Sam probably had the worst soulmate ever. As a kid he was scared of what was happening to him and his soulmate. His parents would bring him to the hospital throughout his childhood and even teenage years, due to the severity of his injuries from his soulmate. It was literal torture according to the doctors. They wanted to prescribe a medication that could mess up the connection, basically so that he wouldn’t also be tortured. But Sam had declined.
Sometimes he wished he had taken the medication.
The first time he got electrocuted was when he was about 7. He’d been inside when he was overwhelmed with electricity surging through his body, to the point where he passed out. And then woke up in the hospital with a worried Sarah poking his arm and his parents pacing in the room.
And that wasn’t the last time that happened. Throughout the years, he’d feel electricity and then pass out, and wake up in the hospital. Or he’d get cuts and bruises and everything in between.
It was honestly tiring, and Sam hated to admit that. As a kid, he didn’t want to take the soulmate drug that stopped you feeling the full extent of your soulmates injuries. But when he joined the army, he didn’t really have a choice. He knew he couldn’t have another episode as he called them in the field.
He was hesitant at first, knowing the side effects. Mainly they were depression and anxiety, due to the connection not being full. You could feel depressed or alone because you don’t feel your soulmate there anymore. Or you could feel anxiety, which was another common symptom. Sam had a difficult time adjusting to the medication.
But he genuinely enjoyed the army after a while. Riley mostly filled the…emptiness that the medication caused. He’d lost his soulmate a few years back. It seemed that both of them filled a space the other was lacking.
But then Riley got shot out of the sky. Sam immediately panicked and tried to catch him, but his wing got shot out too.
The last thing Sam remembered was free falling before blacking out.
——
“Him? Seriously? Him?”
“Yes it’s him. We documented any and every injury the Soldier got, and matched it to his hospital records. It’s him.”
“What are you? Homophobic? Fuck off, leave the guy alone. Besides, we don’t choose who our soulmates are.”
Sam heard voices but couldn’t make out what anyone was saying. Was he at a hospital? He hated hospitals. The last thing he remembered was…Riley.
Sam jolted awake and immediately felt pressure around his limbs. He started to panic as he realized he was restrained to a gurney.
“Relax. Relax,” one of the men said with a calm voice. “Relax. Breathe.”
“Who…who are you?” Sam asked anxiously as he struggled against the leather restraints. “Where am I? Where’s Riley? Is he okay? What’s going on?”
“I will answer your questions, if you stay calm,” the doctor said.
Sam slowly forced himself to calm down and breathe. He flinched when the doctor adjusted the gurney so he was sitting up instead of lying down. Sam watched as the doctor rolled a stool over and sat down on it.
“I do apologize for your friend but he didn’t make it,” the doctor said, Sam freezing and shaking his head. “Denial is quite common after losing someone. It’s a normal reaction.”
“I’m gonna kill you,” Sam threatened as he struggled against the restraints.
“Hurting superiors is against the rules,” the doctor said calmly. “As I was saying, you are in a Hydra base. Do you know what Hydra is?”
Sam thought back through his memories as best he could. Hydra sounded…familiar. But he couldn’t place it.
“Hydra was around during World War 2,” the doctor said. “The world thinks we’re gone but we are not. And as to answer your last question as to what’s going on, you, my friend, are special.”
“No, I’m not,” Sam said as he glared.
“Yes, you are. Out of billions of people, you are the Soldier’s soulmate,” the doctor said, Sam’s while body freezing.
“What?” Sam asked quietly.
“Yes. I can imagine that you’ve been curious as to who your soulmate is for a long time. Multiple hospital visits as a child, and even in your teenage years. You finally stopped going to the hospital when you joined the army, because you’re taking medication to stop the soulmate connection. No judgment from me. I would get tired of being in pain too,” the doctor said. “Oh, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Doctor Michaels.”
Sam stayed frozen as his mind caught up with everything being said to him. His soulmate was alive? After being tortured his entire life, he imagined they were dead.
“Your soulmate is referred to as a few different titles here,” Doctor Michaels continued. “The Asset is a common title, along with the Soldier, and the Winter Soldier.”
“What did you do to them?” Sam asked.
“Hydra maintains order through pain,” the doctor explained. “I will thoroughly explain everything later. But right now, I must say I am impressed at how much you are alive. Falling damaged your body, but being the Soldier’s soulmate, it seems that due to his serum, you also get some of the bonuses of the healing as well. You’ve healed quite a lot.”
“What do you want with me?” Sam asked.
“You, my friend, will be used to keep the Soldier in line. He disobeys, he gets hurt. But that will also hurt you. So, we’re hoping that you being here will help with that.”
The doctor turned towards the guards by the door.
“Bring in the Soldier,” Doctor Michaels said, causing Sam to get chills.
Sam stared at the door before someone got shoved in. He froze. This guy looked like he’d been tortured for eternity. They probably have. Sam morbidly realized that his soulmate was a guy, which he didn’t have a problem with, but still he always wondered. This guy had a metal arm, an expressionless face and blank eyes.
“Soldat. This is Sam Wilson,” the doctor said as he ushered to Sam on the gurney. “If you disobey anyone, any orders, etcetera, we punish you as you know. But when we hurt you, this happens.”
Sam watched as the Soldier’s arm got grabbed and a cut was made across his palm. Sam winced from the sting and stared at his own hand. He quickly turned back to the Soldier, who looked confused.
“You two are soulmates, which means that you feel each other’s pain, feel each other’s injuries,” Doctor Michaels said. “When he gets hurt, you get hurt. It works both ways.”
The doctor grabbed Sam’s hand and made another cut along his arm. Sam bit down his lip from the pain. Not that this wasn’t anything to compare to his childhood, but it still hurt. The Soldier stared at his own arm and saw the cut appear.
“Do you understand what I’m saying? If you disobey or do anything we don’t like, he gets hurt. He’s your soulmate. Do you understand?” Doctor Michaels asked.
“Yes, I understand,” the Soldier said in an emotionless tone.
“Good,” the doctor said before getting quiet. “I hope there’s some level of need to protect your soulmate in there or this would have all been for nothing.”
Sam leaned his head back and closed his eyes. This so wasn’t happening. Riley was dead and his soulmate was tortured his entire life and now he was gonna be used as a tool to keep them in line. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare.
——
Steve hated this. He hated this. He hated Hydra and he hated being undercover in Hydra and he hated dealing with this. He literally crashed a plane in the Arctic and expected to die in order to take down Hydra and save the world. But apparently that wasn’t good enough.
After the Battle of New York, time travelers visited. That confused him more than gods and aliens. Even Tony was confused. Jarvis showed them the footage, which prompted Steve’s panic attack at the fact that his future self said ‘Hail Hydra’. Hydra was still around and that made him instantly freak out and he couldn’t breathe. Once Stark calmed him down, they came up with a game plan. Steve goes undercover and gets information. Tony would have his back, and Steve 100% believed him. He even put a tracker in Steve’s suit to keep an eye on him, which Steve appreciated.
It was a rough time. He needed to learn to control his emotions so he wouldn’t punch every Hydra agent he came across. And he needed to stay calm because then the Hydra agents were calm. Steve often let out his frustrations on the punching bags in the Avengers Tower. They were super soldier proof, and Steve appreciated that.
But now Steve was in a car with Pierce - he hated this guy - and was headed to an unknown location.
“Captain, you’re looking a little tired,” Pierce said as Steve walked up to the car with him. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Yes, sir,” Steve quickly corrected. “I just…Stark kept me up when he ended up talking about the movie trilogy, um…Star Wars.”
Pierce laughed. Steve awkwardly smiled. Technically that wasn’t a lie. Tony did keep him up one night when he went on a very long and detailed explanation of the movies. At the end, Tony ended up saying how they need to watch it, and Steve replied that he already knew everything about the movies because of Tony explaining everything. Then Tony went on to say how talking about it and watching it is two completely different things. But that wasn’t why he couldn’t sleep. Pierce wanted him to meet one of Hydra’s ally’s.
“I’m sure you’re excited about meeting Hydra’s ally,” Pierce said suddenly, cutting Steve off from spacing out.
“Yeah. I’m excited,” Steve said.
“This ally has worked with Hydra for…quite a while,” Pierce said as he stopped the car and started to get out.
Steve nervously got out of the car and followed Pierce into the bank, which he now realized was a Hydra cover since no one spared him a glance or looked at him weirdly.
“I feel that you and our ally will work great together,” Pierce said.
“Yes, sir,” Steve said with a nod as they walked into the basement.
Steve nervously looked around and started to panic, his mind automatically going to the conclusion that they knew he was a fake.
Tony’s tracking me. Tony’s tracking me. Tony’s tracking me. Everything’s okay. Everything’s fine.
“Sometimes…sacrifices must be made, for the greater good,” Pierce said in a cryptic tone.
“Yes, sir. Hail Hydra,” Steve replied, causing Pierce to calm down from his slight anxiety.
Pierce smiled before turning to one of the other agents.
“Go get the Asset,” Pierce ordered.
Steve watched as one of the agents left the room. He looked around and saw all the other agents. They were nervous. Something seriously serious was about to happen. Steve needed to prepare himself.
Steve turned towards the entrance to a hallway when he saw movement, most likely the agent approaching. And ‘the Asset’, weird name.
“Move it!” The agent snapped, causing Steve to twitch.
Jeez, you don’t have to yell at the guy, Steve thought.
Steve watched the figure approach, and just like that, it felt like time had frozen.
“Bucky!” Steve yelled out of reflex, causing all the agents to tense up, and even Bucky to twitch.
“Asset, go sit,” Pierce ordered.
Steve stared and watched as Bucky obeyed and walked over to the chair in the center of the room. The chair that looked like something from a horror movie that Tony would make him watch. Steve was completely immobile before someone walked closer to him.
“You were right when you recognized the Asset as Sargent Barnes,” Pierce said to Steve. “But he’s not Sargent Barnes anymore, Captain. He’s known as the Winter Soldier.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Steve asked numbly as he stared at Bucky.
“When he fell, he was…hesitant to join us, after being saved,” Pierce said. “This state of…complicity is due to his programming.”
“So…he’s a puppet,” Steve said slowly.
“No, Captain. He’s a gun waiting, to be pointed and shot,” Pierce said.
“I’m…I’m sure if Bucky…I’m sure he knows that he’s doing good…for Hydra,” Steve said carefully, trying to find the right words, if there even was any.
Steve watched as the room relaxed. He looked over at Bucky again.
“Asset,” Pierce said, Bucky immediately looking up at Pierce like a demented puppet. “Rogers is now your head handler.”
“Yes, sir,” Bucky replied, Steve almost choking at the lack of emotion in Bucky’s response.
Steve watched as Bucky looked at him quickly before staring back at the floor.
You’re gonna get out of here, I promise, Steve thought as he stared at Bucky.
——
Steve was on autopilot for the rest of the day. Leave. Don’t react. Leave. Walk away. Leave. Leave. Don’t react. Don’t react. Don’t think. Don’t think about Bucky in that damn chair-
And somehow he made it to the Tower, where he let all of it out. He couldn’t breathe now-
“Cap, hey,” Stark said calmly as he approached the elevator.
“Can’t…can’t…breathe…” Steve said anxiously as tears came down his face.
“I know. It’s okay. It’s okay,” Tony said as he crouched down. “It’s okay. Just try to watch me.”
Steve didn’t know how much time he spent in the elevator, but he ended up on the couch in Tony’s lab, curled in a blanket with a cup of tea in his hands.
“Bad day at work?” Tony asked, probably trying to make light of the situation.
“He’s alive,” Steve mumbled before choking out a sob. “Bucky’s alive. Future Steve was right. And…he’s their damn puppet. He didn’t even recognize me.”
Tony froze before Steve broke out into another panic attack.
——
“Captain, are you listening?” Pierce asked.
“Yes. Sorry. Stark again, he wouldn’t stop talking about movies last night,” Steve said as he tried to play it off. “I really need to convince him to talk about movies when I’m fully awake.”
Pierce nodded and Steve blinked his eyes. He couldn’t get Bucky out of his head and he wanted to kill everyone. Hydra forced him to kill Howard and Tony…didn’t blame Bucky surprisingly, which Steve had been scared of.
“So as I was saying, the Asset has been in Hydra since the 40s,” Pierce continued. “But it wasn’t until recently that we discovered something.”
“Which is?” Steve asked as they walked through the hallway of the building, which Hydra owned apparently.
Pierce opened the door to a room, which was guarded by multiple guards. Whatever was behind this door had to be something really bad. Steve followed Pierce inside and gained a confused look. Just…a person? Some guy.
“Captain, this is Sam Wilson,” Pierce introduced with that damn smug smile.
Steve looked at Sam, who stayed quiet and stared at the floor. The apartment they were in didn’t have much. It didn’t have real windows, only fake ones. And the lights were weird. A few pieces of furniture here and there.
“Hello,” Steve said awkwardly, not sure how to respond.
Steve didn’t even know who this guy was, but he looked…he looked like he was a prisoner too. Maybe Hydra captured this guy too. If so, this was another problem he’d have to deal with.
“Sam Wilson. This is Captain Rogers,” Pierce introduced. “Captain, Sam here is the Asset’s soulmate.”
Steve choked on the breath of air he was breathing in and did a double take. Steve hadn’t even thought- When Bucky was a kid, he didn’t feel anything. No pain, no drawings or messages written on his skin. Nothing. Steve tried looking at the bright side, that maybe she didn’t get hurt, or maybe she would get yelled at if she drew on her arms or something. Maybe some rich girl who was paranoid about her body. But it all made sense now. Bucky had a soulmate, just in the 21st Century.
Steve stared at Sam, who was still staring at the floor. He was sitting on the ground against the wall, barely making a sound. Completely submissive, almost like Bucky. It made Steve sick.
“We found out about…a year and a half ago,” Pierce explained. “We keep him here for security reasons. And we made it clear that if the Asset does anything we don’t like, he gets hurt and so does Sam. I assume that the Asset has a protective instinct towards his soulmate, because he hasn’t been disobeying at all since we introduced him to Sam.”
Steve nodded, not sure what else to do. He kept staring at Sam, who wouldn’t even look him in the eyes.
“Do you hurt Sam?” Steve asked Pierce.
“No. No. He gets enough pain from being soulmates with the Soldier. He’s just…a failsafe,” Pierce said.
Steve slowly nodded before Pierce ushered him to leave the apartment. Steve kept glancing at Sam on his way out.
Shit. This was bad.
——
“Okay, Jarvis,” Tony said to the screen. “Make the star grey, or black. I’m thinking black, but show me both. And…make sure there’s a place for Capsicles compass. Hey, I should get ‘Capsicle’ written on the back of his suit. What do you think?”
“I think Captain Rogers would hate it but not say anything due to him always holding his tongue, sir,” Jarvis replied.
“You’re no fun,” Tony mumbled.
“Sir, Captain Rogers is in the elevator and is experiencing distress. I believe another panic attack is coming on,” Jarvis said.
“Shit,” Tony said as he made his way to the door before it burst open.
Tony jumped back as Steve stumbled in, his hands shaking extremely.
“Cap-” Tony started.
“I wanna pull the plug. You said we could pull the plug whenever. But I wanna pull the plug now. I want to kill everyone in Hydra and get them out of there and-” Steve said anxiously in a ramble.
“Okay. Woah. Woah. Slow down. Take a breath. Breathe for me,” Tony said. “I’m not opposed to doing that. Even I told you that we could pull the plug whenever you wanted. But I need a reason, Cap, because Hydra’s big plans are coming up and we’re so close.”
“Bucky’s soulmate,” Steve choked out as his eyes watered.
Tony gained a confused look.
“He…I thought he had a soulmate in the 40s, back in the old days,” Tony said, Steve shaking his head.
“He never…he never got marks, bruises, nothing. He got nothing,” Steve said as he tried to breathe. “But now…Hydra has his soulmate. They’re keeping Bucky in line by threatening to hurt…”
“Did you get a name?” Tony asked.
“Sam Wilson,” Steve said hesitantly.
“Jarvis,” Tony said.
“Right away, sir. Sam Wilson, born September 23, 1978. He lived in Louisiana for his childhood, all while having an alarming number of hospital visits.”
“Abuse?” Tony asked hesitantly.
“No, sir. His soulmate was being injured and he was feeling it all,” Jarvis replied. “Ranging from electrocution to cuts, he would end up in the hospital up until his twenties. He joined the army and finally went on medication it seemed.”
“Medication for what?” Steve asked.
“Medication to stop feeling what his soulmate was feeling,” Jarvis said.
“They…they have that?” Steve asked.
“Yeah. If you soulmate is abused or gets hurt a lot, you can take the medication. It stops the connection,” Tony explained. “Jesus, 29 hospital visits. That’s…insurance companies must love him.”
“Actually, sir. There are insurance plans you can get for this exact reason, where if your soulmate gets hurt and you end up in the hospital,” Jarvis said.
“I know,” Tony said before glancing at Steve. “You okay?”
“It’s not his fault that they’re soulmates,” Steve said, his eyes watering. “And…and Hydra captured him because of it. I can’t…”
“Sam Wilson is also legally dead,” Jarvis added, Steve freezing. “Him and his partner Riley were shot down. I’m assuming Hydra faked Mr. Wilson’s death to stop anyone from looking for him.”
“I wanna stop this, but…you said we’re close,” Steve mumbled.
“Yeah. We are. The Helicarriers finished. Whatever’s gonna happen is happening fast,” Tony said. “What’s your call?”
“We wait until the Helicarriers launch,” Steve said, Tony nodding.
——
Steve walked through the apartment building. Hydra agents were scattered around the building for security reasons, in case the Winter Soldier decided to break in and save Sam. Steve hated that Sam was locked up. Granted, this apartment was a much better cell than Bucky had. But still.
Steve knocked on the door and walked inside. He gained a confused look when he saw another Hydra agent inside.
“Ah, Captain. It’s a pleasure. My name is Doctor Michaels,” he said, Steve nodding. “I was just here to give Mr. Wilson some drugs.”
“Why?” Steve asked with a level of protectiveness.
“The Asset was being wiped earlier,” the doctor said, Steve nodding numbly because he had to watch the damn thing and he hated it. “And Mr. Wilson feels whatever he feels. So we tend to drug him so he isn’t affected.”
“Why do you care?” Steve asked, it coming out rough but he didn’t care at the moment.
“Because we like to keep him compliant. He’s been good, quiet, so he gets the drugs that stop him from feeling the Asset’s pain. But when he becomes rowdy and loud, we don’t give him any,” he explained. “I’m afraid I have other business to attend to. If you don’t mind keeping an eye on Mr. Wilson for a few hours, I would appreciate it. He’s in the bedroom now.”
Steve watched as the doctor left. He walked towards the bedroom and saw Sam lying on the bed. Steve wanted to cry. Sam didn’t deserve any of this.
Steve walked closer and sat on the chair by the bed. He touched Sam’s wrist gently, causing the man to make a whimpering noise almost and try to move away.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” Steve said calmly.
“Everything’s blurry,” Sam mumbled as he stared at the ceiling. “Just…don’t hurt him.”
“The Soldier?” Steve asked, not sure if there were any listening devices in the apartment.
“Don’t. Please. He doesn’t deserve it,” Sam mumbled.
“You care about him?” Steve asked.
“He’s a human being,” Sam said quietly. “All humans matter, well, most do anyway. But he matters. He didn’t deserve any of this.”
Steve smiled slightly. Despite everything Sam had been through, he didn’t even hate Bucky or…or anything. He just wanted Bucky to be okay.
“It’ll be okay,” Steve said quietly. “You’ll be okay.”
——
Sam leaned against the wall while sitting on the bed. His head was still fuzzy from the drugs and he couldn’t think very clearly. The last thing he remembered was that damn doctor coming in and then lights out. He vaguely remembered…someone else in the room but couldn’t figure out who it was.
“I got you this. A friend said that this is a good fidget toy. I think that’s what they’re called,” someone said as they walked into the room, making Sam twitch.
“Who are you?” Sam asked as the guy handed him a Rubik’s cube.
“My names Steve Rogers. We met a few days ago,” Steve said as he sat down on the chair next to the bed.
“Right. Yeah. I…I remember. You Hydra?” Sam asked numbly as he stared at the cube.
“Yeah,” Steve said quietly as he looked at the floor. “The doctor said the drugs would last a little while longer.”
“Yay,” Sam said sarcastically. “Do you need something or are you just gonna be staring at me? Because then you can just leave.”
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Steve said quietly.
“…fine,” Sam mumbled, still looking at the Rubik’s cube. “Tired. I…I heard the guards say, that something big is happening really soon.”
“Yeah,” Steve said with a nod.
Sam closed his eyes and opened them again. He stared at the blankets on the bed. He was exhausted and everything felt super heavy. He just wanted to sleep. Sam still hoped he’d wake up from this nightmare.
“You should get some sleep,” Steve said before his phone beeped.
“Okay,” Sam said, not bothering to argue.
“Shit, I…I gotta go,” Steve said, his face pale.
Sam lied on the bed and closed his eyes. He barely registered Steve leaving the room as he fell asleep.
——
“You okay?” Sarah asked.
“I wish my soulmate wasn’t in so much pain,” Sam said from the hospital bed.
“Me too,” Sarah said quietly. “You’ll be okay. You’ll find them.”
“And what happens if I find them?” Sam asked.
“Save them,” Sarah said.
“What if I can’t save them?” Sam asked with a scared look.
“Then someone else will,” Sarah said.
Sam rubbed his eyes and took a few breaths. He seriously didn’t want to break down right now at the thought of his sister. He wondered how she was. She probably missed him, most definitely assumed he was dead. Sam hoped that Hydra didn’t go after his family, he really hoped-
Sam jumped back when the door got kicked in. He grabbed the nearest object and threw it at the person, causing them to quickly duck.
“Woah! Woah! Relax!” The guy said. “I’m a friend.”
“Who are you?” Sam asked as he awkwardly held a towel.
“My names Clint. I won’t hurt you. Wait, are you seriously gonna fight me with a towel?” Clint asked.
“Have you ever been hit with a towel? It hurts,” Sam said.
“Shit, you got a point,” Clint said awkwardly as he backed away. “I’m getting distracted. My names Clint Barton. I’m here to get you out. Steve Rogers sent me.”
“What?” Sam asked slowly.
“Steve Rogers. Captain America. He sent me to get you out. He’s taking down the Helicarriers right now and he wanted to make sure that you were safe. So…let’s get out of here,” Clint said impatiently.
“Okay…” Sam said awkwardly as he slowly put the towel down on the counter, not sure if he believed this guy but not wanting to pass up the opportunity to get the hell out.
——
Sam quietly sat on the gurney while the doctor took some blood; Doctor Banner if he remembered correctly. This couldn’t possibly be real. He got out. He actually got out. This had to be a trick or something. This had to be a dream.
“I’ll let you know what I find, whether it’s as simple as an iron deficiency or anything more severe. Jarvis’ system works quick so we could have a full make up of your blood within the day,” Doctor Banner explained with a smile.
Sam slowly nodded. He glanced back at Clint, who was playing with one of his arrows.
“Ow,” Clint whined after cutting his finger on the tip of the arrow. “I’m gonna bleed out. Bruce help!”
“It’s just like a paper cut-” Bruce started before rubbing his eyes and turning to Sam. “Excuse me for a minute.”
Sam smiled slightly and watched as Bruce walked over to Clint. When he first saw Clint, the guy had cuts scattered around his body. But now he was complaining about the equivalent of a paper cut? He seemed…dramatic.
Sam flinched when he heard the ceiling, Jarvis speak.
“The Avengers have returned and will be making their way down to the Medbay shortly,” Jarvis informed.
Sam rubbed his temples as he tried to take a few breaths.
“What’s Avengers?” Sam asked hesitantly.
“Oh, we’re Avengers,” Clint said as he walked over with a smile. “I’m Hawkeye. Bruce is Hulk. He transforms into a giant green rage monster. Tony Stark is Iron Man. Steve Rogers is Captain America. Natasha Romanoff is Black Widow.”
“I…I knew about…Tony Stark,” Sam said with a nod.
“Yeah. We formed a team after the Battle of New York,” Clint said.
“Battle of New York?” Sam asked with a confused tone.
“Yeah. Aliens invaded New York in 2012,” Clint said, Sam doing a double take.
“Aliens…invaded New York?” Sam asked slowly, Clint nodding. “Aliens? You’re…you’re messing with me, right?”
“No, sir. Mr. Barton is not,” Jarvis said before projecting news footage from New York onto the wall.
“Oh, wow I missed a lot,” Sam said quietly.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Clint said calmly in a placating tone as he sat down on the chair. “I had a friend who went through something similar. She got taken as a kid…forced to do things. You’ll be okay. You’ll get your life back.”
“Thanks,” Sam mumbled, Clint nodding before the door opened.
Everyone in the room turned towards the door as the Avengers walked through. Sam froze when he saw The Winter Soldier walking through the door as well. Steve glanced at Sam and then at Clint before mouthing ‘thank you’ to Clint. Clint nodded and smiled as the Avengers made their way to gurneys.
“Hey, you should get some sleep,” Clint said to Sam. “You look tired.”
“I haven’t gotten sun in…like a year and a half,” Sam said quietly. “The lights in my cell were UV.”
“Let’s take a walk then,” Clint said with a smile. “It’s getting a little crowded in here.”
“I wanna go home,” Sam mumbled as he stared at the floor.
“Okay, let’s go then,” Clint said calmly, Sam staring at him with a confused look. “What? We got a Quinjet, which is like a tiny plane. And you give me an address, I’ll fly it for you.”
“You…you’re letting me leave?” Sam asked.
“Yeah. If you don’t want to stay here, you’ll find a way to leave, trust me,” Clint said calmly. “The sun might help you feel better. So…where’s home for you?”
“Louisiana,” Sam said quietly.
“I’ve never been. Let’s go,” Clint said with a smile.
——
Sam rubbed his eyes as he slipped on the pair of sunglasses again. Clint parked the car and grabbed the magazine he was previously using as a fan.
“I didn’t realize how hot Louisiana was,” Clint said as he turned off the car, the AC turning off as well. “How did you live here?”
“Where do you live?” Sam asked with a smile.
“Iowa,” Clint said with a smile. “Keep that between us though. No one else on the team knows except Nat.”
“Why’d you tell me then?” Sam asked hesitantly.
“Because you don’t trust me. I can’t build trust unless I’m honest with you,” Clint said. “Maybe I’ll take you to my house sometime and show you what weather is actually supposed to be.”
Sam smiled and slowly looked at the house.
“I haven’t been here since…before I joined the army,” Sam said quietly.
“What happened?” Clint asked.
“I was with my wingman, Riley. Simple night mission, nothing we haven’t done a million times. And…he got shot down. Then my wing got clipped.”
“Wing?” Clint asked.
“It’s a flight suit,” Sam said. “It’s basically a pair of wings. The project name was Falcon.”
“Oh cool! We’re like bird bros. Can we be bird bros?” Clint asked.
“Sure,” Sam said with a smile before losing it. “Hydra got me. They…they used me to keep the Winter Soldier in line. They’d drug me whenever they wiped his memories, and part of me is glad because being electrocuted for 10 minutes straight sucks.”
“You ever wanna see him again? I mean…you two are soulmates,” Clint said hesitantly.
“Right now I just wanna take one day at a time,” Sam said, Clint nodding.
Sam looked at the house and slowly climbed out of the car. He steadily walked towards the house and knocked with a shaky hand.
“Can I help…” Sarah trailed off as Sam took off his sunglasses. “Sam?”
“Sarah? Hey,” Sam said with a shaky voice before she immediately hugged him. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
“How are you even-” Sarah cried as she hugged Sam tightly. “Oh my god you were dead.”
“Long story,” Sam said with a smile. “I’m not dead. I’m okay.”
“I told you not to join the army but you didn’t listen,” Sarah said before flicking Sam in the eyebrow.
“Who’s that, mommy?” A voice from behind Sarah said, Sam freezing.
“This…this is…this is your Uncle Sam,” Sarah said as Sam slowly walked in the house as he stared at the child on the floor. “Sam, this is Cass.”
“Hey,” Sam said as he crouched down on the floor.
“Hello,” Cass said, Sam smiling and turning to Sarah.
“AJ is upstairs asleep,” Sarah said, Sam staring at her. “He’s just a baby.”
“I have two nephews?” Sam asked with a smile.
“Yeah, you do,” Sarah said as her eyes continued watering.
Sarah looked behind Sam and saw Clint. She hugged Sam again and whispered to him.
“Who’s this white boy in my house who looked like he lost a fight with a lawnmower?” Sarah whispered, Sam snickering.
“This is Clint. He saved me,” Sam said as he untangled from his sisters too tight grip.
“Thank you for saving Sam,” Sarah said, Clint nodding before she turned back to her brother. “But saved from what?”
“Oh, that’s…that’s complicated,” Sam said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck, Clint doing the same.
“You better start talking,” Sarah said in a subtle threatening matter.
“Sit down. This’ll…take a while,” Sam said with a sigh.