you found him sitting on the dock long after the party was over, and the Wilson's had gone to bed.
you took a seat next to him on the dock, the water crashing onto the sand a few metres below your feet. you didn't say anything, you waited for him.
"you should be in bed," he said, and you chuckled.
"and where do you think you should be?" you asked, and he shrugged.
"I don't know."
"what's going on?" you pressed, and Bucky braced his arms on either side of his body, leaning forward and gazing down into the dark abyss that was the water of the Gulf of Mexico.
"just," he said, shaking his head slightly. "just seeing everyone so happy that we stopped the Flag Smashers and have brought things a step closer to the way they were, made me think of Karli, and how she should be rejoicing too." he said, and you sighed.
"I know. she didn't deserve to die, but ultimately, the universe, and whatever higher power you believe in, decided it was her time." you said.
Bucky simpered. "and what do you believe?"
you shrugged. "I was always told that when it was our time, God would call us home. whenever we lost a family member or we were missing someone who'd passed, my aunt would read us a poem. I asked her to repeat it so many times that I have it memorized," you said, and with a glance at Bucky, you looked out across the water and recited it from memory.
"When tomorrow starts without me And I’m not here to see If the sun should rise and find your eyes All filled with tears for me.
I wish you wouldn’t cry The Way you did today While thinking of the many things We did not get to say.
I know how much you love me As much as I love you Each time that you think of me I know you will miss me too.
When tomorrow starts with out me Please try to understand That an angel came and called my name And took me by the hand.
The angel said my place was ready In heaven far above And That I would have to leave behind All those I Dearly Love."
the two of you sat in silence for a few moments, him processing your words, you thinking back to those days where you would sit with family and hear those words as you cried for your lost loved ones.
"that's beautiful," Bucky said. "although, I don't know how much I believe in God after what I've been through."
you smiled, and thought of another way to comfort him. you watched as some waves rolled in, and a thought came to your head. you pointed to a newly formed wave, making its way towards the shore.
"picture a wave, like that one. in the ocean. you can see it, measure it, its height, the way the sunlight refracts when it passes through. and it's there. and you can see it, you know what it is. it's a wave. and then it crashes in the shore and it's gone. but the water is still there. the wave was just a different way for the water to be, for a little while. you know it's one conception of death for Buddhists: the wave returns to the ocean, where it came from and where it's supposed to be." you state, and Bucky nods.
"it was her time, whether we liked it or not," he commented and you nodded. you grabbed his hand and intertwined your fingers with his, your thumb drawing a pattern on the back.
"it was time for her wave to return to the ocean."