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Bucky didn’t know what he was doing. hell he never knows what he’s doing. All he knows is that he’s on a plane headed to New Orleans. or, as he prefers to call it, heaven.
This trip wasn’t exactly planned. It was more of a ‘I need to get away from this place and there’s only one place where I feel safe’. but now on the plane, Bucky's starting to regret his decision. How’s he supposed to face Sam after everything? After realising these feelings he has?
You see, Bucky and Sam had a moment last time they saw each other. Gazing into each other’s eyes, slowly moving closer, till cass and aj unknowingly interrupted them saying sarah was ready to take bucky to the airport. Ever since then Bucky hasn’t talked to sam. sure sams tried reaching out, the spam of texts and calls he gets from sams number each day is proof. But he just can’t face sam.
Once the plane lands, Bucky collects his carry-on, walking off the plane and straight out of the airport to find a place to stay for the night until he can book a flight straight back to New York. God, how could he be such an idiot? thinking it was a good idea to come here. he’d be lucky if sarah didn’t murder him if he even thought about going back to the wilson’s place. But before he could imagine all the ways Sarah could kill him for what he did to Sam, he sees him. as beautiful as he always has been.
See, Sam has had the same idea. He’d panicked and booked the first flight he could to New York. he had to see Bucky in person. He had to finally get to the bottom of their situation. out of the corner of his eye he sees buc— no, bucky wouldn’t be in New Orleans. He sees someone who strangely resembles Bucky, probably one of Bucky's sisters' kids. one thing makes his breath hitch though.
the gloves. the jacket.
It's july. No one in their right mind would wear things like that in New Orleans. next thing sam knows a plane lands and everyone starts coming out of the bridge blocking his view of bucky. of course bucky uses this to his advantage and leaves the airport and flags down the first taxi that comes his way asking to go to the closest motel. By the time Sam has run out to find him, he’s already gone.
Sighing a breath of relief, Bucky sinks back against the seat in the taxi, not bothering to look back in fear that he’ll see Sam. The whole ride towards the motel (which was a long ass ride if you ask Bucky) all he could think about was Sam waiting to get on a plane to New York. Surely he must’ve had some business to do out there right? There’s no other reason Sam would need to go to New York? Right?
God maybe he should’ve listened to Shuri when she told him to go and see Sam and that he’s just being an old oblivious dumbass about the whole situation. She is a genius for a reason. She’d just laugh at him if she saw the situation he was in now and call him a dumbass, but would then help him get to talk to Sam again. With that Bucky decides, when he arrives at the motel he’ll call Shuri, tell her how much of a dumbass he’s being and then let her rip into him about it all.
And rip into him she did. Bucky had never seen her laugh that much— well, it comes close to the time T’Challa had become goat bait but that’s besides the point. She put things into perspective for him and with that he decided, tomorrow he’ll go down to the Wilson’s. And finally have his moment with Sam. Screw the world, it’s time this 100 year old man got some.
The next day, Sams sulking around the house, as per usual. Sarah forces him out of the house, something about him bringing down the whole vibe of the house. He walks down to the boat to get some work done on it cause no matter how good of a job he and Bucky did on it, it’s still got some issues he needs to check on every now and then.
As he gets closer to the boat he sees someone working on it, he figures he must just be looking at another boat and brushes it off. But when he can see that it is in fact his boat, he starts to get confused. Who the hell would be randomly working on his boat? And why do they look so damn familiar?
Buckys was down at the pier for the better part of two hours. First he was just sitting on the edge of the pier, admiring the sunrise and remembering all the sunrises he witnessed while in Wakanda. Then he started to get to work on the boat.
He knew some things on it weren't working as well as they should, so he fixed them. As time passes he starts to hear someone walking towards the boat. He chooses to ignore it. Wanting to delay the interaction between him and Sam or him and Sarah for as long as possible. But of course things don’t go his way.
“Bucky?” Sam jumps down onto the boat “what the— what the hell are you doing here man?”
Without turning around bucky states as if it’s obvious “fixing your boat. Your not very good at keeping it running to the best of its abilities”
This my friends, is when shit goes downhill.
“You don’t talk to me for MONTHS making me think you died or some shit and then you just show up and tell me I’m not running my boat properly? Bucky what the fuck!?” Sam all but yells at him. But who can blame him. The person he is in love with who’s ignored him for months on end after having a moment together is just standing on his boat being an ass!
“So I guess you don’t want me to tell you how much I’ve fixed huh?” Bucky laughs slightly, trying to defuse the tension.
“You’re lucky I haven’t pushed you overboard.” Sam sighs and takes a deep breath to calm down “Bucky what the hell are you doing here?”
This is where Bucky's spectacular cyborg brain decides to malfunction and make him forget every word of every language he knows, making him look like a fish out of water trying to figure out what the hell to say.
“You know what? I don’t got time for this. Great reunion buddy. Be well” as Sam starts walking off, Bucky calls out “I love you! That’s why I’m here okay!”
Time seems to slow down for both men. For one, it’s out of fear that they will get rejected. For another, it’s out of shock, the person they thought hated them, loves them?
“Look I know this isn’t exactly ideal, hell this is going against everything I had planned but you gotta hear me out here. After what happened last time I was here I freaked. I’m not used to letting people in. I’m used to people getting close then fucking off the second they can. I figured, if I left before anything happened between us, I’d be saving myself from having to lose someone and myself all over again. I’m sorry Sam..” Bucky shyly admits. And Sam has to admit. He was proud as fuck to hear Bucky admit how he was feeling like that.
“Buck..you could’ve told me. I would’ve helped you through it. I would’ve tried to make this comfortable for you” Sam walks back towards Bucky
“I know I just— I freaked and I’m sorry I know I shouldn’t have but I didn’t know what else to do and it seemed like the only thing to do and I—“ Bucky's rambles get cut off by Sam's lips.
Pulling away from the kiss Sam laughs slightly “I finally found a way to make you talk much less. You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Buck. I get it. I just wish you told me what was going through that cyborg brain of yours and didn’t leave me wondering if you were okay for the past few months.”
“I know I’m sor—“
“Buck I swear to god if you say sorry again I will get Carlos to cut you up and feed you to the fish. Now. What else needs working on here?” Sam cuts Bucky off
“Uh, nothing I finished it all” Bucky says looking down at his feet, assuming Sam will tell him to leave now.
“Okay then. C’mon let’s go to the house. I’m sure Sarah and the boys will love to see that you’re back.”
And with that, they walk back to the house hand in hand. And if anyone asks, Sarah definitely did not cry when she saw them walking up towards the house, like how Sam and Bucky both totally didn’t cry that night.
Their dreams were finally coming true. And now they can continue this dream together.