Sebastian Stan Short Stories

Bucky Barnes [23]

So, I had an idea...and obviously don't know how to end things.

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"The Real Story: An Epilogue"

Spoiler Alert: You probably shouldn't read this if you haven't seen Infinity War

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The tingle started in his hands and feet, in the tips of his fingers and toes. Even the metal hand, updated and as close to perfect as Shuri could make it, began to feel numb. Something was wrong. Something that super soldier serum couldn't fix. 

"Steve?" he called out quietly, glancing at his hand then his friend. His legs gave out at the same moment his gun slipped through his fingers. 

He should have hit the ground with the way he was falling, but his vision faded out painlessly before he made it that far. 

~

It was sunlight that woke him up. Sunlight and a rooster. He hadn't been woken by a chicken in decades. Not since those childhood summers he spent in Indiana, rising with the sun and staying up late with his siblings and cousins and the neighbor kids. 

The sunlight had warmed the room, aided by the quilt laid carefully across the bed. He pushed the blanket away from his body and sat up, gazing out the window and stretching. Two calloused but soft hands met above his head. A smile came to his face when he looked out of the window. He had a second floor view of cornfields and pastures bathed in the haze of dawn. 

"James? Are you awake?" someone called out from the first floor. He'd know her voice anywhere. 

He stood up and left the bedroom, floor boards gently creaking as he followed a path that felt as familiar as any ever had. Out the door, down the hall, down the stairs, a U-turn at the bottom, and a straight shot into the kitchen. 

There was no door blocking his view of her, and his heart began to pound as his mind tried to wrap itself around whatever was happening. She was just like he remembered. Young and beautiful, barefooted and dressed in soft, linen pajamas. As he stepped into the kitchen, she looked over her shoulder at him. His heart stopped completely when she smiled. 

"Where are we?" he asked. He was desperate for the answer, although he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He needed to know. He needed to know how long he'd have her. 

"Heaven, I think," she answered. Bucky closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He could smell the eggs frying in the skillet, the clover in the pastures, the last hint of her perfume in the air. 

"How long have you been here?" he asked. 

"I guess it's been years now, but it's gone by like the blink of an eye," she said. "I woke up here, with my parents and grandparents and brothers, a few days ago. Then you were here this morning."

"You died seven years ago. You were--"

"Old," she finished for him, laughing softly and letting a tear fall down her cheek. "That's why it feels like heaven. Being young again, being with the people I loved."

"Heaven," he repeated, whispering and looking around the kitchen. It wasn't the same kitchen he had left her in so many years, but there were similarities. It was a farmhouse, obviously, but the appliances were new. Her pajamas looked like they were from the sixties, but the coffeepot on the counter could have been from the early 2000's. 

"If you're here, that means--"

"I died," he finished, chuckling when he realized he had sort of mimicked her. 

"Tell me you lived a long life, James. Tell me you were happy and you loved someone else besides me," she said. That got to him, made him tear up and finally let out a ragged breath. Shaking his head, he stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. She didn't miss a beat; she hugged him and pressed her cheek into his chest. Besides the beard and long hair, he felt like the man she remembered. 

"If this is heaven, I shouldn't be crying," he said around the tears. She laughed, still clutching him. 

They stayed in that position until the sun was no longer shining through the window, but the eggs on the stove never burned and the coffee never got cold. 

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Author's Note:

I was going through and rereading previous updates and thought about Bucky in the Soul World. And that little thought became this. And I cried while writing it, so I apologize for any tears shed while reading it.