Bucky died that night. He passed away peacefully as he slept. Steve found out when he came to the hospital the day after he had left him sleeping. When he walked into the hospital room, the bed was empty. It was raining and a part of him was empty too. His whole world came crashing down at once.

A week later was Bucky's funeral. Not many people showed up. Most people were just there to support Steve like the whole team of Avengers and of course Sam and Pepper as well. They all wanted to make sure Steve was happy. Before the funeral started, Steve walked down the Church aisle where Bucky's coffin lay and he looked down at his friend, who just looked like he was sleeping. He was wearing a dark blue suit, with a white shirt and tie. Steve gave a small sigh and walked away, he couldn't look at Bucky, not when he knew that Bucky couldn't look back at him. It wasn't long before the funeral started at the priest said a few words that were normally said at funerals and how Bucky was in a better place and he would be watching over all of them.

"And now we have Steve Rogers with a few words to say about Bucky" he nodded towards Steve and everyone watched as Steve made his way up to the pulpit to speak about his friend.

"Bucky. What can I say about him? He was my best friend for years, he was always there for me and I always there for him, even when I didn't ask for him to be there he was. Whenever I was in trouble I could turn to Bucky and whenever I was lonely I just had to find Bucky and I wasn't lonely anymore. Bucky brought me hope more than anyone has ever done before, he made everyday worth living, and if I had to spend a day away from Bucky I always looked forward to seeing him again. When my mom died and I didn't have my dad either, Bucky was there to take care of me. He let me stay with him, I didn't have to pay rent and he didn't keep bothering me about if I was alright, he just tried not to speak about it and if I wanted to talk about it then he would be right there to help me through everything" Steve bit his lip to hold back tears, but he wasn't finished yet. "Nobody knew Bucky like I knew Bucky. I knew everything about him. I knew every secret that Bucky had and he was always so open with me and he wasn't like that with anyone else. He was the best person that I knew and I am so lucky to have known Bucky Barnes. Nobody else knows him. James Buchanan Barnes was my only friend when I was a kid and I am so thankful to have met him because I don't think that my life would have been as good as it is now, Bucky taught me so much. He always looked out for the little guy and never ever gave up on me, even if the task was getting me to go on a double date which I would always bail on, but Bucky never got annoyed with me, if I said that I wanted to leave then he would let me leave. I always told him that he took the stupid everywhere that he went with him, but to be honest Bucky wasn't too smart during school, but with a little push I managed to help him get the grades that he needed and we can't forget that he had a whole lot of common sense. What I really want to say is that now you all truly know that there was a man called Bucky Barnes and that he saved me in more ways than one. He was more than a best friend. He was my brother and I'm going to miss him so much" Steve sobbed, letting the tears fall, he couldn't go on so Natasha stood up and steered him back to his seat as the song 'The Luckiest' by Ben Folds started playing and Bucky's coffin was carried down the aisle to the funeral car with everyone in their suits and suit dresses following behind, getting into their own cars and following the funeral car to the graveyard that Steve had picked out for Bucky to be put in. It was underneath an willow tree, just like the one that Steve and Bucky used to go to when they were kids and they wanted to relax. Somewhere peaceful. Just for Bucky. He would like it.

Everyone watched as the coffin was lowered into the hole that had been dug, Natasha and Sam stayed with Steve until the hole was filled in. Steve knelt down next to the grave and let his tears fall and land on the soft dirt.

"I'm sorry Bucky. I should have said goodbye properly, it breaks my heart to know that I'll never get to hear your voice again, I'm never going to feel your skin against mine again. We were a family and we were just getting back on our feet, we had just gotten you settled" he sobbed. "Goodbye Bucky. I'll always love you"