(Author's Note - Major spoilers for Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Slight spoilers for all Captain America movies, Infinity War, and Endgame. Comments are always welcome. Also posted on AO3 under my user r_n_g_are_dead. Thanks for reading!)
"But don't flirt with my sister," Sam warned after Bucky agreed to spend the night with his family instead of getting a hotel before his flight the following day.
"No," Bucky said with a smile.
"'Cuz if you do I'll have Carlos cut you up and feed you to the fish," Sam threatened.
"Okay," Bucky said. "I'll just keep flirting with you."
"What?" Sam asked, seemingly shocked.
"Wait, what?" Bucky replied, not believing he actually said that out loud.
Sam went into the house to wash up before dinner and saw his sister putting away a place setting.
"What are you doing?" he asked, a confused look plastered across his face.
Sarah gestured around to the pans on the stove and salad that was in the middle of the table. "Getting dinner ready. Tell the boys to wash their hands and be down in five minutes."
"No, I mean why are you putting that plate away?" Sam asked, pointing to what she was holding.
"Bucky left in a hurry," Sarah said with a shrug. "Said something about his therapist. I couldn't tell if he forgot he had a session or if he had to reschedule or whatever. But he won't be here for dinner tonight, so you won't have to get all pissy that there won't be leftovers tomorrow because there will be now."
Though that was a perfect setup for a sassy quip aimed back at his sister, all Sam could do was nod and then head upstairs to relay the dinner countdown to his nephews and remind them to wash their hands. The two boys ran into the bathroom, each trying to get to the sink first.
Sam walked to his room and into his bathroom. He pumped some soap into his hands, turned on the water, and meticulously scrubbed his palms and underneath his fingernails. After turning off the water and wiping his hands dry with the navy hand towel that hung next to the sink, Sam stared at himself in the mirror. He couldn't shake what Bucky had said on the boat.
I'll just keep flirting with you.
What Bucky said had shocked Sam, but not as much as the ease at which he said it.
Sam Wilson was the epitome of tolerant. You kind of had to be when you worked with veterans. (Or, at least, you should be. Close-minded folks had no place working with emotionally vulnerable people.) For some folks, he was the only one they trusted with their deepest fears and painful secrets from their time in service. They knew they could tell Sam anything and he would do his best to comfort and support them.
He brought that same level of trust and compassion to his friendships. After meeting Steve Rogers and helping him track down a bunch of cold leads for his childhood best friend-turned HYDRA assassin, Sam became the foremost expert on Captain America and was the only person on the planet (as far as he knew) who knew Steve always regretted he and Bucky were never more than just best friends.
Sam listened as Steve poured his heart out about what never was. How he and Bucky basically grew up together until one day something changed and the love Steve felt for Bucky was more than brotherly. But then Bucky fell off the train and Steve thought he was dead before he ever got a chance to say anything to the man he loved. But when it turned out Bucky was alive—brainwashed, but alive against all odds—Steve had been determined to find him and, at the very least, tell him how he felt all those years.
It was a solid plan, or so Sam thought. But once Steve finally found Bucky, Sam watched as Steve let every opportunity to talk to his once long-lost best friend pass by. He thought maybe they'd hash it out on their way to Siberia since they were by themselves on the quinjet. Or en route to Wakanda before Bucky got the treatment he needed to finally rid himself of the brainwashing. But no. And then Bucky (and Sam, along with half the world) got dusted when Thanos snapped his fingers. But, miracle of miracles, they all got unblipped and were reunited.
After Tony's funeral, and with all the heightened emotion flowing through everyone mourning the loss of their friend and colleague, Sam thought Steve was going to seize the moment and say something to Bucky. They had both been through their own separate hells and back and Sam was there, ready to support Steve as he told Bucky what had been on his mind for more than 80 years. But Steve surprised the hell out of everyone by saying nothing and instead going back in time to marry Peggy Carter—someone Sam knew Steve had known surrounding when he was injected with the super serum, but never once was brought up as the love of his life who had gotten away.
Bucky put up a tough front that he was fine with the decision Steve made to have a whole life in the past without him after finally having been reunited, but he never said anything to Sam about it.
Come to think of it, Bucky never really said much to Sam about his personal life in general.
Bucky wasn't the friendliest person and generally stared and scowled at people. But Sam had seen Bucky smile around Steve and touch him on the arm or back and give him hugs. Bucky annoyed the heck out of Steve and teased him. (Sam saw Steve do the same right back to Bucky.) Bucky smiled around most of the folks from Wakanda. He smiled at Sarah and her kids. And, sometimes, he even smiled at Sam. And touched him on the arm or back and even once gave him a hug. Bucky annoyed the heck out of Sam and teased him.
And Sam did the same right back to Bucky.
"Aw, hell," Sam said as he snapped out of it. He went downstairs and had dinner with his sister and nephews, acting uncharacteristically quiet through the meal to the point where his sister asked if he was feeling all right. Sam said he was and she didn't pry.
Sam did the dishes without being asked and then took the shield outside. He sat there staring at it, hoping answers for questions he didn't know how to ask would just come to him.
Bucky scrolled through all 342 channels his hotel room television had to offer and couldn't find even one thing that looked remotely engaging enough to hold his attention. Why weren't better things on at 1:13 in the morning?
Frustrated, he clicked off the television and picked up his phone. He had downloaded a bunch of books from the New York Public Library through an app and was trying to read his way through a list he found of the greatest books from 1950-1999. He figured once he was done with those, there would probably be a list for 2000-onward. Not everything was his cup of tea, but he genuinely enjoyed Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (1961). In his eyes, there weren't enough Science Fiction titles on the list, so he was grateful when one popped up.
Bucky flopped down on his back and wiggled around on the bed's uncomfortably starchy sheets. Just as he was starting the first page of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), his phone rang. Bucky was so surprised to see Sam's name and picture pop up that he dropped his phone on his face.
Flustered, Bucky picked up the phone and answered it, remembering the last thing he had said on the boat before getting out of there as fast as he could. "Calling a little late, Wilson."
"Can we talk?"
"We are talking," Bucky replied. "You literally just called me and I'm saying words to you. And now you're probably going to say words back at me."
Bucky couldn't see Sam, but he could envision the annoyed look on his face.
"Look… are you still around, or did you already go back to New York?"
"Still around," Bucky said slowly. "Why?"
"Meet me at that diner you said you hated."
Bucky exhaled though his nose. He could so very easily say no. "What time?"
"Can you be there in 20?"
"Sure," Bucky said. "See ya."
He ended the call and angrily threw his phone down toward his feet. It's not like he thought he'd never have to talk to or see Sam again. He just thought he'd have more time before he had to do it.
Sam was sitting alone at a booth in the diner's window when Bucky showed up. The metal armed man gave Sam a halfhearted wave as he approached and Sam noticed right away that Bucky wasn't wearing gloves. It was something he started doing recently and Sam wondered if it was because Bucky was more comfortable in his surroundings or he finally just stopped caring. Nearly everyone knew who he was. It wasn't like his identity was a secret anymore.
A waitress came by as soon as Bucky sat down across from Sam and offered him coffee. He smiled and flipped his cup over, graciously accepting. She topped off Sam's cup and told them to let her know if they needed anything. They were the only two customers in the place and she knew Sam and his family so she didn't feel guilty reading behind the counter when her attention wasn't required.
Sam poured a little milk into his coffee and stirred it. Bucky took a sip from his without adding anything to it. Neither said anything, but both stared at the other, silently wishing the other would.
Shockingly, Bucky broke first. "You asked to talk, so talk."
Sam shifted around in his seat. "If I knew something about Steve from before the war that you might not have known, would you want to know?"
If you would have offered Bucky a hundred guesses as to what Sam wanted to talk about at almost 2am, he would not have guessed Steve Rogers secrets from before the war. That's because there were no Steve Rogers secrets from before the war. Bucky knew that guy like the back of his hand. Well, until he went back in time without telling anyone why. But still… before the war? Please.
Bucky scoffed. "It's cute you think you know something about Steve from then that I didn't." He heard himself say cute and wished he would have used literally any other word that could not be mistaken for flirting now that he had audibly admitted he had been—and planned to continue—flirting with Sam.
Sam let the comment slide and repeated himself. "Would you want to know?"
"Sure," Bucky said with a flustered shrug. "Why not?"
It took Sam a few seconds, but when he spoke, he spoke clearly and to the point. "He was in love with you."
Sam's words hung in the air like a heavy cloud and Bucky's eyes dropped to the table as he tried to give himself a moment to process what Sam said.
Oh. So there was one Steve Rogers secret from before the war.
"He just… he told you that?" Bucky asked, still focusing on the table. "When?"
"When we were looking for you. After the whole D.C. thing."
Bucky nodded, looking up at Sam. "So he told you that and then that's it? He, uh… couldn't tell me himself once we were back together?"
Sam exhaled loudly through his nose. "He kept saying he was going to. But when he left like he did and then gave me the shield, I think…"
"Think what, Sam," Bucky said angrily but quietly so as not to attract the attention of the waitress. "He had stopped loving me?"
Sam shook his head. "No, man… I think… I think he got scared. I think he took the easy way out."
Bucky huffed out a humorless laugh. "I was scared too, ya know. Boys weren't supposed to love other boys like that. It was a sin. A sin. That's what they told us at church. I thought I could get away with it, though. Being a sinner." Bucky grabbed a napkin and started tearing it into tiny pieces. "See, I liked girls too, Sam. I'd take 'em dancing. Kiss 'em under street lamps so people would see me. I liked girls. But I loved Steve." Bucky clenched his jaw and looked at Sam with a pleading look in his eyes.
Sam nodded slowly and took a sip of coffee. "So you didn't tell him either?"
There was that humorless laugh again. "And when was the right time to do that, Sam?" Bucky started counting off on his fingers. "Not in the '40s. Not when I was in Wakanda getting un-brainwashed—so I could be with Steve as myself and not a HYRDA puppet, by the way. Not while I was a fucking pile of dust for five years." Bucky sighed. "After Tony's funeral seemed to be the best time, but Steve just peaced out outta nowhere and married a lady he knew for all of three months 80 years ago. He got to start over and live his life and I…"
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Bucky cut him off.
"You know what, it's fine. What's done is done, right? If it was meant to be, it would be, or whatever other fortune cookie quote you want to live your life by. He made his choice." Bucky laughed. "And my choice got made for me… Man, I wish I had that time stone to go back and tell you no, I don't want to know any pre-war secrets about Steve. But he took that too, didn't he?"
The torn pile of napkin pieces in front of Bucky resembled a small mountain. Sam's goal wasn't to make Bucky upset, but it was a logical byproduct of the truth. He felt Bucky had to know, though.
Bucky sighed. "Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?" (Again with the pleading eyes.)
It was a potentially loaded question and Sam's answer in his head was no, but he had to let Bucky figure out his feelings about Steve before they could even start to have a conversation about what Bucky said on the boat.
"For now," Sam said carefully.
Bucky scowled and nodded in quick little jerks before quickly getting up and leaving Sam behind in the diner. Sam watched his angry friend hurriedly back out of his parking space in his rental car and speed off into the night.
Sam pulled out his wallet and put two $20s next to his coffee cup. He waved goodbye to the waitress and wished her a good night as he left.
In his truck, Sam sat quietly for a few minutes before finally putting his key in the ignition. He drove back to his sister's place in silence hoping Bucky would forgive him someday.
Back in his hotel room, Bucky was looking for something to break that wasn't his heart. He didn't like that his first reaction to how he was feeling was wanting to destroy something. It would be zero effort to shred the bed linens or punch a hole through the wall. He could pull all the legs off the table as easily as one would pluck petals from a flower.
In the end, he threw a pillow across the room and slunk down in a corner to cry. The lady at the front desk had been so nice when he checked in and he didn't want to make trouble for her if he broke something. Plus, there was always the chance someone saw him coming in and out of the hotel and it would be bad press for him and the Avengers if he did something as stupid as trash a hotel room.
So he cried. At times the tears were from anger for Steve leaving like he did. Other times they were from complete and utter sadness for a life he never got to live. Bucky let himself feel everything he worked so hard to keep from literally everyone else. He knew this was the kind of stuff he was probably supposed to work through with his therapist, but there was no way he'd be able to tell her all that and still be able to look her in the eye.
He had told her about Sam, though, which, in hindsight, was probably why she pulled that "couple's therapy" bullshit with them.
Bucky had told her how Sam had been the only one to try to talk to him after everything that happened when they got unblipped. How Sam was the only person in the Avengers that he mostly trusted because Steve had trusted him too. How Sam deserved to have the shield because he was a good person and was good at helping people even without any sort of super serum. That he just helped people because it was the right thing to do and not because he wanted credit for it (even though when it was just the two of them out on a mission, Sam would joke that they should be getting Stark-level paychecks for all the shit they saved the world from). Sure, Redwing was stupid and Sam used it just as much for bothering Bucky as for helping on assignments, but even hating that robot bird took a backseat to how grateful Bucky was to have someone nearby he could count on to have his back. He hadn't really felt that since his days with the Howling Commandos. Since his days with Steve.
Though Sam shared a lot of the good qualities Steve had, one thing was for sure—Sam was not Steve. Sam said everything that was on his mind and always called people out on their shit. He treated authorities with the amount of respect they had earned, not demanded. He never downplayed what HYDRA had done to him or the amount of work Bucky had put in to free himself from the codewords. If anything, Sam was one of the more encouraging people after he was pardoned for all his past crimes, knowing Bucky didn't have a choice back then but that he did now.
Bucky's tears had dried up, but he was still sitting in the corner on the floor. The clock on his phone indicated it was 4:37am. His flight wasn't for another 12 hours or so, so he had a little time. First he'd try to get some sleep. Then he'd make an unscheduled stop on his Winter Solder Apology Tour.
Sam flung the shield as hard as he could toward the padding he affixed to one of the trees in Sarah's backyard. He still couldn't get over how light the shield actually was. Steve had thrown it as easily as a frisbee. And while it was a little heavier than that to Sam, it didn't weigh nearly a fraction as much as he thought it would.
The shield bounced off the padding of the tree he was aiming for, ricocheted to another padded tree, and then came flying back toward Sam like it knew who it was supposed to go to. He didn't so much catch it, as accept it onto his arm like it was a magnet and he was magnetic.
So it really caught Sam by surprise when, on his next toss, the shield bounced off of two padded trees before flying past him and into Bucky's outstretched hand.
Bucky slid the shield onto his arm and walked toward Sam. "I shouldn't have walked out on you at the diner like that. You didn't tell me what you told me to be mean. I owe you an apology." Bucky took the shield and handed it to Sam. "I'm sorry."
Sam took the shield from Bucky and held it in his hands. "Thank you."
"Did you tell me that because of what I said to you yesterday?" Sam nodded. "Look, I'm sorry about that too. I could lie and say it was a joke. I mean, it kind of was, but I also meant it." Bucky shook his head and sighed. "You know, I thought that shield was the closest thing I had left to a family. Left of Steve. I mean, I have his notebook. But that shield… with you," Bucky made himself make eye contact with Sam. "It's still with family."
With a sad smile, Bucky turned to leave, but Sam stopped him.
"Hey, wait." Sam furrowed his brow. "Look, I knew for years how Steve felt about you, but up until yesterday I didn't really think that you knowing would have made a difference to you since he was gone. But after you said what you said… I thought that maybe it would?"
Bucky nodded slowly. "Well… it's hard to have closure about something that never got a chance to happen. But I'm still glad you told me even though it hurt like hell. Because it's validation, I guess? That what I was feeling was real?" He shrugged. "Proof that I'm a whole person again?" Bucky gave a sad chuckle and held up his vibranium arm. "Whole-ish person?"
Sam flung the shield at a tree and it bounced back straight toward Bucky's left arm. "Whole person," Sam said. "Even with your robot arm and robot brain. As long as your heart is still yours, you're a whole person."
Bucky took the shield off his arm and threw it toward a tree. It ricocheted off two other trees before flying back towards Sam, who cradled the catch as the shield slid onto his arm.
"Better watch it, Samuel, or I'll think you're flirting with me," Bucky joked awkwardly.
Sam shrugged and concentrated hard as he flung the shield toward a tree. "Maybe I am?"
Bucky's eyebrows flew up. "Wha— uhhhhhhhhng" The shield had bounced off of two padded trees and hit Bucky square in the chest. It fell to the ground, spinning a bit around its edge before settling in the patchy grass and dirt. The force of the shield wasn't enough to knock Bucky off his feet, but he clutched his chest and bent over, the wind nearly knocked out of him. He knew nothing was broken, but he was sure to have a bruise there for a couple days at least.
"You okay, man?" Sam asked, reaching for Bucky instead of the shield.
Bucky coughed once (ow) and nodded. "Yep." He stood up and winced. "Never better." His brow furrowed as he squinted at Sam. "So, you're fucking with me, right? I apologized, so now we're back to picking on each other?"
Sam bent over and picked up the shield. "This might surprise you," he said as he handed the shield to Bucky. "But, uh… no."
That did surprise Bucky. It surprised him very much. "Oh."
"Yeah…" Sam said quietly. "After you left yesterday, I had a bit of a come-to-Jesus moment about some things and I, uh… you ever, uh… you ever heard of Schitt's Creek?"
Bucky nodded. "I've seen it." Sam was visibly shocked by this. "What?" Bucky asked, offended. "I have Netflix."
"Fine," Sam said, flustered. "Well, you know how there's a bunch of different guys on that show?"
"Yes…" Bucky said slowly.
"Well, I always thought I was a Ted," Sam said. "But I think maybe I'm more like David? That maybe it's not the, um, the wine's label that matters?"
"And you figured that out since yesterday?" Bucky asked, genuinely curious. "That you like all wines?"
"Maybe not all wines," Sam laughed. "But there is this aged bionic-armed wine that is annoying as hell that I realized I probably have wanted to try for a while except I… I wasn't being honest with myself because I was too focused on how his childhood best friend felt about him to realize that I kinda feel that way about him too."
"Oh," Bucky said softly.
"Look… the last day has been a lot for both of us and I'm kinda glad you're going to New York so that we can both process whatever we need to process on our own for now." Sam gave Bucky a half smile.
Bucky nodded. "Well… uh… good talk?" He held a hand out for Sam to shake.
Sam chuckled and shook it, though he held on to the other man's hand. "You know… Karli won't quit."
"Call me when you have a lead and I'll be there," Bucky said with a sigh. He took his hand out of Sam's and handed him the shield.
Sam nodded. "Just a couple of guys, fighting crime. But, hey, I promise we'll talk more, okay?"
"Whatever you say, Cap." The super soldier smirked and patted Sam on the back before starting to walk toward his rental car. When he was about 30 feet from Sam, Bucky turned around and shouted, "For the record, I'm a Patrick."
Sam ducked his head so Bucky couldn't see the huge smile threatening to spread across his face.
An armored van full of hostages was dangling from scaffolding above, but Sam swooped in and, with the help of his new wings from the Wakandans, was able to push it back up to safety.
Bucky watched from below, beaming with pride as he heard someone in the crowd call Sam "Captain America."
The happy moment was short-lived when some gas bombs went off and blocked their view of Karli and some of the other Flag Smashers. Sam spotted them fleeing with his infrared goggles and told Bucky and Walker to follow him. Bucky relayed the info to Sharon en route. When the three men had to split up, Bucky and Sam gave each other a meaningful look when Bucky peeled off to follow Walker. Neither Sam nor Bucky trusted Walker, but Sam and Bucky trusted each other enough to know that separating themselves would be the best way to ensure Karli was unsuccessful with her mission.
Using the Flag Smashers' app, Bucky and Walker were able to lure some of them to where cops were waiting to arrest them. Sam found Karli just after she shot Sharon. Though they fought, he did his best to reason with her that she should let him help her. She nearly shot him too, but Sharon got to her first. Sam never wanted Karli to die, but she had kept saying that her cause was bigger than her and was at peace with not making it. In all their time dealing with Karli, Sam and Bucky thought she sounded more like Steve than any other bad guy they had fought. Her ideas weren't illogical, but the way she was going about trying to get her way was.
To say Bucky was relieved when he saw Sam fly in with Karli's body in his hands was an understatement. Though upset that Karli ended up dying instead of accepting help and guidance, Bucky was beyond glad to see Sam was unharmed.
As Sam was walking toward Bucky, he was stopped by some of the Senators who had been the targets of the Flag Smashers' attack. They groveled their thanks, telling him that they would be continuing their work and that the terrorists had only set them back a little bit in their plan to relocate people. Though perfectly calm, Sam told them they needed to stop calling Karli and her colleagues terrorists and then launched into an impromptu speech about how the elected officials need to do better.
Bucky's heart swelled listening to Sam put those bureaucratic assholes in their place. He leaned against an ambulance and did his best to take in every word out of Sam's mouth while also kinda ogling this man who can't help but help others.
After he left Sam's sister's house that day, Bucky had some time to think about Steve and Sam and everything else swirling around inside his head. He knew part of him would always love Steve. But Steve was gone. Sam, though… Sam was literally feet away and sticking up for the potential of a country who didn't always have his own back, let alone the backs of generations of people like him who came before. If Bucky didn't already have a crush on Sam, he certainly would have started one right then and there.
When Sam was done, he walked away from the crowd, nodding once at Walker as he headed straight toward Bucky.
"Sorry… I was, uh, texting, and so all I heard was, um, 'a Black guy in stars and stripes,'" Bucky deadpanned. Both he and Sam laughed and then Bucky said softly, "Nice job, Cap."
"Thanks," Sam replied as Bucky reached over and patted him on the back. (Well… shield. Patted Sam on the shield which was on Sam's back.)
They were walking between parked ambulances where no one could see them, so Sam reached for Bucky's hand. He never made contact, though, because they happened upon Sharon, who was leaning against a parked car, bleeding from a bullet wound to her hip. Bucky escorted Sharon away and gave a meaningful parting nod to Sam.
"I didn't forget my promise," Sam called after him, causing Bucky to stop and turn around. Bucky gave Sam a barely noticeable smile and kept walking with Sharon.
Bucky pulled up to the dock in Sam's truck (with a cookies and cream cake on the passenger seat), feeling more alive and wired than he had in years. Decades, even.
He had gotten to Sam's sister's house the day before the Wilson Family Seafood seafood boil/celebration because Sam said he was ready to talk and Bucky was too. After the Flag Smashers ordeal, Bucky knew what he wanted and hoped Sam felt the same. The bone-crushing hug Sam gave him as soon he entered the Wilson household seemed to point toward yes, but it was possible Sam was just flying high on everyone being pumped that he was now officially America's new Star Spangled Man with a Plan.
After saying hello to Sarah and her kids, Bucky was led upstairs by an abnormally relaxed Sam Wilson. Sam took Bucky into his bedroom and shut the door, but then Sam kept walking into the bathroom. Bucky stopped, not sure whether he was supposed to take a seat or follow. When Sam said he was ready to talk, Bucky really thought he had meant talk.
"Just get in here, will ya? It's not for something weird, I promise," Sam called.
Slowly, Bucky made his way into Sam's bathroom gave Sam a nervous smile.
"Sit down," Sam said, gesturing to the toilet.
With a confused look on his face, Bucky sat down, wondering when the not-weird part would kick in.
"Okay, so we're in here for two reasons. One," Sam said as he shut the door, "is we'll actually have some privacy. This is the only place in the house that is entirely off-limits to everyone else. And two…" Sam took a deep breath. "While I was washing my hands in here that day you said what you said on the boat… it was the first time I realized that I had probably accidentally flirted with you before. Steve and you had been pretty open with your touches and your hugs even if you weren't open with your feelings. And you and me had done some of that too, whether we meant to or not. Maybe not as many hugs, but look… I'm not Steve. And I never liked Steve like that. I mean, I loved him because he was my brother, but I feel differently about you. I do like you like that. And I'm sorry it took me longer than it should have to figure that out."
One corner of Bucky's mouth had slid up halfway through Sam's confession and the other corner joined it when Sam said I do like you like that.
The easy thing to do would have been to bust Sam's balls, but, instead, Bucky stood up and wrapped both his arms around Sam, hooking his head over Sam's shoulder. "Good talk," Bucky said softly. "And you hug way better than Steve." The two men laughed as they held onto each other for a little longer. "Can we maybe sit in your room now, though? Or outside? Or somewhere that's not a toilet?"
Sam poked Bucky in the side. Hard.
After grabbing some sodas and a chocolate cake from the fridge, as well as a couple forks, Bucky and Sam made their way out to a picnic table that was far enough away from the house that they could have a modicum of privacy.
As they ate and drank, Bucky sat in awe as Sam told him about the room and statue dedicated to Isaiah Bradley he initiated at the Smithsonian with his newfound Captain America clout. Sam listened intently as Bucky described what it was like to finally tell Yori Nakajima that he (well, the Winter Solder) was responsible for his son's death.
An hour passed. Maybe more. At the sun began to set, both men were full of cake and hope.
Sarah flung open the back door to find her brother and Bucky sitting on one side of a picnic table, knees-to-knees, talking and staring at each other like they were the only two people worth paying attention to.
"HEY!" she yelled, startling them both. "You owe me a cake before the party tomorrow, Sam." Bucky started laughing. "You laugh now, Bucky, but you're the one who's gotta pick it up. You're both on my shit list, FYI."
"Does your sister hate me?" Bucky asked after she went back in the house, slamming the door behind her.
"Nah," Sam said with a smile. "She only entrusts cake-picking-up duty to people she likes."
Bucky nodded, a bashful smile spreading across his face. "I'm glad I'm here."
Sam grabbed Bucky's shoulder. "Me too."
As the sun had almost completely set, Sam and Bucky took their empty bottles and mostly eaten cake into the house. Bucky rinsed out the bottles and washed the forks while Sam apologized to his sister. He smiled when he overheard Sam tell Sarah that, "Bucky and me might be more than just Bucky and me," and she said, "About damn time."
When it came time to call it a night, Sam went upstairs to his room and Bucky crashed on the couch, but not until after the two shared a nervous kiss that they both ended up laughing through because sometimes that's just how first kisses go.
(Their second kiss moments later went much, much better.)
The following morning, Sam called the grocery store's bakery and placed an order for a cake they said they already had in stock, telling them that James Barnes would be there to pick it up. After helping set up for the party, Bucky borrowed Sam's truck with strict instructions from Sarah not to let anything happen to the cake between the store and home. He gave her a gloveless salute, put on his sunglasses, and drove off, smiling to himself the whole way because he felt like part of the family.
He was surprised to see how many people were already at the party when he got back to the dock. The whole trip had taken maybe 25 minutes tops, but the Wilson Family Seafood seafood boil was well underway.
Bucky hopped out of the truck, cake in hand, and a spring in his step. AJ and Cass made a beeline for him, pretending to attack the super soldier. Bucky bobbed and weaved, pretending to attack back with the cake, laughing the whole time. "I gotta get this to your mom, guys, or I'm gonna get in trouble."
The kids let him go, knowing their mom meant business, and they followed him as he brought the cake over to the dessert table. He whipped off his sunglasses to greet Sarah and the others seated around the table, apologizing right away for the cake not being homebaked and saying it was his fault and how no one was to blame Sarah.
Bucky easily found Sam among the crowd and have him a quick hug. "I stick out like a sore thumb," he said with a chuckle.
"Nah, there's a whole table of old guys," Sam said in his ear. "I'll introduce you later." Bucky laughed.
The air smelled like buttery corn on the cob, roasted crawfish, and fresh crab. Everyone was talking over each other and every now and then a huge burst of laughter would erupt from a table. While Sam was busy taking pictures with anyone who wanted one, Bucky and Sarah found themselves talking with a bunch of kids from the neighborhood.
Well… Bucky and Sarah talked (mostly about things they found mutually annoying about Sam, but also how Sam was kind of the best guy they both knew). The kids took turns hanging off of Bucky's arm. When they realized his arm could hold more than one kid at once, they made him get on top of a table so multiple kids could have a turn at a time. Bucky wasn't used to being around that many youths, but when he saw none of them saw him as the Winter Soldier—just Sam Wilson's friend Bucky with the Black Panther arm—he was fine with them climbing all over him because he wasn't a danger to them and they weren't a threat to him.
Partway through the party, Sarah got up and made a speech about how grateful she was that the community had chipped in to help her family's boat get back in working order and the love she felt for everyone who supported her and her brother all these years after the passing of their parents. She dragged Sam over to say a few words and he echoed her thanks. Someone shouted "That's Captain America!" and everyone burst into applause. Sam was both embarrassed and proud. He didn't take up the stars and stripes for attention, but at the same time, he knew it was the best way to keep helping communities like the one he grew up in. That it was important for someone like him to set the precedent that it very much matters who has a spot at the table and that there's no excuse if a table seems full already—just add some damn seats.
"In the Wilson house, we feed everyone," Sam said loudly, winding down his speech. "Because everyone here is family. Thanks for coming to the party. I love y'all!"
Everyone clapped again and dove right back into their food and conversations.
Sam hugged Sarah. "Mom and dad would be so proud of you, sis."
Sarah grinned and held tight to her brother. "You to, Cap," she said with a laugh. "We're gonna be okay, Sammy. The boat. The house. Everything. We're gonna be okay. Okay? And you're gonna be okay. I talked to your boy. He's good people. Be good to each other."
Sam smiled. He would never admit it, but his sister's approval meant the world to him.
The party calmed a bit as the sun started to set. A few people left, but mostly everyone was sitting around picking at the remnants of their cake and pie or standing around nursing a beer. Sarah had gone around a lit some lanterns. The kids had calmed down and were playing games on their phones.
Sam had found a quiet spot near the water and to just stand and stare off into the distance. This was one of his favorite spots to look at the water and clear his head. It had been such a long week and he was both exhausted and lit up like a firework. The Flag Smashers were under control for now, but there was still so much work to be done. And Bucky… Sam didn't even know where to begin with him. But he was grateful they had time to figure it out together.
Even though Bucky was silent like a ninja, Sam felt Bucky walk up behind him. Bucky set his metal hand on Sam's shoulder and Sam laughed to himself because how could he have missed just how much Bucky was a handsy person when it came to him these past couple years. They shared a wordless look that uttered "I'm yours" and, for just a moment, both forgot world safety was on their schedules. That night was theirs and theirs alone.
Sam turned and threw his arm around Bucky's shoulder while Bucky snaked his arm around Sam's waist as the two walked, hip to hip, toward whatever life was going to throw at them next.