"Come on, man, it'll be just like riding a bike," Sam said as he yanked open the door to Ms. Finch's Dance Studio.
"I haven't ridden a bike in 90 years," Bucky muttered miserably under his breath and then flashed a wide (fake) smile to the petite elderly woman who approached the two men.
Ms. Finch was maybe 5 feet tall and looked like she was born around when Bucky was. Her dance studio was about a half hour drive from Sarah's house, situated on a homey street that looked like it could be the setting for a Hallmark Christmas movie. It was flanked by a toy store and diner, both which looked like they hadn't change much in the last 30 years. Sam wondered if Bucky chose this place because of its quaintness, or because it was so far out of the way that no one would recognize them.
"Ms. Finch? Hi," Bucky said, reaching out with his right hand. "I'm James Barnes and this is Sam Wilson. We're here for the Barnes/Wilson wedding dance rehearsal. Thank you so much for having us this morning."
Sam knew Bucky was full of shit but was always impressed when other people who didn't ate up every word out of that guy's mouth. He himself was used to having to plaster on a smile and pretend everything was fine so that other people were comfortable in a given situation, but it was almost funny to watch Bucky have to do it too.
"Hello boys," Ms. Finch said as she shook Bucky's hand and then Sam's. "Let's get you ready for your first dance as husband and husband!"
If you knew to look for it, Bucky's smile morphed from forced to genuine at Ms. Finch's assumption that Sam Wilson was his fiancé. "Thank you, ma'am, but…"
"…But, what, babe?" Sam asked as he grabbed Bucky's left hand and dragged him toward the middle of the dance floor. The metal fingers gripped Sam's flesh ones a little too tight, indicating Bucky knew what he was up to. "Let's just listen to what the nice lady has to say."
Bucky took a deep breath and just went with it. Sometimes it was just easier to play along than put up a fight. He swung Sam in front of him and held him in place. "Ready when you are, Ms. Finch." He leaned in and whispered to Sam, "But I'm leading, babe."
Sam did let Bucky take the lead since he would be the one leading Sarah at the actual wedding reception during the first dance. She didn't know Bucky and Sam went to take a lesson, though. They had told her they were doing some official Avengers business and she just nodded and shooed them out of the house. Sam had suggested Bucky take a lesson if he was nervous about dancing at the reception and, surprisingly, the super soldier admitted that was a smart idea. From the blank look on Bucky's face as Ms. Finch was placing their hands, Sam could tell Bucky was regretting it.
Soon hands were in correct spots and the two men were slowly doing some basic box steps. Bucky would glance down every now and then to make sure he wasn't going to step on Sam (even though he really wouldn't have minded…), but Sam's head was up as he split his focus between Ms. Finch and his partner.
"Doing good, kids. Let's pick up the pace just a bit." Ms. Finch lifted the needle of the record player she was using to play music and dropped it on a new track. Neither Bucky nor Sam recognized the song, but they sped up to keep their steps in time to the downbeats.
After a few moments, a phone rang somewhere in a back office and Ms. Finch excused herself, telling Bucky and Sam to keep making boxes, but practice traveling around the floor while doing so.
"Thanks Ms. Finch," Sam called after her before looking back at Bucky. "Okay pal, start leading."
Bucky nodded and jerked Sam to the left a little harder than was necessary. He winced but didn't break hold. "So Sam… do you think I'll be an okay parent?"
Sam's eyebrows rose at Bucky's epic non sequitur. "Where is that coming from?"
Bucky shrugged as they kept shuffling around the floor. "I dunno…" He sighed, but continued, "Like… I love AJ and Cass… and I know they like me… and I'm not trying to replace their dad or anything. But… you've been the main father figure in their life these last few years… and I'm worried me marrying their mom is going to change how they feel about me."
"Well of course it's going to change how they feel about you," Sam said. "But I don't think that's a bad thing." Bucky gave a crooked half smile and nodded reluctantly. "Are you and Sarah going to try for a kid?"
At that, Bucky shook his head. "We, uh… we talked to a doctor a while ago. And, um… they weren't sure if any of the serum would get passed on? So we're…" He shook his head some more and stared at their feet as they continued to dance. "I can't risk having some kid turn out like me."
Sam squeezed Bucky's shoulder. "A subpar dancer?"
Bucky couldn't help but laugh.
"How are we doing out here?" Ms. Finch asked as she walked out of her office to find the two men still diligently box-stepping about the room. She smiled and wandered over to the record player, pulling the needle off. When the song stopped, so did Bucky and Sam. They looked up to find Ms. Finch smiling warmly at them. "Why don't we try a dip?"
"As long as it's got shrimp in it, I'm down," Sam joked as Bucky poked him in the side.
"Sounds good, Ms. Finch," Bucky said loudly, flashing her an apologetic grin.
"Now who will be dipping who?" Ms. Finch asked as she approached the two men.
Before Sam could say something quippy, Bucky answered quickly, "I will be dipper and he will be the dippee."
"You're a dippee," Sam muttered so only Bucky would hear.
"And you're a dipshit," Bucky replied, still smiling at the kind old lady who was just trying to help them. "All set, Ms. Finch. Ready to dip this one like no one has been dipped before."
"Oh my!" Ms. Finch exclaimed as she clasped her hands in front of her. "You two really make quite a handsome couple."
"He's the love of my life," Sam said, causing Bucky to shake his head.
"And he's something else," Bucky said, just giving in to the ridiculousness of it all. "Now how do I dip him?"