The Mimic

163

Y/n froze.

Steve and Natasha could only see the back of her, but the effect of those words was obvious. Her tense shoulders had dropped, the grip that she had on the wooden cart had faltered, and the angry huffs that once heaved through her body were replaced by short and shaky breaths. In just a few short words, her tough exterior had been shattered.

Y/n hadn't talked about Bucky in a long time, nor had she heard someone mention his name ever since she left the compound. It wasn't because she had moved on from him - hell, she often caught herself talking to him as if he were there - it was because she knew that once the tears started rolling, they wouldn't stop. Coming to terms with the fact that Bucky wasn't coming back was far too painful, so she had simply decided to block it out. Block it out and bombard herself with exhausting tasks. It had been a pretty good plan, but once she heard Steve utter his name, all those emotions came flooding back.

With eyes that were glossed over with tears, y/n set the wooden cart down and turned to face the pair. That simple mention had destroyed her. "Don't-" Y/n whispered, but quickly had to cut herself off as her bottom lip begun to tremble. She glanced up at the sky in a desperate attempt to stop the red hot tears from falling, but it didn't work. "Don't do that. Don't give me hope." Y/n practically begged. She couldn't handle any more pain or heartbreak. She was already broken enough. "Don't say it unless you mean it."

Natasha took a sharp breath as she watched the tears begin to fall down y/n's face. All she wanted to do was hug her, but she knew that it wasn't the right time or place. They'd just turned y/n's world upside-down. "We mean it, y/n." Nat said sincerely, taking a few steps forward. She gave her a weak smile, maintaining eye contact with y/n so she knew that Nat was telling the truth. "We could bring everyone back. Peter, T'Challa, Sam, Shuri-" She cut herself off, noticing that with every name that was uttered, more and more tears begun to fall. "One more mission, y/n." She begged. "One more mission, and then you and Bucky can leave and live whatever life you want to live."

It was an offer that y/n couldn't refuse. It was perfect. She'd finally be able to settle down with Bucky. They'd finally have the perfect life that they'd been longing for. All she needed to do was go on one more mission. One more mission and all of her friends would be back. One more mission and she'd be able to hold Bucky in her arms again. She'd be able to hear his laugh, to see his goofy smile - hell, she'd be able to fall asleep right beside him.

Y/n took a shaky breath, hugging herself a little for comfort as she thought everything through. Of course she was going to say yes, but it almost felt as if she was making a deal with the devil. She'd go to the ends of the earth if it meant that she'd be back in Bucky's arms, she didn't want to be manipulated and weaponised because of that. "One more mission. That's it?" She asked in a quiet tone. She glanced over at Steve for confirmation, and she was simply given a knowing nod. That knowing nod convinced her completely. If they were lying, they would've rambled on and on to try and convince her. But they didn't. Steve simply gave her a sincere nod, and that was enough.

*****

During their trip back to the compound, y/n was told everything about their plan to collect the infinity stones and bring everyone back.

The miraculous reappearance of Scott after being stuck in the Quantum Realm for five years, his crazy idea of time travel using Pym Particles, Tony managing to make that device come to life with the use of a Mobius strip, and so much more. Apparently every single stone had been located on the timeline, it was simply a matter of grabbing them. It was a lot to process, especially since she'd been living with little-to-no technology for five years, but y/n had learnt pretty quickly that sometimes it was easier to not question anything.

Y/n was the last Avenger to be located, which she was very grateful for. It didn't matter if she was only in the compound for one final mission, it still wasn't a pleasant place to be.

Seeing the team after such a long time was an odd experience. Everyone had changed so much, but there was nobody except Natasha that she could giggle about it to, and she was far too busy. Clint was the first person that y/n saw, and she was extremely unsure about the fact that he was rocking a mohawk. But, he seemed to be the most normal person out of the bunch (which wasn't hard when there was a talking raccoon and a robot on the team). Bruce and Hulk had decided to merge, creating one big, green giant. It definitely caused y/n to have a lot of arguments lined up. How could she be locked away and deemed a monster, when that green thing can just walk around like normal? It didn't make sense.

Not much had actually changed about Tony, same snarky attitude, same egotistical look in his eyes, but this time his hair was grayer. Y/n could've ripped into him for days on end, but she decided not to. One more mission. One final mission, and then she'd never have to see his face again.

There was one person that stuck out to y/n, and it was Thor. No, it wasn't to make fun of him or make rude comments like the rest of the team. She felt bad for him. She still remembered the tears in Thor's eyes at the sight of her mimicking Loki's powers, and to see that he'd let himself go so much just confirmed y/n's suspicions. Loki hadn't been dusted. He was dead. Thor had been mourning alone for five years, and nobody had decided to check up on him. Not even y/n. She felt terrible.