Don't Let Me Forget

XVIII - Return Of A Ghost

"If ever you remember me, I will be thankful. If ever your lips meet mine, I will be grateful. If we ever fall in love, I will be happy. If we ever fall apart, I will be sorry." - Unknown

"Hey pal, did you miss me ?"

Steve couldn't believe it. He was probably dreaming, right ? There were no other possibilities that the person standing in front of him was real.

"Have you forgotten how to greet a friend ? I thought your ma' raised you better than that punk."

"Is it really you ?" Steve asked nervously. If this wasn't a dream, he didn't know how this was possible.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry I didn't give you a warning about my visit."

"How ... How is this possible ? You were ... I ..." Steve couldn't believe it.

Here in front of him, was standing his former best friend, James Buchanan Barnes, as known as Bucky.

"Maybe if you let me in, we can talk about everything. I know we have a lot of catch-ups to do." Bucky gently said to Steve.

After talking for a good two hours about how Bucky was back, Steve was really relieved to see that his best friend was alive and here in front of him in his townhouse. But he couldn't help the feeling that he had failed him. He had given up on looking for him after all, given up on the possibility that he could still be alive.

But Bucky understood all of that. He understood that Steve did everything he could to find him, but eventually moved on with his life. At the time of his disappearance, even Bucky didn't know what had happened. He thought that his entire team including Steve, was missing or even dead. So he understood the feeling that Steve had towards him, he had the same.

So he couldn't blame Steve. Bucky only had been able to know that Steve was still alive because he came back to Brooklyn only a week ago. After spending most of his time in therapy in London to make sure he would be able to overcome what had happened to him.

And even so, Bucky wouldn't have been able to come back to Brooklyn sooner. He hadn't been ready to face the truth that his best friend was gone. It was too hard to accept it.

"So how is Peggy doing ? Are you guys still together ?" Bucky suddenly asked Steve.

"Hm ... You might want to sit down for this one." Steve answered with a sad look on his face. He knew Peggy and Bucky were best friends as well at that time, he probably didn't know she was gone.

"Why ? Did something happen ?" Bucky said, as he sat down on Steve's couch.

"Hm ... She passed away Buck. She had a car accident five years ago, and she didn't survive." Steve gently said to his former best friend.

"Oh ... Whoa ... I wasn't expecting that." He heard Bucky replied, a shocked look on his face.

"Yeah ... I'm very sorry." Steve softly said to him.

"I should feel sorry for you too. I know you guys were very close. Were you still together when that happened ?" Bucky quietly asked.

"We were yes. We were living together actually. I was waiting for her to come home, but she never made it. Police officers came to our apartment later and told me what had happened. I was devastated when I heard that she wasn't here anymore." Steve said, remembering how hard this time of his life was.

"How did you overcome all of that ? Her death came pretty close after I was gone. That must have been hard for you." Bucky said.

"It was very hard to accept that she was gone, and that you were gone at that time too. I did a lot of therapy, groups meeting, went to my ma's graveyard to try to talk to her, even if I knew she wasn't here anymore. I thought it would help. And eventually, I was able to move on from Peggy, and to accept that we weren't meant to be. I don't know if you remember Sam Wilson from our team in the Army, but he did help a lot too. He was constantly trying to support me in any way he could. With all this help, I realized I had to let go. And it was the right thing to do. Even if it was hard to let go of her, I needed to move on." Steve answered honestly.