Rescue | a Bucky Barnes Fan Fiction (Avengers/MCU)

The Story: Rescue

My feet are like lead, too heavy to lift.

They were light enough this morning, barely light enough for me to crawl out of bed. To pull on some sort of clothes. To shove on shoes... My feet were too heavy for me to brush my hair or do anything else.

I stand within sight of the Avengers Compound. It's a few miles away.

I'm on top of a clocktower. I'm not even sure how I got here. It doesn't feel right. But nothing feels right these days.

I wasn't able to stop Thanos, even with my night magic. My power would've been enough to absorb his gauntlet. But it had to be Tony... why did it have to be Tony? He was practically my dad. He was practically Peter's, too. He was Morgan's.

A weight has long since sat on my chest. It settles, a little heavier.

My phone vibrates. I glance at it.

Bucky.

I pick up on autopilot.

"Hey," he says, "where are you? I was going to bring you breakfast, but Wanda said you weren't in your room."

I hold my breath for one heartbeat... two... three...

"Ebony?" he asks. "Are you alright?"

I know what's behind his words. Bucky knows I'm not alright. He's asking to know where I am.

I hang up. He doesn't need to know. Not yet.

My phone vibrates again. Of course he's calling back. I ignore it and pull up my notes app.

I drafted my note last night. I copy and paste it into the group chat. My thumb hovers over the bright blue "SEND."

Nat and Tony and Vision and Steve are still in that chat. None of us could bear to remove them.

Bucky calls again. I ignore it again.

I hit "SEND."

Slowly, I walk to the edge of the clocktower.

It's nine floors up. A ridiculous height. The sort of height Wanda and I used to make fun of, back when our magic was new and untapped. Back when we'd healed from Pietro's death but hadn't uncovered Thanos... that special time when the world was bright and wild and unlonely.

I force myself to look down at the crass asphalt below.

This'll be fast, I tell myself. It won't hurt much. You've done the calculations. And maybe you'll even see Tony and Pietro and Nat and Vision and Steve again.

My phone buzzes with intensity. In the distance, I can hear Bucky's motorcycle, speeding down Howard Avenue -- toward me.

I need to hurry.

But I don't want to.

But I do--

"WAIT!" Bucky calls out.

He appears around a line of trees, into view. He's running at full, supersoldier speed.

"Wait, Ebony, PLEASE! Oh God, please wait!"

My gaze catches his.

I hold my breath. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ebony, but please PLEASE wait. I know this is hard. God, I know this is hard. But I'm here for you. I'm here for you."

Tears start to pool in my eyes. I don't reply. I just look at him.

"I love you," he echoes. "Please don't leave me. I love you."

Silence. A single tear falls.

"May I come up to you?"

I nod.

"Okay. Wait for me, okay?"

I nod.

And I wait, but he's fast. He's beside me in just a moment.

"May I take your hand?" he asks.

I nod.

"Okay." He pulls me down from the ledge, back up against the clock.

Then, he holds me. He cradles my head. I start to cry.

"I love you, Ebony. I love you. I'm here for you."

My lip shudders as I suck in heaving breaths. "I miss Tony--"

"I know."

"--and Nat--"

"Me too."

"--and Wanda's practically faded from this life already and I-- I don't know..."

I don't finish.

"I've got you," Bucky says, "and I love you. Know that I and everyone else would miss you just as much as you miss Tony and Natasha and Steve. We love you."

I sob.

"Tony and Natasha and Steve would want you to stay here. Vision would want Wanda to, too." He holds me closer. "May I take you back to the Compound?"

I nod.

He strokes my hair.

My voice comes out, barely a whisper: "Thank you."