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Just because Sam and Bucky are in a relationship now does not mean they are going to stop being petty to each other. It’s the foundation of their dynamic, after all.
One night in the compound the team is gathered in the main common room to watch a movie. Bucky claims the love seat and sprawls out, no one says anything about him hogging it knowing Sam will join him.
The opening credits start to The Social Network when Sam lies on his side in front of Bucky on the small couch. They are squished together and Bucky wraps an arm around Sam’s waist to keep him on the couch and Sam relaxes into him. Bucky occasionally leans in and makes a snarky comment into Sam’s ear making him laugh.
A third of the way into the movie Sam stretches out his legs and curls them back on to the couch again, pressing his cold feet against Bucky’s shins. Not expecting the blocks of ice that are Sam’s feet on his legs, Bucky reflexively does what he can to get the cold away, which is shoving Sam off the couch onto the floor.
“Okay, ow,” Sam says and rubs his elbow. “What was that? Or did you just feel like being an asshole?”
“You’re the one who stuck your cold as fuck feet against my legs! It was a reflex,” Bucky shrugs from the couch, not making a move to help Sam back up. “Now I have the couch all to myself.” He sprawls out so his body covers the entire loveseat.
Sam huffs and gets up to straddle Bucky’s waist and glares down at him. “Hello,” Bucky smirks.
“You’re the worst boyfriend,” Sam deadpans.
Bucky reaches up and covers Sam’s mouth with his metal hand. “Shhhhh, we’re watching a movie,” Bucky stage whispers dramatically and widens his eyes.
Sam grabs wrist and pulls it from his mouth and leans down to whisper in Bucky’s ear. “If you don’t move over and let me put my freezing feet on you like a good boyfriend would, I’m not going to eat you out until you come like I promised.”
That makes Bucky swallow hard and shift onto his side so Sam can slide in front of him. When he puts his icicle feet in between Bucky’s calves, Bucky shivers and pulls Sam tight against his chest. “I’m agreeing to this because imma get you back so good.” Sam shoots him a wide grin and gives him a sloppy kiss before focusing on the movie.
The next morning they wake up later than usual due to the drawn out sex they had the night before. When Bucky wakes up and finds Sam sound asleep on his back he smiles wickedly to himself. He made a conscious decision to sleep with his metal arm out of the covers all night so the air conditioning would make it cold.
Bucky scoots over and kisses Sam’s shoulder up his neck to his cheek. “Wake up, darlin’”
Sam hums and turns to meet Bucky’s lips. “Morning, babe,” he yawns, eyes still closed.
“I was cold last night, were you?”
“Mm no,” Sam mumbles as he barely registers what Bucky is saying.
“Really, you weren’t cold? It was like-“ Bucky stops abruptly and puts as much of his metal arm across Sam’s bare chest as he can.
“Fuck!” Sam yells and grabs Bucky’s arm to push it away from him. Bucky is wheezing with laughter and when he’s off his guard Sam pounces on him. They wrestle and get tangled in the sheets until they tire out and flop onto their backs again.
“I hate you,” Sam breathes.
“You love me.”
Sam smirks and sits up quickly to plant both feet on Bucky’s chest. “Of course I do, baby!”
Bucky yelps and grabs one of Sam’s ankles and tickles the bottom his foot making him laugh and protest at the same time. Bucky relents to avoid getting kicked in the face and lets go of Sam, they settle back down facing each other.
“Why do I put up with you?” Sam asks as he strokes Bucky’s cheek with his thumb.
“Because I’m the only one who puts up with you,” Bucky replies. He means it to be a joke, but his voice is soft and sincere.
“Ain’t that the truth.” Sam leans in to kiss Bucky slow and lazy. Bucky relaxes easily into Sam’s arms and realizes in that moment just how easy it is to love him. They didn’t have to change at all to fall in love with each other. His heart swells when he remembers a little over a year ago he was living in a tiny apartment, hiding from the world, and never thinking love could be a possibility again.
He kisses Sam deeper and tugs him closer.
*
It’s the night of Tony’s annual Avengers Gala that he arranged the year after the incident in New York. Now that it’s 2017, it marks the fourth Gala and each year it gets bigger, more people, bigger party, more fundraising for the Global Avengers Damage Fund or GADiF for short. The GADiF Gala is the biggest event of the year; all the Avengers attend and anyone who is anyone comes too.
This is the first year Bucky is attending and he employed the help of Pepper to make him over. The stylist Pepper had shaved him clean and gave him a haircut that was short on the sides and longer on top for a chic swept-back look. She also picked out a sleek all black suit for him to wear. There was an unspoken rule that the Avengers wore their designating colors to the gala. When the stylist was satisfied with her work he is released and goes straight to Sam’s room.
Sam is adjusting his burgundy colored tie in the full-length mirror of his room when he hears a knock on the door. He smiles and says, “Come in!”
Bucky enters quietly and shuts the door behind him making his way over to Sam. Sam first sees him in the mirror and his jaw nearly hits the floor. He turns around and looks Bucky up and down appreciatively.
Under the attention Bucky ducks his head and a blush creeps up his neck, “Well? Are you gonna say anything?”
Sam blinks a few times, “I’m feeling very conflicted right now”. Bucky frowns and Sam continues, “You look amazing, just different is all. It’ll take a little bit for me to get used to this look.”
“I’m still the same Bucky.”
“Yeah, still the same pain in the ass,” Sam laughs.
“Rude.” The tension in Bucky’s shoulders eases a little.
“But I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Sam smiles and closes the space between them and cups Bucky’s smooth jaw, stroking his thumbs across prominent cheekbones.
“Well I just wanted to not look like the winter soldier anymore. All the people tonight, they know what I’ve done,” Bucky explains.
“I get that, but everyone knows you’re on the good side now.”
“It’s hard to feel like that, when I still have this,” Bucky looks down his metal hand peeking out from the tight cuff of his shirt.
“That arm was given to you when you were still Bucky,” Sam starts and Bucky meets his honest eyes. “It’s your choice what you do with it now. Make it part of Bucky again. It doesn’t belong to the Winter Soldier anymore.”
Bucky leans in and kisses Sam solidly on the lips. “How do you know how to say the right thing all the time?”
“It’s what I do,” Sam shrugs and kisses Bucky again. He wraps his arms around Bucky and presses his mouth to Bucky’s ear, “I love you,” he whispers.
Bucky holds onto Sam tighter “say it again,” he requests and buries his face into Sam’s neck, breathing in nothing but him.
“I love you,” Sam whispers again and kisses Bucky’s ear, “I love you, I love you.”
Bucky pulls back, “I love you too,” he quietly says. There is still some worry in his eyes that Sam doesn’t approve of.
“I’ll be right next to you all night,” he tells Bucky and that seems to chase away the last bit of his anxiousness. Sam slides his hand down and entwines his fingers with Bucky’s metal ones. “Let’s go,” he says with a smile and pulls Bucky along with him down to the lobby where the cars are waiting.
Their black SUV pulls up to the entrance of the red carpet, because Tony doesn’t do anything half-assed, and Sam plants a quick reassuring kiss on Bucky’s lips. “You’re gonna knock everyone dead looking like this.”
Sam gets out first and extends his hand for Bucky to take and helps him out of the car, which really, is unnecessary for the super soldier, but he likes the attention from his boyfriend.
The crowd erupts with cheers and cameras are flashing left and right as Sam and Bucky walk hand in hand down to the photography area. Sam hears an entertainment correspondent say, “Sam Wilson aka the Falcon just arrived with a made-over Bucky Barnes, what a difference a haircut and a shave can make!”
When they get to the main stretch of the red carpet they spot Steve and Tony posing for pictures, Tony throwing up peace signs and standing on his tiptoes to kiss Steve’s cheek.
Then all the attention is on them; photographers shouting their names to get a good picture. Sam lets go of Bucky’s hand to step closer and wrap an arm around his waist, and Bucky copies him. Bucky looks at Sam’s profile and sees an easy smile on his face; his body language is casual with his hand in his pocket.
Bucky leans down to speak in Sam’s ear, “You look so natural,” he comments.
Sam meets his eyes and his smile grows, “It’s easy when my date is the best looking one here.”
Bucky doesn’t have time to respond because a tall woman ambushes them with a microphone.
“Hi guys!” She says excitedly and Bucky’s eyes widen comically at her. “Let me first start off by saying you both look very handsome tonight.”
“Thank you,” Sam smiles and rests his hand on Bucky’s lower back, which he’s thankful for.
“So there are rumors that you two are an item. Care to comment on that?” The reporter asks with a too-wide grin on her face.
“Uh yeah, we are um-“ Bucky starts and stops, feeling nervous all over again. Luckily Sam takes over, “That is right!” Sam leans in and looks directly into the camera beside the woman, “Sorry ladies and gents, this handsome devil is all mine!” The reporter laughs and Bucky ducks his head as he blushes.
“Well that certainly leaves no room for doubt! You guys look great together, have a great night!”
“Thank you, we will,” Bucky says and gets pulled away by Sam.
The reporter turns to the camera, “Well there you have it folks, straight from the source, Bucky Barnes is officially off the market. Look out Steve and Sharon; I think we found our new favorite couple, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Tweet us your couple name for them!”
When they are out of ear shot Bucky whispers in Sam’s ear, “do you just live to embarrass me?”
Sam kisses Bucky’s cheek, “What? I want everyone to know you’re mine, even if you’re awful,” he jokes.
“I am a delight and you know it,” Bucky shoots back.
“Sure I do, baby.”
“I don’t why I put up with you.”
“Because you love me,” Sam says, voice sounding genuine.
Bucky faces Sam and they just smile at each other for a moment while camera flashes go off. “Ain’t that the truth, darlin’”.
The gala goes off without a hitch, except for the drinking contest that Clint got into with Wanda, who drank him under the table. If Natasha participated it would be no contest, so she humbly opted out. Sam kept his promise to Bucky and never left his side, except for bathroom breaks, and with a hand resting on his lower back almost the whole night.
It’s early morning when they get back to the compound, jackets off and ties loose around their necks. They get into Bucky’s, unofficially their room, and Sam sits on the edge of the bed as Bucky stands between Sam’s knees. They tiredly undress each other, slow fingers moving methodically over buttons and zips and ties. When they are down to just their underwear, Sam scoots back until he’s lying down fully on the bed.
Fully aware of how heavy his is, Bucky flops down right on top of Sam. “Jesus, you weigh a ton,” Sam grunts. “Get off me, you’re crushing me.”
“Nah, I think I’ll just sleep here. Maybe if I crush you’ll finally shut up,” Bucky quips.
“God, I hate you,” Sam breathes.
Bucky lifts himself up so he hovers over Sam and grins down at him, “you were gushing over me earlier, what happened?”
“You looked like a sad puppy, I know how fragile you can get,” Sam says with mock sympathy. Bucky pouts his lip dramatically and Sam laughs, “a very hot sad puppy.”
Bucky drops to his elbows so his forearms frame Sam’s head, “you are very strange,” he declares and pecks Sam’s lips.
“Mhmm,” Sam agrees and pulls Bucky’s head back down to meet his lips. They kiss languidly, taking all the time in the world to explore each other’s mouths.
“Baby,” Sam whispers against Bucky’s lips.
“What do you want, honey?” Bucky asks and sucks on Sam’s earlobe, drawing out a moan.
“Fuck me. Show me how strong you are.” Sam wraps his hands around Bucky’s biceps, loving the feel of his hard muscles.
“If I do that, I’ll break you.”
“I wanna feel you,” Sam says breathlessly. Bucky can’t say no to that so after he get’s Sam ready for him, they fuck with Sam sitting in Bucky’s lap. As Bucky holds all of Sam’s weight in his arms, moving him up and down, they gasp and moan into each other’s mouths and come hard at the same time.
*
It’s a year and a half since Sam and Bucky started dating and they hadn’t killed each other like everyone thought they would at first. Just a few months into their relationship they were the most stable couple any of them have ever seen. The hardest part is whenever one of them goes on a mission without the other.
This time Sam has been gone for close to three weeks when he, Clint, and Natasha come back to the compound one night. Everyone is up and awaiting their arrival, getting updated on their status every few hours. Bucky knows Sam is fine and nothing bad happened but he’s still anxious to have his boyfriend back.
They walk through the door and everyone stands up to greet them. All three of them look tired and worn, a little more worse for wear than they let on. Wanda runs up to Clint and Steve goes to Natasha, greeting them with warm hugs and praise.
Bucky walks up to Sam and takes a moment to look at him fully. The one thing that stands out are the lines under his eyes, they’re deeper and longer. Sam’s tired and he tells Bucky so through the look in his eyes. Unable to hold back anymore, Bucky wraps his arms around Sam and squeezes tight.
“Ow, babe. I appreciate the love, just a little less right now,” Sam says and Bucky steps back, his hands lightly gripping Sam’s upper arms.
“Glad you’re okay,” Bucky whispers and smiles softly.
“Come here,” Sam demands and cups Bucky’s jaw to kiss him. They communicate through their kiss; I missed you, I love you, I need you.
“Let’s go to bed,” Bucky suggests and Sam just nods and takes Bucky’s hand. The rest of the team waves them off wishing them a good night.
They silently get ready for bed and crawl under the sheets and lay facing each other.
Bucky caresses Sam’s cheek, rubbing at the line under his eye. “I was worried about you.”
Sam smiles softly, “I didn’t know you cared,” he jokes.
“Hey jerk, I’m trying to be serious here,” Bucky frowns and Sam furrows his eyebrows and purses his lips dramatically, making Bucky laugh. “I love you. I just wanted to let you know.”
“I know.”
“You’re my best guy, angel,” Bucky confesses kisses Sam sweetly.
“I love when you talk like it’s still the ‘40s.”
“Can’t help it, it’s just cause I’m so sweet on you, darlin’.”
Bucky pulls Sam so he’s lying against his chest, head resting on his shoulder. He always holds onto Sam a little tighter the nights when missions end and they’re both home.
The next morning is like any other morning. They yawn awake and pull each other closer from where they migrated in their sleep. Sam gets up before Bucky and takes a shower while Bucky stays in bed a little longer.
The bathroom door is open so Bucky can see steam drifting out and hear Sam’s soft hums to whatever song he’s thinking of. The water shuts off and Bucky joins Sam in the bathroom. Sam is standing in just a towel, rubbing in lotion on his face and Bucky wraps his arms around him.
“I always get the best night sleep when you’re back,” Bucky says and kisses Sam’s cheek. “Even if you do snore.”
“I do not. You’re just hearing yourself.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Bucky laughs and Sam joins him. They happily stand like that through Sam’s morning routine, Bucky planting kisses all along Sam’s shoulders. This is Sam’s ideal place to be; in Bucky’s arms with no obligations or worries that come with a mission, just content domesticity. He never thought he would be able to have this and fight the world’s problems at the same time; he is overcome with the need to hold on tight and never let Bucky go.
Sam turns around in Bucky’s arms and laces his fingers against the back of Bucky’s neck.
“Baby, I have a crazy idea.”
“Lay it on me,” Bucky smiles.
“Marry me.”
Bucky’s jaw drops and his eyes go wide. “Are you serious?”
“Serious as ever. I’m sure of what I want and I would regret it if I don’t do it when I have the chance,” Sam confesses. Bucky reads the underlining meaning beneath Sam’s words, if something happens to either of us on a mission.
“And you’re not just asking because it’s an old-fashioned thing right?”
“I’m traditional too. Besides wasn’t gay marriage a little unheard of back then?”
Bucky laughs because Sam is not wrong and he kisses him stupid.
Sam pulls back to meet Bucky’s shining eyes, “Well what do you say?”
“Say it again.”
“Marry me, marry me, marry me,” Sam repeats between kisses.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Bucky whispers.