The Falcon and Winter Soldier

You Have Me

//SMUT WARNING//

"You're tense," he says.

"Too much work lately," Sam replies, already feeling the soreness leaving his body.

Bucky kisses the back of his neck softly. "Don't worry about that now," he whispers into Sam's ear, "I'm here. I've got you."

"You've got me," Sam murmurs, sinking deeper in the water. God, it feels good. Bucky's reassurance settles him, relaxes him until he's little more than a puddle against Bucky's chest, soaking in the warmth from both his skin and the bathwater. Slowly, Bucky cleans Sam's chest and arms, anything he can reach without changing their positions. The slow circles of his hands soothe aches Sam didn't even know he had, loosening his muscles until he's afraid that he'll be unable to stand when it's over.

The water is hot, pleasantly so. Sam sinks into it, carefully intertwining his legs with Bucky's and sighing when the warmth seeps into his sore muscles. He's not used to this kind of self-care - years on the run didn't exactly make it easy to indulge in a hot bath, and after that it'd been the chaos of coming back to life, fighting the Flag Smashers and becoming Captain America.

Then he and Bucky had kissed on the dock under the golden rays of sunset, and suddenly taking a moment to unwind had seemed a lot more important.

"C'mere," Bucky mumbles, pulling Sam this way and that until his back is pressed to Bucky's warm, firm chest. He sighs and relaxes into the embrace, resting his head along Bucky's collarbone and breathing in the scent of the lavender and vanilla bubbles swirling around them. Bucky's hands run up and down his sides, a gentle caress, and then he gathers some of the soap in his hands and rubs soothing circles along Sam's shoulders and upper back.

"You're tense," he says.

"Too much work lately," Sam replies, already feeling the soreness leaving his body.

Bucky kisses the back of his neck softly. "Don't worry about that now," he whispers into Sam's ear, "I'm here. I've got you."

"You've got me," Sam murmurs, sinking deeper in the water. God, it feels good. Bucky's reassurance settles him, relaxes him until he's little more than a puddle against Bucky's chest, soaking in the warmth from both his skin and the bathwater. Slowly, Bucky cleans Sam's chest and arms, anything he can reach without changing their positions. The slow circles of his hands soothe aches Sam didn't even know he had, loosening his muscles until he's afraid that he'll be unable to stand when it's over.

So quietly Sam almost doesn't hear it, Bucky whispers "I love you," into the crook of his neck, nuzzling his nose into Sam's skin.

It's the first time he's said it. The moment hangs in the air, Sam revelling in the care, the tenderness behind Bucky's words until he remembers he's supposed to respond. "I love you too," he says, and he means it wholeheartedly. He loves Bucky's smiles, the bright ones that come easier and more often now than when he first met the man. He loves that he keeps fighting, stands up every day despite the odds being stacked against him. He loves that Bucky still fights for a world that he owes nothing to, a world that's been cruel and unfair to him for decades.

Bucky presses a hot kiss to the crook of Sam's neck, sending shivers down his spine. God, his mouth. Sam could spend hours squirming under Bucky's mouth, sent precariously close to the edge with open-mouthed kisses alone. One of Bucky's hands trails upward, just barely grazing Sam's nipple with his fingernail, just the right amount of pleasure-pain to really get Sam going.

"I love you," he says again, and kisses Sam's neck right behind his ear.

"I love you." Another kiss on Sam's earlobe before he sucks it into his mouth, nibbling at it with his teeth.