In All Our Years Series - 4 In 1 | Captain!Bucky, WinterSoldier!Steve | Stucky

2020

| 2023 |

Steve stumbled, palms scraping against a dirty piece of broken cement as he caught his fall. He made his way to where the team was lingering, a sorrowful silence surrounding them.

Clint unsteadily sunk down on one knee, collapsing once he was halfway to the ground. And with him, the others - many Steve could say he knew, but some were complete strangers - dropped down, some with exhaustion sucking at their limbs, others with straight spines and strong frames.

Then, finally, he saw the reason for it.

Rhodes, weighed down by his suit and grief, held on to Peter's shaking shoulders. Pepper and Bucky were on either side of Tony Stark's body - Pepper, with her hand underneath Tony's, over his arc reactor; Bucky with his palm light against the burned, ruined skin on his neck, head bowed.

Tony's head gradually turned - away from Pepper after she pressed a tearful kiss to his cheek - toward Bucky. A tremor went through Bucky's shoulders, his face contorted, and he dropped his forehead against Tony's temple.

Steve fell to one knee beside Clint, whose face was eerily blank. His nerves were too still, beyond the downward twitch of his mouth. Steve straightened his spine, though his entire body protested.

It was only right.

No one moved a muscle, for who even knew how long. Until Rhodes put his hands on Pepper and Bucky's shoulders, and neither of them looked up. Bucky's head stayed ducked beside Tony's, his eyes unable to meet the dull glass directly in front of him.

Rhodes pulled at Bucky's shoulder, forcing him to look up - Bucky's eyes immediately trained on Steve. He jumped up and raced toward him - Steve pushed himself to his feet just in time to catch him in his arms, their chests pressed and legs suddenly tangled. Bucky threw his arms over his shoulders, pushing his face into his neck. Steve was thankful to again feel Bucky's long waves tickling his cheek, the weight of his body against his own. To just feel him again, all of him, and not the ashes that stuck to his fingertips.

Bucky sighed, hot against his throat. "How long?"

"Five years."

Bucky's bones gave way, falling limp in his arms. He opened his mouth, but closed it again when he found he had nothing to say. Before he could think of something, Steve intervened, desperately, "Don't." He softened his tone, murming into his jaw, "Please, don't."

They stayed silent, choosing to hold each other's trembling bodies. The two of them fit together perfectly; it made everything right. Bucky pressed little butterfly kisses up and down Steve's throat, the two of them holding each other as close as they could.

"Buck?"

"Hm?"

"Will you marry me?"

Bucky pulled back, so their eyes could lock together. He looked devastated, but somehow in a good way, indicated by the little upward twitches of the corners of his mouth. He slid his arms from around Steve's shoulders, until his hands framed his jaw and he was able to guide them into a soft kiss - barely a kiss, just a soft brush that sent shivers down Steve's spine.

The funeral came barely two days later, while they had everyone nearby. Bucky's eyes watered at seeing the old arc reactor beside Nat's widow's bites, and he leaned heavily into Steve's torso. Steve didn't say a word, just tucked his hand into the curve of Bucky's hip and pulled him in close.

They all had a rough night, from the battle to the funeral. Pepper had everyone - that needed it - in hotel rooms in the city. She placed Steve, Bucky, Clint, Wanda, and Sam together in something big enough to be the first floor of a house, something Steve wouldn't feel comfortable calling a hotel room. But he just held Wanda in his arms, unable to convince himself to stop embracing her. She didn't seem put off by it, having an arm looped around his shoulders. He couldn't give words to how much he had missed Wanda and their friendship. They relearned American pop culture together, competing in how fast they could read books, watching Disney and DreamWorks movies before moving on to whatever people around them believed they had to watch. She had comforted him when he teared up during Up, and he had done the same for her when they watched Frozen.