I thought I’d post this before endgame ends us all. What if they time travel to the 1940s. Exploring Steve and Bucky’s friendship.based on a theory someone had.
Bucky stares at Steve. It was his best friend but he wasn’t. His hair had more blond in it and he had more lines from stress. His attitude was more beaten down. But Bucky could still feel Steve’s unwavering fight.
“I’m from the future,” Steve said. Bucky could see tech that he had never seen before. Not even Howard Stark had come up with some of it.
“The future hu? How far?” Bucky asked.
“A bit. I don’t want to ruin time by telling you,” Steve said and Bucky nodded. “I, Uh, I have to ask a favor from you. But you’ll hate it. But it’s important for the future of the universe.”
“Why am I not surprised? What is it?” Bucky said. He could tell it was going to be bad. The other people in the group had distanced themselves from the pair.
“I- Bucky. I don’t want to ask this of you. But we’re desperate,” Steve admitted. Bucky sat quietly to let him continue.
“There are these space stone and we need them to save the universe,” Steve said. Of course there were, Bucky thought. Life is already so goddamn weird, this might as well happen.
“We have them but one won’t activate with a sacrifice,” Steve said.
“What do you mean?” Bucky asked suspiciously. He had a feel what it meant.
“Someone you love has to be sacrificed,” Steve said. Bucky’s eyebrows rose.
“You want to sacrifice me?”
“No. I want you to sacrifice me,” Steve said and the silence afterwards seemed to stretch.
“No? Why would I do that?”
“To save the universe,” Steve said.
“You want me to kill you? Future you? Just what, shoot you?” Bucky asked. This plan sounded ridiculous.
“It’s a bit more more complicated than that. You’ll need to push me off a cliff. A specific cliff,” Steve said and Bucky sighed. He gripped his eyebrows and then scratched his jaw. Bucky nodded a little.
“Basically. You’ll know when you do it.”
“Or I’ll kill you for nothing. Do you know how many times I’ve saved your life?” Bucky asked.
“More times than I can ever know. But half the universe died, Buck. We can’t just let that happen,” Steve pleaded. Bucky hates that Steve was probably right.
“Do you get to settle down in the future? Do you marry Peggy?” Bucky asked Steve. “Are you happy? I mean before the whole universe thing.”
Steve thought about it. No, he had never been happy. Fought in the streets of Brooklyn as a kid and continued fighting bigger bullies. There had been no settling down. The world had always needed him. He tried to smile.
“I’ve got some good friends,” Steve said honestly. Bucky understood that meant no, Steve never got his happiness. Bucky has already deduced that he wasn’t alive in the future because Steve could just ask future him to do it.
“Why can’t it be someone else? What about one of them?” Bucky asked. “Why can’t you sacrifice me?”
“We’ve lost our people. It had to be a parent child love, or brothers, or lovers. In the future we’ve lost that. And it’s nice you’ve offered, Buck. But if I sacrificed you, then the future would be totally messed up. Not just for me. But the world,” Steve said. Bucky scoffed.
“I doubt I’m that important. The world, Steve?”
“Yeah, Buck. The world. You’ll see. I can’t say anything to change the future or, I quote ‘I could destroy the very fabric of time.’ We’ve gone over a billion different ways to do this. We’ve tried to do anything else but this is it,” Steve said. Before Tony had- he had spent hours trying to find a better plan but this was it. The 1 in 14 million.
“What cliff,” Bucky asked Steve.
“On another planet,” Steve said.
“Oh. Space travel, hu?” Bucky said surprised. Steve nodded.
“Yeah, the future is... weird,” Steve admitted.
And that’s how Bucky got onto a high tech twenty first century space ship piloted by a woman with glowing hands after meeting the god Thor. He was pretty sure this was a horrible nightmare at this point. The whole ride Bucky has asked what if’s to avoid this moment. See if there was any way to save the universe without sacrificing Steve but like everyone else there was nothing else.
They finally stopped at a planet where there was icy swirling mist. Great cliffs over never ending edges that were unfathomably deep due to heavy fog. To Bucky, it reminded him a bit of northern Scotland he saw in the war.
“Buck,” Steve said. He looked nervous. “I Uh, wrote a letter for you. Well 2 actually. Current you and future you. I’m leaving future you’s letter with the others. Wait to read it until after- you know...”
“We don’t have to do this,” Bucky said. “You’ve served the world enough in my time. You don’t owe them anything.”
“I’m doing it for you. And half the universe. After everything you went through, you deserve a rest. Some normal life.”
“I haven’t gone through- oh,” Bucky said understanding. “I’m going to go through stuff, hu?”
“I can’t say,” Steve said painfully. He wanted to warn Bucky. Prevent him from becoming the winter soldier. But the time space continuum he had promised Tony he wouldn’t destroy. Tony’s last request of Steve.
“It’s okay. I’ll be okay,” Bucky reassured Steve.
“Rogers, we need to,” Captain Marvel said quietly. She didn’t want to rush his death but the universe was waiting. Steve nodded.
They walked to the cliffs about 80 years before Thanos. Before the Red Skull was forced to watch over the spot. Another poor soul guarded the overlook and warned them of the sacrifice required to get the stone.
“Steve,” Natasha said to him. He turned to see her eyes watery and her nose red. “I guess I should be happy that I get to say good bye to you. Unlike... uh, tell him for me I guess.”
Steve chuckled dryly and nodded.
“You are one of the few people I’ve been honest with. And, uh.. you made me a better person,” she said and her eyes watered. “You were as close to a brother as I’ve ever had.” She stood sniffing for a minute before Steve pulled her into a hug. She cried a little before pulling away to wipe her eyes.
Clint gave Steve a hug next. “Give them hell in the afterlife,” he said with a sad smile. Steve smiled and nodded.
Rhodey hugged him next. “Tell tony he’s a punk for not saying good bye.”
Thor patted Steve roughly on the back before hugging him. “One day I will see you in the halls of Valhalla. You death is a glorious warrior death. But I hate it. I’ll miss you.”
“We’ll both miss you,” Bruce said. He hugged Steve next. “You don’t have to-“
“I do. It’s okay. 100 years is a long life,” Steve said smiling while his eyes watered. The cliff called to him.
Bucky turned to him. His cheeks were wet and he gulped. “Your friend is right. You don’t have to.”
“I do. I do,” Steve said. Bucky pulled him into a hug.
“I’ve known you since we were kids. Saving you from street bullies and that stupid asthma of yours. I can’t stop you from fighting bullies can I?”
“It’s not fair,” Bucky said with a tremor in his voice. He cleared his throat. “Why you have to be sacrificed. You deserve better. You’ve always been too good. To righteous for your own good.” Bucky wipes his face and Steve blinked away tears. Steve wasn’t sad for himself but how Bucky would do after knowing. Know what he did.
“I’m not that good,” Steve said. “I’ve made some mistakes. I feel like a lot of this is my fault. I was stubborn and I lost friends over it, Buck,” Steve said clearing his throat. “Let’s do this.”
He shook as he walked closer to the cliff. Bucky stiffly followed. The others watched from their place. Nat cried and the others felt like it.
“You’re my best friend, Buck. I’ll miss you and I’m sorry it had to be you. I’m so sorry,” Steve said in earnest.
“I’ll uh, miss you too,” Bucky said roughly. “You’re like my brother. Why do you have to go off and save the universe, Steve?”
“I guess this is the end of the line,” Bucky said.
“Yeah. The end of the line,” Steve repeated. “Let’s do it,” he said barely above a whisper. He kinda trembled like one would from cold.
“No,” Bucky whispered back before walking forward. He put his hand on Steve’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Steve said half to himself.
“I’m so sorry Steve,” Bucky said. His eyes watered unchecked. He grimaced and then shoved Steve off the edge. Steve gasped softly before reaching out instinctively. Bucky cried as Steve disappeared into the fog. His last view of Steve was Steve grasping at the air in terror. Bucky crumbled to his knees.
When he opened his eyes the sky had changed. It was a piercingly bright orange that made Bucky blink a few times. The others look on in amazement. Right in front of Bucky’s hand was a glowing orange gem. He reached for it.
“Don’t. It’ll destroy you,” Carol warned. She walked over and grabbed it from the sky. “Let’s go,” she said softly. She felt bad but they had to save to universe.
Natasha helped Bucky to his feet. He looked at her critically for a minute. “Do I know you?”
“No. Let’s take you home,” she said. Natasha felt bad that she was going to clear Bucky’s memories of the event. Steve has given her a vial of Stark’s memory solution to give to Bucky. There was no way he could keep this knowledge for decades.
Back on the ship Bucky sat in his chair staring into space. They were flying him to earth before continuing the fight. Natasha came up to ask how he was doing. Bucky nodded numb from pain. Steve was dead in the bottom of a cliff. Natasha muttered a quick apology that confused Bucky before she injected him quickly. He passed out almost immediately. He would wake up safe and not remembering the trip to space.
