Walking into that warehouse, Sam and Bucky knew that there would be a fight. There was no way that someone like John Walker would voluntarily give up the shield, even if all of America’s (and the world’s) eyes were on him.
Sam’s staring at the blood on the shield, wondering how they let it come to this. There’s a bit of guilt in his stomach. He’s thinking that Bucky was right.
He shouldn’t have given up that shield.
Bucky’s looking at him, as if he can tell what’s going on in his head. The pained look on his face tries to convey to Sam that this isn’t his fault, that the man in front of them has just fallen from whatever grace he was clinging onto.
“I killed him because I had to!” Walker shouts, and it hits Sam that the man who holds his shield is the furthest thing from the man Steve was. “He killed Lemar!”
Bucky takes the lead, saying calmly “He didn’t kill Lemar, John.”
Walker rolls his eyes and Sam can’t look away from it. He knows something is going to happen and there’s anticipation in his chest. Is it fear? He’s not sure. He glances over at Bucky and he almost looks... calm? Ready? Sam assumes he’s met people like this from all over during his time as the Winter Soldier.
Walker’s chest is moving up and down, slowly. His fist, the one that isn’t clinging to the shield, is clenched and the way he’s staring at Bucky is giving Sam chills.
Sam wants to push him away. Anything. He just wants to protect Bucky, to make sure he’s okay. He can’t let him get hurt. There’s something in his chest that tells him that, something deep that he knows has been there for a while. He tries not to dwell on it. Not now.
“Don’t go down that road. Believe me, it doesn’t end well,” Bucky says, and Sam can hear the regret in his voice.
Bucky remembers every single person he’s wronged. Every single person he’s killed. There’s blood all over his hands, blood he can’t just wipe off. Every time he sleeps, he thinks of them. He wouldn’t wish this fate on his worst enemy. Which happens to be John, at this point in time.
“I’m not like you,” Walker says, and it’s more like a spit. He speaks to Bucky in a derogatory manner, as if he can’t believe someone like Bucky, the dirt of the earth, is speaking to him.
Bucky blinks. There’s pain on his face, Sam can see it. Sam wants to tell Walker that no, Bucky isn’t anything like him. Bucky’s good. He’s got morals. He doesn’t go into the middle of a crowded place to put the shield through a helpless man’s chest.
Sam, as the trained professional he is, tries to deescalate the situation. He takes a step forward, looking between John and Bucky. “Listen, it was the heat of the battle. Okay?” He says, watching as John glances over. He continues to speak. “If you explain what happened, they may consider your record. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
John glances down at the blood on the shield, the way it’s run down and disgraced the red, white and blue stripes. He doesn’t seem to care that much. He just wants to be Captain America.
Sam takes a deep breath, glancing over John as he seems to think things through. “John,” he says, trying to get the man’s attention. “You gotta give me the shield, man,” Sam sighs, and he almost cowers from the look John gives him.
However, he knows how to stand his ground. He knows that people like John cannot manipulate him. He has to get the shield back, and this time it’s his.
Steve might be gone, but what he stood for is this shield. And for Bucky? Bucky sees the piece of metal and all he can think of is his family, the last tie he has to a home. He hates to see it used in this manner. It kills him.
John’s a lot stronger now. They can both see it. They know that he’s taken the serum. He’s become corrupted beyond repair, from the far off look in his eyes. If he goes for them, it’s going to he hard to take him down. But they’ll do it. Together.
“Oh, so that’s what this is?” John questions, almost laughing on the spot. He stares over them both, as if they were pieces of meat. “You almost got me.”
“You made a mistake,” Sam tries.
“You don’t want to do this,” John replies, and his eyes are hollow. There’s nothing in them.
Bucky realises that even if they didn’t (which, yes, he did), that they need to do this. They need to take this dangerous weapon from his hands, before anyone else gets hurt.
Bucky looks up from the shield, staring John right down in the eyes. “Yeah, we do,” he says, and it’s almost as if those words are the catalyst to the fight that they all know was coming.
Bucky moves first, going straight towards the shield. He lands a punch on it, the sound of metal echoing of the walls in the warehouse. It’s loud.
Sam gets in a kick too, and they share a look at the power John has now. They’re scared, but they won’t let him know. But they’re not scared for themselves. They’re scared for each other.
John lands a kick right onto Sam’s torso, kicking him back onto the floor. He hits his head onto the ground, making him feel a little dizzy. He just needs to get back up, however. He can’t focus on any pain he’s feeling, there’s no time.
Bucky tries to grab the shield as John stares down Sam, but he’s got super hearing now and can hear Bucky coming. They each hold part of the shield, both of them trying their hardest to keep it/take it.
John elbows Bucky in the face, hitting him onto the ground. Bucky looks up, knowing he has to get this man down. There’s no way he’s losing to the person who’s trying to be Stevie. There’s no way.
John raises the shield in the same way he did to the man before and Bucky knows there’s intent to kill in his swing. However, Sam’s got his back (like always). He hits John from the back.
John’s strong, there’s no doubt about it. He’s hitting them, left, right, and centre. But they’ve got this. Sam and Bucky work as a team, something they never thought they’d do, and they manage to knock him down a peg.
Bucky hits the shield over and over again, backing John up against a pole. His arm does the work, giving him power in the swing. But John’s good. He manages to break Bucky’s swing from behind the shield, hitting Bucky in the side of his torso.
Bucky goes to hit John, destroying the pole above him instead. He takes a step back, seeing that John’s ready to attack again. Sam’s back on his feet, backing Bucky up. They glance at each other in the heat of the moment, making sure they’re both okay.
Sam gets hit in the face. Bucky wants to rush over. He wants to hold Sam tight. Far, far, away from John Walker (the maniac).
Bucky gets thrown back into some abandoned machine, hard. If he wasn’t a super solider, he would’ve been seriously hurt. John comes running after him, pushing him up against it with his shield. Bucky groans, crying out from the pain, but he stills manages to fight back.
Sam watches, trying to get up from where he’d been knocked out. He stares, terrified for Bucky’s life, as John pushes the shield into him with a far off, gone, look. And Bucky’s struggling to get him off. Sam hasn’t seen something like in a long time and, oh god, if he had just taken the shield- this wouldn’t have happened.
“Why are you making me do this?” John says, and Bucky’s a bit taken back.
He’s gone. He’s far from redemption now, and Bucky can’t think of any reply to him that would make sense. They’re not making him do anything. John’s just so obsessed with the power in the shield that he’s willing to go above and beyond to keep it.
When Bucky doesn’t reply, John starts to yell. “Why are you making me do this?!” He basically screams, his voice breaking.
He throws Bucky, far, and he hits a metal beam. Hard. His arm sparks, from how it lands, and he screams from the agony it causes. He lands on the concrete floor, passed out, and he can’t think about Sam as his vision is blurry. He can’t think straight. He can’t think. He’s down. God knows what John might do to Sam.
Before John can even think of taking advantage of the situation Bucky’s in, Sam flies to him and kicks him in the head. He won’t kill Bucky. Because if he does, Sam’s not sure what he’d do. He can’t go on without Bucky’s gruff, sarcastic, and funny little attitude that Sam pretends to be annoyed about.
Sam’s on the floor, pinned down by John. John raises the shield again to slam it into Sam (apparently he’s found his new favourite technique). He yells, bringing it down without hesitation to try and hurt Sam. Sam manages to dodge the blow, using his wings to try and take John’s feet out.
It works.
Sam flies back up. He lands on the floor, taking a few steps back as John picks himself up.
“This isn’t you, John,” Sam says, trying to get through to his head.
Because, as much as the man was an ass before, this wasn’t who Sam thought he was. This wasn’t a decorated solider who served his country through multiple tours, winning medals. Or was it? Sam didn’t know shit about him. God knows what he got up to overseas, if this is what’s he like now. The serum has just amplified that anger, making John more dangerous than a lot of people they’ve fought.
John laughs to himself, grip tightening on the bloody shield. “We could’ve been a team,” he says, staring Sam down.
Sam sighs. He jumps forward, his wings letting him pick up speed towards where John was stood. He has to fight. There’s no time to reason with the mad man (and no, he thinks, they couldn’t have been a team. Sam would never mix with people like him).
Sam uses a grappling hook, attaching it to the shield. He tries to pull it away from John, but the super solider is holding onto it so tight that it’s impossible. He flies around the warehouse, trying his hardest.
They almost balance each other out. They both fly backwards, the shield falling in between them. It wobbles on the floor, before falling down with a slam. Both of them run towards it, but Walker manages to grab Sam before he can touch it.
John pins Sam to the floor, but Sam uses his little jet pack to push himself back up. But John has a grip on him. He throws his helmet off, making his face more clear. He grabs Sam by the wings, staring at him with a look that screams ‘I want to kill you’.
“I am Captain America,” he says, his voice dark. He says it in a grunt, but it doesn’t seem to be directed to Sam. He’s saying it as if he’s trying to convince himself that he is.
Walker screams, tearing Sam’s wings off as the other tries to push him off. They break with a spark. Before Sam can even think that through, Walker grabs the shield up from the floor.
He goes to hit Sam in the chest again, but Sam can’t move. Bucky manages to get up, however, and he sprints towards them both. He pushes Walker off Sam, thanking the powers that be that he got there in time.
Bucky gets some hits onto Walker’s face, as the other hits him back equally as hard. At one point, Walker gets Bucky to the floor and just keeps hitting him over and over. It’s relentless.
Sam comes back, helping his partner out. Sam uses his jet back to get some force, hurting Walker (and, subsequently, Bucky too). Bucky’s screaming and it almost causes Sam to stop, but he has to keep going.
Sam gets it off, breaking Walker’s arm as they do. Walker screams “No,” as his arm recoils back, in pain.
Sam has the shield now, landing with it. Blood falls from Bucky’s mouth as he stands up, but he doesn’t care. Sam’s got the shield and, wow, he looks good with it.
John gets back up, broken arm and all, and stares at them both. “It’s mine,” he says.
“It’s over, John,” Sam sighs.
“It’s mine!” John repeats, stepping forward to try and get one more hit on Sam.
Bucky steps forward, picking John up. Sam rushes forward, using that momentum to hit him down. John collapses to the floor, as does Sam, and all Bucky can do it put the fallen shield in front of Sam. He walks off, trying not to show Sam how much pain he’s in.
Sam catches up with him, shield in hand, and he’s silent. He’s not saying a word to Bucky. It’s unusual and the super solider doesn’t like it. They’re both covered head to do in bruises and blood, but that’s normal for them so Bucky knows that isn’t why.
Sam must’ve noticed that Bucky was watching, so he stops and stares at the shield. “It’s my fault,” he says.
“What? No it wasn’t,” Bucky replies, head titling. He was confused. There’s no universe in which Sam Wilson was as fault for something like this. None.
“If I just took the shield like you said-,”
“No, Sam. I was wrong. The shield- god, it’s complicated. I’m sorry for suggesting otherwise. But, this? This isn’t your fault. The only person at fault is Walker, and Walker alone.”
Sam thinks about it. He’s not sure if Bucky’s right, but he takes it. There’s not much else he can do. “Thanks, Buck,” he sighs, continuing to walk with pain in every step he took.
They go back to the base Karli was in. Torres has just contacted Sam to say that he’ll meet them there, so they’ve got some time for just the two of them.
Bucky’s back is against the wall, hand over his stomach. He’s clearly in pain, as is Sam, but he won’t even look him in the eye.
“Sam?” He eventually asks, stepping forward with a stumble. Sam catches him, his hand’s tightening around Bucky’s broad shoulders. He blinks up at Sam, his bruise covering a lot of his face. “Was he right?”
“What? About what?”
“When he said he wasn’t like me- Am I the killing machine everyone says I am? I don’t even feel guilty over hurting him, man, and I know I should. I just- don’t, and I hate it,” Bucky replies, and it feels weird to actually speak about his emotions after keeping them in for so long (even in therapy).
“No, Buck. You’re not the Winter Solider anymore,” he tells him, helping him over to the table. He sits him down, sitting down beside him as he does. “You were never the machine they made you be. Ever. So, no, he wasn’t right. He was far from it. He’s the man that he claimed you to be.”
When Bucky’s hand slowly snakes it way into Sam’s hand, both of them are surprised. When Sam raises an eyebrow at him, he shrugs.
Bucky doesn’t want to talk about the Winter Soldier anymore, so he quickly diverts the conversation. “Your knuckles. There’s blood of them.”
“There’s blood in a lot of different places,” Sam replies, running his thumb against Bucky’s hand as his grip tightens. “I’m okay,” he says, knowing that’s all Bucky wanted to hear. “Are you?”
“I will be,” Bucky says, softly, and it’s so different from how he spoke to John. He wants to listen to Bucky speaking softly in his ear, drowning in the sense of calm that it gives him. It almost lets Sam forget about what just happened. “Now that I know you are,” he adds, eyes blinking up to meet Sam’s.
“Yeah?” Sam questions, his eyes stuck to Bucky’s. It’s almost as if he’s in a trance, not able to look away from the beautiful blues.
“I always need to know that you’re okay, Sam,” Bucky says, putting his metal arm over Sam’s thigh. “I-I can’t think without knowing-“ and it’s almost as if he’s trying to say ‘I like you’, as in more than friends should.
“I feel the same,” Sam whispers, and it’s almost as if he’s saying ‘I like you too,’. Because, for some reason, they don’t know how to say it out loud.
Bucky leans forward, pressing his lips against the side of Sam’s mouth. “Thanks, Sam,” he whispers, before letting go of his hand. He doesn’t get far, however, before Sam’s pulling him back into a proper kiss.
Bucky’s standing in between Sam’s legs, as Sam is still sat on top of the table. His legs wrap around Bucky’s hips, his arms around Bucky’s shoulders. Bucky’s got one hand on Sam’s back, his other by his side.
Bucky’s an excellent kisser, Sam realises. He knows what he’s doing, kissing Sam as if this is the last kiss he’ll ever get. They can’t get enough of each other, their short peck turning into a romantic, deep, kiss that lasts for ages.
When they pull away to breathe, Bucky can’t stop staring at Sam. He’s gorgeous. Handsome. Whatever word that accurately portrays just how good Sam is.
“I li-like you-,” Bucky says, his words coming out like a broken man.
“I like you too, you idiot,” Sam replies, before leaning back in to kiss Bucky again.
Moments later, they’re broken up by Torres walking in. The situation they’re in dwells on Bucky and he knows he has to go and find Zemo.
He walks out the door, leaving them behind. They will speak about their relationship later, when the world’s not on fire and everything isn’t going wrong. Lets just hope they make it.