Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

59 - What You Do For Love

IT WAS SILENT AS STEVE AND BLAKE FLEW THE QUINJET TOWARDS THE MOUNTAINS, SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONFLICTING THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS SWIRLING AROUND IN RAEVANNA'S HEAD AND HEART. She sat next to Bucky behind Steve and Blake, twirling her thumbs over and over as the silence lengthened. It was tense in the jet, knowing that their friends had sacrificed everything to help them, and after today, things would never be the same.

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asked after awhile, finally breaking the silence.

Steve stared ahead, heavyhearted, before he sighed and shook his head. "Whatever it is... I'll... we'll deal with it."

Bucky was silent for a moment, looking down thoughtfully. "I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve."

Blake, who had been silent since they started speaking, turned around and glanced at Bucky. "What you did all those years...," she said to him, "it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice."

Bucky nodded slowly, his eyes downcast. "I know. But I did it."

Blake fell silent, unsure of how to respond, so Raevanna decided to speak. "You did all those things, yes," she said. "But that doesn't make you a bad person. Everyone does things they're not proud of, whether it was their choice or if they were forced to. But that doesn't make them bad. What makes a person bad is if they repeat those wrong things again and again, without remorse, and they enjoy or find pleasure in doing it. But I know for a fact that, if it was up to you, you would've never hurt anyone, especially those you cared about. And that's what matters."

Raevanna had felt Steve's attention go to her as she had been speaking, and even though he said nothing when she finished, she knew he had been listening to every word. Raevanna had been speaking to Bucky, but she had also indirectly been speaking to Steve as well, hoping that he would find the truth in her words. As upset as she still was with him, Raevanna still loved Steve, and nothing would ever change that for her.

Several hours later they arrived in Siberia. Steve brought the Quinjet to land besides a caterpillar truck on the remote icy mountain top, folding the wings and turning off the engine. As they prepared to leave, Bucky pulled out a rack of guns labeled 'Romanoff' and took a light machine gun, while Blake strapped her signature axe to her back and loaded her guns, and Steve put his shield on his back. Raevanna looked at the rack of guns as well, staring at it hesitantly before picking up an assault rifle and slinging the strap over her shoulder.

"Hey," Blake said upon noticing Raevanna's actions. "You know how to use that?"

Raevanna nodded. "I do. Doesn't mean I want to, though."

Blake met her gaze, her blue-green eyes softening in sympathy. Then, she gave Raevanna a small smile and put her hand on the young faery's shoulder. "We're gonna figure this out, okay?" Blake said softly. "I promise."

Raevanna smiled back. "Okay. Thank you."

Blake's smile widened, and with that, they turned to the exit ramp, standing behind Steve and Bucky as they waited for it to descend.

"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asked Bucky.

"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Bucky replied.

Steve nodded. "You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead."

"What was her name again?"

"Dolores. You called her Doll."

Bucky chuckled. "She's gotta be a hundred years old right now."

Steve grinned. "So are we, pal," he said, clamping his hand on Bucky's shoulder and shaking it gently.