Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Seventeen

I grab Bucky's arm and teleport us to the ground. Just below us, the concrete walls form a pit around Tony and Steve as they fight, and multiple gaps line the far wall, allowing the winter air and snow to waft in from the mountainside.

Tony manages to pin Steve down, and Bucky jumps into the pit to help, grabbing Steve's fallen shield and smashing it into Tony's back. Tony turns to shoot him, but Bucky ducks behind the shield to avoid the attack. I rush down as Steve gets to his feet, and the three of us face Tony together, punching, kicking, and tossing the shield between us.

Tony shoots Steve, knocking him into the wall, and Bucky punches Tony again, but Tony deflects it before unleashing an energy beam from his repulsor. I project a forcefield to block the attack and use that wall of energy to force Tony against the opposite wall. Bucky forces his hand into the chest of the Iron Man suit, gripping the arc reactor with his metal fingers, trying to rip it out.

A blast of energy comes out of the reactor, knocking Bucky to the floor, and I glance back in fear for his life. Bucky kneels on the floor, still breathing, but his metal arm was completely destroyed by the blast, only the shoulder remaining. For a split second, my concentration breaks, and Tony punches me away. I hit the ground hard, my vision blurry, and I hear the fight continuing around me, but all I can see are the indistinct figures of the men and bright flashes of light from Tony's gear.

Slowly, my vision returns, and I see Bucky laying on the floor only a few feet from me, blood trickling from his nose. On my other side, Tony knocks Steve down before turning to walk toward us. Still dizzy, I scramble over to Bucky, placing a hand on either side of his head as I position my body protectively over him.

"Move," Tony orders, aiming a repulsor at us.

I shake my head. "This won't change what happened, Tony."

"I don't care," Tony states. "He killed my mom."

"Then kill me!" I shout before lowering my voice. "It wasn't his fault, Tony. It was mine. It was my mission to protect your parents and I failed... So, if you have to kill someone, kill me."

I feel Bucky's hand around my wrist, trying weakly to get me to move, but I hold my ground, staring up at Tony. With Tony's attention on us, Steve uses the distraction to grab him, lifting him over his head before throwing him to the ground.

Steve strikes down on the Iron Man mask with his shield, breaking it off before lifting his shield for the final blow. Tony raises his hands up in defense, and I expect him to fire a repulsor blast. He doesn't, and Steve strikes down into the reactor core, cutting off the suit's power.

Slowly, Tony lowers his hands, staring at Steve in fear and surprise. Steve pants for breath as he slides to the floor, his shield remaining upright in Tony's suit. I sadly glance between the two of them, we never wanted it to come to this, we never wanted to end up fighting each other.

Steve rises to his feet, dislodging his shield before walking over to us. With my gaze still on Tony, I sit back on my heels, pulling Bucky into a seated position so that Steve can hoist him up, throwing Bucky's arm around his shoulders to support his weight. I stand as well, tucking myself against Bucky's armless side, wrapping my arm protectively around him as Steve leads us away.

"That shield doesn't belong to you," Tony yells at our retreating backs. "You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!"

Steve stops in his tracks, taking a deep breath and raising his chin before dropping the shield on the ground.