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They hit the water hard. The impact alone was enough to make Steve’s head spin even after he made it to the surface. Gasping and sputtering for breath, he spun in circles, looking for any indication that Bucky had made his way up as well. There was nothing. Pieces of the helicopter were still sinking around Steve, threatening to pull him back down. He used that force to his advantage as he plunged back down into the dark and swirling water.
His limbs were throbbing, muscles beyond fatigued. He had to find him. It was hard to see in the cloudy water, Steve’s stinging eyes scanning for any sign of life. There were bubbles everywhere, the helicopter was still sinking and Steve wasn’t gaining any distance. He getting lightheaded just as the glint of metal caught his eye.
He poured everything he had left into the final stretch, shattering the window and pulling Bucky’s limp body from the cab. The swim was an uphill battle but it was worth it when he broke the surface with Bucky’s shirt wound tightly in his fist.
“Goddammit, Buck,” Steve panted after pushing a third breath of air into his best friend’s lungs. “C’mon.” He pressed his head to Bucky’s chest, desperate to feel it rising and falling with shallow breaths. It didn’t. “Come on. We didn’t get this far for you to drown. This isn’t where it ends, dammit.”
Steve tried again, pushing as much air from his own lungs as he could into Bucky’s. He was lightheaded again, short of breath, and really beginning to doubt the abilities of the super solider serum.
“C’mon, please. Please, Buck. I need—”
Steve jumped as Bucky drew in a sharp breath and his chest began to rise and fall at a steady rate. He was still unconscious but Steve would take it. From there it was waiting game.
Steve didn’t know how long it would take for Sam to find them or how long it would be until Bucky woke up. Steve wasn’t sure if he would be himself or if the Winter Solider would come back out on a murderous rampage. All he knew was that Bucky’s head was in his lap and they were both breathing and that was enough. Selfish tears burned Steve’s eyes as he ran his fingers through Bucky’s dark, tangled hair.
“God...” He tried to swallow the blade in his throat but it wouldn’t go. The last few days had been far too much for Steve. Everything was slipping through his fingers too quickly to process. Tony, Peggy, Sharon, Natasha, the team; he was losing them all to the Accords and Bucky had almost gone down the drain with them. “How did this happen? How did we get here?”
Steve screwed his eyes shut tightly in an attempt to stop the tears, but they flowed freely regardless. His broad shoulders shook uncontrollably as he sat on the riverbank, Bucky in his lap and the rest of the world crumbling around him.
He wanted nothing more than to be back in Brooklyn, safe from things like this. He wanted Bucky to come home. He wanted his friends to be safe. He wanted Tony to understand. He wanted quiet and peace and love.
Steve was a sobbing mess for a long time. He rocked himself back and forth, Bucky’s unconscious body clutched tightly to his chest as he cried inconsolably. By the time Sam found them, Steve had wiped his tears but Sam knew from the redness in his eyes and congestion in his voice how long he’d been crying.
Sam always knew but he would never say so. He was silent in helping Steve get Bucky off the ground and to safely into a nearby abandoned warehouse. He left them alone after they got the metal arm tightly secured in a vice.
“I’m sorry.” Steve crouched beside his still-unconscious friend and swallowed thickly, his eyes threatening to spill over again. “We’re going to get you out of this. I promise. I promise you, I’ll pull you out of here.”
“It’s no use beating yourself up, man,” Sam sighed. Steve turned and immediately stood, embarrassed that Sam probably had heard him. “He’s dangerous. I understand wanting him alive but we have to keep everyone else—”
“I know.”
Sam nodded slowly as his eyes drifted from Steve to Bucky and then back again. “Why don’t you get some air? Keep an eye out? Or just sit down, take a breath. You look like you need a couple of those.”
Steve scoffed and allowed himself the shadow of a smile.
“I’ll keep an eye out. You…” He huffed and gestured to Bucky. “Just let me know when he wakes up.”
“Depending on how he’s feeling, I might not have to.”
Steve didn’t laugh and Sam was only mildly apologetic. He had seen more than enough of what the Soldier could do and he wasn’t entirely supportive of Steve shielding that person from harm’s way. But Sam also knew that nothing in the world would stop the captain at this point. Steve had his mind made up and the only way to change it would be with extreme measures, ones that Sam would let Tony carry out.
He was still okay with helping Steve with this. It usually warranted a lot of travelling, which Sam could sometimes enjoy. He’d gotten around a lot while following dead end trails. He would always hold it against Steve to an extent, but some of the places he had been dragged to chasing cold leads had been fun when they weren’t life threatening.
Now that Bucky was here, the game was more complicated but Sam could only hope that meant it was closer to being over. The Accords had made things harder for everyone but Steve had faith that there was a way out. Sam had believed him at first but given the way things were going, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
Steve stayed at the opposite end of the warehouse for a nearly an hour, carefully looking out every time a helicopter passed. Sam had been hoping that he would sit down and relax for at least a few minutes but all he did was pace.
Nearly two hours later, Bucky finally began to stir.
“Hey, Cap!” Sam called.
Steve immediately turned and jogged the length of the warehouse to meet him. He took a deep breath and waited as Bucky lifted his head, apparently confused by the pressure on his arm.
“Steve...”
“Which Bucky am I talking to?”
“Your mom’s name is Sarah…You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.”