A/N: words: 1562. This chapter is... a bit all over the place. I continue to project onto Sam, which is fun. Anyway, enjoy!

The writing didn't stop, it was a weekly thing, Sam would wake up to a letter every Monday morning. Unfortunately, today was Tuesday. So this morning, Sam woke up with Bucky's arm draped over his side, and Bucky's face buried in his pillow. A smile took over his Sam's face as he turned to his boyfriend. "Buck." Sam murmured, and Bucky turned his head slowly, opening one eye. "Hi." Bucky grumbled sleepily, and Sam smiled wider, brushing hair out of Bucky's face. Bucky tried to bite back a small, in attempts to keep his grumpy persona, but when Sam looked at him like that, he couldn't help but smile. "Morning." Sam said softly, and Bucky winced, pulling the covers over his head. "'S too bright." Bucky complained from under the covers, and Sam shook his head, smiling. "See when the sun rises..." Sam said sarcastically, and Bucky pops out from the covers to glare at him. Sam grinned and sat up, intertwining his hand with Bucky's. "C'mon, I'm hungry." Sam told the brunette, and Bucky reluctantly got up. He let the blanket drape over his shoulders as he and Sam made their way to the kitchen.

"You're so dramatic." Sam quipped, starting to make breakfast. Bucky scoffed. "Rude." Bucky wrapped his arms around Sam's waist, like he did every morning as Sam made breakfast. And like every morning, Sam grinned, lost in his own world. Well, his and Bucky's world, that is.

Bucky rested his head on Sam's shoulder as Sam popped two bagels in the toaster. Sam felt something eating at him, kinda like the feeling when he forgot about... well, you know. But it was different, felt a lot more overbearing. "Hey, what's the date today?" Sam asked Bucky, turning his head slightly. Bucky stayed silent for a few moments, brows furrowed in concentration. "I'm pretty sure it's the 23rd, why?" Sam's nodded slowly. His own birthday. How did Sam forget his own birthday? Sam just hummed in response, trying to keep his mind away from it, but Bucky knew something was up.

Bucky studied Sam's face, searching for anything that could tell Bucky what he was thinking, but he got nothing. "Sam, what's wrong?" Bucky asked softly, and watched Sam's expression change. "It's- uh- it's my birthday today." Bucky's eyes widened. "Firstly, happy birthday, and secondly, that doesn't explain why you're upset." Bucky said, and Sam nodded, knowing what he meant. "I know, I just..." Sam took a deep breath, "I always talk to my family on my birthday, even if it's just a phone call, I would always hear their voices, but I don't think I could do that, I changed my phone number, so nobody could track me, so..." Sam explained, and Bucky nodded.

"I'm sorry, I know it's hard, not hearing them for so long, especially on your birthday. But I'm here, right here." Bucky assured him, and Sam smiled, turning to face Bucky. "Thanks, sweetheart, I love you." Bucky grinned at him, standing to his full height to kiss Sam's forehead. "I love you too, doll."

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Even after breakfast, when Sam thought he got his mind off of it, he noticed a picture sticking out of his bag. It was him and Sarah, sitting on the dock, in their late teens or early twenties, Sam couldn't remember. He'd been away from her before, for a long time, but that didn't mean it never hurt like it had the first time. A pang of guilt rushed through his body, as he knelt down to grab the picture. He didn't notice he was crying until he felt gentle hands wiping the tears away, and they weren't his own. "Hey." Bucky spoke softly, and Sam looked up at him, sniffling softly. "Hi." Sam got out weakly, and Bucky pulled him into an embrace, and he let Sam cry onto his shoulder.

It broke Bucky's heart, to watch the man that smiled the brightest and laugh the loudest, cry the hardest. He didn't deserve the pain he got, but life was just so damn unfair, that the best Bucky could do was whisper soothing things in Sam's ear as Sam sobbed, each one breaking Bucky's heart a little more.

Bucky picked Sam up and carried him to bed, pulling a blanket over them both. He continued to whisper small words of comfort, hoping he'd calm Sam just a bit. "I, I just wanna see them again." Bucky heard him mutter through the sobs, and Bucky nodded. "I know, I know you do, Sammy." Sam cried harder, cried until he thought he'd run out of tears.

After a while, it could've been hours, Sam didn't really know, he'd calmed down, and he looked at Bucky in the eyes, seeing the concern on his face. "You ok?" Bucky asked softly, and Sam nodded, and he watched as the relief flooded Bucky. "Want some tea?" Bucky asked, and Sam nodded his head again, a small smile on his lips. "Sure." Sam answered, and Bucky smiled at Sam, before getting out of the bed to boil the kettle, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts.

He didn't know what happened, it all just came at him at once, Sarah will probably call his old number about 10 times throughout the day, and he couldn't answer. He took a deep breath, and sat up slowly, letting his head fall against the wall. He heard the sound of the metal mug meet the wooden side table and looked up at Bucky, studying his face. "Thanks, Buck." Sam said quietly, and Bucky just nodded, getting into the bed. He wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulder, pulling him as close as he can. Sam let out a sigh, shutting his eyes. Bucky has him, he didn't forget his promise.

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Sam must've fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes, he sees no Bucky, which made him panic for a split second, and then he sees a note on the bedside that reads I'll be back in a bit, I have another surprise. Sam sighed, shaking his head fondly. This man is ridiculous. Sam doesn't even wanna know what surprise he has planned.

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About 10 minutes later, as Sam makes lunch, Bucky walked through the door, holding a bag, and wearing a big grin. "Hello." Sam said from the stove, and Bucky turned to him, setting the bag down carefully. Sam eyed the bag, but Bucky snapped his fingers in front of Sam. "It's a surprise." Bucky told him, and Sam rolled his eyes. "You sure like surprises." Sam joked, and Bucky chuckled, and started helping Sam with lunch.

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After they ate, Bucky sheepishly handed Sam a bag, and Sam raised an eyebrow. "Open it, but be careful." Bucky told him, and Sam set it down on the table, pulling out a few records and a record player. "Buck." Sam breathed out, as he ran his hand over the Wicked musical and Marvin Gaye greatest hits vinyls. Bucky grinned, wrapping an arm around Sam's shoulder. "I mean, it was from a second hand shop, so I don't know how good the is quality but-" Sam pressed a finger to Bucky's lips, and turned to him.

"Thank you, sweetheart. It's perfect." Sam said, moving to wrap his arms around Bucky's neck, and Bucky grinned wider. "Well, so are you." Sam blushed at that, and Bucky's grin turned into a smirk, and he kissed Sam's forehead. Sam smiled wide. This was a pretty good birthday.

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Sam had his head on Bucky's chest as they listened to the Wicked vinyl, the sun setting behind them. "Ok, when I bought you the vinyls, I was under the assumption that I wouldn't have to listen to them." Bucky told him, and Sam rolled his eyes, laughing all the while. "It's education, Barnes." Sam said pointedly, and this time Bucky rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous." Bucky said, and Sam laughed again. "Well, maybe you should've bought some vinyls from your time." Sam said sarcastically. "Ha ha." Bucky deadpanned, and Sam grinned. Sam tilted his head to look at Bucky. "I love you." Bucky smiled at Sam, and nodded. "I love you, too." Sam smiled this time, and let his head fall back down.

So yeah, maybe Sam didn't get to call his family this birthday, hear Sarah's voice, smell the water, but he has Bucky. And maybe, Bucky was becoming his family. It was crazy to think, but yes, Sam might be able to call Bucky family. A few months ago, when Sam was still sleeping in his car, this would've been impossible to think, all things considered. But it was true. Bucky made Sam feel like he had never before. He felt warm, he felt like he was at home. And that's what family is. A warm feeling of comfort, familiarity. So of course Bucky was his family. And Sam was pretty sure that Bucky considered him family, too.

Sam closed his eyes, humming to the song playing, feeling his eyelids get heavy. In fairness, it's been a long day.

Bucky heard even breaths come from Sam in the next few minutes, and smiled. Bucky thought he lost everything, but he never considered finding something else. And now, he found it. So yeah, maybe he lost everything from before, from a simpler time, but he found his everything. His love. His family. His Sam.