Steve sat next to Bucky on the stone bench in the forest on the lake the day before Steve goes back in time.

"I'm going back," Steve said as he looked out onto the lake, unable to look at Bucky to see his reaction, "and when I say that, I mean to the 1940s, to live out a normal life, permanetly."

"You're retiring as Captain America?" Bucky asked, looking directly at him.

Steve looked down and said, "Yeah but I think the world still needs a Captain America, especially now more than ever since the world is going to be in chaos for a while until they figure out what to do with the 50% of the population was just reappeared out of nowhere. They'll need help adjusting."

Bucky asked, "What do you mean? Are you passing the Captain America mantle?"

"Yeah," he confessed, finally able to look Bucky in the eyes as he said, "I'm giving the shield to Sam."

"Oh," Bucky replied, trying to hide the pain in his voice, "can I know why?"

Steve said, "Well sure. He's a good man, and you're a perfect soldier. When I took the serum to be transformed into this, I was told to always remain a good man, not become a perfect soldier. It's a perfect parellel. Don't you think?"

Bucky struggled to put on a brave face to agree with him as he said, "Yeah, I can see that. Does Sam know how to use the shield? Has he ever even touched it?"

"No," Steve replied as put his hand on his shoulder, "but I'm sure you can show him how."

"I'm don't know if he'll listen to me, Steve," Bucky said nervously, "he wouldn't even move his seat up for me when I asked him to."

Steve asked, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"We'll I'm going back to the 1940's anyway," Steve said, "I think he'll be nicer to you once he sees how old I am when I come back as an old man."

Bucky asked, "Are you thinking of going back to 1945 to not long after you went into the ice?"

Steve answered, "Nah, I'm going to wait it out a few years, 1948 or so. That way I can let Peggy get her own development and maybe get over the initial shock of my disappearance."

"Peggy," Bucky said, "why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Peggy Carter," Steve replied, "you met her a couple of times. She was supposed to pick me up when I rescued you behind enemy lines but my radio broke. You remember her. She was with us in that pub with the Howling Commandos."

Bucky's eyes went wide and asked, "That woman in the red dress that didn't even notice me? Her? Are you serious, Steve?"

Steve smiled and said, "Yeah."

"I went to that museum you're in," Bucky explained in disbelief, "I saw that video where she explained how you rescued her husband. Did you hear that, Steve? I know had to have gone in there at least once. She married someone else. She moved on. If you go back you'll ruin her life. She had children and grandchildren after you 'died.' What are you thinking?"

Steve said, "Well I saw a picture of myself on her desk when I went back to 1970. I don't think she moved on as much as you might think."

"I can't believe this," Bucky said in shock, "it's like you're going against everything you've ever believed in and stood for just to...just to go back and get laid by woman you barely knew when we were younger."

"She saw me when I was invisible, Buck," Steve replied, "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"You're telling me there's no one in this time period that wants you," Bucky said, "what about that woman you kissed in front of Sam and me?" He stared Steve down, practically demanding an answer.

Steve said, "You mean Sharon Carter. Yeah, she's hot and everything but it's been over 5 years since I've persued that relationship. I think it would be weird to try and rekindle something like that now."

Bucky stared at him in disbelief. He asked, "Do you even hear what you're saying right now? When did you officially wake up from the ice?"

"2012," Steve replied.

"If it's 2023 now," Bucky explained, "then it's been 11 years since you've talked to this Peggy Carter woman, Steve. You seriously haven't moved on? Wait, both of these women have the same last name? That's a weird coincidence."

"Oh," Steve said, "no that's not a coincidence. They're related."

"What?!" Bucky demanded.

Steve explained, "Yeah, Sharon is Peggy's niece."

Bucky gave him a WTF look. "You didn't not just say that."

"It's the truth," Steve confessed.

"That's incest, Steve!" Bucky shouted at him.

Steve looked around nervously to make sure no one was around. "You don't have to scream it so everyone can hear you," Steve said, "God. No. It's fine. She would be my niece by marriage after I marry Peggy. That's not weird."

Bucky moved away from him and said, "Don't sit so close to me. I need to know how this relationship started in the first place. Was Peggy still around and she introduced you to her family and then she said, 'this is my niece' and you were like, 'she's hot.' Is that what happened?"

"No," Steve explained, "I noticed Sharon was hot and we started getting closer and then I found out she worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. and then after Peggy died she confessed to being her niece. She hid it from me, and everyone else."

"Why?" Bucky asked, horrifed at the implications.

"She didn't want people to compare her to her aunt," Steve replied, "it's not that big of a deal."

Bucky said, "She had to have known about you. Everyone knows who you are. That means she willingly went into a relationship with the man she knew her aunt worked with and liked." He was unable to look Steve in the eyes after that.

Steve said, "I honestly haven't thought much about it."

"You can't seriously still be thinking of going back," Bucky said, still horrified at everything he just learned.

"Oh I'm still going," Steve said, "and you were the first person I've told about this but thanks to your reaction I'm not going to tell anyone else."

Bucky asked, "You're not going to let anyone say goodbye to you?"

"I'll only be gone for 5 seconds," he answered, "I'll come back to this very bench we're sitting on together. You'll see."

"I guess I can't stop you," Bucky said sadly, "but when you go back to 1948 are you going to rescue me from Hydra?"

"Nah," Steve replied, "I think I'm going to let history play out exactly the same way so I can come back to this exact moment in the present without causing any time space continuum problems."

Bucky's face fell and turned to horror. "Steve," he said seriously, "I was suffering."

Steve said, "No I know. I understand."

"I don't think you do," Bucky explained hastily, "when I say suffering I mean unending pain that lasted for days and weeks at a time for decades, Steve. This replacement arm I got after my natural one got torn off? I got it without any anesthesia! I was ripped open and pulled apart, literally. I was beaten and trained only to kill and take orders. I killed people that definitely didn't deserve to die. You have to rescue me."

Steve shook his head and replied, "I don't think I can."

"Seriously?" Bucky asked, "You changed so much in 5 years."

"Yeah I have," he said as he put his hand on his shoulders, "for the better."

Bucky shook his head and said, "I don't think so."

"So long Bucky," Steve said as he stood up, "I'm going back to 1948 to get laid."

Bucky put his head in his hands as Steve walked away from the bench. He whispered to himself, "I guess I really wasn't worth it to you after all."