Time went on and people forgot about the incident, but Steve never did. Every morning Steve would look at his mark in the mirror. He'd check if it had changed or even faded. It was still the same. Same size, same shade, same patterns. He wished Bucky was ok. He wished Bucky wouldn't fall out of love with him. He was alone now. His mum had lost her life to illness and no one was there to comfort him. He tried to end it, but every time he stopped because what if Bucky still cared? What if Bucky saw the mark faded? He couldn't do that to him, even if he didn't love him anymore.

Bucky was far from alright. Every morning he was hit just for having a mark. Everyone there had gone through the same thing as him. They all had soulmarks. At night, when the teachers had gone to bed everyone would talk. They would talk about their soulmates and how amazing they were. Of course, Bucky talked about Steve. He talked about everything up until he was taken. He missed Steve more than he would admit. He didn't even know if he'd see him again. Turns out everyone at the conform school had similar stories. They all marked with a guy and were taken away while their soulmate had to watch. It was heartbreaking, but everyday Bucky waited. He waited until he was deemed fixed by the teachers and was allowed to leave.

-0-

"You're back again?" The bartender asked. "Yeah, can I have the usual?" Steve asked. "Sure."

Steve sat with the drink infront of him. Tears started to fill his eyes. Even though it had been years since Bucky was taken, he never forgot. That day kept replaying in his mind every time he was left to his own thoughts.

"S...Steve?" There was a stutter behind him.

He turned to see a familiar face.

"Bucky..."
"Hey punk."
Steve slid off the stool, "jerk."

Bucky pulled Steve into a hug.

"Everyday, everyday I was there I didn't stop thinking about you," he started to cry, "now you're here, you're really here. I'm sorry I left."
"You had no choice, I'm just happy you're back," Steve said now starting to cry too.

They pulled away from eachother. That's when Steve caught a glimpse of Bucky's hand.

"Oh my god," he held Bucky's hand up so he could look, "Buck, what'd they do to you?"

His hand was black and blue. A large scar covered the whole top. Steve rubbed a finger along the cut.

"Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't matter," he pulled his hand away, "how's Sarah?"
"She passed a few years ago. She got really sick and we couldn't afford her t..treatment," Steve wiped away a few tears.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't of asked."
"It's ok, have you gone to see Winifred yet?"
"No, I don't think I want to. She sent me to that...p-place."
"Do you wanna come back to mine tonight?" Steve asked changing the subject, "catch up, get drunk like we used to?"
"Sounds good."

Steve paid for his drink and left with the taller man.

-0-

Steve led Bucky into his rundown apartment that he once shared with his mother.

"It's not much, but it's home."

Strangely, it felt like Bucky's home too.

"Did you get into any back alley fights while I was gone?" Bucky laughed.
"One, but it was the guy who watched us through the window."
He sighed, "I guess he deserved it."
"He did deserve it," Steve turned, "it's his fault you had to go to that inhumane place. Even if you did fall out of love, I wasn't going to."
"Stevie, nothing they did to me could make me love someone else, I love you."

Bucky walked forwards and leant down to kiss Steve. He cupped the blondes face. Their lips parted, but their heads didn't move.

"I missed you."
Steve smiled, "I missed you too."

That night was everything they had hoped for. Drunk laughter and drunk kisses. It was almost as if everything in the world didn't matter. No responsibilities, no one watching. It was just them. Neither of them wanted it to end. They had waited four years for this and they weren't going to let it go to waste.

-00000-

I honestly struggled writing this chapter, hope it didn't disappoint that much :/