Chapter Text
Steve waited at the door, praying for some sort of break.
As the blinds came up from the window, he was surprised to see no one there. Or, at least, not where he had been looking for Sam. After a second, he realized there was motion from much lower in the window, where a little boy was staring at the two of them with wide eyes before he flung open the door.
When the door opened, Steve and Natasha found themselves facing a boy, probably around twelve, with large brown eyes, curly hair, and pale skin.
“Um, I’m sorry, I think we have the wrong-”
Steve was cut off by the boy shouting back into the house. “Sam! Sam! SAM!” Well, maybe they did have the right house. When the man seemed to be taking too long, the boy turned fully around to scream “DAD!”
Natasha raised her eyebrows as Sam came hurrying around the corner. “Jesus, Pete, what’s up- oh.” Sam stopped as he took in Steve and Nat standing in his doorway covered in dirt and ash, disheveled and exhausted.
He gently pushed Peter away from the door. “What’s up?”
“I’m really sorry about this, we need a place to lay low.” Steve breathed, eyes pleading.
“Everyone we know is trying to kill us.” Nat explained as her eyes darted around, keeping watch.
Sam hesitated for a moment. He didn’t want to risk bringing danger to his kid, but he also had to help them.
“Not everyone,” he responded, stepping aside to let them in. “But if you put my kid in danger, that will change very quickly,” he warned them as he glanced around outside before closing the door and pulling the blinds back down.
Steve and Natasha nodded firmly. Peter, however, looked seconds away from exploding with excitement, bouncing on his feet as he stared at the two of them with a wide grin.
“You can get cleaned up in the guest room. It’s down the hall, second door on your left.” Sam told the pair. Steve looked like he was going to say something, but Nat dragged him away by his arm, glancing between Sam and Peter. Sam nodded in appreciation.
He turned to the boy, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face at his excitement.
“Sam Sam Sam! That’s Captain America! And the Black Widow! They’re here! In our house! This is awesome! Do they need our help?”
“Yeah, bud, they do.” he responded, chuckling. “But we need to make sure you’re safe, first, okay? You’re gonna go with Aunt Sarah while I help them sort this out.”
Sam braced for disappointment at being excluded, but Peter just perked up even more. “Aunt Sarah? I get to go with Aunt Sarah? Awesome!”
“You’re not upset?” he prodded carefully.
“Are you kidding? I don’t care about them, I’m going to Aunt Sarah’s! Aunt Sarah is way more cool than them! I’m gonna go pack!” The boy sprinted off to his room in a blur, leaving Sam laughing as he leaned against the kitchen counter, pulling out his phone to call his sister.
*****
After Sarah came by to pick up Peter, the three of them sat in the kitchen discussing everything.
Sam tossed a file onto the table.
“What’s this?”
“Call it a resume.”
“Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you.” It wasn’t a question, so Sam didn’t answer. He couldn’t, anyway. His throat constricted anytime he thought of that mission, where he lost everything to the dirt beneath him.
She turned to Steve. “You didn't say he was a para-rescue.”
Sam still felt pride from those words, that position. It took a long time for him to move past the loss associated with it, but he now associated it with service again, with helping people, and with Riley and Peter, the love, rather than the grief.
Steve took the picture from Nat, gaze meeting Sam’s. “Is this Riley?”
Sam fought off the wave of grief, thinking instead of his deep eyes and infectious laughter. “Yeah,” he whispered.
Steve looked away, turning back to the picture.
“I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?” Natasha pushed on.
Sam picked up the file, handing it to Steve. “No. These.”
Steve looked up, smiling. “I thought you said you were a pilot,” he scoffed.
Sam couldn’t help but grin, holding back a laugh. “I never said pilot.”
Steve’s face turned serious again, looking back down at the file. “I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason.”
Sam considered it for a moment. He did, and he had Peter to think about, but he also knew Riley and Peter would want him to help where he could. And with the reach this group had, how dangerous they were, he could only think about Peter’s safety. It was already too late, he had harbored Steve and Nat at his house, if they weren’t taken down, he and Peter were already in danger, as much as he hated it.
“Dude, Captain America needs my help. Plus, I want a safer world for Peter. There's no better reason to get back in. My kid would kill me if I said no anyway.”
Steve looked back down, nodding his acceptance. “Where can we get our hands on one of these things?”