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Bucky disappeared after he pulled Steve from the water and Sam spent the next few years following leads around the world looking for him. As far as Steve knows, Sam never finds him, but that isn't exactly true.
The first chapter is shortly after Endgame. Then a time skip to events between/after Ep. 1.06 of TFAWS.
Or where Sam and Bucky get together after Tony's funeral but Bucky runs away before they can talk about it.
Steve and Peggy are getting married, and Steve wants his two best friends by his side. The only problem? They kind of hate each other.
Barnes wanted to say something. He wanted to tell Sam how he felt; how Sam made him feel. He wanted to ask him to stay. He wanted to ask if he could follow. He wanted. He wanted. He fucking wanted something he could not have. Instead, he took a deep breath and hoped that the pain that was churning inside of him was not written on his face.
OR
Sam and Bucky are reunited after going their separate ways to build lives for themselves after the Blip.
Sam is grieving widower. Bucky is separated from his wife. They meet and hit it off right away. Unfortunately, they have teenaged daughters who are vying for the same coveted solo at the holiday festival.
Standing in that crowd, seeing Walker holding that shield like he'd done what it was meant for, Bucky knew they had to get out of there. Having dragged Sam with him to a hotel room he'd already booked as a safeguard in case something like this went down, Bucky has no choice but to sit in a room with the way Sam was feeling about everything that had happened that day, and the way they were coming to feel about each other.