A/N: words: 1625. YAY NORMAL UPDATES (knock on wood) the next chapter is so gfvjhahhasgfhjas I'm so excited. anyway, enjoy! 

See the legacy of the shield, immortalized in Washington D.C

Bucky's jaw clenched. Sam really did it. He really went through with it. Of course he did. Bucky didn't doubt that he would. What he didn't think would happen is that they'd make a big thing about it all. It was a lot. Somewhere, he knew that the government wouldn't keep their word. He knew they'd send it off to the next guy they could find, with the average strength, maybe a few medals. And he would blame Sam. Because if he started thinking logically, it wouldn't end well for either of them.

He's going, for some ungodly reason, he's gonna go watch the symbol that he thought he'd watch Sam carry. And he'd be there. Now, now Sam was gone. And the shield was just gonna gather dust in a Smithsonian. Or be yelled by someone who doesn't deserve

Things could've been different. Things could've been so, so different.

~~~~~~~~~

"So, you're really going through with it." Sarah said as Sam bounded down the stairs, duffle bag in one hand, shield in the other. He took in a sharp breath. He was.

"Yeah, yeah I am." Sam replied, his tone confident and prepared. Didn't exactly match how he felt on the inside. He knew this is what he wanted to do. He knew it. This was Steve's legacy. He passed it down to Sam, but Sam can't take it.

Sarah smiled at him, shaking her head slightly. "What?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Nothin'." She dismissed quickly, and Sam just rolled his eyes. With a wave and a 'be safe', Sam was out the door. It was about to be a long couple of days.

~2 days later ~

People started trickling into the building shortly after Sam got there, reporters and reporters and more reporters started showing up, but Sam was off to the side, the shield in his hand, and the worst headache he's had in a long time. It was a lot of stress, the blinding lights, the clicking of cameras. He noticed Rhodey walking over to him, and a small smile spread across his face.

"Hey man." Sam said, outstretching his hand. Rhodey smiled as well, shaking Sam's hand.

"It's good to see you, how you been?" Rhodey asked, making Sam sigh. What he supposed to say? Oh, you know, the person I thought I was going to marry is now ignoring my texts, I've missed my nephews entire lives, and my sister has had to fend for herself, and everyone who I cared for. Sam only smiled, nodding.

"Pretty good, same old, same old." Rhodey chuckled, nodding his head. A solemn look passed over Rhodey's face that Sam didn't expect, and he opened his mouth to say something, a reporter or someone came to drag Rhodey for some interview or some statement that Sam couldn't hear.

Sam stood on the stage alone, looking out into the sea of reporters. He took another deep breath. It was gonna be alright. All of it was gonna be alright.

If he was looking, he'd see the steel blue eyes glued onto him, shining in regret, in sorrow. If he was looking, he would know that Bucky, in that moment, was sorry. He didn't mean for Sam to be alone. He wanted nothing more than to tell Sam that he wasn't alone. But, he left Sam alone. He didn't come back. He didn't try to heal the wound he left on what they used to be. Maybe it'd be a bit easier. All of it.

~~~~~~~~

"Thank you, Captain America, but this belongs to you." Sam stared at the shield in his hands, the red, white and blue colours bright in his face, and he felt the burden leave lift from his shoulders as he handed the shield over. Thank god. Sam sighed, feeling all his anxieties, all his headaches, all his confusions leave his body. The shield was where it belonged. A piece of history.

~~~~~~~~~

Bucky contemplated going to talk to Sam. To apologize, to tell him he was so sorry, that he had come to his senses. That he wasn't a coward, that he still loved Sam, still cared for him, and now, he'd listen to him. He would never make it about him. He just wanted Sam back. And now, without the shield, Bucky thought that maybe that could be possible. But would Sam forgive him? Would Bucky keep his word? Would Bucky not just lash out the next chance he gets? So, that's why, as he watched Sam walk up to Rhodey, and watched as he walked away. He missed his chance. And now, now he was a coward. A coward he stared at his phone screen, anxious for a reply, a sign that it wasn't over, that there was still something. Anything. And it walked away, as quickly as he walked in.

Bucky missed the way he spoke confidently, no matter how much his mind shook. Bucky could feel it, as Sam spoke, how fast his heart was beating. Bucky missed the chocolate eyes. Bucky saw the strength in Sam's eyes, the less than nice lighting still making his eyes dazzle and sparkle. Like a star hanging in the sky. Even after all these months, he felt himself losing himself in Sam's eyes, the familiar feeling of drowning in warmth. Until the shield was handed over. Until Sam walked off the stage. Bucky felt the cool breeze float back in the room, and he left, going back to drown in the memory, in sorrow.

~~~~~~~~~

Sam stared at his reflection in the glass, the shield encased, a relic of history, nothing more. Finally. The burden was gone. The shield was where Sam always knew it should be. Where it had to be. If anything was different, if the world wasn't something so broken, so horrible, so unfair, maybe he could wield it. But not yet. Not in this timeline. Sam couldn't do that, he never wants to even consider it. It was out of his hands.

~~~~~~~

As Sam walked out, he passed the wall dedicated to Bucky. He had passed it when he walked with Rhodey, but he didn't think to stop. He didn't really know why he stopped now, but he did. The picture showcased was one from the folder, when Sam was looking for him, when they didn't know each other. When life was simple. When Sam had less regrets. When Sam was alone, and he was okay with it. When Sam thought that agreeing with Steve was a good idea. Was the smart play. When he didn't think about the life of his family. How he'd miss it, how he'd leave Sarah, leave his community when he should've been there.

Now he is there. And he's not leaving.

His hand passed over the display. "You could've been there. But you hurt me. I needed help, and you ignored me. You could've come home to me." Sam muttered, almost pathetically. Bucky would've loved Delacroix. He should've loved it. If only. If only, if only, if only. If only forever lasted as long as Bucky promised. If only it lasted as long as Sam needed it to. Forever is never ending hope, and one of the biggest lies.

Sam believed the lie, and followed the hope blindly, not bothering to look both ways before he crossed the road, heading straight into traffic. If only he had looked, or waited and closed his eyes a bit longer.

What he saw was a stranger, but when he opened his eyes, a bit too quickly, he saw love. Someone who'd never be a stranger again. Because how could he not recognize that smile, and the eyes that shimmer and shine in the moonlight. No, that was something unforgettable, something that will last like a flame.

Burning, and burning and burning.

Until it went out. Until it went dark. Until they eyes were cold, and angry. Until the smile turned into a frown, a quivering lip that wouldn't dare let a sob tumble from it. Until the moon that made the eyes dazzle, bright and brilliant, was the moon they both looked at, worlds apart. They weren't strangers, they were a memory, a lost thought that they savoured, that they held onto like a lifeline.

They weren't strangers, they were worse. They were so much worse. Sam still had Bucky's smile in his head, the way it was brighter than the moon and the stars and the sun. The way it was perfect, it held every memory they shared. He still had Bucky's eyes, like two dazzling jewels, but better. But so much better. They were far more precious than a dazzling silver, and far more rare than a diamond. They were beautiful.

But now, it was just that, only a memory, only a way to fall asleep. The flame was out, and Sam was done looking for a spark.

~~~~~~~~

Once Sam got back, it felt different. A good different. He didn't have the nagging thought of the shield, or Bucky, in the back of his mind. It was nice. It felt normal again. Now, the biggest thing he had to worry about was this damn boat. How Sarah so desperately wanted to sell it, but Sam just couldn't let it go.

~~~~~~~~

As Bucky stared out the plane window, the pale moonlight illuminating his face, he thought about all of it. The shield. Sam. And he thought, vaguely, how everything could be alright. How, maybe, if he gave himself a bit more time, he would be alright. They, in all theory, could be alright.

Unfortunately, neither men can see the future, so, they never expected something else to interfere, only days later.