Chapter Text
Yelena Belova was like no person Sam had ever seen. Even Natasha, who Sam had spent a considerable amount of time with on the run and had shared many similar experiences was a whole other thing. Yelena was an impressive fighter and committed person to the Avengers cause. She was a great strategist and fearsome opponent for sparring, and she was good with their newer recruits. Something that surprised him, though it probably shouldn’t have, and Sam didn’t know why, but she was also somehow capable of going toe to toe in a drinking game with his partner, James Barnes. Most of the of age members of the team had remained after the Christmas get together for a more grown-up and in some ways more gaming party.
Scott had brought out his Cards Against Humanity and most of the attendees gathered around a table to play. Sam remembered playing this game with Riley and some of their friends while in the Air Force and joined the game. To begin with, most people were more conservative with their answers, getting more daring as the game went on and the alcohol intake rose. Scott’s less popular suggestion of the evening came when he, drunkenly, recommended if your card didn’t win, you had to take a shot. Most people shot the idea down, knowing their own limits and how quickly the large game would dissolve into barely being able to read their own cards. Some chose to drink when their own card was chosen, which seemed a more acceptable rule to follow.
Bucky and Yelena weren’t playing Cards Against Humanity, they were engaged in an Assassin Only game of Never Have I Ever which was being watched in both awe and horror by Joaquín Torres, Sam’s replacement as Falcon and good friend. It had been Joaquín who had brought Yelena to them after crossing paths with her so often on his own missions. With so much crossover it made sense to work together. While the ex-Widow had been reluctant she was now an established and official member of the Avengers.
Yelena seemed to call an end to their game and picked up a bottle of water from the drinks table while Bucky talked with Joaquín. Things were getting warm in the common area where they were having the party, so Sam decided to step outside to get some air. He stopped by his and Bucky’s apartment, pausing long enough to scratch Alpine behind the ears, to get his Stark Coat which was a coat that kept him perfectly temperate no matter the weather and headed outside.
He was surprised to see he wasn’t alone, Yelena was sat against the outer wall, sipping her water bottle and zipped securely into her Stark Coat. She looked up as he joined her.
“Hey, you good?”
“Fresh air may have been a mistake, but I will survive,” she told him through a groan.
“You want company?” Yelena made a vague gesture that he took to mean he could join her. Sam slid down the wall to sit next to her. Sam wasn’t sure what to say to her, he’d wanted to get to know her better as they would no doubt have to work together sooner or later, but he knew a drunken heart to heart wasn’t the time. Beside him Yelena took a slow drink of her water, seeming equally unsure about speaking. “What was she like?” Yelena’s sudden question caught Sam off guard, and it took him a moment to realise she meant Natasha. “Sorry, you’re, um, you’re one of the only people around who knew her, who spent time with her. I wanted to ask you before but it’s difficult to get Captain America on his own to talk.”
Sam smiled softly his mind flooding him with memories of Nat, both before and during their time on the run. “Nat was…” he trailed off. “She was tough and badass and terrifying in battle. But she was also soft, funny and always took time to make sure we were OK. She cared about her team and her friends.” Sam felt a wave of warmth as he talked about Natasha. He hadn’t felt he could talk about her with anyone before because there wasn’t really anyone left who knew her like he did. Steve was gone, Clint was with his family and their relationship had been a whole other thing that pre-dated Sam’s involvement, Scott didn’t really get to know her the way the rest of them had, Tony was dead, Thor and Bruce were… Somewhere in space and Wanda was still MIA. It was nice to have someone to talk to.
“We should talk again when I’ve had less to drink, I want to know more about her life. Her file she posted online only showed one part of her life, I want to know who she was.”
Sam was about to respond that he’d like that when a voice called out:
“-They’re out here.” Sam and Yelena looked up to see Joaquín and Bucky in the doorway to the Avengers Accommodation building. “Are you guys OK?” Joaquín asked, looking at Yelena concerned.
“Drinking against a Super Soldier isn’t my finest decision,” Yelena admitted, “nor was coming out for air afterwards,” she chuckled. “I may or may not be able to see you clearly,” she told him.
“I know you’re in your Stark Coat, but I think we should get you inside,” Joaquín suggested to her. “It’s covering too many of your pockets to be practical,” he reminded her of her own complaint against the garment.
“It is,” she agreed, “I knew you listened to me Baby Bird.”
Sam looked at Bucky who shrugged as Joaquín looked at his mentors who weren’t sure if his cheeks were pink from the nickname or the cold.
“You good?” Bucky asked Sam quietly. Sam nodded and held out a hand for Bucky to help him up as Joaquín convinced Yelena to let him help her to her feet.
Yelena allowed herself to be helped to her feet and was caught by Joaquín when she stumbled. “Make it stop spinning,” she groaned hiding her eyes against his shoulder.
“Let’s get you inside,” he suggested, and she held up 2 fingers indicating she needed a moment before they moved. Sam and Bucky helped get Yelena inside and to her apartment on the floor below theirs.
“Oh, wait,” she protested before she and Joaquín disappeared inside. “We should talk about my sister again,” she said turning and holding the doorframe to talk to Sam. “When I’m sober.”
“I’d like that, sure, let me know,” Sam agreed.
“Person in sky,” Yelena called out to, “No, um, Mon- no, no, FRIDAY, that’s it, FRIDAY, remind me please,” said and the AI confirmed they would.
The four said their goodnights to each other and Sam and Bucky continued back through the party to see what people were getting up to. Things seemed to be winding down, so they decided to retire to their own apartment on the upper floor.
A while later, when Sam and Bucky were getting ready for bed Sam looked over at Bucky through the mirror to see him with his head cocked to the side.
“Something up?”
Bucky shrugged, “I never heard Joaquín come back to his apartment,” he told Sam. While the building had some good soundproofing it was still not a match against Bucky’s hearing.
“Maybe he went back to the party,” Sam said with his own shrug.
Sam pulled back his side of the covers as Bucky chuckled, “I don’t think ‘Baby Bird’ went back to the party. Baby Bird, now that’s one hell of a nickname.”
“You’re not letting that go, are you?”
“Oh God no, it’s adorable and I already put it in both of our phones and the three of us’ group chat.”
“What do you think the younglings will call them?” Sam asked. The younger members of the team had a habit of giving pairings, not necessarily couples, but any significant pairing a name.
Bucky tipped his head again and thought about it. “Winged Widow.”
“Winged Widow,” Sam turned the name over in his mind, “not bad. There’s always Spider Falcon or Spider of Prey.”
“Those aren’t bad. They could go for the pocket stuff, Pocket Falcon,” Bucky suggested. “Pocket Wings?”
Sam chuckled as he crawled over to Bucky and kneeled straddling his thighs. “Guess we’ll see what they come up with,” he said leaning in to kiss his partner.