CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
❝ in another life, maybe ❞
LUCY SHIVERED AS another gust of wind swept through the mountains. The black jacket that was wrapped around her form was no match for the chill of the Swiss Alps.
She had been a part of the Howling Commandos for two years at this point. They were getting closer and closer to taking down HYDRA for good with each mission that they went on.
Jim Morita and Gabe Jones were perched on the mountainside next to her, tapping into the broadcasting signal of the train they were hunting down to make sure that their target was right where he was supposed to be.
"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked Steve, a horrified look on his face as he observed how far down they would have to zipline to reach the train.
Steve scoffed at the memory. "Yeah, and I threw up?"
"This isn't payback, is it?"
Despite the nerves churning in her stomach, Lucy let out a giggle as she joined their sides, slapping Bucky's shoulder. She could remember that day clearly.
Steve turned to his two best friends and smirked. "Now why would I do that?"
"We were right," Jones interrupted them. "Doctor Zola's on the train. HYDRA dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."
Lucy checked her tactical belt and made sure that all of her weapons were there, knowing that this was going to be the most difficult mission if they were going after Zola himself.
Falsworth lowered his binoculars after watching the train in the far distance, catching the rest of the teams' attention with a whistle of his own. "Let's get going because they're moving like the devil."
Steve hoisted his handle into the air, securing it to the zipline in preparation for their descent. "We only got about a 10-second window. You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield."
"Mind the gap," Falsworth added, a cheeky grin on his face.
Lucy cringed at his words. "Nice analogy, Steve."
Bucky chuckled and shook his head, pulling Lucy to his side to kiss her. "I love you, be careful," he whispered in her ear as he pulled away, tracing the dog tags around her neck.
Lucy smiled and kissed him again. "I love you too." She hugged him tightly, trying to ignore the usual anxiety churning in her stomach. "Let's go kick some ass," she announced.
Dugan snorted and teasingly ruffled Lucy's hair. "Better get moving, bugs!"
As soon as Frenchie gave the command, Steve jumped from the edge of the rock and ziplined down. Bucky, Lucy, and Jones were hot on his tail, each hooking themselves to the line before diving into the air.
Lucy tumbled into a forward roll as she landed on top of the train. She stayed low to steady herself as she ran, hopping over the gaps in between each car as they made their way to the front.
Steve went down the ladder on the side of the train first. Bucky helped Lucy down next while Jones stayed behind with his gun in hand, motioning for the three to continue as he kept guard.
Once Lucy made it inside with the boys, she quickly ran her eyes over the storage room they had barged into to make sure there were no disruptions. She kept her grip on her gun unyielding as Bucky and Steve joined her side, their weapons also raised high.
"Anyone else think it's too quiet in here?" Lucy whispered.
Bucky and Steve both tilted their heads in agreement, the former responding with a weary smile. "You and me both, honey."
Steve passed through the doorway first, stepping into the next train cart with his shield at his side. Before Lucy and Bucky could follow him, the automatic doors on the ends of both cars slammed shut.
Bucky dove forward and threw himself against the door that isolated him and Lucy in the storage room, panicking when neither he nor Steve could get their doors open.
Lucy spun around when she heard a weapon powering up, startled to see a HYDRA agent standing at the other end of the cart. "Bucky! We've got company!"
Immediately raising his weapon, Bucky joined Lucy in firing at the intruder agents making themselves known. Lucy had a gun in each hand, ducking behind a shelf every so often to dodge the glowing bullets coming right at her.
Bucky seemed to get the same idea as her, retreating behind the opposite shelf to stay protected as he reloaded his gun. Both of them stood at the same time, crossing the room and switching spots as they fired at the agents and took them down with ease.
There was only one agent left when Lucy ran out of ammo, her guns clicking instead of firing the desired bullets she needed.
She pressed her back against the wall and closed her eyes in frustration before worriedly looking over to Bucky. Her stomach sank when she realized that he was out of bullets as well.
Her knives would have been pointless in that situation. The shelves were blocking her from being able to obtain a proper fatal hit.
Bucky locked eyes with her and began panicking when he realized how outnumbered they were, about to just get up and just tackle the agent until the closed door finally opened with a swoosh.
Steve was standing on the other side, waving a gun in the air before throwing it over to Bucky. Lucy formulated a plan in her head, fishing her knife out of her belt and holding it up, hoping that Bucky would get her idea.
He stared at her for a moment before realization flashed through his eyes and he gave her a firm nod. Lucy wasted no time, jumping up and yelling a distraction as she pressed the button on the side of her knife. "Hey!"
The agent whipped his head over to her, raising his gun to shoot her. Before he could pull the trigger, Lucy's baton was already flying right at him.
He was so caught up in attempting to dodge the vibranium that he didn't even notice how he jumped right into Bucky's line of fire. The brunette used the gun that Steve had thrown him to finally take the agent down.
Steve joined Bucky and Lucy as they stared at the body on the ground. "We had him on the ropes," Bucky lied as he pointed to the various bodies littering the cart.
"Yeah, okay."
"I know you did."
The sound of a weapon powering up behind them had the three whirling around, startled by the huge robot pointing a tesseract cannon right at them.
"Get down!" Bucky pulled Lucy to his front as Steve pushed both of his friends behind him, holding his shield up in hopes that the vibranium would soften the blow of the shot they were about to be hit with.
The blue energy hit the shield, sending each of them back in different directions. Lucy flew through the air until her back hit the wall, taking the breath right out of her as she toppled to the ground.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Lucy raised her head and grimaced at the hole in the side of the train, unable to find her weapon as she felt around.
Bucky's panic slightly eased when he locked eyes with Lucy and saw that she was okay. His sense of dread quickly returned as he heard the shrill sound of the weapon firing up again. They snapped their gazes up to see that the HYDRA agent was still standing and still striving to kill them.
Bucky had no choice but to grab Steve's shield that was laying in front of him, standing on shaky legs while extending his gun. Steve and Lucy were still on the ground, watching with wide eyes as they heard Zola's voice come through the speaker.
"Kill him! Now!"
The robot followed the German's command and focused his aim right on Bucky. Lucy noticed how dangerously close to the edge her husband was far too late. "Bucky! "
Everything seemed to move in slow motion when the shot nailed the shield that Bucky was holding, sending him flying right out of the side of the train.
"No!"
Steve and Lucy both scrambled to their feet, the former scooping his shield from the ground and hurling it at the enemy while Lucy hurried over to the side of the train.
The air rushing past nearly suffocated her as she stuck her head out of the hole and saw Bucky hanging from the side of the train. Her heartbeat was roaring in her ears, beating erratically as she watched his grip falter. "Just— Just hang on!"
Bucky whipped his head to the side and shook it when he saw Lucy climbing over to him, her shaky limbs shuffling along the side of the train. "No, Lucy, don't! Don't, it's too unstable!"
Leave it to Bucky to worry about Lucy, even when his life was at risk.
She didn't listen, desperate to reach him in time. Steve appeared behind Lucy as he peeked his head out, his breaths coming in ragged while taking in the situation. "Lucy, just go slow and keep steady. I can pull the both of you back over if you can just grab him!"
The railing loosened, creaking as it bent even further. Bucky held on for dear life, watching Lucy carefully as she climbed over to him.
"Grab my hand!" Lucy stressed, extending her arm out to him when she couldn't get any closer.
"Lucy, if I fall—"
"You're not going to fall, Bucky! Just grab my hand!" Lucy emphasized, tears in her eyes as she reached out for him.
Bucky grimaced as the railing creaked yet again, removing one hand to reach out for his girl. He knew he didn't have much of a chance, but he wouldn't dare give up on her. "I just— I love you, okay?"
And as their fingertips brushed against one another, the railing broke.
"No!"
"Oh! I'm Lucy. Lucy Everhart."
"You can call me Bucky."
Lucy softly repeated his name under their breath as they shook hands.
"I'm glad that you're here in Brooklyn. I have a feeling that we're gonna be good friends." Bucky nudged Lucy with a smile as he spoke
"Yeah," Lucy couldn't help but agree. "Me too."
Bucky ran his thumb against her swollen bottom lip while exhaling a shuddering breath. "Tell me to stop."
Lucy stared at him for a long moment before lightly shaking her head. "What if I don't want you to stop?"
"I love you. I really do, and you don't have to say it back—"
Lucy cut him off with a soft kiss. Their tongues mixed together, slowly yet intimately. When she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his and breathed, "I love you too."
Bucky hurriedly pulled away from her, looking at her with a toothy grin on his face. "You do?!"
"Of course I do," she said, grinning through her tears.
"You love me!" He stood up, pulling Lucy up as well. Bucky hoisted her up in his arms, peppering kisses all over her face. "Hear that, Brooklyn?!"
Bucky shrugged, pulling Lucy on top of himself with shaky arms. He wished he could sit there with her forever. "I just have a lot to lose. I want to stay here with you," he whispered.
Lucy sniffled. "I want you to stay, too." She pecked his lips before cupping both of his cheeks. "But think of this as a turning point for us. After the war ends, we can rest. Finally, have that life we always talk about."
Bucky sadly smiled. "We can get a little house in Brooklyn?"
"Our very own," Lucy confirmed.
"To grow old in," Bucky added.
"Mhm," Lucy whispered, her heartstrings straining at Bucky's words. She ran her fingers through his hair, studying him as if it was the last time she would see him.
"And," Bucky started mischievously. "We can get married so I can see you in one of those pretty white dresses." He squeezed her hips, eliciting a teary laugh from the blonde.
Lucy bit her lip before speaking. "Is that a proposal, Mr. Barnes?"
Bucky smirked. "Oh, you'll know when I'm proposing, darlin'. I gotta make it a bit more special than this."
Butterflies erupted in Lucy's chest at the thought of marrying Bucky. Silence fell between them for a moment before Bucky hesitantly said, "And maybe we can start thinking about kids?"
Lucy nodded, unable to contain her smile. "Nothing would make me happier."
Tears almost spilled from Bucky's eyes as he heard those words come from Lucy's mouth. "I hope we have a girl."
Lucy scrunched her eyebrows out of curiosity. "Why a girl?"
Bucky grinned at the idea alone. "So I could have a little you running around."
"Oh yeah?" Lucy giggled through the tears that had begun to fall as she kissed his scruffy cheek. "Are you sure that you can keep up with one of me?"
"Marry me," he blurted.
Lucy's eyes grew wide, unsure if what she just heard was right. "...What?"
Bucky traced her jaw with two fingers, sliding them over her supple skin until reaching the underneath of her chin to tilt her face up. "Marry me, Lucy."
Lucy dove right into his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso tightly. "Let's get married while we're here," she suggested, her voice muffled against his chest.
Bucky pulled his head back, staring at her with wide eyes. "You don't want to wait until the end of the war?"
Lucy feverishly shook her head. "No, we shouldn't wait any longer. I'm sure that Thomas kept Mary's wedding dress in the apartment somewhere, so I can wear that. And then," she excitedly rambled on. "When the war is over, we can have a bigger celebration with our family, sell that apartment, and put the money towards our first house together."
Bucky grinned and bent down to wrap his arms around Lucy's waist, hoisting her into the air to spin her around. The two were still laughing as Bucky placed her down and began peppering kisses all over her face. "Let's do it. Let's get married."
"Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer," Howard announced. "You may now kiss the bride!"
Cheers filled the air as Bucky wasted no time in doing so. He wrapped one arm around Lucy's waist, placing his free hand between her shoulder blades as he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Lucy. Always."
Lucy had been through a lot throughout her life. She had felt heartbreak before. She had felt unloved and unwelcome in her own home. She had felt heart-wrenching loneliness.
Nothing she had been through, however, could even compete with hearing Bucky's scream as he fell.
That sound would haunt her for as long as she would live. The view of him fading away, falling into the ravine below would plague her nightmares each time she dared shut her eyes.
And as his scream faded away, the only thing she could hear was her own.
Lucy didn't even realize that her grip on the railing had loosened until she felt herself being grabbed by Steve, his arm hooking around her waist as he pulled her up and back onto the train.
The two collapsed onto the floor in a heap. Lucy immediately began hitting at his arms, attempting to thrash out of his hold. "Steve— Steve, let me go! I have to," her voice broke as her sentence fell short, the reality of seeing Bucky fall to his death sending her into a panic attack.
Steve kept his arms tight around her despite how hard she was trying to free herself from his grip. He was in shock; barely able to hold himself together while just trying to focus on not letting Lucy jump after Bucky.
"Lucy! Lucy, he's gone," Steve's voice broke off into a choked sob, his own words making him realize that he truly did just lose his best friend. His lifelong pal.
As Steve's words sank in, Lucy gave up. Her body went limp as she stopped fighting. She melted into Steve's hold, her sobs piercing the air as she pleaded for this to all be a horrible nightmare.
"No, no, please."
Even though Lucy didn't plummet down the mountain as well, Bucky pulled her heart down with him. From the top of the world, down to the deepest pit of despair.
AUTHOR'S NOTE!
SORRY.
yeah, that's literally all i have to say for now.
kisses.
<3 mal