my one [ line ] and only.

[feudalfairytales]

( reverse ) one-line shipping meme In matters of the heart, actions speak louder than words. Still, words are pretty important, too. ( how to play ) Leave a top-level, either blank or with prefs. Reply to others...with one line only. All other comments can be as meaty or sparse as you'd like, but the rule is that the starter tag must be one line (not counting ooc chatter). Use your brimming imagination or use a few of the many prompts available to copy and paste. Have fun!

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♥!

[vypolnyat]

They haven't talked much since Madripoor. In fact, they haven't talked much ever. It's hard to keep up a conversation when every word seems to come out wrong, when each response is curt and rife with misunderstanding. Bucky knows he should be trying harder; it's what Steve would've wanted. But it's not easy, and - unfortunately for Sam - it usually ends up with him putting his foot in his mouth and storming off, too frustrated to continue.

The more time they spend together on this little adventure, though, the more Bucky realizes why Steve picked Sam, of all people, to be his wingman.

He keeps quiet for a moment, thinking, his eyes scanning the grey sky outside as he leans against the windowsill. It's impossible not to feel Sam's eyes on him, and after what's probably a little too long he returns the gaze, his expression somewhat softer than usual.

"You're stubborn." As soon as he says it he realizes it probably comes off as an insult, so he adds quickly - "You do what you believe is right, no matter how many people try to stop you."

Just like Steve.

[thewingman]

It sits on his tongue - a comment about the staring thing. What did the sky ever do to you, man? Bucky's almost quiet long enough for Sam to want to say it just to fill the silence. Yet it doesn't feel quite right. Sam can give as good as he gets in what constitutes conversation for the two of them. He waits it out though. Something's different about this conversation, and Sam's trying to put his finger on it. He's not Bucky's counsellor, but the calling doesn't leave, and he knows better than to break this different sort of tension with a quip that could only ever be ill received in the moment.

So Sam waits. Lets Bucky find the words on his own. And when Bucky turns, Sam finds his guard easing up, too. It's not an expression he's seen on Bucky's face a lot, this one, if ever. Subtle in change, but Sam sees it.

And then Bucky calls him stubborn, and for a dizzying moment the whiplash nearly gets him. Sam tenses, and there's a moment where resignation changes his posture subtly - a slight hanging of the shoulders, a little bit of tension in the jaw. When Bucky adds, it still takes Sam a moment to let go of that tension with a slow, deliberate breath. It felt like a something genuine turned sour for a moment, but miracles do happen. The clarification is appreciated, and Sam breaks Bucky's gaze for a moment to think about that.

"Someone's gotta," he says, softer than usual to match Bucky's expression. "Be stubborn about the right things."

He looks back up at Bucky, earnest. Can practically still feel the cold metal of the arm under his palm. You good? A history of scratching at each other, and yet Sam knows that when Bucky inevitably shuts him out again he'll send those daily texts, and have the best damn one-sided conversation of his life. 'Cause someone's gotta be stubborn about the right things.

The corner of his lips quirks up. It's not a scoff. Smaller - softer, too. "Thanks, man."