Finally.
✖✖
Steve breathed heavily as he directed the aircraft downwards. He knew, as he stared down at the freezing water and islands of ice, that he had no future beyond that point.
"I'm gonna have to put her in the water," he stated his thinking process aloud for his team back at the base to hear.
"What? Steve, no. That was not part of the plan," his next-in-command and recently made boyfriend, Bucky, argued over the fuzzy radio com in the ship.
"Buck-"
"No, Steve. Don't you do this to me," Bucky stopped him angrily, pausing before uttering, "It was just last week when-"
"I promised you that dance," Steve finished, "I know."
Steve directed the plane more steadily to crash into the unforgiving ocean, and it's plan to swallow him and the plane full of bombs with him.
Bucky could see the plane steering off course, distinguished by a red dot heading vertically downwards on his tracking screen.
"Dammit, Steve," Bucky whispered quietly into his mic.
"Don't worry about me," Steve tried to sound like his heart didn't feel as cold as the ice he was staring face to face with, "I'm with you til the end of the line."
Bucky didn't have it in him to utter the words back as the signal went out and the radio filled with white noise. He checked his panel and felt the tears swell up in his eyes.
The red dot was gone.
✖✖
He stared at the shield. The star surrounded by once shiny blue paint was faded. He titled his head to the side a bit and ran his fingers gently over some of the scratches in the metal.
"I'd say it needs a make over. What do you think, J?"
"Of course, sir. Running scans right now."
Tony snapped, clapped, and popped his fingers as he sat back in his desk chair and waited for his trusty AI to scan the ancient shield through a redesign system.
"How come you care more about the technology than the man we found with it," a voice came from behind him, following more clicking of heels.
She halted herself by his desk and he swiveled around in his chair to see her.
"My dad engineered this shield. Isn't it a son's dream to be able to fix something that his father couldn't?" Tony said with a bit of a scowl.
"Why fix it if it's not broke? You're just trying to be better than him, Tony. You should just take a break and-"
"Pepper!" Tony stopped her meaningless rambling. She never quite understood his motivation, and it was driving a wedge through their relationship.
She stood wide eyed and mouth agape as Tony just sighed.
"I think you understand what's happening," the mechanic whispered after a few moments.
"I don't-"
"Well, allow me to make it simple for you then," Tony's words were sharp as he got out of his chair and faced he in one fluid motion. "You're a great secretary, a not so great girlfriend."
Pepper's jaw dropped completely as she whipped her hand across Tony's face. Tony's jaw ticked as he straightened his body back up to look at her. She had tears in her eyes.
"Get out," he spat.
She scurried off with not another word.
✖✖
