Just in case anyone was wondering, TMU, or Texas Methodist University is not a real school. I jacked the name from Friday Night Lights, and it's a fictional version of SMU.
Please feel free to leave some feedback! I like to know what people think because I'm a greedy little attention-thirsty gremlin.
"Feel Alright" by Steve Earle
Sage woke up several hours later as the sun was rising. For a minute, she felt pretty good. Then she started to feel her hangover, and how badly she needed to pee. Bucky was still fast asleep.
Sage slowly and gently lifted away from Bucky, sliding her arm out from behind him. She took a minute to acclimate to sitting up as the headache kicked in.
"Please don't puke on me," Bucky pleaded quietly, his voice rough from sleep. She must have looked a little green. Sage didn't even acknowledge him, all she knew was that he was awake and that she didn't have to be careful anymore. She clumsily climbed over him, and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She headed straight for the stairs and climbed the steps, disappearing into the room she shared with Sharon. Bucky sat up, not feeling too much better than Sage looked. He put his feet on the ground and stepped on a sandwich bag full of water, bursting the bag and splashing water onto the carpet. He swore, tossed the broken bag onto the coffee table, and left the puddle to go upstairs to his own bed.
Sage woke up to the sound of Sharon moving around in her bed a couple of hours later.
"Fuck," Sharon swore hoarsely. She slowly sat up and leaned back against the headboard. She frowned and closed her eyes tightly. Sage watched her, amused, but not feeling much better.
"Good morning, sunshine," she teased, her voice also rough.
"When did you get in?" Sharon asked, pushing her hair out of her face.
Sage glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was just after ten.
"The sun was rising," Sage answered, unsure of the actual time she moved from the couch downstairs to her bed.
"Holy shit, did you hook up?" Sharon quickly whipped her head to stare at Sage wide-eyed. She immediately regretted the sharp head turn.
"Yeah, we did it on your aunt's couch," Sage said sarcastically, pulling the blanket up around her face. The bedroom was dark and cold.
"Well, did you at least make out?" Sharon asked, recognizing Sage's sarcasm.
"No, he fell asleep barely halfway through," Sage answered bluntly. "Did you do much better than me?"
"No, he's such a fucking gentleman," Sharon groaned. Sage eased herself into a sitting position, then slowly got out of bed, joints creaking as she moved. She hobbled into the bathroom to pee. Her knee ached a bit, and the bruise was a lot darker than she remembered it being last night.
While she was in the bathroom, Sage washed her face, brushed her teeth, and pulled her hair up into a messy knot. When she was done, she and Sharon traded places. She found a room temperature bottle of water on the nightstand, probably belonging to Sharon, but it was still sealed. She opened it and forced herself to drink it until it was gone.
Sharon came back out of the bathroom, looking a bit fresher. She crawled back into her bed.
"I might go out in the water," Sage mused.
"You're nuts," Sharon muttered, her face pressed into her pillow. Sage was definitely hung over. But she hated wasting the day in bed, feeling like shit. She preferred to pretend like she felt fine, until she actually did feel fine.
"Kayaks still under the porch?" Sage asked, ignoring Sharon's comment.
"Yes, but you won't find your sanity there," Sharon answered.
"You're such a peach," Sage teased. She grabbed Sharon's thigh and shook it vigorously, making Sharon whine in protest.
"I hope you tip over!" Sharon cried as Sage went back into the bathroom to change into the same swimsuit top she wore the night before. She kept on her shorts, and found sunglasses and a cap in her backpack.
As she left the bedroom and closed the door quietly behind her, she took note that Steve and Bucky's bedroom door was closed. She wondered if they were still in bed. Sage found her shoes by the bottom of the stairs and slipped them on, forgoing socks. She grabbed a cold bottle of water out of the fridge, and noticed that someone had cleaned up the kitchen.
Sage quietly exited the kitchen onto the screened in porch. She carefully closed the door behind her.
"Hey," Steve greeted. Sage jumped and dropped her water.
"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me," Sage swore, turned to see Steve sitting at a table, holding a cup of coffee with a book open in his lap.
"Sorry," he chuckled. "Where are you off to?"
"I'm just going out on the water before it gets too hot," Sage answered, jerking a thumb over her shoulder towards the lake.
"Swimming?" Steve asked, not quite understanding what she was up to.
"Kayak," she answered simply.
"Wow, you feel well enough to do that?" he asked, a little taken aback. The last time he had seen her, Sage had been pretty drunk.
"Oh, I feel like shit," she laughed humorlessly, "But I'm choosing to ignore that."
"Well, more power to you," he laughed.
"I'll be back in an hour or so," Sage told him, turning to go.
"Have fun," he said with a wave, returning to his book.
Sage left the screened in part of the porch, and went down the steps a bit. She hopped off into the grass, and headed under the raised porch. Nailed to the support posts were racks of paddles. A row of kayaks, a paddle boat, a canoe, and a rowboat were propped up against the side of the house. Careful to avoid spiders, Sage pulled out a lime green single seat kayak. She rested it on the ground and grabbed a paddle. She put her water bottle and paddle in the kayak, then lifted it by the handles, and made the trek down the sloping lawn to the dock.
She gently placed the kayak in the water, and very carefully climbed in. She took off, no particular destination in mind. She hugged the perimeter of the lake, staying out of the way of boats.
As she went on, she worked up a large amount of sweat. There were several swim platforms anchored around the lake. When she came across one, she paddled up to it, climbed out, pulled the kayak up onto the platform so it wouldn't float away, and pulled off her glasses and hat. Sure that nothing would get lost in the water, Sage dove into the water, feeling instant relief from the heat.
She swam around and floated on her back for a few minutes, trying not to think about her conversation with Bucky the night before about snakes. She knew she was far enough out from the shore to really worry.
Starting to feel hungry, Sage put the kayak back in the water and climbed back in, deciding that she was done and ready to head back to the house. She climbed out of the kayak and onto the dock, and pulled it out of the water. She pulled it into the grass and turned it upside down. Her arms were tired, and she was hungry, so she left it.
On her way up the steps, Sage removed her hat, and pulled her hair down to shake out the lake water. She kicked her shoes off and left them on the deck in the sun to dry out. Her clothes and hair were wet, but her skin was dry, so she didn't worry about dripping water onto the floor in the house.
Sage prioritized food above a shower, and went straight to the fridge.
"Where the hell did you go?" Bucky asked from the couch, causing Sage to jump for the second time that morning. She dropped the jar of jam she was holding back onto the shelf, making a loud clanging noise. Bucky burst into laughter satisfied that he scared her.
"Jesus!" Sage swore, turning to stare accusingly at Bucky. He did nothing to hide his amusement. Sage picked the jam back up and closed the refrigerator door forcefully.
"You and Steve need little cat bells," Sage said, pointing a finger at him over the kitchen island. She opened a loaf of bread, pulled out two slices, and spread jam on both pieces.
"So you're jumpy and easily scared?" he guessed. Sage mashed both pieces of bread together in a sandwich. "You're not even going to toast that?"
"All I want is to stuff my stomach with empty carbs," she answered, taking a large bite of the jam sandwich.
"So when you're hung over, you go out and exercise, then have your hangover meal?" he asked a bit incredulously.
"Is that OK with you?" she asked challengingly as she strode over to the living area, stopping a few feet in front of him. She held the sandwich in one hand, and placed the other on her protruding hip. She smirked down at him, waiting for a smartass response.
"Nah, I'm cool with it," he smiled charmingly back up at her.
"I'm going to take a shower now. Is that alright?" she teased.
"By yourself?" he joked cheekily. He was such a flirt.
"You seem busy, or else I'd invite you up," she shot back, turning to climb the stairs. She was very tempted to look back and see his reaction, but willed herself to keep her eyes ahead of her. Sage returned to her room to find Sharon fast asleep. She grabbed clean clothes and took a nice, long shower.
As a door closed upstairs, Steve came through the front door. He found Bucky in the living area, smiling to himself, looking down at his phone.
"What has you so happy?" Steve asked, going straight to the kitchen for water. He had just come back from a run and was dripping sweat. After taking a large gulp of cold water, he ripped off a paper towel from the roll and wiped his face and neck off.
"Nothing," Bucky answered innocently. Steve knew his best friend well enough to know that it wasn't just "nothing." But he let the subject rest and went upstairs to shower and change.
After lunch, Sage and Sharon pulled lounge chairs down to the dock to lie out in the sun. Steve joined them, though opted to read in the shade of the covered portion. After slathering on sunscreen, Sharon laid out on her back in her swimsuit, holding her arms out from her sides to get the best tan coverage. Sage lay on her stomach, folded her arms and used them as a headrest. Sage didn't much care for tans, and wore shorts and a tee shirt. She fell asleep within minutes.
Sage was jolted awake by someone tickling the bottom of her foot. She kicked her leg out on reflex, and her foot connected with Clint's stomach. He nearly lost his balance and fell off the side of the dock, but recovered in time.
"Woah, watch it!" he yelled.
"You should've fallen in," a pretty girl with long brown hair deadpanned. Sage had never met Laura, Clint's girlfriend, but she felt safe in assuming that this was her.
Still a little confused, Sage looked around the dock. Sharon had pulled on a gauzy cover-up dress and was standing at the beginning of the dock with Natasha. Steve was standing next to her lounge, moving to greet Clint. They must have just arrived.
"Sorry he woke you up. I'm Laura," the pretty girl apologized for her boyfriend's behavior and reached over Sharon's abandoned lounge, holding out her hand. Sage reached out to take it with a smile.
"I'm Sage. It's good to finally meet you," Sage replied warmly.
"I thought we were here to party? Why is everyone asleep?" Clint asked as he shook Steve's hand.
"Was Bucky asleep?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, he's passed out on the couch," Clint answered.
"How come he gets to sleep?" Sage whined. She was feeling groggy and a little fried from being in the sun for god knows how long.
"Because I don't have a death wish," Clint replied with a wry chuckle.
"It's not a good idea to wake him up," Steve added.
"Babe, let's go change. I want to get in the water," Laura said, reaching out her hand for Clint to take. She led him up the dock to where Natasha and Sharon were talking, and the four continued up the steps to the house. Sage and Steve trailed after them.
By the time everyone got inside, Bucky was awake and sitting up on the couch, rubbing his face and raking his long hair back out of his face.
"Did you guys go too hard last night, and that's why everyone is dragging ass?" Natasha asked pointedly, grabbing her small leather bag, ready to follow Sharon up the stairs to be her bed. Natasha would share the green room with Sage and Sharon, taking the third twin bed in the room. Sharon had Clint and Laura in the only room with one queen bed, or the yellow room, which was decorated with more floral patterns than should have been allowed in one room. Whenever Scott and Sam showed up, they would have the kids room. The kids room had no real decorative motif, and had three sets of bunk beds to choose from.
"Sage peer pressured us into it," Bucky joked.
"Yeah, I told them that they ain't cool unless they drink," Sage played along, exaggerating her slight accent. To her, she didn't have one. At least, not compared to a lot of other Texans she knew with way thicker accents.
"She make you drink moonshine?" Clint laughed.
"Yeah, I saved you some," Sage answered with a wink. Clint pulled a face, and followed the girls upstairs to drop his bag and change.
"I guess we're going down to the water," Steve told Bucky. He was ready, wearing a tee shirt over his swim shorts.
"I'm good," Bucky replied. Sage was confused. She was starting to realize that Bucky had absolutely no interest in any of the water activities, even the hot tub. Steve sat down on the couch opposite Bucky, content to just keep his friend company.
Sage felt compelled to sit down with Steve, in a show of solidarity. She didn't know what she was showing solidarity for, but she sensed that it was an opportunity to lend support.
"There's a shit load of games in there," Sage suggested, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to an armoire near the fireplace.
"You don't want to go down to the lake?" Steve asked, turning to Sage, a bit surprised by her actions.
"I've been down there all day," she answered with a shrug.
"You might miss out on Clint throwing someone in the water," Bucky tried to joke, but Sage could sense a twinge of discomfort in his tone. She could tell she was throwing the two off.
"I'm sure there will be a repeat performance later this weekend," Sage smiled, persevering through the unexpected awkwardness. "Besides, there's a pretty decent hiking trail somewhere around here that I want to try."
"Sharon mentioned that. She said it takes you to a cliff with a pretty good view," Steve said, looking to Bucky to try and gauge his interest.
"Y'all should come!" Sage suggested, putting her hands on her knees and scooting to the edge of the couch cushion in excitement. Bucky smiled, amused by her reaction. Steve smiled at Bucky's own reaction.
"Yeah, sounds cool," Bucky agreed.
Clint came barreling down the stairs, followed by Laura. Both were dressed and ready for the lake. Sharon and Natasha came down a second later. Natasha wore a sheer white dress over her black bikini, large black sunglasses, and an even larger floppy black sunhat.
"Trying to avoid the paparazzi?" Bucky teased Natasha.
"More like trying not to look like a sun-damaged cowboy in ten years," Natasha bit back.
"Sage, when you come down, bring a very large pitcher of margaritas!" Sharon called to her roommate as she moved to follow Clint, Laura, and Natasha outside.
"We're actually going hiking. I'll make you a batch now, though," Sage replied, standing to get started on the drink order.
"You three?" Sharon asked, caught off guard, stopping dead in her tracks. Everyone else paused in the door.
"I actually wouldn't mind swimming a bit. You two go ahead," Steve said to Bucky and Sage, standing from his seat as well. "I'll make drinks. You guys go."
"I'll help you," Sharon smiled at Steve, breaking off from the lake-bound group to help Steve play bartender. "Do you remember how to get there?" Sharon turned her attention to Sage.
"Yep," she answered, popping the P and smiling.
"OK, I guess we'll see you at dinner?" Sharon asked Bucky and Sage. Bucky shrugged and looked to Sage for an answer. He didn't know how long the trail was, but he didn't really care either.
"If we're not, call the search party," Sage joked. "I'm gonna go put on shoes and get my keys," she told Bucky and went upstairs.
"I need shoes, too," Bucky announced, and followed Sage upstairs.
After locating her keys and slipping on a pair of socks and her almost dried out shoes, Sage met back up with Bucky in the sitting area. He had taken off his hoody, and wore dark gray basketball shorts, black sneakers, and a black long sleeve tee shirt. Sage realized he wore a lot of dark colors, but they suited him. They really fit in with the dark and broody, "I have long hair and don't care what you think" air about him.
Bucky followed Sage downstairs, where Steve and Sharon were laughing while making different drinks. Apparently Clint, Laura, and Natasha had given them individual drink orders. Bucky grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator behind Sharon and Steve, then followed Sage outside to her 4Runner.
It was only a couple of miles down the road to the trailhead. Sage parked the car in the shade, and she and Bucky got out, leaving their phones in the cup holder. Sage lifted her shirt a bit to clip her keys to the waistband of her shorts. Bucky pulled a black elastic hair tie off of his wrist, held it between his teeth, gathered his long hair, and tied it off into a messy ponytail. As big of a fan as Sage was of the long hair, she might have been an even bigger fan of his long hair tied back.
Sage led the way on the narrow trail, Bucky following close behind her. The trail wasn't very steep, but had quite a few switchbacks.
"If you could be any animal, what would you be?" Sage asked, growing tired of the silence and trying to break the ice.
"Be an animal?" he repeated, unsure of where she was going.
"I'd be a dog, probably," she said. "Or maybe a hawk or something, so I could fly around and get the best views," she added. She looked expectantly over her shoulder at Bucky, waiting for his answer.
"Um, I don't know, I haven't thought about that," he said.
"Maybe a bear?" She looked back over her shoulder to see his confused expression. "They get to eat, and eat, and eat, then sleep through winter. That's a pretty sweet gig," she explained.
"That doesn't sound half bad," he said with a chuckle. "Being a dog doesn't seem so bad either. Lay around the house all day and get your belly rubbed?" he continued. Sage smiled, finally getting him going.
"Yeah, but then some vet will chop your balls off," Sage laughed.
"Maybe not a dog," he laughed loudly, not expecting Sage's glibness.
"What's your favorite color?" Sage asked, changing the topic.
"Blue," he answered simply without much thought. "Yours?"
"Yellow. Or green," she answered, having to think a little.
"Yellow?" he questioned.
"Yeah, like yellow daisies," she offered. Bucky made note of that bit of information. He had a feeling that if he played this right, it would come in handy sooner or later.
"What did you want to be when you grew up?" Bucky asked, catching on to Sage's gimmick and beating her to the punch of the next question.
"An artist," she answered simply.
"Is that why your major is art history?" he asked, trying to connect some dots.
"Kind of," she said with a shrug.
"Do you draw or paint? Steve's pretty good at drawing. I thought he was going to go to art school for a while," Bucky said conversationally.
"I never would have guessed that," Sage chuckled at the thought of Steve in art school. He would stick out like a sore thumb. He didn't smoke excessively or wear nearly enough black.
"I wanted to be an MMA fighter," Bucky offered wistfully.
"Really?" Sage said disbelievingly, stopping and turning to look at him dubiously.
"Well, when I was really little, I wanted to be in the WWE," he said. Sage burst into laughter, trying to imagine Bucky watching the theatrical wrestling matches.
"Oh my god, tiny little speedo and all?" she teased.
"Some of them wear pants and full outfits," he defended.
"Like The Rock?" she continued, still laughing.
"And you wanted to be Picasso?" he countered. Though he had to admit that her childhood dream wasn't nearly as embarrassing. Sage's laughter faded into a wistful smile.
"I wanted to be like my mom, actually," she corrected.
"She an artist?" he asked interestedly.
"Yeah, she was a painter," she supplied. Bucky noticed the past tense and wondered if she was either deceased or retired. He wasn't sure how to ask, and wondered if maybe he should change the topic to avoid upsetting Sage.
"She was really good. She had stuff in galleries all over the country. She died when I was 13," Sage said, solving Bucky's dilemma for him. Bucky didn't detect a mournful tone, it seemed more like a statement of facts.
"That's pretty cool," he said lamely. He regretted not coming up with something nicer or cooler to say. Sage smiled anyway, then started walking again. Bucky followed.
"I took classes, but it wasn't for me. And I've always been a big reader, and I don't think anyone reads as much as a history major," she continued, joking a bit. She smiled reassuringly over her shoulder at him. She knew talking about dead parents was awkward territory and wanted to reassure Bucky that she was OK with it, that he didn't upset her. But she did want to change the subject.
"If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?" she asked.
"A full Thanksgiving dinner," he said, catching the hint.
"Canned or homemade cranberry sauce?" Sage tested.
"Homemade," he said confidently, an unspoken duh punctuating the statement.
"Good answer." They fell into companionable silence.
"So now that you've met Sharon's friends, do you regret transferring?" Bucky asked a few minutes later, breaking the silence.
"Are you kidding? I'm already a million times happier than I was at TMU," she replied, thinking back to how much she hated her old school.
"Really?" he pressed her to continue.
"I only went to TMU for my dad, so it should have been obvious to me that I would hate it," Sage supplied.
"You don't get along with your dad?" Bucky guessed.
"I wouldn't say we don't get along," she mused. "We're just… strangers to each other," she finally added, trying to come up with good, simple wording to describe the relationship.
"Do you not know him?" he asked. He realized he was in dangerous territory and that it wasn't any of his business. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."
"No, it's fine," she assured him. "My parents were married and we all lived together, but he was really into his job and he just wasn't around much," she answered simply and truthfully.
"I'm sorry," Bucky offered.
"You're just saying that because you don't know what else to say," Sage laughed and turned to face him. Not expecting the stop, Bucky almost ran her over.
"Kind of," he laughed with her, holding onto her upper arm to steady himself on the trail.
The pair continued on, changing the topic to sports. Bucky liked baseball and the Dodgers. Sage liked the Rangers, but she enjoyed basketball and the Mavericks a lot more. Neither one really cared too much for football.
"We made it!" Sage cried as they finally reached the end of the trail, cresting the top of a modest cliff. She climbed on top of a grouping of rocks and threw her hands into the air triumphantly, looking out over the water. Bucky laughed at her display, causing Sage to turn around and put her hands on her hips in a playful pout. Bucky climbed up next to her.
"What a view," he said lamely. They were maybe 30 feet above the water.
"It's no El Capitan, but it's better than staring at a dumpster fire," Sage smiled up at Bucky.
"That it's not, and I've seen a couple so I would know," he said.
"You city folk," Sage teased.
"Do you say 'howdy'?" Bucky teased back.
"I'd be lying if I said no," she admitted. They both laughed, and climbed around the rocks for a few minutes.
Bucky sat down on one of the larger rocks to appreciate the view, and get ready for the hike back down to the car. Sage kept exploring, and saw a little flash of green near her foot. Sage crouched down to get a better look at the lizard. Without a second thought, she gently picked it up, its little body between her thumb and forefinger. It wriggled around, and Sage held out her open hand underneath in case she dropped it.
Lizard in hand, Sage carefully stepped over to where Bucky was sitting. She squatted next to him and held the lizard out in front of him.
"Howdy," she said in a high voice.
"Jesus!" Bucky swore, startled when he realized she was holding a lizard. "The fuck is that?"
"I think it's an anole," she answered smartly, holding the lizard closer to her face to examine it. She shrugged, and gently set it back down on the rock, watching as it scurried away.
"Is your dad the Crocodile Hunter or something?" Bucky joked, watching Sage interact with the lizard, not at all afraid of it. After she spoke so candidly about stumbling across snakes, and picking up the frog the night before, Bucky was still surprised that a little lizard didn't freak her out. Most girls would be, even he kind of was. Not that he was afraid of the lizard, but he certainly didn't want to hold it.
"He was just a little thing," Sage shrugged.
"You're not what I expected," Bucky mused, turning a bit to look at Sage.
"What did you expect?" she asked, not quite sure what he meant. She couldn't read his tone and didn't know where exactly he was going.
"I don't know, I thought you'd be like Sharon," he started. "Not that I don't like Sharon, she's great," he saved himself before Sage could start a defense of probably her best friend.
"Please don't say I'm not like other girls because I picked up a lizard," Sage warned. "I hate it when guys say that. I've never met a girl that's like any other girl." Sage almost started a rant, and stopped herself before she made Bucky uncomfortable.
"I just meant that when Sharon told us her friend was transferring, and that we all had to be nice to her, I didn't expect it to be so easy," he explained with a shrug. Sage didn't know how to respond, so she kept quiet. It seemed like he was trying to compliment her, but almost completely missed the mark.
A few more minutes of silence passed by. Sage couldn't figure out what to say to either continue the conversation or start a new one, and Bucky was kicking himself. Usually it was Steve who stuck his foot in his mouth, and he was the smooth talker of the duo.
After a while they finally decided to head back. In silence.
"So what's your sign?" Sage asked, startling Bucky.
"Uh, pisces I think," he answered. "Does that mean anything?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "What was your favorite birthday party?"
"My thirteenth. Me and Steve in Coney Island with a crisp twenty dollar bill," he answered easily, smiling at the memory. Sage smiled too, at the sound of his voice.
"You?" he asked.
"My birthday is October thirtieth, so every year I had a costume party."
"That's pretty awesome," he chuckled.
On the dock at the house, Clint, Natasha, and Laura had easily settled into weekend mode. Clint, Steve, and Sharon jumped off the dock and floated around on inflatable pool toys. Natasha and Laura lounged in the shade, sipping from red Solo cups.
"So Clint tells me you have a master plan," Laura started, turning to Natasha who smirked guiltily. She had taken off the ridiculously large hat, but kept the large sunglasses.
"If Steve doesn't get his shit together by the end of the semester, then I'm dropping out and living in a cave," Natasha sighed. She had been acting as Steve's unofficial matchmaker for a while now, with little luck. But she had a good feeling about Sharon.
"I'll be surprised if it doesn't happen this weekend," Laura remarked, watching her boyfriend and friends in the water. It was obvious to everyone that Steve and Sharon were attracted to each other, and nobody could quite figure out why they wouldn't act on it.
"What do you think about Sage?" Laura asked, looking back to Natasha. She knew the redhead had an opinion, and she was dying to hear it.
"She seems nice," Natasha shrugged.
"Is there a but?" Laura pushed.
"Not yet," Natasha answered simply. So far she had a good impression of the newcomer. "I'm waiting to see what happens."
"With Bucky?" Laura guessed. There was definitely a vibe between the two, at least according to Clint. Natasha smiled conspiratorially. "I wonder if 'going for a hike' is code for something?"
"One can only hope. He needs to get laid like, yesterday," Natasha said, then took a long sip of her drink.
"I don't know him very well, but you're not wrong there," Laura agreed.
"Will you guys quit gossiping and get in the water?" Clint yelled from his raft.
"I don't get in water that I can't see the bottom of," Natasha yelled back.
"It's a lake, not Turks and Caicos!" Steve admonished.
Finally home and dripping with sweat, Bucky and Sage stepped out onto the deck, ice cold beers in hand. The yelling coming from the dock pulled them down the steps to the water.
"How was the hike?" Sharon shouted from the water.
"Hot as hell!" Sage answered. Clint pulled himself out of the water and sat on the edge of the dock.
"The water sure feels good," Clint said, hoping to make it sound enticing, directing his attention to his girlfriend. Laura still sat firmly planted in the lounge chair next to Natasha.
"Don't even think about it," Laura warned as Clint climbed to his feet. She knew him well enough to know what he had on his mind as he approached her chair.
"Come on, babe," he coaxed, now standing over her, dripping water. Laura sighed, setting down her drink and resigning herself to the inevitable. Clint picked her up easily, trotted to the edge of the dock, and threw her in. He jumped in after her.
"If anyone tries that on me, I'll kick their ass," Natasha warned the group. Everyone knew she was capable, so nobody even entertained the thought.
Sharon clumsily climbed out of the water and trotted up to Sage, wrapping her arms around her to get her wet.
"Come on," she cried, grabbing Sage's arms and trying to pull her towards the water.
"You're so drunk right now," Sage laughed, easily resisting Sharon.
"Help me!" Sharon turned to Bucky. He laughed at Sharon's attempts. He'd seen the blonde drop a drunk idiot in a bar before, but she was too drunk and too busy laughing to overpower Sage now. Taking her cue, he stepped over and wrapped his arms around Sage's middle. He lifted her easily.
Sage knew that no matter what, she was going to end up in the water. She was fine with it, but she wouldn't go down without a fight. She wrapped her arms tightly around Bucky's neck, gripping each of her wrists. When Bucky reached the end of the dock and tried to throw her in, he was pulled in after her. The two crashed into the water with a loud splash and a tangle of limbs.
Bucky knew he fell on top of Sage, he hit his head on what might have been her collar bone, and his knee connected with her body, though he didn't know what part. He quickly flipped into crisis management mode and pulled Sage to the surface.
"Fuck, are you OK?" he swore the second they broke the surface. His neck was sore from the force that pulled him down, and his forehead smarted from the smack against Sage's collarbone, but he was overall fine. Sage was too busy laughing hysterically to answer him.
"You guys are idiots," Steve commented dryly. He had swum over to help, but clearly he wasn't needed. Bucky relaxed and released the tension in his shoulders that he didn't realize was even there.
"Oh my god, you're fucking heavy," Sage choked out through her laughter. Sharon was having a fit on the dock.
"Keep this up and I'm going to win a bet," Natasha called from her lounge chair.
"What bet?" Bucky asked dubiously.
"We bet that someone would get seriously injured this weekend," Clint answered.
"How much?" Steve asked.
"Fifty," Natasha replied. "Keep this shit up and I might want to up it."
"I'll probably be the one to win your bet, so I think I should get a cut," Sage bargained. She was always the one to get hurt, so she might as well make something off of it.
"In case you guys forgot, I'm not driving anyone to the hospital," Steve repeated. He had spent way too many hours of his life in hospitals, emergency rooms, and doctor's offices for his own injuries or Bucky's.
"Are you listening, Sage?" Sharon directed her attention to her roommate.
"I make no promises. I attract trouble," Sage replied, swimming over to the edge of the dock, hanging off of the edge next to Sharon.
"You're going to be covered in bruises by the time we get home," Sharon laughed, reaching down to push the sopping wet hair out of Sage's face.
Sage pulled herself up onto the dock to sit next to Sharon. Spending the afternoon on the water in the sun, fueled by alcohol, and surrounded by friends felt pretty damn good. It felt just as good to realize that this strange assemblage of people really felt like friends already. A small nagging part of Sage's mind worried that she would feel awkward the whole holiday weekend, that she wouldn't fit in very well with Sharon's friends. She knew she got along well with Clint from all the time they spent together at work, but everyone else was kind of a toss up. Next to Clint, the only other person she had spent any amount of quality time with was Bucky.
