song: you are the reason -calum scott
THE WINTER SOLDIER GUARDED ROUX SO WELL THAT THE AVENGERS WERE AT A LOST OF WHAT TO DO.
Okay, so they had managed to get Roux, Bucky, and regrettably on their parts, Loki out of the base before it completely caved in on them. But now came the problem of where to go from here.
Bucky hadn't snapped out of the Winter Soldier mode. And Roux still had not awoken from being injected with the last of Hydra's remake serum.
He was being held in the lab below the Avengers Facility being cared for properly with the help of Dr. Banner until they were certain they could get him to a real doctor. Not that they could because currently he was on America's Most Wanted. Plus, it had been hard enough to detain Bucky while they hooked Roux to an IV drip, and now, he stood at the foot of the bed unrelenting from his spot.
He had been ordered to protect Roux and so far, he had been doing his part to perfection.
Steve sported a black eye. Natasha was massaging her neck. Sam held an ice pack to his jaw. And many more injuries amongst the others from his wrath while they held him down.
They watched from the security feed of the lab as Bucky still stood there as he had been for hours, not moving.
"You would think he would catch some z's, but he's committed," Tony noted.
"How long is he going to stay like that?" Wanda wondered, biting at her thumb worriedly.
"Until one of us can snap him out of it," Steve sighed, "If we can remind him of who he is, it might bring him back."
"Except he tries to kill us every time we walk into the room," Sam grumbled.
Natasha shook her head with a frown. "I'm off to find Thor and Loki. Wherever they are, Loki can get him to stand down long enough for us to get this fixed," Natasha stated.
"I'll go with you," Bruce mumbled.
The two of them headed out of the room.
Vision gripped Wanda's arm and guided her out of the room so that she wouldn't have to see her best friend in that state any longer.
"I'm going to go find another cold pack," Sam huffed, exiting the room.
Thus, Steve and Tony were the only ones left in watching the feed quietly.
"The kid's tough," Steve assured his friend while giving him a knowing look, "He'll pull through, Tony."
Tony watched Roux on the screen. After a second, pain flashed in his eyes and he stood up from the chair abruptly. On his way out, the door slammed behind him and rattled the walls.
Steve wished he could have said more but truthfully, he couldn't. For now, he needed to figure out how to get his best friend back. He reached over and turned off the monitors, before leaving the room, too.
Bucky never removed his eyes from the sleeping form of the man in the bed. He had his orders, and that was to protect.
But something was strange, off even.
Why did it feel like he knew this man?
For hours, he tried to decipher the familiarity of that chiseled jaw and those sharp cheekbones. He somehow could feel the threads of those soft curls in his fingertips and knew that somehow, he smelled of citrus. He also could feel those soft lips against his skin like a ghost's touch.
Now, his heart was pounding but he couldn't explain why.
Bucky walked around the side of the bed. His brows furrowed together in thought as he strained to remember more. His hand brushed against the man's palm and there was a tingling sensation, a humming that he could barely hear and a vibration that he could faintly feel. He scowled even deeper in his frustration, looking up at the man's sleeping face once again.
Who was he to him?
His metal hand reached out to his neck on some burning impulse to squeeze and stop this curiosity. But instead, he found his fingertips grazing the side of the man's cheek in a soft caress. There was that funny feeling in his chest again.
Retracting his hand as if he had been burned, Bucky backed away fearfully. It confused him, all of this did. He quickly turned onto his heel and hurried out of the room, meanwhile, his hand clutched over his chest.
His heart was racing and his breathing had shortened into desperate huffs.
"Bucky?"
Bucky whipped around with a threatening glare.
Steve held up his hands to show he was not an enemy. His expression concerned but still on guard, just in case. No sudden movements are made on his part to keep the man from attacking.
Bucky...Why did everyone call him that? He didn't have a name, he was just a soldier and nothing more. So who the hell was this Bucky?
Bucky leaned off the wall. His body tensed and fingers clenching tight. Still not speaking.
The blond scanned him before turning to the door that was cracked open enough for him to view inside. He opted to go inside when he was yanked back harshly and pushed into the wall opposite to the door. Once again, his hands shot up in surrender.
"I just need to check on him," Steve explained himself, "We need to keep watch over his condition or its possible he could suffer worse side affects."
Bucky continued his dark brooding. He pushed off of Steve, but backed away toward the door, beginning to pace in front of it like some type of guard dog.
Steve frowned at his friend. "Bucky...you know me and somewhere, deep down, you know that I would never hurt someone you care about. Especially not the man laying in that bed," He pointed to the room.
His head began to shake. "I don't know you," He countered lowly, "I don't care about him."
Steve's eyes softened. "I don't believe that. After everything that's happened these past few months, I know how much it all meant to you. Not even Hydra could ever tear that away from you." He glanced over his shoulder into the room, lips pursing while Bucky's eyes followed slowly. "We have Hydra's files, thanks to Roux...but we discovered that the experimental serum that Reese injected him with? None of the other test subjects have survived it. Roux might be dying right now, but we don't know. So, you need to come back, Buck, because if things go wrong and you aren't here...you'll never forgive yourself," He reasoned.
Bucky stared upon the man that slept soundly. Not fully convinced...That seed of doubt wasn't helping at all. But, he still didn't understand it all. "Who is he?" He asked after a long moment of silence.
Before Steve could answer this, the door slid open and in walked Vision, whom held a grave expression. He looked to Steve specifically, silently asking him to follow, before walking out of the room again.
Steve sighed, glancing at Bucky once more who ignored them both and just stared into the room. He dismissed himself without a word and followed Vision out of the door.
Hours later, Wanda poked her head into the room, scanning the room for a moment. She could not see anyone more notably, there was no Bucky in sight. Sighing in relief, she entered with her arms filled with blankets. She headed over to the bed and began laying each blanket over Roux's body with tender precision.
She knew he grew cold easy so, she didn't want him to grow cold now. Especially since he couldn't cover himself up.
Three layers later, Wanda finished.
She leaned forward, pushing aside his curls before pressing a small kiss to his forehead. A tear falling onto his cheek that belonged to her. And she smiled weakly as she sat at his bedside, clutching his hand in her own.
There she stayed for a long few minutes, listening to the heart monitor's soft beating that gave her enough comfort. She really wouldn't be happy until she got her best friend back.
She's lost her parents.
She's lost her brother.
She's lost her home.
She would be damned if she lost her best friend.
"His name is Roux," Bucky's voice cut straight into the silence.
Wanda jumped slightly in surprise. She turned her head back. Surprised when she found Bucky sitting on the floor in the corner with his knees up and head leaned back against the wall. He looked miserable and cold, unrecognizable. And she was a little creeped out by how silent he had been that she hadn't even realized he was in here all along.
But what shocked her more was that he hadn't attacked her out of the room like he did with her and the others earlier. He stayed where he was while looking at her, puzzled.
And a part of her filled with relief. "You remember?" Wanda asked, hopeful.
Bucky's eyes fell when he shook his head. "His name is written on the papers there," He muttered.
Wanda's shoulders sagged once more. She turned her sitting position more so that she could see him more clearly. Still clutching Roux's hand. "Do you remember anything at all?" She asked, fighting the urge to delve into his mind herself.
Bucky thought about that for a moment. His eyes filling with turmoil. "There's this voice in my head. It keeps repeating the same thing over and over again." He nodded his head to Roux's form. "I think it's his voice, I remember."
"What is he saying?" Wanda wondered innocently.
Just like that, he can hear it again. And this time, Bucky repeats the words as he hears it.
"I'll love you into oblivion, Bucky Barnes."
That is what the voice keeps repeating, and each time, it makes his heart clench or swell. It was like a breath of fresh air. It calmed him more than anything had these last few hours. And he was beginning to question everything.
Wanda laughed to herself breathily, turning to look down at Roux. "He was always a hopeless romantic," She whispered.
Bucky watched her loving expression and his mood turned sour. His eyes landing on how she was holding Roux's hand, and he couldn't explain why he didn't like it. He just didn't. "Who is he..." He asked once more, hoping to earn the answer this time around, "...What is he to me?"
Wanda tilted her head in thought. Her smile softening as she thought of him. "Roux is, in a condensed version, one of the most loving people I know." She began while Bucky was listening intently. "I remember when I met him and within the first meeting, I latched onto him. I had just lost my brother, Pietro, and he reminded me so much of him. Selfless, caring, kind. But most of all, he just knew how to make me smile again." Her eyes fell down to his hands. "But he was hurting, too. He just didn't like to show it because he thought himself a burden. Even through his pain, he helped everyone around him without a hint of complaint. That's the type of person he was..."
Bucky flinched as his mind flashed.
Him and Roux sitting in an office on a couch. Both of them eating with chopsticks. The way his laughter filled the room and his eyes gleamed with the city lights pouring in through the window.
He blinked, and the memory went away. His eyes widening as he felt his heart skip a beat on time with the heart monitor.
Oblivious to his reaction, Wanda kept speaking. "He saw the best in people, which is probably why he surrounds himself with the worst of us I think. To him, no one deserves to be alone. So he would find people like us, and love them with all his heart."
Bucky clutched his head in pain.
He had pulled Roux into his arms. Their foreheads pressing together as they stared into each other's eyes with so much love. His hands on his waist and holding him close as they slow danced under the string lights.
His mind physically began to ache and pulse. He clenched his jaw tight, groaning softly.
"Roux may despise heroes, but I don't think he realizes that he is one himself. He's saved so many people, myself included. And I know you don't remember any of this, but he loved you, too," Wanda finished, sniffling.
They were tangled in bed sheets with their hot skins pressed together. The moonlight shined in through the blinds onto their bodies. He could see Roux laying under him in his mind's eye right before he delved down and kissed him passionately.
The very same night in which he could put in the puzzle piece of falling asleep slowly, only to hear those words.
"I'll love you into oblivion, Bucky Barnes," Roux promised.
Bucky gasped to himself sharply as his head snapped up. Suddenly, like a movie, every moment that he has ever had with Roux played in his mind. His memories flooding back into him. From the very first time he laid eyes on him in that meeting room to the last time he saw him alive, in which he was screaming in agony in his arms.
Following was a gate of emotions that filled with happiness, rage, sadness, confusion, nervousness, and everything in between. Above all else, he remembered that feeling of just...being completely and utterly in love with him. He remembered all of it.
He is Bucky Barnes. And Bucky Barnes loved Roux Langley.
"Oh my god..." Bucky scrambled up from his spot, eyes tearing up.
Wanda stood from the bed. She backed away in surprise when Bucky came rushing forward, and lowered himself down to cup Roux's face in his hands. In which her eyes widened.
Bucky held Roux's face carefully, hands trembling. He scanned the man in horror and guilt. "Oh my god, Roux. Roux-" He choked out, "-Doll, can you hear me?"
Roux showed no reaction.
And his heart sank down to the ground at his feet. His head shaking in disbelief as he fell onto the bed, and his pressed his lips against his. "I'm right here, doll. I'm here. It's going to be okay." Bucky gripped his hand, pressing his forehead against his while kissing his knuckles. And he couldn't describe how terrified he suddenly felt. It had hit him like a ton of bricks. "You're going to be okay, doll," He whispered, eyes squeezing shut.
Until, the heart monitor made some high pitched noise that made Bucky and Wanda turn their heads. The noise grew louder a second time, some of the numbers of the machine dropping at an alarmingly rate before...
....the sound of the flatline had to be heard around the world.
Everything in Bucky went weak as his eyes shot down to Roux who's body began to vibrate, slow at first but growing exponentially. "What is this? What's happening to him?" Bucky asked.
Wanda covered her mouth as she panicked. "I-I don't know. I'll go get the others." She raced out of the doorway.
Bucky gripped Roux's shoulders as everything around them began to vibrate, too. He began shaking the man to get him to wake. "Roux! Roux! Wake up-Shit!" Bucky watched as the vibrations traveled up his metal arm, and starting from his fingertips where he was holding Roux, his arm began to disintegrate before his eyes. He pulled away just as the metal disappeared up to his shoulder, leaving only a glimpse of metal and nothing more. His eyes widening.
The room trembled harder and Roux was just laying there. Was he dead? Was he alive? Bucky could not tell, which scared the shit out of him.
The door burst open as Bruce Banner entered first with Wanda and the others right behind him.
They all noticed the fact that Bucky was missing his metal arm immediately as well as the state of the room.
"What the hell is happening?!" Steve asked.
Bruce tried to walk forward but Bucky stopped him. "Don't! If you touch him, his vibrations will hurt you!" He called over the noise.
Everyone yelled over one another for a few moments, mostly with Tony trying to get through while the other held him back. This last for a long minute, and then, abruptly, everything stopped moving. Stark silence following.
Bucky and Tony were the firsts to the bed side of Roux, his body was slumped against the bedding.
Tony heeded no warning as he reached out to touch Roux's arm. They all froze when nothing happened. "What the hell, kid..." He questioned.
Bucky gripped Roux's other hand. He leaned down to press his ear to Roux's chest, fearfully waiting. "I can't hear anything," He choked out, looking at the others for help, "Why can't I hear anything?"
The silence that followed was far too heavy.
Bruce walked forward. He pressed two fingers over the man's pulse for a full minute. Finally, he met Tony's eyes solemnly as his hand fell. His head shook to the side. "I'm sorry...he's gone," He revealed.
Wanda let out a sob, crying out loud. She fell to the floor onto her knees while he hugged her.
Natasha and Sam glanced at one another before looking down to the ground.
Steve closed his eyes while wiping a hand over his face stressfully.
"Gone?" Bucky repeated, a tear falling down the side of his cheek, "What do you mean, he's gone? No, that's...Wake him up!" He ordered.
"Do you see this equipment?" Bruce asked him, motioning around the room, "I don't know how to use half of it. I don't know how to revive him, even if I could," He fired back.
Bucky shook his head in disbelief. "If you aren't going to help, then get out of the way!" He snapped. He used his one hand to begin chest compression's, then when it was time, he leaned down and blew air into Roux's mouth.
Everyone watched his attempts with frail expressions.
Until Steve walked forward and pulled Bucky back. "Bucky, he's gone," He tried to say, voice breaking.
Bucky tried to push him away with his one good arm. "No! Let go, I need to help him! Get off of me!" He yelled, trying to fight his friend off.
Tony rolled up his sleeves, eyes filled with grief. "Friday, we're going to do this the old fashioned way. Show me his vitals. Sent a charge at 200 joules. Give me a count," He ordered. He pressed a button on his watch, and his Iron Man glove took form over his hand and brightened to life.
"Scanning Biometrics." The holographic screen appeared above the bed. Showing the flatline for all of them to see. "Charge ready. Clear for shock."
"Tony!" Bruce warned him.
Tony placed his hand onto Roux's chest. "CLEAR!" His glove shot out the current.
Roux's body lurched up then fell back down.
"Non-responsive subject. Second Charge, commencing."
"Tony, stop it!" Natasha snapped at him.
Tony didn't listen, readying himself for the next charge. "Friday, speed it up."
Bucky and Steve turned their heads to him, halting their fight.
"Charge ready. Clear for shock."
Again, Tony sent another current into Roux's body. And it was the same effect of Roux's body lurching and falling. His eyes watered, but he did not stop. "Again," He ordered.
By now, the others were coming forward to yell at him. Natasha and Sam began pushing Tony away from Roux. An all out fight commenced as he yelled at them to get out of his way. Across the room, Bucky began trying to help the other to get him to continue while Steve still tried to calm him. Wanda still cried on the floor, now sobbing harder while clutching to Vision's hold.
Tony broke free from their grips and ran forward, not even waiting for the charge to be ready before he slammed his hand down onto Roux's chest and blasted.
The heartbeat line jolted upwards, once then twice.
Roux gasped awake, coughing uncontrollably as he sat up and clutched his chest. He was red-faced and his chest was red and itchy. He tried to focus on his surroundings, and the people who all stopped screaming to look his way like deers in headlights. He could hardly make out their faces, searching amongst them for a moment.
Steve's arms finally fell.
Bucky was frozen in his spot.
The others having the same reactions of seeing a ghost.
Roux finally focused on them. His eyes scanning them with a squint. "What the hell happened to me?" He wheezed out, before grimacing, "Please tell me no one kissed me. Unless it was Bucky, or Steve, or Natasha. I would have been okay with any of those options."
Sam was the first to let out a chuckle. "Well, I'll be damned."
Roux searched their shocked faces, growing visibly more uncomfortable. His eyes went Tony, and he offered a strained smile. "I thought I told you not to come back for me-"
Tony slammed his arms around Roux, hugging him tightly. His eyes closed in relief. "You pull a stunt like that again, and I'll really kill ya," He whispered.
Roux smiled as they pulled away from each other. Only a second later, Wanda was clinging to him while sobbing. In which he hugged her back quickly. "You scared the shit out of me," She cried to him. And he blushed, rubbing circles onto her back. "I'm sorry," He apologized. When Wanda finally pulled away, his head automatically turned to Bucky and his face filled with that loving expression of his.
Bucky stumbled forward slowly, still stunned.
Roux knew that this was his Bucky instantly. Only Bucky held that puppy dog look for him that he adored so much.
"Are you just going to stand there, Sergeant?" Roux teased him, "Or are you waiting for permission?"
The others laughed lightly.
Bucky took the last remaining steps before grasping Roux's face in his hands, and he kissed him as hard as he could without holding back. There was this hole in his chest that filled back up at the feeling of him in his arms again, of feeling his lips against his. He wouldn't have stopped had the others not been here, but he forced himself to, and leaned his forehead against Roux's lovingly. "Have I ever told you that I love you?" He whispered.
Roux smiled back at him. "A few times, it never hurts to hear it one more time," He answered back.
Bucky laughed softly, wrapping his arm around Roux, who hugged him back tightly. Too tightly. He noticed that the strength the other held was quite familiar, but he didn't comment on it, yet.
For now, everyone smiled and watched the couple embrace each other, reunited.
*
thoughts?