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“I came by as soon as I heard.” Sam looks up and relief floods him when his eyes land on Bucky. Sam gets up and rounds Joaquín’s bed before Buck can take another step, enveloping him in a hug. The weight of the vibranium feels grounding in a way Sam had almost forgotten about.
“Hey, Buck”, he mumbles into his shoulder and allows himself another moment in his arms before he steps back so that Bucky can look at Joaquín. “How’s the tiny Falcon doing, huh?”, he asks with a teasing undertone, but Sam knows him well enough to hear the worry behind his words.
“The tiny Falcon is gonna be as good as new”, Joaquín says around a smile, his voice still a little rough from the disuse. “Don’t you worry about me, old man.”
Bucky steps forward and sits down on the edge of the bed, his expression serious. “But I did. Worry. So did Sam.”
“Come on, Buck, cut the kid some slack. It’s not like we never risked out lives doing stupid shit”, Sam says softly and goes back to his chair, sitting down heavily.
“That’s different. I got the serum and you know what you’re doing. The kid obviously didn’t.” Bucky’s voice has gotten a little more desperate with every word and Sam’s eyes find Joaquín’s, he looks almost sheepish. “I’m sorry, Bucky”, he says quietly and Bucky’s shoulders relax a little. “Yeah, I know kid. I know.” He reaches out to take Joaquín’s hand and holds it tightly. “Don’t do this again. Please, promise me you won’t do anything like this ever again.”
“I won’t. Sam already told me what to do instead.” Bucky groans and looks over his shoulder at Sam who just shrugs. “What? We both know he won’t stop, so the least I can do is make sure he does it the right way.”
“Who allowed you two to work together again?”, Bucky asks and Sam laughs. “I am Captain America, I am the one allowing things.”
“Also”, Joaquín chimes in, “you were the one who left the field behind.” He sounds almost bitter, or as bitter as someone who just woke up from a medically induced coma can sound.
Bucky’s face darkens. “Don’t start this argument again, kid. Don’t.”
Joaquín slips his hand out of Bucky’s grip and it’s only because Sam knows him so well that he sees Bucky flinching. “We could have used your help, not only this time but all the other times before as well! I just don’t get it, we would you leave us behind?”
“Joaquín.” Sam’s voice is steady but determined when he stops his rant before it can even start. Joaquín looks over at him, his eyes filling with tears just like they did minutes before. “Why? Why are you on his side in this?”
“Because there’s no sides, Joaquín. Because we’re doing this together, and we support each other, and because Bucky did not leave us behind.” Sam looks at Bucky as he says these last words, the look in his eyes trying to reinforce what he had to tell him so many times before. Bucky looks at him for a second, then nods almost unnoticeably.
It’s quiet for a moment, then Joaquín sighs. “I’m sorry. I don’t wanna fight. I’m tired and everything hurts. I’m sorry, Bucky.” Bucky smiles sadly at him. “It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” When Joaquín stretches out his hand and offers it back to Bucky, he takes it immediately. “I promise you, there was not a single moment I didn’t want to be out there with you two. Keeping you safe. Okay? Do you believe me?”
Joaquín nods and Sam huffs. “You keeping us safe? Come on, grandpa, we all know it’s the other way around.” They all know it’s a weak attempt at lightening the mood, but Bucky still laughs. “What, Captain America doesn’t need to be saved occasionally? I doubt it.”
“I had to save him from one of the mind-controlled soldiers at Echo One”, Joaquín chimes in and Bucky makes a triumphant sound. “See? Even the tiny Falcon can do something to keep Cap safe. Imagine what I can do.” Sam laughs and leans forward, putting a hand on Bucky’s cheek. He leans into it immediately.
“Don’t worry, I know what you can do. You make sure I’ll never forget.” For a moment, they just look at each other, the look in Bucky’s eyes as lovestruck as ever, and Sam can’t help but lean in, brush a kiss against his mouth. “Thanks”, Bucky mumbles, and they’re still close enough that their lips brush with their words. “No problem”, Sam answers, and he leans back when Joaquín clears his throat.
“Feeling a little left out here, guys”, he says and Bucky lifts their intertwined hands up to his lips, kissing his still bruised knuckles. God, he could really have died.
“I won’t kiss you until you’ve brushed your teeth, I’m quite sure you taste like coma”, Bucky says and Sam cackles. “That’s unfair! Come on, please?” Joaquín’s kicked puppy eyes are still perfect, despite being half dead in a hospital bed, and Sam amusedly watches as Bucky tries and fails to withstand the obvious manipulation.
“You talk about unfair ever again”, he grumbles, then leans forward and kisses Joaquín softly, brushing a thumb underneath his eye. “I was right, you taste like coma”, Bucky says, but still pecks him a second time before leaning back. “I’m glad you’re okay, kid”, he says quietly and Sam looks away to give them a semblance of privacy when Joaquín’s lips start trembling once more. “I’ll be okay, I promise. Didn’t wanna scare you”, Sam hears him say and he doesn’t imagine the shaky way Bucky’s next few breaths sound.
“I know. It’s okay.” When Sam looks back, the two of them are still looking at each other, and Sam’s heart jumps for a beat. He scoots his chair a little closer again, brushing a gentle hand through Joaquín’s hair. “Next time, you’ll listen when I tell you not to do something.”
“I will, Cap.”
“Good.” Sam leans in and kisses Joaquín shortly (Bucky’s right, he does taste like coma, Sam is gonna get him a toothbrush and some toothpaste as soon as he can). Bucky’s cool vibranium hand on his back makes him look back up.
“I can’t stay any longer. Didn’t even really have time to come here, but I needed to see you. Awake and alive. Both of you.” Sam huffs a small laugh. “Our busy congressman to be, I see how it is.”
Joaquín frowns. “You’ll leave already? When will you come back?” Bucky sighs. “I’ll try tomorrow. I promise. If not tomorrow, then Wednesday. I got the whole day off.”
“Okay. I guess.”
“I’ll call you. Even do this stupid face to face timing thing you are so obsessed with.”
“It’s called facetime and you know it.”
“Yeah, but it made you smile for a second.”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Come on, kid. Don’t make this harder than it already is. Please.”
Joaquín sighs and nods. “Yeah. Sorry. I’ll be waiting for you here.”
“Me too”, Sam says and Bucky looks between the two of them for a moment, nods. “Thank you. Both of you.” He stands up and leans in again, this time kissing Joaquín on his forehead. “Get well soon, tiny Falcon. I’ll call. Promise.” He steps back from the bed, not letting go of Joaquín’s hand until he’s out of reach. “Love you, kid.”
A genuine smile spreads on Joaquín’s face. “I love you too, Bucky.”
Sam stands up as well. “I’ll walk you out. Joaquín, don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” He laughs. “What stupid shit am I supposed to do lying in bed?”
“Oh, believe me, if anyone could find something stupid to do lying in bed, it’s you.” Sam winks at him. “Be right back.” With a hand on Bucky’s back, he leads him out of the room, and as soon as they’re out of sight, Bucky deflates.
“He could have died, Sam.”
“I know, I was there.”
“Wasn’t your fault. I meant it.”
“Kinda was.”
“Totally wasn’t.” Bucky stops Sam with a hand on his elbow. “It wasn’t.”
Sam smiles sadly. “I’m trying to convince myself of that.” They look at each other for a moment, then Bucky runs a hand through his hair. “God, seeing him in this bed, that was almost worse than watching him in surgery.”
Sam shakes his head. “The worst thing was watching the doctors restart his heart. He was so… he looked to small, you know? Fragile. Like the kid he still is.” Sam swallows hard. “Bucky, I promise you that I won’t let anything like this happen to him ever again. I promise.”
Bucky smiles. “We both won’t let this happen again. Kid’s not gonna be happy about the helicopter thing we’ll have going on from now on.”
Sam chuckles. “Better than the alternative.” He leans his forehead against Bucky’s. “Not my fault?”, he asks quietly and Bucky shakes his head, jostling Sam with it. “Not your fault at all.”
For a moment, they share each other’s breaths, then Bucky leans back. “Wanna walk me all the way to the car? Please?”
“You just want someone to see you with Captain America to support your political career, I see how it is”, Sam teases, but starts walking again to the entrance. “As if I need that. I have been the sidekick for both Captain Americas, that alone is almost enough to get elected.”
“That would be funny if it wasn’t so worrying.”
“You might be right about that.”
They stop in front of the entrance, facing each other. Bucky takes Sam's hand in his and starts playing with his fingers. “I won’t make it here tomorrow.”
Sam nods. “Yeah, I know.”
“Couldn’t disapppoint the kid even more than he already was.”
“I know that too.”
“But I will be here on Wednesday. Promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Sam looks around for a moment, and when nobody’s in sight, he kisses Bucky softly. “I’ll take care of our boy.”
“I know. I’ll facecall you.”
“Facetime, Bucky.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Come back to us.”
“As soon as I can.”
With another short kiss, Bucky steps back, walks backwards through the door as to not break eye contact with Sam through the tall glass windows. Sam runs a hand over his mouth, hiding his smile, and when Bucky rounds the corner, he sighs, turning back to walk to Joaquín again.
He’s pretty sure that it will be okay again.