Chapter Text
The boys fell asleep quickly which was a nice treat. Bucky had been awkward about figuring out how much to be involved. Sam had wanted to get in there, cearly, and he did. The boys asked for a story from Bucky, too, though.
He told them about how his parents had met at a school dance. How they’d been star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet since she was Catholic and he was Protestant. The boys didn’t really understand that, but they bought that it was a hard thing for Bucky’s parents--that their parents had not been happy about it. Bucky told them too about how his mother had become pregnant right before his father had been drafted to go to World War I and how brave his mother had been to have Bucky by herself. And how lucky it was that his father came back.
Bucky sometimes wondered how his family, his mother particularly, had handled his disappearance. She’d gotten lucky once, getting her husband back, even if he came home with a limp. Had she expected Bucky would be so lucky? Or had she believed that her luck had run out?
Bucky was feeling melancholic, but he tried to tell a positive version of the story to the boys. When he was finished, he gave them hugs and told them he’d be leaving in the morning.
“Can I come to take you to the airport?” Cass asked.
Bucky pursed his lips. “I’m not sure,” he answered. “I’ll ask your mom.”
He turned to leave when AJ, very sadly, said, “I’ll miss you, Bucky.”
Bucky faced him, his heart breaking slightly and went over to give him another hug. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he said weakly. He gave Cass another hug too and found Sarah and Sam in the hallway.
“Goodnight, boys,” Sam called, shutting the door behind Bucky.
“What are we doing for the airport?” Sarah asked.
Bucky shrugged. “I can get a cab--”
“Bucky,” Sarah reprimanded. Sam looked mad, too.
“Can’t believe he thinks we’d let him go like that…” Sam said, shaking his head with a smile.
“Look, it’s a long drive,” Bucky explained as they headed downstairs together. “I don’t want to assume.”
“We’ve been putting you up here for a week?” Sam asked. “You’re apparently dating my sister…”
Bucky and Sarah exchanged an apprehensive look, not sure where Sam was going with this. Also not sure they were formally dating, but they might as well have been.
“The way I see it, the question is how many of us do you want to come along?” Sam asked, turning and smirking. Sarah groaned and shoved Sam lightly. He chuckled and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll let you two figure it out.”
Her hand was in his, pulling him to the couch where they sat together. She put her head on his shoulder easily and Bucky leaned his cheek on her. Tired, sad, facing reality. At least they could do it together.
“There’s a restaurant downtown that I like,” Sarah began, seemingly fresh. “I usually take the boys when we’re down there. And it’s nice to have an excuse to go.”
“Is it close to the airport?”
“Maybe twenty minutes,” Sarah answered with a small shrug. “Might be worth feeling a little better after dropping you off, though.”
Bucky squeezed her hand and shut his eyes. “How’d this happen?” he asked breathlessly.
“How’d what happen?”
“It’s only been a week.”
“I guess it was enough.”
“It’s crazy,” Bucky whispered.
Sarah sat up away from him and looked at him, reading his expression. “Do you regret it?” she asked carefully.
Bucky saw the vulnerability and he was sorry he’d said something that could get her to this place. “No, not at all,” Bucky began with an earnest smile. “I just didn’t know this was possible.”
She smiled back and leaned in to kiss him. Bucky knew Sam was nearby, but he didn’t particularly care right now. He put a hand on Sarah’s neck and tasted her mouth, gently, softly, but desperately too. He wanted to communicate everything, but all he had now was wonder and appreciation.
I love her, he thought, stunning even himself. Even he knew it was early for that.
Except was it?
Sam cleared his throat nearby and the couple came apart quickly, straightening themselves out.
“You two make any decisions?” Sam asked with a teasing look.
“Ugh, Sam,” Sarah said. Simultaneously, Bucky frowned and shook his head. Sam laughed; he apparently liked getting a rise out of them. He sat down in the armchair nearby and raised his eyebrows expectantly. “I want to take him,” Sarah said. “That’s uh… that’s pretty much how far we got.”
“And the restaurant,” Bucky mentioned.
“Oh, right,” Sarah said with a nod. “I thought maybe we could go to Stanley’s after,” Sarah said.
“We meaning…?”
“Whoever wants to come,” Sarah answered.
Sam nodded, impressed, hiding a smirk. “So you’re okay with sharing Buck for a bit, huh?”
Sarah rolled her eyes and squeezed Bucky’s hand. “I’m not selfish, you know that.”
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Sam began, fully grinning now. “You always hogged the bathroom before school.”
“Oh my God,” Sarah groaned. Bucky found himself smiling, feeling comfortable here with them and loving it.
Sam said goodnight with a glint in his eye that made Sarah want to teach him a lesson, but Bucky was there, pulling her up to a stand before she could sit in her anger for very long.
“What’s this?” she asked, watching, waiting, being wrapped up in his arms.
“Care to dance?” he asked.
“With music tonight?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He loosened his grip on her and she turned on the speaker nearby, volume low to keep the rest of the house asleep. “We’re going to have to get you to the airport in the morning you know,” she reminded him as one of the songs he’d added to her phone in a playlist titled “Lindy Hop” started.
He caught her in his arms again and smirked. “Yeah, I’ll sleep on the plane,” he teased gently.
Sarah frowned. “When the hell am I supposed to sleep?”
“I’ll tell the boys to let you nap tomorrow, how’s that?”
The dancing was comfortable quickly. It just took a quick refresher to get back into it. They danced to a few songs before Bucky said he wanted to try one of hers again. “It’s only fair.”
Sarah smirked and scrolled through her music. Her eyes fell on one and a huge smile spread across her face.
“What?” Bucky asked.
She played it. “Let’s Get it On” always made her smile when she heard it. She’d somehow conditioned herself to be a little uncomfortable about it as a teenager and it still bled over. She giggled as she wrapped her arms around Bucky’s neck.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” he said, his voice low, his hands finding the small of her back comfortably.
“Just wait.” Fervent now, Sarah stopped giggling and put her cheek to his.
When it got to the chorus, Bucky breathed a laugh. “This is a euphemism, isn’t it?” he whispered. He tightened his hold on her and Sarah let out a shaky breath.
“I meant it as a joke,” she said softly, not sure she even believed herself now.
“Yeah,” he breathed.
“Hey!” Sam whispered harshly from the top of the stairs. “Y’all better be fully clothed!”
“Sam!” Bucky groused before Sarah could. Sam was already chuckling, his door closing noisily.
“He’s great at ruining a moment,” commented Bucky.
Sarah chuckled. “Yeah. I forgot.” She sighed. “He used to do that to me and Jordan a lot too.”
“Well, that puts me in good company, then, I guess.”
Sarah pressed a kiss onto Bucky’s cheek and settled back in. “What are we even doing, Bucky?” she heard herself ask quietly, bewildered.
“Dancing?” he asked. She chuckled. “Oh, you mean… like what are we doing?”
“Are we dating?” she asked feebly. “Exclusively?”
Bucky choked out a cough. “I mean, I have no intention of dating anybody else,” he confided. “You can if you want I guess…”
“I don’t think I do.”
“Then, yeah,” he marveled for a second. “I guess we’re exclusive. Going steady.”
Sarah chuckled. “I guess that is what you would call it, huh?”
“Yeah. I never know what’s made it to now, but yes, that’s… an old one.” She was kissing the spot behind his jaw, just under his ear. She hadn’t meant to make him lose his focus, but he had stammered for just a moment.
They danced to his slow songs after that, cheek to cheek, slow and swaying, kissing occasionally until it was too late to get a good night’s sleep. Sarah could barely stand, but how could she go to bed now? How could she sleep when Bucky would be leaving so soon?
“Sarah?” Bucky asked.
“Mm?”
“I think we have to go to bed.”
“No.” She sounded like AJ.
Bucky chuckled. “We do, cutie, I’m sorry.”
Sleepy, slurring, Sarah asked, “Mm, cutie?”
“Yeah,” he answered, lips finding her ear a moment later. “You’re cute, you know.”
Sarah hummed again in delight and tried to open her eyes. The light was too bright and she groaned. Bucky chuckled when she recoiled. “You want me to tuck you in?” he asked.
Sarah weighed her options for just a moment. “Yes.”
She seemed a little more awake after she was in pajamas and brushing her teeth, but she still looked exhausted and, while Bucky was completely charmed by her in this state, he wanted her to get some sleep.
Sarah stepped past him, down the hall to her bedroom and he followed along. On another visit, this would be very different, but for now the goal was a goodnight kiss and nothing more. She went to her vanity to do something and Bucky turned down the plush covers for her, standing out of the way so she could get it. The sheets had been soft on his hand. Nicer than anything he’d ever slept on.
She didn’t look at him when she came near. She was smiling, though, as she sat on the bed and tucked her feet under the blankets, head wrapped in a scarf, braids pulled through. She looked at him then, expectantly, beaming.
Bucky grinned and reached over her for the corner of the bed clothes and pulled them over, realizing she was probably getting a good look at him now. Indeed, when he saw her face, he found a note of appreciation that hadn’t been there before.
“Well?” she asked.
He sat down next to her, not planning to get comfortable. “Well.”
Their eyes locked and Bucky leaned in and gave her a deliberately brief kiss, moving away as her hand found his neck, too late to pull him in. He grinned and she groaned. “Damn it, Bucky,” she mumbled.
“You need to sleep,” he reminded her, turning out her light nearby.
“Ugh, fine.” She settled into bed and Bucky kissed her forehead. Unbidden, he thought it again: I love her.
They were all in the van. Sam had volunteered to drive and Sarah and Bucky had been planning to sit in the middle two captain’s chairs to hold hands on the drive, but AJ reminded Bucky that he owed him one. So, Sarah suggested sitting in the very back.
“It’s a little tight,” Bucky had said.
“All the better,” Sarah teased, leaning into Bucky. “Unless you’re claustrophobic.”
“Phobic--no, uncomfortable, yes.”
Eventually he relaxed. It got better when she laid her head on his shoulder and pulled her legs up onto the bench behind her--somehow it worked, even as tall as she was. He could stretch out all the way. And he really didn’t have to think about how low the ceiling was. He could just shut his eyes and enjoy the smell of her.
Cass and AJ were tired and a little sullen, but eventually they told Bucky about things they’d all be able to do together again when he came back. Bucky didn’t know if anyone had told them he’d be coming back. He desperately hoped Sarah had.
Sam was silent in the front seat and difficult to discern. When they got to the airport, he drove the van easily to the right drop-off spot. Sarah’s fingers wrapped around Bucky’s neck, pulling him into a kiss that was maybe better left for a more private moment. If she didn’t care, he wouldn't either.
The van door opened nearby and the boys jostled and Sarah pulled herself away and, mechanically, Bucky got out, knowing that now was the time. He huffed a sigh and bent down to give the boys hugs. AJ’s was longer than he expected, but nice and warm. Cass’s was shorter than Bucky had expected, filled with sadness and excitement both.
“You boys have to let your mom take a nap today, okay?” he told them with feigned severity. They nodded dutifully and Bucky grinned, hugging both of them. “It’s been fun.”
“Come back soon, okay?” Cass asked.
“I’ll do my best.”
AJ sniffled a little and Bucky squeezed him tighter. “It’ll be okay. I’ll call you if you want.”
“Okay,” AJ said feebly.
Bucky’s heart was breaking a little, but he stood and turned to Sam. It was a brief, wordless hug.
“Thanks,” Bucky said when they broke apart.
Sam shook his head. “What else am I gonna do?” he asked, obviously disappointed in himself for being such a good guy. Bucky chuckled and Sam smiled and got the kids going on getting back in the van, to give Sarah and Bucky a little privacy.
Bucky turned and smiled sadly. He felt his body slump at the idea of leaving her. She was smiling too, but there were tear stains on her cheeks, as she fiddled with her fingers in front of her. She was beautiful and sad and Bucky couldn’t think of anything but her. “Sarah,” he breathed.
They embraced first, her crying growing as he held her there. There was nothing else, no airport, no flight to catch, no empty homes to go back to. Just each other. Then, without speaking, they kissed and Bucky heard a couple of cat-calls nearby. He wasn’t sure if Sarah heard, but like everything had been today, if she didn’t care, he wouldn’t either.
When they finally broke apart, she chuckled at herself, wiping her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to--”
“I love you,” he heard himself say. His heart pounded, but at the same time he felt that he knew it. He did love her, of course he did. How could he not?
She was surprised, stunned for just a second. Then her face softened, approval finding her lips. “I think I love you too.” Her warm eyes met his and he smiled his crooked smile back at her, feeling like there was nothing in the world that could tear them apart.
“Hey,” Sam called, teasing once again. “I’ve got the meter running.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and Bucky breathed a laugh at her response. He gave her another quick kiss and forced himself to let go of her.
“See you later,” he told her.
She nodded, the sadness was creeping back in, though. “See you later,” she agreed, maybe trying to convince herself.
He shouted a “bye” back to the boys and Sam and then gave Sarah one last peck and turned to walk away, waving to them all. He turned to look back at her a couple of times, but she was moving, mechanically, getting into the car and then driving away. Their eyes met for just a moment before he was in the airport and she was on the other side of a bus.
The rest of it was windswept. He was there, clearly, his body was there and moving through the motions, but his mind was racing, focused on Sarah and the boys and Sam and the family he could have here when he came back. God, I hope I don’t have to wait long.
Sarah cleared her throat when they got on the local road to head to Stanley’s. She was really grateful she had a huge plate of french toast to look forward to right now, because everything felt empty right now. Didn’t help that she was hungry, too. Her phone buzzed.
Miss you already.
Sarah didn’t know how a single text could make her feel like she was bursting with life inside, but it did.