“He’s my friend.” Steve says, glancing at Tony.
“So was I.” Is what Tony replies before shooting the blonde a blast that he luckyly misses.
Bucky grabs Tony’s shoulder and turns him around, trying to block him as Steve catches his breath.
But Tony snaps his head back, hitting Bucky’s temple with the hard metal of his suit.
Bucky stumbles backwards.
Tony is about to attack him again, but Steve kicked Tony’s shin, making him fall on one knee.
“Ow!” Tony groans. He’s able to miss Steve’s shield as he shots a blast to Bucky.
The shield falls limp on the cold concrete, just like Bucky’s body.
Time stops.
Tony is breathing hard even under his suit and he’s about to hit one of the soldiers but Steve runs to Bucky’s side.
“BUCKY!” He screams.
Tony realizes a moment too late that his previous blast hit Bucky right in the chest, making the back of his head and his spine hit the hard wall of the place.
He realizes that Bucky has stopped breathing.
“Bucky, Bucky wake up!” Steve’s voice is desperate, on the verge of tears.
Steve’s trembling fingers reach for Bucky’s neck.
Tony can see the exact moment in which Steve realizes that there’s no pulse.
Steve starts to hyperventilate. He’s crying as he shakes Bucky by the shoulders, whimpering high pitched no, no, no, please, no.
He suddenly turns his head to Tony and the brunette startles.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” He snarls.
Tony takes a hard breath.
“He asked for it.”
And Steve sees red.
He gets on his feet and punches Tony’s metal suit over and over again, but the anger rapidly subsides and he just sobs.
“You killed him.” He whispers. Tony feels paralyzed.
He can still see Bucky’s corpse behind Steve.
Steve lets go of Tony and slowly walks to Bucky again.
He caresses his bloody cheek.
“I’m sorry.” He’s mumbling. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you.”
He leans his forehead against Bucky’s cold one and sobs.
“Are you happy, now?” Steve asks, still crying, turning to Tony.
“This could have easily been avoided if you listened to me.” Tony says coldly.
Steve’s eyes widen and he’s about to jump on Tony again.
“Captain Rogers.” A deep voice with a thick accent makes both Steve and Tony flinch.
They turn to T-Challa.
“You’re late.” Steve says bitterly. “He’s dead.” His voice breaks.
T-Challa swallows. “I see. And I am deeply sorry. I now know your friend was innocent.”
Steve sobs as he looks down.
T-Challa sighs before shaking his head at Tony.
The wakandian walks to Steve’s side and puts a hand on his shoulder.
“We can take him to Wakanda, give him the funeral he deserves.” He says, gentler than Steve ever heard him.
The blonde shakes his head as he cries.
“I can’t let you two run away.” Tony says but he doesn’t move.
“I believe you did enough.” T-Challa replies blankly. “Go back with the Quinjet, I left Zemo there.” Anger tinges the king’s feature.
Tony finally listens and leaves.
“Captain. Come one. We can’t stay here forever.”
Steve takes a wet breath before cradling Bucky into his arms and lifting him.
Inside T-Challa’s own jet, he never stops touching Bucky’s body.
Not then, not when they arrive, not when the Princess, Shuri, and some doctors offer to clean Bucky’s body up for the funeral.
They have to physically force Steve to let go of the brunette’s hand.
He feels as if he’s watching Bucky fall from the train over and over again, but this time he has a corpse, a proof that he’s dead.
It doesn’t make it any better. If anything, it makes it worse.
Shuri tells him that Bucky died without feeling any pain.
Steve thinks he absorbed it from him so that at least in the death Bucky could feel at peace.
A little mercy.