Better Love || A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction

- Endgame -

a/n: I decided to add that other half from the previous chapter into this one instead because flow wise it works better, so no that's not deja vu you're experiencing, it's just in a new area. Still though, while we're here, get your tissues because you know what's about to come next :')

Elena didn't waste time waiting to view the surrounding area. She knew what she would see: the Avengers complex, destroyed, only a pile of rubble that she hoped everyone had managed to escape from. She hadn't heard Rhodey, Rocket, or Bruce since the water had started seeping into her small area, so she hoped that that meant that they had escaped unscathed. What mattered in that moment was the noise she could hear coming from over the horizon. When she approached it she stopped, her breath catching in her throat. There, in an area open and wide, was Thor, Tony, and Steve. But they weren't alone.

Elena had never seen him before, but she knew who he was as soon as she had caught sight of him. She felt her blood boiling in her veins, heartbeat hammering hard against her chest. She had vowed to kill the monster that had stolen her friends and family away from her. Now the time had come. She started walking towards the group, picking up speed when she saw Tony get thrown across the area and Thor getting targeted by Thanos alone. However, she couldn't help but come to a stop when she saw Steve pick and throw a peculiar hammer at Thanos. She had never seen that weapon before, but it didn't look Earth made. It must've been important, however, because even from where she was standing she could see the amazement on Thor's face right before Thanos kicked him unconscious.

It was when Steve started using the hammer to send lightning towards Thanos that Elena suddenly realized something. Despite the adrenaline rushing through her blood, she realized that she was not armed like the other two were. As much as she wanted to believe that she had the strength to fight Thanos bare handed, she had seen that Thor, Tony, and Steve had struggled to fight him together and with weapons, let alone by themselves with none. However, she started to think that she wouldn't get the chance when Thanos got rid of the hammer and started to mercilessly break Steve's shield apart with his weapon. Watching the iconic shield fall apart like glass made Elena gasp, and she watched as Thanos sent Steve flying across the ground. Without a word Elena hurried towards him, falling onto her knees beside his barely moving form.

"Steve?" Elena whispered, hands hovering around his body. Slowly, he pushed himself up slightly, looking at her with a dirtied and wounded face.

"Elena..." he breathed, swallowing. Elena was about to speak when there was a sudden noise across the ground. The two friends watched as a bright light erupted across from them, emerging from it a hoard of aliens Elena had only seen that fateful day five years previously, only thousands more and of different races. Elena watched as they continued to pour onto the land and even across the sky, large whale-like armored creatures swimming across the grey and smoking sky, ships hovering further above. Elena felt the blood drain from her face, eyes wide. She thought she would feel scared, seeing the amount of enemies appearing before her. Instead, she felt full. Instead, she almost wanted to laugh. She caught Steve's eyes, smiling weakly at him. He returned it, shaking his head.

"Excessive," he mumbled beneath his breath as they stood up together. Elena shrugged.

"Perhaps over-compensating for something?" She said, a laugh escaping her. Steve chuckled softly, nodding at her gently before tightening the remainder of his shield around his arm. Elena knew that with the others out for the count, they were outnumbered. Even if they had been conscious and able to fight, though, Elena knew even then that it wouldn't be enough. But she wasn't afraid. She knew her strength. She knew Steve's. If the end of the line was here, then so be it. But Elena wasn't going to go down without a fight, and they both knew it. Without a word they started walking towards Thanos slowly, Steve limping. They didn't get very far, though, when there was a sudden crackle emitting from their ear pieces. The sound made them both pause, looking at each other to make sure they hadn't imagined it. Then they heard it again, a voice they hadn't heard in five years.