[ A soft snort, small roll of the eyes. It could look dismissive - but truth be told, it's impossibly fond more than anything. The Bucky who found his way into the city might not be the man who's grown to become Sam's best friend and partner back home - but that doesn't change the fact that he's someone Sam cared about deeply long before Bucky ever started showing up for Sam in return. ]

I ain't Bucky's keeper, and far as I'm concerned, he don't gotta justify his choices to me. He told me this is what he wants, and frankly, that's what matters to me at the end of the day.

[ Of course, telling him as much did little to dissuade Bucky, who seems convinced Sam's going to be 'weird about it'. A gentle reminder, that one, for Sam to keep things close to his chest. ]

If it helps I can let you know that I'll kick your teeth in with prejudice if he gets hurt.

[ Again, mirth flashes across Sam's features - but there's an implication there. Sam's not giving a shovel talk here - he meant what he said about not being Bucky's keeper. But Sam's protective of his friends, so while the grandstanding is purely a joke, the truth of it isn't. If Ash doesn't do right by Bucky, it's not just Bucky himself he'll have to answer to. ]

But jokes aside, I mean, yeah. I'm glad Bucky's solid for at least the next three months, and I'm glad he got his pick. That's what matters in the end.

[ End of the day, Sam understands why Bucky needed to justify this to himself by way of pretending he needed to justify it to Peggy and Sam. But he also knows that no matter what Bucky thinks, it wouldn't be his place to be anything other than supportive of Bucky making his own choice. ]

You got a place ready for Ithemba? 'cause you gotta know that goat's part of the package.