|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 122• Find My Way

Harley lay with his head right beside Y/n's thigh and, in his sleep, still held onto her hand in case she suddenly started moving. He was tired and decided to lay his head down. Neither Bruce nor Strange had come by to take over; they were probably still asleep themselves. Tony, on the other hand, was wide awake. His eyes were red and dry, but he refused to close them, no matter how tired he was. He whispered to her every few minutes in case she heard him. Tony didn't want her to feel alone. What could he do to make her better? Maybe he could make something. He's smart, right? He should be able to do it. But stuffing her with all kinds of metal, wires, chips, and all that stuff would only turn her into a machine, and she is a human. He couldn't do that to her. She needed to recover. She's so young. Tony simply could not understand why her body didn't repair itself. If only he could speed up the process or at least wake her up. He was dying to see her eyes open again. She didn't have to say anything or move; opening her eyes was all he wanted. The most depressing part of it all was that he could only hope. There was no certainty. She might never open her eyes again. Never speak to him again. Tony fought his tears the best he could whenever those thoughts took over. Peter's betrayal stung badly but not as badly as seeing Y/n like this. He only had eyes for the daughter in front of him that was slipping away. Her anger and frustration when she came back after five years, her plans, her dreams, it was all going down with her. She is – quite literally – taking it to her grave. Tony seemed to grow more aware of this with every minute that passed. He was really losing her. She was only growing colder, and her skin lost its life.

Tony barely noticed Harley lifting his heavy head. He was unaware of the pounding coming from up the stairs where the entrance and exit were, but Harley did. That's why he raised his head. He was pulled out of his slumber by a banging sound that was a lot louder on the other side of the door. Harley looked at Tony but noticed that he wasn't aware of it at all so he stood up himself to open the entrance for Bruce or Stephen Strange, who were probably on the other side. As soon as he pressed the button and the entrance slid open, his eyes were blown wide, and he was suddenly wide awake. "Barnes?" Harley said, "What are you doing here? Tony's right-" "I know, I know, I need to talk to him." Bucky had shed all of that awkwardness and hesitation when it came to having an interaction with Tony Stark. The man pushed past Harley carefully and walked down the steps. What he first laid eyes on was horrifying. Y/n's pale and lifeless body. Her chest barely moved up and down, showing that she almost wasn't breathing at all. The next thing his gaze fell on was Tony, a fragile man with his full attention on his daughter. Until Bucky came closer. Tony finally picked up on the people moving around him. He looked up – expecting to see Bruce or Strange – only to find Bucky Barnes, the man who murdered his parents, standing right in front of him. He immediately rose to his feet, pushing his seat back and causing it to fall over. "Get out." He ordered. Bucky held up his hands, his metal and normal. He needed Tony to know that he was no threat to him or anyone else. "Listen-" Bucky started. "Get out! Get out before I kill you!" Tony yelled at him. "I'm not here to fight, Tony. I promise." But he refused to listen. Tony tapped the watch around his wrist, and his Iron Man glove, with blaster included, was now aimed straight at Bucky.

"I told you to get out, Barnes!" Bucky refused to lower his hands. He didn't have any weapons on him. He was harmless. "I need to talk to you." Bucky's eyes briefly darted to Y/n's body. She wasn't awake like Peter had told him. If someone told him that she was dead, he would have believed them. "I'm not going to listen to you, Barnes. Get out!" Tony shouted again. He hoped that the murderous Winter Soldier would turn around and walk away. But he didn't. Bucky stood there with his hands in the air, unarmed and not dangerous. The opposite of the Winter Soldier that Tony was always so afraid of. When Bucky still didn't move to leave, Tony stepped forward, threatening him with the blaster in his glove, even though he knew it wouldn't hurt all that much if he shot the man with it. He couldn't see Bucky as anything other than a cold-blooded killer, even if he had good intentions. "I'm not going to tell you again. Either you get out yourself, or I will blast your head off your head, Barnes." There was clearly no room for argument, although Bucky was not deterred. Tony wanted him gone, period. So, when Barnes still didn't move, Tony shot at him. Bucky and Harley, standing behind him, both dodged the blast just in time. And before Bucky could blink, Tony had his hands on his shirt's collar. Tony found it disrespectful that Bucky not only dared to step onto his property but also came in and said he wanted to talk for a moment. He was so angry. The video of the Winter Soldier killing his parents started to replay in his mind. Steve tried to keep it from him, his friend lied, and that's what made all of this ten times worse than it already was. And that same man now wants to talk. He waltzes in here like he owns the place. He trespasses. How dare he?!