Chapter Text
“Don’t do anything stupid while I'm gone” Steve said, never breaking eye contact and smirking slightly.
“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you” Bucky sighed, and even though he was trying to smile, some sadness reached his eyes. Part of him couldn’t help to wonder whether Steve was trying to run, tired after all the fighting, he couldn’t blame him, they all had been through enough, yet the trembling of his heart didn’t stop.
Steve grabbed the suitcase and the hammer, and climbed onto the structure Dr. Banner had built, “Remember, you must place the stones in the exact moment we took them, and once you’re done you’ll have your queue to come back” Bruce instructed, Steve nodded and stood in the center of the machine.
“Are you ready?” Bruce asked expectantly while typing and turning knobs on the machine.
“Ready” Steve announced, standing perfectly straight, no shed of fear anywhere in his posture.
Bucky was standing a couple of feet away from the machine, looking at his best friend about to embark in a mission he still couldn't quite understand, these last few years had gone in a flash, one moment he was free from Hydra, but running from the Avengers, the next he was reunited with Stevie… still running, the next, he was undergoing several procedures in Wakanda, and when he finally felt some sense of calm, a gigantic purple alien decided to attack the entire universe, now everything seemed to be over, but the feeling of impending doom didn’t subside.
As Dr. Banner continued to adjust things in the machine, it started to make some loud whirring noises and flashing bright lights “Alright, in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1” one final flash and Steve was gone.
Bucky turned to look at Sam, who had a worried look, and then at Dr. Banner who was focused on the readings the machine was giving him.
“Okay, everything looks normal, he should be back in about 15 seconds” Bruce calmly stated as he turned to look at the two men standing next to him.
Bucky suddenly realized he could breathe.
Steve still was not used to quantum travel, even thinking about it made him dizzy, he took a deep breath and held tightly to the hammer and the suitcase containing 6 of the universe’s most powerful artifacts, after Bruce’s countdown he embraced the familiar feeling of the energetic tunnels surrounding him.
One after the other he placed the stones in their home, the final two remaining: the soul stone and the space stone, he decided to tackle the unfamiliar planet first.
They had told him the planet’s name was Vormir, and that this is where Nat had died, sacrificing herself to give them the opportunity to win, the planet was composed of mostly shallow water, the sky was a deep and dark shade of purple with touches of blue and pink, and the reflection of what appeared to be an eclipsed sun could be seen from a distance, right in the center of it, a beautiful mountain stood still.
He walked towards the mountain, climbing it steadfast and determined, stopping every so often to admire the view; Once he was at the top, a hooded figure appeared in front of him “Steven Grant Rogers, son of Sarah and Joseph Rogers, born June 13th, 1918 in Manhattan, New York, latterly made into the Captain America” it whispered.
“Who are you?” Steve asked hesitantly, when there was no reply, he sighed and continued “It is impressive, nobody knows my real birthday, other than Bucky, that is, funny how people easily believed my real birthday was July 4th, what an incredible coincidence that would be… But that was only what the army officials wanted, said it would make people care about me, guess it worked” he shrugged.
The figure remained still and softly spoke “Bucky… James Buchanan Barnes, son of Winnifred and George Barnes, born March 10th, 1917 in Manhattan, New York, formerly made into the Winter Soldier at the hands of Hydra, and later rehabilitated into the White Wolf by the Wakandan sovereigns” he paused “but most importantly, best friend of Steve Rogers”.
Steve stood still, now growing weary of the figure “What do you want?” he asked, the figure approached him and slowly removed its hood.
As the light hit the figure’s face it took only a few seconds before he was recognized “Schmidt! Wha– how is this possible?!” Steve was now visibly upset, he stood his ground and took on a defensive posture.
“Yes, that is who I once was, the tesseract allowed me to remember that much, nonetheless, after our last encounter, my greediness placed me here, to lead others to a treasure I cannot possess, treasure which you carried in that suitcase” the red skull was now speaking in a louder volume and looking directly into Steve’s eyes while pointing at the suitcase with his right hand.
Steve dropped his shoulders “What treasure could possibly be worth sacrificing a loved one?” he was calming down after assessing that the former red skull posed no threat to him.
“And that, dear Captain, is one of the reasons why Mjolnir deemed you worthy” Schmidt remarked.
Steve, still feeling uneasy, replied “How do you know so many things?” holding his gaze to the late Hydra general.
“The stones, they communicate, they whisper and warn, I am but a servant to them, learning that which they want me to” The red skull was now floating past Steve, looking into the horizon.
Steve took a shaky breath, attempted to relax his muscles, and turned towards the figure, painfully aware of the time constraint he was on “Clint, he said it was not possible, but I have to ask... Can you bring Natasha back?” He looked up, hopeful and afraid.
Schmidt, still looking at the horizon, replied “Natasha understood the consequences when she made the decision standing where you are now, she spared her friend, and helped you save your loved ones in return–” he turned to look at Steve “and I must ask you Captain, wouldn’t you have done the same?… in a way, you did over 85 years ago, had it been Barnes and you, standing in their place?”
“I guess I would have, still, a selfish part of me wishes for her to be back and enjoy the life she helped save” Steve looked to his hand holding the suitcase and then back up “And why did you mention Bucky, twice now?” he asked.
Schmidt smirked slightly “Because you did– out of the choices you have Steve, remember those that are important right now, before your time runs out” he moved back and was now standing behind Steve.
Steve glanced at the horizon once more, and turned, holding the suitcase, he lifted it and placed it on his right palm, using his left hand he motioned to open it, after the second latch clicked he held the lid “I suppose I ought to return one of these to you now, and please don’t give it to any more tyrannic beings” he huffed, once the lid lifted he was shocked, with his mouth agape he stared at the contents of the case, which now only consisted of the space stone “I.. I don’t understand.. It was here.. I” he struggled, his heartbeat rising.
“The stone returned to its place once you entered its haven” Schmidt stated calmly.
“Oh” Steve’s heart was still hammering, he took a couple of deep breaths and swallowed “You could've said that earlier” his mouth was dry, he imagined going back having misplaced one of the stones, Bruce would’ve killed him, that is if the future still looked the same and he hadn't accidentally created another apocalyptic event by breaking the timelines or whatever “I guess that’s my signal to leave then, as fun as this was, I still have a stone to take home” he shook his head “Take care Schmidt” he waved and proceeded to walk heading back the mountain to a safer spot to make the quantum jump.
“Captain” Schmidt’s expression had not changed, Steve stopped abruptly and turned, the red skull continued “Time is a curious thing, don't you agree? Even as you stand there, able to to go back and forward, I sense hesitance within you, the soul is sometimes louder that the mind, and yours is no exception, you’re torn, between what you could've had and the possibilities of the unknown future–” Steve remained wide-eyed and silent “Let me give you one piece of advice, an attempt to patch our rough distant past if you will… do not let fear guide you, the comforting promise that the past offers could be an empty one, focus on what you have today, and mourn that which you have lost, otherwise, your soul will be obscured like the planet you see before you, fill your soul with light as bright as the sun above us, and some day, the gap you feel will be complete once again” he then lifted his hands and reached behind his head, pulling his hood up once more, and as he was drifting away he whispered “the real treasure is the love you hold now”.
Steve was standing still, processing everything he heard, and as he blinked trying to gain some sense of what just happened, the hooded figure was gone, he took a trembly breath and closed his eyes, the red skull, General Schmidt from Hydra, had just given him some of the deepest advice he had heard in a while, and funnily enough, the advice made some sense, he truly had gained some incredible abilities as a punishment, odd.
He was suddenly shaken from his line of thought as he heard the familiar beeping of his quantum jumping bracelet, which was alerting him that he should jump soon or else he would miss the timeline of the last stone, he took another deep breath and pressed the button.