Steve showed up at Sam's house the next morning. He almost broke down the door with how hard he was knocking until someone answered. His argument with Sharon last night kept replaying in his head, and he'd just get angrier each time it did.

"So I'm guessing I didn't win the bet on you and Sharon making it a month without a fight," Sam said as he let Steve inside and took in his appearance. "You need to calm the hell down, man."

"Where's Bucky?"

"Ah," Sam said with a knowing nod. "He's out back."

Steve stormed through the house and spotted Bucky out in the yard. Steve saw red as he charged at his friend and tackled him to the ground. Bucky expected this after Sharon's text telling him she went low in their fight and she owed him for the repercussions. Steve was fighting sloppily, clearly letting his emotions get the best of him. Bucky avoided a lot of his punches and was able to get a few in himself to get Steve to stagger back so they could speak.

"You slept with Sharon," Steve said accusingly, going to tackle him again but Bucky just put out his arm and held him back.

"I did," Bucky said calmly, pushing against Steve's body.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked," Bucky said and Steve barked out a laugh.

"I never asked? Of course I never asked, that's not a question that would ever come to mind."

"You never bothered to speak with me about anything that happened in Madripoor, or with Zemo and Walker. You left Sam and I on our own to deal with a mess you could have helped clear up. You could have even visited her yourself, but you didn't."

"You can have any girl you wanted, you're dating Natasha Romanoff for fucks sake! You had to have Sharon too?"

"You abandoned her along with the rest of us," Bucky yelled, shoving Steve hard. "You left to try to get back this life you weren't meant to have because you've been stuck in the past instead of embracing the present! You ignored everyone when you came back and decided you were done, becoming a weird recluse while we all dealt with a ton of shit that you and everyone caused. We all moved on, Steve. So yeah, I slept with her. I got to know her past whatever pre-conceived notions you had about her. She's pretty fucking amazing and you're an idiot for giving her up."

"Don't you think I know that," he yelled back. "I know I fucked up, okay! Ever since Wanda messed with my head when she worked with Ultron, I was never able to move past what she made me see. I could never get that victory party out of my head, where I got to finally dance with Peggy and celebrate with everyone. The life I was supposed to have that was taken because I had to play hero."

"Who says you were supposed to have that life? You clearly weren't if Peggy sent you back here," Bucky shot back and saw the hurt in Steve's face, immediately feeling bad.

Sam watched the argument from the porch and noticed Natasha was standing next to him with a scowl.

"Guess the conversation we tabled is happening," she said and he nodded.

"I think him and Sharon got into last night," Sam explained.

"They did, she told me."

"Do we break it up," he asked and she shook her head. "Okay good, I didn't want to. You want a drink?"

"James has vodka in the freezer," she said and followed him in the house.

Natasha knew the boys had their own bone to pick with Steve after everything. She had a different perspective, having been there for those five years when everyone was gone. She was also dead and having a new lease on life made her want to give up grudges. Some grudges, anyway. Sam had accepted what happened, and didn't want to stay mad at his friend when things worked out in the end.

"You're not pouring my drink this time, Romanoff," Sam said and she laughed.

Bucky noticed Sam and Natasha head back into the house, leaving him and Steve to handle this on their own. He tried to get himself back under control, he didn't want this to get as heated as it did.

"You really did take all the stupid with you," Bucky sighed. "You ever stop to think that this right here is the life you're supposed to have? Not that imaginary life some fucked up robot forced Wanda to make you see? What did you even have back in the past? The Commandos were from all over, I was presumed dead. Your mother and father were gone for years by that point. All you had was Peggy, who was never yours in the first place. You have a family here, you have friends. You had an amazing girl who by chance also was a Carter, but in my option is so much better than Peggy. You had the life you dreamed of here and you threw it away. You threw us all aside, Steve."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, sitting down on the ground.

"You can't just come back and expect things to be normal, and then continue to act like you never did anything wrong," Bucky said, eventually sitting down next to him. They sat in silence for a while.

"I did a lot wrong, I know that," Steve said. "I'm sorry I left you behind. It was supposed to be until the end of the line."

"You came back so it still is," Bucky said, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know how to make this right, Buck."

"With who?"

"Didn't realize the list was so long," Steve huffed.

"You should talk to Sam when you're ready. You gave him the shield and just left. I know we talked about it, but we really had no idea what it meant to give him that shield."

"I never expected it to get like that, it's 2023," Steve said and Bucky nodded in agreement. "I know I have to talk to him. I meant with Sharon."

"Change your entire personality," Bucky suggested and Steve scowled. "Get to know her, don't judge her for the things she's done. Ask her questions and answer all of hers, even if it's difficult. Give her space when she asks for it, or seems like she needs it. She will fight back if you push her."

"How long were you two together," Steve asked quietly.

"It wasn't like that. Madripoor was a stopping point sometimes, she always offered her place to stay. We got drunk one night, that was the start of it. We'd help Sam out with some stuff, just became a thing we did," Bucky told him. "She's now someone I consider one of my best friends though, so I won't hesitate to kick your ass if you hurt her."

"Yeah, message received loud and clear," Steve said with a huff before smiling at him. "Did you know she never disappeared with everyone else?"

"Took her a bit to tell me, but she finally did," Bucky nodded. "I told you, man. She's been through more than most."

"I should have looked for her," he sighed. "I got so lost in trying to keep a strong front, help the people I could. I was scared to look for her, I didn't want to give myself hope that maybe she survived when all of you were gone. Doesn't make up for what I did, or didn't do, when I got back though."

"We're all here now, and we all come with a ton of issues that have changed who we are. Maybe just try getting to know her again, no expectations based on who you thought she was."

"Did Shuri mess with your brain, I don't remember you being wise. Maybe a wise-ass, but that's about it," Steve said and Bucky shoved him good-naturedly. "Thanks, man."

"I guess you're now part of my efforts to make amends," Bucky sighed, extending his hand out to Steve. "We good?" Steve looked at it a minute before shaking it.

"We're good," Steve said. "Natasha's good with it?"

"Oh yeah," Bucky laughed. "A little too good with it."

"Don't want to know," he shook his head.

They headed back inside together, noticing the wary looks from Natasha and Sam. Natasha handed Bucky a glass when he approached her and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She didn't see any limbs missing so she figured all was well between her two fossils.

Steve and Sam planned to get lunch one day that week before Steve left. As difficult as it's been, these fights were a wake up call for him. He had a decision to make: stay stuck in his ways or finally move forward and fully embrace the world he's living in. The former cost him almost everything, so he was willing to do what was needed to rebuild the relationships that were important to him.

He noticed the lights were still on downstairs when he got back and he saw Sharon was sitting in the kitchen, eating dinner and scrolling through her phone. She turned her head when she heard him walk in, but didn't acknowledge him any further. Steve sighed to himself. He knew this was gong to be hard, but he hoped that maybe they could start over.

"I'm sorry," Steve said as he leaned on the island across from Sharon. She narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry I made you feel like a sex toy, I'm sorry I never tried to look for you. I'm sorry I left for your aunt. I never took the time to think about how my actions were affecting everyone, especially you. You deserved more than that because you meant a lot to me, whether you believe it or not. I wish we had the time to do things right back then, but we didn't. I also think I used that as an excuse because I was scared to get close to you because I was still fixated on the past. I never thought past the next day, so planning for an actual future was scary."

Sharon stayed silent. She was waging a war with herself to accept his apology and try to move on or tell him to shove his apology up his ass because it's too late. She could see how genuine he was being, how much of Steve Rogers he was beings instead of Cap. She wondered if she saw a lot of Steve when they were together on the run. He was certainly Steve when they first met, but she wasn't Sharon - she had to be Kate. After that, she met Steve as Sharon for drinks after Peggy's funeral, but she's pretty sure he was mostly Cap during their time on the run. She wasn't her true self, either. She supposed they never truly knew each other after all that time.

Steve watched her as she tilted her head, staring at him like she was assessing a target. He started to feel uncomfortable but didn't want to back off.

"I appreciate the apology," she said and he nodded.

"I'd like to start over, if that's okay," he said and she gave him a small smile when he stuck his hand out to her. "I'm Steve Rogers."

"Sharon Carter," she said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Steve."

"You as well," he said, giving her a genuine smile.

hi all, happy sunday :) back to our normal updating schedule.

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter!