Use Your Words

New York Bagels Are Better

2.

It took about another two hours for them to finally talk about it. They each needed to process what had just happened. Because one did not just casually engage in mutual masturbation with their friend and roommate and then blithely go about their day. A conversation needed to take place.

First, Sam needed to get his mind right. He had to figure out what he wanted before he could even begin contemplating the inner workings of Barnes' mind. He hopped in the shower before Bucky could roll out of his bed. The solitude and the steam helped Sam put his thoughts in order.

Priority one: Make sure he hadn't truly fucked up his friendship. He and Barnes had a relationship that worked. Sam was grateful to have him by his side. Fighting the good fight, and all that. Even when the jerkface was working his last nerve. And Sam liked the way Bucky got under his skin. There was no malice in their teasing. It was all in good fun. Though Sarah labeled it as flirting, which it was not. Sam knew when he was flirting, okay? He knew when he was attracted to somebody and when he was trying to get something started. The quips and the back and forth banter with Barnes was just... It was how they communicated.

"It's your love language," his sister had slanderously accused.

Being an only child had to have been the sweetest fucking deal. Sam sometimes wondered what it was like to not have a sibling busting his chops at every given moment.

He walked back into his bedroom to find Bucky, like Goldilocks, still occupying his bed. Barnes had pulled the sheet up to cover his naked body. He laid on his side, facing the doorway, his arm tucked beneath the pillow. His eyes were closed. Sam couldn't tell if the man had gone back to sleep, so he got dressed as quietly as possible.

"Going for a run?" Bucky, not asleep, shifted but made no moves to get up and greet the day. He was only a morning person in life or death situations. When the fate of the universe hung in the balance. With no impending doom looming, he chose to laze about until a more reasonable hour.

"Getting some air," said Sam.

Barnes grunted as he rolled onto his stomach. The sheet shifted, gifting Sam with a glimpse of his bare ass. "Bring back bagels."

It counted as a good day when their most pressing concern was breakfast.

"Sesame seed?"

"Yes, please," Bucky said, his face halfway pressed into the pillow. "Cream cheese and jelly."

Sam already knew that. He also knew that in the eyes of the Brooklyn boy, nothing compared to a New York bagel. It reigned supreme. But Barnes considered the spot where Sam got these bagels from sufficient. A little smaller than the ones he preferred but once it was doctored up with a heavy handed smear of cream cheese and some grape jelly, Bucky could devour three in a single sitting. He chalked it up to his enhanced metabolism. Sam still called him a glutton, though.

But with affection.

He left Barnes in his bed. He took his time, walking around his hometown, taking note of the changes that had gone on in his absence. Most of them were small, like a renovated shop front or a business being handed over to the next generation. Overall, it felt good to be back. Good to be home. And, for Sam, home was more than just a spot on the map. More than a zip code. It was also the people that had been a part of Sam's life since before he could shave. It was the sense of community, the sense of togetherness. It was precious, and priceless, and worth fighting for.

And it was because of Sam that Bucky got to see all of that for himself. Sam helped him remember that life was more than merely existing from one moment to the next. There was the homemade pound cake from Mrs. Williams from two blocks over, pressed upon them as repayment for fixing her lawn mower. And then there had been the absolute horror show of trying to build a paper mache volcano in the middle of Sarah's dining room table because the boys had read about old school science projects online and far be it for Sam to stifle their young, inquisitive minds. Meanwhile, Barnes' old mind had been more entertained by the aftermath.