Without You {𝟙𝟚} | Marvel √

chapter sixteen

Soaring towards the mountains, the Quinjet soared with Steve behind the joystick and Bucky sitting a couple feet behind him. He had a frown on him, watching his friend who had sacrificed so much for him. "What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asked.

Steve stared ahead, heavyhearted. He shuddered a sigh before shaking his head. "Whatever it is...I'll deal with it," Steve told him.

"What about Alexandria?" Bucky asked, his brows furrowed up in worry for the girl.

"Ale is fine," Steve sternly assured him.

"Is she?" Bucky asked.

Steve froze. He realized he meant the mental stability of Allie, not her physical state. He glanced back at Bucky a moment, who was staring at Steve sternly, wanting to make sure Allie was okay. But Steve knew she wasn't, and couldn't give him a straight answer.

"I'll deal with it," Steve repeated.

Bucky stared, a thoughtful look over him. "I don't know if I'm worth all of this, Steve," he said.

Steve glanced back at him, a sorrowful look on him. "What you did all those years...it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice," he told him.

"I know," Bucky softly said, "But I did it."

BERLIN, GERMANY; At a hospital, Rhodey rolled inside a CT-scanner, a blue hospital gown covering his body while Tony and Vision watched through a viewing window. Tony paced, incredibly worried while Vision stared at the colonel with a grave face.

"How did this happen?" Tony whispered and Vision glanced down at him a moment.

"I became distracted," he said, looking back into the window while Tony scoffed.

"I didn't think that was possible," He said.

"Neither did I," Vision said and Tony stared at him stunned before turning and leaving the room, leaving Vision looking in on Rhodey.

Stepping out into the corridor, Tony stood still, his face completely numb until he looked down the hall, spotting an equally concerned Natasha, and his expression softened.

———

The two stood out on a balcony together, staring towards a row of trees as Tony said, "The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis."

It was quiet between them for a moment before Natasha said, "Steve's not gonna stop..." she then glanced over at him, "If you don't either, Rhodey's gonna be the best case scenario."

"You let them go, Nat," Tony murmured.

"We played this wrong," Natasha told him.

"We?" Tony questioned, almost laughing, "Boy, it must be hard to shake the whole double agent thing, huh? It sticks in the DNA," he then looked down at Natasha, finding the most irritated look over her, "How could you do this to Allie? How could you and Steve both abandon her like this?"

She shook her head, her lips fumbling in fury. "Are you incapable of letting go of your ego...for one goddamn second?" she asked.

Tony stared at her for a moment before turning back out to the balcony. "T'Challa told Ross what you did, so..." he looked back at her, "They're coming for you."

"I'm not the one that needs to watch their back," Natasha spat before she turned and stormed off as Tony watched her go. But then his watch beeped. He glanced down at it before pressing it and a holographic image appeared on his wrist.