Chapter Text
Inside a black and white TV world where laughtracks rang out ever so often and cheery music played in the background, a newlywed couple settled into their new life. On a street just a few miles from the river in Delacroix, Louisiana; morning had just risen. However, Sam had been up for much longer, unpacking boxes with the help of his drone, Redwing. He cut open the packing tape on the kitchen table as Redwing flew back and forth across the kitchen, setting plates on the rack.
He smiled as the drone rounded back and he handed him another plate, “Thanks buddy. We’ll have all these unpacked in no time.”
Redwing chirped in response and started back towards the rack. But just then, Bucky entered the kitchen and the drone gave an alarmed screech as it tried to swerve out of the way. With an incredible reflex, his metal arm shot out to catch the plate before it hit the floor.
Bucky locked eyes with Sam, “My husband and his flying drone!”
Sam rolled his eyes, a smile tugging on his lips as he shook his head, “ My husband and his indestructible arm.”
Bucky set the plate down and smiled as he walked towards him, “Captain America and the Winter Soldier. In it til the end of time,” he said and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Sam laughed and brought his hand up to touch the side of his face, “That’s right.”
Redwing chirped again as he flew past Bucky’s head and he sighed, glaring at the drone, “Look, Reddy. I tolerate you, but do you have to make so many noises?”
Sam clapped Bucky on the back, “Give the poor drone a rest.” Then he tilted his head toward Redwing sadly, “Alright buddy, we wouldn’t our neighbors getting spooked if they were to see an ‘alien spacecraft’ flying around our kitchen. It’s time to go dark.”
Redwing let out a few glum, moody chirps before he flew to his charging station, or his ‘nest’, in the cupboard.
He turned to Bucky and reached out to hold his still-visible metal hand, “Don’t forget either…”
“Haven’t forgotten,” he smiled while pulling a pair of gloves out of his pocket, “Your wings…?”
“Are in the garage,” he finished, sending him a smirk as he let go. Then he carefully shut the cupboard door after Redwing to keep him hidden while he recharged. Once he turned again, he was met with Bucky leaning against the kitchen counter, looking at him fondly.
Even though they were now married, he still felt a giddy, involuntary smile stretch across his face. “What?” he asked when Bucky continued to stare.
“Nothing. You have a nice smile is all.”
Sam shook his head, “Mr. Super Soldier is trying to woo me, is that what’s happening?”
“Well, it is a special day after all.”
He furrowed his brow, unable to recall what Bucky was referring to, but he decided to play along, “Yes, it is… an important one.”
Bucky raised his brow and he would have loved to wipe the smirk off his face, “Very important, I’d say. To…”
“...both of us,” Sam finished, and next thing he knew, his and Bucky’s eyes were locked in a staring contest.
After a moment, Bucky squinted at him, “You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Forgotten? Of course I haven’t forgotten.”
“Hmm, alright, I’m sure you haven’t.” They continued to stare at each other and Bucky broke into a forced laugh, “Dammit Sam, just blink.”
He put on a satisfied smirk, “In your dreams.” Then he let Bucky struggle for a few more moments before he leaned forward to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. Sam watched as his eyes fluttered shut, then he broke away to leave their faces a few inches apart and smirked victoriously.
“I win.”
Bucky’s cheeks flushed and he wore a look of the utmost betrayal, “You dirty little cheater.”
“Honey, you know I play to win.”
Bucky rolled his eyes and they both laughed. “Well, I guess that’s us off to work then.” Sam said, making his way around the counter.
“Actually, you’re off to work. I’ve got a special errand to run today.”
“Oh?” He paused and raised his brow at him, “Care to tell me what kind of ‘special errand’ this is?”
Across from him, Bucky leaned on his forearms on the kitchen counter, “No. I believe the surprise will make it all the better. Besides, you’re just so cute when you’re left guessing.”
Sam propped himself forward to meet him, “You really are the worst, aren’t you?”
A mischievous look twinkled in Bucky’s eyes, “That’s why you married me, isn’t it?”
“Hmm…” he smiled before they both leaned in for a quick kiss. He laced his fingers through Bucky’s gloved ones to squeeze them before he left. “Alright baby, have fun. Don’t do anything dangerous or illegal.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied sweetly, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand, “See you after work, Sammy.”
Sam blew him a kiss that Bucky dramatically caught in the air. He chuckled, picked up his coat from the hanger, and then he was gone.
Bucky waited a few moments until he was absolutely sure that Sam was gone before he got ready to leave himself. Maybe he had gone too far as to drop hints of a surprise, but he wanted to make sure that Sam’s birthday was a special one.
He opened the front door and paused once he found a man standing over the welcome mat. His hand hovered over the door as if he were going to knock before Bucky had opened it. The man in the doorway cleared his throat and smiled.
“Why hello! I’m Zemo, your neighbor to the left. Big wooden house, koi pond in the front; you can’t miss it,” he said and held out a basket of candies to him, “Turkish delights.” He wore a button up sweater, tie, and horn rimmed glasses; seemingly like a cheerful, nosy neighbor.
“Oh, um, thank you. I’m Bucky,” he replied as Zemo set the basket in his arms and stepped into the house.
“Lovely to make your acquaintance. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner, but I was visiting my family in Sokovia.”
“Oh…” he plastered a fake smile on his face, unsure of how to respond. Meanwhile, he set the basket on the coffee table in the living room.
“What an adorable set-up you have here,” Zemo rotated around and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “You sure moved in fast. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s as if you had super powers.”
Bucky laughed, hoping it didn’t sound nearly as uncomfortable as it felt, “How ridiculous would that be? Let’s just say those boxes didn’t move themselves.”
Zemo grinned at him before his face faltered ever so slightly, “I’m sorry, I can’t help but feel like I’m intruding on something.”
“Ah, well, today’s a rather important day, you see, it’s my husband’s birthday…”
Zemo placed his hand over his own chest and gave a soft smile, “Aww, how sweet! What a lucky man. What all do you have planned for the special day?”
“You know, the traditional; cake, flowers…”
“Perhaps I can be of assistance! This just so happens to be within my area of expertise. You see, Sokovians have always had a knack for the art of celebration.”
Bucky’s smile stiffened, but Zemo didn’t seem to notice, “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“Please, it’s no trouble at all. Just let me run back home and grab a couple of things,” he beamed, turned to leave, and looked over his shoulder one last time, “See you in a little bit, partner!”
Bucky chuckled and once he was gone, he took one last look around the house, smiling before he left. The front door shut with a soft click behind him.
The office buzzed with the flapping of papers and the chatter of conversation. Sharon balanced a stack of folders in her arms, fighting to keep the papers from flying away. Then she grinned as she walked by the desk of a familiar face.
“Hiya Sam,” she beamed and noticed that nearly all of his papers were put in the ‘done’ tray on his desk, “Gee, you’re just flying through those, aren’t you?”
“Flying?” His eyes shot up towards her and he chuckled nervously, “Who said anything about flying? I wouldn’t say that...”
Sharon laughed this off, “Easy pal, it’s just an expression.” After taking a longer glance, she noticed that Sam seemed on an edge that wasn’t just to do with the strange ‘flying’ comment. “Something bugging you?”
He sighed and leaned back in his chair, “Well, there seems to be something special about today, something to Bucky, and I just can’t seem to remember what it is…”
“Hmm,” but Sharon didn’t have long to ponder before an agitated looking man stepped out of his office.
“Carter! Wilson! My office!” He said before he turned back around and headed inside. Sharon and Sam exchanged an equally annoyed glance before she rested her folders down on his desk and followed him.
Once inside his office, Sharon caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the glass panel of the window. The image of a woman with long, wavy hair pulled into an updo, a white blouse, and a floral skirt was one that for a moment, she did not recognise.
That was, until their boss, Mr. Smith's voice brought her back to reality.
“Enough funny business you two,” he glared, “This company just hasn’t been the same since you showed up. And don’t think for a moment that either of you could pull the rag over my eyes without me noticing.”
Well, they were officially screwed. Sharon had pulled the occasional office prank, but had that been enough to get her fired? And why was Sam being taken down with her? They looked at each other again and Sam shuddered.
“Sir, I can assure you that whatever happened, we-,”
“I’m impressed!” He beamed, cutting Sam off.
“You, you are?” He stuttered as he exchanged another confused look with Sharon.
“Of course! Sales are through the roof! In fact, I’d say you both are the future of this company.”
“Wow, I… don’t know what to say,” Sam replied, looking extremely relieved and Sharon grinned. “But say, what exactly do we do here?”
Mr. Smith looked at him and his face faltered slightly, “Whatever do you mean?”
“I mean, what do we do here? Do we make something?”
“No.”
“Do we sell something?”
“No.”
“Do we-”
Sharon cut him off with a small jab to the ribs, “I think what my coworker means to say is, we’re very grateful for the opportunity.” Just in case Sam’s suspicions were to ruin the close call they just had.
Mr. Smith gave her a relieved smile, “Of course. And to celebrate the occasion, my wife and I will toast to your promotion. Tonight!”
Realization hit when she figured what this meant for Bucky’s plans of surprising Sam on his birthday. As well as her job in making sure he got home. She had to steer this in the right direction somehow. “Oh! Sounds lovely! We should do it at one of our homes, as a, well… symbolic welcome!” So far so good. “Only, oh dear, I’ve just remembered that the floors are being replaced in my house. Nails everywhere! Would be a nightmare trying to give a toaster with all the sawdust flying around…” She trailed off just long enough for Sam to get the message.
“Oh, well, we could do it at my house. I’ll just have to let my husband know.”
“Don’t even worry about it! I lent Bucky my screwdriver which he still hasn’t returned, so I’ll call and then let him know myself,” Sharon grinned.
Mr. Smith clapped his hands together, “Great! Then it’s settled!”
“Yes!” No . She thought. It was not settled at all. What had she just dug herself, Sam, and Bucky into?
When they finally exited the office, Sam nudged her, “Promotions, huh?”
“Yeah,” she laughed, “Look at us, stepping on up.”
“Sharon, what exactly was that in there?”
“I…” Thankfully, she was saved by the ring of her phone on her desk. “Just one second, let me take this.”
Sam nodded respectfully. As he went back to his own desk, Sharon sat down in her chair and hesitantly pressed the phone up to her ear, “Hello?”
“Sharon? It’s Bucky.”
Sharon sighed with relief, “Thank goodness. Alright, listen, there’s been a little hiccup in this whole operation of yours.”
“I already know.”
Sharon frowned suspiciously, “You do?”
“Yes. The bakery was out of chocolate, but they did have vanilla with chocolate frosting, so I decided to go with that. I think he’ll like it.”
“What? Oh, no. This isn’t about the cake-,”
“Plus, I’ve already got the flowers, just finished wrapping the present… I think this is all coming together rather nicely. I mean, I’m surprised it hasn’t all gone terribly wrong yet,” he continued, seemingly as if he hadn’t heard her.
“Bucky, listen-,”
“Well, hold that thought,” he paused and she was able to hear a knock on the door through the phone. “Just a moment!” he called, “Alright Sharon, I’ve got to go, but just make sure Sam knows to head home after work.”
“Wait!” But the line went dead. Sharon sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Improvising it was.
“My, it sure is dark in here,” Mrs. Smith commented as they entered the pitch black house.
“Yes, um… I’ll go check and see what’s going on,” Sam said as he suspiciously felt his way through the dark. Had they blown a fuse? Bucky surely would have called, unless this had just happened after they left the office. Where was Bucky?
Meanwhile, Bucky crept through the dark behind a figure who appeared to be Sam’s height. He drew his hands up to cover his eyes and hummed, “Surprise~,”
Immediately after he said it, the lights flashed on to reveal Sam’s hand over the light switch and Bucky’s fingertips over Mr. Smith’s eyes.
“Bucky!”
Bucky’s head snapped in his direction, “Sam?” He looked back at Mr. Smith, and immediately threw his hands back as if he had been burned. Sharon, who had been suspiciously quiet the entire trip, now looked as if she was trying to resist dying of laughter.
“Umm…” Sam watched helplessly as Bucky’s cheeks flushed and he tried to pull the neck of the night robe he was wearing further to cover more of his bare chest. His mind raced to come up with an explanation for his boss and his wife while he stepped forward, taking Bucky’s hand in his. He felt the cool metal against his palm, and hoped their joined hands would block their company’s view of the vibranium arm.
“This is my husband, Bucky,” Sam introduced him as Bucky slid him a pleading glance, “I forgot to mention he’s from… Romania.”
Bucky nodded a little too quickly, “Right, that was, uh… a traditional greeting.”
Sam mimicked covering Bucky’s eyes the way he had done, “Surprise!”
“Oh, is that my host behind me?” he played along and turned around to face Sam, “Yes it is!” Sam picked up on the nervousness in Bucky’s laughter as they shook hands.
“Oooh, so European!” Mrs. Smith chimed in, exchanging a look with her husband, “And I absolutely love what you're wearing!”
Bucky smiled weakly and Sam replied, “It’s so… Romanian?”
“Well, I’d say this would be a good time for those drinks!” Sharon cut in, and Sam nodded overeagarly.
“Yes! We’ll get right on that!” He pulled Bucky’s hand behind them and Sharon followed.
Once all three were in the kitchen, Sam shut the door and drew the shutters closed before he turned to Bucky.
“What’s going on? What are you wearing?”
“Who were those people?!”
Sam finally processed, looking down at Bucky’s chest and then back up at him before changing tone completely, “What are you wearing ?”
Sharon cleared her throat, “On second thought, I’ll go keep Mr. and Mrs. Smith entertained,” With that, she quickly left.
Sam watched her leave, then looked back at Bucky who began to explain.
“She was in on it. I wanted to do something special because it’s your birthday, and I asked Sharon to keep you distracted and make sure you came home, but I had no idea you were coming with other people…”
“Hey, hey, it’s alright. I’m flattered, but… today isn’t my birthday.”
Bucky frowned at him, wrinkling his brow, “Yes it is. Your birthday’s the fourteenth.”
“Yes, and today’s the thirteenth.”
“Darling, I’m telling you, today’s the fourteenth. It’s Thursday.”
“Honey, I’m telling you that today is Wednesday.”
Bucky drew out a long sigh before he put his hands on Sam’s shoulders and guided him from behind to the calendar in their kitchen. Sam squinted and sure enough, a circle surrounded the day's date.
“Oh…” he trailed off and Bucky rested his chin on Sam’s shoulder from behind. He tilted his head to look at him, “I can’t believe I forgot my own birthday.”
“Well Samuel, you are full of surprises.”
Sam looked away and laughed, feeling Bucky draw back behind him, “Says the man who just met my boss and his wife in a night robe. You’re full of something else, that’s for sure.”
When he turned back around to face him, Bucky thrust a bouquet of sunflowers into his arms. “Happy birthday.”
Sam looked at him, then at the flowers, and then back at him. An amused smile brushed across his face as his flustered husband rambled.
“I’m sorry. I had this whole, stupid thing planned and this isn’t how I wanted to do it, but…”
A lingering kiss on the cheek caused him to trail off. When Sam finally pulled back, he rubbed the back of Bucky’s neck, “Buck, this is all really sweet. The flowers, the outfit...” Bucky laughed softly at that.
“But?”
“...but my boss and his wife are in our living room because they want to toast to mine and Sharon’s promotion. I love that you did all this, and I hate to sound-”
“You got a promotion?! Sammy!” Bucky exclaimed and swept him off his feet in a hug. Sam laughed, but their moment was cut short when they heard Sharon’s voice call out:
“Oh, I’m sure everything’s fine!” A moment later, she popped back into the kitchen and hissed quietly to Sam and Bucky, “Where’s your wine? We need to get this show on the road!”
“Right!” Sam said as he and Bucky looked at each other, then shook their heads, “We don’t have any wine.”
“What?”
“Hey, give us a break! This is a new house; we just moved here!” Bucky said and they all froze as Mrs. Smith’s voice grew near.
“Need any help in there?”
“We’re good!” Sam called back, and leaned himself against the closed door. He let out a sigh and looked at Sharon and Bucky. “Alright, here’s the plan. Sharon, keep Mr. Smith talking. Mention, I don’t know, expanding the company and you’ll be good. Bucky, I say this with love, but put some clothes on. I’ll be right back.”
Sharon gave a short laugh, “What, you’re going to run to the store? Do you know how long that’ll take?”
Sam exchanged a knowing glance with Bucky, “I’ll be quick.”
Bucky slowly nodded, understanding what he was about to do, “Be careful.”
Sam nodded and started off to the garage. Sharon looked baffled by this interaction, but shrugged it off and reentered the living room. While the guests were distracted, Bucky quickly snuck up the stairs and changed into a clean suit.
As he came back down, he hastily pulled on his gloves. Sure enough, he entered the living room to find Sharon engaging Mr. Smith in a conversation. She gave Bucky a subtle nod as he joined them. However, it wasn’t long before the next shenanigan of the night took the form of a crash from the kitchen.
“Oh dear, sounds like some assistance might be needed,” Mrs. Smith said, already halfway across the room.
“Wait! Don’t!” Bucky exclaimed, the panic rising as her hand rested on the shutter to the kitchen. Afraid of the exposure Sam was about to experience, Bucky belted out as Mrs. Smith opened the shutter, “ Cause baby there ain’t no mountain high enough! ”
Mrs. Smith’s head turned and Bucky held his breath for a moment as Sam stood on the other side in the kitchen, his wings stretched out around him. She didn’t seem to notice, but Sam tilted his head while casting him a confused look as he continued.
“ Ain’t no valley low enough! ”
Sam sliced his wing through the air, closing the shutter again before he left.
“ Ain’t no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you babe! ”
Mrs. Smith chuckled and applauded while Mr. Smith looked at him strangely.
“You alright there son? It’s like you’ve got a screw loose or something.”
Bucky frowned while looking down at his arm, “No, I don’t think so…” Then it clicked. He meant figuratively. “I mean, of course I don’t! Screws all tightened in here,” he laughed while gesturing to his head.
A knock on the door cut through the awkward moment, but Bucky nonetheless felt his stomach drop.
“I’ll get it,” Sharon said automatically, but Bucky stopped her, knowing damn well who it might be.
“I’ve got it.”
Sure enough, he opened the door to find Zemo standing in the doorway, beaming, “I almost forgot to give you these,” he said, handing Bucky a box of wine glasses. “Very beautiful and very expensive so don’t break them ,” he warned while pointing at him.
“Thank you,” Bucky whispered before stating more loudly so everyone inside could hear, “We’ve already collected today’s paper, but thanks anyways!”
As he closed the front door with his foot and made his way to the dining room table with the box, he felt Mr. Smith’s eyes on him, and he decided he didn’t like it one bit. While his back was turned to him, Mr. Smith cleared his throat.
“There’s something off about you son, but I just can’t put my finger on it.”
Bucky turned around and put on what was hopefully his most convincing smile, “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
Mrs. Smith rolled her eyes and tapped her husband’s chest, “Oh Fred, don’t be silly. No need to intimidate your employee’s spouse.”
But Bucky wasn’t the one intimidated. In fact, it seemed that Mr. Smith was more on edge about him. He stood rigid and his eyes darted from him to his metal hand concealed by his glove. It made his skin crawl, wondering why this man seemed afraid of him when he had done nothing to harm him.
However Mrs. Smith smiled brightly, breaking whatever awkward silence that had been formed, “I have so many questions I’ve been dying to ask you and your husband. Say, he’s been absent quite a while now. Where is he?”
“Yes, where is your husband?” Now this felt like an accusation from Mr. Smith. Was he suggesting he had done something to Sam? Or maybe that something else had happened to him? Either way, Bucky continued to stare back, his gaze growing colder by the second.
Sharon let out a sigh of relief, “Oh, there you are!”
Bucky turned around to see Sam standing at the table behind him. Five of the glasses from the box sat on the white tablecloth, each filled with wine. He shot Bucky a short wink and the tension he hadn’t realized had been building in his shoulders lessened.
“Who’s ready for a toast?” he smiled as they gathered around the table.
“To Sam Wilson-Barnes and Sharon Carter; the future of this company.” Mr. Smith raised his glass and the others followed, clicking them together.
“To my amazing, talented husband,” Bucky whispered to Sam as he wrapped his arm around his waist. Sam looked up at him and his nose scrunched up as he smiled back. Then they drank.
After the first sip, Mrs. Smith looked at them foundly, “My, you two seem like you were made for each other. Tell me, where are you from, when were you married, and which one of you would you say is the woman in the relationship?”
Sam pursed his lips and looked down at his glass while Bucky chuckled uncomfortably, “Last time I checked, neither one of us.”
“Oh, I’m just messing with you,” she grinned, “But seriously, what’s your story?”
“We…” Sam trailed off, seemingly unable to recall. Much to his surprise, Bucky couldn’t remember for the life of him either.
“I think what my husband means to say is that we…” Bucky stared down at the floor, lost in thought.
Mr. Smith stared at them suspiciously, “Well, where? When? Honestly, these seem like very simple questions.”
Mrs. Smith rolled her eyes, “Oh, just leave the poor boys alone. They’re setting up their story.”
“Our story…” Sam repeated, a bit uncomfortably.
Bucky nodded slowly, “Yes, which is…”
After a long moment, Mr. Smith started again a bit more forcefully, dragging Bucky’s attention up to him, “Dammit, what is it? What is your story? Now that I think of it, Sam, I don’t ever recall you wearing a wedding ring-”
However, he was cut short as he began to gag on his drink. The glass slipped from his hand and crashed against the table. The wine bled into the white tablecloth surrounded by small daggers of glass.
“Fred, stop it,” Mrs. Smith laughed lightly as her husband continued to choke and began to collapse to the ground. Whatever background noise there had been went eerily quiet. Now, the only sounds that filled the room were Mrs. Smith’s repeated, playful scolds of “stop it” over Mr. Smith’s coughs.
Chills shot through Bucky’s spine and he wished more than anything that Mr. Smith would take his wife’s advice and stop. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he just wanted it to stop. Sharon seemed frozen, her face expressionless as she stared straight down at him.
Bucky’s hand slowly dropped from Sam’s waist and lightly brushed against his fingertips. Soon, Mrs. Smith’s chant of “stop it” turned more into a plea.
“ Stop it ,” A single tear rolled down her cheek and now she was staring at Bucky. This couldn’t be right. It felt like a scratch on a record that kept repeating itself, over and over again.
He finally brought himself to meet Sam’s eyes, but when he saw that the confusion and fear reflected his own, he looked down. Down at Mr. Smith sputtering on the floor.
“Bucky, help him.”
Immediately after Sam said it, Bucky rushed over and knelt down behind him. He brought his vibranium arm around his stomach and pulled back. Mr. Smith coughed a few more times before he tapped Bucky’s arm.
“That’s alright son. Thanks for the assist.”
“Um, sure…” It seemed the spell had been broken as he helped Mr. Smith to stand. The atmosphere in the room shifted back to what it was as Mrs. Smith gave a relieved sigh and Sharon smiled, taking another sip of her wine.
Bucky and Sam met each other's eyes, an unspoken gratitude shared between them.
“Well, would you look at the time! We better get going,” Mrs. Smith declared brightly. Before she led her husband out the door, she covered Bucky’s eyes from behind. “This guest is leaving your home.”
Mr. Smith looked from Sharon to Sam, “I’ll be seeing you two in my office tomorrow to discuss your new positions.”
They both exchanged a knowing smile. “Thank you sir. See you tomorrow,” Sam grinned and they all waved goodbye. Once Mr. and Mrs. Smith had left, Sharon turned, pointing at Bucky.
“Hey, go easy on him. We’ve got a big day tomorrow,” she teased and then hugged Sam, “Happy birthday, Sam.”
“Thanks Sharon.”
She gave a friendly nod and then disappeared out the front door. Sam closed it softly behind her and then turned around to lean back against it, facing Bucky.
“Well that was nearly a disaster.”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle. At least that nightmare’s over now,” Bucky stepped towards him as a grin broke across his face, “I forgot... isn’t it someone’s birthday?”
Sam rolled his eyes and met Bucky to the point where they were practically chest to chest. He took his hands in his and began to pull off his gloves. Once his hands were free, Bucky cupped the sides of his face and pressed a deep kiss to his lips. Sam hugged his arms around his waist and dragged him closer. A fluttering feeling swelled in his chest that he never wanted to end.
“I think we should have cake for dinner every night.”
Sam rolled his eyes, “Like you need that kind of sugar anyways.”
The kitchen light was the only one that remained on, shining over Sam and Bucky as they ate their cake at the round kitchen table. Sam leaned back in his chair and propped his foot up on Bucky’s thigh. He looked down at it and sighed.
“Can you move?”
“No.”
Bucky started to push his foot off, but Sam readjusted and shot him a smug look. He retaliated by flinging a bit of frosting from his fork at him. Without breaking eye contact, Sam swiped the frosting off his own cheek and licked it. Bucky watched him for a moment until he burst into laughter. Consequently, so did Sam.
“You’re trying so hard right now, I can tell.”
“Couldn’t have been more than you were, coming downstairs all ready to go,” Sam said and winked at him.
Bucky groaned and Sam took great pleasure in watching his cheeks flare up as he pressed his forehead against the table, “Any chance we’d be able to burn that from their memories? Or maybe just yours since you’re clearly never gonna let me live that down?”
“Mr. Super Solider’s bare chest seems to be a real crowd pleaser.”
“Hey, that’s Mr. Wilson-Barnes to you.”
Sam let out a light hearted sigh and Bucky sat up straight again. They looked at each other and despite maybe being lost in his eyes, he hadn’t felt so centered and at home. With Bucky.
Yet, something nagged at him, “Honey?”
“Yes dear?”
“Do you think that we’re… odd?”
“Oh most definitely. Especially you.”
That earned him a soft kick to the leg, which he overdramatically pretended to be in pain. Once he resettled, he looked at Sam more thoughtfully, “Why do you ask?”
“It just seems that, well, we’re married, right?”
“I was under that impression, yes.”
“We had a wedding, and there were people there.”
“I know. I believe I might have been one of them.”
Sam rolled his eyes at Bucky’s witty responses and nudged him again, “I’m serious Buck. Ever since we got here, I can’t seem to remember any of it. We don’t seem to have a first date, or kiss, or even wedding rings.”
Bucky examined him for another moment before he stood up, letting Sam’s leg fall to the ground.
“Hey? Where are you going?”
“I just remembered you haven’t opened your present yet,” Bucky returned to the table holding a small box wrapped in decorative paper. He set it next to Sam and drew his chair closer to where their knees knocked together. Sam looked down at the gift, then back at Bucky, his suspicion growing upon seeing the glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
“This isn’t the part where you finally prank me after all this, is it?”
“Come on, have a little faith in me. Just open it!”
Sam drew out a long sigh as he crumbled apart the paper and opened the lid. Inside the box sat two rings on top of a bundle of tissue paper. He took in a soft breath as Bucky began to explain.
“I guess I’d thought about it too, and I thought that it would be nice if we did. You know, have rings at least. And um, also! A little chip of the old vibranium arm so that way they won’t ever break! Not that that’s really a thing I think a lot of people worry about-” Bucky was cut off with a soft “oof” as Sam threw his arms around him in a tight hug.
“They’re perfect,” he whispered and felt Bucky’s fingers lace across his back. When they finally pulled apart, Sam slipped the rings on each of their left ring fingers and admired them.
“Where would our first date have been?”
Bucky thought for a moment, “By the lake where you grew up. We’d take your family’s boat out, and we’d watch the sun go down.”
He nudged his shoulder with his own, “Alright loverboy, taking me out on my Papa’s boat; I see what you’re trying to do.”
Bucky laughed and shook his head, “No, it’s just that it’s quiet out there. I like it. It’s really peaceful out there, just us.”
“Hmm…” Sam rested his cheek on his palm, his arm leaning against the back of his chair. “And our first kiss?”
Bucky leaned his head back to look at him before his gaze fell to his lips. Sam grinned, holding his hand up to block him as he started to lean in.
“Alright, you think you’re going to get me with your cheesy ‘lean in at just the right moment’ sort of deal?”
“You started it,” he smirked and added, “ Sweetheart .”
“Oh.” The worst of the pet names but by far his favorite one. Of course now they were both leaned in and an involuntary smile spread across Sam’s face as he felt Bucky’s warmth blossom across his lips. He brought his hand up, stroking his thumb underneath his jawbone as Bucky pressed his hand against the back of his neck to deepen the kiss.
They eventually pulled back just far enough to where Sam could still feel his breath on his cheeks.
“How was that?” Bucky breathed.
“You taste like cake and wine.”
“Well, that’s not so bad, is it?”
“No, it’s just weird.”
“Baby, I’m plenty weird.”
Sam gave a soft laugh and leaned in to where their noses touched, “I know. Let’s head up to bed, shall we?”
Bucky nodded, staring at him fondly as he took his hand. Then Sam led him about the kitchen, turning off the light before heading upstairs.