[team 1] a fragile thing
~800 worlds of general canon divergence Marvel fic where what if it was the other half of the universe got snapped? g-rated.
“Ooo, I love a good gourmet meal,” Peter said, catching the ration bar.
“Ha, ha you’re hilarious, Spider-kid,” Bucky opened his own ration bar and bit down. Beside him, Stevie the goat pranced into the room, ramming gently into Peter’s leg. “Don’t feed Stevie. I’m pretty sure Sam’s been sneaking him treats.”
Peter looked up, his face already guilty as he yanked his hand back from where he was clearly sneaking the pygmy goat another treat. “Yep. Totally Sam’s fault.”
Shaking his head, Bucky gestured at the paperwork on the table. “How’s the homework going?”
Peter shrugged. “I turned that in earlier. Working on the timeline thing now.”
Bucky ruffled his hair as he passed, and sat down on Peter’s bed. “You even sleep?”
“I sleep!”
“More than 2 hours?”
“I- sleep.”
Huffing in disbelief Bucky pats the spot next to him.
Wordlessly, Peter sat down, grabbing one of the throw pillows behind him and holding it close.
“It’s been a year,” Peter mumbled.
“I know,” Bucky said, reaching out to lay a hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter leaned in.
“Do you think they’d be mad?” Peter’s voice was quiet. “That it’s taking so long?”
“Never.” Steve would understand. Okoye too. Probably even the raccoon guy if what his teammates said was true. Stark though- “Well… I don’t think Stark would be mad at you. He’d probably still find a way to blame Steve.”
Peter laughed a little. “I … I don’t think Mr. Stark was all the mad at Captain Amer- Captain Rogers, er--”
“Steve,” Bucky said firmly. “Trust me on that.”
“Steve.” Peter shrugged. “I think he was just… sad.”
“Yeah.” Bucky sighed. Steve was sad for a long time too.
“You guys ok?” Sam stepped into the room, sitting on Peter’s other side.
Yeah…” Peter hummed, turning to lean on Sam while Bucky rubbed his back.
Bucky met Sam’s gaze over the kid's head. “What’s up?”
Sam glanced down at Peter and then met Bucky’s eyes again. Bucky shrugged imperceptibly but nodded.
Sometimes Bucky hated how much Sam was and was not like Steve. Other times, like now, he found it grounding.
It wasn’t just Steve he could be friends with.
The thought was… good.
Sam nodded back. “We have a lead on Wanda.”
Both Peter and Bucky straightened up. “Yeah? Where?”
“There was a… Well, we don’t have to worry about that Hydra sect outside of Ontario anymore.”
“She took out a whole base full of Hydra goons?” Bucky raised his eyebrows. “By herself?”
“Dude, she took out the whole base. It’s just a hole in the ground now.” Sam sighed. “Maria had stationed a few Shield agents inside, and she was worried Wanda had killed them too. But instead, she had transported them out of the building before it blew.”
“She’s getting stronger.”
Sam nodded. “It’s probably what we’re gonna need for Strange’s plan to work, but her mind-”
“She’ll be okay,” Bucky said. “If all goes right, we’re giving her hope back. I… I know what that's like.”
“Yeah?” Sam reached over to place a hand on Bucky’s left arm. “You wanna come with me to try to convince her of that?”
-
It was almost like Wanda wanted to be found, standing in the ruins of another base just outside of Chicago, her hair wild in the backdrop of flames and the wind that surrounded her.
“Why come to me now?” she turned, her eyes glowing red. “You have your sorcerer. What need do you have for a witch?”
Sam stepped forward. “Wanda-”
She raised her hand and the rocks near Sam’s leg suddenly twisted around his ankle, stopping him in his tracks.
Bucky stayed put. “Sure we need your magic to fix this, but we need you too Wanda.”
“Fix this?” Her eyes met Bucky’s, the red glow finally fading. “You mean-?”
“We think we can get them back,” Sam explained, shaking the rocks off his leg. Now that Wanda had calmed, the magic surrounding her was reigned in a bit.
Bucky caught her eye again. “All of them.”
Her jaw dropped slightly in a gasp, her eyes wide with the youth she rarely showed.
Then her gaze steeled.
“Don’t you dare,” her voice was tight. “Don’t you give me hope unless you’re sure.”
“We’re sure, Wanda. We can’t guarantee it’ll work but it’s a chance. We have to try.” Bucky took a small step closer, reaching out with his right hand. “I know how painful hope can be, but we must try.”
Next up is @Nichi - I'll tag you on Discord. your line is "I know how painful hope can be, but we must try."