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Sam and Bucky were sitting on the Wilson family boat, sipping beers as the sun dipped below the horizon. The boat had been fixed up, and they no longer needed to work on it except for occasional minor repairs, but they enjoyed being there.
It had become "their place."
Whenever Bucky visited Delacroix, they would sit there at the end of the day, sharing beers and discussing everything and nothing, or simply enjoying a comfortable silence together. Amid the chaos of their lives, they found solace and welcome peace.
"It's good that you're no longer flirting with my sister," Sam commented one of those evenings.
"You know," Bucky's voice dropped a little, serious, "I wonder how much of this is you being protective of Sarah and how much is something more."
Sam swallowed nervously.
"Something more? Come on, man, what are you implying? That I'm jealous?"
"Jealous?" Bucky looked momentarily confused, and Sam mentally kicked himself for putting his foot in it.
"Never mind," Sam tried to downplay it, but Bucky seemed unwilling to let the topic go. His confused expression shifted to a thoughtful one, and suddenly realization dawned on his face. He opened his eyes wide, surprised.
"Are you jealous, Samuel?" Bucky asked, looking at Sam with a smile that irked him. Was Bucky mocking him?
"You wish," Sam retorted.
"Yes."
Wait, what?
"What?"
"I said yes. Well, I suppose jealousy isn't a good thing in this century—well, actually, I guess it wasn't great in any century, but back in the '40s, we didn't really know. But now..."
Sam wasn't sure if Bucky fell silent due to the incredulous expression Sam must have had, hearing Bucky discuss the differences between the era he was born in and the one he lived in, or if Bucky simply had nothing more to say. But one thing was certain: this conversation wasn't veering off course.
"Why do you want me to be jealous, Buck?"
"Why would you be jealous, Wilson?"
"Tell me you."
Sam thought Bucky would evade the question and they would continue circling around the topic, much like they had been circling around their feelings for each other for months, maybe even years. But Bucky surprised him again by saying,
"Because you like me."
"Why do you want to like me?" Sam asked.
"Because I like you," Bucky replied, causing Sam to smile, which in turn made Bucky smile too.
"Well then, kiss me, Barnes," Sam said, and Bucky did just that.
"Hey," Sam asked after a long session of kisses, "If it wasn't because you thought I was jealous, what else did you think was the reason I didn't want you flirting with Sarah?"
"Well," Bucky began, "I thought maybe you didn't want me to be with your sister."
"Oh, you can be sure I don't want you with my sister," they both laughed. But suddenly, Sam turned serious. "I want you to be with me," he said, brushing a strand of hair from Bucky's forehead. The truth was, he was nervous. Maybe it was too soon, maybe Bucky didn't want anything serious, maybe... Fortunately, there was no time for more maybes.
"Tell me I'm not misunderstanding this, and that you're asking me out," Bucky said.
"You're not misunderstanding," Sam replied.
Bucky smiled wider than Sam had ever seen him, not even in the old photos from his previous life.
"Yes," Bucky said, kissing him. "Yes, yes, yes, yes," he continued, interspersing short, soft kisses between each "yes," making Sam unable to stop smiling. "A thousand times yes."