It's Always Been You

Chapter 10

Their next stop is Asgard.

Now, if it would've been any consolation, Loki could've warned them about the extreme speed of the Bifrost and given Bucky some time to prepare himself. But since he didn't, he's stuck waiting for him outside the Asgardian Guard bathroom, as Bucky empties his stomach of today's lunch.

Steve's inside the bathroom with Bucky, of course, and Loki notices that they might be a little bit too old-married-couple-y. He acknowledges the fact that that could've been his fault, but isn't particularly interested in admitting it.

When the sick business is sorted out, Steve and Bucky talk about how they would put the Reality Stone back into Jane without being socked in the nuts.

"I mean, imagine you finally being healthy after getting sick, but then the disease just migrates its way back to you just a few minutes later," Steve explains knowingly. "Trust me, it's not a good experience."

"Well, something's gotta give, or else we'll miss the timeframe and fuck up just about everything in their timeline."

"He's not wrong," Loki adds, earning a nod of approval from Bucky. "I can do it."

"You— are you sure?" Steve asks. He can't ask that big of a favor from Loki, especially when Loki's just been fighting 2012 Steve.

"Yes," the god replies. Before he leaves, he informs Steve and Bucky of a garden that he really likes and offers to lead them there so that they could have some well-deserved alone time.

Steve doesn't know what changed Loki's behavior. As far as he remembers, Loki was wreaking havoc in New York without caring about the consequences. Perhaps it's the story of how he and his brother worked together in the future that lured him into being a better person.

Bucky's practically clueless about the whole situation, given that he was most likely screaming at a HYDRA basement when it happened. He pushes the thought to the back of his mind, pulling himself together.

"Bucky," Steve's voice jolts him back to the present. "You okay?"

"Mhm." Bucky bends down to smell a yellow flower. "It smells good."

"Does it really?" Steve asks, reminded of the flowers inside his bag from the confession just a few hours earlier. He makes a mental note to check on them later. With a nod from Bucky, he smells the small flower and is extremely pleased with its scent. "I don't think flowers on Earth smell that nice."

"Right?" Bucky says, grinning. "This one's for you."

"I don't know what to do with all these flowers, Buck," Steve says with a chuckle.

"You could put them in a bathtub or something," Bucky shrugs. "Look, I just like seeing you with flowers, okay?"

"Got it," Steve replies, placing a soft kiss on Bucky's forehead. He takes the flower and places it in the bouquet in his bag. The flowers are surprisingly fine.

"Ya know, Stevie," Bucky starts, his eyes glimmering under the sunlight as the cool breeze blows his hair back. "I could get used to this."

"Define 'this'," Steve replies.

"Just... you know... being with you. And all these flowers. I don't know, I'm not exactly good with my words when it comes to you."

"That's okay," Steve says, hiding the blush on his cheeks. "I'm not good with words either." He takes ahold of Bucky's metal hand and interlaces his fingers with metal ones.

They continue to walk hand-in-hand, enjoying the weather and the fact that they're there together. It's been an almost-too-long time coming.

"Intruders!"

"What—" Bucky starts to say before he's bodily dragged by Steve to a nearby bathroom stall. "Oh, come on. Again?"

"Sh!" Steve says, his breathing fast. "There are palace guards right outside, and if you don't keep your mouth shut I'll have to make you."

"That doesn't sound like a bad deal," Bucky says and he pulls Steve in for a kiss.

The tension in Steve's shoulders immediately disappears and he leans into Bucky, his hand cupping his cheek and his other hand on the small of his back. 

Bucky thinks that it's the darkness that's making him so brave. He would never have kissed Steve inside a bathroom stall (okay, he totally will, but Steve doesn't have to know that) unless it was dark. His own logic confuses him sometimes, but he thinks it might be just the feeling of Steve's lips on his that's making him so weak on the knees.

They hear gunshots from outside.

"What the hell is going on?" Bucky mutters under his breath. "If I have to be stuck with you in a tiny-ass bathroom again, Rogers, I'm gonna be mad," he jokes, trying to lighten the mood. The sounds of pain outside is enough to shut him up.

"Now's not the time, Buck."

"Sorry," he replies. "What do we do now?"

"Wait for it to get better," Steve answers. "Or make a run for it. I think I saw an emergency exit earlier."

"Why would there be emergency exits in a garden?"

"This is probably why." Steve nods his head towards the commotion behind the door, to which Bucky nodded.

"Hey, Steve?" Bucky starts, thinking of how Loki was the one who told them to roam the gardens. He couldn't have known that this would happen, could he? "Do you think Loki's a part of this?"

"No. He was imprisoned in New York."

"Maybe he has some telepathy shit going on?"

"Sh, Bucky."

"I'm just saying! Maybe we shouldn't trust him too easily."

Steve sighs, noticing the absence of noise from outside. "We'll keep an eye on him." He grabs Bucky's wrist. "You think it's all clear?"

"They could just quiet down to lure us out," Bucky points out. "We still gotta be careful."

"I didn't know you were this smart."

"Shut up."

Steve laughs, and together they slowly emerge from the bathroom.

The debris from the fight is thick in the air. The smoke, the bodies on the floor, the last few pained gasps of people before they take their final breath. Something doesn't settle in Bucky's mind. They can't be done yet. "I think we should get outta here. And fast."

So, they run towards the exit, where more guards have fallen. Neither of them knows who the attacker is, and to be brutally honest, neither of them wants to.

"Captain!" Loki's voice calls out from the second floor of the palace. "Over here!"

The pair have an unspoken agreement that they need to get up there as soon as—

A bullet flies through the air and nests in Steve's stomach, and in this moment, everything feels like it's in slow-motion. The gunshot is just heard as he falls to the ground.