fiction | Part of the journey is the end

4. The whole world is watching

In Wakanda, 2018, Bucky and Ayo were in the hills next to a campfire. Ayo said it was time.

Bucky stiffened. He knew what this was about.

"You sure about this?" asked Bucky.

Everyone was confused and looked to Bucky to clarify, but he looked away from everyone else.

"I won't let you hurt anyone," said Ayo. "Longing... Rusted... Seventeen..."

"Oh," said Steve, Sam, Tony, and Natasha.

Bucky froze and closed his eyes at hearing those words.

"It's not gonna work," said Bucky as he stared at the fire.

Steve had a lump in his throat as he realized what was going on.

Bucky got flashbacks during his time as the Winter Soldier, including Howard and Maria Stark's deaths.

Tony flinched.

Everyone else stared with wide eyes. Bucky had been through so much.

"Daybreak... Furnace... Nine... Benign... Homecoming... One... Freight Car..." A tear rolled down Bucky's cheek, and his eyes welled up as he realized the trigger words didn't affect him anymore.

Everyone's eyes were teary by this point.

"You are free," Ayo said with a gentle smile.

Everyone smiled slightly.

Bucky looked up at her, barely holding himself together.

Sam put a hand on Bucky's shoulder in comfort, his eyes watery.

Ayo nodded and repeated, more quietly, "You are free." Bucky finally broke down, letting the relief overcome him.

Tony had a lump in his throat at seeing how relieved Bucky was getting his programming out, knowing that he wasn't going to be a weapon anymore.

"I'm sorry," Tony said quietly. "You didn't murder my parents; it was HYDRA. I shouldn't have done what I did in Siberia."

Bucky shook his head. "No, it was natural you would've done that. You just found out that your parents were murdered, and I did it."

"Maybe," Tony cleared his throat. "It didn't help that I found out that someone I trusted knew my parents were murdered and kept it from me."

Steve looked ashamed. "I'm sorry, Tony. I was trying not to hurt you."

"Too late, you did that yourself," Tony scoffed.

Steve blanched.

"Besides, that wasn't your decision to make. It was my parents, Rogers. My mother. I thought it was Howard's fault my mom died for twenty-five years of my life. I thought that he'd been drinking and caused the crash so I've blamed him for my mom's death for half of my life, but it turns out he wasn't to blame at all. But I was furious at him anyway. What the hell was Howard thinking transporting the serum with my mom in the car! But my parents had been murdered, and you knew and didn't tell me! You had absolutely no right to keep that from me, you understand? Absolutely none."

"I know," Steve nodded, guilt written all over his face. "I'm sorry."

"And even if you didn't know the Winter Soldier was the one who killed my parents, you knew HYDRA did, so you should've told me the second you found out, but you didn't. You sat there and kept it from me for two years! You would've lost your shit if I had done the same thing to you."