A Birdie Lost in Time | Bucky Barnes

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"Oh, this is so cute," Marlow gushed as she looked around the kitchen.

Sam let out a chuckle and nodded, "How about I give you a tour? Show you around the property as well?"

"Please, I'd love that," she agreed.

"You coming, Buck?"

Bucky shook his head. "You two go ahead, I'll get our bags put away... and help Sarah finish up with lunch," he said, voice sly as he eyed Sam.

Her brows bunched at his tone, unsure what he was hinting at—but Sam definitely knew.

"Cut it out, man," he warned before turning back to Marlow. "Let's go, I'll show you down to the dock first."

"Okay," she chuckled, still confused about what was happening between them.

They wandered back out the door and followed the porch until they descended a set of stairs towards the water. The dock seemed to stretch forever into the water, and she found herself imagining young Sam and Sarah running it's length like he'd mentioned months ago.

She was glad she was finally seeing it, although it was bittersweet considering it had taken so long. "I'm sorry for not keeping in touch better," she mumbled as they reached the end. "I've realized I've done a shitty job staying in touch with people over the last few months."

Sam leaned back against the rail as he shook his head in opposition. "That's not on you. I should have done more to make sure you were okay."

"You were busy," she said gently before draping her arms over the wood.

He let out a breath. "I was making myself busy," he admitted. "I thought I was finished fighting in wars, so getting thrown back into battle with Thanos brought back a lot of memories..."

His words brought on a wave of guilt; she hadn't even thought about that. Everyone was left shaken from the fight, but he also had to deal with everything he experienced before that—and she hadn't even checked on him.

Before she could say anything though, he continued quietly. "And then there was adjusting to the world again... and you," he added. "Everything was so out of control, so extraordinarily hectic and I couldn't do anything to help... But I could run operations with the Air Force. It felt like the only thing that stayed the same—that I could still do—so I became fixated on keeping busy. I wish I could have been there for you instead of removing myself from your life, but I couldn't."

She shook her head. "You didn't remove yourself; you had your own life, I don't blame you for that," she said gently. "Sometimes people can't deal with things together; that doesn't mean that they don't care about the others journey."

"You got wise, kid," he mumbled as he knocked his shoulder into hers gently.

"Among other things... But I think the bigger change between us is your promotion."

Sam chucked and shook his head. "Oh, I'm still the same as always."

"The same? You're America's new Golden Boy."

"No," he warned, his face stern, "never call me that."

"Come on, you're it. You're America personified. Freedom, security, all that jazz," she teased.

"I don't know about that..." he shook his head again. "I'm just going to do my best."

"And it will be great," she agreed quietly. "The shield suits you as much as it did Steve."

"You think?" he asked somewhat bashfully as he cocked his head. "Because I think Walker looked pretty good in his suit."

"Ugh, don't even bring him up," she groaned.