Sam Understands
Slowly Sam turned towards Steve.
“Steve. Did you know Tony back then? I mean, have you two met before that or was it the first time ever you saw each other?”
“First time. How so?”
For a second it was quiet and then Bucky shook of Peppers hand and started to head towards Steve. But this time no punch came. He simply stood over Steve and stared at him. Then he started to talk and everyone noticed how the Captain suddenly paled.
“I don’t remember much Steve, but I remember a talk we had once after you had been changed. You told me about what Erskine had said to you. That however the experiment goes he wanted you to stay the way you were. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man. And remember what I told you when you asked if I was ready to follow Captain America? I’m just going to quote myself here. ‘Hell, no! The little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight? I’m following him.’ But right now I wouldn’t even follow you to the store. You’ve changed Steve. I tried to not think about it. I tried to ignore the fact that you were ready to break up the team only because you wanted to help me. But what I see now is not a broken team. It’s a broken family. And if I had known that you had changed so much I would have simply gone back to Hydra. Because the person who you are now is not the person I swore to follow. I’m going to apologize to Jamie once he wakes up. And if he decides that I am too far gone to be around people then I will go back into the cryo.”
Then he turned away from the stunned Steve and looked at the others.
“For all it’s worth I’m sorry. I’m sorry for getting between you all. I’m sorry for destroying this for you. I’m sorry for not trying to deal with this in some other way.”
They were all stunned. Natasha was the first to nod. Seeing that Rhodey, Pepper, Bruce and Vision did the same. Clint and Wanda were both feeling guilty. Because it was first now that Bucky voiced it that they really understood what the fight had done to everyone. Sam looked around and for the first time tried to not think about what Steve had said and simply evaluate them all like a psychiatrist. What he saw terrified him. Natasha was slumped back a bit, almost as if she was too tired to care about anything, which was not normal for the spy he had gotten to know. Rhodey was shifting his legs from time to time and throwing worried glances towards Pepper. On his arms were braclets that Sam knew were meant to call the suit. Pepper had wrinkled clothes and her hair was in a messy bun and it looked so odd on her that he understood that this was not how she usually looked. She must’ve stopped taking care of herself that much when Tony fell into the coma. Bruce was the most calm one but when Sam looked a bit closer he noticed that the green tinge had never left the doctor’s eyes. Clint was sitting close to Wanda, which wasn’t a surprise, but one of his hands was resting close to his holster. He was ready to draw the gun and fight if that would be necessary. Wanda looked almost shellshocked. Her fingers were moving on their own and the red energy was circulating between them. Vision was tense, ready to get up and protect his little group if it would be necessary. Always on his guard, the stone on his forehead glowing lightly. Bucky looked like shit. Sam was now positively sure that if there would be a fight Bucky would stand on Team Tony’s side. And that was when it hit him. They were two teams. To groups of people. He remembered the first time he had been taken to the Tower for a movie night. He remembered how everyone’s demeanor changed as soon as they stepped into the common room. How both spies and Steve had finally dropped their masks and thrown themselves onto the couches. How Vision placed a blanket over Wanda when she fell asleep and how Tony had looked so much calmer and more at peace than he ever did outside the Tower. He remembered coming to the kitchen one morning only to find Steve arguing with the toaster that seemed to refuse to give back his toast. He laughed so hard that he cried. He remembered one day when Clint came by with his family and Lila had started to cry because she wanted a dog but she was allergic. Tony had locked himself in the lab for a whole night only to emerge in the morning with a robot dog that could do everything that a normal dog could do. And Sam realized that Bucky was right. Steve didn’t only split the team up when he didn’t want to talk to Tony. He destroyed a family. He slowly looked over to the couch where Natasha, Rhodey and Vision were sitting and said:
“I’m sorry too. I should have listened to all sides and not let myself be blinded by the fact that I knew Steve better than Tony. Barnes… Bucky is right. We were all a family. And if there is anything I can do to make it better I will.”
Once again the people who had been on Tony’s side nodded. Steve was still pale so, wanting to avoid any further fights, Pepper reached out and dragged Bucky down onto the couch. Clint looked over to Natasha and then Bucky.
“Um… Bucky?”
The assassin looked over to him.
“Who is Jamie? You said that you would apologize to Jamie.”
But before Bucky could answer Friday took over.
“If you may Winter. It is all explained in the next clip so maybe we should just watch it.”
Everyone nodded and Friday played it.