Bucky took several steps back, almost stumbling. "This isn't funny." His imagination jump-started into overtime. The sound of the rushing waterfall grew louder, competing with the fierce pounding of his heart against his chest. This was worse than a firefight.

"I'm not trying to be funny. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm back. I went in as the other guy and came out as me. Steve, your Steve," he said. The serious expression on his face was unnerving. Water dripped down over his eyes and off his chin. He wiped it off but didn't take his attention away from Bucky.

"You can't be. He's gone. He can't come back…" Bucky said. His vocal cords didn't want to work. A small part of him wanted to turn and run. Nothing in his life prepared him for this. The man before him was a ghost.

"I never left. That guy's been carrying me around in his head all this time, but he's been suppressing me. I gave him a choice and thought he would do the right thing, and let me out, but he hung on. Stop looking so scared. I'll prove it's me. The night before you ran away, we argued. You never told him about that?"

"No. No need too, and I didn't run away. They were after me and innocent people could have gotten killed…"

"I told you we would look after you damn it!" he exclaimed, raising the volume of his voice.

A cold fear shot through Bucky, leaving an impact worse than any bullet. The memory, the same words in that same tone of voice. His Steve. A cold empty shiver washed away the incredulity.

"Where's…"

"The other guy? Not sure, but he's in here," Steve pointed to his head. "I think he's buried, the same way I was. Damn it, it feels good to be free again, not trapped." He reached down to pick up a blade of grass and pick up a stone, which he threw across the pond. After taking a deep breath, he smiled.

"Were you aware of…" Bucky asked, hesitate to ask although he didn't know why. He had done nothing to be ashamed of. "Of...everything?"

"You mean do I know about the cozy life here in Wakanda, the long nights. Didn't take you long to get over me," Steve said.

"Then you would know I mourned for you. I grieved, I was angry when I found out what they'd done!"

"But he somehow he talked you around. The good one. He got what I wanted, and the thing is, the only thing he had that I didn't was knowledge. If I had known... I didn't understand why you are the way you are. I'm sorry about what happened, making you believe everything was your fault."

"I knew you were sorry, deep down, even if you couldn't say it before," Bucky said. His mind became a whirlwind of emotions. "I don't know what to say, or even how I'm supposed to feel about this."

"How about you're glad to see me?" Steve asked.

"I'm glad you're ok, but… you understand, I never expected to find you again."

"I know," he said. Before Bucky could reply Steve's arms went around him, holding him tight. "I'm sorry about your arm, but don't worry. I'm here now, and I'll look after you."

Bucky let him have the moment, not fighting the rough intensity of the embrace. He had a clear line of sight on the falls and the pool. Something happened there. Something in the water, in this place, caused this. He pulled himself away.

"Why did T'Challa send us here? What did he think we would find?" He asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We found each other again..."

"He said we would find what we were looking for. I wasn't looking for…"

"Me?"

Bucky pulled away and walked to the edge of the pool. "I need… to be alone… I have to… think this through."

"What's to think through? Don't tell me you're going to miss that other guy?"

Bucky took a few steps backward. "Yes. I am. I'm going to miss that other guy. Thanks to somebody, I get to grieve all over again." He turned and walked away, not sure where he would go but he had to get away from here, and this familiar stranger.

"Buck!" The voice called behind him. He went into the tent and zipped it from the inside knowing Steve wouldn't be able to get in. He was angry. The last time this happened, he broke things and yelled at the sky, but he knew none of that would help. That didn't stop him from wanting to. He was angry at himself for insisting they come here, angry at T'Challa, angry at Steve for agreeing to this stupid thing that kept coming back again and again.

Then came the guilt. This was the guy he grew up with. HIS Steve. The one he lost, the damaged one he was always trying to fix. The guy who had been trapped who was now enjoying fresh air and sunshine. If this was real, if that was him, he couldn't turn his back on him.

Then there was the guy he fell in love with. The unselfish guy who understood him, who never demanded a damn thing from him, when he could have. He knew, he just knew, that if given a choice, his Steve, would tell Bucky to leave him in the void and let this guy live his life. Then despite it all, he had to laugh to himself. He didn't know how to differentiate between the two of them. They had switched places in his life. This was the weirdest love triangle anyone had ever experienced. He couldn't choose. Maybe he should go away and just leave them to it.

He didn't know how long he was in there but he could tell late afternoon was turning into evening. He had no answers, but he had calmed down. He unzipped the tent and came out to see Steve was standing by the pool, the evening rays of the sun reflecting off the water. He had picked some flowers and the petals were scattered on the ground around him. Bucky took his time in joining him.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Bucky said after a moment. "They wanted to create something brand new… of you and them…"

"Is that what he told you?" Steve asked.

"He doesn't lie," Bucky said.

"No, he doesn't. And for all my faults, neither do I. He was right. None of this was supposed to happen."

"What do you mean?" Buck asked, knowing full well he would regret asking but he had to know.

"We were led to believe that by means of magic, or something I never really understood, those about to be taken away here could be...saved in a way. We would bring the others to us, but their consciousness would be gone. Emptied, like at the moment of death. We needed to get to them at the exact moment they were supposed to be snapped away. We would, take over their bodies and continue to live our lives. Not this weird… hell," Steve replied. He picked up another small stone and threw it across the pond.

"You mean to tell me you had your own plan, and you didn't tell us?" Bucky paced. It was happening all over again. This was just like before when his Steve told him about the blending.

"They told us not to. You weren't ever to know…" Steve said, turning away.

Bucky walked around him so they faced each other. "Who came up with this?"

"Strange. He looked into the future and saw one way to defeat Thanos but it would require sacrifice and we didn't want to be sacrificed so we came up with this. In our defense, we thought the world needed us. We weren't just being selfish."

"They did what they did because they wanted us back and save us from dystopia."

"So did we. And we see what happened. They got in the way."

"They did more good than bad! They got rid of the Consortiums, they..."

"How's Agent Romanoff? Oh, I forgot, she's Natasha now, and because of them, you lost your arm."

"Damn it!" Buck took a deep breath. He still couldn't believe this was happening. "I'm glad you're ok. If you stay like this, I'll do what I can to fix you,