You were his wife in the 40's through thick and thin, sickness and health, richer or poorer, and through all of the twists of life. Even 70 years later you continued to love him, and stay by his side.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
After devising the plan, the heroes were all quick to get some semblance of a good nights sleep before the mission began bright and early the next day. Each one retreating into their individual rooms within the facility, lights off, no one awake.
Well, except for me...
To help pass the time I read Bucky's old notebooks again, the ones he wrote back in Bucharest when everyday he was afraid he'd forget. He jotted down anything and everything that entered his mind. From growing up with Steve, to his marriage with me, he'd scribble down any shred of himself, relishing every memory that filled the pages.
Any scattered recollection, any slight remembrance, any souvenir from the past, he'd rush to write it down. Making the collection of diaries very disjointed, with garbled sentences and sloppy, rushed paragraphs.
But, on many a sleepless night over the past five years his notebooks were my one and only reading material. The memories Bucky wrote down my only company when the sweet release of slumber came in short.
By now, I had memorized every word that was smudged along the pages. The desperate need to remember him far outweighing the pain it caused me.
The cruelest thing was to forget and I wasn't going to let the passage of years dull any memory I had of him...
With the moonlight's incandescence flooding in through the windows I stared out at the canopy of stardust, nightfall twinkling beautifully just outside but I wasn't in the mood to enjoy it.
Instead, I got up out of bed and placed one of his notebooks that I had been reading down onto the nightstand, right beside our wedding day photo, his dog tags and now, his Sergeant's Military cap which I had picked up during my voyage to the past.
Leaving my dormitory I walked down the spacious corridors of the Avengers establishment, strolling past the numerous laboratories, the shooting range, screening room and Steve's office. The area's all dimly lit and vacant, not a soul to be seen.
Catching a glimpse inside the conference room I saw the heroes Time Heist plan displayed across the holographic screens and I figured that I might as well just stay up and prepare for the mission. Knowing full well I wasn't going to get a wink of sleep.
But, the sudden clamor of a voice resonating throughout the halls caught my attention. More specifically, Tony's voice. And, I went over to the lounge, the place where his faint tone was coming from.
From within the seating area, in the pale blue effulgence of his Iron Man helmet, the genius sat and talked, recording himself. Using his iconic red and gold armor as a makeshift camcorder.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"... This time travel thing that we're gonna pull off tomorrow... It's got me scratching my head about the survivability of all this. But, then again that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end. What am I tripping for? Everything is going to work out exactly the way it's supposed to. I love you, 3000."
The Iron Man spoke, smiling before rising from his seat and going to shut off the recording. Pleased with the footage and I merely arched my brow, making my way into the lounge.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, geez. You scared me, Doc. Shouldn't you be getting some beauty sleep or something? Big day tomorrow."
"What were you doing?" I reiterated, hands on my hips as I walked straight towards the billionaire, meeting him face to face.
"Nothing, it's just a little precaution in the case of an untimely death. I like thinking ahead."
"Well, how considerate of you. But, you're not gonna die, Tony. I'd hate to have Morgan growing up without her dad." I stated.
"Yeah, I'd like to stick around too, believe me. For little Morguna and Pep..." Tony drifted off, his voice shaking just the slightest, on the verge of cracking. He was trying hard not to breakdown and crumble to pieces.
But, like usual, the Iron Man was an expert in covering up his near breakdowns with sarcasm and quips. He was quick to change the topic.
"But, like I said. What am I tripping for? Everything is gonna be just fine, right? But, onto more exciting news... If this all pans out, is Morgan gonna get a playmate or what?"
"What?" I asked, being met with just a smirk from the mechanic.
"Well, I heard through the grapevine that before the, you know, snap... That you and your Winter Soldier hubby were thinking about adopting."
Being reminded of that little facet of my life caused a chill to cascade down my spine and I just took a seat down onto the sofa before my legs gave out.
These past few years had all been about compartmentalizing and I didn't like thinking too much about the future that was taken away from me. Stolen against my will.
"Yeah, we were. What about the bad blood between you and James though? If, and that's a big if, it all works out tomorrow I figured you'd never want to be in the same room with him again."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Tony acknowledged, taking a seat beside me, his impish little grin still present though. "How about we just get together for the Holidays?"
That did it and I actually managed to laugh a little.
"Sounds like a plan."
"But, now that your hubby has been brought up, I've been meaning to ask this. Are you just doing this for him? You just wanna bring him back?" The Iron Man sought out, dubiously glancing over at me, the glow from the moon silhouetting his goatee and hazel eyes.
Fiddling with the golden wedding band on my finger I thought about it for a second, his question echoing in my mind before I conjured up a reply.
"No, surprisingly I'm not. I just figure I owe it to everyone left alive who have lost parts of themselves. If I can still force myself to stand back up and fight, and somehow find some shred of hope... Well, then I will."
I told him, finding it funny the amount of times I had stood back up, falsely thinking it would be my last time, that there'd be a finality to it... All the times I picked myself back up, dusted myself off and lived to fight another day. And, I really hoped that one day there would actually be a grand finale. An end.
Tony just smiled at me and rested his hand on my shoulder.
