There is something so special to me about how Sam is not scared of Bucky. And, no, this is not a āBucky is a precious baby angel who never did anything wrong in his life thank goodness Sam sees thatā kind of post.
Even with his winter soldier days behind him, heās a scary guy.
And Sam? Sam teases him, Sam banters with him, Sam doesnāt think twice about putting his hand over Buckyās vibranium arm in the middle of a fight just go make sure heās not going off the deep end. Sam is not scared of Bucky.
And I think that says more about Sam than it does about Bucky. Sam, who kicks helicopters and outruns collapsing buildings. Sam, who immediately after some guy shows up and kicks his ass (and steve and buckys) decides to roast this guyās costume choice knowing full well the guy is fucking royalty and his own costume is literally wings. Sam, who saw his best friend get blown out of the sky and still suits up and uses wings as his main weapon. Sam, who has been through war, who is a Black man in a country that by in large does not respect him or his experience (case in point: Isaiah Bradleyās story, do not @ me), who is given the immeasurable burden of carrying the shield without even being consulted. Sam, who is trying to reconnect with the family he left behind, trying to deal with their financial issues and the trauma that to him, his sister and nephews have all aged five years in the blink of an eye, but to them, he died.
Sam has every reason to be bitter and jaded and he has every reason to be scared. But at every turn, the man does not flinch.
Itās too much to ask of him. Itās unfair that he should need to have an almost inhuman level of mental fortitude, that he never gets to have a moment of weakness. Itās unfair and he probably knows it, yet he does it anyway. He does the hard thing, the brave thing, every. Single. Time.
So why would he be scared of Bucky? Bucky can kill him, sure, but so can pretty much every other big bad Sams gone up against.
To Bucky, Sam not being afraid of him is everything. Because Sam knows the worst parts of Bucky better than anyone left in this planet (they keep referring to Steve as āgoneā) and he constantly teases him about it. He calls Bucky out on it. He is not afraid of his winter soldier days, or his prickly personality or even of Bucky ghosting him again.
To me, itās not a ābeauty who loved the beastā kind of thing where Sam accepts any and all behavior from Bucky (we saw him multiple times throughout the show telling Bucky, quite eloquently, to fuck right off with his bullshit) but rather that Bucky is besotted with Samās fearlessness, even before he really understands the depths of it. I think Bucky doesnāt know for a long time why he is so drawn to Sam, I think he uses the shield as an excuse, I think he pulls away from Sam because of his confusion. But eventually, it all comes down one simple thing: Sam is not scared of Bucky.
And he should be. Bucky knows he should be. Sam knows it, too. But Sam Wilsonās bravery is the stuff of legends ā perhaps thatās been his super power all along ā and he looks at the monster Bucky has been, the monster he could still become, and he just fucking shrugs. Dares Bucky to try him.Ā
If you want to read it romantically (like I do), itās inevitable that Bucky would fall for Sam. If you want to read it platonically, itās inevitable that Sam is the kind of man Bucky would pledge his loyalty to.
However you want to read it, I just think thereās something so very special and unique about their relationship and what that says about each of their characters, especially Sam.
Anyway, these are my unsolicited SamBucky thoughts of the day.
