A month after the opening of the B&B Museum, Steve and his team finished their work on the mural. The curator knew from the start that he was the right man for the job. The day the exhibit was reopened Nat and Bucky were there with him. She was surprised when Sharon came as well, and greeted Bucky with a kiss.
"Sharon? I didn't expect to see you here. When you weren't at the grand opening Mack told me it was because you were finishing your Masters. So how long have you and been Bucky dating?"
With how happy she and Bucky are, she doesn't catch on to the first question she was asked.
"Almost four months now, even with my busy schedule of two jobs and college, I wanted to make this work. He's a really great guy."
"I bet; it must have been hard to work for Mack in the morning, for Sam at night, while juggling a full class schedule. Oh and trying to help Bucky with his plan to get Steve and I back together."
To say that Sharon was shocked at what Natasha said would be the understatement of the year. Suddenly she is flustered. She knows Bucky didn't say anything about her, but she does want to know how the other woman figured it out.
"How did you know? I know Bucky didn't say anything. You're not…"
"No, Sharon. I'm not angry. I'm glad you both helped Steve out. But as for how I knew, that's easy. I saw you at the bar on Steve's birthday. You were sitting in the booth. When I saw you at the Waldorf, I thought you looked familiar, but I wasn't sure where I knew you from. And I've known Bucky for a long time; he's not smart enough to pull this off on his own."
"That's right…Hey I resent that!"
Despite his embarrassment, Bucky is glad that everything is getting back to normal for the three of them. And having Sharon in his life is the icing on the cake. His nightmares and the loss of an arm, none of it bothers him. Maybe it wasn't just Steve who was moping. But now they're both back in a good place. As they move towards the mural, the curator waves Steve over.
"Steve, you and the team did a fantastic job on the restoration. I know the curator of The Met. If you'd be interested, I can see if he has any positions open in the European Paintings Department."
"Thank you, sir. I'm grateful for the offer, but I've been overseas for a number of years. My goal right now is to get back to college and finish my degree."
"I respect that. If you ever change your mind, let me know."
As the curator walks away, Steve's friends are examining the work. When he joins them, they only have praise for what he accomplished.
"All right Steve, this time you're not getting out of it."
"Out of what, Bucky?"
"After you buy dinner, we're going to celebrate. We're all back together, and we're going to Coney Island tonight."
Steve knew his best friend wasn't going to let that go. While he agreed to pay for dinner, it was decided upon that if they were going, Bucky was taking care of the admission to the park. The four of them decided on Grimaldi's. After dinner, Steve and Nat rode the Wonder Wheel, while Sharon wanted Bucky to take her on the Cyclone. This time it was Steve who got the photo of Bucky throwing up. It was the perfect way for the day to end. When they all got home that night, Nat wanted to know what prompted the decision of returning to college.
"So you're really going to go back and finish your degree?"
"Yeah, I just feel like I can do more with our future if I do this. You graduated, you teach art history part time, and run a successful art consultation business. I want to be able to do something similar."
She can't help but notice that he used the word 'our', instead of 'my'.
"So in regards to our future, what are you thinking of as a career when you complete your degree?"
"You know, I'm not really sure yet. I did think about teaching for a long time. But I still have a year of school to complete."
"You've got time, Steve. Whatever you decide, you've got my support. I want you to be happy with the career you choose. Besides, it will be kind of fun to be dating a college guy again."
He knows she's kidding, but of all the things he missed, her sense of humor has to be the one he missed the most.