When she met him masterlist
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader [Michelle]
Summary: Anthony Stark's funeral was not the last symbol of recognition of the sacrifices the Avengers had had to make. The mission had not come to an end, and so Steve Rogers was charged with returning the Infinity Gems to their place of origin. What had been a lifetime for him was only a few moments for others. He had lived a pleasant and lasting time, and for that reason he wanted his partner and friend to find it too.
A/N: Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
Time is an element that can generate contradictory feelings, in barely a millisecond it can change your life without you even realising it.
His surroundings were full of uncertainty, the foundations he had laid in the years that followed had just cracked, offering him a blank map for his future. Just a few seconds ago his destiny was shared with the person who had saved him from his darkness, from his inner demons, yet that person seemed to have lived a life in which he had not been present.
A few yards away sat an individual on a bench near the lake, his changed appearance suggesting that time had passed over his features, but he had no doubt that it was him. Sam, standing firmly by his side, approached him first, for he himself did not know if he had the courage to face the situation. A brave choice, he thought, as well as a bold one, but always made from the heart, as was everything his old friend did.
A knot formed in his stomach, wondering why the decision had been made, and only the word 'love' connected to the name 'Peggy Carter' came to mind. His eyes glazed over as a shy smile formed at the corners of his lips, prompting him to consider the life Steve had had. His good fortune to be able to return to the past and to have lived with the person he truly loved gave him a sense of well-being filled with anger at himself. It was an opportunity that he had contemplated and wished for during his years of lucidity and which he had firmly recognised was merely impossible.
His hands balled into fists inside his jacket pockets relaxed as he watched Sam, after a few minutes, rise from the bench, inviting him to take his place. Bucky bit the inside of his lower lip nervously as he ducked his head, watching his restless feet. Sam positioned herself next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, their eyes made a brief connection in which hundreds of words were exchanged, but he knew it would be alright after observing Sam's relaxed countenance.
A nod to himself and again he formed a fist in his hands and slowly approached the stone bench, where a figure sat with his back to him at all times. Whitish grey hair was visible in his hair, accompanied by a slightly hunched back. They barely looked at each other, for there was so much to express that it was better not to say anything. Their eyes were absorbed in contemplating the horizon reflected in the blue waters of the lake.
The peace in the air slowed Buck's heartbeat and he let the air out of his lungs with a sigh. Steve kept his hands folded in his lap, the wrinkles expressing the long existence he had had. His friend couldn't help but turn his gaze slightly towards them, causing a feeling of gratitude to settle over him, for the fact that after so long Steve had returned to them meant so much.
"I have to admit she was a really beautiful woman," said Steve, causing the silence to break at last. His voice was faint and had changed over the years.
Bucky smiled quizzically as his eyes roamed over the face of his friend, who was still staring straight ahead. His mind recalled with a hint of difficulty the figure of Sergeant Carter, but the fact was that she was blissful in beauty, as well as in ruggedness and courage. Before he could admit it and agree with his partner, however, Steve intervened again.
"I didn't have the pleasure of knowing her, but she sure was a great woman," Steve's blue eyes, over which his expression lines fell, made a connection with Bucky's, which after hearing those words became impassive.
A lump in his throat formed as his pupils dilated and became watery with the multiple feelings he was feeling. In no instant would she have expected those words to come from Steve. Talking about her out loud, even remembering her in his mind, generated a lot of pain inside him, but the fact that his friend had seen her or knew about her, due to his return to the past, and remembered her after so long was a fact to be thankful for.
Steve didn't mean Peggy Carter, no, he meant Michelle.
"I couldn't help it, it wasn't my duty to do it either" he urged turning back to gaze at the horizon "But you can change the course of your future."
Steve's trembling hands parted to pull an object from inside his jacket, Bucky was still at a loss for words but he was paying attention to his old friend's every gesture. A large white envelope, that was what he pulled out, its size was similar to that of a sheet of paper, however inside it seemed to contain a series of documentation, barely visible due to its opacity. The aged hands handed him the envelope, which James looked at with suspicion and fear of what might be inside it.
"What is this?" a trickle of a voice came from within him, hesitating to ask the question.
"That which will give answers to your many doubts."
Steve placed his hand on Bucky's back, trying to comfort him and give him strength to face the path that was about to begin, and that unfortunately he could not be by his side "Now it is your choice. In those documents you will find all the information gathered by SHIELD, from the HYDRA documents to the present day" he turned to his right and picked up a white box. "I suppose you'll want to have this as well."
The uncertainty that had been wandering in his mind for the last few years might cease to exist the moment he opened that white packet, but was he really ready to face his greatest fears, those that had kept him from sleeping peacefully for years and that still lay before him when he was awake?
Time seemed to stand still, neither of them uttering another word on the subject at hand, yet their closeness spoke volumes. Bucky's hand clenched tightly around the envelope, trying to contain all the rage that burned inside him. He hesitated whether to open it now or wait, wait until he had the courage to fight, but he had waited so long for that moment that he decided to open it, releasing his worst fears.
Inside it coexisted a series of documents, gathered in a folder of light blue colour, he extracted it presenting it in front of his own eyes and emphasizing what some red letters informed that it would be its content.
"PROJECT LIEUTENANT WELLS - CONFIDENTIAL FILES"
His jaw closed impassively as his right hand clenched into a fist and he would say it to his lips in an attempt to stop a sob. His eyes closed, for as he himself had predicted, he did not feel up to the task of coping with all that it meant.
Steve, who was watching the situation closely without having taken his hand off his friend's back, said those words that would always be true: "I'm With You Till The End Of The Line".
