Chapter Text
Bucky winced, his damaged wing dragging the ground as he limped forward. His whole body felt like one giant bruise from being slammed into the rocks, with sharper pains where claws and teeth had torn into him. Across the battlefield, he could hear the other knights as they made sure that Crossbones was really dead. Bucky was certain; a dragon’s heart didn’t spontaneously regenerate after it had been torn out of a body and crushed.
His focus, instead, was on a melted pile of rock slag, under which Tony had been buried when Crossbones had spit fire at it, turning it into molten glass. The knight was probably dead, and Bucky hoped it had at least been quick.
“Bucky?” That would be Steve, and judging by the worry in his voice, it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get Bucky’s attention. “What happened? You’re hurt. Where’s Tony?” Bucky was grateful that Steve didn’t demand that he stop and let him examine his injuries. They were unimportant, and would heal in time.
“Under there,” he managed to spit out. “I don’t….he flew, Steve!” he said, his voice anguised. “He should have been safe in the air.” It had been wondrous to see, the way metal wings had sprouted from the armor, crimson feathers gilded with gold. Bucky’s first thought had been that he’d never seen anything so beautiful.
The battle had been swift and brutal. Crossbones had burst out of the mountainside in an explosion of rock and flame, slamming hard into Bucky’s chest, fangs already bared as he targeted the smaller dragon’s throat. The abrupt impact and instinctive maneuvering to defend a vulnerability had knocked Tony from his perch on Bucky’s back.
Bucky had twisted away in a panic, presending Crossbones with his back in desperation as he prepared to risk a sharp dive to catch the falling knight. A bright bolt of blue lightning had shot past his head, temporarily blinding him and striking Crossbones, who had bellowed in pain and rage as he was knocked away from Bucky.
Blinking away the spots in front of his eyes, Bucky had found himself face to snout with Tony, who was hovering in the air . Behind him, a pair of metal wings spread out, keeping him afloat. “What?” he’d managed.
“I’ll explain later,”Tony had promised. “First, we need to kill a dragon.” And then he’d been gone, chasing Crossbones into the sky. Bucky had watched him in awe for a moment before beating hs wings and following, tearing after the knight in pursuit of their opponent, who was gaining altitude.
He still didn’t know if Crossbones had gotten lucky or if Tony has miscalculated, but the dragon had managed to grab Tony by the leg and thrown him into the side of the mountain. Tony had impacted with the rocks with a sickening crunch before tumbling down the cliff to the ground, unable to slow his descent.
Bucky had screamed the knight’s name in vain, receiving no response. When he had finally landed, looking like a broken doll among the fallen boulders, Crossbones had laughed, his claws digging firmly into Bucky’s front wings, piercing them through. “Weak dragonling,” he’d taunted. “Couldn’t even protect a single one of the pathetic humans you’re so fond of. You’re a traitor to Hydra and a disgrace to your kind.”
Bucky had wrenched himself free, screaming as he left wing was torn deep, leaving him to tumble lopsided and graceless on three good wings down the mountain after Tony. He felt the heat behind him as Crossbones spat fire, and he tried to shelter the downed knight as much as he could while still airborne. The fire had seared along hsi body, the acrid stench of burning hair filling his nostrils and coating his tongue, the fire filling the entirety of his vision.
And just like that, Tony had been gone, killed by a dragon from the same clan that had killed his parents. Bucky had seen red, then, and had turned on Crossbones, even as arrows flew past him, each one finding their mark.
If anybody had asked who had dealt the final, lethal blow, Bucky wouldn’t have been able to answer. But Crossbones was dead at the bottom of the Valley, his heart torn out of his chest and trampled, and Bucky could finally turn his attention to their only casualty.
Steve was turning away, calling to the others, but Bucky wasn’t listening, his focus entirely on the mound of melted rock. It formed an uneven ring, and Bucky felt his heart stutter. He had been so sure that his attempt to shield Tony from the flames had failed.
Bodies were suddenly in the way, standing between him and his goal, and Bucky rumbled in warning, bristling. When a gauntleted hand touched the side of his neck, Bucky snapped his heard around, mouth open in a clear threat. Steve just stared back at him calmly, disapproval furrowing his brow and making his lips turn down at the corners. Bucky stared back rebelliously, still tense and angry.
“You need to shift,” Steve told him, still calm. “You’re just going to get in the way if you stay in dragon form.”
Bucky growled, reluctant, but conceded after a moment, shifting into his smaller, more human form and ignoring the pain that shot through him as his injured wings disappeared, leaving him with just two. He glared at Steve challengingly, and the Paladin released his shoulder with a small smile fo thanks that Bucky ignored. “Where is he?” he demanded of the other knights, who were gathered on and around the rocks.
“Not here,” Barton told him, sharp eyes peering into the rubble.
Bucky froze, then hurried forward, pushing to the edge of the fallen stones and taking a look for himself. Even in the faded light of the approaching dawn, Tony’s armor should have stood out to a dragon’s eyes, but he saw nothing. “That’s not possible,” he whispered. “I saw him fall! He was here, not moving, and then Crossbones -” he cut himself off, unable to finish that sentence.
“We all saw it, Buck,” Steve told him, his hand gripping Bucky’s shoulder firmly. “”But maybe he made it out. We won’t know until we find him.”
Bucky was shivering, his wings curling around his body protectively, as if they could hide him from the reality of the situation. Tony was probably nothing but ash, not even enough left of him to bury.
“Rogers.” Natasha slid up next to them, her eyes on their leader. “Banner’s got Stark, but he’s not letting go.” The words didn’t make sense to Bucky. Why would their Berserker have Stark’s body? And why would he be holding onto it?
“He’s alive?” Steve asked, but he was already moving, glancing at Bucky before hurrying to follow Natasha, who was leading the way to...Banner, apparently. Bucky gave one last long look at the (empty) pile of rubble, then turned and drifted after them, his thoughts sluggish and muted under the numbness of disbelief.
As they rounded a corner, Bucky heard a low snarl. Banner was there, crouched over a familiar suit of armor, wings bent and twisted where they lay on the ground, nearly torn completely off. Bucky stared in utter disbelief as Steve inched forward, his hands held out to show that he held no weapons. Banner wasn’t attacking, and Bucky remembered Steve saying something about Banner occasionally recognizing them as allies, even while caught in the midst of battle frenzy. He locked his limbs, fighting the urge to just transform and forcibly take Tony away from the other man. The only reason he didn’t was because he was afraid that if he startled Banner right now, Tony would be the one to pay the price, as the closest one to him. And if Tony was already injured from his collision with the cliffs, then Bucky didn’t want to think what the collateral damage might be if he drew the attention of a berserker. He wasn’t a friend, wasn’t even really an ally. He was a dragon, like the one they’d just fought.
“Easy, Bruce, it’s all right,” Steve murmured, and Bucky bit back the words that wanted to come out, mostly pleas for Banner to let Tony go, or for Steve to do something . “It’s over, the enemy is dead. You saved Tony, but he needs our help, okay? He’s hurt.” Banner growled, but it seemed softer somehow, his posture still wary, but not angled to attack. One hand drifted down and touched Tony’s helmet.
There was movement, and Bucky watched with bated breath as Tony stirred, brown eyes fluttering open. “Ow,” he murmured, staring up in confusion at Banner, who seemed to be somewhat amused, but no longer nonsensical. Bucky risked stepping closer, drawing Tony’s attention to him and Steve. “Oh, hi there,” Tony said, then looked around at the charred and torn up remains of the battlefield. Crossbones’ carcass was a little ways away, and Tony blinked. “What happened? I’m guessing we won. Did I pass out. Did somebody kiss me? Please tell me nobody kissed me.”
Bucky asked, “Do you always talk this much after you nearly die?”
Tony flashed him a quick grin, then winced. “You make it sound like I nearly die on a regular basis. Not a word, Rogers,” he told the blonde, who just rolled his eyes, reaching out to remove Tony’s helmet.
Steve raised an eyebrow. “Not even ‘we won’?” he asked, sounding something between amused and concerned.
Tony considered that for a moment. “We won?” he repeated, looking to Bucky for confirmation. Bucky nodded. “Oh, hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a place that sells it on the edge of the city. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”
As he spoke, Tony was pushing himself upright, brushing away Steve’s and Bruce’s helping hands. He sat for a moment, then braced himself. “Up we go,” he muttered to himself, managing to leverage himself upright. He swayed on his feet and probably would have toppled over if Bucky hadn’t reached out and grabbed him. And then, because he couldn’t help himself, he picked Tony off the ground entirely and hugged him, ignoring the knight’s sputtering protests.
Eventually, he set Tony down, asking solicitously, “Are you all right?”
Tony tilted his head. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered. “A bit dizzy, thanks to you twirling me around like a damsel on the ballroom floor,” he grumbled, but there was no heat to it, and his cheeks were flushed pink, a pleased smile playing around his mouth.
Bucky relaxed a little bit. “I’ll still feel better after the healers look you over,” he admitted. Tony scowled, and Banner chuckled.
“He’s got you pegged, Tony,” Bruce told him, letting Steve help him to his feet and leaning heavily on the Paladin. Together, they turned and looked out over the battlefield, as the dragon lying in its center, its short reign of terror finally over. “Let’s go home,” he said.
Nobody argued.