Home (HE/HIM VERSION)

24

The rest of the night went far too fast.

There was so much he wanted to do, but time was rolling on faster than he'd expected. It felt like sand slipping through his fingers, and no matter how tightly he closed his fists, the sand continued to fall. He was running out of time with Bucky.

Y/n tried to cherish every single second he had left in their perfect paradise. He studied his face like he was cramming for a test the next day, terrified that he'd forget about Bucky. Terrified that he'd forget about the way his nose crinkled when he laughed, or how whenever he touched his skin he acted like he was made out of glass.

After Bucky finished ranting about the movie, they moved outside to the backyard so that they could stargaze for a little while. It was something they always used to do, especially during the summer nights in Wakanda. It was a sort of peace that y/n always looked forward to. There was nobody to disturb them when it came to stargazing. It was just Bucky, y/n, and the stars in the sky.

Bucky came to cherish the stars, too, but he never admitted that. He just liked to try and make stupid shapes out of the stars, but that was only because he liked to hear y/n laugh. Their stargazing time was something that could never be ruined, and it was something that never needed any sort of effort. It was just them, laying on the grass or on a rooftop, gazing up at the night sky. It was beautiful.

They could've stayed out there for hours, but y/n didn't want to. He didn't want Bucky to be awake when the border closed. He didn't want his terrified eyes to be the last thing he saw. So, y/n convinced him to help him put everything away before they went to bed.

It was a surreal feeling, cleaning up the house. It was such a mundane task, yet y/n was wired with so much adrenaline that he felt like he was going to puke. He wasn't very talkative at all, mostly just listening to Bucky talk about work gossip. God, he was so oblivious that it hurt. He thought that it was just a normal day. He thought that he was going to wake up tomorrow and head to work like every other day.

But he wasn't, because the border was already beginning to close.

*****

Wanda was stood outside the makeshift S.W.O.R.D base as she watched the border slowly begin to move inward. She almost felt frozen in place as paramedics and agents begun to rush toward the freed houses, her face riddled with guilt. She knew that y/n had to let go, but it didn't stop her from feeling horrible about it.

Y/n was losing his soulmate for the second time, yet everybody's attention had switched to the townspeople and not the heavily grieving man that was about to come out of the Hex.

Bruce was stood a little further ahead, explaining where to situate the relief stations for the townspeople. Nobody knew how damaged the people were going to be. They didn't know if they were going to have to deal with injury or malnourishment or anything. All they knew was that if they were having y/n's nightmares, their mental state was probably going to be the most affected. He took a deep breath as he glanced back at Wanda, giving her a sympathetic smile in an attempt to cheer her up.

Wanda didn't smile back.

*****

It didn't take long before they were both ready for bed.

Y/n was the last person downstairs. He had made his way up with Bucky, but the reality of the fact that he was going to be laying by his side for the final time was too much for him, so he made up an excuse and hurried back down.