Chapter 3
Sam woke up alone in the woods of Wakanda. He looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. He stood up and gathered himself before he began to walk around.
“Sam!”
He spun around to see Bucky jogging towards him.
“Barnes. Where’s everyone else?” Sam asked as Bucky skidded to a halt in front of him.
“I don’t know. I woke up and Steve was gone. You were the first person I found.”
“Okay, well, we should get out of these woods and try and figure it out. Come on.”
Bucky followed Sam out of the forest to the clearing where they found a crowd of people gathered. Bucky scanned the crowd and grabbed Sam’s arm, pulling him along.
“Shuri!” Bucky said, walking over to the princess and her brother. “What happened?”
“Thanos wiped out half the population. Apparently it’s been five years,” she said.
“Wait, five years?” Sam asked. “It felt like I was just asleep for five minutes.”
Bucky gasped. “My goats!”
“What?”
“My goats , Sam! My fuckin’ goats! There’s been no one taking care of them for five years, I have to-”
“Barnes. We have bigger things to worry about right now,” Sam said. “Like finding the others.”
He sighed. “You’re right. Do we have any idea where-”
Before Bucky could finish, a portal opened up and a flood of people came through. Leading them was a man in a red cloak.
“Who the hell are you?” Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“My name is Doctor Strange. I’m here to bring you to the final fight.”
“Wait, you’re going to take us there?”
Instead of answering, Strange started opening another portal.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Sam said. “Can you open it on Cap’s left?”
“What?”
“Can you open the portal on Captain America’s left? It’s for a joke, he’ll know what it means. Please?”
“Uh… Okay. I-I don’t understand but-”
“Yes! It’s so gonna be worth it, I promise.”
The battle wasn’t easy. They’d lost Natasha, and countless other warriors. In the end, it was Tony who defeated Thanos, and Tony who lost his life. It hit everyone hard. It hit Sam harder when he found out he and Pepper had a daughter, Morgan. But it seemed to have the worst effect on Bucky.
He was sitting on the grass by the lake, staring out at the horizon. Sam sighed and lowered himself to sit next to Bucky.
“Hey, man. You okay?”
Bucky shook his head and muttered something.
“What was that?”
“I never got to apologize,” he said, picking a blade of grass and twisting it in his fingers. “I never got to apologize for murdering his parents. I ruined his life and I didn’t even get to tell him how bad I feel.”
“You know that wasn’t you, Barnes. None of it was. You were kidnapped and brainwashed, turned into a weapon. It wasn’t you.”
“But it was, Sam. I was the one holding the gun, I was the one who followed the orders. I could have fought harder. But I didn’t.”
Sam sighed. “James, listen to me, please. You had no control over what you did. You didn’t even know who you were. And I don’t know if Stark realized that, but most of us did. We know you weren’t really you.”
“He has a kid, Sam. He has a fucking kid. She’s going to grow up without her father and…” He cut himself off, shaking his head.
Sam noticed the tear rolling down Bucky’s face. And if Sam pulled Bucky close and rested his head on Sam’s shoulder, playing with his hair, that’s no one’s business but Sam’s.
Sam and Bucky were stood with Bruce-Hulk and Steve, who was going to return the stones.
“How long is this going to take?” Sam asked.
“For us, five seconds. For him, as long as he needs.” Sam and Bucky stood together as Steve flashed to the past. Bruce clicked on the control panel and said, “Bringing him back in 5… 4… 3… 2…” He pressed the button, but nothing happened. “He missed the dropoff point.”
A few seconds later, there was another burst of light, and Bucky nudged Sam’s arm.
“Sam.”
He looked up and saw a figure sitting on the bench by the lake. He knew it was Steve. He looked at Bucky, who just smiled and nodded towards Steve. Sam made his way over and felt his breath catch a bit when he realized he was old. Old old.
“You stayed,” Sam stated, sitting next to Steve.
“I did,” he chuckled in his weird old-man voice. “Someone told me I should get a life. So I did.”
Sam looked at Steve, noticing the ring on his hand. “You gonna tell us about her?”
He looked across the lake. “No. I don’t think I will.”
Sam laughed and looked out at the sunset. “I take it this means you’re retiring. Shame. THe world’s gonna miss having Captain America to save its ass.”
“Actually,” Steve said, reaching for the round backpack next to him. He unzipped it, pulling the shield out. “I thought maybe Captain America could stay.”
“You… want me to be Cap? What-what about Barnes?”
Steve smiled and gently pushed the shield into Sam’s hand. “Bucky’s been through hell and back. And he’s still technically a criminal Believe me, I put a lot of thought into this. And, I think, right now, you’re the Captain America that the world needs. Go ahead, put it on. Give the shield a try.”
Sam smiled and stood up, tightening the straps on his arm. “It’s heavier than I imagined.”
Steve laughed and clapped Sam on the shoulder. Sam smiled, and looked back at Bucky, who was also smiling. But the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Well, I’m going to go talk to Bruce,” Old Steve said, groaning as he stood up, leaning on his cane.
“Right,” Sam said, taking the shield off his arm and making his way over to Bucky. “Hey, man. You okay?”
“Fine,” Bucky said, still smiling. “Never thought I’d get to see Steve as an old man.”
“You’re not fine,” Sam said, looking him over. “Come on, we’ll go talk.”
Bucky followed Sam to the porch of the Stark-Potts house where they sat on the wicker chairs.
“What’s really bothering you?”
“I told you, Sam, I’m fine.”
“Barnes.”
Bucky gave a mirthless laugh. “We always said we’d be together ‘til the end of the line. Just… I didn’t think the end of the line would come so soon. I thought I’d have some time to catch up with Steve.” He shook his head. “But he still had that compass. He still had that fucking compass. You know, I might still be a bit spotty with my memories, but I still remember that damn compass.” Bucky rubbed his metal hand with his flesh one. “Steve’s never been able to let go of the past. I knew he would go back as soon as I saw he still had her picture in that compass.” Bucky felt himself tearing up, but he didn’t care. “After all we went through, I thought he might hang around just a bit longer. But I guess it makes sense. He probably wanted the Bucky he knew back.”
“Whoa, hey, that’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? I mean, I have huge chunks of my past just missing . But what I do remember, I know I’m not the same James Buchanan Barnes. That Bucky was this-this suave, quick-witted ladies' man. And I’m definitely not that.” He shook his head. “I’m not who I used to be. I don’t think I ever will be.”
Sam sighed. “No one expects you to be the same person, Barnes. You went through hell for over 70 years. You don’t come out of that the same.”
Bucky sighed, looking out at the forest by the cabin. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I’m Captain America now.”
That got a real laugh out of Bucky. Sam smiled and lightly punched his arm.
“I’m heading back to Wakanda tomorrow,” Bucky told Sam.
“What?”
“Well, I can’t stay here. I’m still a fugitive, and I need to find out what happened to my goats.”
“Oh, my god. You and your fucking goats.”
“I care about my goats, Sam!”