When You Were Never Mine: Part 2

Something Borrowed

@sunamun23 : your requested sequel

@Olivia_123_liv : working in parts of your request

Tony was having the worst week. It was always like that when you were gone for any length of time, as if your presence kept the world around him stable and less likely to piss him off. You had been running around Manhattan with Natasha and Wanda, preparing for your wedding only a few days away, and Tony had barely seen you for more than a minute each day. You had been staying with Maria in the city out of pure convenience, but it also gave your nuptials a feeling of excitement in keeping the two of you apart beforehand. Two days into the idea, Tony was ready to run off and elope just to be done with it all.

Monday, he set the toaster on fire when he ran to the lab after an idea struck him in the middle of getting his breakfast ready.

Tuesday, he broke his little toe on a corner taken too quickly, running from the lab and back to the brand-new toaster before the fire alarms could go off again.

Wednesday, he overslept and missed a very important meeting at Stark HQ because he refused to leave his breakfast to burn again. This one wasn't so bad, actually; he hated meetings and Pepper covered better than he would've anyway.

Thursday, the toast was saved, but he couldn't find his favorite socks. Or, more accurately, he couldn't find both of them. He wanted to wear them for the wedding the next day, but this day had been a complete loss after being consumed by the search.

But Friday...the day of the big event that was supposed to be the happiest of his life, that was the worst of them. It may have been one of his top five worst days ever. No, definitely top two.

"Definitely number one" Tony mumbled to himself. He would gladly rip his chest open again and endure as much torture as anyone could bring, just to make this day end any way other than this. He would take any of his other worst days to make this one stop.

"We'll find her, Tony."

As Tony paced the length of the compound's conference room over and over again, his mind was racing too fast to track the thoughts barraging him, and none of them were good ones. His bowtie was loose, the black silk cloth hanging precariously from his neck and threatening to fall away with any step. He looked down at his hands, useless and bloodied, covered with a mix of his and yours from his failed attempt to hold on as they pulled you away. His brand-new platinum wedding band was dull and covered in a hazy red, dulling its shine beneath the terror. The deep scratches in his palms from your fingernails as you tried to hold on were numb despite the damage; or maybe it was that his heart hurt so much more that he didn't notice. Yep, he'd gladly tear his chest open now, just to make it stop.

"I've been a husband for five hours..." Tony muttered again under his breath, talking to no one. "That's gotta be a record for fuck ups."

"Tony, come on, you should sit down," Steve tried, pulling out a chair from the long table, but his friend waved it away.

"I wanted to have the reception here, but she wouldn't have it. Said we're here enough as it is," he continued on, his voice still barely a whisper. "I wasn't ready. I should've done more."

When Tony was just about within the distance of his reach, Steve tried to give him a hand of support, but instead he was left to hurry forward to steady his teammate as he dropped to his knees with the first sensation of contact. Steve had never seen Tony cry before; maybe a few tears escaping here and there, but never like this. He had never seen the man so fully broken, and it terrified him. "Hey, it's okay...I've got you."

On the other side of the room sat a man nearly as broken but refusing to let anyone see the raging fear that churned inside him. Bucky sat silent on the floor, his back pressed to a wall in the far corner of the room where the light barely reached him, where he could find some comfort in the darkness. He had been saying your name over and over since the moment you were taken, trying desperately to get you to connect. The silence in his mind was driving him mad with each attempt, but that wouldn't stop him from trying. "She won't answer," he finally spoke fully aloud, drawing the attention of everyone around him.