Chapter 18
When Sam wakes, he is at peace. It is a stark contrast to the day before, his sleep dreamless, the bed extra warm.
Hazily, Sam blinks open his eyes to find Bucky dopily staring at him, his head on Sam’s chest. “Hey,” he greets, leaning up to press a kiss to Sam’s brow.
“Hey yourself,” he replies sleepily.
The activity makes Steve wake too, and he presses a kiss to the spot beside Sam’s ear that always makes him shiver. “Morning.”
Sam snuggles further into Steve’s hold, mumbling a greeting in his ear. Weirdly enough, he’s still sleepy, even though his internal clock tells him it's a bit later than he usually wakes. Yesterday took a lot of him.
“I’m starving,” Steve comments. “Wanna go get breakfast?” He directs his question to Bucky, who nods slowly. They begin getting out of bed, and something like fear shoots through Sam. It’s completely irrational and totally ridiculous. The fear from yesterday - of losing everyone he cares about - still persists, and suddenly Sam’s heart is pounding.
Bucky - of course - notices. “Actually, Steve. I think I’ll stay behind with Sam.”
Steve nods, and heads to the bathroom for a quick shower. The way Steve looked at them - there was no jealousy. Worry, perhaps. But there was no jealousy to be found, and Sam’s heart warms. He feels blessed, or something like it, for the first time in a while.
Sam laughs out loud.
He must sound a little unhinged, or something like it, because Bucky nudges him playfully with his arm. “Something funny?”
He shakes his head, but speaks soon after. “No, I - I’m just being stupid.”
“Probably,” Bucky comments, making Sam laugh. “But you should tell me so I can be sure.”
Sam sighs. Bucky has this way of getting all of his secrets out that’s unlike that of any of his past significant others. He doesn’t goad or poke or prod. He just...knows when something's off. Bucky lets Sam talk if he wants, kisses his forehead in acceptance if he doesn’t.
Today, Sam speaks hesitantly. “When you and Steve got up to get out of bed… it brought back some lingering feelings from yesterday. I kept thinking about how I lost Riley, and that turned into losing everything I love,” Sam swallows. “And part of that everything is you two.”
Bucky looks at him with so much love in his eyes. If Sam was a lesser man, he’d have to look away. “Oh baby,” Bucky breathes. “I ain’t going anywhere, I swear it. I know Steve feels the same.”
“I know. That’s why I feel like an idiot,” Sam tries for a laugh.
“You can feel whatever you want to feel,” Bucky points out. “It’s your brain. Someone smart told me that. Hot guy, maybe you know him?”
Sam elbows Bucky in the stomach.
“Ow,” Bucky complains, even though they both know that he barely felt it. “You still sleepy?”
“I’m tired,” Sam answers honestly. “Emotionally...I’m still drained.”
Bucky nods. “Want me to hold you tight? We can probably sleep for an hour, and I’ll wake you up for breakfast."
“Please.”
Bucky pulls Sam against his chest, letting him become the little spoon. His arms go around Sam’s waist, holding his middle tight enough to ground him. Instantly, Sam begins to relax.
He’s on the cusp of sleep when Steve finally steps out of the shower, and Sam cracks open an eye to stare shamelessly at Steve’s glistening form, covered only in a low slung towel. He loses a bit of time after that, but when Sam’s eyes open again, Steve’s fully dressed to Sam’s dismay, and is leaning over the bed to press a quick kiss to Bucky’s hair.
Steve’s fond gaze is the last thing he sees before Sam drifts off once again.
*
The smell of fresh coffee is what finally awakens Sam. He can tell not much time has passed, but he feels significantly better.
“Christ, Steve,” Bucky swears. “Are you feeding an army?”
Sam blinks his eyes open further to see Steve sheepishly placing two large paper bags of food atop the dresser, a coffee cup holder balanced precariously in his other hand.
“I was hungry,” he blushes. “Besides, Sam barely ate anything yesterday.”
“I had dinner,” Sam points out, sitting up against the headboard. “And dessert, if I recall.”
Bucky grins, already picking up on the teasing edge to Sam’s voice. “Excuses, excuses,” he sing songs.
Steve rolls his eyes, and gestures for Bucky to help him out, who obliges. Sam goes to get up as well, but Steve and Bucky shake their heads furiously.
“We got it babe,” Bucky says.
“I’ll make your plate, Sam,” Steve says.
This time, Sam is the one to roll his eyes, but he listens and sits back, letting his boys handle the food.
Bucky passes him a cup of coffee, and Steve hands him a plate stacked high with eggs, bacon and thick pieces of rye bread.
They get their own food, Steve sitting delicately beside Sam, indian style. Bucky on the other hand, flops down on the his stomach on the foot of the bed, resting his head on Steve’s knee before glancing at the food on his plate and abandoning Steve in favor of it.
“This is delicious,” Sam mutters.
Steve nods. “It’s this little diner not far from here. I - I’d go there when I was moping over you,” he laughs.
Pulling Steve toward him, Sam kisses him on the cheek. “You won’t have to do that anymore. You can gush over me all you like.”
“Asshole,” Bucky mouths to Steve, though Sam notices. He sticks his tongue out at him playfully.
Steve watches them with a stupid smile on his face, and they finish breakfast mostly in comfortable silence.
After a while, Bucky gets up to put their plates in the kitchen, before returning to bed.
“Is this a lazy day, then?” Sam asks.
Steve shrugs “Whatever you want. You deserve one, but if you want to do something else, we can.”
Sam turns to face him, a slow, happy smile on his face. He can feel it. He feels lighter than he has in while, feels like there’s no way to contain his happiness. It’s a feeling he hasn’t felt in some time. “Alright,” he answers.
“You’ve got some syrup on your mouth,” Steve notices then, his mouth turning up in a smile. Sam rubs at his face, but doesn’t quite get it. “No, here.”
Originally, Steve plans to wipe at Sam’s lip with his finger. But something - maybe it’s the light in his eyes, or the way the sun shines down on his skin, like it too knows that Sam’s one of the angels - but Steve instead kisses the syrup off with his lips.
Sam gasps in surprise, and Steve almost goes to pull back. Sam’s arms capture him in their hold before he can, and Steve grins against Sam’s lips, sighing blissfully as Sam ghosts a hand down his neck before resting on the right side of his chest.
“Why are you looking at me like that,” Sam jokes when he finally pulls away to take a breath.
Steve hides his face in Sam’s shirt, before leaning up to kiss his neck. “You gonna stop me?”
“Hell no,” Sam laughs.
“I just...I’m just happy,” Steve explains, even though Sam didn’t need one.
“Me too,” he replies, leaning up to kiss Steve again.
“Me three,” Bucky says from his spot in the hall.
They break from the kiss to see Bucky standing in the doorway, a slight smirk on his lips.
“Get over here, Buck,” Steve laughs.
“You gonna make it worth my while, sugar?” he asks, taking his place on the bed, slightly behind Steve, who’s face flushes.
“Yeah,” he replies, looking everywhere but at Steve’s face.
“You shy baby?” Bucky questions, and Sam is glad the attention isn’t directed at him in this moment. “Didn’t seem like it when you were kissin’ all over Sam just now.”
Steve simply moans as Bucky slides a proprietary hand up his shirt, grabbing at his chest.
“Holy shit,” Sam says.
“See something you like, baby?” Bucky asks Sam, reaching out to press a kiss to his lips.
Sam accepts it, before breaking the kiss to ask a question. “Why are you such a tease today?”
Bucky shrugs. “Why not?”
“It’s not very nice,” Sam points out, Steve nodding his head in agreement. Sam looks pointedly in Steve’s direction, so he sees exactly what he’s doing, before Sam slides hand in Bucky’s hair, and pulls.
“Fuck,” Bucky gasps, tensing before relaxing in Sam’s grip. “Kiss me.”
There’s no chance in hell Sam could say no to that, and he presses his lips to Bucky’s, who moans into his mouth. “You done?” Sam asks against Bucky’s lips.
“For now,” he gasps.
That’s good enough for Sam, and he looks toward Steve, who looks well and truly gone, just from watching the two of them.
“You good Steve?” Bucky asks.
“I listened to you two have sex,” Steve blurts. “That first night.”
Steve watches for Sam’s reaction first. His face seems to warm, either from arousal or embarrassment, and Steve goes to apologize, but then he notices the smirk on Bucky’s face.
He narrows his eyes. “Buck. You knew, didn’t you.”
Sam shoves Bucky back onto the bed, who goes with an audible “oof” like the blow was a push to him and his ego.
“You let your best friend - our best friend listen to us have sex. And you didn’t tell me,” Sam narrows his eyes and puts a leg over each side of Bucky’s body
Hands held up in surrender, Bucky answers. “I didn’t know he was gonna do it.” He glares at Steve. “Little punk would always listen in when I brought a dame home. Surprised the hell outta me when I heard someone else moaning the other night.”
“Don’t act like you didn’t encourage it, asshole. No coincidence that I was always home when you had a girl over. And it’s not like I could not get off, you two were loud as hell,” Steve protests.
“Oh,” Bucky says, voice lowered. “So you did touch yourself. To the two of us? That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” He turns to Sam. “Don’t you like that baby? Stevie got off to us.”
“Yeah,” Sam breathes, body suddenly that much warmer. “I do.”
“Come here, Stevie,” Bucky orders playfully, but Steve joins them without hesitation, to Bucky’s interest.
Steve joins them, and they come together in the quiet of Sam’s house.
“I love you two idiots,” Sam laughs. Everyone smiles.
*
As per Sam’s request, they waste away the day together. Most of it, to Sam’s chagrin and pleasure, is spent in bed, after discussing their boundaries. Now, Sam is just as tired as before.
“What happened to spending the day in bed and actually resting?” Sam wonders aloud, his naked body tucked in between Steve and Bucky. Steve’s nuzzling his head into Sam’s shoulder, his overheated body keeping him toasty. Bucky’s struggling to do his koala bear thing, now that the bed contains an extra person.
“I didn’t hear any complaints out of you. Did you hear anything, Steve?” Bucky asks.
Steve laughs, already catching on to Bucky’s game. “Not a peep. Somebody was asking for more, if I’m not mistaken.”
“I think that was you,” Sam shoots back. Bucky snickers, Steve glares.
“What? He’s not wrong,” Bucky says.
Eventually, they make it out of bed and into some pants. They order takeout Chinese, because everyone's too hungry and loose limbed to bother cooking.
Netflix is queued up, an argument over Star Trek begins. Sam’s seen it all, so he doesn’t care. But Steve stopped watching when he left Sam’s company for New York, so Bucky is further along in the series than him.
Sam simply finishes up his takeout with a stupid smile on his face, and curls up between them on the sofa. It’s his favorite place to be. He puts his feet in Bucky’s lap and his head on Steve’s thigh, and by the time the two come to a consensus, Sam is already fast asleep.