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If you asked Sam, he made his biggest mistake in Uni. It wasn’t anything important really, just a dumb decision while drunk. C’mon though, who didn’t want a tattoo of their favorite hero on them when they were younger? He saw many people who had Captain America, Thor or even Spiderman tattoos. He shouldn’t be judged for making a mistake in his Uni years. Besides he was gonna get rid of it. Eventually.
Honestly, with everything going on, he didn’t really find the time to get rid of it. He joined the army, went through grief after losing Riley and became a part of the VA.Those were all major adjustments to life and he had no time for something silly like getting a tattoo removed. He finally had some time to do it, but he got pulled into the superhero business by Captain America himself. And wasn’t that a shocker. He then had to search half the world for said man’s supposed-to-be-dead best friend.
You can see how one can get no time for themselves and their personal plans in that situation, right?
Anyway, when they finally did catch up to the best friend, a new bunch of trouble popped up and he had to become a fugitive. Man, did his mom yell at him later. His ears were still bleeding. He still didn’t get his tattoo removed then, with the fear of someone recognizing him and throwing him into jail looming over him. And then even more shit happened.
An alien came and snapped him and half of the other beings in the universe out of existence for five years. For five years, he had nothing to do but listen to the constant chaos in the Soul Stone. And then, they were finally able to get out. And immediately they had to fight against that same alien and his giant army. They had won, but they lost important people on the way. And then Steve left. And now he was stuck with the Shield and mantle of Captain America.
And an annoying ex-HYDRA assassin that trashed his car, almost killed him and who he spent 2 years trying to find for a guy who is now up and gone. He still owed him a new car.
The exact same guy he had a tattoo of. Well, not exactly a tattoo of how he looked, but he had a tattoo of the wings he used to have on the shoulders of his jacket. And he had them on his shoulders. And yes, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, former Winter Soldier, was his childhood hero. He didn’t really remember why it was him, but maybe it had to do with him having a crush on the Sergeant.
What? The guy was cute. And from the rumors he heard, he was also very charming and funny. And also pretty smart. For him, those were the only things he needed in a guy. Looking at the guy now, those traits were still there, though he was hiding them.
Just like he was hiding the tattoos. Bucky recently saw his old uniform and remembered bits and pieces of it. He mostly liked the wings on them. When Sam asked him, he wouldn’t tell him why. He just smiled secretly, as if he knew what Sam was hiding. Which couldn’t be true, right? They may have been living in the same house, but that doesn’t mean Bucky saw him shirtless.
Right?
God, why did that thought make Sam blush. Maybe his crush wasn’t as gone as he thought. Car crashing, almost being killed and all. But, he decided it was high time he got the tattoos at least covered up. He had an appointment set that Friday, his day off. Bucky would be at his check up with Shuri during that time, so he wouldn’t know. At least that’s what he thought.
Sam just returned from his morning jog. He decided to take a while longer this time and bought groceries on the way home. He came home at 10:30 to the sight of Bucky Barnes eating popcorn as he watched a Disney movie on TV. Who knew the big bad assassin had a soft spot for singing forest animals. He was currently watching Tangled, apparently his favorite. Sam liked to joke it was because of the hair, but that resulted in Bucky deciding to actually get a frying pan and try to knock him out with it. Many lamps were broken in the aftermath.
“Tangled again, huh? I’m starting to think you have a crush on one of the characters,” he said as he put the groceries on the counter. Bucky simply shushed him, his attention not wavering from the film. “What? Not even a hello? That’s cold, Barnes.”
“Quiet, it’s the best part,” he told him. On the screen, Flynn Rider and Rapunzel were singing their well known duet. Sam fondly rolled his eyes and went to put the groceries away and then take a shower. When he returned, the movie was over and Bucky was raiding the fridge for a soda.
“Hey, leave some for the rest of us mortals,” said Sam. Bucky grabbed one more soda and threw it at him. Sam caught it easily. They opened them and sat in front of the TV to continue watching FRIENDS.
(“Don’t tell me you actually don’t know about this show.”
“Brainwashed for 70 years, remember.”
“..right…”)
They were half way through the episode when Bucky decided to speak up.
“So, Sam,” he started. Sam hummed in acknowledgment as he went to take a sip of soda. “Tattoos, huh?” Sam choked on his drink and started violently coughing. Bucky was gently hitting him on the back, patiently waiting for Sam to calm down.
“W-what tattoos?” asked Sam.
“The ones you apparently want to cover up without me even knowing they existed,” said Bucky while shrugging.
“How do you know?” asked Sam.
“The tattoo guy called and said he had an emergency on Friday and was asking if you could reschedule,” answered Bucky. He was looking at Sam in thought. “Can I see them?”
“Um, I’d rather you not,” said Sam.
“Oh, come on! Please!” whined Bucky. Sam made an uncomfortable face.
“Please never say it like that, again,” he told him. Bucky stuck out his tongue at him.
“I won’t. If you show me the tattoo,” he said. Sam rolled his eyes at him.
“No,” said Sam and made to leave. But Bucky was quicker and pinned him down to the couch. “Barnes, get off me or so help me.”
“Yeah, yeah, just give me a moment,” Bucky dismissed him as he went to search for the tattoos. He took off Sam’s shirt and went to analyze his upper body. “Nice muscles,” he commented and went to search for the tattoos.
“You just had to make it weird,” groaned a blushing Sam. He tried to get his shirt back but at the same time keep his tattoos hidden. And he failed greatly as Bucky saw a glimpse of one. He immediately grinned and grabbed Sam so he his shoulders would show.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed. “Those are my wings! The one on my uniform!” Sam groaned underneath him. “They are! C’mon, say it.”
“Fine, yeah. They’re your wings, you happy?” said Sam as he looked anywhere but at Bucky’s delighted smile.
“Thrilled,” he said and gave Sam his shirt back. Sam raised an eyebrow, his look unimpressed.
“You plan on getting off of me or what?” he asked. Bucky shifted on his lap a bit in thought and shook his head.
“Nah, feel pretty comfortable,” he answered. Sam glared at him and got up anyway, now coming face to face with Bucky.
“Whoa there, buy a guy dinner first,” teased Bucky. Sam snorted.
“I think that went out the window when you took my shirt off,” he said causing Bucky to laugh. Said man got off of Sam and sat down beside him. Sam wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he kinda wanted Bucky back in his lap. Sam put on his shirt, trying not to think about it. He looked and saw Bucky staring at him. “What?”
“Please don’t cover up the tattoos,” he said. Sam looked at him suspiciously.
“Why? So you can make fun of me?” he asked. Bucky shrugged.
“Maybe,” he grinned at Sam, but then turned serious. “I just think they suit you, you know? You being the Falcon and all. They may be mine originally, but they suit you more.” At the end of his little talk, he looked away from Sam, trying to hide his red face. “But you don’t have to listen to me. It’s your body, you make the decisions.” He got up and left the room before he could say something to make this more awkward than it already was.
Sam looked after him for a few moments. Bucky was genuine about this. He liked the tattoos, and, honestly, Sam liked them, too. He spent the next few minutes trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to do next. He smiled at the decision he made and went to ask Bucky what he wanted to have for lunch. All this has made him a bit hungry.
Bucky didn’t ask about the tattoos again. Not that day, nor the next, nor the whole next week. He thought Sam had actually gotten rid of them. But, one day after they both got back from a run, in the goddamn biggest heat he ever suffered, Sam took off his shirt immediately. And there on his shoulders were the wings. They were untouched, the same as he last saw them. He was openly staring at them, and slowly at the shirtless owner. Bucky suddenly got shy. Thank god that he was already red from the heat. Sam caught him staring.
“You okay there, Barnes?” he asked him, handing him a water bottle. Bucky looked him in the eyes and grinned.
“Perfect,” he said and took the bottle. Sam looked at him fondly.
“Weirdo.”
“Dork.”