The first time Bucky gave Sam flowers, one might have thought he'd handed Sam nuclear secrets in Russian. Sam was genuinely confused by the gesture and Bucky found himself feeling a little bit bad for the guy.
"Has no one ever gotten you flowers before?" Bucky asked, a soft frown on his lips.
Sam shook his head and matched Bucky's frown. "No, I- I was always the one giving flowers. I've never gotten any."
Bucky's heart broke at that. Even when they weren't sidestepping around maybe being more than friends, he and Steve had given each other flowers. He'd had plenty of girls give him flowers, too. One who bought them right in front of him and handed them over while they were walking down the street. Cutest dimples on her, Bucky could remember. Both on her face and…
Well.
"Well, get used to getting them," he said, his mouth bypassing all those other thoughts. "I aim to keep fresh flowers in this place as regular as I can, babe."
The way Sam had softened around all his edges with that had pushed Bucky to make sure there were always flowers in the house. Whenever the ones on the counter were starting to wilt, he was on his bike to the local stand. He usually managed to refresh them before Sam got back from his run. Sometimes they ran right into each other coming back inside, but that wasn't too often.
Today, though, is one of those days. Sam is pulling out his key to unlock the door as Bucky comes around the corner. Bucky lets out a soft chuckle, cradling the new flowers in his arm. Sam turns and his smile is brighter than the morning sun.
Sam opens the door and lets Bucky in first, following him in with a laugh of his own.
"That time again, Buck?"
Bucky hums and makes his way to the kitchen, pulling the vase closer and working on changing out the flowers. He can hear Sam moving around in the rest of the apartment, talking to the cats as they follow him to the bedroom.
"You babies don't understand how good a man I got," Sam says, his voice fading as he makes his way to the bathroom. Bucky can still hear him, enhanced abilities making it hard to keep a secret around him. He ducks his head as Sam continues going on about him in his way.
After a few moments, he feels Sam's arms wrap around his middle from behind, his chin resting between Bucky's shoulder blades.
"How was your run?" Bucky asks softly while trimming a few stems.
"It's getting warmer out there," Sam sighs softly. "Which is cutting my runs shorter."
"Probably why we crossed paths today," Bucky laughs. "I'm used to having more time to get this all settled. At least to make coffee."
Sam laughs, nudging Bucky's back with his forehead. He stands up straight and moves away from Bucky, to the counter with the coffee machine. "I'll get the coffee going, Farmer Barnes."
"Florist," Bucky murmurs. "I don't plant food. I don't even plant the flowers. I just arrange 'em in the pretty glass."
Sam's laughter only gets stronger and he pauses, leaning one hand on the counter and watching Bucky for a moment. As he falls quiet, the sound of the scissors snipping the stems is all that can be heard for a few moments.
Then, Bucky tilts his head and hums. "Doll, you say I got a staring problem."
Sam immediately starts at working on the coffee again, chuckling. "Can't help it. You're a handsome man, Buck."
Bucky smiles and can feel a soft blush on his cheeks. He ducks his head to focus on the last flowers and clears his throat once they're done, then turns and leans his hip on the counter, looking at Sam.
"So're you, Sam," he purrs finally, reaching out and pulling Sam to him in a soft kiss, earning a startled gasp from the other man. "G'morning, babe."
Sam chuckles again and rests against him, looking over his shoulder at the new flowers. "I don't know how I got so lucky, Buck, but don't think for a second I'm ever giving you up, got it? I love you." He looks back at Bucky with a wide grin, then kisses him again, the coffee prep forgotten in favor of Bucky's arms and lips.
And honestly, Bucky doesn't mind. Coffee isn't nearly as good at waking him up as Sam is, anyway.