Gravity - B. Barnes

-2-

Despite his displeasure at being dragged along as a third wheel, Bucky found himself having difficulty fighting a smile at the stories and antics of Kat and Sam. If nothing else, they were entertaining.

Upon arrival at Izzy, Sam had ordered a massive spread of sushi, noticing Kat seemed overwhelmed by having to choose from so many options. Bucky had asked how they knew each other. Sam and Kat had attended the same college, ending up seated beside each other in an English class Kat's freshman year. Sam was a junior but he'd fallen behind in English and Kat was a great study partner, so Sam was sure to never be late to class, securing his spot to mooch off her notes. He had eventually asked her out, and they'd gone on a few dates, but they felt more comfortable as friends. They had stayed in touch after Sam's graduation, and she'd even attended Riley's funeral when Sam's partner had been killed in action. They'd lost touch shortly after Sam had met Steve.

Sam and Kat spun tales of their adventures together as though they were thinking with one brain, picking up where the other finished. If Bucky hadn't known better, he would have guessed they had been together just last week.

Sam and Kat were recovering from another laughing fit after a story of a practical joke they had played on Lucy when she came to visit Kat at college, and Bucky found himself saying, "Alright, I have to ask. Why Samantha?"

Sam groaned, as Kat took a sip of saki, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Mm. Well-."

"No! KitKat, if you have any love for me at all, you will let this go."

Kat drummed her fingers on the table, shifting her focus to the ceiling as if deep in thought. "Hmmm."

"He will never let me live this down. Please."

Kat raised her eyebrows and looked at Sam before turning her full attention to Bucky. "It was spring of Sam's junior year-"

"No!" Sam dropped his head to the table in defeat.

Bucky glanced sideways at Sam, eyebrows raised.

"Samuel here claimed to be the beer pong champion-"

"Beer pong?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah. You know-"

Sam interrupted. "He doesn't get out much."

"Oh. Well, it's this drinking game. Doesn't matter. Anyway, Sam here was trying to impress this girl-"

"Chantal...something. Damn, what was her name?"

Kat chuckled. "As you can see, she left quite the impression. She was a total bitch-"

"Drop dead gorgeous," Sam pointed to Kat, like this was a very important piece of information to leave out.

"And completely wrong for Sam, but she was popular. Everyone wanted to get with Chantal, but she was such a snob. So Sam here decrees he can beat anyone and everyone in beer pong, drink any challenger under the table."

"So Kat takes it upon herself to shout, at the top of her lungs, that I drink like a girl."

"Of course, being the manly man Sam is, he can't ignore my drunken comment, so he challenges me to a game. After a couple rounds with beer, there was no sign of either of us going down, so the frat boys brought out the tequila."

"That was my downfall."

"A few rounds in, Sam and I had pounded so much tequila, we could barely see straight. Chantal actually started getting worried that one of us would end up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning-"

"It was me. She was worried about me."

Kat rolled her eyes. "She goes right up to Sam, puts her hand on his shoulder, rubs it up and down his arm all sensually, and just as she's saying that she believes him, that we should call the game so she can take him home and take care of him...guess what happens?"