Sam and Bucky got engaged in June and immediately decided that their wedding would be the next summer. Sam was always home during the summer, so that way they would be able to take the time off to have a wedding and a honeymoon.
That meant that they had a year before the wedding. Sam saw it as they had a whole year before the wedding. However, Bucky saw it as them having only a year until the wedding. Bucky was in full planning mode.
“Okay, so for the wedding,” Bucky said for what felt like the millionth day in a row. It was a Sunday morning at the end of August, and Sam and Karli were sitting in the kitchen when Bucky walked in with his wedding binder.
“Good morning to you too, honey,” Sam greeted, but Bucky missed his joke. He sat down at the counter and began looking through the binder.
“We have a few main categories that we need to figure out here. We need to think about venue, menu, theme, and guests,” Bucky explained. Karli and Sam exchanged a look. “Guests should be easy enough. It’ll just be everyone who was at the engagement party plus Torres.”
“You don’t think we should invite any other Avengers?” Sam questioned. Bucky shrugged. “I mean, I feel like Scott would like to come. I know Rhodey would want to be there. Maybe Wanda, Vision, and the kids. Do you want to invite anyone from Wakanda?”
“Shuri would probably kill me if I didn’t invite her after forcing her to make your suit,” Bucky pondered. He made a few notes in his binder. “Alright, we’ll get all of their addresses. Tell me if you think of anyone else you want to invite. Oh, and that’s another thing. We’ll have to design invitations, but not until we pick a theme, of course.”
“Of course,” Karli and Sam replied at the same time. Sam’s tone was only a little nicer than Karli’s. Bucky glared at both of them.
“Now, for food, I’d imagine that we could handle catering,” Bucky stated, making some more notes. Sam nodded along remembering all the family weddings he had gone to in the past that were catered by the Wilsons. He smiled to himself remembering the events. “We could get a cake from Mrs. Nesbit’s bakery. I have no idea about the venue though.”
Just then, a memory hit Sam. He knew exactly where they were going to get married. He stood up and put his breakfast plate in the sink. “I think I might have a place in mind.”
“Oh, really?” Bucky asked sweetly, face lighting up. Sam nodded, leaning against the counter.
“I can take you there later on if you want,” Sam told him, causing him to smile even wider.
“I’ll go get ready,” Bucky announced, heading back upstairs without eating any breakfast. Sam and Karli were left alone in the kitchen yet again.
“When’s the wedding again?” she asked.
“June twenty-fifth,” Sam replied. He squinted at her. “Why?”
“Just counting down the days,” Karli said simply. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to deal with Groomzilla.”
Sam barked out a laugh. “We’re in for an interesting few months.”
...
Less than twenty minutes later, Sam and Bucky were in the truck on their way to this mystery venue. Sam hadn’t been there since he was a kid, but he still knew exactly where it was. He pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. Bucky followed him.
“What is this place?” Bucky asked looking around. Sam just grabbed his hand and led him through the path to the real venue. It was this beautiful garden with hundreds of flowers and trees, and in the center, there was an elegant gazebo.
“This is Crowley Gardens,” Sam explained, leading Bucky to the gazebo. “My cousin got married here when I was younger. The ceremony was around the gazebo, and there was this huge tent up for the reception. They even put in a dance floor. There’s a building back there too in case there’s bad weather or any emergency situations or anything.”
“Wow,” Bucky said, admiring the grounds as they approached the gazebo. They both sat down on the step. “It’s...wow.”
“That’s exactly what I thought when I was a kid,” Sam replied, dreamily. “I was probably about seven. I was just a kid, but I knew I wanted to get married here. Only if it was truly the right person though. I knew that if I met the right person, I would bring them back here.”
“And here we are,” Bucky told him. Sam grinned from ear to ear and held Bucky’s hand in his.
“Here we are,” Sam agreed softly, squeezing Bucky’s hand. “That’s my dream though. If you have a place you want to get married, then we can figure something out. It’s not my day. It’s our day.”
“No, we’re getting married here, Sam. It’s perfect,” Bucky assured him. He let out a breath. “Besides, I don’t have anything in mind. At all. I never really thought I would get this far. I never envisioned a wedding for myself. Certainly not when I was a kid, and definitely not after...everything. That’s why I’m being so crazy about everything. I just want this to be perfect.”
Sam squeezed his hand again and smiled. “Whatever wedding questions you have, ask them now. My wedding juices are really flowing here.”
“Okay,” Bucky replied, nodding slightly. “So, we have food and guests pretty much figured out. Obviously, we’re set on the venue. We just need to work on the theme and colors.”
“Well, this is a very colorful place,” Sam offered. “During June, there are going to be a lot of flowers. We could probably get some flowers from here for the centerpieces. There will obviously be a lot of nature elements. Do you wanna piggyback off that?”
“We can,” Bucky answered. He thought it over for a moment. “Well, I think that June’s color is gold, and there are a lot of magnolias during that time. What about that?”
Sam shook his head fondly. “You’re such a nerd. How do you even know that?”
“I’ve been around for a very long time, Sam.”
“Well, I think that Magnolia is a beautiful color,” Sam told him. “We could even do different golds too.”
“So, we’re going with an overall theme of floral and gold,” Bucky suggested.
“Sounds perfect.”
“What do you think you’ll want to wear?” Bucky asked. “I mean, it’s Louisiana in June, and it’s outside. I don’t think we want to be wearing black tuxes.”
“What do you want to wear? Seersucker suits? Pulling up like the fucking mayor in Jaws?”
“You know I don’t know what any of that means,” Bucky told him, and Sam only laughed.
“We’re going to have to watch that as soon as possible,” Sam replied. “But, I do think that a beige seersucker suit would be nice. Or maybe even linen.”
“Okay, well, we can put more thought into that in the future. As long as we don’t clash or whatever.”
“Yeah, yeah, fashion police.”
Bucky stuck his tongue out at his fiance. “So, what about the wedding party? God knows that I don’t have someone to be my best man.”
“What about Karli?” Sam asked. Bucky raised his eyebrows. “She can be your best man or maid of honor or whatever.”
“But wouldn’t you want her as yours?” Bucky questioned. “She’s our daughter.”
“Yes, she is, but I have a sister who would be incredibly mad at me if she wasn’t standing by my side as I got married.”
“And you said Torres could officiate, right?”
Sam nodded. “Correct. And, AJ and Cass will obviously be the ring bearers.”
“Obviously,” Bucky replied with a smile. Sam smiled back. “I think we have a pretty good foundation here.”
“Me too,” Sam whispered. He leaned forward to kiss Bucky. “We’re getting married, baby.”
“I’m marrying Captain America.”
“Hell yeah you are.”
...
It was the night before Karli’s first day of junior year, and she, Sam, and Bucky were having their traditional pre-school dinner. Karli suggested gumbo, and Sam and Bucky were happy to oblige. They wanted to butter her up before they had a conversation with her.
“So, how’s the gumbo?” Sam asked before Karli had even swallowed her first bite. She furrowed her eyebrows at him. Bucky also glared at him.
“Good?” Karli replied incredibly confused. “Just like it always is. You didn’t need to ask.”
“Just wanted to make sure I haven’t lost my touch,” Sam said with a shrug. He looked at Bucky and let him know that the ball was in his court now.
“So, junior year, huh?” Bucky asked. Now it was Sam’s turn to glare.
“Yes, have you forgotten my age? Did the dementia finally hit?” Karli joked, causing Sam to bark out a laugh. Bucky rolled his eyes. “Why are you both being so weird?”
“Well, as you know Sam and I are getting married this year,” Bucky told her. Karli squinted at him, and Sam shook his head.
“Yes, I am aware of that.”
“And, I’m sure that you know that weddings have wedding parties. Groomsmen. Bridesmaids. Best men,” Bucky continued. Sam bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.
Karli felt bad for the guy, but she was also having a lot of fun with this. “And you don’t have any friends, so you’re struggling in that department.”
“No,” Bucky scoffed. “God, a guy tries to be nice and ask his daughter to be his best man, and this is how he gets treated.”
“Wait what?” Karli asked, eyes wide. Bucky’s face heated up as he looked over at her. Sam just sat there and ate his gumbo.
“He asked you to be his best man,” Sam said around a mouthful of food.
“Are you serious?” Karli asked, looking into Bucky’s eyes. He just nodded. “I would love to be your best man.”
“Really?” Bucky replied, grin taking over his face. “You’re not upset that Sam didn’t want you to be his?”
“Man, what the hell?” Sam questioned, being dragged into the conversation. Bucky smirked at him.
“Of course, I’m not mad. I’m just happy that you didn’t make me choose,” Karli explained, and Sam and Bucky exchanged a look.
Bucky looked at her expectantly. “You would’ve picked me, right?” She didn’t say anything. “Right?”
“No comment,” she finally replied. Sam smirked at Bucky, taking another bite of his food.
“You’re bluffing. We all know you would’ve picked me,” Bucky stated, dropping the conversation and going back to his food. Sam and Karli glanced at each other knowing that they both loved Bucky more than anything even though he was insane sometimes.
...
A few days later, Sam went into the restaurant for the day. He hadn’t worked a shift in quite some time, and it felt like forever since he had alone time with Sarah. Plus, he still needed to ask her about being his best man.
“Samuel Wilson, what is on your mind?” Sarah asked when Sam walked into yet another table. He looked at her sheepishly.
“Nothing,” he lied. He knew she wasn’t buying it.
“You might be Captain America now, but you’re still a shit liar,” Sarah told him.
Sam scoffed. “Fine, whatever. I just have to ask you something.”
“Well, go ahead before a customer comes in.”
Sam let out a breath. “So, um, you’re going to think that you’re a second choice, but you’re not, and I’d like to lead with that. I also know that I’ve put you through a lot the last ten years. You’ve been nothing but supportive of me, and I can’t thank you enough for that. You’ve been by my side through everything, and I think it’s only fair that you’re by my side for my wedding. So, will you be my best man?”
“Oh my, God. Of course, Sam!” Sarah exclaimed, throwing herself into Sam’s arms. Sam chuckled and hugged her back. She pulled back to look at him. “Did you think I was going to say no?”
“No, no, of course not,” he assured her. He let out a breath. “I just didn’t want you to think I was asking you because you were my only option.”
“I am your only option,” Sarah told him easily. Sam raised his eyebrows. “You don’t speak to anyone from school anymore. The family has just dwindled down to you and me. Steve...well, even if Steve was alive you couldn’t ask him. You could’ve asked Joaquin, but he can’t be the best man and officiate.”
“Alright, alright. I get it,” Sam said. Sarah smiled at him, and he smiled right back. “I am happy that it’s you, though. I’m happy that I have you by my side.”
“Wilsons stick together, Sam. I know you would’ve preferred that the entire extended family was here, but I hope you know that I’m never going anywhere. There might not be a lot of us anymore, but Wilsons stick together.”
Sam moved forward and kissed her forehead. “Wilsons stick together.”
…
Cass and AJ had been in school for a month. Sam was away on a mission, and Sarah was at the restaurant, so Bucky went to pick them up from school. He and Sam had decided that Bucky would be the one to ask the boys to be in the wedding because it would mean more to them. If Sam asked, they might think it was out of obligation, but if Bucky asked, they would know he meant it.
“Uncle Bucky!” AJ yelled, running over to Bucky with Cass right behind him. The boys were in middle school now, but they were still always happy to see Bucky. They might be teenagers, but they didn’t have Karli’s angst just yet.
“Who wants ice cream?” Bucky asked. AJ and Cass both responded in the affirmative, and they all began walking to the ice cream shop. They ordered and sat down at a picnic table together. “So, I need to talk to you boys about something.”
“Is it serious?” Cass asked, eating a scoop of his sundae.
“Not really,” Bucky responded. “Just a little chat about the wedding.” Bucky looked at both of them before eating a spoonful of his own ice cream. “I know that you’re a little old for it, but Uncle Sam and I were wondering if you would want to be ring bearers.”
“Yeah, totally,” AJ said, smiling from ear to ear. Cass nodded eagerly. “And don’t worry. We’re not too old.”
“You don’t think being in your Uncles’ wedding and hanging out with them is lame?”
Cass scoffed. “No way. You and Uncle Sam are so cool.”
“Cool?” Bucky questioned, frowning appreciatively. He sobered for a second. “You guys are okay with me marrying Uncle Sam, right?”
“That’s a dumb question,” Cass told him, taking another bite of the sundae. Bucky worried for a moment that the teenager angst had gotten the better of him. “We’ve wanted you guys to get married for years now.”
Bucky let out a breath of relief. “Oh. Okay good.”
“You know that we love you, right?” AJ asked. Bucky averted his eyes.
“I know that you love that I make your uncle happy, and you love me out of familial obligation.”
“Well, we obviously love you,” Cass told him in a tone that sounded way too similar to one that Karli used. Bucky rolled his eyes.
“I love you too, you little rascals,” Bucky stated. Both boys smiled. “Now, eat your ice cream, and don’t tell your mother that I spoiled your dinner.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Uncle Buck.”
...
Sam had been going on missions a little more often recently. At first he didn’t want to leave all the planning stress on Bucky, but after a while it became very clear that Bucky was perfectly fine on his own. In fact, when Sam was around, Bucky would tell him to leave or just ignore him while he did wedding planning. It was kind of hilarious to Sam actually.
So, Bucky did wedding things, and Sam did Captain America things. Sam always made sure that Bucky didn’t need help before he left, and if Bucky did need help, he always asked. This time though, Bucky didn’t need anything, so Sam was free to go on the mission.
“Sam, it’s been forever, man,” Joaquin said when Sam walked on the plane. Sam smiled and hugged the other man. “How’s the wedding planning going?”
“Oh God, don’t even get me started,” Sam groaned, sitting down on the bench. “I love Buck more than anyone in the universe, but that man is driving me insane.”
Joaquin muffled a laugh, but he couldn’t quite hide his smirk. “Really?”
“I knew he was very big on plans because he would always be on my ass about not having one, but I didn’t know it was that bad. He is the most detail-oriented person I’ve ever met.”
“That’s not even a little surprising,” Joaquin told him. Sam squinted at Joaquin curiously. “I worked on two Wilson Games with him. I saw first hand how insane he can be when it comes to planning things.”
Sam smiled to himself thinking back on how adorable Bucky was when he first began planning the Wilson Games. “I know it drives me crazy, but it’s also one of the things I love the most about him.”
“That’s adorable,” Joaquin cooed, and Sam narrowed his eyes. “I should really be writing everything you say down so that I’m prepared for what I need to say during the ceremony.”
“It doesn’t even matter what you say. Bucky and I will be crying the whole time,” Sam admitted, causing Joaquin to laugh.
“I’ll definitely be sure to include the time you said ‘I can’t wait to become Mr. Samuel Barnes’.”
“That’s literally not even what I said.”
“It’s close enough.”
“Is it though?”
“I don’t care. I’m still saying it.”
Sam rolled his eyes at his partner. “You’re out. We’ll just get a justice of the peace to do the wedding.”
...
Towards the end of the first semester, Karli was leaving class when she saw Bucky pull up in Sam’s truck. She waved at him and hopped into the front seat.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” she asked, buckling her seatbelt. Bucky pulled the car back onto the street and began driving.
“It’s time for your first duty as my best man,” Bucky replied simply. He turned the corner. “We’re going suit shopping.”
“That’s actually kind of exciting,” Karli said truthfully. She turned to Bucky with a slight smile. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”
“Sam said something about linen or seersucker, but I don’t really know what either of those are to be honest,” he replied absentmindedly.
“Did Sam also happen to mention the mayor of Jaws?” Karli questioned. Bucky turned to look at her with a surprised face as they pulled up to the store.
“Yes,” Bucky replied, still confused about what that meant. He found it endearing that Karli and Sam had the same sense of humor and pop culture references, but he also felt very left out of the jokes.
Karli smiled knowingly. “Alright, I’m pretty sure I can handle this then.”
Karli was right. She knew exactly what Bucky was looking for. She already knew the color palette, so she knew to look for gold or beige. After a little bit of searching, Karli gasped.
“What? What is it?” Bucky asked, worried. Karli looked at him with wide eyes before shoving a suit into his hands.
“Try it on immediately,” she told him. Bucky did as he was told as Karli waited patiently outside of the dressing room. He was taking a little too long, so Karli knocked on the door. “You good in there, Pookie?”
There was no response, but the door slowly opened. Bucky was looking at himself in the mirror and it looked like there were tears in his eyes. “How did you even find this? Magnolia isn’t a common color.”
“And seersucker isn’t a common fabric,” Karli told him. “I’m not sure how we lucked out with this one, but it’s here. And, I looked around and found another one back there too. I can put it on hold for when I come with Sam.”
“We didn’t discuss whether or not we wanted to match,” Bucky stated. Karli raised her eyebrows.
“Really? You haven’t discussed a minor detail yet?”
“Shut up,” Bucky muttered. “Put the suit on hold, and Sam can decide when he comes. All I know is that I’m getting this.”
Karli grinned. “So you like it?”
“It’s perfect,” Bucky said, looking into Karli’s eyes through the mirror. “Thank you.”
“That’s what best men are for.”
Karli was about to leave the room when she heard Bucky speak again. “How mad do you think Sam would be if I took the left sleeve off?” Karli didn’t dignify that with a response.
...
Cake tasting was something that had been thoroughly discussed for months. The family could handle making the food for the wedding, but Sam and Bucky knew from the beginning that they wanted to buy a proper wedding cake.
It was also decided very early on that Sam, Bucky, and Karli would all attend the cake tasting. Sam would go with what Bucky wanted, Bucky would go with what Sam wanted, or they would both fight for their own flavor. A compromise would be reached eventually, but everyone thought it would be easier if they just brought in Karli to mediate. Plus, there was no way Karli was passing up eating a bunch of cake.
There was a small bakery in town owned by a very old woman named Mrs. Nesbit. She had been making cakes for all the local weddings since the sixties. She even made Sam’s parents wedding cake. Sam was incredibly happy to have her make his wedding cake.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Nesbit,” Sam greeted when the three of them walked into the bakery on the day of their appointment. Mrs. Nesbit grinned from behind the counter before moving to hug them.
“There’s my favorite family,” she said, embracing each of them. “It’s been far too long since I’ve made a cake for a Wilson wedding. I keep telling that sister of yours she needs to find herself a nice step-parent for those boys.”
“You tell her, Mrs. Nesbit,” Sam replied, knowing full well that Sarah wasn’t looking for a relationship. Sam, Bucky, and Karli all sat down at the table that was covered in cake samples.
“So, Samuel here is the only one who has tried one of my wedding cakes before,” Mrs. Nesbit explained. “That was many, many years ago, and I’m sure he’s forgotten the exact flavor. So, you’re all starting out on a clean slate here. I’ve given you my most basic foundation flavors to start out with. So, we have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, lemon, red velvet, banana, coconut, and almond. They are also with their most common frostings but the frostings can be changed, of course. Let me know if you need anything else, and I can get it for you.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Nesbit,” Sam said graciously.
“Yes, thank you, ma’am. These cakes look delicious,” Bucky told her, charm seeping through his words. Mrs. Nesbit blushed before heading back to the kitchen.
“If you wanted to leave me for someone closer to your age you could’ve just told me,” Sam muttered to Bucky who laughed in return.
“You keep me young, Sammy,” Bucky said, looking over to Karli and noticing that she had started eating. “Hey, missy, wait for us.”
“Don’t waste your time with the lemon. You won’t like it. And, Torres is allergic to almonds, so you can’t get that one either,” Karli explained, pushing away those six pieces. Bucky and Sam exchanged a look, but they figured she was probably right. “Okay, red velvet.”
They all took a bite and thought about it for a moment. Sam looked to Bucky expectantly. “It’s a contender,” Bucky told him. Sam and Karli both nodded in agreement.
“I think I’ve had the carrot cake before,” Sam told them before they all took a bite. Sam moaned. “Yes, oh my God, this is the frosting. I’ve been having dreams about this since I was a kid.”
“This is the best frosting I’ve had in my entire life,” Bucky stated, taking another bite but including far more frosting than cake.
“The cake is...alright,” Karli offered. “The frosting is phenomenal, but the cake is just okay.”
“No, you’re right,” Sam concurred. “We can get another cake with this frosting though.”
Bucky nodded, eating another forkful of frosting. “Yes, definitely.”
“Calm down. We still have three more cakes to try,” Sam told his fiance, getting a glare in response. “Let’s try the vanilla next.”
“Yeah, your boring ass favorite,” Karli muttered, and Bucky laughed. Sam rolled his eyes at both of them.
“There is nothing wrong with vanilla cake,” Sam said, and Bucky rubbed his thigh.
“No there isn’t, sweetheart,” Bucky assured him as they all tried it. Karli looked at Bucky who just smirked. “Well, it definitely tastes like vanilla cake.”
“It’s good though.”
“We’re not saying it’s bad,” Karli explained. “We’re just saying it’s vanilla.”
“You’re vanilla,” Sam muttered, and Karli and Bucky shared yet another smile. “Whatever. Let’s try the chocolate next. We can all make fun of Bucky’s favorite now.”
Bucky knew that they had been together for years and they were literally getting married, but he still blushed knowing that Sam knew an intimate little detail about him. They all took a bite of the cake, and Bucky couldn’t tell if it was the warmness he was feeling from Sam’s comment or the cake itself, but a sense of euphoria flooded his body.
“This is the best thing that’s ever been in my mouth,” Bucky exclaimed, and Karli and Sam both looked at him quizzically.
“What an odd thing to say,” Karli murmured.
“What a rude thing to say,” Sam corrected. Bucky just shrugged. “It is really good though.”
“It’s very good,” Karli agreed. “Just not sure if it’s the one yet.”
“Well, we only have one left,” Sam said, and they all reached for their pieces of strawberry cake and took a bite. “Oh wow.”
“That’s good,” Bucky agreed.
“Now that’s cake,” Karli replied, taking another bite. Sam and Bucky both smiled at her.
“I still think the chocolate was the best though,” Bucky stated. Karli glared at him.
“And I’m still team vanilla,” Sam told them. They all sat there for a moment. “Should we ask for another flavor as a tie breaker or something?”
Just then, Mrs. Nesbit made her way over to the table. “How is it going over here?”
“We decided on the carrot cake frosting, but we can’t quite decide between chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry cake,” Sam explained.
“Would you be interested in a marble cake?” Mrs. Nesbit asked. The three all looked at each other with huge grins.
“Is that possible?” Bucky asked.
Mrs. Nesbit smiled softly at him. “Yes, I do that for couples all the time. Well, I do it for the best kinds of couples. The kinds whose flavors mix well together. It’s not every day that I see a couple who fit so well together, especially when there are kids involved. But, you three work together in a harmony that I haven’t seen before. You want each other to get what you want, but somehow what you all want individually makes something beautiful together.”
“Thank you,” Sam replied softly. He squeezed Bucky’s hand under the table. “So, a vanilla, chocolate, strawberry marble cake with carrot cake frosting?”
“Yep,” Karli replied.
“Yes,” Bucky agreed. Sam smiled at them.
Mrs. Nesbit wrote down the order with a smile on her face. “One neapolitan cake for the American family coming up.”
All three of them smiled at the nickname. They weren’t your average family, no, but whether people liked it or not, they were the family that represented everything that shield stood for.
...
A few days later, it was time to go shopping for Sam’s suit. Sam could have brought Sarah, his real best man, but he wanted to bring Karli instead. She knew what the suit looked like on Bucky, and Sam imagined that that would be helpful.
“So, did you decide if you wanted to be matching?” Karli asked as they walked into the store.
“I wasn’t sure about it, but if this suit is as great as you guys keep telling me then I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” Sam replied, as they headed to the counter to get the suit that Karli had put aside. When Sam saw the suit, he immediately started to laugh. “Are you kidding? That’s literally the perfect suit. That has to be custom made.”
“Trust me, it’s not. It was a total coincidence that we found it,” Karli told them as they headed toward the dressing room. “Now, go try it on.”
A few moments later, Sam opened the door and modeled the suit for her. “Be honest with me, who wore it best?”
“I’m not answering that,” she stated. If she was being completely honest, there was no way to compare both of them in the suits. It was the same suit, but they wore it completely different. “You both looked very nice in it.”
“Aww, a compliment,” Sam joked, and Karli rolled her eyes. “Is it too matchy-matchy?”
“No, they look like two totally different suits on you guys,” Karli explained.
“Because I have style,” Sam offered, gesturing to his overall appearance.
Karli smirked. “Plus, they can’t be too matchy if one suit has two sleeves and the other only has one.”
Sam’s eyes went wide. “He didn’t.”
“He did,” Karli confirmed, nodding. “The tailor finished it yesterday.”
“That idiot,” Sam muttered, but then he smiled. “I’m gonna marry that idiot. I’m gonna wear this suit, and I’m going to marry that century old idiot.”
“I have a very serious question to ask you then,” Karli said gravely. Sam’s heart dropped slightly. “Are you saying yes to the suit?”
Sam rolled his eyes but played along all the same. “I am in fact saying yes to the suit.”
...
The wedding was only a few months away, and it felt like Sam and Bucky hadn’t spent time alone in months. So, they decided that they needed to have a date night. Karli stayed at Sarah’s for the night, and Sam and Bucky had the house all to themselves.
They could have watched a movie and fallen asleep early. They could have talked about the upcoming mission. They could have done a lot of things, but they wanted to have a truly romantic evening.
They wanted the evening to be so romantic that they didn’t even want to cook. That would make it too much like an every day night. Instead, Sam called the fanciest restaurant in the city and asked that the backroom be reserved for Captain America and his soon to be husband.
The room was beautiful and secluded and perfectly romantic. The lighting was soft but not too dark. The food was delicious but not too heavy. The music...oh, the music was just beautiful.
“Having a good night?” Sam asked when they were about done with their dinner. Bucky smiled from across the table.
“I’m having a great night,” Bucky told him. “How could I not be when I’m in such a beautiful place with my best guy?”
“Oh, there’s the old charm I was waiting for,” Sam groaned but smiled all the same. Bucky cocked an eyebrow.
“You know what I would do next if this was a date in the forties?” he asked.
“No, but I would love to find out,” Sam responded. Bucky lifted Sam’s hand to his mouth, pressed a kiss on it, and got up from the table. Sam looked around confused before he heard the music change. Earth Angel filled the air. Sam smiled to himself.
“Sorry, I had to ask them for the right song before I asked you to accompany me on the dance floor,” Bucky explained, offering his hand for Sam to take. “May I have the pleasure?”
Sam blushed and internally cursed himself for how swooned he was. “I don’t see why not.” Bucky pulled Sam to his feet and began leading him around the empty floor. Sam rested his head on one of Bucky’s shoulders. “This song didn’t come out in the forties.”
“No, it didn’t,” Bucky confirmed, “but every time I hear it, it reminds me of you. You’re my earth angel. And, oh, my darling dear, how I love you all the time.”
“Such a sap,” Sam whispered as they continued dancing. Sam stood up straighter, keeping one hand in Bucky’s and the other on his partner’s shoulder. “Is this how we’re going to dance at our wedding?”
“I’d sure hope so.”
“Can we swing dance too?” Sam asked, and Bucky grinned.
“You want me to teach you how to swing?” he asked curiously. Sam just shrugged.
“I don’t think I would properly be marrying a man born in the 1910s if we didn’t swing dance at our wedding,” Sam told him. “I want to do it the proper way.”
“Oh, so now you’re all about doing it the proper way. I see how it is. You just have to be romanced first.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “If you can call this romancing.”
“Maybe I’m waiting for the wedding to truly show you my moves,” Bucky suggested defensively.
“Perhaps you are,” Sam replied in the same tone. “Have you thought about what song we’re going to dance to yet?”
“Well, I had a few ideas, but now that you want to swing dance, I’m not entirely sure,” Bucky told him. Sam nodded, smiling slightly. “What?”
“Nothing. I just think I have a good idea for the song is all.”
“Care to share it with the class?” Bucky questioned, and Sam smirked.
“No, no I think that you’ll just have to wait and see. Let me surprise you,” Sam stated. When Bucky was about to protest, Sam leaned forward to kiss him. “Now, show me how to swing, baby, and I wanna see your best moves.”
...
The next morning, after Karli slept at Sarah’s, Sarah took Karli, Cass, and AJ shopping for their wedding outfits. First, they went to the teen section at the suit shop where Sam and Bucky got their suits.
“Okay, boys. Why don’t you go try these suits on?” Sarah asked, handing them two beige linen suits. Bucky had given Sarah very specific details for what he wanted everyone’s outfits to look like. Sam had also told her to make sure the boys were in linen so they didn’t get too warm.
“Mom!” AJ called from the dressing room. Sarah and Karli both walked over to check on him. “I look ridiculous.”
“What? No, you don’t,” Sarah assured him, but AJ just made a face.
“I look like Jay Gatsby,” he groaned, and Sarah and Karli shared a look.
“How do you even know who that is?” Sarah questioned. AJ shrugged.
“We’re reading it in class this year,” he replied. He looked down at the suit again. “Either way, I look like I just stepped out of 1920.”
Karli tried to hold in a laugh, but she failed miserably. “Uncle Bucky will feel very at home then.”
Sarah giggled at Karli’s joke as Cass stepped out of his dressing room. “I think you both look very nice. Cass, how do you feel about the suit?”
“I love it,” Cass told her, admiring the suit. AJ’s eyes went wide. “What? I feel cool.”
“You certainly look it,” Karli said sincerely. They shared a smile. “Look, I know that some of this wedding stuff really sucks, but it’s what Sam and Bucky want. This is their day, and the least we can all do is give them what they want.”
“Karli is right,” Sarah told the boys, very proud of her niece’s maturity. “Sam and Bucky are going to love the suits and that’s all that matters. You’ll wear them for a few hours one day and you’ll never have to wear them again. Now, go get dressed. We have one more place to go.”
AJ and Cass hurriedly get changed out of the suits. Sarah paid for them, and they all headed to the dress shop down the street. Bucky hadn’t given her much for the dresses as he had no idea how to shop for women’s clothing or what to even look for. He put most of his faith in Karli and Sarah.
The women began looking around the shop, and the boys sat down on a bench they found and pulled out their phones. Kari and Sarah split up and tried to find the proper dresses. They had discussed their strategy, and they decided to go with two dresses that were the same color but different styles. The color they had agreed on was a soft cornsilk. It would be easy to find in several styles that could work for them.
Karli found a bunch of dresses in the color and began sorting through them. None of them had caught her eye. That was until she got to the very last dress. It was a short dress; it would probably fall right above her knee. It had thin straps and a full coverage top. The skirt was layered and it had flowers of the same color embroidered on it. It was perfect. Karli began walking over to the fitting rooms when she saw Sarah heading into her own. They both smiled at each other before heading to try on their dresses.
Karli’s dress was even more perfect when she put it on. It fit like a glove, and there wouldn’t need to be any alterations. It was perfect. She left her dressing room to see Sarah standing outside of hers looking in the mirror. She was wearing a tea-length strapless tulle dress. It looked gorgeous on her.
“Aunt Sarah, you look amazing,” Karli told her, and Sarah turned to her with a grin. Her smile softened.
“Baby girl, you look amazing,” she said, looking at Karli’s dress. Karli blushed. “Oh god, your daddies are going to cry.”
“Don’t even remind me,” Karli groaned, but she smiled into the mirror all the same. “They’re going to love it. I love it.”
“I love it too,” Sarah replied. “We are going to be the hottest best men Louisiana has ever seen.”
...
Things had been going well recently. Sure, Bucky was going slightly insane about the wedding that was now only a few weeks away, but it wasn’t like he was losing sleep over anything.
“Sam!” Bucky yelled, jolting awake in the middle of the night. He quickly sat up as Sam just groaned in response. “Sam!”
“Huh?” Sam mumbled into his pillow.
“I don’t have a left arm,” Bucky blurted out. Sam opened his eyes and lifted one of his eyebrows.
“I noticed,” he replied. Bucky rolled his eyes. Sam sat up and closed his eyes again. “Is there a reason for this revelation in the middle of the night?”
“You wear your wedding ring on your left hand,” Bucky reminded him. Sam nodded sleepily.
“And you can’t wear it on the vibranium?”
“No, it’ll slip right off. Or it’ll make weird noises. Or it’ll hurt.”
“Okay, alright,” Sam mumbled. “Why don’t you wear it on your right hand then?”
“Because--”
“Because tradition. Right, I remember,” Sam responded. He thought about it for a second before it hit him and he opened his eyes to look at Bucky. “I know what to do.”
“Okay. What?” Bucky asked.
“I’m going to need you to give me your arm,” Sam told him. It was pretty common for Bucky to take off the arm after he learned how to do it. Sometimes he would sleep without it. Sometimes he would just walk around without it. The point is that Bucky didn’t always wear the arm, and Sam could use that to his advantage. “It’ll only be a few weeks. You can have it back the day of the wedding. If that’s something you’re comfortable with of course.”
“It’s not that far away,” Bucky stated. He looked into Sam’s eyes. “And you’ll have to help me with some stuff. You know, stuff that involved two hands.”
“I think I can manage picking up some slack,” Sam said. He smiled at his fiance. “Just trust me, baby. I’ve got it all under control. We can still wait a few days until I do what I have planned, so you won’t be away from it for too long.”
“I trust you,” Bucky whispered. He turned his body to kiss Sam fully on the lips. “Thank you for talking me down.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Sam told him, but Bucky shook his head.
“I know that I’m not the easiest person to be with, and I know that I’ve been insane about wedding stuff. But, you’re always there to calm me down. You always know what to say to clean out the mess that’s inside my head. I just love you so, so much.”
Sam kissed him again. “I love you too, baby. And as much as I love this conversation, I’m going to pass out, so why don’t we continue it in the morning?”
“I take it back. You only add more stress to my life,” Bucky said, laying back down. Sam chuckled and laid down as well.
“Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Buck,” Sam murmured, and they were both out in a minute.
...
It was officially the end of the second semester, and summer and the wedding were only a few weeks away. Karli had had a great year. Junior year was exceptionally boring. Her classes were boring. Her professors were boring. And, unsurprisingly, she had still yet to make a solid group of friends.
She didn’t care though. She had a good year. The next year would be her last before law school, and there was something that she still needed to do before her time at Del U was over. Plus, it coincided perfectly with the wedding coming up.
After her last final, which she was sure she aced, Karli headed to one of the gift shops on campus. She looked around for a moment before she found exactly what she was looking for. She picked up two t-shirts, one bumper sticker, and she even found an apron that she thought was hilarious. She was ready to check out when she walked into something, or rather someone.
“Oh, God. I am so, so sorry,” Karli said, bending down to pick up her things at the same time as the other person did.
“It’s no problem,” the person said, handing Karli the shirts. Karli finally looked at the person she had walked into and her eyes went wide. Crouching in front of her was the most gorgeous girl Karli had ever seen in her life. Before Karli could say anything else, the girl was giving her the rest of her things and helping her up. “Somebody has some really supportive parents.”
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Karli replied, looking down at the things in her hands. “My dads are getting married in a month, and they love cheesy stuff like that.”
“That’s very sweet of you, then,” the girl said. “I’m Maya.”
Karli smiled softly. “I’m Karli.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Karli,” Maya told her, and at this point, Karli felt like her heart was on the floor. “I’m sorry that we haven’t met before. I would’ve really liked to get to know you.”
“Are you going somewhere?” Karli asked dumbly.
“I’m graduating in a few days, and then it’s off to New York City for med school,” Maya explained, and Karli’s heart shattered.
“That’s amazing,” Karli told her. “I mean...med school...that’s wow. And, New York is such a great city.”
“Have you been?”
“Just once,” Karli responded, trying not to recall her singular trip to New York. “My dad is from Brooklyn though, and he always talks about how great it was growing up there.”
“Maybe your dad will get homesick one day and you’ll just have to take a family trip to New York then.”
Karli blushed furiously. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Oh, gosh, I have to get going,” Maya said, looking down at her watch. She smiled at Karli one last time. “I’ll be seeing you around, Karli. I can promise you that this isn’t the last time that we’ll meet.”
“I sure hope so,” Karli told her, hoping beyond all hope that she sounded smooth. With that, Maya left, and Karli was standing in the middle of the gift shop, holding wedding gifts in her hands, knowing full well that she just met the love of her life.
...
The weeks leading up to the wedding passed by at an extremely fast pace. Bucky was busy with something every second of the day. He was going insane trying to make sure that everything was prepared for the big day.
Sam and Karli did everything they could to help him, but he was still stressed out. At first, Karli and Sam thought it was kind of annoying, but by the end, they really just felt bad for Bucky.
“Sam,” Karli said, walking into the kitchen a week before the wedding, “he’s gone crazy.”
“What did he do now?” Sam asked.
“He’s redoing the seating chart for like the fifth time,” she explained. “We have to stop this. Everything is already perfect. He doesn’t need to do anything else.”
“We have to do something,” Sam told her, thinking it over for a second. He grinned.
“What?”
“The Wilson Games.”
“Huh?”
Sam raised his eyebrows at his daughter. “We weren’t going to have a Wilson Games this summer because we’re going to be on our honeymoon for most of the summer, and we won’t be back until right before school starts. We should have a Wilson Games. Me and you could plan it. You know how much he loves them, and this way he won’t have to stress out about it.”
“When exactly are we going to have an impromptu Wilson Games?” Karli asked.
“Torres is coming in on Wednesday. We can have it then,” Sam told her. “Until then, we can plan events and make the trophy and stuff. It can’t be that hard. Bucky seems to do it pretty easily.”
...
Sam was very, very wrong. Planning the Wilson Games was incredibly hard. Coming up with new, creative, fun games was practically impossible, and making that trophy look halfway decent was a losing battle.
In the end, Sam decided that they should use the pool and have a fully aquatic Wilson Games that year. They would have a jumping competition, ring diving, races, and a very intense game of sharks and minnows. The best part would be that it was going to be a complete surprise for Bucky.
“Baby,” Sam whispered into Bucky’s ear the morning of the wedding. Bucky opened his eyes with a smile. “Why don’t you go put your bathing suit on? We’ll go for a nice swim.”
“I think we can do that without my bathing suit on,” Bucky flirted, leaning forward to kiss Sam.
“As much as I would love that, and I would, I think Karli might be joining us,” Sam told him, and Bucky groaned slightly. Then, he groaned again.
“I have wedding stuff to do today,” Bucky stated.
“No, you don’t,” Sam replied. Bucky looked at him quizzically. “Everything is done. We’re getting married in two days. We’ve got it all taken care of.”
“Sam--”
“Bucky, put your bathing suit on and meet me by the pool in five minutes or so help me God, I will cancel the wedding.”
That threat seemed to work as Bucky immediately began getting ready. Sam ran outside and stood with everyone else as they waited for Bucky to join them. Bucky walked outside with an incredibly confused face when he saw everyone.
“What is going on here?” he asked. “Torres?”
“Welcome to the third annual Wilson Games,” Torres announced. Bucky looked at Sam who just grinned. “This year our games are going to be a little different. Firstly, they were planned by Sam and Karli rather than Bucky. Second, they are going to be held entirely in the pool.”
“Sam?” Bucky asked. Sam smiled at his fiance. “You really put all this together?”
“I know how much you love the Games, and I wanted to help you relax a little. You’ve got way too much on your plate. Plus, I know we aren’t doing bachelor parties, so I thought that this could kind of be a fun little thing for us to do.”
“It’s perfect,” Bucky told him, practically leaping onto Sam to kiss him. “It’s perfect just like you.”
“If the soon to be husbands are done, I can get on with explaining the rules,” Joaquin stated, and Sam and Bucky parted reluctantly. “So, Bucky won’t have to have any limitations this year as his arm is out of commission. However, every time there are goggles, Karli will not be allowed to wear them. She will also have to start a little later in the races.
“Speaking of the races, this years events are a jumping competition where you will all give your best jump into the pool, and I will rate it, a ring dive where several rings will be placed at the bottom of the pool and whoever collects the most will win, a series of one on one races, and lastly a game of sharks and minnows, which I’m sure you all know how to play.”
“Oh, this is going to be awesome!” Bucky exclaimed, and Karli and Sam shared a smile. “Let’s fucking do this.”
First up was the jumping competition. They each got to pick a style and jump into the pool. Sarah went first and did a can opener, which got her an 8. Cass did a pencil, which got him a 7. AJ’s belly flop earned him a 7.5. Karli did front flip, earring her a 9. Bucky did a backflip, which also earned a 9. Finally, Sam did what could only be described as the most epic and splashing cannonball of all time and got a 10, securing his win for the first event.
Next was the ring dive. Joaquin made everyone close their eyes as he tossed rings to the bottom of the pool. Then, on his signal, they all dove down to retrieve them. They all emerged a few seconds later, and it turned out that AJ had grabbed the most rings, which meant that he had won.
The races were fairly easy. Just one on one, down and back. First it was Bucky vs. Karli, Sam vs. Sarah, and Cass vs. AJ. Eventually and unsurprisingly, it dwindled down to Bucky vs. Sam. Even with one arm, Bucky still won by several seconds.
The final event was sharks and minnows. It was a game in which one person would stand outside the pool with their back turned and the rest of the people in the pool would swim from end to end. If the person outside the pool heard, they would turn around and jump in and try to catch the person. The swimmer would have to get to the other side of the pool without getting touched by the jumper.
They decided to have a steady shark and each person who got tagged would just be eliminated until there was one person left. There was a coin toss, and it was decided that Bucky would be the shark. Cass was eliminated first. He was quickly followed by Sarah and AJ. Now, only Sam and Karli were in the pool.
Karli moved very quietly, so it was hard to hear her, but Sam did not have the same skill. It didn’t help him that it was Bucky listening for him. Bucky had improved hearing, but it always seemed like that hearing was for Sam specifically.
Sam and Karli moved at the same time, hoping that Bucky would only be able to catch one of them. Unfortunately, Bucky turned around at the perfect time. He was able to jump in the pool and catch Karli’s arm in his and land on Sam’s back.
“You had to jump on me?” Sam asked when he emerged from the water. Bucky shrugged his shoulders smugly.
“I didn’t want to land on Karli,” he said innocently.
“Karli is a super soldier. She could have handled it.”
“Speak for yourself,” Karli told him.
Bucky smirked. “Are you saying big bad Captain America couldn’t handle it?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Sam told him. Bucky smirked.
“Just admit it, Sam. I’m better at the Wilson Games than you are,” Bucky told him. “Maybe we should change the name to the Barnes Games.”
“The Barnes-Wilson Games,” Sam stated, and Bucky’s smile turned soft. “We’ll call them the Barnes-Wilson Games. Just like us. The Barnes-Wislon family.”
“So sweet,” Bucky said, placing a chlorine-y kiss on Sam’s lips. “Now, where is my trophy?”
Sam’s only response was dunking Bucky’s head under water.
...
The next night was the rehearsal dinner. However, it wasn’t necessarily a rehearsal dinner. It was more like Sam, Bucky, Karli, Sarah, Cass, AJ, and Joaquin having dinner together. Really, it was just like any other night.
However, Bucky was a firm believer in not seeing the groom until you walked down the aisle, so Sam had to sleep at Sarah’s the night before the wedding. So, before they parted ways, they had a nice little dinner as their last night as non-husbands.
“Did you ever think that you would get here?” Joaquin asked them as they finished dinner. Sam and Bucky shared a smile.
“That kid in Brooklyn never would have imagined this,” Bucky answered, but he was only looking at Sam. “Never in my life did I ever imagine that I would be this lucky.”
“I can say the same thing,” Sam told him from across the table. “I grew up on stories about Captain America and Bucky Barnes, man. I never thought that I would be Captain America marrying Bucky Barnes. And I certainly never thought I would marry the man who pulled my steering wheel out of my car.”
“That’s actually really sweet,” Karli admitted, and they both smiled at her. “How about me? Did you think that you would have a daughter as brilliant as me?”
Bucky’s breath hitched at the word. He still wasn’t used to her referring to herself as their daughter. He looked at Sam with a smile. “I think I can speak for both of us when I say that you are a gift that we never thought we would get.”
“Shut up,” Karli said, smiling and shaking her head fondly. “Who wants to watch all the footage of Bucky looking longingly at Sam as Captain America in preparation for the wedding?”
Everyone laughed and replied in the affirmative, but Bucky and Sam were only staring at each other. “You guys go ahead. We’ll do the dishes.”
When everyone else went to the living room, Sam and Bucky headed to the kitchen. They did the dishes quickly, and ended up with Sam leaning against the counter with Bucky’s back against his chest.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be my husband tomorrow,” Sam whispered into his ear. He placed a kiss there. “My husband.”
“Your husband,” Bucky whispered. “I’m still not sure how I convinced you to marry me.”
“It didn’t take much convincing,” Sam told him. “I was all yours since the beginning, even if I hadn’t realized it yet.”
“I’ve been gone for you since the first smile you gave me,” Bucky said, turning around to face Sam. “Which was quite some time after we met as we spent a while pretending to hate each other.”
“I wasn’t pretending,” Sam stated. “Passion is a two way street, baby.”
“You clearly still hate me,” Bucky told him, “saying shit like that.”
“I definitely hate that I have to spend tonight away from you.”
Bucky hummed before looking into Sam’s eyes. “It’s just one night. We’re going to be sleeping together for the rest of our lives. Plus, I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but I think that the wedding night is supposed to be this magical thing, so I think that you can survive this one night without me.”
“The question is, can you spend the night without me?” Sam asked. “Are you gonna have to use old Sammy Bear?”
“You and I both know that his name is Captain A-Bear-ica,” Bucky said, causing Sam to nod.
“Right, how could I forget?”
“And, no I won’t have to use him because I’m going to fall asleep immediately and dream about our perfect wedding and the rest of our lives together.”
“You are such a fucking sap,” Sam said, kissing him again. He groaned. “Ugh, I don’t want to have to leave you.”
“It’s only a few hours, sweetheart,” Bucky told him, taking a step away. “You should go before you get too attached.”
“I think it’s too late for that.”
Bucky grabbed Sam’s hand and led him to the living room to see what everyone was watching. It seemed that they still hadn’t moved on from watching the clip of Bucky looking at Sam like he hung the stars.
“That’s how I’m going to look at you when you walk down the aisle tomorrow,” Bucky whispered into Sam’s ear. Sam shuddered. Bucky turned his attention to the rest of the room. “Alright, everyone who belongs with Sarah tonight needs to get going. We have to be up bright and early tomorrow.”
“Bossy,” Cass said, getting up from the couch. He and AJ both hugged Bucky before heading home.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Barnes,” Sarah said as Bucky gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“That’s the last time you’ll be able to call me that,” he told her, which earned him a grin as she left the house with Joaquin following behind her.
“Goodnight, Karls. I’ll see you in the morning,” Sam said, pulling Karli into his chest.
“Goodnight, Cooke. Love you.”
“Love you too, sweetie,” Sam whispered, letting her go. He looked at Bucky again. “I love you too, Bucky.”
“Love you,” Bucky said, giving him one last kiss. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
...
Bucky lied. He could barely sleep the night before the wedding. It wasn’t because he couldn’t sleep without Sam, but that didn’t exactly help. It wasn’t that he was nervous or worried about anything. He was just so damn excited. It was like the feeling you had when you couldn’t fall asleep the night before a field trip when you were a kid.
After tossing and turning for hours upon hours, Bucky went into Karli’s room at six thinking that it was a decent enough time to wake her up.
“Pea, wake up, honey. We have a wedding to get ready for,” he cooed in her ear. She groaned loudly and moved to hit him with a pillow.
“Bucky Barnes, if the sun hasn’t risen yet, I will kick your sorry ass,” she told him. Bucky ripped open the curtains to show her that the sun was indeed shining. “We still can’t get ready yet. It’s too early.”
“Wanna watch some music videos?” Bucky asked. Recently, he had become obsessed with watching all sorts of music videos. Karli had been having a lot of fun showing him some of her favorites and watching new ones with her.
Karli begrudgingly got out of bed but went down to the living room all the same. She put Youtube on the TV and began searching for music videos. It was only a few minutes until Bucky was asleep.
Bucky woke up a few hours later to the smell of something cooking in the kitchen. He walked in and saw Karli plating some breakfast.
“It’s nine. We have to be at the venue at eleven. The ceremony starts at one,” Karli explained, handing him a fork. “Eat up. We have a big day ahead of us.”
“Do you have your speech ready?” Bucky asked. Karli took a bite of her bacon.
“I was supposed to prepare a speech?” she joked, and Bucky rolled his eyes. Sam and Bucky had decided that both Karli and Sarah would give speeches at the reception, and they had told them months ago. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about your vows.”
“I’ve had my vows written since the moment I met Sam,” Bucky said dreamily. Karli pretended to throw up. “You’ll understand one day. You’ll fall in love, and you’ll stop making fun of your dads all the time.”
“I hope I fall in love one day,” Karli told him, “but I will never stop making fun of my dads.”
“Shut up and eat your breakfast. We need to get this show on the road.”
A little more than an hour later, Bucky was ready and pacing in the kitchen. They still had a while before they needed to be at the venue. He looked at himself in the mirror and admired his wedding suit.
“The one sleeve really suits you,” Karli said as she walked down the stairs. Bucky whipped his head around to see her. He had yet to see the dress, and he was stunned by how beautiful his daughter looked. Karli got to the bottom of the stairs and blushed. “What?”
“You look beautiful, pea,” Bucky told her. He rubbed a hand over his mouth. “You’ve really grown up in front of my eyes, haven’t you?”
“I was a full adult when you met me,” she reminded him. He shook his head, looking her over again. Her hair had gotten longer, and it was flowing down over her shoulders, save two braids that were tied in a half-up, half-down in the back.
“I don’t care how old you were when I met you,” Bucky stated. “You’re always going to be my little girl.”
Karli smiled at him, knowing that it was true and not contesting it. “Come on. It’s time for you to marry Captain America.”
...
Sam had a nice night and morning at Sarah’s. She was sweet to him just like Karli was to Bucky, but it felt like she was crying every five seconds. She was just so happy for Sam and she was overcome with emotion.
Sam thought the crying might be over, but when he, Cass, and AJ were all dressed in their suits, Sam knew that Sarah was going to be a mess.
“Oh, my boys,” she cried, hugging each of them. They all reluctantly hugged her back.
“Alright, alright. We have to get going,” Sam told her, lightly pushing her off. She laughed and they all got in the car and headed to the venue.
Sam and Bucky each had their own little lounge to sit in before the ceremony started. Sam was nervously pacing back and forth waiting for a very, very last minute detail of the wedding to fall into place.
“Sam,” Joaquin said, opening the door to the lounge. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Sam perked up at the news. He stopped pacing and looked toward Joaquin who opened the door for someone else.
“Sam Wilson,” a voice said, and Sam was greeted by the queen of Wakanda herself.
“Your majesty,” Sam greeted. Shuri walked into the lounge, holding a box in her hands. “Once again, I am very sorry that I asked you to do this. I know that you are probably very busy as the queen.”
“I am busy,” she told him, and he nodded. “But, Bucky means a great deal to me, and so does this arm. I wouldn’t want anyone else messing with it, and I certainly wouldn’t miss his wedding for the world.”
“Well, thank you. I am very grateful,” Sam said sincerely, as Shuri put the box down on a table. “Do I get to look at it or do I have to wait?”
“I think it’s only fair that you have to wait,” she stated, smirking. “I made Bucky wait until he saw you in the suit.”
Sam blushed slightly. “Thank you for that as well. I never got around to thanking you for that.”
“It was no problem really,” Shuri told him. She looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall. “I should get to my seat. The ceremony should be starting soon.”
“Yes, any minute now,” Sam said, grinning from ear to ear.
...
The venue was packed on both sides. Sam and the majority of the town on his side, and Bucky had the rest along with Scott, Hope, Rhodey, Wanda and her family, and Shuri and others from Wakanda. Joaquin stood in the gazebo, waiting for everyone to make their way in.
The first to walk down the aisle was Alpine. She ran up and sat down next to Joaquin’s feet. He smiled and patted her head. Next was AJ and Cass. AJ was holding Sam’s ring and Cass was holding the box that contained Bucky’s arm. Sarah and Karli walked down the aisle next and each stood on their respective sides outside of the gazebo.
Sam and Bucky decided early on that they would both walk down the aisle. Sam would go first and Buck would go second. Everyone smiled, and some shed a few tears as Sam made his way to the gazebo and stepped up to stand in front of Joaquin. He stood with his hands in front of him and waited for Bucky to join him.
They were both crying the second Bucky began walking. They were both so overcome with emotion upon seeing each other. It was a lot. Bucky let out a teary laugh when he finally made his way to Sam and took the step into the gazebo.
“Hi,” he said softly, standing across from his soon to be husband. Sam held Bucky’s hand in both of his.
“Hi, baby.”
“We are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of James Barnes and Sam Wilson,” Joaquin said to the crowd. He smiled at both the grooms. “I have known Sam and Bucky for several years now, and I have never seen two people love each other as much as these two do.
“Working with Sam, we spend a lot of time together. And, while we do spend most of that time saving the world, a lot of it is dedicated to talking about how much Sam loves Bucky,” Joaquin joked, and several people laughed.
“Now, I don’t know Bucky nearly as well,” Joaquin explained. “But, I do know that there is nothing that he wouldn’t do for Sam. I also know that Bucky used to be one scary ass dude, but the second he got with Sam, he turned into the world’s biggest softy.
“That’s enough from me,” Joaquin said, looking at the two men in front of him. “I’ve been told that Sam and Bucky have a few words they would like to say to each other. Sam, go ahead.”
Sam took a breath and smiled at Bucky. “Bucky, I didn’t give you a proper proposal, and as you and Karli love to remind me, I love a good speech. I will never get tired of talking about my love for you and our life together. If it was up to me, this ceremony would be a week long, and most of it would be me talking about everything I love about you.
“However,” Sam continued, “eternity would not be enough time for me to recount all the things I love about you. So, despite the lack of time and the non-proposal, I’m going to do my best.”
Bucky smiled and nodded, motioning for Sam to go on. “Family has been the biggest thing in my life since the day I was born. I lost a good majority of my family, and I thought that the people I had left were the only ones I needed.” Sam let out a small laugh.
“But then you ripped my steering wheel out of my car and turned my world on its axis,” he said, now laughing and crying. “You gave me a family I never dreamed of having. Everything I missed about my family, you brought back to me along with so much more. You are my family, Bucky.
“This life we have together: our house, our cat, our daughter, it’s everything to me. You’re everything to me. I never dreamed of having a life this amazing, and I am so incredibly grateful for it all,” Sam said sincerely. He looked deeply into Bucky’s eyes. “I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.”
Bucky let out a breath. “Oh, woah, okay. That’ll be tough to follow up.” A few people, including Sam, laughed. “Let me start by saying I love you.”
I love you too Sam mouthed, earning a smile from Bucky.
“When Karli first moved in, I told her about a memory I had from 1934,” Bucky explained, and he and Karli shared a look. “I don’t have many memories from back then, but from what I remember, the world back then wouldn’t have been too kind to you and me.”
Sam nodded and there were a few noises from the crowd. “I was born in 1917, and by all accounts, I shouldn’t be alive today. For a long time I thought that was a curse.” Bucky let out a breath and some tears. “I thought being alive and having nobody was a punishment.”
Bucky looked into Sam’s eyes, and there were tears for both parties. “That was until I met you. I’ve been alive this whole time because I was waiting to meet you. I was born too early, and I just had to wait a little while before I could meet the person I was meant to be with.
“So, no, we wouldn’t have been able to have a life together in 1934, but that’s okay,” Bucky told him. He smiled softly. “I didn’t mind the wait. I would wait until the end of time if it meant that I got to spend just one minute with you.”
Bucky moved to wipe the tear that was falling down Sam’s cheek. “You are the love of my very long life, Sam Wilson. I am, as you put it, I am so incredibly grateful that we are standing here today because in 1934, we wouldn’t have been able to for many, many reasons.”
There was not a dry eye in the house after that. Sam rolled his eyes. “Tough to follow up my ass.”
“Ring time?” Joaquin asked, wiping his own eyes and confirming with Sarah who just nodded at him. “Right, okay, Cass, AJ, the rings please.”
Bucky was handed Sam’s ring, and Sam was handed the box, which prompted Bucky to raise a questioning eyebrow.
“Okay, Bucky, if you could place the ring on Sam’s left hand,” Joaquin stated. Bucky did as he was told with a grin on his face. “Now, Sam, if you could, um, put on Bucky’s arm?”
Sam chuckled lightly before opening the box to see Bucky’s old arm with just a little tweak. He quickly placed it into the socket like he had a million times before. Bucky moved it around and his eyes went wide when he noticed the gold ring of vibranium attached to the ring finger. Bucky found Shuri in the crowd and grinned.
“Sam, do you take Bucky to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” Sam said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Bucky, do you take Sam to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Bucky grinned right back. “I do.”
Joaquin joined in on the grinning. “I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss one another.”
Sam and Bucky barely waited for the okay before they kissed each other. Sam pulled Bucky into him and kissed him with the same passion he had the first time they kissed. They pulled apart with matching smiles and began walking down the aisle hand in hand as husbands.
...
After pictures and a cocktail hour, it was time for the reception to begin. The guests were all seated in the tent and they were waiting for Sam and Bucky to join them.
“May I present to you, for the first time as husbands, Mr. and Mr. Barnes-Wilson,” the DJ announced.
Sam and Bucky walked in and everyone cheered. Over the cheering, they heard the song for their first dance playing.
“Sam, is this…”
“It’s The Way You Look Tonight,” Sam confirmed, causing Bucky to kiss him quickly before leading him in the dance. “I wanted you to have a little taste of the 30s.”
“It’s perfect, Sam,” Bucky assured him. “It’s amazing, but I thought you wanted to swing with me.”
“Give it a second,” Sam whispered. Just then, the slow version of the song picked up into the faster dance version. “Is this proper swing music?”
“Sweetheart, this is perfect swing music,” Bucky told him, immediately moving to twirl his husband around the dancefloor.
...
Dinner was next, and then it was time for speeches and more dancing. First up was Sarah. She was doing a little better with the crying, but they all knew she was going to be a mess when she started talking.
“My brother has always been my hero,” she began, and shit, now Sam was crying. “He was so giving and loving, and I remember from a very young age worrying that he wouldn’t ever find a person that would be able to give to him what he gave to everyone he met.
“I don’t want to say that I’m skeptical about his decisions. When he told me he was going to become a superhero, I wasn’t surprised, but I was certainly a little hesitant,” she explained. “Then, several years later, he comes up to my doorstep with a hundred year old man and a teenage girl, I was definitely a little skeptical.
“I didn’t take long until I realized that Bucky and Karli were the best thing to ever happen to Sam,” she stated easily, smiling at all three of them. “It also didn’t take me long to realize that Bucky was so gone for Sam.”
Bucky scoffed, and Sam just laughed. “I saw the way that he looked at my brother, and I wasn’t worried anymore. I didn’t have to worry about Sam because I knew that he had Bucky for the long run. The way that Bucky stepped up to take care of Karli and the family showed me that he was just as equally giving and loving as Sam. So, yes, my brother has always been my hero, but now I have another brother who is just as much of a hero to me.”
Sarah raised her glass. “To Sam and Bucky. I love you both more than words can say.”
Sam and Bucky both stood up and gave her kisses and hugs before heading back to their seats for Karli’s speech. They were already crying and she hadn’t even begun yet. Karli walked over and stood in the middle of the dance floor.
“I’ve been told I’m good at speeches, but I’m not nearly as good as either of my dads. So, I’ll just have to try my best,” Karli stated, and Sam and Bucky were already crying. “My whole life, I didn’t know what real love looked like. I was ever exposed to it.”
Karli smiled. “That all changed when I moved in with Sam and Bucky. They taught me what love truly was. Not only by showing me love, but also by loving each other. Sam and Bucky have a love that’s so natural and easy it’s ridiculous. It’s like they were made just to love each other.
“I didn’t get to grow up in a home with two loving parents who loved me as much as they loved each other, but now I do,” Karli continued. She bit her lip to stop herself from falling apart. “I can only hope to one day find a love like the ones my dads have. It’s been a pleasure to watch them grow over the past few years, and I can’t wait to watch them for many, many more.”
Sam and Bucky practically ran to envelope Karli into a group hug. They would have stayed there forever, but the DJ spoke. “Normally, the father-daughter dance is the bride and her dad. However, we are going to have two father-daughter dances, so both grooms have a chance to dance with their little girl. Sam, Karli, the floor is yours.”
Bucky headed back over to his seat as Sam and Karli got into frame. They began slowly swaying back and forth as ABBA’s Slipping Through My Fingers played.
“I don’t think I’ve told you how beautiful you look tonight,” Sam whispered.
“You haven’t,” she told him, a joking tone in her voice. “Thank you, Cooke. You look very nice yourself.”
“I’m so proud of you,” he said softly. “So, so proud of you. Of how much you’ve grown. Of the woman you’re turning into. Just so proud.”
“Thank you. I’m proud of you too. It was only a few years ago that I was pushing you to tell Bucky how you felt, and now here you are marrying him.”
Sam smiled over at Bucky who was trying not to cry. “Things have changed a lot, haven’t they?”
“Since the first time we met?” Karli questioned. “I think it’s safe to say that things might’ve changed a little bit since then.”
“You are something else,” Sam told her, laughing fondly. They continued their dance until the music stopped playing, and Sam kissed her on the cheek. Then, it was time for her to dance with Bucky.
Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars began to play, and Bucky spun Karli into his arms. “I was quite the dancer in my day, you know.”
“Oh, you mean a million years ago?” Karli questioned, laughing as Bucky glared at her. She put her hand on his shoulder and danced with him. “This is a nice song.”
“There isn’t one thing I would change about you, pea. You’re my perfect little girl.”
Karli hummed in response. “Sappy.”
“Yeah?” Bucky asked, cocking an eyebrow. “How about now?”
Just then, Bruno’s vocals faded out and they were replaced with the Pop Goes Punk version of the song. Bucky smiled at Karli before letting go of her and jumping up and down. Karli quickly joined him and they jumped and headbanged the same way they did when they first started listening to punk music together.
They both looked over at Sam who could not contain his laughter. They motioned for him to join them on the dance floor, and he did so happily. They all danced and jumped and celebrated.
After that the night continued on like any normal wedding. There were all sorts of dances from the Cha Cha Slide to the Chicken Dance to several slow dances. There were a bunch of different pairings throughout the night. Sam and Sarah. Bucky and Sarah. Karli and Cass. Sarah and AJ Bucky and Shuri. Sam and Wanda. Wanda and Scott. And many, many more.
The final dance of the night was one last slow dance. Bucky and Sam made their way over to each other and melted into each other’s arms. Karli, Cass, and AJ were all danced out for the night, and they were eating leftover cake.
“Hey, look over there,” Bucky whispered into Sam’s year, motioning to the far end of the dance floor. Sam saw a couple dancing, and it took him a minute to realize that it was Sarah and Joaquin. “They sure look cozy.”
“They do,” Sam agreed, smiling softly.
“You’re not going to get all protective big brother about it?” Sam shrugged. “Oh, I get it. You only get upset when the people flirting with your sister are the object of your affection.”
“You certainly were the object of my affection, Mr. Barnes-Wilson,” Sam told him, placing a kiss on Bucky’s cheek. “You always will be.”
“I can’t believe we’re married,” Bucky whispered.
“Well, believe it, baby, because we’re going to be for a very, very, very long time.”
...
Sam and Bucky’s flight was incredibly early the next morning. First, they were going to Mexico, then Argentina, then Bermuda, followed by Italy, Greece, France, and the Netherlands, and finally they were going to stay in Wakanda for a little while. They were going to be gone for a month and a half, and they would be returning right before school started.
In the meantime, Karli was going to be working at the restaurant all summer as well as staying in her old room at Sarah’s. Sam and Bucky were going to take a shorter honeymoon, or not even take one at all, but Karli and Sarah convinced them that they deserved one and everyone would be fine without them for a little while.
That didn’t mean that they weren’t going to miss them, however. Sarah and the boys said their goodbyes after the wedding, but Karli made sure that she was awake at the crack of dawn to see them off.
“Are you ready to leave?” she asked them when she walked downstairs to see them standing with their suitcases in front of the door.
“Yeah, we’re gonna head out in a few minutes,” Sam told her. “We couldn’t go anywhere without seeing you first though.”
“Do you have time to open my wedding gift?” she questioned, pulling a bag out from behind her back. Sam and Bucky exchanged a look.
“We always have time to open gifts,” Bucky replied, taking the bag from her. Sam just shook his head.
“You didn’t have to get us anything, sweetie.”
“Shut up. Of course, I did,” she told him flatly. She motioned for them to open it. “Come on. You’re going to love it.”
Bucky pulled out the first t-shirt and almost cried. “You didn’t.”
“What? Let me see,” Sam said, taking out the other t-shirt. “You got us Proud Del-U dad t-shirts?”
Bucky held the t-shirt to his chest. “My dream has come true.”
“There’s something else in there for each of you. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell which is which,” Karli explained.
“Oh, nice!” Sam said, taking out the bumper sticker. “I’m totally putting this on the wing pack.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“An apron?” Bucky asked, a smile taking over his face. “I love it!”
“You’re such a dork,” Sam muttered. Bucky glared at him.
“You’re not going to be saying that when I cook you dinner wearing nothing but this,” Bucky told him, dangling the apron in front of Sam’s face.
“I did not buy you that so you could do gross naked things in it,” Karli chastised. “I will return it right now.”
“I’m only joking, pea,” Bucky said softly. “I love the gifts.”
“Me too,” Sam agreed. “I am a very proud Del-U dad, and I’m happy that I can show that off now.”
“I’m a prouder Del-U dad,” Bucky countered. Sam opened his mouth, but Karli spoke first.
“You’re both equally proud dads,” she told them. “And, I’m going to miss you both so much.”
“You’ll call every day, right?” Bucky asked.
“Yes, and I have the timezones all written down, so I’ll know what time is good for you,” she explained. She moved forward and hugged Bucky tightly. “I’ve got it all under control, dad.”
Bucky’s eyes went wide as he and Sam shared a look over Karli’s shoulder. Bucky hugged her back as tight as he could, knowing that he was going to miss her hugs while he was away.
“And you’re going to be okay staying with Aunt Sarah?” Sam asked. “You won’t miss us too much?”
“Of course, I’ll miss you,” she said, letting go of Bucky and going to hug Sam. “But, I’m excited to spend time with Aunt Sarah and the boys. It’s going to be fun. I’m going to be just fine, dad.”
Now it was Sam’s turn to internally freak out while hugging his daughter. They both knew that she wasn’t going to call them that all the time, and that’s why it was so special when she did.
“Have a good flight,” Karli told them when she let go of Sam. “Call me when you land.”
“Will do,” Bucky replied. “Love you so much, kiddo.”
“Yeah, Karls, we love you.”
“I love you guys too,” Karli said, walking them to the door. She watched as they both filed into Sam’s car and waved to her like crazy. “Bye!”
“Bye, Pea!”
“See you in August!”
With that, they were off. Karli felt something brush up against her leg, and she leaned down to pick up Alpine. She nuzzled their faces together before heading back into the house and closing the door. The house that she built with her own hands with two strangers who turned into her parents. She smiled to herself before going back to bed to get a few more hours of sleep.