Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Seventeen

I find a pillar outside the Compound to lean against as I collect my thoughts. I knew this time travel thing would be tricky, but without Tony's help, it feels impossible.

"You alright?" Steve asks, coming out to join me.

"Yeah," I answer. "Just dared to let myself hope."

"Don't worry, Banner will figure this thing out..." Steve assures me, although he doesn't sound convinced.

"Steve," I say. "I owe you an apology."

"For what?" Steve asks.

"For cutting you out," I answer. "For letting my grief cloud my judgement. Bucky was your friend too. You were grieving him just as much as I was, and I acted as though you couldn't understand what I was going through."

Steve puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I understand, and your apology is accepted. But like I said before, you're not alone in this, I'm here for you."

I give him a smile before staring off into the distance. "I'm just... scared... I'm scared of how I reacted when we lost him, and of what I did to Thanos. Loki once told me that my anger would be my greatest weapon, but I didn't believe it to be true, not until I did that... You were right, I was losing control of my powers, and I let them take over."

Steve turns to face me. "Well, you seem to have them under control now. I haven't seen any wisps following you around..."

I give him quick a half smile, letting it drop before continuing. "But what if it happens again? What if I lose control?"

"You won't," Steve soothes. "You have people here who are willing to help you. Loki said your anger would be your greatest weapon, right? Well, the way I see it, you just need to find something else to drive you, something stronger than anger."

"Like what?" I ask.

"I don't know," Steve admits. "That's for you to figure out."

At that moment, a deafening noise catches our attention, and we look over to see a car speeding through the entrance to the grounds. A few seconds later, the car pulls up next to us and Tony rolls down the window.

"Why the long face?" he asks. "Let me guess: He turned into a baby?"

"Among other things, yeah," Steve admits. "What are you doing here?"

Tony steps out of his car. "That's the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang. It's tricky. Dangerous. Somebody should've cautioned you against it."

"You did," Steve reminds him.

"Oh, did I?" Tony questions, acting like he didn't know. "Thank God I'm here. Regardless, I fixed it." Tony holds up his right hand, showing us the watch-like device on his wrist. "A fully functioning Time-Space GPS."

I smile at him. "So, you decided to help us after all. What changed?"

"I just want peace," Tony states, making a peace sign with his fingers. "I may not be ready to forgive Robocop for what he did to my parents, but I'm ready to forgive you both for hiding it. Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."

"Me too," Steve and I agree in unison.

"We got a shot at getting these Stones," Tony states. "But I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs. And... maybe not die trying will be nice."

Steve offers Tony his hand. "Sounds like a deal."

Tony shakes Steve's hand before stepping behind his car, opening the trunk to pull out the Captain America shield and offering it to Steve.

"Tony, I don't know..." Steve replies, hesitating to take it.

"Why? He made it for you," Tony states, referring to Howard Stark. "Plus, honestly, I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding."

Steve slides the shield over his arm, gazing down at it for a moment before turning back to Tony. "Thank you, Tony."

"Will you keep that a little quiet?" Tony requests. "Didn't bring one for the whole team. ...We are getting the whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on that right now," I answer.