Sam Wilson is Captain America. He doesn’t have the blonde hair, or the blue eyes, but he has honour and love in his heart. He’s not Steve Rogers, John Walker, or Isaiah Bradley. He’s Sam Wilson. He’s a black man. But, still, he’s Captain America and nobody can ever take that from him.
He wears the stars and stripes, the suit that the Wakandans made him, and he feels... right. He looks in the mirror as the shield sits on his back and he knows that it is time to honour the complicated legacy that sits on his shoulders.
He wonders home after Karli dies, thinking about everything. He thinks about Bucky, Karli, John, and Isaiah. Mainly Isaiah. He wants to tell the man that he will be honoured until the end of time for what he did for their country. For the sacrifices he made throughout history. For the life he had to give up, the man he was forced to be.
Sam immediately goes to an artist, to the government, to get Isaiah’s image and reputation sorted out. When they show him what they’ve done, his eyes well up at what the statue represents. It’s everything.
The Captain America exhibit is empty without the statue. It’s missing an entire part of its history. It doesn’t show the missing person behind the shield, the one who did the same things as the great Steve Rogers, the one who got chastised for being a hero. And Sam feels sick at the thought of nobody else knowing what he has been through. So, as Captain America does, he changes that.
Taking Isaiah and Eli to the exhibit, as the statue and description gets planted, he doesn’t miss the way the man’s heart obviously skips a beat. He stares up at it, eyebrows itching together as his bottom lip quivers. He’s close to crying, but its hard to let go when all you do is try your hardest to keep everything inside.
Eli’s staring up at his grandfather’s statue, a look on his face that Sam recognised in his own face. It’s the look of knowing someone you love is being recognised, finally, for changing/altering the community they live in. To know that other people will see what your loved one has done, knowing how much crap they’ve tolerated to make other’s lives better, it would make anyone well up. When a tear drops from Eli’s eyes, Sam lets go. He puts one gentle arm around Eli’s shoulders, letting the young man cry into his chest (he cries too).
Sam Wilson isn’t the first black man to be Captain America, to embody the patriotic man that everyone else has looked up to for so long. That title belongs to Isaiah. Sam Wilson is, however, the first black man to be allowed to show the world that he is. The first black man to hold the shield and wear the suit, listening to how people cheer to his success. So, as he flies through the skies with his wings spread out far, he tries to show the world that he isn’t the only man like him that ever held onto the shield. He thinks that he succeeds.
The whole world responds to the story of Isaiah with pain, disgust, and shock. The nation is shocked that the Government would treat a man so good, so badly. The world lays flowers, gifts, and everything else in front of Isaiah’s small house. Communities gather around him, thanking him for his sacrifices, and Sam can’t help but smile as the man walks through life with a new energy around him. He deserves it, and Sam’s just happy that he got to help this happen. Because, god, nobody has ever deserved it more.
Sam visits him one day, a week or so after everything has calmed down. Bucky’s with him, but he’s scared to come inside. He’s scared, because he was a part of the problem. He was the one that hid Isaiah’s story, not telling a single person what happened. He stays outside of the house, sat on the sidewalk. He waits for Sam to finish talking, but he comes out early and the man is confused.
Isaiah wants to see him. So, Bucky does. He steps inside, awkwardly sitting beside Sam on the small couch. Sam puts a hand on his knee, trying to show him that he’s there for him. That he won’t let Bucky fall back into the bad mindset, considering things had been so good for them recently.
“I don’t hate you,” Isaiah said, as if he knew exactly what Bucky was feeling. “You haven’t exactly had the time to tell the world what I went through, considering you’ve been dealing with your own story.”
“I should’ve said something Isaiah, and I’m so sorry,” Bucky whispered in response. He looked down at Sam’s hand on his knee, holding it instead. “I’m just happy that you met Sam- he’s-he’s so good.”
Isaiah looked between them both, raising his eyebrows. His smile softened as he glanced back at Sam, his shoulders slumping back. They were tight before. They had been all of his life, from the moment he was imprisoned. And, now, after years of torment and isolation, Sam had given him the opportunity to let go of everything and be himself. And as he looked at the joint hands of the men in front of him, he pondered if this was the same for Bucky Barnes too.
“Now, son, it’s okay. I just hope you can let go of all that pain inside of you. Just as I have started to do, thanks to your partner,” Isaiah told him, putting a hand on his metal shoulder. “You’ve done good, Barnes. You’re no longer that man I met back in the war. You’re good.”
Sam and Bucky left the Bradley’s house with tears, mainly down Bucky’s face. Their hands were still intertwined as they walked back to their car. And as they stood in silence, they both had thoughts with what their future will look like. And, if their thoughts came true, what a good future it would be.