Chapter Text
Punch after punch came.
"You're."
Punch.
"My."
Punch.
"Mission!"
It took Steve back, to the days in Brooklyn when he would be in the back of an alley, trying to hold himself up after the relentless abuse of bullies came right at him. But this was Bucky. His Bucky. Bucky would keep him safe, would tell the bullies to "pick on someone their own size". But now his Bucky was broken. Bucky was a fragile shell of who he used to be, battered and bruised from the inside out because of Hydra. And Steve didn't do anything. He thought he deserved the punches that came from Bucky. After all, he didn't do anything to help Bucky, and now Bucky was lost. But something inside of Steve stirred at the thought of finally being able to help Bucky.
The punches faltered.
"You're my mission." Bucky breathed, strength falling.
"Then finish it." Steve choked out. "'Cause I'm with you till the end of the line."
That was all that Steve could get out, and the ship cracked underneath him, sending him falling to the river below. But all that Steve could think before he hit the water was,
Is this how Bucky felt, on the train?
How could he, Steve Rogers, Captain America, not save his best friend?
But his best friend saved him.