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Shortly after the strange ship that had enteré d the atmosphere was detected, a new alert warned them that another ship had arrived. It almost looked like a chase. They lost sight of the first ship, but they managed to track down the second one. Four people came down from it, introducing themselves as the Fantastic Four (Bucky thought it was a ridiculous name, but he knew the kind of trouble commenting on a team’s name could bring, so he didn’t say anything). Apparently, they didn’t come from another planet, but from another universe. The twenty-first century was getting weird as hell, more and more so. What would be next?
Next, apparently, was the multiverse in danger, because a power-hungry, maniacal genius who wanted to control and rule the entire multiverse and bend fate and reality to his will had kidnapped a four-year-old child who turned out to be the most powerful creature in existence. Because of that, every existing universe was in serious danger.
Bucky wasn’t going to lie, he was a little skeptical that a man with a child could cause that much damage. They hadn’t said the city was in danger, or the country, which would already be a lot, nor even the planet or the universe. They had said the multiverse. All existing universes, an infinite number of them, were in danger because of a guy called Doctor Doom, with obvious ambition issues, and a four-year-old creature. It was hard to believe.
Then the woman told them how she died and how her son, who had been one year old at the time, had been able to bring her back to life, and that that was only a small demonstration of his immense power. This time, Bucky didn’t doubt it. He saw the sincerity and fear in her eyes.
“When do we start?” Yelena asked, as if she were reading his mind.
“No offense, but we need more people.”
All eyes fell on Bucky.
“You know he and I aren’t on good terms.”
“We’re talking about countless lives,” the young guy said. “I’m sure whatever drama you’ve got going on with your boyfriend can wait.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Bucky muttered, and Yelena rolled her eyes.
“I’m calling Kate Bishop. Call Sam.”
And with zero hope that Sam would pick up after their last conversation, and the lawsuit he hadn’t even told him he was going to file, Bucky did it.
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Sam’s phone rang with the special ringtone he had set for Bucky: “If This World Were Mine” by Marvin Gaye.
He needed to change it. Bucky didn’t even like Marvin Gaye, no matter how much he had said he did. Still, that song felt so right to him. It expressed so perfectly what Sam felt for Bucky and how he would give him the world if he could… but he should change it. Not because he no longer felt that way, he wished that were the case, it would make this whole mess much easier, but because the situation between them had changed. Yes, Sam might still be in love with Bucky, but proclaiming that you would lay the world at the feet of someone you barely spoke to, and with whom almost every conversation ended in an argument, felt strange.
Bucky was probably calling about the lawsuit. Sam sighed. He didn’t feel like fighting, but he was going to answer because after all these years, one thing was clear: Bucky would always show up for Sam when he needed him, even if Sam didn’t tell him he needed him, and Sam would always answer when Bucky called.
“Go ahead, Barnes.”
“Sam… I… I’m sorry to bother you, but…” Bucky took a breath. “Two ships from another universe have arrived. We lost track of one, but we know it’s still here and we’re trying to locate it. The other one carried a group of heroes from that universe who are looking for the first ship. A crazy guy who wants to dominate the entire multiverse has kidnapped the child of two of the heroes from that second group, but he’s not an ordinary child, Sam. He’s very, very powerful, capable even of bringing the dead back to life. He was able to revive his mother when he was only one year old, and he can do even more incredible things. We need you, and your team too. We need as many people as we can gather. The multiverse is in danger.”
Sam stayed silent for a few seconds, processing everything Bucky had just told him while also remembering what Sterns had said when he visited him in prison, about other worlds, and how he had hinted that it would be difficult to protect the one they lived in.
“Sam?”
He could hear the insecurity in Bucky’s voice, as if he thought Sam didn’t believe him or something like that. But Sam believed him. He believed him completely.
“Sorry. Everything you just told me is a bit hard to take in, but of course, you can count on us.”
“Thank you, Sam.”
Sam could hear the smile in Bucky’s voice, like when everything used to be okay between them. In the past, Sam couldn’t help but smile every time they talked on the phone, and he would be rewarded by hearing Bucky smile too, as if talking to Sam made him just as happy. Lately, though, there had been none of that between them.
“Where do we meet?”
“I’ll send the coordinates as soon as we know where the ship is. I’m also going to try to contact Strange and Wong to see if they can open some portals, like during the battle against Thanos.”
“That would be really helpful. Keep me informed, please.”
“I will.”
They fell silent. Sam didn’t know what else to say, but he didn’t want to hang up either. It was the most civil conversation he had had with Bucky in weeks, and it seemed to be the same for Bucky.
“Thanks for calling.”
“Thanks for answering.”
“Always.”
They fell silent again, and this time Sam knew he had to hang up before saying something stupid.
“I should probably go get ready and warn the others.”
“Yeah, me too,” Bucky said in a lower than usual voice, slightly shaky. “Goodbye, Sam.”
“Goodbye, Buck.”
Sam hung up and took a few seconds to realize he had called him “Buck,” like when they were friends. It hurt, but Sam couldn’t waste time on that. There was a fight to win, and from what Bucky had told him, they needed to gather a lot of people. So he quickly made a list of those they could count on and started making calls, even asking those people to call others on the list to speed things up.
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They managed to gather a huge number of heroes. Everyone who had fought against Thanos and was still alive was there, with Shuri leading the Wakandans; Bucky’s new team; Joaquín; Isaiah; a female version of the Hulk; unknown people; Kate Bishop with a group of teenagers who called themselves the Young Avengers; and even one of them who apparently had the power to travel between universes and had managed to bring heroes from other realities. The most striking ones, maybe because of how outrageous they were, were a guy in a red suit and another one in yellow with claws.
There was also more than one Spider-kid. When Sam and Bucky saw them, they couldn’t help exchanging a look, remembering the first time they fought side by side and were almost defeated by the one from their universe. Sam nodded toward them and rolled his eyes. Bucky smiled, and that was the moment Sam remembered they weren’t friends anymore. He looked away, tensing up.
With so many people gathered to fight, it was impossible not to think about the battle against Thanos. But at the same time, they were a whole multiversal army of heroes against a man in a mask and hood and a four year old kid. It couldn’t be that hard, right?
It was hard. It was fucking hard. Just Doctor Doom and the child would have been difficult enough to defeat, but the enemy wasn’t alone.
He had other superpowered people on his side, as well as an army of robots that were extremely difficult to fight and that didn’t just shoot, they could fly too. Even so, the massive group of heroes was holding up well and putting up a good fight.
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Bucky managed to get fairly close to the villain, but he made the mistake of relaxing when he thought he almost had him and didn’t notice the robot approaching. The machine grabbed him and lifted him into the air, so high that Bucky was starting to have trouble breathing.
At one point, the robot stopped, punched him in the stomach, and let him go, allowing Bucky to fall to his death at high speed.
Bucky was terrified. He was falling too fast, and he didn’t know if he would survive.
This wasn’t like when he had jumped after Sam out of a plane without a parachute. Back then, he had known it would hurt, but it probably wouldn’t be fatal. Now, however, he wasn’t so sure. Even as a super soldier, the height was too much.
The previous two times he had “died,” he had called Steve, the second time more to warn him that something was happening than anything else. This time, he didn’t call anyone. There was no one to call. Steve was gone, and he had lost Sam. They and their team were there, fighting alongside Bucky’s team, but they weren’t speaking, so even though his whole body screamed for him, Bucky didn’t shout his name. What would be the point? He had no one left. Of course he knew his team cared about him just as much as he cared about them, but they hadn’t reached the level of trust and connection he had had with Steve and much less with Sam. Besides, they couldn’t do anything anyway.
Sam… As he fell, his mind was a mess of memories of falling from the train and thoughts of Sam. He hated the possibility of dying while being on bad terms with the man who had been his best friend for so long and who, in reality, had been so much more to Bucky. How could he not have been? Sam was simply irresistible. Bucky believed it was inevitable to meet Sam and not love him.
He braced for the impact, whispering a silent prayer, but something, or rather, someone, altered his trajectory: Sam.
He didn’t catch him midair so much as crash into him. The impact hurt, and they both dropped for a couple of seconds. The wings screeched, and Sam’s face was twisted with effort, but he managed to stabilize them.
“I’ve got you,” he said, breathless.
Once he had regained control of the flight, Sam held Bucky tightly. They looked at each other for a moment before Sam focused again on what he was doing. Flooded with relief and gratitude, Bucky took a few seconds to realize that Sam was flying them away from the fight.
“Sam, what are you doing?”
“I’m taking you somewhere safe.”
And Bucky couldn’t help thinking that there was probably no place safer than Sam’s arms. He felt euphoric. He hadn’t called out for Sam, but Sam had come to his rescue anyway. He hadn’t let him fall. He had caught him. He had saved him. But he didn’t say any of that. He couldn’t open his heart right then, not when there was still a fight going on, not when their teammates were still fighting and risking their lives.
“Sam, we have to go back. The fight is still going on,” he said instead.
Sam didn’t answer, but Bucky saw his jaw tense and decided not to say anything else.
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Sam knew he shouldn’t leave the fight while his teammates, friends, and other heroes were still battling. He knew he should stay there and fight until the end with the others, but he had seen Bucky fall and, for a moment, had felt like he was losing him, like he was about to watch the person he loved fall and die in front of his eyes again. It was strange how his body moved toward Bucky before he even had time to think. He acted on instinct, because no matter how angry he was with the man, Sam would always want to save him, protect him, take care of him. Fear flooded him at the thought that he wouldn’t make it, but he did. He caught him, and even though it hurt, he didn’t care, because Bucky was okay and that was all that mattered. Besides, nothing would ever hurt as much as losing him, so he could endure the physical pain of the impact. He could endure a thousand impacts like that at once if it meant Bucky was okay.
The lawsuit, the Avengers’ name, their arguments, who was right and who was wrong... everything felt absurd and insignificant now that he had faced the possibility of losing Bucky forever. But it was okay. He had saved him. He had caught him. And now he knew he didn’t want Bucky out of his life anymore. Well, he had always known that, but now he was willing to forgive him.
Bucky told Sam they had to go back, and Sam knew it, but he had almost lost him and they hadn’t even been talking.
He had watched his worst nightmare become reality when he saw someone else falling, and it had been a thousand times worse because it was Bucky. For a second, Sam thought he wouldn’t make it in time, but he had. He had caught him. He had stopped him from falling.
Bucky was alive in his arms, and Sam loved him. He just wanted to get him somewhere safe, to make sure he was okay. To have a few seconds to process what had just happened and confirm that yes, it was real, and the man he loved was perfectly fine.
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A few moments later, Sam landed.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he set Bucky down and scanned him from head to toe, trying to detect any injury.
Bucky nodded.
“You’re crying,” Sam said, stepping closer and wiping away the tears Bucky hadn’t even realized he was shedding with his thumbs.
“I was scared, but you saved me. Even though you’re not talking to me, you saved me.”
“Did you really think I’d let you die in front of my eyes without doing anything?”
Now that he was safe and could actually think about it, Bucky had to admit that he hadn’t truly believed that. It was Sam, after all. Sam always tried to save everyone from external dangers and internal ones.
“I don’t know, I was just so scared.” A sob escaped Bucky’s lips, and Sam hurried to hug him.
“It’s okay. Everything’s fine. You’re okay.” Bucky nodded against Sam’s shoulder. “As long as it’s in my power, I’ll never let you fall,” Sam admitted, because Bucky had almost died with so many things left unsaid between them, and Sam wanted to say at least that and, if possible, all the rest.
“I know. You always catch me,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Thank you, Sam.”
“Anytime, Buck.”
“How are you?” Bucky asked, pulling back just enough to look Sam in the eyes, but still keeping his arms around him, not wanting to let go.
He knew about Sam’s trauma with people falling: Riley, Rhodey, Torres. He hoped he wouldn’t be one more name on the long list of falls that haunted Sam’s nightmares. He hoped that the fact that Sam had saved him would change things for him, would heal his heart a little. Still, Bucky could see the exact moment Sam broke.
“I thought I was losing you.” Now Sam was the one crying. “I thought I was losing you, like Riley, that I wouldn’t make it in time to catch you like with Torres or Rhodey. I thought I was losing you, and we weren’t even talking, and we’d never be able to again.” Sam cried uncontrollably, and just as Sam had done for him, Bucky hurried to wipe away his tears before pulling him even closer and kissing his hair.
“You didn’t lose me, Sam. I’m here. You caught me. You saved me.”
Sam nodded against Bucky’s chest.
“I don’t want us to be angry anymore.”
“Neither do I, Sam. Well, I’m not angry, but I don’t want you to be angry with me anymore. I understand why you are. I know how it looks. But you’re the most important person in my life. You mean the world to me, and I hate that I lost you over something that—”
Bucky couldn’t finish the sentence, because Sam’s lips crashed against his in a messy but tender kiss that Bucky didn’t take long to return.
“You didn’t lose me, and you mean the world to me too, Buck. I love you, buddy,” Sam said with a smile when they pulled apart.
“Buddy? Sam, you just kissed me.”
Sam laughed.
“Yeah, and if I remember correctly, you kissed me back.”
“Then don’t call me buddy.”
Sam laughed again.
“Deal. But now we’ve got a fight to get back to. Ready?”
“Always, Cap.”
Sam smiled, picked Bucky up in his arms, and took off again toward the battlefield. It was going to be hard, but being close to each other, they felt strong, invincible and maybe, just maybe, they were.