Bucky delivered the armor and helped Sam. He's about to leave again, but sometimes all it takes is a few words, just giving in to the impulse, for everything to change.
Bathing in the warmth of the falling sun, Sam and Bucky sipped a beer on the still-unfinished boat.
Bucky knew he would have to leave tomorrow, that he would have to close the book on those carefree hours.
He hadn't even planned to stay, he had planned to just drop off Sam's armor and leave. He didn't know why he had lifted the boat's engine and agreed to help. He just knew that he still wanted to enjoy those moments of respite. These moments where he was not alone with himself, haunted by his past.
He wanted to enjoy the presence of this man who had accepted him. Who had defended him. Who had fought at his side just because his friend, their common friend had believed in him. Who was not afraid of his past.
Sam was one of his few friends who knew everything and acted like a normal person to him. That's why Bucky's throat tightened slightly at the thought of leaving.
He got up though and clinking his bottle against Sam's he said, "Well, I have to catch my plane tomorrow. Gotta find a hotel to crash at for the night."
"So you're just gonna set me up like that, huh ?"
Bucky wanted to protest but had learned over time not to be greedy. To just accept what people were willing to give him. While he was dying to jump on the opportunity, he chose the polite half-refusal.
"I don't wanna make it weird for your family."
But that was without counting on Sam. Perceptive and simple.
"Just stay here." Sam smiled at him, before continuing, "The people in this town, are the most welcoming people in the world."
Bucky wanted to say that knowing that just him, Sam, was welcoming was enough for him. But he didn't dare. The years spent to suppress the expression of his own desires, shut his mouth.
Sam was continuing, "They don't care if you wear small T-shirts, or if you have six toes, or if your mom is your aunt."
Bucky couldn't help but laugh softly, "Okay, I get it, I get it. I know, I've seen that people here are nice."
Sam, that cheeky fellow, looked at him and laughed. Bucky could have listened to this sound for hours. Then Sam took a more serious attitude while continuing to smile and stood up, pretending to threaten Bucky, "But don't flirt with my sister."
Bucky shook his head, "No, no, I won't."
But Sam persisted, "Cause if you do, I'll have Carlos cut you up and feed you to the fish."
"Okay. Okay." Bucky began to walk away, then giving in to the impulse he turned back and stopping in front of Sam, he said in a low, slightly broken voice, "And what will Carlos do if it's with you that I flirt?"
Sam widened his eyes slightly, before arboring a cheeky grin and replying in the same tone as Bucky, "Try it and you'll see..."
Bucky, playful, just placed his hand in the crook of Sam's shoulder and stayed that way.
Sam raised an eyebrow, then looked over Bucky's shoulder before looking back at him and saying mischievously, "Still no Carlos on the horizon."
With a chuckle Bucky closed the distance between them and worked to wipe the mocking smile off Sam's face in the most sensual of ways.
Much later, sitting side by side on the edge of the boat, as the sun disappeared over the horizon, they caught their breath and gradually became aware of the reality of their surroundings. None of them dared to speak or make a move, overwhelmed by the enormity of what had just happened and by the feeling of fulfillment that resulted.
Bucky, no longer able to stand the silence, asked in a whisper even though it was just the two of them, "Where do we go from here?"
Sam, took his right hand, squeezed it and said simply, "We'll figure it out."
One step at a time, it was as easy as that.
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