Taking a dame on a date
Sam left the kitchen and walked to the stairs.
"Bucky? You're ready?" he asked, looking around him in case the brunet was actually on that floor.
He heard a muffled, rushed sound coming from upstairs. Then Bucky appeared, running towards the stairs. He put his hand on the railing-
"Bucky, no!" shouted Sam.
Too late. The super soldier skipped the stairs and jumped over the railing. He landed on his two feet and Sam felt the ground shaking underneath him. He glared at his 'friend.' But before he could lecture him about the fragility of this old, wooden floor, Bucky was already speaking.
"How do I look? Do I smell? I put on some Cologne but I'm afraid it's too much. Just be honest with Sam."
He was rubbing his hands nervously - only stopping to put non existant hair back behind his hear since otherwise his hair was gelled up properly - and his voice was low, cracking.
"Do I need to put on my gloves? I don't want to make it weird at the restaurant and, you know, we haven't had the talk yet. You know, about whether or not she's comfortable with... Oh God, what am I doing."
Sam seized both of his shoulders, forcing the man to look at him. By doing that, Sam was also able to take a good look at the whole ting. The jacket was the one Bucky wore to Sharon's party but the black button-up shirt, the pants and the shoes were Sam's. They weren't quite the same height and stature but it fitted well enough that Sarah wouldn't notice - nor mind. Objectively, Bucky looked handsome.
Hence Sam chose to focus on something else.
"Listen, man. If my sister wants to date you it means she accepts you as a whole. I'll skip over the fact that she had cleaned your arm meaning she had had a closer look at it than I ever did and just tell you this: try to lie to her and I'll end you. Is that clear?"
Bucky pouted - but obviously he agreed. They heard footsteps coming in their direction. The brunette swore and jumped up the stairs - but he couldn't reach the top and landed some steps before it. Sam immediately tensed when he heard the wood wailing in agony.
"This house is fragile, Barnes, dammit!"
"Oh, come on. If it can survive AJ and Cass, it can manage some jumps."
Sam turned to face his sister. Sarah was... Well, she was radiant. She had put her braided hair into a carefully messy bun on top of her head. She wore dark red lipstick matching her dress of a more light red. She had put some bracelets on and she had dropped her circular earrings for ones that looked like rain falling on her bare shoulders.
"Ain't you gonna say something?" she teased him.
Sam scowled.
"I just think it's a bit weird. You and Bucky. I mean you're my sister..."
Sarah breathed out very loudly.
"Are you trying to give me the over protective brother talk, right now? Really, Sam? Do you know how old am I? I'm technically your elder!"
"I know! I just-"
He didn't finish. He heard running and before he could even shout against him, Bucky had once again jumped over the staircase's railing to land right before Sarah. She got startled but laughed at it.
"You look..." Bucky started before stopping on the spot.
Even in the dim lit atmosphere of that cool evening, the two siblings could clearly see him blushing, redder than the stripes of that color on the shield.
"Er. Flowers?"
Bucky presented a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. Sarah put her hand on her heart when she saw them which, in turns, made Bucky beam with joy.
"I'll put them on some water right away," she decided.
She headed for the kitchen, taking in the full perfume of the two kind of flowers - delicate blue ones and blossoming orange ones. Bucky followed her.
"I tried to guess your favourite color but I'm not sure I succeeded," he explained. "And I'm not sure either that blue and orange go along."
"They're perfect," replied Sarah.
She put the flowers in a tall glass and added some water. Then Bucky helped her get into her long coat. As they headed for the door, Sam called his partner.
"You better treat my sister right, Buck!"
The ex-assassin smirked - and Sam regretted using the nickname before he even heard the answer.
"Are you the one I'm taking on a date, Wilson?"
Jerk.
"Sammy," chimed in Sarah, "be sure the boys go to bed soon, OK?"
"...OK."
"Great! Have a good evening!"
It was actually hotter outside than they had expected. A few minutes in, Bucky offered to carry Sarah's coat but she declined. The restaurant they had picked up wasn't far away and they would be sitting outside - not to mention, the nights used to be fresh so she would definitely need her coat later. They walked side by side without a word but it was more out of shyness than awkwardness.
The restaurant was half on a deck. The table the waiter led them to was close to the edge of that deck whose far end disappeared between the calm blue of the sky and the shimmering dark blue of the sea. While waiting for the menu, they both stared at the soothing waves in the water beneath their feet.
"There's something so mesmerising about the sea at night," muses Sarah.
Bucky nodded.
"In my opinion, it looks more like an, ah, ensemble. One big entity. Or a gate to another world."
Sarah chuckled.
"That's almost poetic!"
"Well, I have seen actual magic portals and it definitely looks like this."
A waiter approached them and handed them the menu. Half the words were stranger to the American English vocab and the other half referred to some species of fishes Bucky wasn't even sure he knew how they looked like alive. Sarah explained the dishes and they talked about their preferences in order to choose things they both wanted to test. Then Bucky tried to pik the wine but had to give up because in eighty years, it wasn't quite the same names he had learned to dream about when luring near fancy restaurants with his date, back in the forties.
"I can't believe you're that old. Like, the only people who could relate to your childhood are probably all dead."
Bucky tilted his head.
"Eh, not all. But there's a reason I go to retirement homes when I want to socialise."
They laughed.
"But you know, I didn't actually lived through all these years. In term of actual years I was conscious, I'm probably like Sam's age. Or even younger."
"I hope you're younger. That would piss Sam off."
Their meals arrived. They thanked the waiter and started eating. For a few minutes, they focus on that, making commentaries, testing the other's food. The moon was now high and the lights of the restaurant made the rest of the world disappear into the cerulean night. They talked about AJ and Cass' school (Sarah did a lot of volunteering there), the boat (to complain more about Sam), the life in Delacroix (because as skilled as an assassin Bucky was, he still got confused on which direction New Orleans was). They also talked about the new house.
"Sam had spotted that one, behind the church. It's farther from the docks than the previous one but I think he likes it better. There would be some stuff to do before moving in, tho. But there's a huge field attached to it that would be perfect for training or taking off."
Sarah nodded. Bucky went on to talk about Sam's progress with the shield. At some point, he finally realized what he was doing and apologised. To make up for it, he asked about Sarah's hobbies. The woman laughed it off - also, she wouldn't admit she didn't have one. It seemed she didn't have time to...
Before they knew it, dinner was over and it was past eleven. The air was much colder and Sarah put her coat back on. Bucky payed for the two of them and they decided to take a walk near the docks before heading home. They met few people. They kept talking and it was nice. But as their feet finally led them back home, they stopped on the street and the silence became oppressing. Sarah turned to the brunet.
"Look," she said to get it over with as fast as possible, "tonight was really nice and I enjoyed spending time with you, really."
"But," said Bucky, already knowing where it was going.
"But I don't think the two of us could actually work."
She searched for his eyes. He looked all around but at her.
"You're right," he finally whispered.
She put her hand on his arm before he tried moving towards the house.
"Bucky, I like you very much. And you like me very much too, I can see it. But I can also see that you're looking for someone that is not me."
"It can be you," Bucky replied quickly.
She smiled.
"No, it can't. You already love someone else. Come on, let's get inside."
He followed her to the front door. As she put her hand on the doorknob, she seemed to remember something.
"Oh, by the way, that doesn't mean we can't gossip together. I'll let you know I have also spotted Claire on the market, yesterday."
The door opened and they slid into the silent, dark room.
"Donny's niece? Man, she's so beautiful. Have you seen her hair? The things she can do with it? I don't even understand the physics behind it!"
"And do I look like I understand it? I'm telling you, that girl is not from our world! You should check with your wizard friends because her legs-"
The light got turned on. Leaning on the railing of the second floor, Sam was staring down at them.
"Could you, please, keep it down? The boys are sleeping and I'd like to do the same."
They whispered a quick 'sorry' but exchanged one last, expressive look about Claire's beauty. Then they went separate ways - Bucky in Sam's bedroom, Sarah in her own.