Just fly, baby!
They had the shield back but the wings were broken. Around them, people were coming in and leaving but their voices felt muted. They stared at each other from across the room. Bucky was his usual taciturn self and Sam just felt really tired. That was the moment Joaquín entered the hall. His face lit up when he saw Bucky.
"Hey! I see you got your sleeve back!" he joked.
But Bucky glanced at him - almost glared, and stood up to leave the room. Without a single word. Ouch, thought Joaquín. He hadn't expected a hug either but that was some cold reunion. He walked towards Sam and fiddled awkwardly with the trim of his paper board.
"What happened? I thought my joke was pretty funny."
Sam didn't answer right away. His arms were crossed on his chest and the man himself gave the impression of being closed, recoiled. He also looked like he had cried. Joaquín felt a lump in his throat.
"Apparently, not at all..."
Sam raised his hand in a tender gesture.
"No, no, I'm sorry, I... It was a good one, really. It's just... It's been a rough day OK?"
Torres nodded and decided not to bother Sam any longer and instead focused on his work (listing everything of importance they were about to take with them from that refugee's camp) - that is, until he took a look at the inside of the black bag and let out a surprised cry.
"The wings! What the...? They're in pieces!"
Sam had the shadow of a smile.
"Like I said, rough day."
It was a shame, really. The young man checked them up a bit more before going back to business and sharing the intel he had meant to give Sam since he had entered the room. Once that was done, the Falcon stood up and headed for the door. Torres immediately grabbed the bag despite it still being open and shouted:
"You're forgetting your wings!"
"Keep them!"
Joaquín felt dumbstruck. Well, marvelous. What he was actually supposed to do with them? He looked around at his team members but either they didn't listen or they pretended they didn't so as to not get involved in that technically-government-property-but-still-superhero-stuff matter. Torres bit his lips for a few seconds before he made up his mind. He zipped the bag close and advised the closest person to him.
"Nobody touches that bag until I come back, okay?" he told the man who happened to be on his first day.
The rookie nodded with a mix of respect and incomprehension. Torres then left the hall through the same door than Bucky, and resumed his work. He made his way to the superior levels until he arrived on the last one and there he almost walked into a big room without noticing the person inside as his eyes were focused on his list. When he spotted Bucky, however, he froze on the threshold. The white man was examining a gun.
Torres timidly took a step inside.
"That was kinda rude back there, you know?"
Bucky didn't flinch but he straight off aimed at him. Torres instantly put his hands up and his heartbeat increased. After a second, Bucky's face softened. He lowered the gun and stack it behind his back, on his belt.
"Yeah. Sorry about that."
Torres didn't know how to feel about that whole scene. He moved forward, and his voice sounded less enthusiastic than its natural habit.
"You know, I really got worried about you. I called you multiple times."
The other man looked away but Joquín saw his guilt in his eyes - and he immediately forgive him. (It should not have been that easy but hey, Torres was no man to stay mad at his friends for a long time.)
"I don't know what happened," said Bucky.
"Yeah, I mean, I saw the videos on Twitter. It was a lot. Walker-"
"That's not what I meant."
The white man looked at him. His blue eyes were really out of this world. He had already noticed back on the plane but now, with the bright sunlight coming from the several windows making as many holes in the walls next to which they were standing, it was all the most striking - and Joaquín would have gladly lost himself in those steel blue eyes if it hadn't been for Bucky's voice - soft and low.
"I didn't reply to you because I didn't know how I felt about all that. I still don't."
Joaquín frowned.
"Oh."
He lifted his paper board to his chest to fiddle with it more easily.
"Well, um, you know you can talk to me. If you need someone to vent to, I mean."
And Bucky smirked.
"I know. And I'm really grateful for that, thank you."
"You, er, are welcome," replied Joaquín as Bucky put on a long black coat and his voice slowed down until he almost forgot to pronounce the last syllabe because holy shit, he's so hot in this.
In a firm gesture, the brunet pulled on his collar to stiffen it and smirked again.
"You like the view?"
"What?"
"What?"
They were both blushing. Joaquín wasn't sure he had heard correctly and Bucky quickly cleared his throat and walked to one of the tall windows to open it.
"Well, I'm off, bye!" he said in a hurry and a high-pitched voice.
And he jumped out of the windows. Bye the time Joaquín got there, he saw the man leaving the interior court.
A confused Lt. Torres came back in the hall, said confusion stemming from the fact he couldn't tell if Bucky accidentally flirted with him or if it was on purpose or which option he preferred best - only for him to land his eyes on the black bag and be reminded of another situation.
Right. The wings.
It was pitch-dark outside and his only source of light was coming from his computer's screen - a really, really bad setting, he knew, but he hadn't see the time flying to turn on the lights earlier. Joaquín deeply stretched on his chair. Then he rose and walked to the power switch. As he came back to his desk, crowded by the many parts of the wings, he spotted his phone. He grabbed it and sat down as he scrolled to his conversation with Bucky.
TORRES
Hi, i hope youre doing fine :)
He thought about sending a "good night" but he had actually no idea what country Bucky was in right now and subsequently what his time slot was. But he hadn't had put his phone away that, to his surprise, Bucky was calling in on video. He accepted the call.
"Hey."
"Hey," replied Bucky with a faint smile.
He was back to wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and the corner of a window somewhere behind him taught Torres it was also the night so Bucky was still probably in Europe as he was too - the GRC hadn't finished their work and thus neither did he as Sam asked him to keep an eye on them.
"How was your day?" he asked.
"Fine, thank you."
Joaquín smiled. Bucky seemed indeed more relaxed. They started doing mundane talk as they had gotten used to. At some point, however, Torres mentioned he was in possession of Sam's wings. Bucky frowned.
"You think I should bring them back to him? I mean, he said keep them but he was tired and upset so maybe he just didn't want to deal with them on his way home. Especially since they're broken."
"No you're right. It's really strange."
"He didn't tell you something about them?"
"No."
Bucky looked away and got lost in his thoughts for a few seconds. Torres sighed lightly for himself. The idea of Sam Wilson giving up on his wings made him feel queasy.
When Bucky blinked a few times rapidly, he spoke again and tried to lighten the mood.
"In the meantime, I'm working on them, trying to fix them, you know? I'm not saying I want to keep them for myself of course! But, I don't know, I mean... Yeah, sure, I'd like to know how it feels to fly."
"Listen kid, when you'll be my age, you'll get to fly around all day and pick up fights with people twice stronger than you."
Torres half frowned and half chuckled in confusion.
"I'll never be your age!"
"That's the point. Nothing's better than the good old ground."
Eventually Bucky couldn't keep his face straight anymore and smiled. Joaquín let out a laugh. His eyes wandered to the window. It was really getting late. Without ending the call, he started to get ready to sleep, turning off his computer, the lights, brushing his teeth, clearing his bed from all the electronic bits and spare parts. (He did get out of frame to get changed, however.) Finally, he settled in his bed with his phone in his hand.
"I'd really want to try flying, tho. Did Sam ever carried you?"
"Yes."
"How was it?"
"Terrible. I hated every second of it."
Bucky's face was plain serious but Torres doubted it had anything to do with Sam. Still, he could hear himself say:
"Maybe it wasn't the right person. I'm sure it's beautiful up there."
Bucky simply smiled back.
The brunet ended their call soon after that and it didn't take much more time for Joaquín to fall deeply asleep.