Ghost of You

f o r t y - t h r e e

I've never thought of myself as an overdramatic person. I like to think that I have a pretty good head on my shoulders and a fairly strong foundation in reality. Even so, all I can think right now is that my dramatic, untimely and unfortunate death scene was way too over the top. Partly because I hate goodbyes, but mainly because I'm very much so, not dead.

All I've done is blink, and I'm still laying on the ground, in the same spot and the same forest in Wakanda. I can feel my chest moving up and down as the air swirls in and out of my lungs. I can feel my heart pounding with life, it's beat singing the chant "You're alive! You're alive! You're alive!"

Everything is exactly the same as when I closed my eyes for what was meant to be the final time. Everything except the fact that everyone that was here with me before had apparently vanished. This was a much harder problem to solve.

Maybe I hadn't died. Maybe I had just... passed out? But that wouldn't explain why everyone else would have just disappeared or leave me here unconscious.

"Do you have any clue what just happened?"

I nearly scream when I hear the voice behind me. I was so positive that I was alone, too caught up in figuring out whatever the hell was going on to realize that I was not in fact, actually alone.

My head snaps towards the sound of the voice, and my eyes land on James Buchanan Barnes Jr.

"Well shit." I shake my head as I push off the ground, standing up to face him. "If you're here too then I'm definitely dead."

I move forward, hugging him quickly. I thought he was gone for good. I guess I thought we both were gone for good. Or maybe we are? Maybe this is some sort of... afterlife? If it is, it's not so bad. The forest is pretty and James Buchanan Barnes Jr. makes for decent company. Things could definitely be worse.

"I'm so confused right now." He mumbles, patting my back awkwardly. It's like he has no idea how to respond to this, I mean seriously hasn't he ever been hugged before?

I'm about to respond when I hear another noise off to the side. I break apart from Bucky just in time to see Sam stumble through the trees and into the clearing.

"How did you do that?" He looks at me confused. "One second you were there, the next you were gone."

"It was the other way around." I grin at him, jogging over to hug him too. He makes a noise that sounds a lot like "oof" as I crash into him. Watching him disappear into thin air was an image I'd never get out of my head. Seeing him here, together again... I feel like I could cry on the spot. I would too if he wouldn't mock me for life because of it. Or should I say mock me for the afterlife? I'm unclear on the terminology.

When I pull away from him he's looking at me confused and Bucky has walked over to us.

"Thanos did it." I tell them. "He got the stones and he snapped. I watched you disappear, Sam, you just disintegrated on the spot."

He looks slightly appalled for a moment as he takes this news in. I turn to Bucky, who is also clearly putting the pieces together.

"You were gone too, before I could get there." I admit. "Then I must have disappeared too. I could almost... feel it. Right before it happened."

I hear Sam exhale deeply at my side and watch as he tilts his head up to the sky. Bucky looks off to the side, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion. He walks a few paces over, bends down and picks something up off the ground. He turns around, showing it to me.