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“Sam I swear to God, if you don’t heal my fighter on your turn I’m going to kick your ass.” Bucky speaks into his hands which are interlaced in front of him, elbows leaning on the table.
“Look, man, I’m trying,” Sam quips back, glaring at Bucky. “I’ve got swarms of these little gremlin things surrounding me. I’m a little busy at the moment.”
“Well, maybe if you could actually hit them for once, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
Sam scowls.
“Mommy and daddy are fighting again,” Abby whispers over to Raina.
You giggle. “Alright, boys, let’s settle down here. It’s Peter’s turn anyway. Peter, what do you want to do?”
Peter sits up in his seat and looks at the combat map you’ve drawn out. Right now his monk is thirty feet away from Sam and the horde of goblins. “Can I run up and try to help out Sam?”
“Sure thing. Roll for damage.”
Peter is able to take out two of them, grinning from ear to ear in pride and he lightly nudges Sam’s arm with his fist. “You’re welcome, buddy.”
Sam rolls his eyes. “Shut up, kid.”
“Okay Sam, your paladin is up. What’s your move? You now only have one goblin within melee of you.”
“Okay, and Bucky is down with two failed death saves, so if I don’t get over and heal him he might be dead, dead?”
Bucky groans as you nod. “You can try to run over, but that goblin will get an opportunity attack and you’re low on hit points. It’s risky.” You look over to Bucky. “Sorry, babe.”
He glares at you, and you fight the urge to laugh at how stressed out your super soldier boyfriend is during a game of DnD.
“Okay, but this is the last one, so if I kill it, we’ll be done fighting?” You nod. “Okay, I’m gonna hit that motherfucker.” Bucky slouches back, eyes closed as his head tilts up to the ceiling.
“You got it. Roll to attack.”
Sam rolls a 4 for his first hit and a natural 1 for his second.
“Fuck,” Sam exclaims and Bucky groans again.
“I need you to throw those trash dice out now, Sam,” Bucky growls. “They’ve been rolling shit all fucking night.”
“Hey, at least I’m still alive to try to hit them and not lying around useless.”
“I would have been able to hit it if you fucking healed me Sam.”
Raina rolls her d20 during their argument and looks up at you. “I just shot the goblin with my longbow with a 24 to hit and…” she rolls three more dice, “that’s 12 damage.”
“Got ‘em. Combat is over,” you respond. Bucky and Sam stop arguing and look over at Raina.
“I’ll head over to Bucky and feed him a healing potion,” Abby says next.
“Alright, Bucky is back up. Good job, folks!”
Abby looks over at Raina and fist bumps her. “Us ladies know how to get shit done.” Sam and Bucky scowl.
“Hey!” Peter exclaims, “I helped kill two of those goblins!”
Raina nods at Peter and extends her first. “You’re right, Parker. Well done.” Peter grins and fist bumps her. Bucky and Sam roll their eyes.
“Alright, friends, I think that’s enough fun for one night. We’ll see what adventures await the party next month!” Everyone starts packing their stuff up except for Captain America and the White Wolf, whose arms are crossed as they look in opposite directions of one another. You walk in between their seats and place a hand on both their shoulders.
“Boys,” you look back and forth at the two of them, neither meeting your eye, “Are we good here? Do we need to call Dr. Raynor and have another couple’s therapy session?”
Sam sighs and Bucky’s jaw tightens. “That won’t be necessary, Y/n,” Sam says. “Bucky just needs to get over his high horse and get over the fact that he can’t seem to keep his character alive.”
Bucky’s head pivots to Sam, rage painted across his face. “Maybe if I had a better teammate who could kill things, I would still be alive.”
“Boys,” you start, “and for the record, I will keep calling you boys until you act your age…you played a good game. You both solved my dungeon puzzle faster than anyone else earlier tonight. I thought it was going to take you at least an hour to do that, so I’m impressed! Sometimes the dice just aren’t in our favor-” you look over to Sam “-and sometimes your Dungeon Master girlfriend accidentally hits your character with two criticals in a row and doesn’t give you a fighting chance.” You look to Bucky with an apologetic expression and he immediately softens. “Why don’t we shake hands and say ‘good game’ and end on a good note, alright? Consider this a learning experience for next time.”
Bucky, not wanting to disappoint you, rolls his eyes one more time before extending his hand out to Sam, who begrudgingly shakes it.
“What do we say?”
Bucky and Sam both groan out a ‘good game’ and you smile. “Thanks, guys. Now please pack up your stuff. We have an early flight to catch tomorrow.”
“Why are you guys going to Louisiana again?” Raina asks.
Sam shifts forward to gather his stuff as requested. “My sister and her two boys live there. It’s AJ’s birthday so they’re having a party and Bucky was requested by the birthday boy himself.”
You smile at the sight of Bucky’s lips slightly curving up hearing Sam’s words. He had told you about his time in Louisiana, how close he got to Sarah and her two boys, as well as the rest of Sam’s family. You had originally panicked hearing about Bucky’s almost-relationship with Sarah, but when he explained that there was nothing substantial between the two of them, you believed him.
It was amazing. Six months ago, before you and Bucky started dating, the idea of a man you were interested in having feelings for someone else would have devastated you. You were so used to being in a mindset of not being good enough, not being pretty or thin enough, that if there were every other option, you would be chosen last. It was how it had been with other relationships you pursued. They would always want someone else instead of you.
Everyone except Bucky.
No, it was clear that Bucky wanted you and only you. He had helped you discover how beautiful you were, inside and out. It was the little things he did, the way he told you everyday how lovely you looked, the way his eyes lit up whenever they found you, the smile that spread across his face when you told him you loved him. The sincerity in his voice when he told you he loved you in return.
Of course, there were still moments where the demons in your mind got the best of you. There were still strangers who gaped at the sight of you and Bucky walking down the street, arms wrapped around each other. Whenever you went out to dinner, your server would think that you were siblings and when Bucky held your hand they would scowl at you, incredulous that you were able to somehow seduce such a gorgeous man. Or when you were on a run by yourself, the smirks you would get from people who ran by you, making you self-conscious of your labored breaths or the way your body jiggled at every step. It was hard, and you weren’t sure if those demons would ever go away forever.
But they had lessened significantly, and the way Bucky’s breath would hitch when you touched him, the way his hands greedily searched to make contact with you whenever he could. The feel of his heartbeat as you rested your hand on his chest when his lips found yours, how it seemed like it was on the verge of beating out of his chest.
No, you weren’t worried about Bucky’s feelings for you. That man wanted all of you, forever, just as you wanted him.
When Bucky invited you to join him in Louisiana, you immediately said yes. You wanted to meet the people who had become Bucky’s family, wanted to see the look on his face when he was reunited with Sarah’s boys. Wanted to watch the sunrise (or sunset, depending on how willing you were to get up at dawn) at the docks.
“You two are still good with checking in on Willa, right?”
Abby and Raina nodded. “I’m the morning person, Raina’s in the evening,” Abby replied. “She’ll be in good hands.”
You looked over to the window at Willa, who was sleeping on the ledge. “Still, I’m gonna miss my girl.”
“Don’t get me started on that, doll,” Bucky replied, walking up next to you and placing his arm around your shoulder. “I still think we should sneak her onto the plane.”
“Oh, she would hate that.” You wrap your arm around his waist and lean your head against his chest. “She’d probably find a way to escape from her crate and wreak havoc.”
Bucky chuckles. “Yes, yes she would.” You look up at him and his smile softens as he lowers his lips to gently press against yours.
“Alright, lovebirds,” Raina groans out. “We’ll leave you two alone so that you can suck face in private.”
You giggle, pulling away from Bucky and walking over to hug Raina and Abby. “Thanks again for watching Willa. Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.”
“Please, it’s just for a weekend! We got this.” Abby looks over to Raina and they give each other a thumbs up. “Raina, did you want me to drive you home? I’m already giving Peter a ride so I don’t mind adding another stop.”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’m not far so I’m fine with walking.”
“I can walk you home,” Sam responds, sheepishly.
Raina looks over to him and gives him one of those smiles that causes you to raise your eyebrows. “Sure, that’d be nice, Sam. Thanks.” Sam smiles back at her and his arm hovers over the small of her back as they leave your apartment.
“Thanks for a great game, Y/n!” Peter gives you a quick hug before running out into the hallway. “Night, Bucky!”
Abby turns and shoots you a confused look as she closes the door behind you.
You and Bucky furrow your brows and look at one another. “Are they…?”
“Not that I know of,” Bucky chuckles, “But I did notice that Sam has been asking about Raina more than a few times.”
You giggle. “Oh man I’m going to have to text her later tonight.”
“Please keep me updated on that one.” Bucky walks forward and wraps his arms around you and you look up at him, chin resting on his chest as you interlock your fingers around his back. The content, dreamlike smile on your face makes Bucky feel like his heart’s going to explode. He kisses your forehead and you let out a content sigh. He pulls away and his expression changes to a pouty face. “You sure you don’t want me to stay over tonight?”
You grumble and frown back. “I would love that, Bucky. You know that. But if you’re here I’m going to be too distracted to finish packing. How am I supposed to choose what outfits to wear when I’m too busy staring into those gorgeous blue eyes?”
He rolls said gorgeous blue eyes. “Fiiiine. Just know that as soon as I’m awake tomorrow morning I’ll be barging in and tackling you with cuddles before we have to leave for the airport.”
“As long as there’s coffee, that sounds like the perfect way to wake up.”
Bucky snorts. “As if I’d ever want to face your uncaffeinated wrath….again.”
“Definitely not.” You stand on your tiptoes and give him one last kiss for the evening. Bucky’s metal hand snakes its way to the back of your head and tilts it to the side to deepen the kiss, his tongue searching to make contact with yours. You lean into him for balance, head spinning at the euphoria of a kiss you had shared countless times and yet always felt like the first.
Finally he pulls back, smiling as your eyes flutter open to meet his gaze. “Something to remember me by until tomorrow.” His voice is low and husky.
“Ah, yes, my hunky blue-eyed god of a boyfriend who can punch through walls with his metal arm. Definitely forgettable.”
Bucky barks out a laugh. “Hunky?”
You roll your eyes. “Goodnight, Buck.”
“Goodnight, love.” Bucky leans down for one more quick kiss before pulling away toward the door. He turns back to you as the door closes and winks at your shit-eating grin right as it latches shut.
——
Unfortunately for you, Sam and Bucky were both morning people, meaning you were up at 4am to catch a 6am flight to Louisiana.
Luckily, they knew to interact with you as little as possible until you were somewhat awake, which finally happened when you were filled with nervous energy as you boarded the plane.
Bucky raises his eyebrows when you both sit down in your seats, noticing the way you were fidgeting with your clammy hands on your lap.
“You okay, doll?”
You look up at him and he frowns at the look of panic on your face. “Did I forget to tell you I’m terrified of flying, Buck?”
He groans. “Why didn’t you say something? Is there anything I can do to help?”
You give him a weak smile. “Any chance you can knock me out with your metal arm so that I’m not in a constant state of fear that the plane is going to break somehow and crash from 30,000 feet in the air?”
“I will not be doing that, no.”
“Ugh, fine.” You yelp as the plane starts to move backwards and your eyes squeeze shut. “I’ll be okay, Buck….just as soon as we’re in Louisiana.”
You feel the leather of Bucky’s jacket and gloves slide underneath your arm and between your two hands as they interlace with your fingers. Your eyes open and you look at Bucky, his face serious.
“You’ll be okay, love. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Your whole body seems to relax and you give him a genuine smile before resting your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes once more.
“Thanks, Buck,” you whisper. “Love you.”
Bucky smiles. “Love you.”
You still weren’t a fan of flying, but this was the most relaxing time you had ever spent on a plane.
Three hours later and you were on the ground, and you somehow managed not to have a full on body spasm as the plane landed. That might have been because you were using all of your strength to cling to Bucky.
“You’re probably thinking you never want to fly with me again,” you gasp out into Bucky’s leather jacket.
“On the contrary, doll, I could get used to you needing to be so close to me like this.” He gives you a wink before placing a quick kiss to your temple.
Sam, who had been sleeping this whole goddamn time, lifts his head up and pulls his headphones down. “Oh, shit, are we here already?”
You glare at him.
Sarah and the boys were there to pick you up. AJ and Cass run toward you and Sam extends his arms, preparing for a hug, only to watch them run over to tackle Bucky.
“Bucky!” they both exclaimed. You and Sarah laugh at Sam’s scowl.
“Remind me never to invite him home again,” Sam grumbles as he walks over to his sister and pulls her in for a hug.
“Listen, Sam, you know they love you,” Sarah responds, trying to fight back another laugh and totally failing. “I promise, it’s the arm.” Sarah looks over at you and her smile brightens. “You must be Y/n. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The demons infiltrate your brain without warning.
Look at how beautiful she is. Of course Bucky would fall for her.
You mentally dropkick the demons in their nonexistent faces and return the smile, extending your hand. “I hope what you’ve heard wasn’t too bad.”
She chuckles, ignoring your hand and pulling you in for a hug. “I’ve heard that you’re smart, funny, beautiful, and know how to put these guys in their place when they get all pissy at each other.” You both laugh. “And that you’ve got Bucky wrapped around your finger.”
Bucky walks over to Sarah and hugs her. “It’s true. All of it.” He looks over at you and winks, and the demons disappear completely.
“Thanks so much for letting me crash this weekend, Sarah. I know you probably have your hands full planning for the party so please let us help in any way we can. We are at your disposal.”
“I will gladly take you up on that. But, just so you know, I would have loved to have you come regardless. These two can be a lot, so I’m thrilled to have someone to keep me sane and join me in rolling my eyes at their ridiculousness.”
“She’s talking about you two, by the way,” AJ says with a cheeky grin to Bucky and Sam, who both scowl.
You laugh, turning your attention to the boys. “Hey guys! I’m Y/n.” You hold out your hand and they both shake it, skeptical looks on their faces.
“Are you Bucky’s giiiirlfriend?” Cass asks, his face shifting into a mischievous smile.
You feel the heat rising to your face as it shifts into a soft shade of pink. You look over at Bucky and see that his face coloring matches yours.
“Damn right she is,” Bucky says, walking over and placing his arm over your shoulder, “So you punks better treat my girl with respect, ya hear?”
The boys nod. “Yes sir,” they respond in unison.
Bucky nods in return then moves to grab your bags and take them to Sarah’s car. As soon as he walks away you whisper to AJ and Cass, “I’m planning on pushing him into the harbor at some point if you two are willing to help with that.”
They give you the most menacing grins and nod fervently. You wink at them.
Bucky had totally heard you, and you knew that, but he still smiles to himself as he walks out of the airport.
I’d like to see you try, doll.
AJ’s birthday is tomorrow, so once you get settled at Sarah’s place, the two of you run out to grab some last-minute supplies while Bucky and Sam head over to the boat to do some ‘routine maintenance.’ Sarah groans about how she’s been doing a damn good job making sure the boat is well-maintained, but they’re mainly just looking for an excuse to hang out there and pop open a few beers.
“At least try to set up the tables and chairs like I asked,” Sarah calls out to them as they head to Sam’s truck he keeps here for when he visits. She rolls her eyes at you. “Those two. As soon as beer is involved, they’re suddenly all buddy-buddy.”
“Tell me about it,” you say. “I try to keep a six-pack at my place at all times for an emergency whenever they start going at it.”
She gives you an impressed look. “Now that is a good idea. Reminds me of how I always kept cheese sticks on hand for the boys when they got fussy and needed a snack.”
“Your boys, or Bucky and Sam?”
You both cackle.
Sarah gave you a mini tour of their town, showing you the local shops owned by family and friends, the place to get the best coffee (which you took mental note of to remember), and the small bookstore owned by one of Sarah’s best friends, which you obviously requested to stop at for a bit.
“So, you and Bucky?” Sarah asks while you’re at the deli, basically clearing them out of their entire stock.
You nod, smiling. “Yeah. Me and Bucky.” Your smile drops and you wince at her. “I hope that’s not, like, weird for you or anything. Bucky told me about-”
“No, no, do not worry about that,” Sarah cuts you off. She puts a hand on your shoulder. “That was barely a thing. He’s a good guy and he’ll always be family. Nothing more. Besides, I don’t think I could ever make that man smile the way that you do. He’s a total goner for you.”
Your smile returns. “The feeling is mutual.”
Sarah smiles back. “Good. You two look great together. And I know we just met, but I wouldn’t mind having you stick around and coming back to visit whenever.”
You blink rapidly to try to fight off the tears forming in your eyes. “You have no idea how much that means. All of it.” You look down at the ground. “A lot of people – mostly strangers, but also some ‘friends’ – don’t tend to understand why Bucky and I are together.”
Sarah shakes her head in confusion. “And why the hell not?”
You wince. “Well,” your hand gestures down your body, “They don’t think they really look great together.”
This time Sarah scoffs out, “Oh hell no. You can’t be serious, right?” The guy at the deli looks up at the two of you as the volume in Sarah’s voice rises. “Those assholes are idiots. You’re gorgeous, Y/n. If anyone makes you feel any differently, you send them down to Louisiana and I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”
You choke out a laugh, then put your hand over hers resting on your shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. “Thanks, Sarah.”
She nods, then turns back to the guy at the deli. “Sorry for yelling, Mark.”
Mark chuckles. “I’ll never be one to tell you not to go off, Sarah. Especially when you’re making a solid point.” He nods his head at you. “Which, she was.”
Your face goes red and you smile. “Thanks, Mark.”
“Now, let’s go see if the boys actually got anything done.” Sarah gathers her items from Mark and pulls out her wallet. “I bet you $20 that they’re on the boat playing around with the controls.”
You laugh. “Sarah, why would I agree to a bet I know I’m going to lose?”
—–
Once reunited with the boys (you $20 poorer) you set up for dinner on the docks. You and Sarah had stopped by the local BBQ spot and grabbed food for everyone after you stopped by home to drop off today’s purchases and grab the kids.
Louisiana weather in January was perfect. It was a ‘cool’ 50 degrees (which felt like summer compared to the icy hellscape that was currently New York). Being by the water during sunset, a soft breeze wafting the salt water smell your way, laughing at the stories Sarah told about her and Sam as kids, seeing Bucky laugh with these people who he considered his family. It felt like a dream.
One that continued when dinner was over.
“Hey, doll, we’re gonna stick around a bit, okay? I wanna show you something.” You narrow your eyes at Bucky as Sarah, Sam and the boys head to Sarah’s car.
“This isn’t the moment that I realize this was all some sinister plan for you to kill me and dump me into the waters of Louisiana, is it Buck?”
Bucky rolls his eyes. “So dramatic.”
“You love me and all my drama.”
He smiles. “I do.” He reaches for your hand and guides you onto the boat. The sun had set a while ago, and in the darkness you found yourself grasping onto Bucky a little tighter, nervous about making a misstep and taking an impromptu swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Bucky, what the hell are we doing?” You try to get your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
“Just a few more steps, love. Alright, stay right here, and close your eyes.”
You laugh. “Bucky, I can’t fucking see. Why would I shut my eyes-”
“Please?”
You let out a sigh and then close your eyes. You hear Bucky shuffle around a few feet in front of you before your lids detect a sudden source of light.
Bucky returns a second later, standing behind you and wrapping his arms around your stomach, head resting on your shoulder.
“Alright, open your eyes.” You do.
And you gasp.
Apparently Bucky and Sam hadn’t just been goofing off on the boat all day. No, they had been setting up what felt like hundreds of little string lights throughout the deck of the bow. They had been getting a bottle of wine and a plate of snacks. They had been putting together a small seating area on the ground made up of cushions and covered with a blanket.
“What….what’s all this for?” you breathe out.
Bucky smiles and kisses your cheek. “Just wanted to do something nice for my girl,” he whispers into your ear. “That, and it’s technically our six month anniversary.”
You turn to face him, mouth inches from his. “Bucky Barnes. You remembered our anniversary without me needing to bug you about it like most women do?”
He rubs his nose against yours. “Not a chance. I remember every moment with you, love. They’re the best moments of my whole damn life.”
There are no words in your brain for you to be able to respond to that. Bucky loves that he’s made you speechless. He has an excited sparkle in his eyes that leaves you breathless.
“Come on,” he pulls back and takes your hand in his, guiding you to a spot right behind the cushions. He takes his phone out and taps a few buttons but ends up furrowing his brows a few moments later, clearly confused and frustrated like an old man who doesn’t know how to use technology.
“Need help, Buck?”
“No…I got it….just need to….there.” He taps his phone one more time and the boat erupts with the loud sound of string instruments. You yelp and cover your ears. “Shit.” He quickly moves to turn the volume down on his phone. Now that the strings are no longer punching your eardrums, you uncover your ears and recognize the melody as the opening to Bing Crosby’s ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart,’ one of Bucky’s favorites. Bucky winces. “Sorry about that.”
You laugh. “Well, I don’t mind it. Let’s hope there’s no one in a five mile radius who’s been trying to get some sleep, though.”
Bucky chuckles. “Let’s try this again and pretend I did that way more smoothly.” He takes your hand and places it on his shoulder, taking your other hand into his left and resting his against your waist. “I’ve been dreaming about dancing with you under the stars, and since New York is the worst place to see anything other than streetlights, I figured this might be my chance to finally make it happen.” He takes a small step and leads you into a slow waltz.
You look up at him with such adoration, tears welling in your eyes, that Bucky’s heart flutters. “What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?”
He smiles. “I’ve been asking myself that question every goddamn second since I first met you, Y/n.”
“Well, let’s hope you still feel that way when I inevitably step on your toes. I’m trash at dancing, Buck.” You look down at your feet, focusing on your steps.
Bucky chuckles, then lifts his hand from your waist and under your chin to lift your gaze back to him. “Don’t worry, love. I got you.” He pulls you close and kisses you so passionately that you feel as if you’re floating.
You dance for god knows how long, your head tucked into the crook of his neck, his cheek resting on the crown of your head, only moving positions to steal more kisses from one another.
After a few songs you make your way to the cushions. Bucky pours you both a glass of wine and you snack on cheese and crackers as you look up at the stars, limbs wrapped around each other in every which way. You have moments of content silence and moments of sharing memories, sharing dreams for the future.
“What do you think of Sarah and the kids?” Bucky finally asks.
You smile. “They’re great. I high key want to be best friends with Sarah. She’s hilarious and a total badass. Her kids are the same, just smaller and slightly more adorable than they are baddasses.”
Bucky laughs. “Good, I’m glad you like them. It’s important to me that you do. They’ve done so much for me since….everything. They’re the closest thing I have to family, especially Sam – even if he’s a huge pain in my ass half the time. But yeah, I want- I wish- ugh, dammit,” Bucky groans, trying to collect his thoughts. “What I’m trying to say is, I want you to feel like they could be your family, Y/n. Because you’re my family. Or, like, I want you to be. I don’t know, is that fucking weird to say? Am I creeping you out? Did I just ruin the whole nigh-”
You cut him off with a kiss so deep, so passionate, that Bucky can see the stars from the night sky beneath his closed eyelids. You wrap your fingers through his hair and he grips your thigh, desperately seeking as much closeness as possible.
You pull away, leaving Bucky with his mouth still hanging open, breathless, staring at you.
“I want to be your family. I want you to be mine. I just want to be yours. Forever.”
A single tear falls down Bucky’s face and he clears his throat. You wipe the tear away and he takes your hand, pressing it against his lips.
“I love you,” he says, voice husky. “Forever.”
Forever with Bucky sounds pretty nice.
—–
You have been to many, many cookouts over the course of your life. They were mostly when you were a kid growing up in the suburbs of Massachusetts, so they were very ‘suburban’ cookouts, filled with hot dogs, burgers, cans of bud light, and potato salad that never seemed to have enough seasoning.
A cookout in Louisiana? Now that was a party.
People showed up in troves for AJ’s birthday, all arriving up with piles upon piles of food. You wonder why Sarah even bothered spending money on food when it was clear that the guests brought enough to feed the whole damn state of Louisiana.
And hot damn is the food good. You nearly tear up when you take your first bite of potato salad.
Sam laughs at your reaction. “It’s good, right? I always beg Sarah to ship me some of that potato salad. There’s nothin’ like it up north.”
“Sam, I will gladly join you in begging Sarah to send potato salad to New York.” You nod at him and take another bite.
You did your best to go up and meet the Wilson family, but most of the time they beat you to it, running up to you and pulling you in for a big hug. They’d say that they heard you were the gorgeous girl that Bucky managed to bag, and you blushed each time, unable to fight the giant smile forming on your face.
Everyone is so nice, so fun. They tell you stories about Sam, how proud they are that he had taken the shield and now served as Captain America. About his and Sarah’s parents. How much they would have loved you. You find yourself on the verge of tears multiple times at their kindness.
Bucky would look over at you from wherever he was (which was usually with the kids, showing off how strong he was for the zillionth time by punching a rock in half or seeing how many of them he could hold up with his metal arm) and just smile at how happy you look. The light in your eyes could give the goddamn sun a run for its money. Your smile could make even the grouchiest person alive experience true joy.
As if he could love you even more. It felt like his heart was fucking growing inside his chest to make room for all of the love he had for you.
At one point, he walks over to Sarah. “Hey. I have a, uh, weird question for you.”
She raises her brows. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Bucky clears his throat. “Um, I talked to Sam a few weeks ago, and he said that there was, a- uh- a shop twenty or so minutes away from here that a friend of yours owned. They, um- they have- there are rings-”
“I know the place.” Sarah smiles. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll take you?”
Bucky nods. “You don’t mind?”
“Not at all, Bucky.” She pats his shoulder. “I think it’s the best decision you could ever make.”
He grins, eyes finding their way back to you. “Yeah, me too.”
You reunite with Bucky to give AJ his gifts. Bucky gives him a shield that was almost identical to the Captain America shield, just not made out of vibranium. You give him an encyclopedia on bugs. Surprisingly enough, he seems just as excited about the bug book as he is about the shield. He pulls you and Bucky in for a hug and your heart swells.
Later, Bucky finds himself at the drink station grabbing the dangerous ‘adults only’ punch for both of you. You meet him there and take the cup from him. “Thank you, kind sir.” You tip the cup to him before taking a sip.
“Anything for you, doll.” He tips his cup and then takes a swig. “So, having fun?”
You nod. “These people know how to throw down.”
“Seriously. I’m convinced that if I didn’t have super soldier serum running through my veins, this punch would have knocked me on my ass during my first Wilson cookout.”
You giggle. “Speaking of which, mind if we sit down? I’m starting to feel a little wobbly from this stuff.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.” He takes your hand and walks you to the edge of the dock. Before you sit down, you turn to Bucky and give him a smile that nearly knocks him off his feet.
“I love your family,” you say.
Bucky grins. “I think it’s safe to say they love you, too. Seeing you with them, I swear I must be the happiest guy on the planet.”
“And I’m the happiest lady.” You reach into Bucky’s pocket and pull out his phone, pointing the camera at the two of you for a photo. You used to hate taking photos of yourself, always so focused on the negative parts of your body. Now, you found yourself wanting to document every moment of your life. Especially the ones with Bucky.
You put his phone in your pocket and at first Bucky chuckles, thinking that your punch-fuzzy brain made you forget whose phone it was, but that thought gets cut off the moment you use your now free hand to cup his cheek. You pull him toward you and give him one of those kisses that makes his head spin. One that consumes all of his senses. All he wants to do is focus on this kiss.
In fact, he’s so distracted that he somehow misses the almost imperceptible footsteps of a bunch of kids sneaking down the dock, mischievous grins painted across their faces.
Usually, his super soldier level hearing would have made it impossible for him not to pick up on those sounds. But the roaring of his heartbeat from kissing you in this moment manages to drown it out.
You pull away just enough so that your lips still graze against his as you speak.
“Sorry, Buck.”
Bucky only has enough time to narrow his eyes in confusion before you take a step back to allow an onslaught of kids using every ounce of strength they possess to shove him over the edge of the dock and into the water.
He’s pretty sure that even though he was caught off guard, he could have used his strength to keep himself planted in place instead of now swimming up to the surface, a shocked gasp for air leaving him.
But hell, why not have a little fun?
The smile on your face as you pull his phone out to take another photo makes it 100% worth it.