He was gone. Buck was gone—at least that’s what everyone thought. He never returned from the mission, his plane gone, along with his men.

Bucky took it the hardest, of course. People checked in on him—but all they saw was an irritable, grieving man who wasn’t sure if his best friend was dead or alive. He’d been overworking, sleeping less, and drinking more and more. You’d had enough of watching him slowly destroy himself.

“Bucky?” you asked, cautiously.