I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 65

"Stand down, final warning" Tony warns Steve as he raises his repulsor as a threat. "I could do this all day" Steve responds tiredly. Tony prepares to fire his repulsor at Steve but Bucky grabs his leg as a distraction. Tony quickly turns around and kicks Bucky in the face. Meanwhile, Steve runs towards Tony and lifts him off his feet. He throws him down to the ground before straddling him and using his shield to break his mask. He raises his shield and Tony raises his hands to cover his face but Steve wedges his shield into Tony's chest, shutting his suit down.

Steve climbs off Tony while panting and attaches his shield to his arm and helps Bucky to his feet. "I'm fine. Help Rachel" Bucky tells him and Steve doesn't waste a second. He rushes to Rachel's side as she still lies unconscious. "Rachel" he says as he holds her face in his hands. "Come on Rach" he pleads when she doesn't respond at all. Suddenly, she takes a deep breath and squeezes her eyes shut even more. Steve sighs in relief and she slowly opens her eyes to see him kneeling beside her and Bucky standing just behind him. She winces and looks down at her chest to see the burn on her suit and she can feel it on her skin. "It's ok. Relax, you're gonna be ok" Steve assures her as he moves a hand to her arm. She nods before she starts to sit up and Steve helps her to her feet. He keeps an arm wrapped around her waist, seeing how exhausted she is.

"That shield doesn't belong to you" Tony shouts at Steve as the three begin to walk out of the facility. "You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!" he adds and Steve stops and drops the shield to the ground. The three continue out of the facility and find T'Challa outside. They instantly put their guard up but T'Challa raises his hands in surrender. "I know you didn't kill my father" he says to Bucky. "I want to help you. All of you" he assures them. "Wakanda can give you sanctuary and we can help you with your mind control" he adds before nodding to Bucky. "How do we know we can trust you?" Steve questions. "I found Zemo and I'll be taking him in" T'Challa explains and the group stand in silence as Steve debates whether to trust him. "I believe him" Rachel mutters and Steve at looks at her. They agree to go with him and T'Challa gives them the coordinates for Wakanda.

Once they're in the air, Steve sets the jet on autopilot and turns around to Bucky and Rachel. "Buck, are you ok?" he asks when he reaches him. "I'm ok" he answers with a nod and smile. Steve nods before making his way over to Rachel who looks exhausted. Although, they all look exhausted. "How are you feeling?" he asks her as he crouches in front of her. "Tired" she sighs with a chuckle. "Come on, I need to take a look at that" he points to the burn on her chest and she nods slowly. She walks over to the table and hops on while Steve gets a first aid kit.

She unzips her suit but when she starts to pull it off her chest it causes agonising pain on the burn. "Ahhh" she groans and stops. "This will sting" Steve warns her before pouring some solution onto the burn to make it easier to remove her suit. She winces but slowly pulls her suit off of her chest and pulls her arms out of the sleeves. She relaxes when the top half of her suit is off, leaving her sat in her bra with a severe burn on her chest. She looks at the burn and can't believe that Tony did this to her. She takes a deep breath and looks away from the burn as Steve gets a wet gauze and places it over the burn. Rachel inhales sharply and Steve quickly apologises. "It's ok" she assures him with a smile.

With a lack of supplies, Steve can't properly treat the burn so he just has Rachel hold the gauze on the burn while he treats the cuts on her face. He finishes treating her cuts and starts to close the first aid kit but Rachel stops him. "I don't think so. It's your turn, sit down" she orders as she stands. She zips her suit back up so it holds the gauze against her burn while Steve sits down. She treats his wounds before telling Bucky to come and sit down too. He insists that he's fine but she continues to tell him to sit down. "She won't stop until you sit down Buck" Steve tells him with a chuckle and Bucky sighs and sits in front of Rachel and she treats his wounds.

They arrive in Wakanda and T'Challa takes Bucky to see Shuri while Steve goes with Rachel to have her burn properly treated. They're all given a change of clothes and Rachel's burn is treated and wrapped. Steve and Rachel enter the lab to see Bucky sitting on the table. "You sure about this?" Steve asks him after looking at the cryo chamber. "I can't trust my own mind" Bucky states with a smile. "So until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing. For everyone" he adds and Steve nods in understanding.

"Rachel, thank you" Bucky says as he turns to Rachel. "You don't have to thank me. I wanted to help you, I know what it's like to be controlled by others and having to do things you didn't want to. You deserve a second chance" she replies with a smile and Bucky smiles in return. Steve watches as Bucky is put in cryo freeze and Rachel takes his hand to comfort him. He just got his best friend back and now he's gone again. Who knows how long it'll be till he sees him again?

They stand together as they look out of a window at Wakanda. Rachel stands beside Steve with her arms wrapped around his torso and his arm wrapped around her. "You've been pretty quiet" Steve states. "So have you" Rachel responds, avoiding the topic, making Steve sigh. "Sorry. I just... I can't believe he did it" she explains with a sigh as she raises her hand to the bandages on her chest. "I know" he replies as he pulls her closer against him. They remain still, holding onto each other until T'Challa enters. "Thank you for this" Steve thanks him. "Your friend and my father, they were both victims. If I can help one of them find peace" T'Challa replies as he looks out at his kingdom. "You know if they find out he's here, they'll come for him" Steve warns him. "Let them try" T'Challa states proudly.

A few days later, Rachel, Steve and Nat break everyone out of prison and decide to stay on the run with each other. They all prepare to leave Wakanda after escaping the raft prison. "Are you ready for this?" Rachel asks Steve as they make their way to the jet. "As long as you stay with me" Steve answers. "I'm not going anywhere" Rachel assures him and Steve stops walking, causing Rachel to stop as well. "I love you so much" he says with a smile. "I love you too" she replies and he pulls her into a kiss before joining everyone on the jet.