SOLDIER ─ marvel

XXV. Parted But Never Apart

Chapter Twenty-Five
Soroya

Alex and I both help Bucky out of the hideout, one arm around his waist while we hold his arms with with our free hands. Once we make it above ground, I feel relieved as I see the ship sitting a few feet away. After the mold filled hideout below us, it's such a welcome sight.

Almost immediately after we exit the hideout, the ramp of the ship opens up. Stumbling down the steps is Khari, who uses his spear to help him as he practically throws himself off the ship and onto the ground. He walks as fast as he possibly can until he makes it to us, dropping his spear and clutching onto Bucky in a large embrace.

"I'm so relieved you're okay, James." Khari whispers.

Bucky holds onto him just as tightly, shaking his head. "Me too. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."

I turn my head to the side, dropping my voice as I say; "Can you and Everett give us a minute?"

John nods, a serious look going over his face. "Ross and I will wait for you on the ship."

I watch him walk away from us and up the ramp, leaving Alex, Khari, Bucky and I alone. As Khari finally pulls away from Bucky, I see that tears are already welling up in Khari's eyes. Bucky sees it too, his expression growing worried as he looks between the three of us.

"Stop stalling. Tell me what happened."

Khari touches Bucky's shoulders gently, taking the reigns of this unfortunate topic. "After Zemo took you away, I sent out a distress signal to Alex. He, Soroya, Everett, and T'Challa arrived shortly after..."

Khari begins trailing off, a tear slipping silently down his face. I touch Khari's back gently, nodding my head to indicate that I'll take things from here. If anyone should tell him it's me. Bucky's attention falls down to me, and I can already see the pain leaking out into his features, his eyes already filling with tears. He knows what I'm about to say.

"Zemo had shot Steve in the chest. By the time we got there, he had lost so much blood...he-he didn't make it. Buck-Liebchen, I'm so sorry."

Bucky shakes his head, tears falling from his lashes and falling down his cheeks. "No. No he-he can't be dead. He can't be."

I feel my lip wobble as I cup his face in my hand, my voice cracking as I tell him; "I sang to him as he passed, I was there with him till the end. He wasn't alone."

Bucky lets out a sharp breath, his knees buckling under him. The three of us step back a little as Bucky hunches over the ground and begins to sob, his voice carrying as the wind begins to set in. I kneel down to the ground and pull him into my arms, letting him sob into my lap, his arms slowly wrapping around my waist. Alex and Khari also kneel down next to him, with both of them holding onto him from either side.

For a long time the four of us just sit here mourning Steve, trying to accept the unacceptable, to heal from such a deep wound. But I know however hard it will be that we will manage to do it together. Steve wouldn't want us to spend our lives mourning him, he would want us to celebrate and remember him. But for now we just let our tears fall, let our sorrow be carried away in the blowing breeze.

-

Bucky won't stop staring at Zemo. He is still cuffed in the corner of the ship, away from the rest of us, who are hunched over the papers, formulas, and vile of serum we stole from the hideout. Bucky keeps trying to focus on the task at hand, but I see his eyes continue to dart towards that corner. I wish there was something I could say to make him be more at ease, but I know I can't.