Rapid Recovery (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 29 : Never Lose You

The three of them were now beginning to relax on the boat, sipping on their own beers and each of them looking down at the ground. Bucky suddenly stood up from his spot, "Well..." leaning down to tap his glass with Sam's, "Gonna catch our flight tomorrow," he finished off his bottle, setting it down and grabbing his jacket, "Get a hotel room for the night. Crash, you know."

Y/n stood up beside Bucky and finished her own bottle, "Yep, we'll be out of your hair," she said to Sam with a smile.

"So you're just gonna set me up like that huh?" he asked with a small smile beginning to form as he tore his gaze away from his surroundings, to the pair in front of him.

"We don't wanna overstay our welcome," Y/n shrugged while peering around at the boat, admiring their work of the day with her arms folded across her chest.

"Yeah. Well, we don't wanna make it weird for your family," Bucky added, knowing that Sam wanted to offer them a place to stay for the night, there at the house.

Y/n turned her head back to Sam as he said, "Just stay here. The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don't care if you wear small T-shirts," Sam said, smiling and looking directly at Bucky before turning his view to Y/n, "Or if you're downright crazy-"

"Hey! I'm not crazy," Y/n interrupted with furrowed eyebrows, but Sam continued.

"Or if you have six toes, or your mom's your aunt-"

"Ok, we get it. You know, the people are nice," Bucky cut him off with a chuckle as he spoke, agreeing with Sam's point, making Sam chuckle as well.

"Well, if we're gonna be staying, I guess a few more minutes out here won't hurt," Y/n said, sitting back down, and placing her hands on her knees.

"But don't flirt with my sister," Sam warned, pointing outwards to emphasise his words.

"No," Bucky said, shaking his head as if he didn't know what Sam was talking about. Y/n laughed at their little exchange, besides the small stab she felt in her gut from being reminded of what had happened earlier with Sam's sister.

"'Cause if you do, I'll have Carlos cut you up and feed you to the fish," Sam warned again, placing his hand back down on his knee.

"Ok..." was all Bucky could respond with, beginning to turn away from the pair as Y/n's laughter grew at Sam's threat.

"Besides, save that for Y/n," Sam teased, looking over at her while she rolled her eyes at Sam's words.

Bucky stayed silent, moving further away, turning back to shoot them a quick smile before leaving. Y/n let out a sigh when he left, Sam turning to look at her.

"So, you gonna admit it yet?" Sam asked her with a slightly serious tone, making Y/n raise her eyebrow at him in confusion.

"Admit what?"

"That you obviously love him," he replied simply, taking a sip of his beer as if what he just said was a casual phrase in any conversation. Y/n's mouth dropped at the mention of love.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah. Back up. Love? Whoever said anything about love. I do not love him," Y/n quickly defended herself, surprised that Sam had jumped straight to love. Y/n knew she was falling, but just the thought of being completely in love with the man, it felt like it was too soon for them.

"Fine, then you like him, and you can't deny it," he answered back with a knowing expression. Sam received silence from Y/n. She lowered her gaze to the floor of the boat, she couldn't deny it. Bucky quickly became one of the few things that she greatly cared about, besides her now new friendship with Sam. It was like that from the start, except that was when she only had the intention of becoming Bucky's friend, his confidant. Now she's aware of her feelings, and it terrifies her that the progress of their friendship will be ruined if he ever finds out.