Alpine (Sambucky)

AlphaBETiCAT

Alpine didn't give a fuck.

Quite frankly, it was a relief to Bucky who just wanted to curl up and get some sleep, drained from the day. Sam followed him as hopefully as a puppy would but he wasn't interested in conversation anymore with all the thoughts now spinning about in his head, throwing his door into the man's face once he'd reached his room.

Sam worried himself sick the three days Bucky didn't really speak to him. The first was pure torture, filled with total silence save Alpine's annoyingly happy purring. By the second, it got a little better because Bucky did at least acknowledge him with glance here and there. More importantly, he ate Sam's cooking instead of eating only an apple and cereal like the day before.

Our new captain knew he had to give the man space but it was killing him. Still, it gave him time to get busy at the "office". There was always work to be done but he had an important surprise for his roommate keeping him extra swamped. The roommate he was maybe, possibly in love with... Who also strongly preferred a damn cat to his presence.

Alpine hadn't done anything wrong, of course but Sam still felt upset he was getting Bucky's full attention while he stayed in the doghouse. He knew he had been an ass and he deserved this, though so he tried to respect the silent rule and give him space. He broke it once in a while to tease or bother Bucky, searching for any little reaction to ease his tension a bit. All Buck would do was send him a forced, awkward smile or furrow his brows and quickly leave, even if it was his own room.

By day three of the horrid punishment, Sam sighed softly as he dropped a dossier on Bucky's bed. He stared directly at him, then at the file, cocking his head to the side with mild curiosity in his eyes.

"Still ignoring me, huh...?" There was no response. He turned to Alpine, blinking slowly at her in a desperate ploy for sympathy. "Hey... Could you tell your dad to take a look at the files I left for him? Maybe also tell him I miss him very much and I'm super duper sorry?"

Sam could hardly focus during missions at times. Keeping his head in the game proved difficult when he was reminded of Bucky's absence and distance. He certainly might've gotten into less scrapes with a skilled warrior like James Barnes watching his six. He only hoped the White Wolf would still be willing to take him back now.

He missed the bickering, too. The annoyed looks and well-hidden smiles. He wanted his best friend to look at him again.

His sister, after hearing what he'd done from his own lips, had scolded him so much that he felt convinced this might be a problem that didn't go away. He'd broken Bucky's trust. Deceived him over and over with a smile as he went for missions they were meant to share. The guilt was still upon him now, eating him up as he meandered into the kitchen, hoping he could tempt Bucky with a home-cooked meal once again.

She'd realised she was overdoing it too late to undo the damage done to Sam's hope. After this much of a screw-up, he felt he didn't deserve to even be roommates with the guy, not to talk of dreaming of anything more. Yet, every single time Bucky walked into the parlour to ignore him and grab something, Sam felt that jolt in his chest that reminded him this wasn't a feeling he would easily get over.

Not after getting so happily tangled into the mystery of the man who was much more soft, sensitive and sweet than he'd once seemed.

It was such a clusterfuck. Sam considered buying Bucky an entire crate of plums just as he stepped out of his room and actually met his eyes for the first time in a while. He took a step closer, ignoring the hesitant eagerness in Sam's gaze with a lot of effort. The fact that he wanted a conversation this much was a bit daunting. It's not that Bucky had planned to keep a vow of silence between them; he just hadn't known what to say. He was thankful Sam didn't bombard him too much after the first day but it had been three now with barely any progress.