Never Back Down // TFATWS

19

Bucky, after a brief stop in Wakanda, boarded a plane. Jessie had gone to debrief with her superiors.

---

His plane landed in Delacroix, Louisiana.

He arrived at the docks and saw people unloading things, putting them close to the boat.

"Tommy, Carlos, man, this is amazing," Sam said as he chuckled. "Thanks so much, man."

"Look..." Carlos began.

"Thanks, y'all."

"Hey, look, word goes out the Wilson family needs help?"

"Yes, sir," a man said.

"We still got a bit of usefulness in us."

"How do we get it off the truck?"

Bucky grabbed a crate from the back and a man cried, "Oh!"

As Bucky set the crate down, he said, "You're welcome."

Sam glanced at him. "Did someone call you?"

"Nah, I'm just dropping something off."

Bucky placed the case on the back of the truck. "You can sign for it and I'll go. I called in a favor from the Wakandans."

Before Sam or Reya, who walked up, could say anything, a hose came loose on the boat and a loud hissing sounded.

Sarah quickly made her way to her brother and called, "Sam!"

Sam ran to the boat and grabbed a wrench, trying to tighten the hose.

"Hi," Bucky greeted, waving to Sarah.

"Hi," Sarah replied in a bright tone.

Bucky walked up to Sam and said, "Hold on, hold on. You gotta go up." He grabbed the wrench from Sam and tightened the hose.

As soon as the hissing stopped, Bucky dropped the wrench to his side and Reya walked onto the boat.

Sam looked between Bucky and the hose before asking, "Why didn't you use the metal arm?"

"Well... I am right-handed," Bucky said as he looked at his left hand and added, "I don't always think of it immediately." Sam chuckled and Reya smiled lightly. "So, this is the boat, huh?"

"This is it." Sam leaned against the box below the hose.

Bucky nodded and looked around again. "It's nice."

"You want any help?" Reya asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied as he walked to the front of the boat.

Sarah walked up to the boat and Bucky smiled before saying, "I'm Bucky."

"Ah, Sarah," Sam's sister replied with a smile.

Reya looked between Sarah and Bucky with a light smirk, then to Sam who was frowning. She patted Sam's shoulder. "Relax, Sam."

Sam frowned. "Rey, that's my sister."

"I'm well aware. But she deserves to be happy. And if he makes her happy, then let it happen. She's a big girl."

Bucky nodded. "Sarah." He smiled before going to assist.

Bucky began sanding wood while Reya cleaned the deck. Sam tried to get some metal siding off the boat and yelled, "Shit!" Bucky went up to him, pulled off the metal piece, and put it to the side. "Thanks."

As Reya set something down, she glanced at Bucky who was messing with his knife. She smiled as she moved a box, then looked at Sam who caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back.

Bucky finished what he was doing and he and Reya went to help Sam with the engine, finding they had to move water from the boat.

As they did so, Bucky handed Sam full buckets before asking, "Think Karli's gonna throw in the towel?"

Reya shook her head. "I doubt it. I think she's gonna double down and lay low."

"Any ideas on how to stop her?"

"Rey and I got Joaquin working on something," Sam replied.

"Well, Zemo says there's only one way."

The three sat in the rear of the boat with beers.

Bucky stood and said, "Well..." They clinked bottles. "Gotta catch my flight tomorrow. Get a hotel room for the night. Crash, you know?"

"You're just gonna set me up like that?"

"I don't want to make it weird for your family. Or for you and Reya."

"Just stay here. The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don't care if you wear small T-shirts or if you have six toes or if your mom's your aunt."

Bucky chuckled before he replied, "Okay, I get it. I mean, you know, the people are nice."

Sam laughed. "But don't flirt with my sister."

"No."

"'Cause if you do, I'll have Carlos cut you up, feed you to the fish."

Reya let out a sigh. "Sam..."

"Rey, she's my sister. I don't care if Bucky won't hurt her. I'll always protect her. Just as I'll always protect you."

Reya smiled and kissed his cheek.

---

Bucky crashed on Sam's couch, asleep on his back. He slept without waking, far better than he had in a long while.

Bucky woke, hearing whooshing and grunting. He lifted his head to see Sarah's boys playing with the shield. "Hey," he called softly with a small wave.

"Put it back," the older boy ordered. "Hurry, hurry!"

The younger boy tried to put it back in the case and propped it up, but it fell over as they ran off. Bucky smiled as they did so.

As he laid there, he thought of the blonde he'd met recently and a smile crossed his face.

He got up and walked out to the boat.

Sam waved and said, "Hey. Sleep well?"

Bucky walked out to the boat. "Thanks for letting me crash."

"Don't mention it. Push the stopper." Bucky did so. "Thanks. Hey. Start loosening those bolts."

"Got it."

"Okay, so..."

"Excuse me. No!" Sarah cried as she and Reya walked up.

"There should be a three-sixteenths bolt that goes in the big gear."

Bucky shook his head. "Nope."

"Uh-huh," Sarah said. "No. No."

Sam looked at Bucky. "You didn't even look."

"I didn't have to."

"I told you specifically that the water pump was not the problem, and yet, here you are," Sarah stated.

"Yep, Samuel," Bucky replied.

"In our defense," Sam began, looking between Bucky, Reya and Sarah, "we were supposed to be done long before you woke up."

Sarah shook her head. "I don't come up to the sky to tell you how to barrel roll, so don't come down here and mess around with things you don't understand."

"Wow. Wow."

"Bye. Off. Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate you. I love you, bro."

Sam, Reya and Bucky started to leave and Sam said, "She's a very mean person."

"It's tough love," Bucky and Reya replied with a chuckle.

"No. If you did what I told you to do, we would have been done before any of this took place."

"There is no such thing," Bucky said.

"There's a prowess that goes into my madness."

Reya smiled and nodded. "I'm sure there is."