Not Without You: Book 1 (Canon-Divergence Stucky Fix-it-Fic)

Twenty-Four

Finally getting to his feet, Steve watched as an army of Thanos's followers descended onto the makeshift battleground. Nausea roiled through his stomach at fighting them alone. There was no trying about it. Steve would fight to his death. Even single-handedly.

Which seemed like a very real possibility since his teammates seemed to still be down.

Tightening the straps on the shield, Steve leveled his breathing to a calmer, more manageable rhythm. Ready to charge before his comm crackled with static. His stomach dropped. He was truly alone. He would be fighting al--

"Hey, Cap, you read me?"

Sam's deep voice shocked Steve to his core. Bringing his hand up to his chest, Steve made sure that he was, in fact, still alive. While they were hopeful that they'd be able to bring them back, for a good while, Steve wasn't sure they'd be able to. Not even once Bruce snapped his fingers.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?"

Steve couldn't find his voice. His throat was too tight with emotion as his eyes filled with tears. All those times when he reached for his phone with the intention to call Sam, only to realize he couldn't came rushing back to Steve. He was relieved to know that they succeeded.

"On your left."

Brows furrowed, Steve turned to find a shimmering, sparking portal open. Standing there was Okoye, Shuri, and T'Challa, ready to fight. Steve shared a look with them as Sam flew over them, exiting the portal. Around him, more portals opened revealing more people from different locations.

The only thing that Steve could focus on though, was Bucky. More handsome than he remembered, the brunet ran past the royal family towards him. Steve's heart slammed against his ribs as though it was trying to burst from his chest to reach Bucky sooner.

"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid," Bucky said, joining Steve. As he surveyed the ground and their threat, Steve's eyes stayed on him. Not believing that he was there. That he was close enough to touch. That he could lean over and smell that woodsy, sensual cologne that had lingered in his mind, losing its Buckiness over the years. That he could feel that stubble on his chin and tangle his fingers in those messy strands.

Bucky was alive, and tears broke the dam.

Silently, tears rolled over the bottom half of his mask and stained his dirt covered jaw. Finally returning his gaze to Steve, Bucky's brow furrowed. Bucky's hand twitched, as though he was about to wipe Steve's tears, but Steve knew that he wouldn't. Not when they were facing a battle. Yet, it lit Steve up and held a promise, "soon."

With his faith restored and his anger building, Steve finally tore his eyes from his lover and glared at Thanos. Ready to finish this, once and for all, Steve announced, "Avengers --" Mjolnir smacked into his hand when he summoned it "-- ASSEMBLE!"

From somewhere down the line, Thor made a battle cry, as did T'Challa. Bucky by his side, Steve charged forward. Thanos's army started running towards them as well, and Steve was positive that none of them were going to touch Bucky. Of course, that didn't mean that Bucky wasn't going to harm them.

Having each other's backs, they fought in tandem. Taking out one alien after another. Steve took out all his anger and frustration over the past six years on those who fought for Thanos. Giving it his all as he brought them down. Even using the Mjolnir by throwing it and hitting multiple individuals.

When Steve held his hand out and caught Stormbreaker, he turned to find Thor holding Mjolnir. Teasingly, Thor shook his head and gestured for the magical axe, "No, no, give me that. You have the little one."