The Captain

27. Complete Me (Bucky)

"Hey, Barnes, your boy's getting ready to jump," Tony tells me as I answer my phone. "He saw you and Natasha can't keep him under control."

"He's been doing shit like this since he realized he wouldn't die going up a flight of stairs," I tell him. "Who's with you guys on the plane?"

"Just Natasha and Sam. The others are in the quinjet and are a few minutes behind us," he says. "See you in a minute, all right? Steve's dropping the ramp and I've got to keep Nat and Sam from jumping after him to strangle him."

Tony hangs up and I pocket my phone as the stealth plane descends. Just a moment before it touches down, a single figure jumps, tucks, hits the ground, rolls, and runs right toward me.

     Shuri pulls T'Challa and Peter out of Steve's path, and Natasha and Sam shout at him as the plane comes to a stop.

"Buck!" Steve smiles, ocean eyes wide and bright as I open my arm to him.

We collide, like a car and a cement wall, and he picks me up off my feet, hugging me as tight as he can with a joyful laugh that I honestly haven't heard in years.

    "Buck!" He muses, arms wrapped around my waist, my feet off the ground. "Oh my God, I missed you! I missed you so much!"

"Hey, Stevie," I laugh, smiling as I drape my arm around his neck and hug him back, burying my face in his neck.

"Steve Rogers, you're such a fucking idiot!" Natasha scolds Steve as she storms over, thwacking him over the top of the head as she passes. "Jesus Christ, I can't believe you did that again!" Her anger simmers down when she sees Peter. "Baby Spider!"

"Welcome back, Momma Spider!" Peter grins as Nat hugs him tight.

Steve squeezes me tighter, arms wrapped all the way around me, and a happy hum vibrates through him.

"I've missed you so much," he says, his voice breaking as he loosens his hold, sets me back on my feet, takes my face in his hands. "I can't fucking speak. I can't believe you're awake."

I smile, saying softly, "Breathe, Stevie. I'm right here."

Tears flood his eyes, and he presses a kiss to my forehead before wrapping me back up in his arms.

"You're really here," he half-sings, pressing kisses to the top of my head.

"Good to see you, Barnes," Tony says as he walks past us. "We should talk later, all right?"

"By 'talk,' I assume he's referencing the book?" I ask Steve.

He takes my face in his hands again as he says, "Yeah, he is." He leans in to kiss me as he continues. "But that's not as important to me right now."

Our lips meet, and my heart floods with fire.

It's been too long.

Our kiss deepens, lips and tongues absolutely lost in the moment.

Far too long.

He pries his lips from mine.

We were just getting started too.

Breathless, he says, "I have to go with Nat and Tony to a virtual press briefing, but as soon as it's over, you and I should spend a moment alone. It's been too long since we've been together, and from what I can guess, you seem to be doing better."

A moment alone sounds nice.

"He's excelling," Shuri tells him. "His memories have returned, and he's had fewer nightmares and anxiety attacks."

"We're on the right path," I tell him.

"It's about time," he whispers as tears run down his cheeks.

Relief washes over his like a wave.

I wipe his tears away, softly saying, "We're almost there. All we have left to do is to filter out the trauma and reprogram my brain."

He kisses my forehead, more tears running down his face.

Stevie, baby.

"No man left behind," Tony says.

No man left behind.

Not a single one.

Steve falls apart, a river of tears rolling down his face as he pulls me into his arms and hugs me tight, burying his face in my neck.

I stroke his back as I say softly, "This isn't the end of the line, Stevie. We're going to make it through this together, just like you wanted. We're so close."

"I didn't think we'd ever get here," Steve says as he tries to pull himself back together. "But you're still fighting."

"Fighting for you, baby," I tell him. "It's always been you."

      "Its always been you," he corrects me, pressing a kiss to my temple. "And you're mine."

      "You're such a sap," I sigh.

     He lets me go and takes my face in his hands, again, and then he says, "I love you."

     Fire floods my heart.

     "I love you too," I smile, leaning in to kiss him.