In All Our Years Series - 4 In 1 | Captain!Bucky, WinterSoldier!Steve | Stucky

The End

Holy shit. That's the end.
That's it.
So much more than the eight chapters I meant to forever leave on a cliffhanger. More than one little bonus chapter, or one heartbreaking POV.

This story has always been powered by grief. Rule The World Or Drown is by far the best thing I have ever written. It was charged by my own loss and ruin, the only thing I was able to write for a while after my dad died. This story is one I hold dear, even the bonus chapters I struggled with. but finished - not because I owed it to my audience, but because I owed it to myself.

My dad brought Marvel into my life. That means he brought some of my favorite people, my ideas, and my readers, into my life as well. I have him to thank for so much, not just this.

I never let him read my writing because it was never perfect, or had mature parts I was embarrassed for him to read. I just really wanted what he read to be right. So I waited. For years, I waited. Until he died. I had a poem placed in the urn I got. That's all I'll ever be able to give him.

This whole thing is for my dad.

PS: I was writing some of this in the car the other day, trying not to cry. I was listening to the In All Our Years playlist I have, and a song came up. It just immediately clicked, for me. Wildfire, by SYML. In that moment, it just felt like such an ode to Steve and Bucky. The song is beautiful, I strongly advise giving the alternate version a listen.
Thank you all, so much, for reading. For the kudos, the comments. I appreciate it more than you know.

PPS: What's coming next, you might ask? Well, I'll be finishing The Backup! For now, I want to wrap up these two old works, so I can work on the ideas I've had on the back burner for ages.

With love, Ash.