I Missed You (Bucky x Reader)

~Chapter 52~

Week One

You, Tony, and Nebula had been able to get ahold of the Guardians' ship the Benatar and thankfully it still had some fuel left which allowed you to fly it into space and try to get as close to Earth as possible. Even though the three of you knew there wasn't going to be enough fuel to get to Earth, none of you wanted to accept it.

This first week you spent your time rationing the food and water that was left on the ship. Thankfully, Nebula didn't need any of those, and you could survive with less food and water than a regular human, so this left Tony with more, but even then, food and water would run out eventually.
You also tried to contact the Avengers on Earth with Nebula's help, but no matter how many things you tried, nothing turned out successful.

Tony's stab wound got infected during the first few days, but you and Nebula managed to find supplies on the ship that helped Tony and as the days passed, his wound started getting better.

Tony also taught you and Nebula how to play paper football, which allowed you to disconnect and forget about everything for a little while before your mind went back to the memory of seeing your friends being disintegrated into ashes. At first the pain of loss and guilt was extremely strong, so strong that by the end of the first week in space you became numb, your heart unable to keep taking the pain. You were also in denial over what happened, and that also stopped you from feeling the pain you felt at the beginning. You couldn't cry anymore, and a part of you hated yourself for not being able to feel anything anymore.

Week Two

This week was pretty much like the first one. You were still trying to contact the Avengers, restlessly looking for something you missed that could help you. But you slowly started to lose hope, something that was extremely unlike you. You had been through so many horrible things in your life but you always managed to find hope and light in the middle of the pitch-black darkness, and you always found a solution. But this time was different. You tried to hide your numbness and your loss of hope for Tony's sake, but it didn't work. When Tony noticed this massive change in you, he knew this was it. If you out of all people had lost hope, it meant that nothing else could be done.

Week Three

"Are you sure there's not another way to recharge the fuel cells?" you ask Nebula.

"I'm sure. We already bought ourselves 48 more hours of flight time by reversing the ion charge, and I've tried running every possible simulation, but there's nothing else we can do." Nebula explains. You sigh before looking down.

Today marks twenty-two days since you've been stranded in space. Food and water ran out four days ago and oxygen will run out tomorrow. This is what made you snap. For the last twenty days you've been in denial, but now that death was really around the corner, it somehow made you regain the last bit of hope inside you, which still wasn't a lot, but it was there. However, as Nebula told you, nothing else could be done.

You and Nebula sit around a table in the small 'lobby' in the middle of the ship. Your eyes flicker towards Tony, who is sitting on the floor and speaking to his busted helmet in hopes that the message will reach Pepper if she's even still alive. Your eyes then travel to your hands resting on your lap. You knew you were going to die tomorrow, just like Tony. You would last longer than him without oxygen but eventually you'd go as well. You carefully reach under the collar of your shirt and take out the necklace Bucky gave you all those years ago. You open the locket and look at the old picture of the two of you. Your eyes water at the realization that you're never going to get to say goodbye, and that you're about to lose him again, or more like he's going to lose you, but that's only if he made it.