Chapter Text
Sarah left Sam's room with a satisfied but worried sigh when she heard the water of the shower start up and Sam's heavy feet step in. She didn't want to tell him but she could definitely tell he had a few days of funk clinging to him. She knew he wasn't in the best of moods after the reveal of Captain Shamerikkka, as Karli called him, a few months prior to this move but she didn't know just how bad it was. She closed the room door after her and stood in Sam's living room taking it all in. The curtains were drawn tight over the windows leaving the room dark and gloomy. Reflective of Sam's mood she was sure. But she intended to change that.
She began by flinging the curtains and the windows open. Fresh air and sunlight flooded the space as if they were craving to find new corners to fill. Sarah then found some garbage bags under the kitchen counter and began to pick up cans, bottles, paper plates, plastic utensils and any other wrappers and whatnot that were lying around on the coffee table, floor, and kitchen countertops. After a while, she could finally see what the floor actually looked like.
"Hardwood. Nice. Definitely a choice though.", she mumbled to herself. After getting the space somewhat to her liking she plopped down on the couch (after dusting it off with a stray blanket) and checked her phone. 10:36. Good time. If she could get Sam out of here by 11 they could hit Greenwich Village by 11:30 and leave enough time for her team to come in and fully set up for the main event of the night.
For months Sarah had been working with Joaquin, Sharon, Bucky and Karli to set up the perfect day for Sam. She would take Sam out and get him a nice outfit, leaving time for Sharon and the boys to come in with Karli, clean up, and set up some food for the party later that night. She would then take Sam to meet with Joaquin who had been waiting to see him for a few weeks now but their schedules never lined up. Hopefully, Sam loved it. She would leave Sam with him and they would have a moment before "running into" Bucky in the Village and the three of them hanging out until Sarah texted Joaquin to bring them all home. In the meantime, Sarah would return to the apartment and help with any last-minute preparations.
After having a final check-in with everyone over text and confirming everyone understood their roles, Sarah figured Sam had been in the bathroom for too long.
"Sam! Lets go!"
"I'm coming I'm coming don't rush me!"
"You said it yourself! You're either early or you're late and I'm not tryna be late!"
Sam poked his head out the door glared at her, "You can't take my words and use them against me! Where are even going anyways that's so important?"
"You'd know if you HURRIED! UP!"
With a groan, Sam pulled his head back into his room and could be heard grunting around the room pulling clothes on. When he finally had on everything that was picked out for him he walked out the bedroom and into the newly cleaner space.
"Wow I forgot how nice in here could look. Dam thanks sis."
"It could be cleaner but I'll leave that to someone else."
"Someone else?"
"Yes but that neither here nor there let's go!"
With that Sarah grabbed Sam's arm and dragged him to the door, to the elevator and then onto the street. Sam only had time to dig out a pair of shades he had in his pocket and slap them on his face, promptly blocking the sun from burning his eyes, before being dragged down the streets of Manhatten to wherever Sarah was taking him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah had studied the map of Manhatten enough to know where she was going but it definitely didn't make getting to the Village any easier. A few times she made a wrong turn and had to double back on herself, ignoring the cries of the man she was dragging behind her.
"Ya know if you just told me where we were going we would probably be there by now."
"Lucky for me I didn't have to because we're already here!"
Sarah had come to a stop in front of what looked to be a normal Manhatten general store. 'The Sanctum' was what was written in loopy letters over the store entrance. Sarah could see that Sam wasn't all that impressed but that was because he had no clue what they really were there for.
"The Sanctum? Like Dr. Strange Sanctum?", Sam questioned.
"Oh no I'm sure these folks are just fans. Let's go in!"
"But it's just a basic store!"
"Sure the first floor is. But this place has way more than this. Come on be a little adventurous with your sister! Space and time travel and fighting aliens you can do but you're hesitant to go into a store? We're going in!"
And in they went. Sarah had only seen pictures of the place online and for all intents and purposes, this place did indeed look like your basic everyday general store. But if what Sharon told her was true then they were about to walk into one of the underworlds most renowned group of tailors who made every piece personally for whoever wanted one, right in front of them. They only had to show up. Apparently, it was free but you only were allowed to have one. The design of the outfit came down to what the Tailors read off of you. So if you came in the wrong mood the whole outfit could come out wrong and be something you'd dislike. From what Sarah knew about their work, that only being the dress Sharon wore on their first date, she knew they were exquisite and whatever they made for Sam would be perfection.
While Sarah stared at everything in the store in awe, Sam was slowly becoming agitated, "Sarah, you brought me all the way out here just to look at some produce? If you wanted to go grocery shopping we could've done that in my neighbourhood."
"Shh. We have to be patient."
Right then a white light started flickering in the corner and Sarah's eyes locked on it. That was the signal to let the next customers know that the Tailors were ready. She didn't know how they knew what they knew nor how they were able to know what they were there for, but she knew better than to try and understand anything occult-like a long time ago.
"Okay they're ready for us. Let's go!"
"Who's ready? Go where!?!? Sarah!"
Only Sarah was once again pulling Sam but this time it was right into one of the freezers that lined the back of the store. She still wasn't 100% sure it would work but after she put her foot through the door, ignoring Sam's complaints, and saw that she wasn't putting her foot on hard glass, she fully stepped through with a wide smile on her face. When they came out the other side they were in a massive parlour with a platform in the center of the room surrounded by three chairs each at 120 degrees to each other. The back wall lined with hundreds upon hundreds of spools of thread and beads arranged in a rainbow of colour making the whole room look like a massive kaleidoscope.
"Sarah where the hell are we...."
"That's a great question Sam Wilson."
"What the hell!?" Sam was shouting and looking around for the source of the voice. Seeing none he immediately tapped on his glasses, activating his radar vision in order to properly scan the room, but still seeing nothing. Sarah on the contrary had no clue what was happening and just dropped to the floor covering her head in her hands.
"It's okay Sam Wilson. There's no need to fight. You wouldn't win anyway. Sarah Wilson. Please stand up. You can't see me but I am the Tailor."
"How come there's only one voice? I thought there were three of yall?" Sarah questioned.
"Wait you know this... entity? Sarah, what the hell have you gotten us into?"
"She meant no harm, Sam Wilson. I've already scanned her mind. She simply wants you to feel better about yourself."
"Oh hell naw, you not reading my mind today!" Sam snapped back.
'I promise you, Sam Wilson. I'm quite safe. To answer your question though Sarah Wilson, there are three of us but my two siblings are still recovering from what I think your kind called... the Blip. But you've brought Sam here today for a new fit and that is exactly what I plan to give him. I will have to send you away for now though until I'm done with him."
Sarah jumped up and started walking towards the platform, "Now wait a minute-" and before she could finish her sentence the sound of rushing winds drowned her out. Sam attended to reach out to grab her but only grabbed air.
"Where the hell is my sister?" Sam shouted. "Bring her back now!"
"Sarah Wilson is fine. She knew the rules of this place before she brought you here. I promise there's nothing malicious about me and my siblings. We just love making beautiful garments for humans. We're able to build them the perfect piece based on their memories and emotions. I feel like you would quite like it. If you agree that is."
Sam took a wider look around the room and finally noticed the hundreds of garments hung up everywhere from floor to ceiling.
"Sharon... I think Sharon mentioned you before. I thought she was making it up. I should have known better."
"Yes, you should have by now. You have encountered beings far more strange than I at this point. Across all your multidimensional selves. But now that you know why you're here we should just skip all the defiances and I will introduce myself formally. Again I am the Tailor. Thelonious. H. E. Tailor. I've been waiting for you for a while now Sam Wilson."
Sam had no clue if he could trust this invisible thing but he figured if Sharon and Sarh both knew about this thing and they were okay, he figured he would be okay too. He assumed this is what Sarah brought him here for. To get a new outfit for his birthday. He wasn't opposed to the idea but he definitely didn't trust this thing all the way.
"How does it work? And how do I know I can trust you?"
"Step onto the platform Sam Wilson and I'll show you."
With hesitation, Sam walked over to the platform and took a set on top of it. Immediately he felt his mind being tickled. Or at least he thought it was being tickled. That's the only way he could perceive it.
"This shouldn't take too long. I'm just going to comb through what makes you... well, you. From that, I will put together something perfect for you."
"Okayyyy, strange invisible disembodied voice... I'm ready."
At that point, all three chairs surrounding the platform were filled with people. People Sam recognized. People who made Sam's eyes open wide. In one chair sat John Walker himself. The man's face was locked in a grin and he was using the shield as a footrest. Before Sam knew it his heart was filled with hatred at the man who dared to try to be who HE was. Who had the nerve to take the position from him. He had given the shield up yea but that's because he knew what would've happened if he was Captain America. He knew that this country would not have respected him like they respected Steve. They'd hate him just because of his skin colour like they always had. Suddenly Sam felt hate for all the police, all the shitty politicians, all the racist people who made the life of him, his community and his ancestors so hard. And then he felt anger at himself. That he wasn't brave enough to just pick up the dam shield. He knew it was irrational but he was angry nonetheless.
In the other chair there was his father, sitting upright in his preacher collar shirt and black church pants. He was smiling at him but it was a sad smile. One full of regret and worry. A look just for Sam. Sam's eyes filled with tears and he had to hold himself back from letting them fall. He always felt like he failed his father when he died even though he was nowhere near him when he got killed, He felt guilty for moving on. For graduation school and then college. For joining the airforce. For leaving his mother and sister behind. For disappearing for 5 years. He felt like he hadn't taken over and taken care of the family as he should have.
In the last seat sat Joaquin, his smile lighting up the entire space. Looking at that smile made Sam's heart ache. He didn't call him enough. He wasn't worthy to be cared about as much as he knew Joaquin cared for him. He didn't deserve to have a light like Joaquin shinning over his dark head and heart. The man deserved more than just Sam. He deserved the world and Sam couldn't give him that as much as he tried. He loved him with all his heart regardless and then his heart began filling with love for all his friends. Sharon, Bucky, Rhodey, Steve. His family too, his mom, his dad, his sister, Joaquin.....
"You have a lot of anger in your heart Sam. As you perfectly should. Your father was stolen from you, your peace in your own country that you fought for, the mantle your friend passed onto you. A lot of anger. I think I'm going to start with these reds."
As if pulled by invisible hands, a few red adjacent lines of thread floated down and around Sams body. The clothes he was currently wearing unravelled themselves and those threads floated away. As if meaning to join his collection. The fresher threads began wrapping themselves around his form and interweaving themselves into each other. A few black and burgundy beads floated down as well and integrated themselves amongst the fabric. Before long Sam had a vest, coat, and pants all coloured a dark red. Perfectly matching with each other and perfectly fitting his body. What surprised Sam the most though was the accuracy the voice had at pinpointing his emotions. He was wary about what he would say about the other two chairs.
"I impress myself by my work daily. Onto the next chair. Anger and sadness often go hand in hand. Did you know that? You carry a lot of grief with you for mainly the same reasons and people you're mad at. You feel so much for others and can't help but emphasize with their plights. That's what makes you such a good person. You take on others sadness into yourself and work to fix it for both their and your sake. One might call you selfish but it truly is one of your greatest traits. Blue is the colour for this one I think."
The invisible hands that pulled on the red threads now pulled on blue ones. Midnight blues weaving themselves into spirals in the coat and the pants while sky blues went under his vest and formed a shirt. Blue buttons coming down to clasp the shirt and the coat together as well as closing up the vest. More beads, this time blue came down and nestled themselves into the fabric as the blue threads were being sewn together. The outfit was coming even more together. Sam looked down in amazement at what was happening. Just that morning he was in briefs and an undershirt buried under his blankets and now here he was getting his feelings read out to him and getting fitted for what looked like a ball.
"Finally onto the last aspect I will look at today. In your sadness and all your anger, there is still an unrivalled joy. An unbeatable spirit of pure happiness and love for yourself and others. A life full of laughter and cheerfulness. You have many people who love you and want to be there for you. Let them in. Let them see all your colours. A life force this bright only deserves yellow and gold."
Once again the invisible force pulled down threads, this time yellow and gold, and immediately began weaving the colours into crescent moon and circle patterns that intertwined with the reds and blues. A black thread also came down and began weaving itself into stars and stripes all over the suit. Sam questioned it seeing as he saw no black in the three chairs around him but his attention was taken by the tassels dropping around his neck as well as the beaded necklace being clasped behind him.
"The black represents your constant strength and tenacity in the face of adversity and these other things are just some items made out of the extras I had taken out to make this suit. All in all, I think it's one of my best works if I do say so myself. A perfect representation. You're a very complex mind to get to know Sam Wilson and take my words to heart. Your emotions and feelings are all valid but open yourself up for help. You help this world so much yet no one helps or looks out for you. The assistance and support is all there for you. You just have to reach out and want it. Now think of somewhere you want to be and I'll take you there. It was a pleasure Sam Wilson."
"Wait this is beautiful man.... thank you so much...." Sam's mind began filling with who he wanted to see. Obviously, his sister was his main concern and he wanted to see her first, but a little tugging in his mind made it so all he could think about was Joaquin.
"I see. I will send you there immediately."
Sam tried to fight against the feeling of the wind picking up. His voice loud but lost amongst the wind screaming, "Wait hold on a second my siste-"
Only the ghost of a whisper graced his ears, "Happy Birthday Sam Wilson." and in the blink of an eye Sam was on the street, people gasping and jumping out of his way as he magically appeared. It took him a minute to find his bearings but he knew for a fact he was no longer in the Village. He looked around to see if maybe his sister was nearby until his phone went off in his pocket. He took it out checked it, breathing a sigh of relief as he read that Sarah had been transported back to his apartment. Now it was just the matter of finding his way home. Or it was until he saw a familiar face running up to him.
"Joaquin?!"