Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sam prided himself on being a mostly rational, calm, and all-around easygoing kind of person. True he could be somewhat stubborn when it came to what he believed to be the right way to do anything (instruction manuals were for cowards, he would die on that hill) but for the most part he was pretty chill about life. But four hours of sitting in a meeting listening as a bunch of old, homophobic, racist, and misogynistic white men in suits dodged the blame for the entire Sharon fiasco while simultaneously trying to pin it all on Sam, Bucky, the entirety of the past, present, and future Avengers and even the ghost of Peggy Carter had Sam rethinking his previous outlook on life. 

Yes, he was the one that brought Sharon back in from the cold. But how was he responsible for her appropriating government expenses and her newly reinstated position to fund her continued Power Broker operation? It wasn’t like he and Sharon were all that close before she became an international terrorist. And while they had a civil working relationship after she resumed her old job, they weren’t exactly going out for brunch and mani/pedi’s. So it was utterly ridiculous that the powers that be were trying to spin the blame game on him. Ridiculous but pretty much expected at this point. 

It was only the steady vibration of the Avengers group chat that kept Sam from snapping and reminding them that they were the reason Sharon had the time and the anger to become the Power Broker in the first place. He knew it wouldn’t end well and would just make things even harder for his new team. Just as he was about to snap at them anyway, they decided to take a break for lunch. 

And that’s how he found himself tucked into a hidden corner of an unused conference room alternating between longing looks out the ceiling-length windows and at his phone which was providing him steady updates on his team and more soothing to his frayed nerves, his partner…. His boyfriend who hadn’t seen in over a week. 

“Meeting going that great, huh?” 

Sam felt some of the tension in his body ease as he saw a more than welcome and familiar face heading his way. 

“I thought you were busy helping Fury with whatever the hell he’s into these days,” Sam said, smiling as Rhodey walked into the office, closing the door behind him. The older man rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he sat on the desk opposite Sam. “What is he into anyway? Maria was the usual level of cloak and dagger about it.” 

“You really don’t want to know what the old man is into these days. Shapeshifting aliens replacing people since the 90s. Forming a whole subsection of SHIELD in space with some of said shape-shifting aliens. It’s a mess,” Rhodey replied like any of that was normal or not requiring at least ten more follow-up questions. “But a little birdie told me that you were going to be here today, I figured I could be of more use keeping you from making the Avengers political fugitives again than helping Fury sort through his chaotic bullshit.” 

“Which birdie?” Sam asked, smirking. Rhodey gave a smile of his own while crossing his arms over his chest. 

“A few of them actually. Mostly Bucky checking in on you but I got a couple of calls from Pepper, Clint, Hope, and Bruce. One from Kamala and I’m not even sure how she got my number but I’m just going to assume that Fury is playing favorites again. Peter called a few times and I absolutely blame Tony and Happy for that one.” 

Sam rolled his eyes at the sheer volume of calls to Rhodey but secretly he was warmed by how much his team cared about him. He felt especially gooey about one in particular. 

“Ah, there’s the Sam I know. And all it took was one mention of your team or was it a mention of Barnes?”

“Don’t start,” Sam warned, sensing the teasing he knew Rhodey was holding back. Barely. The older man’s grin grew wider. 

“What? I’m not allowed to comment on how it took you a lifetime to figure out what everyone knew from the moment you told a senator to go fuck himself when he was bold enough to try and tell you to form the Avengers without Bucky.” 

“I didn’t…” the protest died on his lips as he realized that’s essentially exactly what he said. 

Despite being pardoned and saving the day at the GNC, there were still members of the government who believed Bucky should pay for the crimes of the Winter Soldier. Sam may have had some strongly worded feelings towards that, but who could blame him when Bucky was sitting there with a resigned and defeated expression on his face as the Winter Soldier’s past was played out in a congressional hearing? And even with Sam’s passionate display of trust in Bucky, they were still trying to rip him away from Sam, But he was ready and willing to throw it all away to protect his partner, his friend. He wasn’t going to lose another part of his family. Not again. He would burn the government to the ground before he let them take Bucky from him. But before he could, a wild T’Challa appeared. 

In retrospect, it was fairly obvious that there was more to Bucky’s time in Wakanda even back then. T’Challa swooped in with his quiet king energy and politely reminded the gathered political heads that HYDRA was no longer a credible threat and the Winter Soldier was gone. All that remained of him was the newly minted White Wolf, a liaison between the United States and Wakanda. A liaison that Wakanda had claimed as one of their own. Any actions against Bucky that did not align with the views of Wakanda would be viewed as a declaration of war. It left the very annoyed political suits with no option but to acquiesce to Sam’s demands. Sam still felt like he could’ve handled it without the whole diplomat routine. But the utter look of relief at the acknowledgment of forgiveness from Wakanda plastered on Bucky’s face was worth Sam not being the hero for once. 

“Y’all been together for five minutes and you’re already getting lost in thought and being sappy about him,” Rhodey chided with a fond smile. Sam rolled his eyes. “No, but all jokes aside, how is he?” 

“He’s doing better. He lost a lot of blood and the serum is still having a hard time playing catch up. The adamantium wreaked absolute havoc in his body because of all the vibranium Shuri used to repair HYDRA’s damage. So he’s on the path of recovery but it’s going to be a while before he’s back to normal. He’s exhausted all the time and when he’s not sleeping or eating to catch up to what the serum needs, he’s whining about sleeping and eating too much, and also not being of help around the palace or not being on campus in case someone needs him.” 

“Well, he is basically the pack mother to your feral-ass Young Avengers. I heard it’s been chaos since Scott took over.” 

“Somehow they managed to get a new recruit from who even knows where. And get this, she talks to squirrels. I swear this world gets weirder every day. But Doreen and her squirrels are adorable and just the sweetest. It took about five minutes for the children to weaponize her against Lang and his ants.”

“Wait, all of the children? Even Cassie?” 

“Especially Cassie,” Sam laughed. “Scott hasn’t stopped begging me to bring Bucky back to control ‘his heathen children’.”  

“Is he still pretending that only Joaquin and Eli are his?”

“Yup. But he adores the hell out of all those kids even though he won’t admit it. The only reason Kate and Yelena aren’t part of that is because Clint practically stamped his name on them from the beginning. But I fully believe they would turn on him in a heartbeat if Bucky asked. Or if he even indicated that he was going to ask. Team Sniper is a lawless group with no loyalties to anyone, not even each other.”  

Rhodey snorted before forcing a more serious expression on his face. It was his ‘we have to talk about your poor life choices, Sam’ look. He hated that look. Of all the things for Rhodey to adopt from Sarah when they hung out during the Blip, it had to be that?

“You know there’s nothing you could’ve done to prevent what happened, right?” 

Sam bristled slightly at the subject change and choked down the immediate response that there was so much more he could’ve done. He’s replayed the moment over and over for the past month. Realistically, he knows there truly was nothing he could’ve done. They had no reason to suspect the mission or the intel. He had no way of knowing about adamantium. But that didn’t change the fact that for almost a week, he was living in a constant state of panic that the person he loved was going to die. That he would lose Bucky just like he lost Steve, Natasha… Riley. 

“I know that,” Sam says after an undetermined stretch of silence passes. 

“Then why are you punishing yourself and your team by putting distance between you and Bucky?” 

“I am not!” 

“Really? So why is Bucky still in Wakanda? You’ve been back for a week now.” 

“And I’m no closer to finding Sharon now than I was then either. It’s not safe yet for Bucky here.” 

“But it’s safe for Eli? He’s a super soldier too. But he’s back. The whole team, minus Bucky, is back. And that doesn’t strike you as odd?” 

Sam sighed. “Yeah, okay. I get it. But I’m still just so scared something could happen to him. He’s safer in Wakanda.” 

“Safe from who? Sharon is a threat for sure. But the only reason she was able to get to Bucky this time was that we didn’t see the threat coming. On our turf, she doesn’t stand a chance. So, I’ll ask again. Safe from who? Because it ain’t Sharon. Are you trying to keep him safe from you?”

Sam let out a shaky exhale but didn’t bother trying to deny it. Rhodey would see through it in a minute and demolish any argument he might’ve made in even less time. It would be best to just stay silent and save the minimum amount of dignity he had around the older man. Rhodey smirked as if reading his thoughts. 

“Sam, you couldn’t have done anything. You said it yourself. All you’re doing by keeping Bucky away is making yourself miserable. Not to mention your team and your partner.” 

Sam blinked before glancing down at his phone. The team chat was still buzzing away with more shenanigans, shenanigans he realized were a silent plea for him to bring Bucky back home. His team was obnoxious, for sure but they were never this actively psychotic. They certainly would never threaten Scott’s ants, at any rate. They wanted and needed Bucky back. And hell, so did Sam. 

“Once again, and I hate to admit it every single time, you’re actually right.”

“It’s a gift,” Rhodey grinned. “Sam, I know you love him. But be careful with him. I know you would never hurt him on purpose but pushing him away to ‘keep him safe’ can hurt him just as much. Somehow despite everything that’s been done to him, he’s still good and loving. Protect that, Sam.” 

“Yeah, you have a point.” Sam rolled his shoulders as he heard the meeting being called back and groaned. “Is it bad if I don’t go back in there?”

“Probably. But I think you have better things to worry about. They’ll be fine. They just want to sit around looking for ways to blame someone for their fuck up anyway. So go get our guy and bring him back.” 

Sam grinned. Despite a rather rocky start, Rhodey and Bucky had truly bonded on their own. They both recognized the importance of the other in Sam’s life and worked from there. They also got a morbid kick out of thinking the entire break between the Avengers could’ve been prevented if someone had just pointed out that both Steve and Tony had a friend named James. Sam had been both horrified and amused by the sheer glee this brought the two men. He also wanted to have a long talk with whoever thought showing either man Batman vs Superman was a good idea. 

As Rhodey left to make the most sincere of apologies for Sam because he absolutely had to go right now, the captain himself pulled out his phone and sent a message to Shuri asking for the extradition of their mutual loved one. He expected a response anywhere from an hour to the next day depending on how busy the princess was with her various outreach projects, experiments, and keeping Bucky sane from T’Challa’s unfortunate hovering. Sam definitely was not expecting to get a message back within a minute that left more questions than answers. 

Yeah, about that. 😉

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

He got his answer sooner than he thought. Three hours later, Sam found himself watching as the Young Avengers fawned over the return of their beloved trainer. There was some initial hesitation when they introduced Doreen but Bucky was Bucky and he accepted the self-proclaimed Squirrel Girl with no questions asked. Seriously, the man had a full conversation with a damn squirrel as Doreen watched with stars shining in her eyes like he hung up the moon. Since Sam was watching so closely, he could see the exact moment she fell as hard as the others for their White Wolf.  Now she was sitting back watching as Peter and America bickered over which one was going to stay with Bucky while he recovered. 

“He’s good with them,” T’Challa said, coming to stand by Sam’s side. 

The Wakandans had arrived shortly after Shuri’s text to return the sullen and despondent Bucky to his team. Turns out his moping and puppy dog eyes were enough to break down even T’Challa’s mother-hen routine. So once Shuri was certain he healed enough to survive the flight back, she, T’Challa, Okoye, and Ayo were on a Talon returning Bucky to the team that missed him. To the partner that missed him. 

“Yeah, he’s amazing with them,” Sam smiled as Peter and America continued to loudly argue over who had more claim to Bucky, completely ignoring Eli and Kamala sneaking in and stealing the very portable and amused Bucky away. Sam gave it about five minutes before America was kicking holes through dimensions to try and get him back. He’s actually shocked she didn’t try it while he was in Wakanda… wait…. He sighed. “How many times did the kids sneak out to see him?” 

T’Challa let out a very un-regal sounding snort. He shook his head with an amused smirk tugging at his lips. “The fact that you are only just now asking means you are better off not knowing.” 

Sam groaned. It was time to have the “no using your powers for personal gain or to harass your convalescing teammates” speech again. It seemed like they had that one every three months or so. The joys of having teenagers and young adults with superpowers on the team. 

“I know that you are eager to get to James but I was hoping to have a word with you first. If you do not mind, of course.” 

Sam felt muscles tense in advance. He had been imagining variations of this conversation since the reveal of Bucky being far more than just an acquaintance of the Wakandan Royal Family. He had been a witness to T’Challa’s particularly amusing mother-hen antics. So realistically Sam knew he was long overdue in getting the shovel talk. He had been waiting for and dreading this talk for the longest. So of course once again, T’Challa had to change it up. 

“I wanted to see if you were okay with everything going on.” 

Sam felt his brow furrow in confusion. That was not at all where he thought this was going. T’Challa continued looking at him as if he was the one who was totally off in this conversation. “I’m fine. I’m not the one that was hurt. That’s Bucky.” 

“Yes, but you love him and you worried for him. You feared for his life and you still do. Not to mention the fact that you blame yourself.” 

He swallowed against the lump building in his throat. “I…” 

T’Challa smiled. And it was the warm indulgent smile Sam had seen him flash around Shuri, Bucky, and the select Dora he interacted with. To be honored with that same smile did wonders for the anxiety still churning in his stomach. 

“You and James are very similar. You take on too much responsibility and forget you have friends and family there to support you. No one in Wakanda blames you for what happened, Captain.” 

“How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Sam?”

“About as many times as I am required to tell you that you are important to more than just your sister, nephews, and James. I consider you a friend, Sam. And I hope that you can say the same for me.” 

“I… yeah, of course.” 

“Great. Besides the well-being of the Avengers, I have a vested interest in your health. If you’re not okay, James is not okay in return. And I need him to be okay. My child will need both their uncle and aunt to keep me on my toes.”

“Your… you guys are… Nakia is pregnant?” 

“Yes. She’s a few months along but we felt it was time to make the announcement. We told Shuri and James last week.” 

Sam grinned knowing exactly what day it was. Bucky was unusually chipper during one of their late-night talks. He didn’t even complain about being stuck in Wakanda. Sam was just grateful for the break in his bad mood but now he knew why. 

“Congratulations, Your Highness,” Sam said, complete with a low sweeping bow. 

“You are insufferable, Captain.” 

“Are you harassing my boyfriend, Your Highness?” 

Sam knew his smile was blinding but he didn’t care. Because that voice saying those words wasn’t on the other side of the screen across the world from him. It was coming from a living breathing moderately healthy Bucky standing just behind him. He whirled around to see him in person and within arms reach for the first time in over a week. And he was just as beautiful now as he was then. A little thinner than usual and his body was clearly trembling with the effort of feigning health but he was here. He was right here. 

“Should you be standing?” Sam asked, gravitating towards his partner, his boyfriend. He was distantly aware of T’Challa making some loud and vaguely insulting excuse to leave but it all was background noise as he fell naturally back into the orbit of Bucky Barnes. 

“Probably not,” Bucky said with a wry grin. He leaned into the hand Sam raised to cup his still-too-pale cheek. But his blue eyes were shining and his lips curled into a more genuine smile as he raised his own hand to cover Sam’s. “But I needed to do it for one very important thing.” 

“Oh yeah?” Sam asked even as Bucky’s arms draped around his shoulders. 

“Yup,” Bucky murmured against Sam’s lips as they both leaned in at the same time. Sam’s free arm wound its way around Bucky’s waist pulling him even closer. His other hand trailed through long silky strands of hair. It was even fuller and longer than before. Wakanda had clearly been kind to him while he was recovering. Sam was going to make sure that being home was just as good. 

Sam tightened his grip on Bucky’s hips as the kiss deepened. Bucky let out a small moan quickly followed by a louder whimper that prompted Sam to pull back somewhat, loosening his grip on the wounds that were still slowly healing. Bucky whined and tried to chase after his lips. Sam chuckled, swooping in to peck him gently on the lips before pulling back to laugh at the petulant expression on his partner’s face. He flicked at the pouting bottom lip and pointedly ignored the pleading look in his eye. The man was truly the personification of an emoji some days. And while Sam was very weak to all things Bucky, he did have some sense of self-preservation. 

“Absolutely not. You’re still healing and I’m not about to jeopardize that for anything. Even fun sexy times. T’Challa might not hate me for what happened but I’m not risking the wrath of your younger-than-you mother, way too smart for anyone’s good sister and very scary cousins/bodyguards by doing anything more than some light cuddles and occasional kisses.” 

“Wise choice, Captain,” Ayo said, startling Sam as she moved away from the shadows. She sent them a knowing look before walking away. 

“Please tell me she’s going back with T’Challa and Shuri.” 

“Afraid not, love. It’s Ayo. She does what she wants. And apparently, I can’t be trusted to stay alive even with Avenger protection. So she’s here until we fix our Sharon problem.” 

Sam sighed but it was just a token protest. Having another set of eyes watching Bucky wasn’t a bad thing. He didn’t know what Sharon’s endgame with him was but Sam knew that she wasn’t just going to give up so easily. She was still going to be after Bucky and Sam would sleep so much easier at night knowing one of the most deadly warriors in the world who also happened to adore his partner was on campus and ready for a fight. 

“I missed you, baby” Sam admitted, carefully pulling Bucky closer again but also taking care to avoid the wound on his side. 

“I missed you too. Never leave me behind again,” Bucky whispered, resting his forehead against Sam’s. “I get why you did it, I do… but just don’t leave me out again. Please.” 

“I won’t. I’m sorry. You see, it turns out, I’m not that good without you. Guess I got used to having you around or something.” 

“Or something,” Bucky hummed, scrunching his nose adorably and smiling brilliantly. “I love you, Sammy.” 

“Love you too, Buck. Love you too.” 

Things settled down in the days following Bucky’s return to the Avengers campus. The Young Avengers dropped their still hilarious war against Scott and his ants. The level of insane shenanigans got dialed down from an eleven to a slightly more tolerable five. And overall morale was boosted significantly. Even Bucky seemed happier and like he was healing faster. At least he was healing sufficiently enough that Ayo no longer protested if he walked around for short periods. The last time Sam checked, she was even allowing Bucky to sit in on the Young Avengers’ training sessions. The caveat was that he was forced to sit trapped in a cocoon of blankets, bean bags, and pillows. Sam’s sanity depended on never knowing where she got them, when she got them or why there were so many. 

So things had improved dramatically yet two members of the team didn’t seem to get the memo that the sad times were over. Clint and Peter had been acting strange, even for them, since the day Bucky was attacked. But the weirdness had taken on a new effect now that he was back. Peter couldn’t stand to be too far away from Bucky but also not too close. And Clint couldn’t seem to be far enough but also never left the campus. Sam knew FRIDAY was giving the archer updates on Bucky’s condition too. 

Bucky didn’t seem to notice or at the very least wasn’t saying anything about it but Sam knew it was only a matter of time before he did. So Sam did what any good boyfriend/leader should do… he waited for one of them to crack and tell him what the hell was going on before Bucky got stressed. Well, he would wait for Peter to crack. Clint was going to be a whole other kettle of fish. But Peter was always a bit different. And sure enough, it took less than a week for the Spider-Brat to cave. 

It was after yet another Young Avengers training session. Bucky was arguing with Ayo about whether he was cleared for light sparring. The fact that he was trying to spar with Yelena who never heard the concept of going easy was proof enough that Bucky truly was an idiot. And he was losing epically, much to the delight of Eli, Yelena, Joaquin, Kate, America, the twins, and David who were all gathered together on Bucky’s discarded bean bag pillow fort eating popcorn that Sam was absolutely not going to ask about. At all. 

It was perfectly chaotic and the right distraction for Peter to pull Sam to the side to have the conversation the former Falcon saw coming a mile away. He wasn’t blind. He knew that Peter looked up to Bucky. He knew that Peter was angry when Bucky was in Wakanda. Sam also knew Peter was the reason America broke the rules about interdimensional travel to sneak him into Wakanda. So Sam knew all that and thought he was prepared for whatever Peter was about to lay on him. He was not. 

“Bucky remembered me.” 

All thoughts of whatever Sam expected this to be flew out of his head at the softly muttered words. Peter’s whole body was slumped forward and there was a disturbing sheen to his eyes that Sam desperately wanted gone like yesterday. There were entirely too many people that were overly protective of one Peter Parker and Sam was scared of the vast majority of them. 

“Pete?” 

“No one remembered me after Stephen’s spell but somehow he did. He’s the reason I got everyone back. He’s the reason I have Pepper, Happy, and Morgan. And even Stephen, Wong, and America. He’s… he’s important.” 

Sam sighed, grabbing the kid by the shoulders and forcing him to look up. 

“I get it, Pete. I do. You know I do. Bucky is… he’s just this… force. And you have to love him because he’s a giant, fluffy dork who tries to be so gruff but melts because someone remembered his diabetes in a cup that cosplays as a coffee order.” 

Peter sniffled but there was a smile tugging on his lips. Sam grinned in response, squeezing the kid’s shoulder. 

“Bucky is okay, Pete. He’s back home with us and he’s not going anywhere. Maybe back to Wakanda if he keeps testing Ayo’s patience but they’ll always bring him back to us because they can’t stand his puppy dog eyes either.” 

“It is kind of unfair how good he is at that.” 

Sam politely didn’t point out that if Bucky was good, Peter was the master. The kid had pretty much everyone wrapped around his finger. The only real outlier was America and that was mostly all talk. She was just as weak to her self-appointed big brother as the rest of them. Hence the way she adopted him within five minutes of Strange and Wong restoring the memories of all the Avengers. 

But it was only just the Avengers. Peter was adamant that they couldn’t let any more multiversal shenanigans happen. He wouldn’t let their wizards restore more than just that group. Meaning he was still without his man in the chair and the love of his young life. And while he had his team and the family he made with Pepper, Morgan, and Happy, it was clear that he was missing them. It was clear that the kid couldn’t take any more loss and Bucky was a scare that pushed him closer to the edge than even he thought he could go. 

“You given any more thought to Strange and Wong lifting the spell for at least Ned and MJ?” 

Peter shook his head, tears shimmering in those ridiculously big brown eyes. 

“I can’t. They… she’s…. They’re doing so good. They’re really doing great at college. They’re happy and I can’t drag them back into my mess, Sam. I almost got them killed so many times. It’s better this way.” 

Sam had his thoughts about that. He didn’t get to know MJ and Ned but he talked to Happy and Strange. Yes, Peter being Spider-Man introduced a level of danger to their lives that probably wouldn’t have existed before but neither of them was there because they were forced. They genuinely loved Peter just as much as he loved them. Even without remembering him, Sam knew they were missing a part of themselves that they wouldn’t get back til Peter got past this stubborn determination to Lone Ranger his way through life. 

“Okay, well are you at least talking to someone about all this? It’s a lot. And you’re still a kid.” 

“I’m 19!” 

“You are a child.” 

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m talking to someone. Bucky made me agree to meet with Dr. Samson. And that’s… it helps.” 

Sam smiled softly. Dr. Samson was a friend of Bruce’s ex (or current… who knew) girlfriend, Betty Ross. He came highly recommended to the team and with his own gamma radiation-induced strength, he was the perfect person to provide much-needed counseling to the team. And while he stuck to just crisis-based services with most of them, Samson had a more in-depth working relationship with Yelena and Bucky. And apparently now Peter. 

“You thinking about Bucky?” Peter asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. Sam narrowed his eyes. “It’s not my fault! You get this look. Like you think he’s the best thing in the world. And he gets it around you too.”

Ah, yes, Bucky’s infamous heart eyes anytime Sam was around. Sam was constantly kicking himself at not realizing just how much of his partner’s staring problem was dedicated to looking at Sam like he was the most important thing in the world. Even back when they were barely speaking, Bucky looked at him like he not only hung the moon, he was the moon. It was equally endearing and overwhelming because how could he possibly live up to that adoration? How could he return it? 

“Yeah, there it is,” Peter grinned. “It’s funny cuz Bucky gets all starry-eyed whenever you’re around. But you do it too. You get this look like everything is right in the universe and it’s all because Bucky was breathing close by.” 

Sam started to comment on that but it occurred to him that he should probably check that his partner was still breathing and nearby. He peeked around the corner of the gym to see that Bucky was in fact in his pillow fort, petulantly eating popcorn while Kamala and Cassie were braiding his hair. Sam smiled, even though he knew his face was likely confirming Peter’s theory. 

“Sam, I know that you would never hurt Bucky. We all know that. It’s just that…” 

“He’s important to you,” Sam finished, putting Peter out of his misery. The kid nodded. Sam smiled a little wider. “Yeah, and you’re important to him too, kid. He was willing to fry his own brain to bring you back to us all. And despite the fact that I was scared as all hell at the time, I’m really glad he did.” 

And that was both the exact right and wrong thing to say as the words clearly helped heal a little piece of Peter that was still very hurt but also brought on a fresh wave of tears. Sam sighed knowing he wasn’t getting out of this without some physical affection. He tugged the all too willing spider-boy into his arms, melting a little as Peter sagged his entire weight against Sam. As strong as the kid was, he was still very much a kid and Sam worried about him. He wasn’t the only one. 

“Are you crying? Again?!”

Sam pulled away to see America watching them through narrowed eyes. One hand rested on her hip while the other was tightly gripping a handful of popcorn… Sam was really not going to ask where it came from. The dimension-hopping teen continued to stare at them even as Peter sheepishly stammered through some explanation that America was clearly going to ignore. 

“Is this about MJ? Dude, I told you. I get it. You don’t want to ruin what she’s got going on and that’s noble if not depressing and sad. But! I can find you an MJ in another universe that doesn’t have a Peter too. It’s so perfect” 

“America, no!” 

“America, yes!” 

Sam rolled his eyes, leaving the pair to bicker alone. He somewhat trusts that Peter could talk the impulsive other teen down. But there were protocols in place should Peter cave. And three of those protocols were headed their way. Between the twins and Kamala, America would soon be distracted and hopefully not off kicking a portal to another dimension to kidnap an alternate version of Peter’s girlfriend. Possibly. There was a glint in Tommy’s eyes at the moment that promised some kind of shenanigans would soon be in effect. He just hoped they were the type that happened in this dimension. 

“Good talk with Peter?” Bucky asked as Sam slithered into the blanket fort and curled up beside his partner. Sam arched an eyebrow, earning an eye roll from Bucky. “I know you, Samuel. Just like I know you’re probably going to corner Clint soon because that little bastard hasn’t been around me longer than he absolutely has to since I got shot.” 

Sam smiled softly, hands raising to trace Bucky’s face tenderly. He leaned forward to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips in lieu of an answer. Bucky was right. He did know him. He knew him better than almost anyone. 

“America might be causing another incursion soon,” Sam admitted. Bucky frowned. 

“Okay but if she does call Wong or Jericho. I don’t want to deal with Strange, his very scary girlfriend, or his even scarier third eye.” 

“Only your adorable ass would be on a first-name basis with Brother Voodoo.” 

“He told me to call him that because I couldn’t decide whether it was inappropriate for me to call him Brother Voodoo,” Bucky moaned, burying his flushed face in Sam’s chest, ignoring the barely muffled laughter Sam was halfheartedly trying to keep in. “Don’t mock me, Samuel!” 

“Never, James.” 

Bucky let out another petulant moan before seemingly settling down on his Sam pillow. Sam shifted around letting Bucky’s weight press him further into the pillow fort. One hand strayed up to toy with one of the more elaborate braids Cassie left behind while the other grabbed some of the popcorn. He really did need to figure out where they were getting this endless supply of popcorn from. It was really good. 

“Should I be asking about all this popcorn?” 

“No, shhh. Just lie here and maybe they won’t notice us.” 

“What?” 

“They only notice us if we make sounds.” 

“Who?” 

Bucky groaned just as three separate camera flashes went off. Sam narrowed his eyes at a smirking Eli, Joaquin, Yelena, and Kate. He then realized what Bucky meant when they were quickly surrounded by the rest of the Young Avengers, Peter, America, the twins, and Kamala included. He didn’t even have a chance to blink as they were all snuggled into the previously Sam and Bucky only blanket fort. He didn’t even know how they were all fitting but it somehow worked. 

“Told you they would only notice if you make sounds.” 

“How was I supposed to know your rabid children were attracted to sound?” 

“Not my kids.” 

“Please say that while you’re not literally cuddling like four of them at the same time.” 

Bucky narrowed his eyes, shifting away and allowing the twin he wasn’t already holding to slide in between them. Billy wiggled closer to Tommy who was practically draped across America who was carefully not lying on Bucky’s injured side. Kamala lay on Bucky’s other side with Peter, David, Nate, Doreen, and three squirrels. Sam had to deal with Eli, Joaquin, Cassie, Yelena, and Kate. And as much as he was enjoying his quality time with Bucky, he had to admit this wasn’t so bad. Especially when Kate was able to get a hold of the leftover popcorn and took it upon herself to feed him by throwing it in his mouth with the unerring accuracy of a sniper. Yeah, this team stuff was pretty awesome. 

Clint Barton was an enigma. He didn’t make any actual sense in the long run. He was equal parts petty, childish, loyal, brilliant, talented, lazy and did Sam mention petty? Because it needed to be mentioned twice. Sam read his SHIELD records. He was one of the most valued assets the agency had to offer. He brought in the Black Widow. He was one of the youngest recruits in SHIELD history and as a result, was a weird mix of both Fury’s hugest pain in the ass and also pride and joy. He finally came out of his quasi-retirement after his brother came back from the dead (again) and his fake wife wanted her real husband back. 

All of that was to say that Clint was a menace and a headache but he was near and dear to the heart of two people Sam adored with all of his heart. Even if Sam didn’t like Clint, knowing they two of the most badass assassins on the planet adored that high-functioning mess would’ve been enough. Knowing that Natasha loved him enough to choose him to live would’ve been enough. But Clint had a way of working his way into your heart and staying there. So Sam was gonna fix this not just for Bucky but also for Clint.

“Have you gotten any sleep at all?” Sam asked, leaning against the doorway to their affectionately named Command Center room. Clint was sitting at one of the computers with what appeared to be several empty coffee pots, hair sticking every which way, and bags deep enough to carry most of the psychological issues of the Avengers with some room for future trauma. In other words, he looked like crap. 

“Yes,” Clint lied in response to Sam’s earlier question. The archer was sitting in front of one of the many computer terminals around the room. Four screens were on display each running a different program or bearing a different image. Sam had to smile a little at the one that was currently trained on Bucky. There was a series of numbers on the screen that Sam assumed were his partner’s vitals. 

“You know you could just see how he’s doing by actually talking to him.” 

“I talk to him.” 

“Okay, I let the first lie slide but really? Have you gotten any sleep since we got back? Clint, it’s been three weeks.” 

Clint’s jaw ticked but that was the only outward sign he showed of listening. His eyes were trained on the center screen on the console. It was a map. Sam sighed. 

“You’re tracking Sharon. Clint….” 

“I’m fine.” 

“No, you’re not.”

“Yeah, well,” Clint shrugged. Sam leaned against the desk and continued to watch the other man. He might not have Bucky’s staring skills but he knew the Cap stare was pretty intimidating. Sure enough, Clint groaned pushing away from the table. 

“What do you want me to say?! Of course, I’m tracking Sharon. I’m the one who trusted her intel. I’m the one that let Bucky run out of the room. I couldn’t stop him from almost dying. This is…” 

“He ran out to stop me from getting hit by the bullets. Bucky almost died but little human me? I would’ve totally died. Are you mad he did it?” 

“What the hell, Sam?! Of course not!”

“If you could go back to that moment, knowing the outcome would you have stopped him?” 

“I… no.” 

“Then Clint, this was just a thing that happened. He’s here now and he’s mostly doing okay. Still a little stiff but Shuri explained that when she did repairs on all the damage HYDRA did to him over the years, a lot of vibranium went into it. The adamantium and the vibranium clashed in all the wrong ways. But he’s healing. He’s healing more on our level than super soldier but he’s healing.” 

“I’m sure he’s loving that,” Clint said, lips curving slightly. 

“Oh absolutely. He’s thrown no less than five temper tantrums and has officially joined his brats in weaponizing their puppy dog eyes to get him what he wants. It turns out not even the big bad Dora Milaje is immune to Kamala. Ayo caved after only five seconds of Kamala blinking the full Bambi.” 

“Wow, Kamala went full Bambi?” 

“Full. Ayo thought she could withstand but she crumbled.” 

“What did they even want?” 

“Bucky wanted to go get ice cream with the kids. She refused to let him. Kamala persuaded her it would be fine if they used America to kick a portal into the ice cream parlor.” 

“And you let this happen?” Clint asked, arching an eyebrow. 

“At this point, I’m merely here to contain the mess and chaos. I don’t let them do anything. They do it and I make sure everyone has all their limbs after.” 

“How did I miss that?” 

Sam snorted and pointed at the Hawkeye mug on the table beside a half-eaten sandwich. “I assume Kate or Yelena bought that?” 

“Yelena…. Did she drug me?!” 

“Oh yeah,” Sam answered with a bigger laugh at the look of outrage on Clint’s face. “I would say she did it so they could go get ice cream but I’m not the only one who’s worried about you.” 

Clint sighed. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.” 

“Again, no you’re not. Talk to me. Or if you don’t want to talk to me, I could call Bruce.” 

“No,” Clint shook his head. “I am not in the mood to deal with him and his apparent kid. Like that whole situation requires so many questions. I didn’t even know Bruce had a family and all of a sudden he’s got a whole Hulk baby and Hulk cousin who’s dating a man that’s even more of a disaster than me and that’s just a whole ass problem.” 

“Yeah, that was a lot. And really didn’t see Jennifer and Matt coming but… anyway, stop deflecting. This is about you and how you’re not okay.” 

“Now I see why Bucky loves you and hates you at the same time.” 

“That’s a compliment coming from you.” 

Clint rolled his eyes, toying with an arrowhead he pulled from nowhere. Sam used to be alarmed at the sheer number of weapons or potential weapons Clint carried on him at all times but then he remembered despite the archer’s affable personality, life wasn’t the kindest to him. He came by his paranoia and trust issues the good old-fashioned way. 

“I’m not upset that he went to save you. I’m really happy that you’re not dead. And I’m happy that he’s not dead. It’s just that….  This is…. I almost lost him. I almost lost him just like I lost…” 

“Natasha,” Sam finished. Clint looked up with unshed tears building in his blue eyes and Sam was suddenly struck with the urge to wrap the archer up and protect him from the world. Almost like he felt with Bucky and Yelena. What was it about former assassins that made them so damn vulnerable and lovable? 

“She loved you, you know?” Clint continued, fidgeting with the arrow even more as his anxiety picked up. “She was always talking about you and Steve. But I already knew Steve. It was you that I was more interested in. The only person that got that close to Natasha was me. And I thought maybe there was a little more than friendship there too but then I saw you around Bucky the few times we were around him before he got frozen and I went home. And then I realized it was just platonic between you and Nat.” 

“What do you mean you saw me around Bucky? I didn’t like him back then.” 

Clint raised both eyebrows this time and stared blankly. Sam resisted the urge to squirm. Because he was not going to be sassed by the most childish and ridiculous member of Team Sniper. And that was saying a lot because that team consisted of Clint, Yelena, Kate, and Bucky. So no Sam was not going to… 

“Okay! So maybe our thing started back in Wakanda!” Clint continued to stare. “Oh come on! That was the only time I was ever around him.” 

“Really? That might’ve worked on Steve because sometimes he was truly oblivious but I’ve worked with you. There’s no way you spent two years chasing down cold leads on Bucky. I know he’s good but I’m better and you’ve found my ass with no problems. I know there’s no way in hell you didn’t track Bucky down at least once. And there’s the fact that you were gone a long time to say you were on a wild goose chase.” 

Sam bit back the urge to smile. There it was. Natasha always told him that the Clint they all knew was a mask. The man wore the fumbling, accident-prone walking talking blonde joke facade to hide who he was. But every now and then, when he got comfortable he felt safe and he let it show. Sam couldn’t help but be a little proud that he was getting a glimpse. 

“What? Why are you smirking like that?” 

“Nothing. It’s just nice to see the real you.” Clint flushed. Sam’s smirk got a little wider until he remembered something Clint said before the unfair (but accurate) assessment of his and Bucky’s relationship. “Wait, you said ‘a little more than friendship there too’. Were you and Natasha….?” 

Clint’s face went through an impressive array of expressions before finally settling on mildly sheepish and sad. Sam hated that look. 

“We, uh, kinda? There was a potential of something but it never… she had that thing with Bruce and I was in my sham marriage covering for my stupid presumed dead brother. And the timing was just off. But on the way to Vormir, we kinda talked about what it would be like. But then…” 

But then they had to sacrifice what they loved the most to get the stone and bring everyone back. The fact that they knew without a doubt that the other was the one they loved the most. Sam felt his heart break just a little more. He knew Clint and Natasha were a matched pair, similar to how he and Bucky existed. But he didn’t realize the extent of that similarity until right now. 

“Clint, I’m so sorry.” 

“Me too,” Clint said, smiling tremulously. “She… she knew I had to be there for the kids. She thought she didn’t have a family but she did. She had me, Yelena, Melina, and Alexi. She had you.” Clint cleared his throat. “I promised her that I would take care of all of you however I can. But in case you missed it, Yelena and their parents are badass assassins in their own right. Melina did the Black Widow program three times and Alexi is a freaking super soldier. So what the hell could I possibly do to look out for them? But you? You’re a squishy human like me. I figured I could at least help there. But you… you make it hard.” 

Sam swallowed the words that wanted to come out in protest. Because he did and he knew that he did. It wasn’t an intentional thing but he often did shut out attempts at getting to know him better. The first ones to crack through the barriers he put down were Steve and Natasha. And look where that ended up. He didn’t think he was wrong for being a bit cautious when it came to letting other people in after losing them so soon after letting them in the first place. But apparently… 

“You have these walls up around you,” Clint continued. “And trust me, I get it. I know what it’s like to trust and then lose it all. So I don’t even blame you for that. It’s smart to be at least a little cautious.” 

Sam’s eyes locked on Clint’s. The archer smiled. And yeah, that made sense. Just as Sam had read Clint’s file, it made sense the other man did the same. Hell, he probably knew who Sam was long before meeting him at the pre-Ultron interrupted party. 

“The thing is that it’s really hard to look after someone who has walls up like that. But then I found that your walls had a weak spot. There’s one person you let barrel through those walls without even a thought.” 

“Bucky,” Sam smiled.

“Yeah, Bucky. So I figured out early into this little adventure in domesticity that if I wanted to make sure that I was watching out for you like I promised Natasha, it was best to get close to the only person who could bully you into taking care of yourself. And that’s how the whole thing started but now… “ 

“But now,” Sam agreed. 

“I love that idiot and I can’t lose him too.” 

Sam nodded. “I’m going to share some words that a very wise man who is definitely not Rhodey shared with me: stop punishing yourself by putting distance between you and Bucky. It’s only hurting you and him.” 

“Rhodey told you that?” 

“I thought I said it wasn’t Rhodey, you don’t listen!” 

Clint snickered, nodding a little. “I hear you, I do. And I miss him but it’s like at this point what am I supposed to even say? I know he’s noticed that I haven’t been around. So it’s bound to be some long and necessary conversation that might involve one or both of us crying. And this conversation is officially fulfilling my emotional quota for the year!” 

Sam rolled his eyes, wondering if it was just a sniper/assassin thing to be an emotionally repressed walnut. Then again Kate was an awkward but still capable human so maybe it was just an assassin thing. Sam was working towards an answer when what appeared to be several pairs of Kate’s shoe collection went flying towards Clint’s head. The first three hit with unerring accuracy while the former child soldier/assassin managed to avoid the last ones through sheer luck and the genius plan of hiding behind Sam and hoping for the best. The shoe barrage stopped as abruptly as it had started. 

“Really?! Using Sam as a human shield?! That’s low even for you asshole!”

“Really?! Tossing Kate’s boots? That’s even lower for you… asshole!” 

“Well, you forced me to sink to your level so here we are!” Bucky countered, crossing his arms over his chest the best he could with a knee-high heeled boot in one hand and a combat boot in the other. “You ready to stop being a little dick about this already?” 

“I….” Clint started before stopping abruptly. His lips quirked. “I hate you.” 

Bucky smiled and the brilliance of it took Sam’s breath away. “Yeah, I know. I hate you too.” Clint rolled his eyes fondly but stepped over to meet Bucky in the hug he was offering. They held onto each other for a long moment and Sam felt his heart grow three sizes bigger at the display. And that’s when the other shoe, metaphorically this time, dropped. 

“Bucky! Where the hell are my shoes?!” 

“Aw, crap,” Bucky muttered. “We gotta go!” 

Sam blinked and suddenly he was the only one in the room. How the hell that even happened was amazing but also why Clint and Bucky were the team leads on Team Sniper. But then that left Sam as the sole person standing in a room full of shoes when Yelena and Kate carrying what he hoped was a paintball gun in one hand and sword in the other, entered the room. 

“I would like to say this is not my fault.”

The two women paused to regard him and the very sniper-free room. Kate’s frown softened a little bit even as she lowered the gun. The sword remained in a terrifyingly loose grip in her right hand. 

“So I guess they made up?”

“Yup, made up and left me as the fall guy.”

“Fine!” Kate huffed. She peered up to the rafters of the room. “For the record, I expect all of those shoes to be back where you found them by the end of the day. And if the boots I wanted aren’t also there, I will make you both suffer. And you’ll never see me coming.” 

With that said Kate spun on her heels and stalked out of the command center with a faintly lovestruck-looking Yelena trailing after her. Sam shook his head as Bucky and Clint suddenly materialized beside him wearing matching grins. 

“You know even if you do get her the boots, she’s still going to kill you both.” 

“Oh yeah,” the two morons he adored in very different but equally important ways replied in unison. “Totally worth it.” 

“I am surrounded by idiots.” 

Sam wanted the record to show that while he was ecstatic that the Sharon situation was resolved without any further bloodshed or major near-death experiences, he wasn’t expecting it to be as anticlimactic as it was. But given the givens, he wasn’t at all surprised that it was Ayo that took her down. But the whole alien reveal was a nice twist in the saga. 

“So she’s a Skrull?” Joaquin asked, looking down at the unconscious green-skinned person on the ground. “Is she even a she? Do aliens subscribe to the gender binary? Am I misgendering them right now?” 

“They tried to kill and kidnap Bucky. Twice,” Eli pointed out. “I truly don’t give a damn.” 

“Still not a valid reason to misgender,” Joaquin chided. Eli sighed, clearly conceding that he had a point. And honestly, Sam wanted to commend them both but at the same time… 

“She’s a Skrull?!” Sam repeated with an air of incredulity and disbelief this truly deserved. Because what even were their lives these days?

“You think saying it over and over will make it less real?” Bucky groused from where he was sprawled on the floor. One of the many pillows that seemed to follow him around was propped up under his head. “I don’t think it works like that. Then again I didn’t think Sharon was an alien all along so it’s surprising times all around.” 

Sam snorted and crossed the room to sit beside his injured but not in a life-threatening way boyfriend. He was sporting a black eye, a couple of fractured ribs, and some impressive bruises but he was otherwise fine to say he went head to head with a Skrull hopped up on all of the powers of the Avengers. Ayo was the one to deal the finishing blow but Bucky got more than a few hits in to help beforehand. 

“How you feeling?” Sam asked, gently brushing a lock of hair away from his face. Bucky gave him a crooked smile around a split lip. His non-swollen eye scrunched adorably with the gesture. 

“I feel like I threw hands with an alien and won,” he replied like an idiot. 

“Pretty sure that Ayo won,” Eli pointed out from where he was sitting on top of the unconscious alien that Joaquin was currently binding with minimal assistance from the rest of Team Sniper. They were too busy taking pictures.

“Ayo is my best friend and therefore her victories are mine and vice versa.” Ayo snorted but didn’t argue and seriously their friendship was such a mystery. 

“That’s not how that works,” Joaquin countered before tilting his head to the side. “Wait is it? Does that mean…?” 

“Absolutely not, Baby Bird. My kills, my wins. I want no part of your failure,” Yelena cut off whatever dumbass thought was running through the younger Falcon’s head this time. “So when is Fury coming to collect his mess?” 

Sam snorted again, lying down so he was beside Bucky. As expected Bucky scooted over so that he was resting as gently as possible on Sam. Sam, in turn, wrapped a careful arm around his partner. No, he wasn't injured at all but that wasn’t an excuse not to cuddle. Especially since there wasn’t much they could do until Fury came to collect his mess as Yelena so delicately put it. This was not how he saw his day going but then again when you lived and worked with gods, aliens, wizards, assassins, and teenagers it was safe to assume that no day was ever going to be truly regular but having an all-out brawl with an alien calling themselves the Super Skrull was not anything he anticipated. He might start having to live by Team Sniper’s code. 

Clint and Bucky both seemed to be under the life motto of just expecting your day to take a turn to absolute batshit crazy and when it did, you wouldn’t be caught off guard. Sam didn’t anticipate the absolute lack of sanity that was the hallmark of Bucky and Clint’s friendship but he was so happy that he got to witness it in action. He wished Natasha and Steve were here to see them too. Especially when Yelena got involved as she was clearly about to judging from the spark of mischief running across her face. Thankfully whatever shenanigans were about to occur were shut down by Nick Fury himself choosing that moment to enter the room, flanked by Maria Hill, Rhodey, and Monica Rambeau. 

“Not bad,” he whistled taking in the utterly destroyed room, battered team, and serene-looking Ayo, who was also sitting on the ground polishing her spear and no doubt updating Shuri and T’Challa on what their idiot got into this time. 

Fury walked over to the still unconscious Skrull and pointedly ignored Sam’s totally mature team that was still taking selfies with the defeated alien. He made a mental note to have FRIDAY scrub any posts from their social media. 

“I’ve been looking for this one for quite some time. Everyone okay? Barnes? Barton?”

“What about me?” Clint asked, looking around confused. He was perched up high, close enough to keep an eye on their unconscious prisoner and his friends. “I’m fine. I’m not the one who got their ass kicked by a Skrull.” 

“In a shocking turn of events,” Monica muttered, prompting Clint to flash her the finger before they both laughed. 

Sam bit his lip to keep from smiling. He would never get tired of watching Fury’s kids, as Rhodey called them, interact. The very gruff and rough director had one weak spot and it was the kids he collected along the way. These two in particular were his obvious favorites. And on that note… 

“This another one of your strays?” Sam drawled where he was still lying on the ground. He could get up but Bucky was on the ground and Sam always wanted to be where Bucky was. So the ground it was. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Fury admitted. There was a deep sense of regret and remorse in his voice. “I didn’t see how lost he was. I made some mistakes.” 

Sam wanted to argue that more than some mistakes were made. But he didn’t need to remark. It was obvious from Fury’s words that he got the message. 

“So that’s it? Your weird espionage stuff is over now?” Clint asked. The archer crossed his arms over his chest. “Your weird espionage stuff that you made sure to keep me far, far away from for some reason.” 

“Don’t feel bad, he didn’t read me in on anything until today and I know he left half of it out,” Monica chimed in. “It’s been almost two years, you think you’re finally ready to let the kids in on whatever you’ve been hiding?”

Fury merely cleared his throat. He glanced to the right to see Rhodey already moving towards the rest of the waiting Avengers. He then turned to the left where Maria was already shaking her head. 

“Oh no, don’t look over here. I am not at all involved in any of this. You came up with this plan and now you get to explain it.” 

“Explain what?” Clint snapped, clearly irritated. He pushed off the shelf he was sitting on, dropping to a crouch before standing up to face Fury.  “Super Jackass over here decided to attack during lunch. So I’m hungry and irritated. So what exactly is the big secret so we can get that out of the way and order Ray’s?” 

“Almost twenty years and you’re still obsessed with that place. I guess some things never change, Yastreb.” 

Sam’s blood ran cold even as Bucky tensed beside him. They both stood up, Bucky immediately turning to look at a far too-silent Clint while Sam’s attention was glued to the group of people currently filing in the room. He heard a shaky gasp from the other side of the room and was happy when Joaquin moved freeing Kate from the decision of her mentor or girlfriend. With Joaquin supporting Yelena and Kate supporting Clint, Sam finally felt comfortable acknowledging the bizarre fact that Sharon Carter, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff were currently standing in the lobby of the Avengers Compound. 

“What the hell is this?” Clint hissed. There was probably supposed to be a lot more vitriol behind that but it was lost in the utter confusion of the scene before them. “Is this more of your Skrull bullshit?” 

“No, Clint, it’s me,” the woman who looked so much like Natasha said. Her eyes were soft in a way Sam couldn’t remember seeing on her. But he never saw her with Clint or her silently crying sister. The redhead’s eyes darted between them both with increasing distress. 

Sam found his eyes glued to her. It was easier than looking at the man right beside her. She looked different than the last time he saw her. That tracked since it was five years since Sam disappeared and came back to a world where she was gone. But apparently, now she was back. 

“I can explain,” the man who looked like Steve started, taking a step toward prompting the entire of the assembled Avengers to take a collective step back. His face crumpled as if he truly didn’t anticipate that response. And if he was really their Steve, he probably didn’t. 

Sam started to say something when he felt Bucky’s hand blindly grasping for his. Sam immediately grasped the trembling vibranium limb in his while also kicking himself for not realizing this was probably a whole clusterfuck for Bucky as well. There was the Black Widow he trained himself. There was also who Sam could only assume was the real Sharon Carter. The fake one had some choice words to say about Bucky ruining her life before they were able to reveal her identity. But Sam knew some of it still stung so looking at the real deal wasn’t helping. Then there was Steve. 

“Do you need to go?” Sam whispered, well aware that several people in the room could hear them, Steve included. He turned his head not at all surprised to find Bucky staring back at him. He watched him slowly exhale before shaking his head. He squeezed Sam’s hand both giving and seeking comfort. Sam threaded their hands together and squared his shoulders. 

“What the hell is this?” Yelena hissed. “Why is there someone who looks like my sister here? And the old Cap and the woman who was the Super Skrull?” 

“It’s me, Yelena. I know this is a lot to process but I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.” 

“How is this possible?” Bucky finally said, his voice small in a way that made Sam want to punch everything and everyone. “We saw you… you went back in time. You stayed with Peggy.” 

Steve’s brow furrowed as he turned to look at Fury who was pointedly staring at his shoes. Sam sighed. 

“Unless you didn’t and that was another one of Fury’s endless Skrull cronies.” 

“I prefer bestie,” a new voice chimed into the madness. Sam was happy to note that no one outside of the immediate SHIELD crew seemed to recognize him. That was refreshing. 

“Talos? What are you doing here?” 

“Helping the good director here unravel his convoluted scheme of utter bullshit per the usual,” Talos answered Clint with a smirk and a pointedly long slurp from the slushie in his hand. His gaze landed on Sam and consequently Bucky. “You see, gents. It was actually I who went back to restore the infinity stones. And I was the one that handed the shield over to our new Cap here. And can I just say you’ve done an amazing job?” 

“Sam is Cap now?” Steve asked, his voice brimming with all the emotions they would’ve expected him: pride, contentment, and joy. Natasha didn’t look too far off standing beside him. 

It was him. It was really him. So it stood to reason that Natasha was also really here. Somehow their long lost and previously thought to be dead friends were here and alive and looking like everything was just fine. And Sam was just… done. He knew he should be doing something about this but he was done. 

“I’m sure there is more that needs to be discussed in this… reunion, but James requires more rest,” Ayo’s voice cut through the white noise building in Sam’s head. He finally turned to his partner who was trembling like a leaf. Sam wasn’t sure what would take him out sooner: his injuries or the shock. 

“Ayo is right. Clint, a little help?” 

It took the archer a moment but soon he was nodding and moving to Bucky’s other side. They huddled together until it wasn’t clear who was actually supporting who and made their way away from the tense sense still unfolding. On some unspoken decision, they ended up in the training room in the blanket pillow monstrosity of a fort which was now just a permanent feature of the room. The trio collapsed together in a quiet huff, no one rushing to break the silence. 

Sam couldn’t tell how long he was lying there, Bucky tucked under one arm. He was aware distantly of Clint being on Bucky’s other side but it was just background noise to the thoughts all clamoring for his attention. Steve wasn’t dead. He didn’t abandon them. Well, he did but in a different sense. He never gave Sam the shield. Would he want it back? Would Sam give it back? What did this mean for him and Bucky? Would Bucky still want to follow Sam when Steve was back? Would any of them want to follow him? Was he still the leader of the Avengers? 

Over and over, the thoughts spiraled through his head sending him deeper and deeper into his own mind until finally a delicious scent could no longer be ignored. He blinked at the sight of most of his team gathered around the room, some quietly picking at the obscene amount of pizzas in the blanket fort and others were just scrolling on their phones. There was a lack of warmth on his side that had him sitting up immediately. He didn’t have to worry. Bucky was gone but not very far. At some point, he shifted further into the blanket fort and was chatting with Clint in Russian with Yelena tucked in between them. Kate was sitting behind them casually cleaning her sword with a fierce look that made Sam happy he was on her side. 

Satisfied that at least one part of his incredibly messed up and chaotic life was secure, Sam turned his focus towards the junior Falcon who was posted mere inches away from him, phone in hand and Eli on his left as usual also scrolling through his phone with a smirk on his face. It was so typical that he almost forgot what was happening. But then reality came crashing back and he remembered Steve was back. For a brief second, Sam wondered what would happen to them if he were to hand the shield back to Steve. It was pretty much assumed that at some point in their lives, Joaquin and Eli would replace him. But now Sam might not even be around to eventually replace. That might be something he really needed to sort out. 

“Where…” Sam trailed off, not really sure what he was asking here. 

Joaquin looked up from his phone with a soft smile. “We set Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff up in one of the dorms on the far side of campus until you knew what you wanted to do with them. Wanda and Bruce arrived about an hour ago and they’re bringing them up to date on everything. Captain Rambeau made Agent Fury leave and she said she was calling her aunt. Naturally, Kamala went with them. Carol arrived planetside about fifteen minutes ago and has spent twelve of those minutes telling Fury how he's epically screwed this all up.”

“Kamala is providing all the updates,” Eli chimed in with a grin. “I almost wish I was there to see it. Almost. Also not to totally sidebar but like we all know it’s weird that Monica still calls Carol her aunt when we all know that her mom and Carol were a thing… right? Like that’s weird to everyone, right?” 

Sam felt his lips twitch but it died just as fast as the urge appeared. “Monica and Carol have a deeply weird relationship and none of us have the necessary therapeutic skills to unpack all that. But that’s not what’s important. How are you all feeling about everything?” 

“I’m starting to think Bucky and Clint have the right idea with the whole expecting your day to turn to crazy theory,” Joaquin shrugged. “But on the bright side, Kate has put her grudge against Bucky and Clint to the side and transferred all her wrath to Captain Rogers and partially Agent Romanoff. Naturally, America is all in because that child thrives on chaos.” 

“I don’t mean that. I mean… Talos was the one who handed me the shield. Not Steve. So technically, I’m not… he’s still…” 

“Yeah, so I’m gonna stop you right there,” Eli said, shaking his head. “I didn’t spend the better part of two years watching you have to fight a bunch of stuffy bureaucratic assholes while also dealing with you mutually pining over your soulmate and coping with the circus you call a team to suddenly forget about you and start following some random white guy because he came back from whatever dimension and timeline he scuttled off to.” 

“Okay, but that random white guy is actually Captain America,” Sam countered. 

“Technically no, he’s really not,” Joaquin shrugged. “Sure he was pardoned along with all of the rest of you but he never officially took the mantle back up before he went on his mission to find Natasha. And even if we entertained the idea that he never handed you the shield, we’re still not following him. You have the shield. You fought to get it out of Walker’s deranged hands. You were the one who assembled the Avengers again. You’re the one who handpicked all of us and trained all of us. I’m sure old Cap is great but I’m good with the one we already have.” 

Sam opened his mouth to make a very mature and strong rebuttal when a pillow hit him on the back of the head with way more force than should be allowed. He turned around to glare at the most likely suspect only to see him pointing at the archer beside him with a lazy smirk. Clint rolled his eyes. 

“What part of our sharing and caring hallmark moment last week led you to believe I would be following anyone other than you?” Clint asked, raising another pillow in way too threatening a manner. Sam also wasn’t fond of the crazy look in Kate’s eyes, especially while she was still holding a damn sword. Seriously, who the hell gave her a damn sword?

“Okay, okay, I get it. I get it. I’m still the team leader and you all love me. Got it.” 

“Do you?” Bucky asked, crawling back to his original place at Sam’s side before moving to straddle Sam’s legs. He sat back on Sam’s knees with that look he also definitely stole from Sarah. She really needed to stop sharing her secrets with people who could and would use it against him. His expression was stern but his eyes were soft with concern. “Do you actually get that you’re it? Steve is great. Love the guy. But you, Sam? You’re… you’re unreal. I wasn’t lying when I said you were the Captain America we need now. And I don’t mean just the world. I meant us. We need you. I need you.” 

“Yeah?” Sam brushed a gentle finger over one of the bruises that was already starting to fade. His hand trailed down to brush against Bucky’s lips. 

“Yeah,” Bucky answered, firmly. “You’re not a consolation prize or just because Steve wasn’t around. He’s back and I’ll walk if he even thinks about trying to pick that shield up again. I go wherever you go.” 

Sam leaned forward so his forehead rested against Bucky’s. “I love you, James.” 

“Love you more, Samuel.” 

“And we love you both but like there are children present!”

Bucky pulled away to smirk at Joaquin who had a hand clamped over Eli’s eyes. The younger man wasn’t even trying to push him off. Bucky’s lips curled even more at the sight. Sam really shouldn't be charmed or amused by this. He should be pushing Bucky off and getting up to deal with Steve and Natasha. But he was only human and his boyfriend was a very, very attractive man and sitting on his lap. Sam was a lot of things but an idiot he was not. 

“Anyone that doesn’t want to see this can get gone. If I know Ayo she already informed T’Challa which means I’m about to be bombarded with well-meaning and annoying family members ready and more than able to kick a super soldier’s ass. That means I’m going to take all the time I can with Sam before that happens. So y’all can stay or y’all can go. I’m fine either way.” 

“You’re disgusting,” Eli hissed before pulling a laughing Joaquin away. The twins and Nate took off taking a couple of the pizzas with them while loudly teasing Billy about his apparent crush on the new guy. And wait, what new guy? They got another one?! Peter and America left via portal clearly on their way to update Pepper and Wong. Sam didn’t need to look to know that Clint, Yelena, and Kate were long gone. And then it was just the two of them. 

“You really didn’t need to do all that,” Sam chided, half-heartedly. It probably would’ve been more effective if he wasn’t rubbing his thumbs in small circles on Bucky’s waist and pulling him even closer. “You should set a better example for the youth, you know?” 

Bucky hummed, draping his arms over Sam’s shoulders. That smirk was back and more carefree than ever. He loved this man. 

“You’re right. I’ve been really bad. You should punish me, Captain.” Sam snorted. 

“I can’t stand you.” 

“No, but you can love me.” 

“Always and forever, baby. Always and forever.” 

Steve knew that there would be some… tension upon his return home. He knew the way he left wasn’t going to go over well. He just didn’t think Fury would come up with the whole staying in the past story but that was his fault for not thinking any of this through. He was presented with the possibility of saving Natasha and he ran with it. He hated to admit that he hadn’t even thought about Bucky or Sam when he went off on his journey. He hadn’t even considered that they would need him more than ever and he just left them. 

He was glad that they seemed to have formed some sort of friendship with each other. Enough that they trusted each other at the very least. It was more than he honestly expected given their animosity any time they were forced to interact before the Blip. But whatever friendship they had, it was solid enough for a whole new Avengers team to be built on its foundation. A team that despite appearing chaotic and dysfunctional at first seemed to operate in ways the original Avengers team struggled with. This team was truly a family that loved and protected one another. Steve hated to admit that under his leadership the original Avengers were at best coworkers who grudgingly tolerated one another. 

But the Avengers 2.0 as they called themselves did more than tolerate one another. Steve and Natasha had been on the end of more than their fair share of dirty looks since coming back to the team two days before. The kids really enjoyed proving they could get to them without them ever knowing. It helped that one of them could apparently open interdimensional portals and that was a whole mind trip right there. 

Still, Steve wasn’t sure who they were all angry about. He knew his actions and the ones Fury set in motion would bother Sam and Bucky but he thought it would be okay when he got back. That bringing Natasha home would undo any sore feelings. But apparently judging from the glowering figure sitting at his dining room table when he returned from his morning jog, that was not the case. 

“Hey, Buck.” 

“Are you going to try and take the shield back?” Bucky asked, tone just as blank as his face. 

“What? I mean no. I hadn’t really thought about it to be honest.” 

“Oh well here’s a thought: don’t. It’s taken me this long to convince Sam he’s good enough. I don’t need you and your idealism stomping all over my progress.” 

“Buck, I would never.” 

“Not intentionally. But there are a lot of things we both don’t get about what it’s like to be part of a marginalized community in this country. Even though I am part of one of those communities I still have a lot of privilege that Sam doesn’t have. And it hurts him more than he’ll admit. Talos giving him the shield hurt him more than he’ll admit. You leaving hurt more.” 

“Bucky, I’m sorry. I didn’t think …” 

“I know,” his tone softened for a brief moment. “It’s not like you to be cruel. You did what you thought was best to try and save Natasha. I get it. And I’m grateful. Because Yelena needs her sister. And Clint… well Clint is whole for the first time in a long time. So really thanks for that. But you’re still not forgiven. You really hurt Sam.” 

“And you,” Steve pointed out. 

Bucky shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. The point is, you hurt Sam with all of this despite your good intentions. Don’t let it happen again. He’s the best guy. He’s going to forgive you eventually. Don’t hurt him again.” 

There was something unspoken in his words but Steve knew Bucky no matter how many decades there were between them. He knew if he hurt Sam again, he wouldn’t get another chance. And the White Wolf and his apparent Wakandan connections would make him pay. And that was another thing. Steve knew that there was obviously some connection between Bucky and the Royal Family. He was there for two years. There was bound to be something but he wasn’t expecting to find out from a very pissed-off Shuri and annoyed T’Challa that Bucky was legally and spiritually a child of Wakanda now. 

Steve opened his mouth to ask about that but three sharp whistles interrupted him before he could. Bucky’s eyes widened as he jumped to his feet and ran to the window. Whatever he saw out there had him scrambling to hide. Steve could only watch in confusion as his best friend threw himself in his hallway closet five seconds before someone knocked on the door to his quarters. Someone who apparently scared Bucky into hiding. 

He opened the door to find Sam who was wearing a look eerily similar to Bucky’s. He hovered in the door clearly waiting for something. Steve wondered if he was supposed to tell him about Bucky in the closet before realizing Sam was waiting for an invitation inside. He felt his heart skip a beat. When they were fugitives, he, Sam, and Natasha lived in each other’s back pockets. They had no concept of personal space. They never asked. They always knew. But Sam didn’t know. Not anymore and that was Steve’s fault. 

“Come in. Can I get you something to drink?” 

“I can’t stay long. Bucky thinks I’m on a run. If I’m gone too long he’ll get suspicious. Clint is keeping an eye out for me.”

Steve arched an eyebrow. He thought that whistle sounded familiar. Looks like Clint had his own agenda. And he was silently telling Steve to play along. And play along he would. He very pointedly did not look at the closet Sam was standing directly in front of, instead he merely hummed and motioned for Sam to follow him to the living room. 

“So what did you want to talk about? Is this about the shield?” 

Sam faltered, a look of concern furrowing his brow. There was a low-pitched hissing sound from the closet that had Steve both happy and concerned that Sam couldn’t hear. 

“Uh no,” Sam finally answered. “I’m not quite ready to talk about that yet. This is about Bucky.” 

“Bucky?” 

“Yeah. You know 200+ pounds of pure muscle with steel blue eyes and a heart of gold? Your best friend. The one that you abandoned without a care in the world.” 

Steve swallowed at the venom coming from Sam’s mouth. There was another sound from the closet. This one was louder but Sam seemed to have worked himself to the point and missed it entirely. 

“You asked me to drop everything and chase Bucky for over two years. And I did because it was the right thing to do but also because I knew how much he meant to you. But that meant jack all nothing because you abandoned a man who was even more displaced than you in a time where he had no one. No family. No friends. No team. You did that. To what? Chase after Natasha? Like he wouldn’t have gone with you. Like he hasn’t constantly dropped everything to follow you his entire life.” 

“Sam, I…” 

“I know. You didn’t mean it. But you didn’t see what your leaving did to him. He wasn’t okay. You leaving him with nothing broke him. And it took so long to build him back up again. I can’t have you breaking him again. I won’t. He means too much to me, my sister and nephews, the team, and Wakanda to let that happen again.” 

“Sam, I promise. I’m not going to hurt Bucky again. Or you for that matter.” He took a deep breath. “I know you said you don’t want to talk about the shield but I just need to make something clear to you and anyone else who might be wondering. I have no intention of picking up that shield. I’ve seen the news clips about you. Sam, you’re amazing. You’re exactly the Captain America that’s needed now. I don’t want it back. I don’t think I ever will. I wasn’t happy and it led me to hurt the two people who meant the most to me. So I’m good with just sitting back and being part of a team.” 

Sam nodded, his eyes suspiciously watery. Steve ached to give him a hug but he knew his touch wasn’t welcome at the moment. But he had a feeling he knew who would be. 

“Bucky is in the closet.” 

Sam arched an eyebrow, standing up and crossing the room just as Bucky emerged from the closet. Bucky’s eyes were just as red as Sam’s. Steve watched as they stumbled towards each other, half collapsing into the other. The natural gravitation sparked a thought in his mind but he let it go in favor of watching. 

“Buck? Why are you here?” 

“Same reason as you,” Bucky answered, taking Sam’s hand in his. “You gave him the shovel talk for me.” 

“Of course I did. But wait you did for me?” 

“Of course. Sam, I’m forever going to apologize for how much of an ass I was in the first few months after the Blip. I hurt you and I’m so sorry.” 

“Baby, I know. You’ve been forgiven so many times over,” Sam replied, free hand rising to cup Bucky’s cheek. “I’m sorry for not realizing how much you were hurting. I text you but I didn’t make an effort. And I knew. I knew what you needed. I just was so caught up in my own bullshit that I couldn’t imagine adding yours. And I’m sorry.” 

“You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart. You were hurting too. You tried your best and it all worked out in the end,” Bucky said, tears spilling from his eyes. Though he was crying there was a bright smile that reminded Steve of their childhood playing on lips. “What a pair we make.” 

“Captain America and his White Panther.” 

“Seriously?! Pretty sure T’Challa is gonna…” 

Bucky’s righteous retort was cut off by Sam tugging him down into a kiss. A kiss that didn’t seem new or surprising. The way they fell together spoke of familiarity and more importantly, love. And it was at that moment that his earlier thought returned with a vengeance. 

“Wait… you two… you’re but this isn’t new is it? This is… how long?!” 

The couple separated wearing matching bemused smiles. Steve now understood what Natasha meant when she said to be careful what he wished for when it came to Bucky and Sam getting along. Clearly, she saw the writing on the wall with them long before Steve did. 

“Well to hear Clint talk this has been a thing since the Great Bucky Hunt of 2016. But it wasn’t official until last month.” 

“Oh wow, it’s been a month already?” Bucky’s grin grew wider and sappier. “Happy one-month anniversary, sweetheart.” Sam melted immediately leaning in to meet Bucky’s waiting lips. 

“Oh you two are going to be gross aren’t you?” Steve asked, smiling at his friends. 

“You have no idea!” Clint’s voice chimed in as the archer slipped in through the window. Neither Bucky nor Sam looked at all surprised that the other knew the archer was on the roof. Steve really should’ve seen this coming a mile away. “We all good now? Have you boys worked out your issues? Cuz if you took too much longer the kids were going to work it out for you.” 

“Did they have a plan?” Bucky asked, horror creeping into his voice. Clint nodded grimly. “Uh, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go stop… yeah.” 

And with that inelegant statement, Bucky was rushing out the door to Steve’s apartment. Sam and Clint exchanged knowing smirks. 

“Which ones were up first?” 

“Kamala, the twins, and the latest strays, Teddy and Doreen. But if you ask me, pretty sure they were just a distraction from the real threat.” 

Steve opened his mouth to ask who the real threat was but the words died on his lips as an explosion of light ripped through his living room revealing a group of impressively intimidating teens and young adults who stopped short upon seeing Sam standing beside Steve and Clint. 

“Uh, so… hi, Sam, Clint… Steve,” Peter said, scratching behind his ear. “So I take it everything is uh settled and stuff?” 

“Yes, Pete. We’re all good. I’m still Cap. So can you and the others knock it off already?” 

Peter’s eyes widened even as his usual partner in crime tilted her head to the side watching something in the background. 

“Knock what off? Us? We would never?” 

“Peter Parker, America Chavez, Joaquin Torres, and Elijah Bradley, get your asses out of that portal or I swear I’m leaving you to do drills with Ayo for a month!” Bucky’s voice sounded before he appeared behind the aforementioned young adults with Kamala and one of the twins slung over his shoulder. Given the babble leaving his mouth, Steve would assume it was the fast one. 

“No! Not Ayo!” America squealed. She turned to glare at Steve. “This isn’t over!” 

And with that the portal collapsed and the three men were alone in the room once again. Steve blinked several times while Sam and Clint saw nothing unusual about anything that just occurred. 

“I’ve missed a lot haven’t I?” 

“Oh yeah,” Sam laughed. The smile on his lips finally reached his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you up. It’s good to see you, Steve.” 

Steve smiled as he accepted the embrace Sam was offering. During the Blip, he was tired and disillusioned. He lost track of what was important. Bucky, Sam, and his team… they mattered. And while he spent two years trying to chase down the last bit of that team he thought he had, life moved on without him. But he was okay with playing catch-up. 

He wasn’t lying when he said that he had no interest in picking up the shield again. But he wouldn’t mind being part of this team that Sam built. They were loud and unruly but loyal and strong. For the first time in a very long time, the future didn’t seem so grim. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was home.