A/N: words: 2015. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Yep, that's all I have to say. Enjoy!

They both sat on Sam's bed, watching some show Bucky had never heard of. Sam's hand was gingerly placed on Bucky's knee. Since the hug a few days ago, they got closer. It was just little things. Throwing an arm around the other, a hand on the other's knee. Sometimes they'd fall asleep holding hands. And what did it do? On the surface, it looked effortless, so easy and casual. But it drove both of them insane. Each touch made their hearts flutter, an instant smile taking over both of their faces. And each one made them want more. Something more intimate.

Each time Sam had a nightmare, Bucky wanted to reach out and hold him, pull him close and whisper soothing things. Press a kiss to his temple and tell him that everything will be ok. But it doesn't work that way. There were so many more complicated things that came with that. One, how did Bucky even know that Sam was into guys? Plot twist, he didn't. So it made it harder, each time Sam grabbed his hand. Wrap an arm around his shoulders, making them all too close. It was a lot.

Sam felt his heart pound against his chest, as he watched Bucky slowly place his hand over Sam's. He showed no sign of panic, neither did Sam. It was naturally, like they'd done it a hundred times. Well, maybe they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the final episode of season 2 of Friends finished, they started making lunch. The sun was peaking through the window beside the kitchen as Sam chopped up vegetables and Bucky was making pasta. It was a nice routine. Sure, Bucky had no idea how to cook, but Sam helped him with that, giving him instructions when Bucky needed it. Bucky thought he was getting the hang of it. He thought.

He had just set the pasta in the water, and now he turned away from the pot for a minute. He leaned against the fridge and watched as Sam diced up the peppers. It wasn't scary, no, why would anyone think that. He was just observing Sam, that was it. He didn't exactly notice the burning smell unless Sam pointed it out.

"Buck, the pasta is burning." Sam told him, a laugh dancing in his voice despite the situation. Bucky turned to the pot, startled, to see and smell that, yes, the pasta was burning. He rushed over at the same time as Sam, and they ran into each other, Sam's chuckles growing into laughter. "How did you do this?" Sam questioned, a grin spread on his face. Bucky looked down sheepishly. "I wasn't paying attention." he muttered out shyly, and Sam's grin widened. "Right, because I'm very distracting." Sam murmured, amused. Bucky turned bright red, eyebrows furrowed. "Don't push it." Bucky said playfully, and Sam laughed louder, and Bucky ended up laughing, too

Thankfully, the past was salvageable, so Bucky didn't feel too guilty. They sat at the table and ate, chatting here and there. Even though they lived together and barely left the apartment, they had lots to talk about. They had talked about getting a job, but Bucky's a wanted fugitive, and if Steve had any way of finding out that Sam had found Bucky, it'd be game over. So, they stayed in their apartment, with the money they had, which was a surprising amount all things considered.

"So, what did you think of Friends?" Sam questioned, and Bucky sighed. "At wasn't horrible, had some funny stuff, I guess." Bucky replied, and Sam smiled. "Good, because there are 10 seasons." Sam explained, and Bucky's mouth fell open. "I have to watch 10 seasons of those peoples lives escalate?" Bucky asked, cracking a smile, causing Sam to laugh. "Yeah." Sam answered, and Bucky shook his head in fake annoyance. Sam grinned, small laughs still escaping his lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam glanced looked over his book to look down at Bucky, who was reading as well. They read a lot, as it's really the only other thing to do. At the moment, Bucky's hair is pulled up in a ponytail, and he's wearing Sam's sweater. Once again. It didn't bother Sam, not one bit, but it threw him off. It was a bit tight on Bucky, but he didn't seem to notice. Sam hated that he himself noticed, but that's not what he was focusing on at the moment. He noticed how bright he looked. And he looked adorable, Sam just had to put out there.

Bucky felt Sam's eyes on him, and raised an eyebrow, looking up from his book to turn to Sam. "Yes?" Bucky said sarcastically, and he missed the blush that flushed Sam's cheek. "Nothin'. Just, uh, your hair looks nice like that." Sam stammered out, and it was Bucky's turn to blush. He smiled all the while, muttering a small "thanks." as he went back to his book.

But he couldn't seem to keep his eyes away from Sam. The sun shone through the window, and almost made his eyes lighter, a caramel brown instead of a chocolate brown. They still outshone every star imaginable, like a beacon from a lighthouse. They were warm and inviting, and made him feel at home. To be fair, Sam was basically home for Bucky. He had also started growing his hair out about and Bucky had to admit, it looked really, really nice. Bucky held his gaze on the man in font of him, taking in every detail, every feature, how he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as he would read. Bucky shook himself from his daze, and finally going back to his book. God, he was so gone for Sam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, they sat with a bowl of popcorn between them, watching the first few episodes of season 3 of Friends. It was growing on Bucky, but he preferred more fantasy type movies. He reached in and grabbed some popcorn from the bowl, his fingers brushing against Sam's, who had also happened to reach in at the same time.

Sam rolled his eyes. It was so cliché and cheesy, so ridiculous, that it made Sam's heart pound. It was in that one moment he had been transferred back to his first date in high school, and he felt a rush. Even though a date was the furthest thing from what this was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner, they continued watching friends, and Bucky felt his eyes getting heavy, and he could feel Sam dozing off beside him. "I'm tired, goodnight Sam." Bucky muttered, moving the empty popcorn bowl from the bed and onto the floor. "Goodnight." Sam mumbled out as he turned off his laptop, practically falling onto the pillow. Bucky smiled and lied down, being able to drift off to sleep immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry, Riley." Sam said through sobs, and Riley chuckled. "Good."

Sam gasped awake, tears falling from his eyes quickly and violently. Riley blamed him. What if, in Riley's final moments, he blamed Sam? Sam let the tears fall harder, as he choked out sobs.

Bucky rubbed his eyes, the sudden movement and noise waking him up, and he heard the sniffle and sob come from beside him. "Sam?" Bucky said quietly, to which Sam only sniffled. Bucky got up from his bed, and cautiously sat on Sam's bed. "Hey, what happened? Walk me through it, Sammy." Bucky spoke softly, his hand inching over to Sam's, but Sam moved his hand away. So that was new. "Sam?" Bucky whispered, and finally, the glossy brown eyes met Bucky's, and Bucky's heart shattered.

He could find nothing in those eyes but sorrow, pain, and heartache. "Hi." Sam breathed out, and Bucky smiled. "Hey." Bucky whispered, and he felt Sam intertwine their fingers. They sat like that for a few minutes, just for Sam to calm himself down a little.

It worked, though the tears didn't stop, they were lighter. "He, he blamed me. He must've." Sam muttered out, and Bucky shook his head. He knew what Sam was talking about, more specifically who he was talking about. "No, he didn't." Bucky said softly yet firmly, his eyes not leaving Sam.

A whimper escaped Sam and he looked away. "No, he did. I was just there to watch. I did nothing!" Sam said, each word as heartbreaking and painful as the last. Sam could barely get the words out. Bucky gave his hand a gentle squeeze, causing Sam to look up. "We both know that's not true." but Sam didn't want to hear it. He was too upset, too tired, to think of this rationally. "He must've! I was too late, as he fell I couldn't catch him and I-" Sam could've gone on and on, but a small "Sam." made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Listen to me, ok. He didn't. And you've never ever let someone fall. Because you didn't drop Riley. And when he felt low, I'm sure you were that person to make him fly." Bucky said, and Sam sniffled, wiping his eyes. "Are you sure?" Sam whispered out, shakily. Bucky nodded. "I'm sure." Bucky said, and Sam smiled. "Thank you, Buck." Sam whispered, and Bucky smiled. "'Course" Bucky whispered, and he knew Sam needed a lot more than just a hand to hold.

He wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and pulled him into a hug, one that Sam quickly returned, burying his head in the crook of Bucky's neck.

A few minutes later, he heard even breaths come from Sam. Bucky smiled and gently laid Sam on his bed, and moved down to his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What did you mean when you said I've never let anyone fall?" Sam called out from the kitchen, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Bucky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?" Bucky asked from the counter, and Sam turned the burner off, pushing the pan of eggs off of it, and faced him. "Last night. You said I've never let anyone fall. You sounded like you were speaking from experience." Sam moved to stand beside of Bucky. "What did you mean?" Sam spoke softly.

Bucky took a deep breath and turned to him.

"Listen, Sam, I haven't felt like this in forever. For so long, I've been falling, falling in the darkness when I felt like I had nothing left. But, as I was hitting the ground, you- you caught me. You flew into that darkness like- like a beacon of hope, holding me when I felt like letting go. In the nothingness, I have you. In the darkness, you're my light. As I fall, you're- you're my angel. The one who catches me. And I love you for it." Bucky explained, looking into Sam's eyes like Sam was the most important person in the world. Well, maybe he was, to Bucky at least.

"You- you love me?" Sam breathed out, his face unreadable. Bucky sucked in a breath. "Yeah, yeah, I do." Bucky muttered. He didn't know how Sam was reacting, but he realized they were a lot closer than when this conversation. Sam moved his hand up to Bucky's face, cupping his cheek. "Well, I guess your in luck, because I love you too." Sam told him, and Bucky felt like he was on fire. "Yeah?" Bucky breathed out, and Sam nodded, his face breaking out into a smile. "Pretty sure." Bucky grinned at Sam. "So were you just waiting for me to kiss you or-" Bucky quipped, and Sam rolled his eyes. "You're incredibly annoying." Sam muttered, as he pressed his lips against Bucky's.

It wasn't flashy. It tasted like coffee and mint toothpaste. It was gentle and soft, like Sam's eyes. It was nice and easy, like Bucky's laugh. It was perfect. It was everything Sam could've hoped for. They pulled a part and rested their foreheads together, staring into each other's eyes, perfectly calm. "God, how did I ever get by without doing that?" Bucky joked, and Sam chuckled. "Fair enough." Sam agreed, and Bucky grinned. "So angel, huh?" Sam quipped, and Bucky rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're gonna make fun of me for that one for a long time." Bucky stated, and Sam chuckled. "Correct." Bucky laughed softly.

They had a lot to talk about, that's for damn sure, but for now, they sat eating breakfast, finally feeling like everything was in place. Like Bucky said, in the nothingness, they have each other. The world has so much chaos and pain, that it can make you go numb. But when they have each other, it felt a little clearer, a little easier, and a lot brighter.