Bucky's Anchor

Chapter 41 - Return from the Ashes

Bucky's POV

It felt like being yanked back into existence. One moment, I was dust in Emily's arms, my whole body disintegrating into nothingness, and then—suddenly—I was standing again. Solid. Whole. Alive.

My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Around me, the battlefield was chaos: noise, dust, screams. But none of it made sense. How was I here? How could I be breathing, feeling the cold air against my skin when just moments ago, I'd been... gone?

I blinked hard, trying to force the haze from my mind. A part of me knew—knew without question—that I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be alive.

And then the memory hit me. Emily.

"Emily!" I screamed, my voice ragged, cutting through the cacophony around me. The urgency of her name propelled me forward as I stumbled to my feet, my heart pounding in my chest. "Emily!"

I couldn't think beyond that. My body ached, my mind a whirl of confusion and fear, but I kept moving, kept shouting her name. I needed to find her, to know that she had returned too. I couldn't survive this if she hadn't.

---

Through the blur of people and the haze of battle, I spotted him—Steve. He was standing tall amidst the chaos, looking just as confused as I felt. My relief at seeing him alive was brief, overshadowed by my need to find Emily.

I ran to him, grabbing him by the shoulders, shaking him with a desperation I didn't care to hide. "Steve! Have you seen her? Emily—did she come back?"

Steve's eyes were wild but focused. He shook his head slowly, his face grim. "No, Bucky. I haven't seen her yet. But we'll find her. I promise you, we will."

His voice was steady, but it did little to quell the panic rising in my chest. My grip on him tightened, my breath coming in short gasps. The thought of her still being lost—still being gone—was unbearable.

"We have to find her, Steve," I choked out. "We have to."

"We will," Steve said, his voice calm and reassuring. "But stay focused. We need to stay together."

I nodded, though my mind was already racing ahead, searching for her, praying to whatever gods might be listening that she had returned like I had.

---

The battlefield was a mess of noise, movement, and destruction, but none of it mattered. All I could think about was finding her. Every face I saw wasn't hers. Every call of my name wasn't her voice. It was like I was in some kind of nightmare where she was just out of reach, just beyond where I could see.

"Emily!" I shouted again, my throat raw, my heart hammering against my ribs. The fear gnawed at me with every second that passed.

I pushed through the chaos, scanning the crowds, desperately searching for her familiar face. Then, in the distance, I saw her.

Her hair was tangled, her eyes wide with fear, but she was there. She was alive.

"Emily!" I called, my voice breaking. I ran, my legs moving faster than my mind could comprehend.

Her eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, everything around us stopped.

---

We ran toward each other, and when we collided, it was like the world around us ceased to exist. My arms wrapped around her, pulling her close as if I could somehow shield her from everything that had happened. Her warmth, the feel of her body against mine, was the only thing grounding me to reality.

"I thought I lost you," I whispered, my voice trembling as I buried my face in her hair. "I thought I'd lost you forever."

Emily sobbed against my chest, her fingers gripping my jacket like a lifeline. "I thought we were gone," she whispered. "I thought... I thought it was over."

I pulled back just enough to look at her, framing her face in my hands. Her cheeks were stained with tears, but her eyes were filled with the same desperate relief I felt.

Without thinking, I leaned in and kissed her. It was a kiss born of fear, of longing, of the sheer relief that we were both alive. It was a kiss that said everything I couldn't find the words for—everything I'd felt since the moment I thought I'd lost her.

When we finally pulled apart, breathless and shaken, I pressed my forehead against hers, closing my eyes. "I'm never letting you go again," I whispered. "Never."

"I'm here," she whispered back. "I'm here, Bucky. We're both here."

---

I didn't understand how any of this was possible. But holding her in my arms, feeling her alive and breathing, I knew that whatever had happened, we had been given another chance. I wasn't going to waste it. We had fought too hard, lost too much. This time, we would make it count.