Chapter 7
"Steve?" Bucky asked the familiar face, hoping he wasn't going crazy. His friend was gone, really gone. This couldn't possibly be him, yet they looked so alike. It was almost scary.
"Hey, Buck." The man said offering a smile. "It's been a while, huh."
"Who the hell are you?" He asked in alarm, the man even sounded like Steve.
"It's me, Bucky c'mon you know this." He watched as the man sighed, his shoulders sinking in defeat. "Look, I know this sounds crazy but I'm me. I'm Steve. I had Strange bring me back."
"What- why would you do that?"
"Because everything was different. I lived out my whole life and I still felt so lost, like I left a piece of myself here in the future. I couldn't just die after all that, not after everything we've been through."
"Steve, you abandoned me." Bucky said harshly, a tone he usually didn't take when it came to the man before him. "You have no idea how much pain you caused. Not just for me, but for Sam too. Did you even think about him when you went off on your little adventure? You just threw all caution to the wind and dumped your responsibilities on him."
"You're right, but Buck-"
"I ain't done," He said cutting him, his Brooklyn accent growing heavy in anger. "Listen, what you did- What you've always chosen to do was act selfishly. And for years I let it slide, but you can't just pick me when it's convenient for you. It's not fair, Steve."
"I don't-" Steve was at a loss for words, he thought their reunion would've been better than this. "Can we talk about this?"
"No, ain't nothing to talk about." He said leaving his old friend behind, the urge to get Sam and leave resting even heavier on his shoulders.
The sanctum had felt safe at first. Stephen and Wong were there, present but not pushy. They made sure Sam was alright and even stayed with him when Bucky needed time to himself. In all the moments he let his guard down he could have opened Sam up to even more stress. He wished he could beat himself up for being so careless but the thought of seeing Steve again shook him to his core. He had missed his friend dearly, but that didn't erase all the shit he had left behind for him to clean up. He left when he needed him the most, him and Sam. Though he should've seen it coming, Steve always knew how to get what he wanted—Sharon, Stark, even T'challa fell victim to his efforts. If he wasn't such a nice guy otherwise, it'd be hard to see past.
Bucky took some time to calm himself down before returning to Sam. He didn't want to worry his little omega, the poor thing had already been through so much. For almost half an hour he walked around the block till he was ready. And when he entered the sanctum one again he pushed past Steve and headed straight to the medical room. He didn't stop for useless calls, or even to microwave the damn food he just bought. He was a man on a mission, ready to return home with his partner in tow.
When he finally saw Sam he was cowering in the corner with Dr. Strange standing above him. The man spoke softly to him, muttering apologies as he explained his situation. The long-overdue heat, the withdrawal, the potential bond, and the recovery process. Neither man heard a thing when they saw each other again except for, "suppressants".
"Sorry," Sam said snapping out from under Bucky's gaze. "What about suppressants?"
"You have to come off of them, indefinitely. I understand why you were taking them and I normally would prescribe an alternative, but the continued use of such a high-risk drug will kill you." Strange paused before continuing, a little softer in tone in light of the heavy topic. "I can offer you scent blockers for the time being, but no more than that. Your fertility has become an issue and I can't in good consciousness allow that worsen."
"Oh- well, I don't have to have pups or anything. I'm not even bonded, you could just do a hysterectomy, right. Wouldn't that be safer?" Sam asked a little nervously, not completely at ease at the idea of being pupless but willing to do anything not to have a repeat of the past week. His statement made Bucky growl from where he stood, the alpha in him angry with fear for not having Sam bear his child.
"In some cases, it would be." The doctor continued, trying his best to ignore the interrupting alpha. "However, the laws are still restricting on an omegas right to conceive. If that's what you wanted, you'd have to already have a pup and be mated to an alpha. And since you don't, I can not legally perform the surgery on you."
"How would anyone know anyway? I never told anyone I was an omega."
"Unfortunately, your presentation is public knowledge. Just because no one has brought it to your attention, doesn't mean that you can get away with it. Especially, now as Captain America. The world is watching you, Sam. You can't afford to make a move like that."
"What?" Sam's face fell, his eyes welling up with tears. "No, no that can't be true."
But it was and even Bucky knew it. They didn't keep that information on your driver's license or your passport, but it was still there. It was almost as easy as googling your address, right there for the world to see. He didn't even have to smell the devastation to know the news upset him. Sam had cried in front of him before, many times in the past few days even. But the gut-wrenching sob that tore through him was enough to make his knees weak. Not even Strange could stay in the room any longer.
"Oh, sweetheart it's okay. Shh, don't cry." He said trying to calm him down, pulling him off the floor and into his arms. If there was anything an alpha hated more, it was to see their omega upset. Their scent turned bitter and their pain became their alpha's as well. Bucky could feel the sob leave Sam's body as if it were from his own. And for the first time in a while, he prayed.
"Sam," Bucky tried. "Baby, please let's just talk about this. Everything is going to be fine."
"Fine?!" He spat back annoyed he could even think that. "In what world is this fine, Bucky? They already hate the fact that Captain America is black, it's only adding fuel to the fire. They may as well just lynch me now."
"God, doll don't talk like that. They're not-"
"They're not what, huh? Disgusted, that a black man got the job over the actual psycho that was Walker. Or are they not going to turn against me once they realize I'm some weak omega who couldn't even get through his heat by himself." Sam sighed, frustrated beyond belief. "And I'm not your baby, or your sweetheart, or your doll. We fucked, that's it."
Bucky was right, again. Sam had been furious after the fact and he hadn't even known what happened during his heat. All it took was some bad news and he was pushing him away.