A/N: words: 1705. i am alive, and have a strong desire to post the rest of these chapters. but i wont. maybe. idk. anyway, enjoy!

"I hate to break it to you, but you can't fight in a denim jacket." Sam teased, eying Bucky's get up. The older man rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Hate to break it to you, but yes I can. " Bucky retorted, and Sam wanted nothing more than to punch him.

"Do whatever you want, emo. I'm just saying." Sam revelled in the fact that Bucky made a face of confusion when Sam called him 'emo.'. " Listen, I don't why you're here, but if you're gonna stay here, at least pretend to be professional."

"You don't say?"

Sam stuck his tongue out at Bucky, and the other man rolled his time the second time in about 30 seconds. "The issue is," Bucky continued, "I don't have any tact gear." Sam raised an amused eyebrow at Bucky, who kept his cold stare on Sam.

"How unfortunate, I guess you will not be joining me." Sam thought this was reasonable behaviour for how Bucky treated him for months on end. And he could be less civil, he could rip Bucky a new one. But he's not going to. Because he's an overall good person. Instead of brooding in silence, Bucky got up, and started digging through Sam's duffle bag. The younger man rolled his eyes, heading over to talk to Torres for a minute.

When he got back, he saw Bucky standing over his duffle bag with a familiar jacket in his hands. Sam forgot he packed Bucky's jacket by mistake. The sly and snarky grin on Bucky's face was not helping the situation. "I've seen this before, but I can't place where." The taller man taunted, and Sam glared at him, only making Bucky grin wider.

"Didn't you pack my bags? Which, by the way, that note was real mature." Sam retorted, and Bucky's grin fell, replaced with a fed up frown. Now Sam was the one grinning. "Well, I did find on your side of the closet."

"We shared a closet, idiot."

Bucky slipped the jacket on wordlessly, and took a seat on one of the benches lining the jet walls. Sam rolled his eyes, and wanted to kick himself in the shins for staring at Bucky. It was a nice jacket. It was clearly a nice jacket. Sam took the seat opposite of him, feeling Bucky's eyes on him every stride.

As he sat down, he made eye contact with Bucky, and the brunette didn't look away. An unofficial staring contest started. Dear god.

"One minute till drop off, Sam."

~~~~~~~~~

Bucky felt like he was falling. He was falling. He was holding onto the metal bar tight, he knew it was too tight by the way it slowly crushed under his grasp. He heard Sam voice. "That little girl kicked your ass!" Bucky couldn't really form a coherent comeback, as he felt like he was about to die, and he probably was about to die. So, he did the next best thing, and yelled incoherently at Sam. It got the point across. Unfortunately he could not revel in his fantastic communication skills for too long, because the metal fell with a loud crack. Bucky gasped softly, letting his metal arm fall and graze the road. He could barely process what was happening before he felt someone catch. Sam.

They tumble down the yellow field, and Bucky grips Sam tighter than he ever had. He thought he was falling. He was here. So was Sam. Jesus Christ, Sam. He almost got himself killed trying to save Bucky. This idiot.

They stopped tumbling, and Bucky found himself looking into Sam's chocolate brown eyes, and he almost forgot how to breathe. Well, a lot of things just happened to make breathing more difficult, but Jesus, Sam's eyes. He waited, and dreaded, for Sam to push him off, but Bucky had a snarky comment on his tongue. "Could've really used that shield." Bucky grumbled out, and he watched as Sam's face fell a bit more.

"Get off of me." With a thud, Bucky gets pushed off. Bucky's mind is millions of miles away, lost in a world where Sam was staring at him with intensity, the luminous eyes glazed with fire. Bucky really needed a hobby.

"Those were all super soldiers, Sam."

"I know." Sam paused, "you're welcome, by the way." Bucky rolled his eyes, not daring to meet Sam's eye. He heard Sam sit up, the leaves crunching beneath him. With a sigh, Bucky sat up too, not looking in Sam's direction.

"Were you always this stupid?" Sam questioned, his voice light and airy. Bucky raised his eyebrows, his mouth twisting into a frown. "Thanks." Bucky growled, looking at the ground. Sam's light laugh almost made Bucky turn his head, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"No, I mean, you jumped out of a plane."

"Well you could've given me a bit more information."

"I didn't want you to come, which, even though I just saved you, still a very real belief."

Bucky scoffed, shaking his head. He knew Sam didn't want him on the mission. He had made it quite clear. "Well, I'm here now." Bucky had to bite back his smirk, finally making eye contact with Sam. He had a frown on his face, but Bucky could tell he was holding back a smile. This'll be fun. Wordlessly, Bucky got up, extending his hand out for Sam. With a glare, Sam took it, and walked out of the clearing, ignoring each time they brush their hands together. Just because they ignore, doesn't mean it doesn't send a speckle of pink across both their faces. Because, it definitely does.

~~~~~~~~

Sam walked down the path, Bucky's frame is always in his vision, his weird strut that Sam will forever make fun of is back in full swing, and Sam can't help but snicker. "I can hear you." Bucky shouted. Damned super soldier hearing.

"Stop strutting." Sam called back, discretely picking up his speed. He could practically hear Bucky roll his eyes, and that was enough to make Sam grin. He catches up to Bucky quite quickly, and he noticed how Bucky's eyes go wide at the sight of him right beside him.

Sam started to snicker again, shaking his head. "That is the second time I've sneaked up on you today. Let's hope those gears aren't getting too rusty." Sam smirked at his own joke, and at the fact that Bucky looked pointedly pissed off. It almost lifted his mood, if it wasn't for Walmart Cap back there.

Bucky turned to glare at him, no hint of a smile ghosting on his face. Sam's face fell, and they walked back, hands brushing awkwardly every so often. If only this was under different circumstances. If only everything was under different circumstances.

~~~~~~~~~

Sam sat in the police station for 3 and a half hours. He sat in his thoughts, and questioned why he was even doing this. Why was he sitting in a police station, waiting for Bucky. After everything that went down between them, Sam was always there. And he hated it. He was hurt because of what Bucky said. Everything he's said. And how he kept Sam in the dark for years about a Black Super Soldier. It broke him, and yet he was still here, in a cramped police station. Because he never stopped caring. Sam really needed to get better at that. Maybe if he stopped, if he stopped letting people fall back on him, stopped letting people rely on him so damn much. If he stopped caring as much he did, maybe he would get hurt a little less. Maybe if everything was different. Different circumstances.

Sam felt emotionally drained, like he couldn't function. He didn't expect Bucky to show up. He sure as hell didn't want Bucky to show up, but he was here, and he didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. God, after what he said before this, Sam didn't think he'd have the guts to show up, but here he is, alive and pissed off. After everything they'd been through, everything, Sam thought that Bucky wouldn't pull something like this. Clearly, he was wrong. After searching for Bucky, after finding Bucky, he lost him. Now Bucky found Sam, but Sam didn't know what to make of it. They're hurt, they bleed, but this time, they bleed the same blood on the others hand.

"Sam." A woman's voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked up from staring at the floor, and met the woman's eye. "I've heard a lot about you. I'm Dr Raynor, I'm James' therapist." Ah yes, the woman who emailed him Bucky's pardon. How could he forget. "Your crazy ex is talking about you please help" Thanks Raynor, now my crazy ex is here, and won't leave me alone. "Good to meet you, thank you for getting him out."

"That was not me."

"Christina!" Oh, great, so this day went from tolerable, to frustrating, to heartbreaking, to absolute hell. Must be a new record for Sam.

~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe we're going to see Zemo." Sam muttered as they boarded the jet, fresh outta couples therapy. Bucky just can't keep himself from gossiping, can he? "Do you have any better ideas?" Bucky snapped, his eyes sharp and his jaw clenched. Sam huffed, lips settling into a frown. "No." Sam replied bitterly, and Bucky scoffed.

"So quit whining."

Sam rolled his eyes, plopping down on the bench lining the wall of the jet. Bucky sat opposite to him, and Sam didn't dare lock eyes. He just pulled his jacket off, using it as a make shift pillow.

"Uh, sorry about Raynor." Bucky added awkwardly about 5 minutes later, and Sam snorted softly. Yeah, she's a lot. She also forwarded him Bucky's pardon, so Sam made some assumptions.

"Didn't know the word sorry was in your vocabulary." Sam muttered, probably too petty, probably too childish, but he was fed up. He was tired. He wanted nothing more than to go home. But they have a job to do. Unfortunately.

Bucky didn't have a comeback, he just kept quiet and laid down, too, even though they both knew neither of them would get proper rest that they needed.