Chapter 7
“We have a new assignment for you,” Maria Hill said to Sam and Bucky. “It’s an undercover job.” She looked between the two.
“Okay? Why are you being weird about it?” Sam asked.
“Well,” Maria said, “you would be going undercover as a married couple.” She looked at Bucky, judging his reaction.
“What, am I supposed to be the one upset by this?” Bucky asked, looking between Maria and Sam. “You guys know the rumors about me and Steve were mostly true, right? We literally lived in Brooklyn, one of the only queer cities at the time.”
“So, you’re okay with the mission?” Maria asked him.
“Yes, Hill, I’m fine.”
“Good. Wilson, you are dismissed. Barnes, we have some matters to go over with you, privately.”
Sam looked at Barnes, who gave him a small nod. He would be okay on his own, he silently promised. Sam sighed and stepped out of the room, lingering by the door while he waited for Barnes.
When Barnes walked out of the room, he had a box in his hands, and a soft smile on his face.
“What’s that?” Sam asked him as they walked towards the elevator.
“Box of my belongings from the Smithsonian. Apparently since I’m not dead, I can have these things back.” He picked up a chain that Sam immediately recognized as dog tags. “Never thought I’d see these again.” He tossed them in the box and picked up a small leather-bound book. “Oh, my god.”
“What?”
Bucky smiled, stuffing the box under his arm so he could flick through the pages. “I thought this would have been lost forever.”
“What is it?” Sam asked, looking at Bucky as he gazed at the notebook with so much care.
“My old stories. I used to dream of being a science fiction writer. I wrote stories with advanced technology like a phone you could carry with you anywhere, a typewriter with access to all the information in the world.” He paused. “Of course, both of those things actually exist now.” he ran a finger along the ink on the page with such care it made Sam smile.
“Well, maybe this just means you write new stories. Invent new advanced technology. Or, you could write for a new genre, like fantasy, or horror.”
Bucky smiled and tucked the book back into the box. “Thanks, Sam.” He looked through the box some more, his fingers freezing. Sam saw his eyes cloud with tears.
“James? Are you okay?”
He picked up a picture of himself and a skinny, sickly Steve from the 40s. Sam saw his hands trembling, and the tears threatening to slip from his eyes. He brushed his thumb over the picture of Steve’s face as a tear fell.
Sam gently gripped Bucky’s hand in his own. “Hey. Are you alright?”
“Fine,” Bucky said, but the crack in his voice betrayed him.
“You really miss him, don’t you?”
Bucky’s grip on the picture became tighter. “Some days more than others.”
Sam wiped away the tear rolling down Bucky’s face. “We can go visit him if you want.”
He shook his head. “It would be too hard, Sam. Seeing him all old.” He put the picture back and scrubbed his face with his hands. “Let’s just- let’s just get ready for the mission, do what Hill asked us.”
“You boys ready to go?” Sharon asked when Bucky and Sam walked up to the jet. “Packed some winter coats? Colorado can be freezing this time of year.”
“Yeah, we’re good. You said a week, right?”
“If everything goes to plan.”
“Then let’s go, Barnes,” Sam said.
Sam and Bucky boarded the jet, tossing their bags into the cubicles. Sam looked over at Bucky and realized something was off. Barnes was quieter than usual and he seemed jumpy.
“Hey, man, you okay?”
“Fine. Let’s just go, get the intel and get home.”
Sam watched Bucky as he took the pilot’s seat, starting up the jet. Something was off, he knew it. But Sam couldn’t tell what it was. The ride to the house was made in silence, a slightly awkward silence at that. When they landed and got into the house, Bucky threw his bag on the couch.
“I’ll be back,” he said. “Gonna go walk the perimeter, make sure we’re safe.” Barnes walked out to the back porch, letting the sliding glass door slam.
About five minutes later, Sam decided to go check on Barnes. When he opened the door, he was immediately met with the scent of cigarettes. Sam sighed and noticed Barnes standing against the side of the house.
“Alright, man. What’s going on? You’ve been acting strange ever since the meeting with Hill.”
“Nothing. Just haven’t smoked in a while with some of the meds they had me on. Finally got off of them a few days ago.”
Sam sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Okay. Fine. I’ll drop it. But we have to start acting like a couple soon or people are gonna get suspicious. Also it’s cold out here, I don’t want you getting sick.”
“Can’t get sick, Wilson.”
“Point’s the same. Finish that one and get in here before you freeze. I ordered pizza and a few liters of soda.”
The rest of the night was just as tense between Bucky and Sam, and Sam couldn’t figure out why.
Sam was propped up in the bed he and Bucky were to share, reading a Stephen King book before falling asleep. He rubbed his eyes a bit and refocused on the page when he heard Barnes knock on the door.
“You don’t need to knock, James. It’s your room, too.” Sam replaced his bookmark and looked up as Bucky entered, holding a pair of scissors. “What’s up?”
Bucky held the scissors, handle-first, out to Sam. “Cut my hair?”
“What?”
“I-I wasn’t really sure what I was feeling earlier. I didn’t know how to put it in words. But, seeing that stuff- those old pictures, those memories- I don’t want this,” he gestured to his long hair, “anymore. I-I want to feel more like me again, even if it’s not exactly the same.”
Sam nodded. “Okay. Let’s head to the bathroom, okay? I’ll cut your hair over the sink.”
Sam and Bucky headed to the bathroom and Bucky sat in front of the sink. Sam gently combed out his hair before he started looking over the long locks.
“How short do you want it? Like it was back then?”
“Well, I found something I think might work,” he said. Barnes pulled out his phone and showed Sam a picture.
Sam smiled. “Still going for the ruggedly handsome look, huh? Okay, yeah, I can try that.” Sam cut the first strand off, and he felt some tension leave Bucky’s body. Sam continued on, carefully making sure Bucky’s hair was even. When he was done, he gently set the scissors on the counter. “Done.”
Bucky looked in the mirror and ran his fingers through his newly short hair. He huffed out a laugh. “I love it. I look…”
“You look like James Dean,” Sam chuckled.
“Who?”
“Have I seriously not made you watch Rebel Without a Cause yet? Guess I know what we’re doing tonight!”
The two of them climbed into the king-sized bed they were supposed to be sharing for the week, and Sam pulled up the movie on his laptop, through a lot of internet searching. About halfway through the movie, Sam felt Bucky’s head slump onto his shoulder. Glancing over, he saw Barnes was peacefully asleep. Sam smiled and stopped the movie, setting his laptop to the side and gently laying Barnes down on the bed before pulling the covers over the both of them. They had to get to work in the morning, sleep was probably the best idea for them both.