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"Are you sure about this?"
Sam sighed, glaring at Bucky and judging him silently for asking this now. Even though the mask was covering his face, he could tell Bucky felt the glare and he smirked.
"Little late to ask, don't you think?" he asked. Bucky shrugged.
They were dressed like two evil whatevers. Burglars, mercenaries, agents, they could pass for any. The masks covering their faces had built-in technology to disguise their voices and they were on the verge of barging in when Bucky suddenly questioned their prank.
"Well then. Ready when you are."
Sam nodded and together they barged in. Joaquin was at home, in full relax-mode wearing nothing but his T-shirt and shorts on what was supposed to be a lazy day off after several intense missions.
"Woohah!" He jumped up in shock when Sam and Bucky entered wearing their disguises, his eyes widening. Seeing the surprise on his face, Sam felt a little guilty and maybe Bucky was right: perhaps it was going a little too far. But they weren't going to harm him or traumatize him forever. It was just a little test.
"N-no way. How'd you get in?!" he yelped. Sam rolled his eyes fondly. Not exactly how he would welcome his intruders, but oh well.
"On the ground," Bucky ordered, aiming his gun at Joaquin. A watergun, but only they knew that. It looked real as fuck. Knowing Joaquin well, Sam recognized his quick reaction to the shock; those big eyes darting to where his gear was, but before he could make a move, Sam already grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back.
"On the ground we said," he warned, and with a simple click, he locked Joaquin's hands behind his back with the high-tech handcuffs before he shoved him on the floor.
"You are making a huge mistake!" Joaquin huffed, his legs kicking defiantly, but Sam merely grasped his ankle and yanked him towards them. Bucky bent over him in a threatening way.
"So, you're Captain America's guy in the chair, huh?" he asked, and beneath his mask, Sam had to fight back his urge to laugh.
"What! Guy in the chair? I'm more than that. I'm Falcon," Joaquin snapped.
"Alright, Falcon. Now you'll tell us the exact whereabouts of Captain America's holiday venue, and you just might make it out alive so you can continue, eh...." Bucky lifted his head and Sam could hear him silently judge the mess on Joaquin's day-off-desk. "...Falconing."
Earlier during the planning phase, Bucky had wondered whether Joaquin wouldn't see right through them despite the disguises and the voice change. And while Sam had no doubt that Joaquin was a bright young man who had helped him on countless of missions already, there was nothing like catching a person off-guard at home and startling them.
Besides, it was because of Bucky that they were doing this in the first place. When they were having a drink the other day, and Sam bragged about his compatibility with the young Falcon and their successful missions, Bucky had mentioned the question whether Sam wasn't growing a weakness, and if he was keeping this new Falcon a little too close.
After a few jokes about the great Bucky Barnes being jealous of Sam's new partner, their conversation grew a little more serious. Joaquin was still quite young and compared to them, new in the field. When the moment was there, could Captain America really trust him?
While Sam was aware that the both of them already knew the answer, he agreed it wouldn't hurt to have a little... test of trust. He would prove to Bucky and to himself that Joaquin was the partner he could rely on. He wouldn't betray him even if he would get in trouble himself.
One idea grew into another, and today's break-in, interrogation kind of prank was the messy result. Sam chuckled. Joaquin would forgive him for this, he was sure of it.
"I'm not telling you shit!" Joaquin protested, and he tried to break free again, but he seemed rather startled when both Sam and Bucky managed to wrestle him down with ease. If only he knew it was the real Captain America and Winter Soldier he was up against, he probably wouldn't look as surprised as he did.
"Shut that big mouth," Sam said, and he put his hands against Joaquin's hips, acting as if he was searching him while in fact... He smirked when Joaquin already jumped under his touch.
"W-w-what're you doing! No!" he whined. Sam sighed at Joaquin's reaction. He wondered if he would ever stand a chance, had this been a real attack.
"I was looking for this-" Sam held up Joaquin's phone which he had taken from his pocket, "...and what's all the squeaking about huh?" he asked in his best villain-voice, and he pinched at those twitchy hips again.
A sudden yelp could be heard, and Joaquin shook his head. "N-nothing! Let go ohof mehe!" he gasped out. Sam turned his head and nodded at Bucky who knelt behind Joaquin and held his trapped arms to keep him in place.
"If there's nothing, I don't see why you'd be laughing in a situation like this."
Of course Sam knew like no other how ticklish Joaquin was, and that was actually all part of the plan. Of course they weren't going to hurt him. They were just going to bully him with plenty of tickles and see if getting tortured with something so embarrassing would ever break his resolve.
"I'm n-not laughing- ahh stohohop!" Joaquin's voice started to shake more and while he fought his reactions desperately, a few giggles slipped through.
"Don't tell me the little shit's ticklish," Bucky said, and he lowered his free hand to Joaquin's ribs and clawed. Sam raised his eyebrows. Now that was a move. Joaquin squealed in surprise and thrashed and struggled in between them.
"Fuhuhuck that's - nohoho!" he cackled when Bucky continued to dig his fingers in between his ribs. Sam snickered.
"Well, now that it seems we've detected a little weakness... Let's try this again," he said, and he nudged Joaquin's ticklish side with his watergun.
"Where's Captain America? Tell us if you don't want us to make you wet your pants."
Joaquin kicked his legs and threw his head back. "E-even ihif I knew I wouldn't- AHH Shiihihit!"
Sam and Bucky nodded at each other. It hadn't been a lot yet, but they were definitely proud. Sam had definitely shared his fake vacation plans with Joaquin earlier so he was doing a good job lying to his tickly attackers.
"Bullshit." Bucky wriggled his fingers into Joaquin's underarm and started to tickle the ticklish spot. Meanwhile Sam dropped his gun and dug his fingers into his stomach and sides, tickling him relentlessly. Poor ticklish Joaquin wailed and struggled in between them, completely helpless to their playful torture.
Well, they were being playful. He wondered how Joaquin was taking it.
"Ready to talk yet, ticklish birdie?" Sam teased.
"Nohoho fuhucking wahahay!" Joaquin laughed defiantly. Well, that was how he was taking it.
They were so busy tickling him they didn't notice that neither of them was holding him tightly anymore, but when Joaquin suddenly tried to jump up and flee, it was a piece of cake to get him back down on the floor.
Now face-down, he squealed when Sam attacked his sides from behind while Bucky scratched at this vulnerable bare feet.
"We're wasting our time boss. Maybe we should just kill him," Bucky said, trying to slide back into their little act. Truth was, Joaquin's laughter was so adorable, it was a little hard to stay in their role.
"Oh right. Well, guess what? We are killing him. Laughter could kill, you know. Right? Little Falcon?" Sam joked as he tickled Joaquin mercilessly with all ten fingers.
"AAahhhaha! Waha- wahahait dahahamn!" the poor guy cursed through hysterical laughter.
Sam and Bucky hadn't agreed on a finale to their act. They said they would just see how far they could get without making it too hard on Joaquin. They tickled him mercilessly, yes, they made him squeak and howl until he was breathless, that too, but when he still wouldn't tell them a single thing about Sam Wilson's whereabouts, they both sensed they could either tickle him forever or give up.
"You two - are - the worst - villains - ever," Joaquin said breathlessly when they finally stopped tickling him after a long torture without any break.
"Not cooperating and provoking us? Something tells me you just wish to be tickled, young man," Sam said as he wiggled his finger between Joaquin's ribs. This caused him to let out the funniest squeak, and Sam heard Bucky let out a startled laugh.
"Hey, none of this is funny," Sam warned him, but his act was also dropping.
"You can give up now buddy. He's onto us," Bucky snickered. Sam frowned and looked at Bucky, then at Joaquin.
"Wait what?" he asked. Joaquin stuck his tongue out at him.
"What did I say? The worst villain, Sam," he said. Oh. Sam hesitated while Bucky took off his mask.
"You did well. Not sure anyone could master an attitude and tickle torture the way you did. Props," he complimented while he freed Joaquin's hands from their cuffs.
Sam finally took off his mask as well. "You knew all this time?" he asked. "And you...?" He looked at Bucky.
"For someone who claims to be his proud partner, you're pretty dense, Sam. I think your clever Falcon was onto us from the start. Weren't you?" Bucky turned to Joaquin who was rubbing his wrists. He nodded.
"Well, you can disguise your voice all you want sir, but I'll know it's you. Besides, you act like - HAha nohoho!" Joaquin yelped as Sam tickled him again before he could insult his acting skills.
"You two are going to be the death of me. And here I thought this was a great, realistic tickle interrogation," Sam laughed. His tickle attack transitioned smoothly into rubbing Joaquin's arms, and he grinned.
"No but really, even if you knew. I'm still proud you sat through that without giving in. We know how ticklish you are, it must've been tough."
Joaquin smiled back. "It was tough. And yes, even if I knew, I hope I've convinced you that you can trust me. I know it was just tickling, and there's worse dangers out there. But I won't fail you. I promise."
Even without telling him, he knew what this was all about. Sam could see Bucky's proud smile in the corner of his eye, and he nodded.
"Well..." Sam coughed and tried not to get too sentimental now. "We sure as hell didn't earn an Oscar or golden globe, but I do think we deserve to have a drink. Hm?"
Joaquin noted the warning smirk on Sam's face and his face lit up. "Of course. What'll it be?" he asked, moving to the kitchen.
"Whatever you were having there seems nice," Sam said, pointing at Joaquin's fanboyish Captain America mug. The Falcon let out a sweet giggle.
"Alright... Bucky?" he asked. Bucky grinned and nodded.
"Make that two."
For the rest of their relaxing day off, they hung out together, laughed at their clumsy act, complimented Joaquin's own acting skills compared to their own, and most of all, made the Falcon laugh a little more.
After all, act or no act, it was a fact that he was very ticklish and very easy to tease.