"Hey, sure you don't need a third?"
Sam watches as Steve and Bucky look up from their readied positions on the time machine. Steve has been messing around with Mjolnir all day, reveling in its grip before he has to give it back. Now, he's got the strap hanging loosely from his wrist. Morgan had visited earlier today and convinced Bucky to let her braid his hair, and he's been keeping the fishtail intact ever since. When they'd learned what the time suits looked like, Sam and Bucky had shared a laugh. A small blessing of the Snap, but now Sam reconsiders it. What's a goofy suit to ensuring his friends make the trip back safe?
Steve and Bucky share one of those looks before they reply. The kind that you get from spending your childhood and adulthood together, from fighting alongside one another while needing to communicate plans in split seconds. Sam hears the 'no' before Steve even says it.
"We appreciate the offer, Sam, but -"
He raises a hand to stop him, "Nah, I get it. I'll see you soon. Have a fun time date, or whatevers."
Sam watches them grin down at him as Bruce starts the countdown. There's something in their eyes, something that makes his gut twist. But they're smiling, and he swears as they disappear, that they're holding hands.
Bruce immediately begins the process of counting down to retrieve them. Sam prepares what they can do with the rest of their day. His house was in disarray after five years of neglect, so he figures he can convince them to help him fix it back up. Some cleaning, a bit of pipe replacing, nothing that some regular guy and two super soldiers can't handle…
The countdown ends.
They don't come back.
His already twisting gust squeezes painfully, and Sam can barely get out the frantic words to demand that Bruce figure out why they aren't coming back. When he uses those words up, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself so he can think of a plan. It was just a simple matter of calling Pym or Van Dyne or even Princess Shuri.
He opens his eyes at the sound of a pebble skipping across the water. Ten skips.
By the bench at edge of the sea, an elderly man bends down, picks up another rock, and beats his skipping record. Thirteen skips. He doesn't go for another rock. Instead, he turns to look at Sam and waves. Another man seated on the bench does the same.
Sam leaves Bruce to fiddle with the machine and walks towards them. The rock skipper sits next to the other man; and as Sam draws closer, he notices a familiar fishtail braid. The other man drapes his arm across the rock skipper's shoulders, and the light glints off something on his hand. Before he sees their faces, Sam realizes the shine was coming from two gold bands on his ring finger.
"Hey," Sam greets with a smile that becomes more and more real. The pain in his gut eases.
The aged faces of Steve and Bucky smile back at him, more relaxed and happier than he's ever seen them before.
"Hey."
A/N: Yes, I'm implying that Steve married Bucky and Peggy. I'm not sure if I'll make more. If I do, they'll likely be few and far between.