It's Always Been You

Chapter 12

The trip to Vormir is strangely scenic. With the moon seeming to hang low in the sky and its light painting its surroundings all bursts of purples and pinks, anyone would think that Vormir is a place of hope. A place of life.

Except, it's quite the opposite.

Two souls have been taken in exchange for a rock that holds less than little meaning in the world if it was never found in the first place. 

Steve braces himself of what's to come. With Loki guiding the pair up the hill (he insists that he can see better than the both of them combined), Steve follows suit, never letting go of Bucky's left hand.

"Are we there yet?" Bucky groans from behind him. "Feels like we've been going up for forever," he whines dramatically.

Steve chuckles, while Loki gives no thought to Bucky's complaints throughout the whole journey.

"Just a little bit more, Buck. Patience," Steve replies, tugging Bucky's hand, pulling him upwards. "We're almost there."

"Thank God!" Bucky says, sighing in relief. "I thought I was gonna lose my legs, too."

Steve rolls his eyes as his extremely theatrical boyfriend. "Not funny, Buck."

"Sorry," he mumbles under his breath.

They reach a clearing on top of the hill soon after, with a ghostly figure floating down towards them.

"Loki, son of Laufey," the figure said monotonously. "James, son of George," it continues. "Steven, son of Joseph."

"How does he know—" Bucky starts. He stops talking when he sees the face of the figure.

"The Red Skull," Steve says bitterly, spitting his name out as if it's poison on his tongue. "Thought I'd seen the last of you."

"Do not talk much, Steven. I am the Stonekeeper, nothing else. The flags and petty fights don't matter to me anymore."

Steve furrows his eyebrows but stays silent. He takes the Soul Stone out of his backpack, holding it in between the tips of his fingers. "You want this?"

The Red Skull's shocked expression almost makes Loki smirk. "How... how did you get that?"

"Our friend sacrificed herself. Her name's Natasha Romanoff," Steve says, getting all choked up at the thought of his dear friend.

"Natalia Alianovna Romanova," Bucky corrects him, the words slipping out of his mouth like a spell. "That's her real name."

"Yes," Loki interrupts the Skull's thoughts, "we're handing the Soul Stone back, so we expect to have her back in return."

"I am sorry, but it doesn't work that way, mortal."

"I'll have you know that I'm not a mere—"

The devices on the trio's wrists beep with great importance.

"I think we're running out of time," Bucky whispers under his breath, his eyes wide with fear of the unknown. "Please tell me this whole thing'll work."

"Skull!" Steve exclaims, getting on his knees, his eyes pleading. "Please. Just... give her back to us, and we'll leave! We won't bother you anymore!"

The Skull just smiles sadly and takes the Stone from Steve's hand.

That's the last thing they remember before they're transported back to the real world.

When they arrive in the real timeline, Bucky takes in a huge gulp of breath, while Steve is laying on the ground. Loki seems to be unaffected.

"Nat..." Steve reaches out, his face on the ground as he's too tired to lift his head up. His hand finds Bucky's right forearm. "Please tell me we got her back," he says, his voice shaking at the end of his sentence.

Bruce hurriedly rushes to their aid, giving Bucky a can of oxygen to bring his oxygen levels back to equilibrium. "Cap! Hey, are you okay?"

"We couldn't bring her back, Bruce," he says, looking up. "I'm so sorry," he says, placing his head back on the ground. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, Cap. As long as the universe is back in order, we're gonna be okay," Bruce replies, taking a seat next to Steve.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky sees Loki walking away from the scene. He guesses that he might be trying to find Thor. He sees Steve pushing back his own tears with his palms, knowing how much it sucks to feel like the only one suffering.

"Can you keep an eye on him for a while?" Bruce asks Bucky. "I have to get the others."

"Sure thing," he replies. He approaches Steve, whose body is still curled up into a ball. "Hey, Stevie..." he starts, thinking of what to say that might possibly comfort his lover. "C'mere, doll. Lemme hold you," he says, inviting Steve into his arms.

Steve immediately melts into him. It's as if his walls have been broken down by just a few words. "I'm a mess."

"You're a mess that I want," Bucky whispers, kissing Steve's blond hair ever so softly.

When Steve doesn't reply, Bucky doesn't think much of it and instead tangles his fingers in Steve's hair, combing through it comfortingly.

Steve nuzzles his nose into Bucky's neck, sniffling. "I don't want anyone else to see this."

"What, you crying or us being helplessly in love with each other?" Bucky asks with a small smile.

"The crying part. I want the whole world to know that we're helplessly in love with each other."

Bucky laughs, pulling Steve in for a kiss. "We're okay, Stevie. I bet Nat's smiling down at us right now, saying something like, 'I knew you two would end up together! You owe me fifty bucks, Tony!'"

Steve can't help but crack a smile at the thought of his best friends having fun in the afterlife. "Thanks for being here, Buck."

"You should've known that I'm here to stay, Stevie."

"You better be," Steve warns, kissing the tip on Bucky's nose, making him laugh.

"Steve and Bucky sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I—" Sam starts.

"Are you five, Sam?! Let them have their moment!" Wanda exclaims, making the pair sitting on the ground a blushing mess.