat pants and underwear together, Bucky's hands over his.

He remained lying on his back as Bucky hovered over him and gave him a few more kisses. "You know you love it. Now, don't freak out Stevie...I just want to try something."

Steve raised an eyebrow, "Okay…"

While maintaining eye contact, Bucky slid down his body and kissed down his stomach. He kissed and suckled down his hip bone and thigh then slid Steve's length into his mouth.

A shockwave rippled through Steve and his eyes closed and his head tilted back. Muffled moans immediately erupted from him.

Bucky pulled his mouth off and gently cupped under Steve's thighs, lifting them easily and pushing his ass up. When he felt a mouth trace the vein between his balls, Steve's eyes opened and shot down to where Bucky's lips met his body.

Licking his balls expertly, he moved his tongue down toward his ass, making Steve gasp. He kept going down further. "What-" Steve started to ask, but cut off his statement with a groan.

With the flat of his tongue Bucky licked a long stripe right against Steve's hole. He pulled back and looked up to see Steve's expression, searching for a sign to stop or keep going.

Steve's chest was heaving as his breath sped up, his eyelids squeezed shut and his eyebrows pushed together. Bucky kitten licked him two more times to test him, earning a soft moan from Steve.

"You like that?" said Bucky, moving down to kiss and suck his hole.

Steve was so caught up in the sensation of Bucky's bearded face rubbing against him, he couldn't form words. The only thing that came out was a long deep grunt in agreement.

Bucky sat up and moved one of Steve's hands to his dick and told him to start jerking off.

Reluctantly when Steve started to touch himself, Bucky left the bed and bolted over to his storage trunk. When he returned to the bed, he was holding a small silicone device shaped like a small ice cream cone and a bottle of lube.

Steve stared at him through droopy eyes.

After covering the small toy with lube and watching Steve touch himself for a minute, Bucky said "Alright, we're gonna get you nice and stretched. Y'might want to take your shirt off. This could get messy."

With a wicked smile, Steve sat up and tugged off his shirt.

About a year passed of the nice routine for Cap and his team.

After a few more trips to Wakanda, Sam and Bucky even started to bond a little. (Bucky was teaching Sam the secrets of farming/botany, in return Sam was teaching Bucky about 70s music.)

Natasha had been working and bonding with Shuri, getting lots of new gadgets from her.

They always had to keep their visits semi-short so they could get back to work, but it became a real vacation home for the 3 heroes.

On a mission in the Isle of Man, Steve, Nat, and Sam had gotten a safe house in the middle of the small island. It was more of a hut, but it had a functioning bathroom and 3 beds. That was good enough for them.

While playing cards with Natasha at their very small table, Steve got a call.

Sam was lying on his cot reading. He didn't look up.

Steve stood from the table when he checked to see who was calling.

"What's wrong?" Natasha said, furrowing her brow.

Going pale in the face, Steve answered, "It's Tony."

Sam sat straight up, throwing his book on the ground, "TONY?"

The phone continued to ring. Natasha realized it was going on the 4th tone when she exclaimed "Hurry up answer it Steve!"

He fumbled and flipped it open and cleared his throat, "H-Hello?"

Steve listened intently, his stomach doing flip flops. Natasha stood and came closer to stand next to him and listen. He went stiff and stared at Natasha, "Bruce?! Is that really you?"

Natasha covered her mouth with both hands. She couldn't hold back the tears falling from her widened eyes. This was the first time Bruce had contacted anyone in 2 years.

"Whoah, whoa...slow down." said Steve, pacing a little.

Sam was listening as hard as he could from his cot, looking back and forth from Natasha to Steve.

"He what? When exactly?" Steve said to Bruce, "Got it. Ofcourse we can get them to Rhodey. Do you know where they are? Okay, sure we can get there no problem. Are you okay? Alright. See you soon. Also, it's good to hear your voice. We've been worried about you." Steve stared into Natasha's eyes sympathetically as he said goodbye and flipped his phone shut.

Natasha wiped her tears and crossed her arms, trying to look calm, "So...uh, how did he sound?"

Steve rubbed his hand over his beard and sighed, "Good, healthy at least. He was in a panic. Apparently aliens attacked New York again. Tony and the spider kid flew away on a spaceship after them. We have to find Wanda and Vision, he is going to the Avengers base, and he'll send their location."

Natasha sat back down at the table, her eyes looking blank as she went over everything he just said.

Sam went over to her and rubbed her back, getting her to smile a little.

"Where has he been?" asked Natasha.

Steve crossed his arms and tossed the phone onto the table, "He didn't have the time to say. He said he would explain things to us when we met him and Rhodey at base."

"So we're doing that? The fighting aliens thing?" asked Sam, giving him a slight smile.

"If we have to. You ready?" nodded Steve in his hero voice.

"Only if you guys are." said Sam, looking down at Natasha.

Natasha sniffed and exchanged stares with the two of them, "I mean, obviously." Sam hugged her, earning a grunt and laugh mixture.

"You need to tell Bucky. Warn them in Wakanda that something big is going down." said Natasha to Steve.

He nodded, "I know...I just don't want to drop this on him. I know if I tell T'Challa before him he will be pissed at me."

"Just go step outside and call them." said Sam.

Steve huffed and took his phone out onto the porch of the house.

When he called, Bucky picked up on the other line immediately, "Great timing. I have news!"

Bewildered slightly, Steve decided to remain calm and light hearted to humor him, "What's that?"

"My goat is pregnant! Little Myla, the white one."

Steve's heart was warmed. Bucky never sounded that excited about anything. It pained him to have bad news for him when things were finally going so well.

He maintained his happy tone, "That's insane. How do you know?"

"We took her to get a scan. We have a livestock doctor out here. She can have up to 3 kids. I didn't even know that!" Bucky said.

Steve laughed. Bucky's fascination with farming through the eyes of a tough city kid was always so cute. He wanted to listen to his goat chatter all night, just to keep him happy about something.

"That's wild, Buck. Do I get to help name them?" said Steve softly.

"Of Course. I'm going to name one of them after you if there is a boy. Grant, Grant the goat."

Steve scoffed, "No don't do that. Then it will be destined to be a scrawny idiot that doesn't back down from a fight."

"Yeah, well...I'll get him a shield. Shuri could make a serum for him. That should help."

They giggled together for a second.

Steve snorted, "Alright fine."

"What's going on with you guys? Gonna see you in a week still right?" asked Bucky.

"You...might see me sooner than that. We are going to have to cut this mission short and switch paths entirely..." Steve told him, leaning on the rail of the porch.

`Bucky immediately realized there was a somber change in his tone, "What happened?" he interjected.

"Um...it's aliens. Like how I told you about, a few years ago...in New York. We're going to have to do damage control." Steve told him vaguely.

It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth.

Steve was half hoping he wasn't going to have to tell him anything specific until after the fight was over and solved. This could all be a funny story.

"Aliens? What?" asked Bucky.

"We just need to get 'em out of here or locked up somewhere. We have done it before. From what I understand, they are a lot smaller this time." said Steve with a smile, "It might be fine."

"Don't you dare make a promise you can't keep, Rogers."

"I'm not promising anything. What I meant was, 'I'm sure it will be okay."

There was a sigh on Bucky's end of the phone, "Yeah, right."

"Look, I'll keep you updated alright? I will check in again soon. Right now that's all I know." Steve said, sounding like he was closing the conversation.

"I love you." said Bucky sternly.

Steve paused for a second, closing his eyes. Hearing the sadness in Bucky's voice, Steve made sure his tone sounded much happier and loving, "I love you too, Buck. Goodnight. I will call tomorrow."

"Night." said Bucky before ending the call.

As he held the cellphone in his hand, Steve stared out into the hills of the dark countryside. He felt so many different things at once. After a year of trying to get his emotions in check, Steve felt completely lost again and scared.

Could this attack be it? Could this be the end of the human race and fall on him?

Rhodey, Vision, Wanda, Bruce, and Steve's crew were all at the Avenger's base.

They sat around the lounge area in the living room. Natasha, Sam, and Steve were all still in their hero gear. Rhodey brought over some finger food and water for them and sat them on the coffee table.

Bruce and Natasha were staring at each other from either side of the room while Rhodey caught up with Wanda and Vision on the sectional couch.

Steve was sitting next to Natasha on the couch, zoning in and out, worrying about Tony. His gut churned from the stress and the guilt of how he wished he had helped when Tony needed him (Bruce had told them that Tony suggested to call Steve before they got in a fight with the aliens.) and how hurt he would feel if something bad happened to Tony. He wished he had just called once...

"Huh Steve?" asked Rhodey.

He shook his head and perked up suddenly, "What was that?"

Rhodey smiled, "Has a lot changed with you?" He sat down on the right of Steve.

Natasha looked at Steve's face, urging him to tell everyone what had been going on.

Sam sat at the far end of the couch on Natasha's left, "Tell em about Wakanda."

Steve shrugged and directed his words to Wanda, Vision, and Rhodey, "Yeah just been fighting the good fight and we spend all our off-time in Wakanda. King T'Challa has given us a kind of temporary home for when we stay there and we can still train while we are there."

"Wow, seems like you guys have gotten to be good friends now." said Rhodey.

"Bucky's there too?" asked Wanda.

Steve gave him a small smile, knowing she would catch on immediately. He prepared for what he feared would be an awkward conversation.

"Yeah...he's cured. No more Winter Soldier. Shuri helped him. You'll have to meet her. She is brilliant." he said.

Wanda gave him an understanding look, "That's amazing. I am glad for him."

He remembered how close they became when she first moved into the compound and felt guilty again. "Me too. Look, I'm sorry I never tried to contact you. I wondered how you were doing but didn't want to put any of you at risk in case I was...still in trouble." said Steve.

While Vision held up his hand, Wanda shook her head, "Please...I understand. I only trusted Rhodey with my location in case I was necessary for things like this. I am still your friend, Steven." she said,

That made him sit back and let out a sigh of relief.

"So is Wakanda a good vacation spot? Do they have an amusement park or something?" asked Rhodey.

Natasha laughed, "Not exactly."

Sam held up a hand, "They do have a water park."

"It's beautiful. They have modern capital and small villages and markets, lots of farms, and everything you need." Steve told him.

"Everything you need." repeated Natasha, teasingly.

Steve gave her a "cut it out" look.

Wanda smiled, "You and Bucky spend a lot of time together?"

"Yeah. He has picked up some farming skills and sometimes we fish or play with the kids in the village." he said casually, looking down at his feet.

"Aw...Steve, that's beautiful." she replied, subtly reading his thoughts.

"What's beautiful about-..." said Rhodey, pausing, then looking over Steve, then to his smiling buddies next to him. "Oh." he laughed, then stopped, then said again quieter "Oh. I see."

Steve's head shot up, "Yeah, I…we-"

"You don't have to explain. It's...fine." Rhodes told him, patting his shoulder, "I understand. That's great, man. I am happy for you, well, for you both."

He nodded, "Thank you James."

Bruce sat down on the chair across from the sectional, "Are you happy?"

Everyone looked over at Banner, then back to Steve.

Steve stroked his beard and smiled, "Yeah, I think I am. It's weird to admit it aloud."

"Because you are scared once you admit it, then you have something to be ripped away?" asked Bruce, giving him that token sad smile.

"Sure." Steve nodded.

Bruce nodded back, glancing over at all his teammates. "I get it." he murmured.

Natasha sat forward, "Have you been happy?" she asked Bruce accusingly.

His eyes snapped to her. "Where have you been for 2 years? You should be the one apologizing for not contacting anyone." she said.

Steve put his hand on her shoulder, urging her to calm down.

Bruce sat back and sighed, "I've been...out of commission."

Natasha squinted at him.

He seemed defensive as he explained "I swear, I've been Hulk this whole time! I was flying around in space then I was held captive, well, sort of. This guy on another planet had been making me fight aliens for money like some kind of Gladiator pet. When I changed back to me, I had already lost 2 years. I barely remember bits and pieces." Bruce rambled.

"What changed you back?" asked Natasha.

"Thor." he replied.

"Thor?! You were with Thor recently? Where is he now?" asked Rhodey.

"I don't know...still in space? Asgard was destroyed. Last thing I remember we were flying in a ship with their people and we were stopped by the aliens and the ship was blown up. Most of their people were killed. I was blasted here, I don't really remember how...then I found and Tony." Bruce said solemnly.

Steve looked over his sad face, "I'm sure Thor is okay." he assured, "He is a God."

"Asgard was destroyed? By what?" asked Vision.

"Might have been Thor's evil sister, or the fire demon...I can't be sure. I just remember seeing it crumble."

Everyone silenced at that last statement. Their universe had gotten a lot bigger and more complex.

"What do you remember about these aliens? Tell us everything." said Steve, putting on his stern face.

"I can brief you all you want, but while we do that we need to get a hold of an army. That's all we can do. This is definitely a declaration of War. They want something and will destroy everything to get it." said Bruce.

"My stone." Vision said, touching his forehead.

They collectively decided to call T'Challa and get him going with a battle plan. Steve feared the angry phone call from Bucky, but it never came.

When everyone had settled around in the bedrooms in the compound for the night, Steve decided to sleep on the giant sectional sofa in the living room. He was tucking a sheet into the couch when he got a text from Bucky.

"I got a new arm." it read.

"Better?" replied Steve.

"Real powerful. I've had to train with it. Also been target shooting. Were you going to tell me about this fight or did you plan to make T'Challa tell me?"

"I have been busy. I'm sorry. Thanks for texting, know you hate it." Steve wrote.

"You are lucky I love you so much." said Bucky.

Steve smiled and wrote back "You're right I am lucky. I will see you soon."

"Okay, Punk. I'm trusting you." he responded.

Steve clicked his phone shut and plopped down on the couch with a pillow and blanket. He laid in a tshirt and his boxers, staring out the giant glass walls in the living room.

While staring at the stars, he wondered if Tony was still in space and worried about how long it would take to get a message from him if he got stuck out there.

Rhodey walked into his field of vision from the pale kitchen light glow behind the couch.

Steve put his arms behind his head, "You need something?"

Rhodey was wearing a sweatsuit and had his arms crossed tightly. He nodded, "I just wanted to see how you were. It's been a while."

"I'm fine. A little concerned with this whole...situation, but this is my duty, isn't it?" Steve said with a bearded side smile.

"I guess we all feel that way, sure." Rhodey agreed, "That's good have you have a positive outlook on it."

"I have to." he laughed.

"Why's that?"

"Bucky said all the kids are saying these days 'I'm here for a good time, not a long time.'. I got a kick out of that, and it's funny because I shouldn't still be here. I'm on borrowed time. This time was given to me for a reason so I decide what that reason is, and I decide how I handle the pressure."

"Now you sound just like Tony…" said Rhodes, shaking his head and smiling.

"How is- How WAS Tony doing?" asked Steve.

He shrugged, "Tony's been sober, other than weed...but I think he is down to weekend use only. Pepper and he picked a decoy wedding date and an actual wedding date...although, she called me earlier after he called her and...she was not happy."

"What did he say to her?" Steve asked, sitting up straight.

"That he was on the ship and would probably not be back for a while. That he was sorry."

Steve's eyes glazed over and he looked completely mortified.

Rhodey uncrossed his arms, "She begged him to come back and he didn't. He is stubborn. He thinks he can do everything but he is only human. Tony's only one man…" he paused and rubbed his chin harshly, "and he's my favorite man in the world, unfortunately. He's my oldest friend."

Steve sighed, "We got to get these guys to back down. Get them out of here, and find Tony."

"Wouldn't that be nice if there was no fighting or casualties..."

"You shouldn't come to Wakanda with us though, Rhodey. It's not-"

"Safe? Oh please. I'm a soldier, just like you. Ofcourse I'm going. Don't worry about my legs or my 'condition.' My suit walks for me. I'm going to help find Tony too, man. We're all involved in this." he said with a matter of fact tone.

Steve nodded, "You're right, sorry." He felt a little defeated.

Rhodey looked him over, "I know you are worried about all of us, but you can't let your fear overshadow leadership. Don't let worrying about Bucky or Tony compromise your emotions."

He shook his head and furrowed his brow, holding his arms around his knees, "I'm not. I...am trying to just be more careful lately."

"None of that matters now. We basically asked T'Challa for troops and a battlefield at this point. We are way past being careful. The team knows how this all may end and they are fighting anyway. You are one of our strongest assets, so you got to stay alive and let your team have your back. Not just Sam and Nat, the whole team." said Rhodey.

Steve's eyes softened, "Now YOU sound like Bucky."

That made Rhodey scoff, amused, and start to pace toward the bedrooms. "On that note, I'm gonna go to bed. You should try and rest too." he said.

"Sure thing." he said, laying back again.

Rhodey said goodnight over his shoulder and left.

Steve reached for his phone and read the last message from Bucky over and over again. He resisted calling him for as long as he could, but he gave up.

He heard the dialing tone for a minute before Bucky answered, sounding a little tired.

"Steve? You okay?" he answered.

"Hey Buck. I'm fine. I just wanted to hear your voice." Steve said, staring off into the sky again.

Bucky paused, "You don't sound fine. Want to talk?"

"I guess."

"I'm here." he said lovingly.

Steve sighed, "I'm...pretty scared...for us."

"Me too," sighed Bucky, "but we've done this before. We made it through battle and experiments and torture. Between the two of us, we are unstoppable. We can do anything."

"I know..." he replied.

"It's not just something nice to say, Steve. It's just the facts. We're fucking super soldiers, SOLDIERS. This is what we do." said Bucky flatly.

"I didn't want to make you do anything like this again." Steve told him.

Bucky sighed, "I want to help. I'm not going to just sit here with this cool new arm and do nothing. I'm going to fight, going to come to your side when you do something stupid, always."

"Thank you for that."

"Who else will? Even Natasha and Sam are getting sick of doing that for you."

They both paused and let out a few humored breaths.

"We promised each other though right? I'll be there." said Bucky, "End of the line. You and me are going to scare the shit out of some aliens."

Steve tried to sound hopeful, "You're right."

"Remember when we did that block party one legged race back in Brooklyn? On your 16th Birthday?" asked Bucky, "It's just like that."

Steve let out a single laugh, "I remember. It's not quite like that, but I see what you are saying."

"If you fall, or even start to, I will knock everyone down from here to next week so we can just find the end of that line. On our own terms, huh?" said Bucky, finding it funny he was the one comforting Steve.

Touched by his words, Steve told him, "Yeah, absolutely."

"We'll be in Wakanda, you know what it's like here. We'll kick ass."

Steve started to feel overwhelmed with emotion again. He decided to get off the phone before he let them take him under.

They shared some affectionate words, Bucky told him he would see him the next day, and they hung up.

Location: Wakanda

Time: Before the great Infinity War

On the tarmac at the palace, Bucky and Steve shared a hug, their fellow heroes behind them.

"How you been, Buck?" he asked, referring to the past night.

"Not bad, for the end of the world." he smiled, keeping it light.

They all went with T'Challa into the lab to try and determine how to remove the stone safely from Vision. Bucky and Sam came in to warn them of the intruding alien aircraft.

Everyone began scrambling and preparing for battle. Steve went into the storage room of Shuri's lab to get his two black Wakandan arm shields.

Shuri was explaining to him how they worked as Bucky joined them in the room. His gun was strapped to his back and he was watching them intently. His eyes were a little glossy as they heard T'Challa calling orders in the craft bays.

Steve flexed a few times to work with the tech of the shields.

"There you go." said Shuri, turning and looking from Steve's face to Bucky's, "Now if you excuse me, I have work to do." She hurried out of the storage room, the door closing behind her.

Bucky stepped closer to Steve, looking over his face.

Steve held his arms out and open where he was holding onto the shields.

"This is it." said Bucky, his expression distant as he admired Steve's beauty.

"Sure is. You ready?" asked Steve, giving his best charming smile.

Bucky leaned forward and put his hands on each side of Steve's face. He gave him a deep, slow kiss, pausing a bit here and there to pull back and look at him. Steve kept his arms out to the sides of him, kissing back passionately.

Bucky separated from him breathlessly and ran his metal hand through Steve's hair to slick it back, "I'm ready to follow you anywhere, baby."

Steve looked a little surprised at the pet name but still gave him a smirk. That made Bucky return the smirk and look down at his boots.

His hands were lightly resting on Steve's perfect hips.

"Listen Buck, if I don't make it…" started Steve, but Bucky leaned up and stopped him with another hard kiss.

"Stop." he said, putting their foreheads together and holding the metal hand on the side of Steve's jaw.

Their eyes were closed.

"I'm the negative one, remember?' whispered Bucky, "We can do this. Even if we can't, we will fight anyway."

Steve leaned forward to kiss him this time. He kissed along Bucky's cheek then turned his head to move his lips softly to the metal hand.

There were a few more kisses placed on Bucky's lips before Steve pulled back pleasantly. He tried to keep how he felt in his mind, trying to keep the joy and motivation present.

Bucky took a step back and Steve put his arms down to his sides.

"Let's go, Captain." said Bucky, opening the door and leading the way out of the room.

Steve took a deep breath and followed close behind.