Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Additional Tags: Tattoo, Art Therapy, Past Trauma, Domestic
Summary:
Bucky watches him sometimes. The same crude drawings of star fish. Sam looks at some of the pages, frowning in concentration, as if heâs trying to decide what to draw. But itâs always star fish. On some pages Sam seems to be trying to decide how to use the space, leaves entire segments blank, as if leaving room to add other elements.
Hello dear! đ for the ask game? Also I can't find the emoji because my phone's being weird right now, but the one asking about a line or paragraph you've written that you're proud of?
Genre-is introspective angst a genre? It seems to be what I keep writing no matter what.
favorite paragraph:
Stark sets his mug down on the islandâs countertop, so slowly that it doesnât make a sound. The lazy smirk that he wears as a shield fades away, and the lines around his eyes suddenly stand out. âI donât always sleep well. So I tinker. Some of my tinkering has resulted in tech thatâs relevant to your skill set. Old habits die hard and all that.â He pauses. âAnd yeah, I blame myself, for a lot of things.â
26. Achievement Iâm proud of-losing 25 percent of my body weight, or rather, gaining control over my out-of-control eating habits. I did it without the weight-loss medication, though interestingly I am now using weight loss medication both because of my very long plateau and because the anti-inflammatory effects are showing some promise in delaying the need for knee replacements in some patients. I donât know if Iâd call this my biggest accomplishment, but itâs been more difficult than earning my degrees, getting my mental health in order, and my 20 year teaching career.
29. I find myself re-reading Judy Blume books every few years. I donât know what about her stories resonates with me (even when I was a kid I didnât relate to her characters). Maybe she just has a knack for storytelling or maybe itâs the nostalgia.
Am I the only one who is wondering if some (not all) of the assertions surrounding queerbaiting in media are ignoring the existence of asexuality, aromanticism, and queerplatonic/quasiplatonic relationships?
Alternatively, perhaps what is actually missing in the assertions that weâre being queerbaited is that weâre potentially also being aro-baited and ace-baited. I see discourse declaring that weâre being teased that character A and character B are in love, only for them to be canonically declared be be BFFs but the discourse leaves out that the two characters could have a romantic friendship (which still falls under the heteronormativity, amatonormativity, and heterosexism present in media, of course).
I also find myself wondering if the discourse around queerbaiting would benefit from a discussion about homosociality and how itâs too often tainted with misogyny and homophobia.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America - All Media Types, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV), Captain America (Anthony Mackie Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), JoaquĂn Torres (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Movie: Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Didn't Know They Were Dating, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Roommates to Lovers, Domestic Fluff, Mutual Pining, Found Family, Light Angst, Everyone Thinks They're Together, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sarah Wilson is the Real MVP
Summary:
Sam Wilson is busier than ever â balancing missions, public duties, and the weight of the shield. Bucky Barnes, newly elected as a congressman for New York, is trying to make amends in a different way: with policies instead of punches, speeches instead of fights. When a few late nights and long commutes lead to Bucky crashing at Samâs D.C. apartment, itâs supposed to be temporary. Practical. Friendly.
Then one spare key turns into extra shirts in the closet. An extra toothbrush appears on the sink. A joint grocery list. They start cooking dinner together, running in the mornings, and accidentally building a life together. Lines start to blur, and routines turn into something else.
A story about two idiots in love, learning that home isnât a place you find. Itâs what you build together.
For all the ways that Bucky imagined he might go out one day, heâs not sure he would ever have called this. Heâs imagined the end for him arriving in the shape of an alien or an android or a megalomaniacal genius so often, but it never occurred to him that it might come with the muscles in his body straining from joy, with his heart thrumming in his chest like a hummingbirdâs wings.
It certainly never occurred to him that it might come with the heat of Sam all around him, with those strong thighs hitched up around his waist and a breathless whisper in his ear.
âCome on, Buck,â Sam rasps in his ear, close and hot and heady against the skin of Buckyâs neck. âCâmon, I need- just a little faster. Just a little more.â
Bucky tries to blink the haze from his eyes and focuses on just a little more, determined to be everything that Sam needs from him. âIâve got you, sweetheart,â he breathes, reaching up to reassuringly squeeze one of the arms that Sam has around his neck. Any semblance of eloquence left him a while ago; heâs just pounding heart and burning muscle now, too far outside himself to manage anything but short, breathless declarations. âIâm with you. I have you. Iâm here.â
Samâs thighs grip tighter around Bucky, breath hitching as he shifts his hold. âYou and me, Buck,â he murmurs, pliant against Buckyâs body. âItâs just you and me now.â
The thing is that when Sam says it to him like this, Bucky canât help but believe it. The world already has a habit of fading into the background when heâs looking at Sam. With the two of them this close, not in combat but by choice, itâs hard for him to register much of anything at all. He wants to close his eyes and press closer to Sam, to forget the rest of the world in favor of this lovely heat, to put off catching his breath so he can delight in this burn of his muscles and know that they were used for something good.
Bucky can barely hear anything at all over the pounding of his heart and the humming of his pulse, so itâs only because of the laugh that rumbles through Samâs chest that he thinks to look around and see whatâs caught his attention.
It comes to him out of order. First itâs the image of people in the distance, as he blinks the sun out of his eyes, and then itâs Sam whispering it into his ear, and then finally the noise of it reaches him, the roar of the crowd gathered in the park across the street, hooting and hollering as Sam and Bucky come into view.
Sam hides his face in Buckyâs shoulder, groaning, and Bucky tries not to feel any particular way about the sound accompanied by Samâs lips so close to his pulse.
âI canât believe I had to finish this race riding piggyback,â he says. âSarahâs never letting me live this down.â
âYouâre the one who was so excited to get to the next scavenger hunt clue that you missed the curb, Samuel,â Bucky says, looking both ways before he begins to cross the street. âYouâre lucky it was just a sprain and not a break.â
âYeah, yeah, I heard the spiel already, Nurse Barnes,â Sam grumbles. âAnd youâre the one who insisted on carrying me; I wouldâve taken the loss.â
âPlease,â Bucky says, with a snort, âyou registered for this scavenger hunt based entirely on a thirty year old rivalry. I had to spare the rest of us from your moping.â
Sam adjusts his hold around Bucky, who reaches back and grips under his thigh so he can situate himself more comfortably. âWe can litigate this later, Barnes; letâs just get past that finish line now. Domâs team is half a block behind us.â
âYou got it, Cap.â
Bucky has spent the past two hours getting a crash course in the middle school origins of the rivalry between Sam and Dominic Wright, who grew up three houses away from the Wilsons and competed with Sam for top of the class and baseball team captain and all-state gymnastics. For all that Sam has talked about their acrimonious rivalry, Bucky saw the look in Domâs eyes when he goaded Sam into signing up for the scavenger hunt. Thereâs the heat of competition and then thereâs the other kind of heat, and Bucky has plenty of experience looking at Sam with both.
As the two of them cross into the park, a cheer goes up from the crowd, but Bucky mostly ignores it in favor of casting around for the finish line. Without needed to be asked, Sam reaches out and points to a ribbon tied between a tree and a park bench. Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky clocks Dom and his team entering from the other side of the park, his sister and brother-in-law clearly struggling to keep up.
He feels Sam lean in close again, lips brushing the shell of Buckyâs ear. âIgnore them,â he says softly. âWe got this.â
And itâs undeniable that they do. Bucky doesnât even bother jogging to the finish line, strolling up to it with as much swagger as he can manage while carrying Captain America on his back, then stopping just short of it to let Sam clamber off of him. He stoops a little so that Sam can sling an arm around his shoulders, and they hobble across the finish line together to the cheers of the gathered crowd.
They stay where they are long enough for Sam to hand over the last item on the list and to shake hands with Dom, who congratulates both of them on their win but doesnât bother to look away from Sam as he does it. Bucky glances at a still-oblivious Sam and decides not to risk him putting the pieces together.
âAlright, Captain Scavenger Hunt,â he says. âAre you ready to take the weight off of your very injured foot now?â
Sam turns to him with a barely-concealed wince. âThat, uh- that might be a good idea,â he says. âIf you could just help me get to theââ
But Bucky isnât going to wait for Sam to finish or, God forbid, for Dom to offer his help. âI think youâve put that ankle through enough, actually,â he says. âHold on for me, huh, sweetheart?â
He doesnât offer any further warning before scooping Sam up in his arms, a bridal carry that his right arm is protesting just a little, but Bucky ignores it. In front of them, Domâs eyes go wide in understanding and he excuses himself, not that Bucky cares where he goes now that Sam is in his arms.
It might be the heat or the excitement, but Sam doesnât even put up a fight. He just sighs, bringing up his free hand to hold onto Buckyâs shoulder. âWhy do I have the feeling youâre going to make a habit of this?â
Bucky snorts as he carries Sam over to a nearby picnic table, settling him in the middle of the bench so he can elevate his ankle. âOnly if you ask me real nice.â
One of the organizers hands them both water bottles, and Bucky basically downs his in one shot, not registering just how thirsty heâd been until his first sip. When he sets down the empty bottle, he realizes that Sam is looking at him, steady and thoughtful.
He thinks of making a joke about that staring problem being contagious, but thereâs something serious in Samâs face, and making light of it feels like the wrong move. Instead, he waits and lets Sam decide how much he wants to say.
âYou didnât have to do this, you know,â Sam says after a long moment, fiddling with the label on the water bottle. âI was just being silly. You couldâve ignored me and had fun at the picnic like you wanted; Iâd have gotten it out of my system.â
Bucky shrugs a little. âI like when youâre being silly,â he says. âI donât think you get to do it enough.â
Sam raises his eyebrows. âYou like it enough to give up your whole afternoon for it?â
Thereâs a hundred possible outs in front of Bucky, from Samâs question to the dozens of people milling around to the inevitable medical attention that that sprain is going to need eventually. Theyâre all tempting, but with Samâs eyes on him and the sun shining down on him, all that Bucky can think of is what Sam had whispered to him, just before they crossed into the park.
Itâs just you and me now, heâd said, and Buckyâs heart clenches with how badly he wants that to be real. He swallows hard, meeting Samâs eyes across the table.
âSam,â he says quietly. âSweetheart, I like you enough that Iâd give up a whole lot more than an afternoon if it made you smile.â
The smile that he gets from Sam then is the sweetest one Buckyâs ever gotten, and he didnât even have to give anything up to see it.
We all know CA:TWS is just 2 hours of everyone meeting and falling in love with Sam Wilson, and well know this includes Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Nick Fury for sure for sure.
But can we talk about how the Winter Soldier 100% has a soft spot for Sam he should not have?
That man has proven that he will literally go through an obstacle with no regard for human life to get at his target. Yet I'm sorry, how often has the Winter Soldier not just had the chance to kill Sam Wilson, it would have made 100% more sense to just DO that?
But noooo, Sam Wilson gets to kick him across several street lanes, tussle with him on the helicarrier, do some light hand to hand with him in CACW, and at WORST the Winter Soldier goes "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I have to almost gently knock you to the side in order to keep going here."
Meanwhile the Winter Soldier nearly shoots Tony dead on the spot, shoots through Nat to get to a target and is otherwise shown to have no qualms about murdering anything and anyone in his path.
IN CONCLUSION.
You can argue that Bucky fell for Sam before he regained his mind and agency, OR that the Winter Soldier has a weird thing for Sam independently of Bucky.
Either way, E V E R Y O N E is down bad for Sam Wilson.
summary: Turns out, it's not so hard to find someone with shared life experience. Only, it's that experience that throws a wrench into what's brewing between Sam and Steve.
