It had been about 8 months since they found Bucky and 6 since Sam asked him out. After everything with the accords and his new arm were straightened out, Sam had offered Bucky a safe place to stay away from anyone's expectations, and Bucky eagerly accepted.
"You know I love you, right?" Sam whispered one night as they laid in their bed together.
Bucky looked up at him and smiled ever so slightly. "I know," he murmured and snuggled impossibly closer to Sam, clinging to his boyfriend. "Sometimes I just can't help doubting it. I know that it's crazy and it's probably because I'm so fucked up but I just don't understand how you could possibly love someone like me."
Sam just kissed the top of Bucky's head and held him close. "I love every single part of you," he told him as he leaned back and kissed the fingers of Bucky's left hand. "From your metal arm..." He mumbled before he moved up and kissed the scarred skin on his shoulder, "to your scars..." he continued, then brushed Bucky's hair out of his face and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, "to your shitty brain," he added before he leaned back in and brushed his lips against Bucky's own. "Don't you ever believe anything else," he insisted.
Bucky shook his head and let a tear slip down his cheeks. "I don't deserve to be loved by the best guy in the whole damn world," he mumbled.
Sam smiled. "Yes, you do. You deserve everything after all that Hydra put you through and I'll be right here to remind you that every day," he insisted.
Life with Sam was good. Alright, so it was better than good. It's the happiest Bucky can ever remember himself being. But despite that, life can't always be perfect. Bucky's dragging around scars from his days as the winter soldier that are permanently pressed into his skin and his mind. It makes it difficult sometimes to fully trust anyone- even the one person that's been a constant in his whirlwind of crazy. Sometimes he just needs someone to remind him that he's not alone.
