Find Me / Save Me (Bucky x Reader)

Sixty-Four

Steve's POV

I felt numb. As we helped the people of Wakanda, taking the injured to get treated, gathering up those that remained. M'Baku and Okoye stepped up to guide us and their people. We lost T'Challa and Shuri. As we went through the motions, did the best we could, I could tell we were all still completely numb.

When all was said and done what remained of our team climbed up on the jet to head back home. The ride was silent, the world was eerily silent. Each one of us lost in our thoughts of all that we had lost. Bucky. I closed my eyes and watched him turn to dust in front of me again. How many times would I have to lose my best friend? The pain in my chest worsened as I went down the list of lost friends. Sam. T'Challa. Shuri. Wanda. Vision. I could feel the tears well up behind my closed eyes as I wondered about Tony and (Y/N). Were they gone too? As I hear the jet slowing down, our approach to the compound imminent, I suddenly had something snap in my mind. Brining me out of my zombie like state.

"Sarah..." It came out of my lips like a whisper, but it echoed in the jet like a scream. Bringing myself to open my eyes, I could see Nat's eyes widen, in both fear and pain. She ran to me now, wrapping me in her arms. "We will take care of her until we find (Y/N)." Her voice comes out as a whisper, almost like a prayer in hopes that (Y/N) will return.

As soon as the jet lands and the bridge opens we see Pepper, red eyed and distraught waiting for us. Fear takes over me and I feel frozen in place. "Pepper... where's Sarah?" I speak softly, my voice filled with too much pain to hide. Pepper lets out a sob as tears start falling from her face. Her hands come up to her mouth to try and muffle the noise. No. No. God please no. I feel my legs weak, but I hold strong in my spot. Nat runs up to Pepper, trying to hold her, to calm her down. "Pepper. What is it? Where's Sarah?" I could see Nat trying to deny what my mind was thinking, praying wasn't true.

Between pained sobs, she lifts her gaze to my eyes. "She's gone..."

My legs give out under me. I fall into my knees. No longer able to hold back I sob into my hands. The space around me is silent, filled with quiet tears from the rest of the team, or silent mourning. I feel Nat fall in to me, soft sobs shaking her frame, and I pull her in. We stay there, crying, mourning at the loss of the purest little Avenger. Everything had changed. The world was broken.

I don't know how we pulled ourselves out of that moment. It was a blur. Rhodey took charge, his grief pushing him to act, and tried to contact his higher ups in the government to get a read on the situation. He tried to contact Hill and Fury, only to find out that they too had been lost. An agent dropped off some sort of device that Fury seems to have activated moments before he was dusted.

Bruce, Nat, Rhodey and I stared at it. An insignia on the device our only clue.

"What is it?" I ask. My voice finally stronger, not betraying the emotions still burning under the surface.

"It's a pager. But obviously not a normal pager... Bruce?" Rhodey looked over to him, as Bruce analyzed the pager.

"It's sending out some sort of signal." Bruce finally stated. "But if it keeps going eventually the battery will run out."

"Can you bypass the battery? I don't know, like make it keep going? We need to find out who Fury was contacting. If he was contacting them, it has to be important. It just has to." Nat spoke up. Her hopes high that something, anything could fix this.

Bruce fiddled with his glasses, lost in thought for a second before he answered. "I guess I could reroute the battery, without interrupting the signal..."

"Do it." I cut him off. "Whatever it is. Keep it running. Don't let it stop." I don't know why I say it. Some part of me needs this to mean something. Anything. I can't fathom this loss. I won't. There has to be a way to fix this.