The Mimic (HE/HIM VERSION)

163

Y/n froze.

Steve and Natasha could only see the back of him, but the effect of those words was obvious. His tense shoulders had dropped, the grip that he had on the wooden cart had faltered, and the angry huffs that once heaved through his body were replaced by short and shaky breaths. In just a few short words, his tough exterior had been shattered.

Y/n hadn't talked about Bucky in a long time, nor had he heard someone mention his name ever since he left the compound. It wasn't because he had moved on from him - hell, he often caught himself talking to him as if he were there - it was because he knew that once the tears started rolling, they wouldn't stop. Coming to terms with the fact that Bucky wasn't coming back was far too painful, so he had simply decided to block it out. Block it out and bombard himself with exhausting tasks. It had been a pretty good plan, but once he heard Steve utter his name, all those emotions came flooding back.

With eyes that were glossed over with tears, y/n set the wooden cart down and turned to face the pair. That simple mention had destroyed him. "Don't-" Y/n whispered, but quickly had to cut himself off as his bottom lip begun to tremble. He glanced up at the sky in a desperate attempt to stop the red hot tears from falling, but it didn't work. "Don't do that. Don't give me hope." Y/n practically begged. He couldn't handle any more pain or heartbreak. He was already broken enough. "Don't say it unless you mean it."

Natasha took a sharp breath as she watched the tears begin to fall down y/n's face. All she wanted to do was hug him, but she knew that it wasn't the right time or place. They'd just turned y/n's world upside-down. "We mean it, y/n." Nat said sincerely, taking a few steps forward. She gave him a weak smile, maintaining eye contact with y/n so he knew that Nat was telling the truth. "We could bring everyone back. Peter, T'Challa, Sam, Shuri-" She cut herself off, noticing that with every name that was uttered, more and more tears begun to fall. "One more mission, y/n." She begged. "One more mission, and then you and Bucky can leave and live whatever life you want to live."

It was an offer that y/n couldn't refuse. It was perfect. He'd finally be able to settle down with Bucky. They'd finally have the perfect life that they'd been longing for. All he needed to do was go on one more mission. One more mission and all of his friends would be back. One more mission and he'd be able to hold Bucky in his arms again. He'd be able to hear his laugh, to see his goofy smile - hell, he'd be able to fall asleep right beside him.

Y/n took a shaky breath, hugging himself a little for comfort as he thought everything through. Of course he was going to say yes, but it almost felt as if he was making a deal with the devil. He'd go to the ends of the earth if it meant that he'd be back in Bucky's arms, he didn't want to be manipulated and weaponised because of that. "One more mission. That's it?" He asked in a quiet tone. He glanced over at Steve for confirmation, and he was simply given a knowing nod. That knowing nod convinced him completely. If they were lying, they would've rambled on and on to try and convince him. But they didn't. Steve simply gave him a sincere nod, and that was enough.

*****

During their trip back to the compound, y/n was told everything about their plan to collect the infinity stones and bring everyone back.

The miraculous reappearance of Scott after being stuck in the Quantum Realm for five years, his crazy idea of time travel using Pym Particles, Tony managing to make that device come to life with the use of a Mobius strip, and so much more. Apparently every single stone had been located on the timeline, it was simply a matter of grabbing them. It was a lot to process, especially since he'd been living with little-to-no technology for five years, but y/n had learnt pretty quickly that sometimes it was easier to not question anything.

Y/n was the last Avenger to be located, which he was very grateful for. It didn't matter if he was only in the compound for one final mission, it still wasn't a pleasant place to be.

Seeing the team after such a long time was an odd experience. Everyone had changed so much, but there was nobody except Natasha that he could giggle about it to, and she was far too busy. Clint was the first person that y/n saw, and he was extremely unsure about the fact that he was rocking a mohawk. But, he seemed to be the most normal person out of the bunch (which wasn't hard when there was a talking raccoon and a robot on the team). Bruce and Hulk had decided to merge, creating one big, green giant. It definitely caused y/n to have a lot of arguments lined up. How could he be locked away and deemed a monster, when that green thing can just walk around like normal? It didn't make sense.

Not much had actually changed about Tony, same snarky attitude, same egotistical look in his eyes, but this time his hair was grayer. Y/n could've ripped into him for days on end, but he decided not to. One more mission. One final mission, and then he'd never have to see his face again.

There was one person that stuck out to y/n, and it was Thor. No, it wasn't to make fun of him or make rude comments like the rest of the team. He felt bad for him. He still remembered the tears in Thor's eyes at the sight of him mimicking Loki's powers, and to see that he'd let himself go so much just confirmed y/n's suspicions. Loki hadn't been dusted. He was dead. Thor had been mourning alone for five years, and nobody had decided to check up on him. Not even y/n. He felt terrible.