Book One of The Captain Novels.
cap·tain
/ˈkaptən/
Noun.
Definition: The person in command of a ship; an army officer of high rank, in particular (in the US Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force) an officer ranking above first lieutenant and below major;...
"Keep your head up. I'll be back in your arms in no time." Bucky says softly to Steve. "Hold onto that, Stevie."
Steve tries to nod and smile, but when he opens his mouth to speak, he drops his head and lets out a strangled sigh. Natasha looks at me, waiting for a reaction, but I'm numb.
I can only imagine what he's feeling.
He's putting his lover in a freezer for the next few years.
That can't be an easy pill to swallow.
"C'mere, sweetheart," Bucky sighs as he pulls Steve in for a hug.
Steve numbly hugs him, unsure of what he should do. T'Challa watches the couple with a pained look on his face.
The king has grown quite fond of his new friends. Watching them part like this must be a kick in the chest.
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Steve buries his face in Bucky's neck and wraps his arms firmly around him, holding on as tight as he can and for all he's worth.
This is heartbreaking.
If only you had told me why you were fighting the Accords so desperately.
We could have talked things out, Steve.
I would have helped.
"We've talked about this," Bucky says softly as he strokes Steve's hair. "I can't trust my mind unless I'm with you, and you have to go save the world like you always do. It's selfish to ask you to wait for me to get better. I can't do that to you. It's unfair."
He knows Steve so well.
Steve would gladly sit there waiting for him for years without thinking, and Bucky knows he'd do exactly that.
He has to push Steve to keep fighting for what's right, even if he doesn't want to fight, because he knows that's the only way Steve will make it through him being in cryo for several years.
It's the only way any of us will be able to sanely handle Steve while he's frozen too.
Through tears, Steve asks him, "But what about you? What about us? What about everything we've been through?"
Oh, fuck.
Just listening to him ask Bucky to stay breaks my heart.
Goddammit, Rogers.
Bucky smiles sadly as he says, "I'm going back into cryo for you, baby. I know it's unfair, but I need you to trust me, even if I can't trust myself."
My heart.
Shuri carefully approaches them, saying, "We're ready whenever you are."
