Sam woke up bright and early, giddy to go fishing with his pa, and Sarah, who they convinced to come along. She was all for fishing, not necessarily the waking up early part. Sam couldn’t relate, he loved waking up early. If he was lucky, he’d watch the sunrise, how it painted the water in pretty oranges and blues and pinks, as he watched the silhouette of different types of birds fly across the sky, all so graceful.
“Sam, Sarah, c’mon, those fish ain’t gonna catch themselves!” Sam heard his pa yell from downstairs and skipped out of his room, a grin on his face. “Coming Pa!” Sam called out as he raced down the stairs.
“Sam.” Sarah whined, slowly walking down the stairs behind Sam. “You’re too loud. It’s too early” Sam shook his head, a smile still on his face as he rounded the corner. “It’s never too early to fish, Sar, you know that.”
“That’s true, Sarah. The fish don’t wait for no one.” Sam’s pa interjected, a smile as bright as Sam’s on his face. Sam stuck his tongue out at Sarah, who just grumbled something about how well I’ll make the fish wait. Sam reached for her hand and tugged her hand, rushing out the front door. He wanted nothing more than to feel the cool morning breeze, laughing with Sarah and Pa about the most random things, getting called in for lunch by his ma, and smiling the day away.
Pa got them both set up on the boat, and even though Sarah complained, a lot, Sam caught her smiling and laughing the entire time they were outside. His ma ended up bringing lunch out onto the boat, and they all sat, laughing and smiling, wasting the day away. Sam loved his family, he would do anything to protect it.
~~~~~~~~~
Sam couldn’t protect his family. As he stood in the rain, Sarah by his side, he stared at the two headstones, side by side. His family. The one he laughed with, smiled with, gone in a flash. He felt Sarah squeeze his hand, and Sam could barely muster the strength to look at her. They were both gone, Ma first, then Pa. Sam had to make sure she’d be alright, too, or else Sam couldn’t go on much longer. She was all the family he had left, and he could protect her, he had to.
~~~~~~~~~
He and Riley were laughing in the dead of night, huddled close together, forgetting how the world was on fire behind them. Right now they were too caught up in each other to care. Sam’s head was on Riley’s shoulder, watching the fire dance and crack in front of them. It was perfect, it was calm. Sam found another part of his family. Someone to laugh with, to smile with, to cry with. Sam loved him, plain and simple. He was always going to be his family, no matter what life threw at them.
“I love you.” Sam hummed against Riley’s shoulder. He heard the blonde chuckle, his arm secure around Sam. “Love you, too, Sammy.”
Yeah, family.
~~~~~~~~
Sam leaned his head against the headstone, not even trying to blink back his tears. He couldn’t do it. He swore he’d protect his family. His Ma was gone, his Pa, now Riley. He thought he could do it. He thought he could make it happen, the life he wanted when he was a kid. That one was filled with happy faces, loving touches, and quiet mornings. Not bloody memories, a name in stone covered in moss, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to be alone. But here he was. He thought they’d be family no matter what life threw at them, but life is always ready to throw, when you least expect it. Everything you thought you’d get, it was only a pipe dream. Sam thought family would be different, but maybe it was like everything else in life. Unexpected, and often heartbreaking.
~~~~~~~~~
“Pick up four, Rogers.” Nat said with a smirk, and Steve groaned, picking up 4 cards, as instructed. Sam chuckled, and glanced down at his cards. He felt Nat’s hard stare on him, and looked up from his cards to lock eyes with Nat. Slowly, he put a skip a turn card, and watched as Nat’s face scrunched up in frustration. Sam grinned cheekily, and turned to Steve.
“Your go, Rogers.”
“Right, right, sorry.” Steve said quickly, placing a random card. “Honestly we’ve played this so many times, it is a wonder how you’re so bad.” Nat said playfully, and Sam chuckled again, eyes shifting from Steve to Nat.
“Damn, alright.” Nat and Sam fake gasp. Sam’s eyes are so wide it’s comical, and Nat’s eyebrows are raised so high they looked like they could go all the way up her scalp. Steve rolled his eyes. “Did Captain America just swear?” Sam joked, a grin spreading across his face. Steve shook his head, and both Sam and Nat laughed at him.
Nat ended up winning, unsurprisingly. They had been on the run for about 5 months day, and they had grown really tight. Obviously they were close before, but this was something more. It resembled something of a family, and Sam would take it. They were his family, they had seen him cry, made him laugh, share smiles, and most importantly, they were there for him. They’d never let go of each other. They were a family.
~~~~~~~~~~
They let go. Nat, she was gone, and so was Steve. But it was so, so different. Nat risked her life so Sam could come back, but Sam didn’t have any family to come back to. Because then Steve was gone, and Sam felt lost. He lost his anchors, the anchors that held him steady, like the ones on his Pa’s boat. He lost every family he had made. After everything, he thought this family would stick. There was still someone that would never give up on him, and Sam knew that she was his last way to stay grounded. Sarah was his family, the only one that has ever stuck.
~~~~~~~~~
When Sam watched as Bucky approached him with a cake in hand, and sunglasses on, he couldn’t ignore the little stutter his heart did. Then, as he watched Bucky play with AJ and Cass, all laughs and smiles, he couldn’t ask for anything more.
The party was… hectic, to say the least. It was nice, for sure, but it was a lot. So that’s why, when the 2 boys, Sarah, Bucky and Sam settle in front of the TV, Sam had never felt so peaceful in his entire life. Bucky was a bit too close to Sam, and Sarah occasionally looked at them both with a knowing look, while the boys had their eyes fixed on the movie playing. Sam smiled, leaning his head a bit to Bucky’s shoulder.
From the corner of Sam’s eye, he saw a picture of him and his parents, all of them smiling brightly. As well as a picture of him and Riley, laughing about something. And finally, a damp looking UNO box a bit below the pictures on the shelf. Family. Sam’s had a lot. And he swore he’d protect each and every one. Maybe he did, but that didn’t matter now. He got to have them, he felt loved by them, and it was great. It was what family was supposed to be. And Sam had a feeling that he had found another one, one that lived in his old childhood home, but with a new set of Wilson siblings. Not to mention the metal armed man.
Sam smiled softly. Family. A family has love, has trust, has support. Sam’s had that all his life, even when it seemed impossible.