"You've got to be joking." Shuri was the first one to speak.

"I agree with Shuri." Nat spoke up. "That's insane."

"I wish I was, Shur." Tasha used her nickname with a frown. "Unfortunately, he's already succeeded in wiping out millions of beings and multiple planets."

"How is it possible for one man—"

"Thanos is no man. He's the devil in disguise. He is a Titan. Think of him as a very powerful God of sorts. He's the one who sent Loki and the Chitauri in New York."

"Alright." Steve looked at Tasha with a serious expression. "What do we do?"

"Well, you guys have already seen his lackeys come for the mind stone. I'm impressed you could fight them off, even I was unable to."

"It took all of us." Wanda explained. "If it weren't for Steve, Nat and Sam showing up—"

"Tasha?"

Tasha turned towards the voice, raising her eyebrows. "Bruce?" She ran up to him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Bruce hugged her back tightly, smiling.

"You're alright!" Tasha exclaimed in complete surprise. "I wasn't sure Heimdel's magic brought you this far."

"It's been a confusing day." He admitted when he pulled away, he saw how best up she looked. "Good god, you look terrible."

Nat facepalmed at his lack of tact, but it only made Tasha laugh, which surprised everyone else immensely. "Thanks, Brucie. You look a lot less green than when I last saw you."

"Where's Thor? And Loki?"

The atmosphere in the room immediately dropped. Everyone turned to look at Tasha, who's face went from happy to uncertain. "Ummm," She laughed uncomfortably. "Thor is probably dead, and Loki is confirmed dead."

Bruce opened his mouth in shock. "What?! How?! Oh, god, Tasha, I'm—"

"Anyyyways, welcome to the end of the world as we know it party." Tasha faked a smile and a laugh before turning back to the table.

"You need to remove the mind stone." Vision explained. "Either you kill me or—"

"Shuri has it figured out, we just need to buy time." Steve replied.

"Time isn't a luxury we can afford." Tasha sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. "We have 24 hours at max before they come back... Where's Tony? I know when I left you two still hasn't talked, but we need him."

"He's missing." Steve replied with a frown.

"Missing?!" Tasha exclaimed, sighing deeply as she rubbed her temples. "Our odds just get greater and greater, hey?" She yawned. "Sorry, before Thanos killed Loki he used the infinity stones on me. Needless to say I'm halfway to passing out right now."

Bucky rested his hand on her shoulder. "Tasha? C'mon, you need to rest."

Tasha yawned before shaking her head. "I can't, Buck. We don't have time —"

"Tash." Bucky pushed seriously. "You're going on fumes."

"Bucky's right. Go get some rest. We'll figure everything out in the morning." Steve ordered with a gentle smile.

Tasha sighed in defeat. "I won't be able to sleep anyways but fine. I'll rest. I won't fuss either, scouts honor." She smiled slightly at Steve who shook his head as he ruffled her hair.

"You're a brat."

"Yeah but you love me for it, Cap." She faked a salute as she giggled. While walking towards the door she stopped mid-step.

"Hey guys?"

"Yeah?" They all said in unison, making her smile as she turned to look at them once more.

"I'm really glad you're all okay."

When Steve looked at her he could see the pain she was in. As hard as she tried to hide it, she couldn't — but in that moment she was happy. Happy because her friends were okay. Happy that her family was okay.

Tasha slowly followed after Bucky who lead her outside, causing her to raise her eyebrows as they walked through the large field.

"You don't stay in there?"

"No, I, Uh—" Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you'll see."

They walked for a minute or two until they reached a further open field where a few lone huts stood.

"This place is beautiful." Tasha admired as she gazed at the field he had clearly called home while she was gone.

"It's more beautiful now that you're here." Bucky wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her against him as he pressed his lips to her head.

"Always the charmer, Bucky." Tasha teased, resting her hands above his.

"You know you love it, doll."

"True."

Bucky chuckled as he let her go, only to interlock his fingers with hers. She gave him a sweet smile before leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you... for today."

Bucky nodded, pulling her into a hug. "Anything for you."

She shook her head against his chest, guilt rising in her chest. "I'm sorry, James. I know I betrayed you—"

"How the hell did you betray me?" Bucky pulled back from his love, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

Tasha blinked a few times. "You... well — Loki and I— we —"

Bucky began to laugh which made Tasha even more nervous. "I'm not stupid, Tasha. I'm plenty aware of what happened."

"Then why are you so calm? Shouldn't you be... I don't know? Smashing things?"

"I'm not Hulk." He rested his hands on her shoulders as he made her look at him. "I love you, Tasha. Nothing is gonna change that."

"But—"

"No buts!" He shook his head. "Tasha, I know how much you love him — I wouldn't expect you to stay away from him. You two are literally bonded forever. Besides, I told you I wanted you to be happy—"

"Yes but that was before my soulmate came back from the dead." Tasha said the ending bitterly.

"How did he manage that?"

He saw the pain flash on Tasha's face as she spoke next. "He faked his death... I was so angry at him and I just hated him. But I couldn't truly hate him, no matter how much I tried he just weaselled his way into my life. But can you fucking imagine my surprise when I found out after all that time he was alive?"

"Did you kick his ass?"

Tasha laughed. "I wish. Sadly, I was in no condition to fight my other half."

"What do you mean?"

"The conflicts with Loki — our bond runs deeper than blood it connects our minds, our hearts, our souls — our entire beings are — were bonded. So when we fought, it took a toll and eventually I lost my powers. When Loki and I made up I got them back." She frowned.

"Tasha — quit feeling guilty, okay? I love you and yeah, it sucks that you're in love with him, but I knew that going into this with you. Nothing you do or say is going to push me away."

Tasha smiled up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "How did I get so lucky to find you?"

Bucky rested his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. "I'm pretty sure I'm the lucky one, doll."

Tasha sighed deeply as she tried to rid herself of the thoughts that threatened to drown her any moment. "James — I don't think I can do this again — losing him — I —"

"Shh, hey." He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "Just focus on this okay?" he moved her hand over his heart. "Focus on me."

As hard as she tried, Tasha couldn't seem to pay attention to him, not entirely. "I don't know how to. I — I feel so much and I think I'm going to break and I'm so scared I won't be able to come back this time."

He pressed light kisses to her head, letting her speak.

"All I can hear is his neck breaking. It's the moment I knew I lost him for good. It plays over and over again in my head like a film. I can't — I don't —" She began to hyperventilate.

James brought his hands to her face, making her look at him. "Breathe, Tash. Okay? Look at me."

Tasha did as he said, trying her best to take deeper and longer breathes. Her green eyes stared into his.

"You shouldn't have to deal with my problems... I'm a wreck, James."

"Deal? Sweetheart, we aren't at a Casino." He smiled at her lovingly. "I love you. I can't even count how many times were you there for me when I needed you. Even when I pushed you away, you never gave up on me. You gave me a reason to want to live. You gave me hope."

He was silent for a moment as he gently caressed her face. "Tasha, you can still do that mind thing right?"

"Like I did back there? Yeah, why?"

"I want you to show me what I've missed of your life."

"I already showed—"

"No, you showed the parts you allowed them all to see. I want to see you."

Tasha leaned her head against his. "If you were a regular human I'd say no, but as a super soldier I think it's safe to say you're more than capable of holding a mind connection with me. What you want — it's deeper than what I did back there. That was simple magic. But this? You won't just see everything, James... you'll feel it. You will feel everything I felt in each memory."

"That's even better." James replied with a soft smile. "I want to know what you've been through. You've seen everything I've been through — you've seen more than I even remember. Let me help you."

Tasha looked into his eyes, nodding as she sat next to him on the hay bale. "Okay, I need you to hold onto my hands like this." She grabbed onto his wrist, holding tight as he did the same.

There was a dark silence as Bucky saw every memory Tasha kept hidden. He felt everything — every moment of pain and anger, but he also felt the pure happiness and love she was able to feel. When he saw Loki's death and felt it through her — it was as though he witnessed her own death. He felt his entire heart break as he heard her scream and cry for Loki to come back to her.

Bucky let out a shaky breath as Tasha let go of him, keeping her eyes towards the ground. He saw how broken she looked and immediately pulled her against him into a tight, warm embrace she desperately craved. "I'm so sorry."

"It is what it is." Tasha replied brokenly with a shrug. "I can't — I can't let myself truly think of it, if I do I'll break and I can't — I just — I can't." Her voice was quiet as Tasha ran her hand down his human arm, letting her fingers move over the muscles as they rippled under his skin. She smiled slightly as she felt his warmth radiating towards her. Something she loved about James was he was strong like a bear, but with a heart like her own. She always felt warm and safe in his arms. She couldn't deny she also enjoyed the way his muscles moved throughout his body.

Bucky stood quietly as he let his metal hand move up her waist, slowly moving back down every few moments. "When I woke up, the first thing I asked T'Chala was to bring you to me. When he told me you had been missing, I was so worried something happened to you." His human hand went up to cup her face as he gazed into her eyes.

"We looked for you — That's when Steve told us the last thing he had heard from you was a message saying you were going home. Once I knew you weren't on earth, I felt helpless because I couldn't keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself, Buck. You know that."

"I know." He sighed as he kissed her forehead. "But you have a knack for getting yourself into trouble. Anyways, I've been trying to better myself. What Hydra did to me is gone but—"

"The memories remain the same."

"Yep, but they're not all bad." He shrugged.

"I didn't want to leave." Tasha frowned.

"I know."

"I... I didn't want to leave in case Shiri finally fixed you, but you told me that I had to face my past..." Her mind, still connected to Bucky's, played the video she recorded for him that T'Chala was able to find once he had woken up.

Tasha was sitting in front of a monitor, her skin pale as she frowned. "Hey Bucky. I don't know if this is going to get to you — but I just wanted you to know I'm okay. I'm — well, I'm alive. I'm stuck here right now, but I promise you I will find my way back to you. I will." Her eyes averted to the ground in front of her as she spoke. "I did what you told me to — I went home. And now —"

"We need to go!" A man's voice called frantically from further behind the camera.

"Just give me a sec!" Tasha glared at Loki, who was fighting off two guards as she recorded her message.

"Just — I love you, alright? I'll be home soon." Tasha smiled slightly at the camera before dodging a sword that tried to slice her neck.

It was then Loki came into frame, grabbing onto Tasha's arm as they disappeared, and when they did the footage cut out. When Tasha came back to reality she realized her eyes were tearing up which she quickly brushed away.

"Needless to say, when I saw Loki with you I was confused." Bucky said as he caressed her waist. "But I knew you were alive."

"Thor came to me and I told him I'd go for one day." Tasha sighed as she sat on a bale of wheat next to him. "When we got to Asgard — Loki was impersonating our father, who he banished to earth and stripped of his powers. You remember how I told you I hated him?"

He nodded.

"That's when I was the most angry I had ever been in my life. I remember just feeling my heart break and go cold, and when I stared at him I saw nothing but rage and pain. It was like that for a while..." She trailed off, shaking her head as the happier memories with Loki threatened to spill through.

James lifted her chin up gently before kissing her. It was possibly one of the most passionate kisses she had ever received from him. It was like he had finally completely opened himself up entirely to her. His hand moved to the back of her neck as he deepened the kiss further. Tasha eagerly kissed him back, her hands resting against his chest.

When they pulled back they were both panting.

"Sorry, I just really wanted to do that." James muttered. "I know now isn't the time—"

His words were cut off by Tasha straddling his waist, kissing him passionately. Bucky smiled into the kiss as he rested his hands on her lower back. Her fingers tangled through his hair as their lips began to move faster and faster.

Bucky let out a groan when Tasha pushed her hips against his. He pulled back gently, looking up at her with dark eyes.

"We don't have—"

"I want to. Please, James."

He smiled at her before lifting her into his arms, carrying her into the hut and shutting the door. He turned her and pushed her back against the wall as his tongue ran across her lower lip. Tasha whines when he pushed his tongue into her mouth, his hands groping her ass as he moved his hips against hers.

"You should rest—"

"James," Tasha whined.

For the first moment since she awoken, Tasha was able to focus on nothing but Bucky. As their bodies intertwined, it was like he breathed new life into her.

It was...

Beautiful.

A/N: Please comment ideas so I can keep writing :)