Sunday Morning - Sam
Summer was starting, but the heat in Louisiana was not yet unbearable, allowing the Wilson family to keep the windows open at night. Sam had woken up before the sunrise. He looked at his phone, and he still had fifteen minutes before his alarm was set. Sleep came easily the night before. Sam and Bucky spent the whole day on the water with the boys, giving Sarah a well-deserved day to herself. Between the sun and keeping up with the energy of two young boys and one super soldier, he had been exhausted by the time they got back. A few slices of pizza gave him a bit of an energy surge, but by the time Sarah came home at eight o’clock, he was sitting on the couch with his head back, mouth agape, snoring just like their dad. AJ was laying on the couch sleeping with his head in Sam’s lap, while Bucky and Cass played a video game, talking to one another in hushed tones.
Bucky looked back at Sarah and waived when she walked in the door, apparently giving Cass the opportunity to best him in the game they were playing. Cass was adorably careful in his celebration not to make too much noise—he whispered and put his fists in the air, mindful not to wake his uncle and brother. Bucky put his controller down and walked over to the kitchen with Sarah, instructing Cass to shut down the game and clean up.
“It looks like you boys had fun today,” Sarah said softly, “I’m surprised Cass is not out with the other two.”
“Cass was falling asleep while eating at the table earlier,” Bucky responded, “he got a second wind when he brought out the PlayStation.”
She laughed. “You know…I know I’m an adult now, but every part of me wants to grab a marker and give my brother a silly mustache right now. The only thing stopping me is knowing that would just lead to my sons doing it to one another.”
Bucky shook his head. He remembered the silly pranks he and his sisters—and later Steve when the Barnes family practically adopted him—used to pull on one another. “I’m sure that urge must come over you every time he’s sleeping.”
“Honestly,” she said, “this is the first time I’ve ever seen him just fall asleep like this on the couch. Our dad used to do it every day when watching baseball, then pretend he had been awake the whole time.”
“Well, I’m glad,” Bucky said with a smile. Sarah looked at him questioningly. “I mean…I just don’t think Sam gets that many opportunities to relax and have a day to just…be with his nephews and have fun.”
Sarah started a kettle. “What about you?”
Bucky pulled out a chair at the small kitchen table. “I’ve had more fun this week then I have this century.” When Sarah’s expression dropped slightly, Bucky sighed. “That sounded a lot less pathetic in my head. I’m grateful though. For you letting me stay here these past few days. Its…it’s been a long time since…in Wakanda there were some days that were easy but…I always felt like an interloper. It’s different here. You and Sam, the whole town really, reminds me what its like to have a home.”
“You are always welcome here,” she said, placing her hand on his.
The softness of the moment was cut off by Sam loudly clearing his throat, leaning against the door frame.
“Hey, sleeping beauty—want some tea?” Sarah asked, getting up to pour herself a cup.
“No,” he responded, his voice cracking slightly, “I um, didn’t mean to interrupt. Just heading up to bed. Want me to carry AJ up?”
Bucky stood and looked at Sam smiling, but Sam avoided his gaze. “I got it,” Bucky said.
“Right---‘night.” Sam responded curtly, before heading up to his room. He wasn’t sure why he was so upset at the prosect of something blooming between Bucky and his sister. Guilt panged him slightly at being so short with Bucky, especially after Bucky they’d had such a great day. As he turned into his room, he saw Bucky walking up, carrying his youngest nephew, who didn’t stir at all. Bucky gave him a shy smile and he nodded back. For a moment, he considered following Bucky and watching him tuck Cass into bed. He loved seeing how soft Bucky was with the boys. Then he saw Sarah walking up with her mug of tea clutched in her hand. He shut the door, glad to already be in shorts and t-shirt so he could just lay down. The exhaustion of the day was a relief, allowing him to fall asleep before dwelling more on the sour feeling in his stomach.
As he came to the next day, the feeling slowly returned when he remembered the previous days events. Shaking it off, he started getting ready to go out for a run. As he walked down the stairs, he saw Bucky, asleep on the couch. He was wearing a pair of Sam’s shorts because he hadn’t accounted for the summer weather when packing (and because Sam was pretty sure he didn’t actually own shorts) and a white tank top and was covered only by a sheet. Sam felt his cheeks heat slightly when he realized the tent in the sheets.
The creaking of the old stairs and hardwood floors sounded deafeningly loud as Sam slowly approached Bucky. He stopped a few feet short of the couch, contemplating what to do. Sarah and the boys would be awake soon. Should he wake Bucky up? Put a pillow over it? It was a perfectly natural thing that happened to men, as the boys would soon find out and while Sam wanted to tell himself it was nothing to be embarrassed about, his southern upbringing was engrained in him. Would Bucky be more embarrassed if he woke up and noticed this when Sarah or one of the boys was awake? Sam wasn’t sure how long he mulled it over. He heard a soft sigh and looked up to Bucky’s face. Bucky stretched lazily and yawned, while Sam stood like a deer in headlights.
“Thought I was the one with the staring problem,” Bucky said, his voice still sleepy. Sam did nothing to help the awkwardness of the situation as he continued, stuck in place, staring at Bucky. Bucky, who’s hair was all messy and whose shirt had ridden up enough to show a sliver of his toned torso when he stretched. Sam’s eyes raked down his body, stopping once again at Bucky’s…situation…then snapping his eyes back to Bucky’s. Bucky was smiling now, his eyes wrinkling at the corners. “You alright?”
Stammering, Sam finally opened his mouth. “I umm…sorry…I was about to go out for a run…and I saw that…well I mean…you were…um you have…” Sam was cut off when he saw Bucky looking down at himself, letting out a small chuckle as he swung his legs to a seating position then stood up.
Bucky grinned and stepped closer to Sam. Biting his bottom lip, he asked, “are you offering to help?”
“What?” Sam blurted, “no I um…I just thought you wouldn’t want to be…that it might be weird if Sarah or the boys saw…” Bucky’s hand landed firmly on his shoulder, shutting him up.
“Relax man…I’m kidding. Thanks for saving me from an awkward situation. Well, a more awkward situation.” He laughed again and started heading toward the first-floor bathroom, looking over his shoulder to tell Sam to enjoy his run before disappearing behind the door.
Sam stood still a few more minutes. He heard some shuffling in the bathroom and felt himself get even more flustered, having some idea what Bucky was likely doing behind the closed door. He then quickly left, skipping his usual warm up and taking off in a run as soon as his feet left the front porch. It wasn’t until he started running that he realized his heart had been beating so fast already. Each stride helped him shake off some of the nervous energy coursing through him. Intent on going out for a short jog initially, he made it about four miles before the sun started getting higher in the sky and he realized he should head back.