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“What you mean he can’t get him?” Sam says, “Stark’s an engineer! Are you telling me that he couldn’t just unbolt the damn thing and get him out?”
“Not exactly,” Clint says over the phone. “Stark’s worried about all the germs from the children all over the playground.”
Sam slowly pulls his car to a stop at the red light. “Okay, sure.”
“He’s not only worried about his own compromised immune system but Cap’s,” Clint says. “They have been shouting at each other for over an hour. Tony wants him to get out of the playground and get himself cleaned up. Steve doesn’t want to feel like a ‘lab rat’ anymore.”
“Wonderful,” Sam grumbles, moving forward at the green light. Steve had wanted to go to the park to get some fresh air and to have a break from all the testing Banner and Stark were performing on him.
A month ago Steve lost the serum in a battle with a shady cult of wizard folk called the Ay'tzar. The Banner and Stark were working hard to help Steve out, but they were also smothering him. He knows Steve was feeling very uncomfortable. Steve confessed to him two days ago that he feels more like a bug in a jar than a person when they look at him recently, and that he feels like they are treating him like a puzzle.
Sam knows that's not Banner and Stark’s intentions, and trying to get them to understand was hard. Especially when they were all so concerned about Steve. He had managed to convince Stark and Banner to let Steve have a day off, just so the man could have a break.
Tensions were high, everyone was stressed. Maybe they should have expected this.
Maybe. But then again who in their right mind could have expected this particular situation.
Steve and Stark had gotten into an argument about keeping Steve clean and safe after Steve was greeted some by stranger’s dog. Steve had, apparently, stormed off and Stark followed him and they continued to argue. As small as Steve was now, the man had crawled into the children’s playground and refused to leave it in an attempt to escape Stark, not wanting to return to the lab.
Clint had called him to ‘come get his man’ when the situation had shown no signs of improving and Steve was stubbornly refusing to exit the playground.
This wasn't how he was hoping today would go. What was his life?
“Look, just get here before it hits the news that Stark was 'harassing' some blond 'teen' at the park.”
Sam scoffs at the thought. He wouldn’t put it past the news to spin in that way, especially as the press weren’t informed on Steve’s current condition. “I’m nearly there.”
“Alright,” Clint says. “Seen you soon.”
It wasn’t long before Sam was pulling into the parking lot of the park. He got out of his car and looked over to the playset. He could see Stark gesturing wildly at the play equipment, evidently still arguing with Steve. A small crowd of onlookers were gathered around watching.
Clint notices him and sends him a short wave, a camera in one hand.
Sam takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Why did stuff like this always happen?
He sighs and marches forward to get Steve. His boyfriend watches him from the bubble window on the side of the playset, looking grumpy about the whole situation but happy to see him.
Steve better be sure that Sam wasn't going to let him forget this. Ever.