Universal Chaos

Chapter 26

Steve stared up at his friend, his expression torn somewhere between caution and hope.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah; you know me, Buck."

Bucky blinked rapidly, as if the statement were an unexpected physical touch.

"You're Steve. I fought for you."

"You fought alongside me." Steve clarified. "We were a team."

Bucky's expression didn't shift. He continued to stare, his gaze piercing; the smeared eye makeup only accented the cold blue of his eyes.

Sutton dragged her eyes from him to Khan's cooling body then back.

"You killed him." She said dumbly.

That was it. Khan. Khan was dead. Just like that.

Sutton opened and closed her mouth again, but words jumbled in her head and she couldn't force out any coherent thought. His body lay limp on the road, growing paler, paler as the seconds ticked on.

Dead.

He was gone and he couldn't hurt her ever again and-

And she wasn't sure she felt much of anything.

Bucky's face skewed at her statement and Steve refused to take his eyes off him. Nat crept closer to them, but her movements were cautious and her eyes intent, even though Bucky's gun was on the ground.

"It wasn't his mission." Bucky finally answered. "It's-"

His voice faltered and his face almost crumpled as he seemed to wrestle with something inside his mind.

"It's not my mission either." He decided. "I don't want-" But he cut himself off and pressed his lips tightly together. "Hydra is collapsing now."

"And you're free," said Steve.

Bucky frowned, his look uncertain.

"So what now?" Natasha spoke up. All eyes turned to her. "You followed us. And you helped us. Where does that put us?"

Bucky eyed her and her stance, but nothing showed on his face. There was a sense of tension despite it.

"I'm unarmed," he said.

"We both know that's not true."

Behind them, Loki sighed; Steve's brow furrowed in response but he didn't bother glancing back.

"We can't stay here," Steve said, drawing back Bucky's attention. "Come with us, Buck. We're safer together."

"I'm not Bucky."

"But you are in more danger the longer we all stand here reminiscing," Loki deadpanned.

Sutton wondered how many times she'd have to hear Loki remind them of an impending deadline. As if the danger, the threat, wasn't already haunting her every moment.

The comment stopped Bucky from arguing about who he was, at least, and his sharp gaze cut across the city street in a wide sweep.

No one moved as Bucky slowly bent over and picked his gun back up. Given his slow movements and careful eye contact, it was clear he was trying to be as non threatening as he possibly could.

"You have associates," he said. "I saw them two days ago. Not in great shape."

Nat stepped forward, for a moment seeming to forget the threat she saw him as, and her eyes shone with a new, hopeful light.

"Where?"

"Three miles east. Might've gone underground to lick their wounds."

Sutton didn't like the way that sounded.