Steve decided at the funeral.

Here was his family, his best friends, with two missing. Each going their separate ways, trying to recreate their lives once more. All of them had people who came back, sure; Steve was grateful for Bucky's calm presence at his side, for Sam to his left, for Fury and Dr. Strange and Queens and T'Challa and the billions who had been saved from the snap. The world was a new place all over again, and there was so much to do.

But Bucky had told him the day before that his would be the next funeral.

Shuri had figured it out when he was in Wakanda, frozen like Steve had been; he would die without Hydra's arm. Their serum for him had been a short term drug, administered through his arm a little at a time; he wouldn't have made it through the five years if he had survived the snap. Shuri had guessed he had a year, maybe a little longer, but Bucky was tired and ready to go.

Steve looked out over the lake and felt the weight of the loss press him a little deeper into the earth.

Nat, Tony, and now Bucky.

The others had their families back; Steve realized he was losing his all over again. Staring over the lake with the Stark cabin behind them, they could hear the sounds of the future one of them wouldn't have and the other would face without his closest friends.

Two Brooklyn boys who only knew war.

What would they do without it?

Bucky didn't have to answer that question; he had already decided to go back to Wakanda, where Shuri had promised him comfort and a peaceful exit. T'Challa and Okoye had already covered the details; they had made arrangements if Steve wanted to join him in Wakanda too.

Both men knew Steve didn't belong in Wakanda.

During the funeral, Steve's eyes fell on Pepper and Morgan once more.

He couldn't stop watching them, how Pepper held herself so proudly and graciously, how Morgan watched everyone with Tony's brown eyes. So much joy mingled with sorrow; Steve had been to too many funerals in the eleven years he had been awake, and too many in the lifetime before that.

Bruce would be going back to his labs, back to his work; Thor and Carol were leaving Earth again; Dr. Strange to his sanctum. Peter needed to finish school, while Scott had Hope and Cassie...

Steve said hello to Clint and Laura but didn't drag out the conversation. Very little needed to be said.

Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, Peter… they had Fury. His recruits didn't need a captain anymore; they had each been promoted, in his mind. They passed bootcamp years ago; it was time to let the grizzled generals go so that the young recruits could keep growing.

He started saying goodbyes that day.

Morgan's brown eyes followed him, and every time he caught her staring he smiled back. Weak smiles, but that was what he had to offer.

Maybe he could have a brown haired, brown eyed daughter someday.


The hardest part was deciding when to see her.

It was easy to get the mission of returning the stones; he was the only with a shield and mjolnir, after all. Bruce was far too noticeable, Clint and Scott had their families, Bucky said he didn't want to do it, Strange had already left for the Sanctum, Carol was off to the stars, Thor was in no state of mind to handle a delicate task… Steve was the easy option.

He could meet her at the Stork Club; he knew that. He knew she had gone that night, knowing full well he wouldn't be there. He had promised her a dance, after all; but if he went there, would he be recognized? What was the likelihood of him being enlisted again to finish out the war effort on the Pacific side?

He could wait until after the war, when her life would have settled down and Captain America would not have been put on the front lines again. How could he keep himself quiet? Especially if she was busy founding SHIELD? What would he do?

How long could he let her grieve his death?

He had a few days left with the internet and SHIELD's database, so he took full advantage of it, chronicling her years and piecing together where she was, when. Mr. Jarvis and Howard Stark's files were particularly useful as cross references; Steve mapped out her constant trans-Atlantic flights, darting from London to New York and back again, finding when she met with the Howlers and what her different missions had been.

Bucky knew what Steve would do without asking; he simply joined his friend at his workstation and started flipping through the data bank. His assassin's eye caught details that Steve had skimmed over- a birthday party she went to, an address of a shop she frequented.

The others had no idea. Steve recorded messages for each of them; he left one for Morgan too.

Bucky helped with the logistics; how he would have money when he was back in the 40's, what he could do for work, getting a change of clothes as soon as possible. He had plenty of Pimm Particles; they mapped out a few different stops for him, to pick up a few things. They found aged hundred dollar bills and layered them within his time suit, so he would have a few grand- thousands upon thousands, for a guy in the '40s- to get settled.

He decided to buy the ring with her; if any of the others saw him with one, even by accident, it would raise too many questions.

Bucky had the idea of him placing bets on certain events to earn some fast cash over the years; they belly laughed at the idea of Steve and Peggy becoming millionaires from Steve betting on the moon landing.

And somehow, within a few days, Steve stopped talking to Bucky about "I". His whispered comments turned into "we", and he jokingly promised that "they" would name one of "their" sons Buchanan.