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"Don't do anything stupid until I get back."
"How can I ? You're taking all the stupid with you. I'm gonna miss you buddy."
"It's gonna be okay Buck."
Steve goes into the machine.
"How long is this gonna take ?"
"For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds."
"Ready Cap ? Alright we'll meet you back here okay ?"
"You bet."
"Going quantum, three, two, one."
Steve goes quantum.
"And returning in five, four, three, two, one."
And he reappears, five seconds later, as planned. He looks a bit older. He turns to Bucky and smiles.
XXX
A few months later, Bucky and Steve are laying together in their apartment in Brooklyn. Ever since the final battle, they try and spend as much time together as they can. Not doing anything really, they just rest, and enjoy the quietness, the peace they finally allow themselves to feel.
They had been laying, on their backs, for a few hours now.
"I thought you were leaving, that day" Bucky whispered.
Steve turns, facing him. He smiles softly.
"I know. Me too. And of course you would have been the only one to know."
"Why didn't you ?"
"Can't you guess ?"
"You didn't want to steal her life away ?" asked Bucky. He didn't need to say her name, as they both knew who they were talking about.
"There's that too. But, it's also about you Buck."
Bucky closed his eyes, almost painfully.
"You know I could not leave you. I meant it, you know. I'm with you until the end of the line."
Anyone who knew Bucky could see the pain on his face.
"Then why are you older than when you left ?"
Steve rolled on his back again and put his arm on his face. He took a few minutes to think about what he was going to say. He sighed and answered.
"How come you're the only one noticing that kind of things ?"
"I'm the one who knows you the best."
"True. I took some time for myself when I went to put the stone back in the 1940s. And before you ask, I did go and see her. But just to say goodbye, I promise. I told her that we could not have that life together. I told her I knew what was gonna happen, but that I couldn't jinx it by telling her. We hugged, for several minutes. Then she put on some music. We danced, just like old times. Then we said goodbye. I told her how I would miss her and left. I took a few years to live what my life should have been. Just a young man living in the 1940s."
Steve caught his breath.
"And I came back to you."
After a few minutes of silence, Bucky turned his head to Steve, only to see he was already looking at him, his eyes begging him to say something.
"You came back to me."
"How could I leave you ? You're more than a friend to me Bucky. You're my soulmate, the only person I know will always be by my side. Because even when I had nothing, I had you."