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“Were you not listening to the briefing?” Sam strides past agents inside the newly rebuilt SHIELD headquarters with a nod. Nick Fury has returned from space to start over, and Sam has seen some familiar faces from before. He swears he could still hear the speech Steve made 9 years ago ringing across the Triskelion speakers.
“You listened. You tell me.” Bucky yawns and clutches his utility belt together. He opens a pocket and pulls out a candy bar to eat. Admittedly, he wasn't completely there when Sharon explained their new mission. He stayed up last night watching an Adam Sandler movie that ended up being corny. He regrets it.
Frowning at his partner, Sam rolls his eyes and looks ahead as they reach the elevator. “Congresswoman Chawla is announcing that she’s running for senate. She’s holding a gathering with at least 8,000 people estimated to attend.”
“And who is Congresswoman Chawla exactly?”
“She was the one who leaked the list of government officials that benefited from HYDRA.”
Bucky, upon hearing the information, stops chewing. He remembers the people on his little notebook from a while back. A few of them were senators, but he didn’t get to list or meet all of them. He remembers watching Aashvi Chawla on the news, acquiring and sharing the complete list of corrupt officials without fear of putting a target on her back. Bucky was quite amazed, and reasonably worried.
“Oh,” Bucky manages to say. “Why’re we assigned to her today again?”
“There’s been reports of potential sabotage from HYDRA. Possibly assassination. Mrs. Chawla has made an awful lot of enemies after the revelation 4 months ago. She’s obviously got her own security but since HYDRA is involved directly, SHIELD is, too.” Sam elaborates as he pushes the button on the elevator. He slots his shield on his back and turns over to Bucky. “You sure you’re okay with this assignment?”
“Hm?” Bucky blinks and looks at Sam. He shrugs, “Yeah, of course. This is what I’ve been trying to do before anyway.”
Sam’s gaze softens. Bucky’s been a good partner so far even though he wouldn’t admit this verbally. He’s no Steve Rogers, of course, but he’s Bucky Barnes. However, Sam knows touching into HYDRA stuff makes Bucky uneasy sometimes. He’s aware of the trauma Bucky had gone under this organization. Sam couldn’t imagine the pain.
Bucky catches on the sudden concern in Sam’s eyes. He attempts to smile and lightly elbow Sam to reassure him. “I’ll be fine, Cap. I’ve got you, don’t I?”
“I’m sweating my balls off in this heat.” Bucky exhales and fans himself with his hand. The leather he’s wearing isn’t helping. “I shouldn’t have grown my damn hair for the summer.”
“If it’s any consolation, it looks good on you.” Sam grins as he continues to control Redwing from his arm pad. One thing that’s great with a drone is that he can watch over everything from afar and above.
“You think?” Bucky raises a brow and unconsciously combs through his hair with a shy smile.
Recently, Bucky finds himself looking for Sam’s validation. His mind tells him that he might have a little crush, but fuck, his mind’s been jumbled a little too much he’s not really sure if it is, or if it’s because he does seek validation from anyone nowadays. That, he can admit.
“What?” Sam looks at Bucky with a teasing smile on his face, making Bucky self-conscious.
Feeling his face heat up, Bucky looks away from Sam and scrunches his face as he looks ahead to face the sunlight. “How’s it going with your bird friend? Find anything suspicious yet?”
Sam shrugs his shoulders. “Thankfully, no. Redwing counted 7,564 people so far. Scanned for weapons, nothing.”
Bucky refrains from saying he doesn’t trust Redwing (again) so he simply sighs and cocks his head. “You wanna split up and patrol around?”
“What for? Redwing’s doing the job.”
“From above. How about us here on the ground? Are you just gonna stay here by the stage and stand like security then?”
Sam bites on his teeth in mild annoyance. “I still kinda hate you.”
Bucky flashes a smile in sarcasm. “Aww. Too bad, you’re stuck with me.” He then starts to walk away, waving. “I’ll see you in a bit, Cap.”
Watching his partner go, Sam realizes that there’s a different feeling blossoming in his chest whenever Bucky calls him Cap. He shakes the thought off and focuses on the live feed Redwing is sending him from the sky.
In a sudden turn of events, there’s a gunman.
A few of them, actually.
Sam’s eyes widen as he swiftly jumps on the stage and covers the congresswoman with his wings, the bullets ricocheting. People start to scream and scramble around to escape.
Bucky would’ve gotten bulldozed if he wasn’t strong enough to withstand the flow of panicking people. He’s still hearing gunshots, and he’s trying to see the stage from his spot. He turns his comms on for Sam.
“Cap!”
“Buck, there’s an ambush.” Sam responds as he assists Aashvi down the stage. A few of her bodyguards are already wounded and down. “There are at least five agents in the crowd.”
“Copy,” Bucky answers as he starts running towards a platform. He hops on it and uses it as leverage to jump above one of the agents, knocking her downwards with a punch. “How’s the congresswoman?”
“Safe.” Sam reassures as he settles her down with other security personnel. He turns to Aashvi, “Ma’am, there are civilians—”
“My baby!” Congresswoman Chawla points out. “Oh my god, they’ve got my daughter! Captain America, please—”
Sam immediately turns to where the child is. It’s a literal baby being kidnapped by HYDRA.
He hates it the most when people use other people’s loved ones for revenge.
Activating his wings, Sam propels himself towards the agent. He could throw the shield at him to stop him, but that would risk the baby and possibly harm her in the process. Among the concerns are the amount of people still running around. Seriously, couldn’t they have cleared the way by now?
Sam decides to land in front of the agent. The agent stops and keeps the blanketed child close.
“Hand her over.” Sam demands.
The agent turns around to escape, but Bucky is already standing behind him with his gun pointed directly at his forehead. “You heard the man, pal.”
Momentarily, the agent looked fearful. Then, he begins to smile. This confuses Sam, feeling slightly unsettled. The agent drops the blanket which turns out to be a bunch of clothes. The agent does not have the child.
Bucky puts the gun down in dismay, looking at Sam. Sam feels his heart drop.
The crowd finally clears, the footsteps recede, and Sam could finally hear the broken-hearted weeping of the congresswoman from afar.
“Sam?”
After a moment, Sam finally looks at Bucky. “Yes?”
“You’ve snapped your pencil in half.” Bucky notes, pointing at the broken pencil on Sam’s hand. He’s kind of impressed.
Sam closes his eyes deliberately and takes a deep breath. He didn’t even notice. He was lost in his thoughts about how they missed the child in the crowd. They’re two professionals, damn it. It wasn’t supposed to be hard.
Now, they’re waiting to meet with Congresswoman Chawla again. Sharon had set the meeting up to follow up with the assignment, and talk with the congresswoman about their next move since her child has gotten involved.
“You alright?” Bucky asks, rolling his chair closer to Sam. He anchors his elbow on the table and rests his chin on his palm, eyes on his partner. “You haven’t been yourself all day.”
“Naviya shouldn’t have been taken. We underestimated them.” Sam says, obviously blaming himself for the incident. “They outsmarted us, they—”
“Sam, we couldn’t have seen that coming…”
“We should’ve. I should’ve.” Sam shakes his head, leaning forward on his chair before palming his hands on his face in frustration. “I…”
Bucky straightens his back as he watches Sam succumb to the pressure of being Captain America. Everything has to be perfect for him. Calculated, formulaic. There’s no room for mistakes. He had seen this with Steve — Sam has seen this with Steve. He sees how desperate and dedicated Sam is to uphold the standard Steve had set while doing things his own way. Sometimes, Bucky just wants to sit Sam down, give him a big pat on the shoulder, and tell him that he doesn’t have to be perfect because Steve wasn’t.
Shouldn’t he right now?
And so, Bucky raises his metal hand and reaches for Sam…
“Hello, gentlemen. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Sharon opens the door and lets Congresswoman Chawla in first.
Bucky jumps out of his skin and immediately turns his chair around to face the ladies. Sam unravels his face and stands up to greet the congresswoman as if he just wasn’t having a crisis two seconds ago. Bucky follows, clearing his throat and nodding his head in recognition.
“Ma’am. We’re very sorry about your daughter.” Sam speaks remorsefully as he sits back down.
Aashvi shakes his head. She looks like she hasn’t stopped crying since the incident, which was 2 days ago. “It’s not your fault. It was all mine.”
“Don’t say that.” Bucky chimes in, “She was our responsibility too—”
“They’ve told me the day before I leaked the information out…” Aashvi continues. She’s fidgeting with her hands, her eyes already teary again. She couldn’t even look at anyone. “They were already watching me. They told me it’ll cost my family.”
Bucky turns to Sam. Sam returns the look, then turns to Sharon.
“They said they’ll make sure I regret it. And I do now. I do. Oh, god.” With a sob, Aashvi hides herself behind her palms. Sharon immediately strokes her back for comfort, pulling a nearby tissue box closer.
“I’m sorry,” Bucky says, moving his chair closer to the table. “Do you mean you already know the trouble you were about to get into?”
The congresswoman takes a tissue, “At first I thought I could get away with it. I thought the public needed to know who’s been lying to them and hoarding all the power, that I’ll deal with my consequences later. Hired the best of the best to look after my baby… but the same people took her away from me.”
“The person who took Naviya was hired by you?” Sharon questions.
Aashvi nods. “It was one of my bodyguards, I’m pretty sure. One of them was missing after the commotion was over. It’s terrible… I ran a strict background check on him. I feel sick thinking about him being around my daughter for months.”
“Can we get all the information you have of this guy?” Sam asks, “We could probably try and track him down. We’ll take a look at some recorded footage of the incident too, I know it was covered by a few news channels. Anything to see where he might’ve gone, what vehicle he used.”
“Of course. Thank you, Captain.” Aashvi reaches for Sam’s hand across the table. She holds it firm and slightly shakes it. “Please… find Naviya.”
Sam nods his head and puts his free hand on top of the congresswoman’s.
“What were you doing?” Sharon pokes Bucky on the back as she pops into the lounge area in the SHIELD building.
Bucky almost drops the cup of coffee he’s holding. Usually he’s able to sense anyone coming from behind, but not Sharon. He hates it because she can basically scare him like this as much as she wants.
“Jesus, what do you want?” Bucky maintains the frown on his face as he takes a few packets of sugar to put on his coffee. “And stop sneaking behind me. It’s not funny.”
Sharon ignores the last sentences as she leans on the counter with a smug look on her face. “With Sam back in the conference room.”
Bucky pauses for a second and purses his lips into a line. Sharon has been catching on whatever is between him and Sam, and he does not like it.
“He thought it was his fault that we lost the girl.” Bucky also ignores Sharon’s implications. Two can play this game, after all. “I was trying to tell him otherwise.”
Humming, Sharon grabs a granola bar from a basket. She peels the plastic off and takes a bite. “And?”
“And?” Bucky snorts. He takes a sip of the coffee as he walks away from Sharon. He’ll take this mug anywhere except near her. “That was it. I don’t know why you’re asking, but I’ll talk to you later, Agent 13.”
“You like him, don’t you?” Sharon calls out. She sighs and takes a small bite of the bar. “It’s pathetically obvious, Bucky.”
“Pathetically?” Taking offense, Bucky whips his head towards Sharon with knitted brows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on. Everybody knows at this point.”
“Wait, everybody?” Bucky hastily strides towards Sharon, his voice low. That can’t be right. He swears he keeps up a good facade—
In return, Sharon laughs. She got him.
Realizing his reaction, Bucky frowns. “Fuck you.” Bucky quips and sips his coffee again. He’s already nervous about him being too obvious, but thankfully the caffeine on this drink won’t make his super soldier body palpitate even more. “So what? I’m not looking for anything past liking him. In fact, it’ll probably pass.” He steps away for a bit, then turns again to make another point. “In fact, maybe I just don’t like him that way at all! We’re friends. We’re just… partners.”
“Then why are you blushing right now?” Sharon tilts her head, grinning.
Bucky frustratingly rolls his eyes and puts his half-empty coffee on the sink and walks out of the lounge. Coincidentally, Sam is just about to enter.
“Hey.” Sam blinks, then whistles. “You look red, buddy.”
Bucky closes his eyes and goes even redder before sighing and striding past Sam, their shoulders hitting each other.
Sam moves a bit, surprised, then turns to Sharon. “Woah. What’s up with the cyborg?”
Trying to contain her laughter, Sharon finishes her granola bar with a shrug. “He accidentally put salt in his coffee, I think.”
Meanwhile in the restroom, Bucky splashes his face with cold water. He looks at himself in the mirror, noting that his cheeks are back to normal. Then, he thinks about how good Sam smelled when they bumped into each other earlier. With just one thought of Sam, Bucky immediately feels his face burn again, this time the sensation going up to his ears. He grips the edge of the sink with such force that he hears the tile crack a bit.
“Shit…” Bucky cusses to himself breathily. He leans down on the counter, running his fingers through his hair. He can’t believe he’s about to say it out loud.
“...I have feelings for Sam Wilson.”
★★★
Sam wakes up with a migraine. He hasn’t really slept much since their last meeting with the congresswoman. He made sure he oversaw everything, from uncovering the truth about the bodyguard’s identity, how long he's been working for HYDRA, and his whereabouts. Potential hideout, places he could’ve taken the child to. Everything was reported to him, and he skimmed through it all to see if anything was viable to use as a lead.
He yawns and sits up from his bed, the paperworks left from last night crumpling beneath him. He sighs and wishes that 2.5 hours of sleep will suffice. He and Bucky are supposed to fly today. Then, he realizes something.
The files are all neatly stacked, some back on their respective folders and envelopes.
“I wasn’t sure if you were done with them so I left them on the bed.” Bucky says, putting his hair up in a half bun in front of the mirror. “Are we really gonna need all that?”
Sam digs the heels of his palms into his eyes, yawning. He can’t help but subtly take a whiff of the soap Bucky had used in the shower. It’s oddly… attractive. He dismisses the idea. “We’ll never know. Better to study all of it than miss something.”
“You can sleep in the jet,” Bucky offers as he sits on his bed across Sam’s. He ditched his floor mattress to get two twin-sized beds in his New York apartment for when Sam needs to stay in New York for Avengers matters in Manhattan. “I can always drive.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be alright.” Sam exhales in exhaustion, disproving his own statement. He stands up and does a stretch, lifting his hand up in the air with another yawn.
Bucky is definitely not looking at the strip of skin showing below the hem of Sam’s shirt, nor the v-line on each side of his pelvis.
“You should go…” Bucky blurts out, his eyes still fixated on the one spot.
This catches Sam off guard. “Huh?”
Bucky realizes what he just said. He quickly darts his eyes up to Sam’s, swallowing. “…Shower. We’re gonna be late.”
Sam scoffs. It’s not like they’re catching their flight. Perks of having your own Avengers quinjet: you get to choose your own flight and skip boarding. “Don’t have to tell me twice, grandpa.”
Once Sam is off to the bath, Bucky rolls his eyes at himself and falls back on the bed with a groan. Somehow, his first instinct in dealing with the butterflies in his stomach is to kill them. Him constantly finding himself having strong feelings towards Sam now makes much more sense. They were never hatred, Sam never bothered him — they were just too intense for him to register. They’re affection, god damn it. Now, he’s trying his best to sort it out.
Emphasis on trying.
“Okay, so what do we got, Cap?” Bucky asks, setting the quinjet’s destination to Oregon. He leans back on his chair, one hand still on the wheel. “About this weird orphanage.”
“Apparently there’s this orphanage that’s an undercover HYDRA base. They’ve been in operation since post-World War 2, when HYDRA first established in America.” Sam pulls up files on the holographic screen with the exact location and a few profiles. “They’re worshippers of Hive.”
“Hive?” Bucky continues. The photo of Arnim Zola on the screen gives Bucky goosebumps. “The creator of HYDRA?”
Sam hums. “I didn’t think they still existed. Hive was defeated by SHIELD in 2016.”
“I mean, Nazis seem to double the number these days.” Bucky sighs, “Feels like I’ve been fighting them forever.”
“They’re indoctrinating these poor kids about HYDRA values while being a safehouse for HYDRA operatives. One way to rebuild is to start ‘em young.”
“Are they doing things to the kids?” Turning to Sam, there’s an evident look of worry in Bucky’s face. “You know…”
“No, just with books and lectures.” Sam immediately responds. He knows Bucky would never want to see others go through what he’s been through, especially children. “It just makes sense for Harold to bring Naviya here. Everything points out to this place.”
“Sure. But what’s the plan?”
Sam couldn’t help but smile, tilting his head towards Bucky. “You know what’s the easiest way to get in?”
“This is awful.” Bucky looks at himself in the mirror with a deadpan expression. He shaved clean and is wearing a blond wig. He’s wearing a red plaid shirt with a white tee underneath. It’s definitely not his style and he’s already itching to get this off his body. “Sam, I need to ditch the plaid shirt.”
“No, you gotta keep it.” Sam points at him before putting his cap on. He’s wearing glasses and a white button up shirt. “You think I enjoy what I wear? I look like I’m an IT guy about to attend a PTA meeting.”
Bucky grumbles low. “You look really attractive though…”
“What?”
“I said, I don’t like this blond hair on me.”
“That, I agree. Brunets are better.” Sam casually says as he picks up his backpack, heading to the door. “Let’s go.”
Sam’s words doesn’t sink in with Bucky until it does. Sam likes dark hair. He has dark hair. Bucky attempts not to smile as he sweeps his own bag off the floor, following Sam outside.
It took about an hour and 45 to reach the orphanage from where they stayed. It’s called the Blessed Home for Boys and Girls. Sam finds the name a bit too much since the kids are certainly not getting blessed there.
The property is huge. Bucky can spot a bunch of kids playing outside. The orphanage is surrounded by trees, which isn’t surprising in this part of the state. The building is off-putting, like those old mansions from the 1800’s. While entering the gate, Bucky noticed a few HYDRA references engraved on it.
It’s going to be a long day.
“Alright, Buck, let’s review. Today, you’re Joseph Hitch. You work for an international insurance company and your great-grandfather used to be a pastor for the church of Hive. You have 4 brothers growing up and you’re dying to have a girl.” Sam speaks without taking his eyes off the road. He finds the parking area and parks the car, taking a deep breath.
Bucky matches Sam’s energy, slumping on the chair. “And you’re Ash— why do you get the cool name?”
“It’s not like it’s my fault that the white man in this couple profiles we got is named Joseph.” Sam rolls his eyes. “Ash Brooks. Middle school science teacher. This place was recommended to us by a relative, so we’re giving it a try. Also, we’re freshly engaged.”
The word ‘engaged’ perks Bucky’s ears up. He turns to Sam to find him rummaging his pockets. Sam pulls out two rings, although different styles. He puts one on himself and hands the other to Bucky.
“Here. We gotta commit to it, somehow.”
Bucky stares at the ring and gulps. He shifts in his seat. “Why are they different?”
“Because we unintentionally planned to propose at the same time, now we got two different engagement rings. Real answer: these are the first rings I managed to find.”
“Well, I’m wearing gloves to hide my metal arm, so—”
“Oh, for fucks sake, Barnes.” Sam takes his seatbelt off and reaches for Bucky’s right hand, tugging the glove off. He slowly slides the ring on Bucky, holding his hand gently. For a roughened man, Bucky surprisingly has soft hands.
Bucky stares at Sam with wide eyes, keeping his hand on Sam and hesitating to even move an inch. Their hands have touched before — while working on the boat, grabbing something at the same time, casual pound hugging — but Bucky knows this one isn’t the same.
Sam thinks so, too.
Bucky pulls his hand away a little too fast, clearing his throat and putting his glove back on. “Thanks.” He manages to say before hastily opening the car door to go outside, needing to breathe some fresh air.
Sam composes himself as well and follows suit.
Children are laughing all over the place. The orphanage seems to have a decent playground. The smiles on the kids give Sam discomfort knowing what the adults have been teaching them throughout the day. This really isn’t just a mission to save Naviya anymore, but to save the rest of the children from HYDRA’s grasp.
Bucky’s eyes are peeled, noting all the babies that are carried by caregivers. Naviya is only 10 months old, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to join the older kids in the sandbox. So far, he hasn’t seen her yet.
“You must be Mr. Hitch and Mr. Brooks!” A woman in a long dress, seemingly like a nun’s, greets the couple by the door. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you. How’s it going around the orphanage?” Sam smiles to run along with it, pointing his head at the kids playing.
“Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Shall we head to my office to talk about the process?” The woman goes ahead and leads Sam and Bucky inside.
Bucky gives Sam a look of uncertainty. They stand so close to each other that their hands slightly brush. Bucky, being stupid, walks away first. Sam makes sure to catch up, but he feels like something is off about his partner ever since he apparently put salt in his coffee.
The nun keeps talking while walking the couple to her office. Sam and Bucky are only half-listening as they look around for Naviya. The doors in the orphanage don’t have windows, although they try to peek at those that are open. The decorations are those that only HYDRA worshippers would own and display. It’s a balance between being obvious and discreet. You’d only notice if you look close enough.
“Here we are! Please take a seat while I gather your documents.” The nun steps inside her office.
Sam walks behind her, but Bucky hears a faint cry at the end of the hallway. He pauses and watches another woman carry a baby who looks exactly like Naviya from the mission files on Sam’s bed. Alarms ring on his head, wanting to follow her, but Sam grabs on his arm.
“I know,” Sam whispers, pulling Bucky close to reach his ear. “But we’re gonna have to deal with her later. Otherwise our cover will be botched.”
Sam releases Bucky and takes a seat. Bucky grits his teeth and takes one more look before sitting down as well.
“So, the home study had good results. Good for you, guys.” The woman says, flipping through papers. “We’ve prepared the waiting list for children 5 and above for you. You at least have experience with kids, right, Mr. Brooks?”
“Uh, yeah,” Sam replies, taking the folder. He goes through the profiles slowly. The faces of the kids breaks Sam’s heart. “Although you know, they’re more like pre-teens… I wish I was kidding, but older kids are harder to deal with. They make it their goal to actually annoy you. I mean, you probably know that by experience too, Sister… Sophie.” He adds, reading the nameplate on the desk.
Sister Sophie chuckles. “Not here. The children are disciplined and wise. We give importance to what values we teach our next generation.”
Meanwhile, Bucky sits on the chair, uneasy. He looks at the symbols on the walls. Since the place is old, they don’t have the modern HYDRA symbols. It’s not wise to have them either. However, if you look closely at the wallpaper, one of the original symbols inspired by Hive is hiding in plain sight.
He’s not uneasy because he’s scared.
He’s uneasy because he can’t believe how this could exist to this day.
He wants to destroy this place to bits… and he wants to do it now.
“Right, honey?”
The intrusive thoughts dissipate when Bucky hears Sam’s voice. He realizes he had been staring at the wall for too long, he could’ve burned a hole in it.
Bucky goes to look at Sam with a smile. “Sorry, say it again?”
“I said, we’d love to take a look at other options, like infants and babies?” Sam, without hesitation, grabs Bucky’s hand for comfort.
“Yes,” Bucky meekly drops his gaze to his and Sam’s hands. Sam amazingly grounds him in an instant. He doesn’t know what to do if Sam wasn’t here. If he wasn’t here as his anchor. “Would we be able to do that?”
Sister Sophie hums, her face unreadable. She glances at the couple, then she leans on the back of her chair and says, “Sure, but there would be extra steps. Is that alright with you?”
“Of course.” Sam answers breathily with the hint of relief, “Thanks for being on this journey with us, Sister.”
The nun smiles, “No worries.” She then looks at Bucky again, seemingly studying his face.
Bucky notes Sister Sophie’s action and flashes a convincing grin, impetuously standing up to walk out of the room.
“Let me walk you out,” The nun suggests, in which Sam flails his hand in protest.
“It’s okay, I think we’re heading to the restroom first. Thank you.” Sam replies, making sure Bucky doesn’t get out of his sight.
Bucky strides towards the hallway where he saw Naviya last. He’s clenching his fists so hard he could rip the gloves apart.
“Where are you going?” Sam asks, trying to keep up with Bucky. “This isn’t the plan.”
“Then what is? We’ve done our roleplaying and we’ve seen Naviya get taken, Sam.” Bucky tries to keep his voice hush while speaking pointedly to get his point across. “I’ve got weapons hidden in me. You’ve got a compact shield hidden in you. We can do this right now.”
“We can but we won’t. You gotta stop with your rash decisions, Bucky. We snatch Naviya and then what? Alert the HYDRA operatives below and compromise the innocent kids outside?” Sam snaps back. He sighs and turns around, taking his glasses off to pinch the bridge of his nose.
There’s silence between them for a moment and it’s like a stab in the chest to Bucky. Unlike before, he doesn’t like disagreements with Sam like this anymore, not since the therapy session with him. He stands there and puts his hands on his hips. He retains the glare on his face until he heaves a deep breath, calming himself down. Sam is right. He always is.
“I’m sorry.” Bucky apologizes. He shakes his head. “I just can’t stand this place. I know I pushed through. I know you asked me before we flew out to Oregon. I just…” He runs out of words. Bucky has never been one to fully express how he feels, never to his therapist, never to Sam.
Sam peers at Bucky again. He puts his glasses back on and looks around to see if anyone can hear them. “It’s okay. I see why you feel that way. I don’t like it here either. We can scout the area right now, see where Naviya could possibly be. But as I’ve said earlier in the motel, we have to come back tonight when it’s least expected.”
Bucky nods. Even though he wants it done quicker, Sam’s plan is more logical. See, this is why he could never be Captain America. He has seen those ‘tweetings’ about him deserving it more. No, he’s irrational and unstable. Unfortunately. He’s working on it, though.
“Hey. Remember what you said to me in New York?” Sam angles his head sidewards and smiles. “You got me.”
With this, Bucky realizes that falling for Sam was inevitable.
★★★
“This pizza sucks ass.”
“Seriously, man. Are you just gonna complain to me during the entire mission?”
Bucky shrugs. They’re eating on the floor because the room they rent doesn’t even have a table to use, and Bucky wouldn’t risk his bed to smell like the pizza he hates. He still shoves the pizza in his mouth with a funny, disgusted look on his face. It makes Sam laugh heartily, the one where he tilts his head back. Bucky watches him as he wonders how many beats per minute is his heart pounding.
“Did Redwing find anything while we were sitting in the parking lot?” Bucky changes the subject, sipping on a can of beer after.
“Mm. He found a few armed HYDRA agents entering the church, which was about 50 meters away from the orphanage. I got him to x-ray the place and found out that it’s how you can enter the base underground.”
“So, are we heading there then?”
“Naviya shouldn’t be down there. She’d most likely be with the other kids. I saw the room where they kept babies her age, so we’ll sneak into the orphanage and head straight to that room.”
“And if we get caught?”
“Then I guess we’ll have to run,” Sam takes a bite of his pizza. He realizes that Bucky might be right about it. “We’ve got a baby with us so the last resort is to fight.”
Bucky hums in agreement. “As long as I don’t get to wear that stupid wig again.”
Sam crinkles his nose as he chuckles. He’s got a contagious laugh, and even though Bucky was genuinely complaining, he can’t help but laugh too.
“Was it that bad?” Sam asks.
“Yes, it was! Itchy and ugly. If I had to do disguises, I swear wigs are out of the picture. I beg you.” Bucky puts his hands together while his beer is on his metal hand. The can slips a bit, causing it to shake and spill on his shorts. “Fuck. Of course.”
“You’re stupid, you know that?” Sam says jokingly. He reaches for the napkins on top of the pizza box beside him.
Bucky doesn’t even disagree. He extends a hand to accept the napkin, but Sam shakes his head.
“Here, let me do it.” Sam crawls towards Bucky, patting his wet thigh dry.
Bucky immediately gets flustered at how close Sam is. He tried hard not to be when Sam slotted his knee between his legs back then. Sam doesn’t seem to mind doing such things to Bucky, which is an extra battle everyday.
“You don’t really have to—”
“Nah, I almost—” Sam stops, realizing how close he is to Bucky, as well as how close his hand is to where it shouldn’t be. He raises his eyebrows in surprise, jolting his head up to look at Bucky.
Their faces are inches away. Sam could hear his own heartbeat ringing in his ears. Suddenly, there’s a knock from room service, the person stating that they’ve got them the spare table if they still need it.
“I… should probably get that.” Sam whispers — he doesn’t know why he’s whispering — as he turns his head to the door, only for Bucky to tilt it back to face him.
For the first time in his life, Sam feels blood rush to his face from something Bucky has done.
He doesn’t think it’s going to be his last, either.
“Do you have any idea about what you do to me, Captain?” Bucky asks in a hushed tone, his eyes darting to Sam’s lips, then back to his eyes.
Calling him Captain? With that voice and those eyes? In panic, Sam stutters out, “Uh… no.”
Bucky, although initially shy about what he feels about Sam, finds this situation amusing. The table has flipped and he’s somehow making the Captain America at a loss for words? Maybe he should’ve made a move a long time ago. Maybe he shouldn’t have denied his feelings.
Although called stupid by Sam, Bucky at least knows this isn't the right time to take a step further. And so, he pushes himself away from their position to stand up, leaving Sam on the floor with a sigh.
“We should… um, wash up and get ready. It’s almost time to go.” Bucky reminds, heading straight to the bathroom.
Sam sits on the floor, confused, feeling the warmth on his face with his hands. He can’t believe this is happening to him at all. Forget Bucky’s question — does Bucky know what he just did to him?
“We’ll split up because there seems to be two rooms for the younger ones. One upstairs, one on the main floor. Even though we saw Naviya near the office, we have to take a chance at the other one.” Sam orders, making sure he’s quiet but loud enough for Bucky to hear.
He and Bucky are behind the trees a few meters away from the orphanage. They could see some HYDRA personnel making rounds, but Redwing is sending Sam their locations through heat signature so that they’ll be able to avoid them.
Clasping the baby carrier across his chest, Bucky turns to Sam. “Got it.”
Sam looks at Bucky with furrowed brows, unaware that Bucky even had a baby carrier with him. “Where the fuck did you get that from?”
“I got one for you too, don’t worry.” Bucky pulls out another one from his bag. “Come here, I’ll help you put it on.”
Sam makes a noise of protest, but Bucky ultimately yanks his uniform closer before sliding the carrier on him. With only the streaks of moonlight illuminating the both of them, Sam watches the strands of Bucky’s hair fall on his face, only for him to tuck it back behind his ear in concentration. He worries that Bucky will manage to feel his heart thumping against his uniform. So far, Bucky doesn’t seem to.
“At least we won’t have to carry Naviya in our arms. This is way more practical.” Bucky adds, finally moving away.
Sam seems to breathe a little better with the distance. “Glad you got your thinking cap on.”
Bucky shrugs. “I always have it in my back pocket. See you inside.”
Without a peep, Bucky jumps over the bush to head towards the building. Sam watches him navigate from afar before going ahead himself.
Sam enters the orphanage through an open kitchen window. He prays that it wouldn’t squeak on him since it’s old, and while it does quietly, it’s not enough to alert anyone.
The orphanage seems way more creepier at night. With all the lights turned off and a few candles lit up across the halls, it feels like he’s been transported straight into a horror movie. If it wasn’t for his goggles that have a heat signature feature, he would’ve jumped at anything that slightly moved in his peripheral.
Sam thankfully recognizes the floor plan. He hears faint murmurs which send shivers down his spine. Some of the nuns must be praying in their rooms. Who knows. He doesn’t want to find out.
“How are things going over there, Buck?” Sam asks through the comms.
At the other side of the orphanage, Bucky climbs the vined walls using his grappling hook. He takes one wrong step and cracks a rubble, sending some rocks down. Coincidentally, an agent is walking by, who stops when she sees movement by the wall.
Bucky stays still.
The agent stares at the wall for a moment before shrugging it off and walking away.
Bucky finds himself sighing in relief before continuing climbing as he answers Sam, “Good.”
“Okay. From the window that you enter, you should be able to see the room to your right. It should have a light blue door… which really doesn’t match with their aesthetic, but we’re not here to judge.”
Bucky snickers. “I’m still gonna judge, you know that.”
Sam stifles a laugh. Yeah, he knows.
Bucky practically tiptoes his way to the room, finding the door ajar. He tips it open, the hinges slightly creaking.
Meanwhile, Sam enters the room on the main floor. There are old-fashioned cribs across each other. There are names at the foot of the cribs, so Sam uses his night vision to read them as he treads light-footed.
Josiah. Elena. Brittany. Casey.
Naviya.
“Oh, god.” Sam whispers, leaning down to pick Naviya up. She sleeps quite well, stirring a bit but is peaceful in Sam’s arms. He pulls her close, scans her vitals to see if she’s okay. “Oh, thank god.”
Despite the lack of knowledge, Sam attempts to put Naviya in his baby carrier without waking her up. He clasps the sides quietly and secures her.
“I’m sure you were aware that visiting time is over, Mr. Brooks.”
Sam jumps in surprise, lurching back against a drawer. He was so right about this place being a fucking horror movie set.
Sister Sophie is standing by the door, her hands behind her back. She’s smiling at Sam, and the way the moon shines on her makes her seem paler and creepier. For a split second, Sam thought both her eyes were just white orbs.
“Yeah, well… I gotta make sure I bond with my new child.”
Sister Sophie’s smile drops. She pulls out one hand, holding a glock and pointing at Sam. However, before she can shoot, she starts shaking in electrocution. She falls down immediately, revealing Bucky behind her holding his taser hand up.
“Since when can you do that?” Sam asks, walking towards Bucky.
Bucky shrugs, lightly catching his breath. “I can do a lot of things with this one. Come on, Cap, we need to go. I don’t think we should’ve been worrying about the HYDRA agents at all.”
Sam was about to ask why when he suddenly hears loud footsteps coming from the stairs. He looks at where the sounds are coming from, and there comes… an army of nuns with guns. He couldn’t believe what he’s seeing.
When the nuns start shooting, Sam spreads his wings to shield him and Bucky as they start sprinting out of the building.
Sam takes quick looks at Bucky. His hair is disheveled, his baby carrier torn apart already. He must’ve been dealing with the ladies upstairs.
They turn to a corridor and see a bunch of women at the end as well. They curse under their breaths at the same time.
Bucky pulls out a pair of noise cancelling headphones and puts it on Naviya who is surprisingly still asleep. “Jump out of the window. I’ll jump after you.”
“Man, your utility belt really is utility belt-ing.” Sam snorts and does what Bucky says right away.
The moment Sam jumps, Bucky follows, but not without leaving a smoke bomb to cloud the nuns’ visions.
As expected, some HYDRA agents are already waiting for them outside. Sam activates his wings again and tosses Bucky his shield.
“Suit yourself. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous.” Sam says before flying away.
Bucky looks up at him after looking at the shield, confusion in his crumpled face. He cups his hands around his mouth, “We don't have a damn rendezvous!”
Sam flies as high as he can, spinning and avoiding bullets. Suddenly, he hears Naviya toss and turn, beginning to cry.
“Oh, no, no, no. Baby, no…” Sam groans. He’s not sure how to rock a baby while they’re flying 50 kph in the air. He attempts to bounce her at least, but she doesn’t stop crying.
“Bucky, she’s crying!” Sam says through the comms.
Meanwhile on the ground, Bucky hurls the shield towards a group of agents, watching it bounce between them before catching it. “You have nephews, Sam.”
“I was an Avenger!” Sam rolls his eyes. He regretted not being there while the boys were growing up, but he had duties. He still does.
With a grunt, Bucky punches a HYDRA agent, sending him towards a group of nuns like a bowling bowl knocking down the pins with a strike. At this rate, he can’t reach Sam and wherever the rendezvous is. “Maybe she’s hungry?”
“Well, I don’t have—” Before he could finish his sentence, Sam sees a grenade charging at him in the sky.
An RPG. Just like the one that got Riley.
Sam’s whole body freezes.
Just like I was up there to watch.
Sam’s breath hitches, eyeing the grenade as it flies closer to him and Naviya, his goggles already sending him a warning.
“Naviya.” Sam remembers and returns his focus. He feels a tear drop down his mask as he folds his wings inward to protect him and the baby. The grenade hits his back with such force, shooting him down the sky.
Sam feels numb. He does, however, feel himself tighten his arms around Naviya. She has miraculously stopped crying.
Preparing to embrace the impact, Sam closes his eyes as he cradles Naviya’s head. Instead of the hard ground though, Sam feels like he’s been… caught?
Bucky’s feet dig into the soil as he gets pushed backwards, holding onto Sam as much as he could. He grunts, then it turns into screaming, taking in the impact using his own body. His metal arm plates start rearranging as he grits his teeth, slowing the three of them down. If it wasn’t for him, Sam and Naviya would’ve rolled and tumbled around, which wouldn’t be very good for the baby.
Sam’s feet slightly wobbles as Bucky puts him down. He turns to Bucky while huffing, making sure he still got Naviya close.
“I got you.” Bucky says — promises — as he breaks into a tired grin. He then notices through Sam’s red-stained glasses that he’s crying.
“Hey… you good?” Bucky steps closer to inspect, but he hears the HYDRA soldiers catch up to them in the near distance.
Instead, Bucky grabs Sam’s hand and starts running again.
Sam Wilson asks himself a very important question.
How did he end up here?
Running across thick foliage with a light blue baby carrier on his chest. Beside him is the Winter Soldier himself, shooting at people while holding his hand.
Sam cradles the baby’s head, protecting her as he runs faster.
He realizes his feelings for Bucky grow as they hold each other tighter. There’s certain comfort in having Bucky Barnes by his side, through thick and thin. He could feel his loyalty. He could feel his love.
How long has he been repressing this? Has Bucky always felt the same?
Has Bucky ever been scared of telling him how he feels because he thought he’d turn him down?
All of a sudden, there are bright headlights pointing at them. The jeep skids as it makes a U-turn, stopping right beside Sam and Bucky.
“Get in,” Sharon says, “Before you get tired from all that running.”
Bucky laughs and lets Sam hop in with Naviya first, following suit as Sharon drives away again.
SHIELD helicopters shine their lights below to catch the HYDRA operatives. Meanwhile, the frightened children back at the orphanage are also taken to custody by SHIELD, with the other SHIELD agents apprehending the remaining Hive worshippers.
Sam has transferred sweet Naviya to Sharon so that they can give her a rather detailed check-up. He and Bucky went back to their motel first to get their things before heading back to New York with their quinjet. Sharon said no rush since the mission was a success. She also said she’s gonna have to look into the church of Hive to see if there’s other ones out there.
Exhausted, Sam takes his mask and goggles off with a huge sigh.
“Those nuns were surprisingly fit.” Bucky starts the conversation as he unbuckles one of his belts. He has way too many belts. “They were almost catching up to me. Holy shit.”
Sam hums. “They got you upstairs, didn’t they?”
Bucky laughs. “Had no choice but to run down to you. I thought you were also ambushed. I’m glad you weren’t.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t really an easier fight when we went outside.” Unzipping his uniform, Sam recalls the RPG. He pauses and swallows, then tries to pull the tab further. “Ah, damn it.”
“Are you stuck?” Bucky turns around and ambles towards Sam.
Sam just exhales and shrugs, allowing Bucky to fix the zipper. He watches as Bucky attempt to pull it up first, then downwards, while squeezing chain together. It thankfully zips much smoother after.
Bucky thinks about Sam crying earlier. He wants to ask about it, but he doesn’t want Sam to feel obligated to tell him. He’s just a bit worried, is all. But, knowing Sam, he would tell Bucky if he’s comfortable to do so. Bucky decides to put it at the back of his mind for now.
“If you force it down right away, you just end up jamming it more. So next time—”
“What you said earlier, is it true?”
Bucky blinks and looks at Sam. That’s not what he was expecting. “Huh?”
“You said I do things to you. Is that right? Or were you just teasing me?”
Bucky reaches for his face and rubs his chin, his face warming up once again. “W-Well—”
“Because if you were just doing it for laughs, Buck, I swear to god—”
“No! Jesus…” Bucky exclaims, putting his hands on his waist in frustration. He wasn’t ready for the impromptu confession, but he should’ve had it coming after the beer incident earlier in the night. “It’s true. C’mon, I thought that was obvious. That’s what Sharon said, anyway.”
Sam tilts his head and beams. It clicks in his head, “You didn’t really spill salt in your coffee that day, didn’t you?”
Bucky sags his shoulders and rolls his eyes. “Ugh, you’re gonna tease me too? Look, Cap—”
Without letting Bucky finish, Sam steps forward and gives Bucky a quick peck on the lips. Bucky looks stunned, his icy eyes wide at the action. Sam doesn’t let the smile leave his face as he continues to undress while walking away.
Then, Bucky pulls Sam back by the arm, turning to face him and give him a proper kiss as he puts his free hand on Sam’s waist.
Sam, on the other hand, puts a palm on Bucky’s chest to push him backwards, eventually making him fall on the bed.
Bucky lightly bounces on the mattress, raising his brows at Sam with a sly smile. “And here I thought you’re already tired.”
Sam climbs on top of Bucky with a laugh. “Says the geriatric. It’s actually past your bedtime, grandpa, so if this is your excuse to go to bed…”
“Oh, shut up and kiss me again, Sam, or else…”
“Or else!? Ah, ah, are you threatening me, Barnes?”
Bucky chuckles, matching Sam’s laughter. “Kiss! Come closer, please.”
Nobody told them that missions can end like this. Both Sam and Bucky think that if they do, then maybe they should look forward to them more often.